Help Santa Ana police find and prosecute this shooter and get a $100,000 reward

An anonymous donor is offering a $100,000 reward to help capture and convict a masked gunman who ambushed and shot a marijuana dispensary owner in Santa Ana last fall.

The victim, 48-year-old Derek Warden, said he always looks over his shoulder since the Nov. 2 attack and has hired around-the-clock armed guards to protect him and his business, South Coast Safe Access on East Warner Avenue.

“I want to protect myself and I want to protect my family. I have a fiancé and five children,” Warden said in a phone interview Thursday. “My goal is to find this shooter. This shooter will probably lead to the suspect or suspects that had something to do with this.”

Though neither Warden nor police would offer a possible motive for the shooting, officials said video of the incident makes it clear it wasn’t a random attack or robbery.

“He laid in wait for the victim for quite some time,” said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. “We don’t know if this is some kind of dispute, business problems or some kind of hit.”

Warden would not identify the donor but said they want the shooter found “at any cost.”

“I know this donor is ready to hand the money over, I’ll tell you that,” he said.

The gunman was described as between 20 and 30 years old with a thin build and standing between 5 foot 4 and 5 foot 6. He wore dark pants, a hoodie and had a mask over his face during the attack. The gunman opened fire while standing near the right front tire of Warden’s car while the business owner was in the driver’s seat.

“All I remember was I got in my car and all of a sudden I heard a pop pop, pop pop. I don’t remember much after that,” Warden said. “The first bullet grazed my shoulder. The second and third went through my head rest…the fourth went through the passenger door and hit my abdomen.”

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The gunman ran off when a security guard ran out of the dispensary following the gunshots, Warden said. The attack, which occurred at about 3 p.m., put Warden in a coma for five days and cost him his gallbladder. A bullet is still lodged in his back near his hip, he said.

Police said leads on the attack have gone cold. It’s up to a new tip to help crack the case, Bertagna said.

“I think $100,000 is going to make the phone right at Santa Ana P.D.,” Warden said. “They think this will help. We’ll soon find out.”

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

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