Suspect in Fountain Valley Standoff Was Felon Free Under Prop 47

A felon free from jail after his convictions were reduced to misdemeanors under Proposition 47, was charged today with shooting his firearm at police during a chase and standoff in Fountain Valley.

Jimmy Hoang Troung, 28, Santa Ana, was charged Monday with two felony counts of attempted murder on peace officers, two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm on peace officers, one felony count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one felony count of evading peace officers while driving recklessly, and sentencing enhancements for the use of a firearm. If convicted, Troung faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. He is being held without bail and is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.

It all began at 9:30 p.m. Saturday when Santa Ana police tried to stop a four-door sedan to issue a traffic citation at First and Euclid streets, Santa Ana police Sgt. Kanan Blake said.

The pursuit remained primarily on surface streets, including an extended period where the suspect drove in circles at the city speed limit, ran several red lights and drove erratically, as shown on live television feeds.

For a brief time, the vehicle traveled along the Garden Grove (22) Freeway before returning to surface streets, the video showed.

At one point, the suspect rolled down a window and fired several shots, but Blake said it was unclear whether the suspect was aiming at the pursuing officers.

The vehicle was finally stopped and surrounded at 11 p.m., after officers had flattened the tires with a spike strip at Fifth and Euclid streets, Blake said.

But the suspect remained in his vehicle and refused to drop his weapon or surrender, even after officers used a smoke bomb and water from a fire truck to try to force him out, a videographer at the scene said.

The man was described as being extremely agitated and repeatedly threatened to shoot if anyone came near his vehicle, the videographer said.

Smoke billowed from the vehicle as the man continued to pump the accelerator, Blake said.

Police continued to talk to the man, trying to persuade him to surrender, which he did peacefully, and without further incident, at 2:50 a.m., Blake said.

No injuries were reported, but streets in the vicinity of Euclid Street were closed for hours as the standoff continued.

City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.