See Update No. 2 at the bottom of page 2 on Jason Hallstrom's death.
See Update No. 1 on page 2 with Travis Mock's not guilty plea.
ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 18, 8 A.M.: It's pretty amazing to get shot by police in Orange County once and survive.
Travis Stuart Mock is now recovering from his second shooting at the hand of OC cops.
And this time he's got company!
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The first time for Mock was February 2011, when Anaheim Police Officer Tim Schmidt rolled up to the 1000 block of South Rexford
Lane around 5:40 a.m. to find the then-27-year-old Santa Ana resident standing in the street. For reasons not really explained at the time, Schmidt fired at Mock, who was injured, hospitalized and survived his wounds.
Police said at the time a brown bag containing mail
from Rexford Lane residences was found next to Mock. That area
of Anaheim Hills has been struck by mail thefts in recent weeks,
and as an Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) report on the shooting later divulged, Schmidt lived on Rexford Lane.
Did that OCDA report clear the cop? Of course it did, portraying Mock as being high on meth and dressed in dark clothing as he walked quickly toward Schmidt, who though in full police uniform had pulled into his driveway in an unmarked police vehicle. Fearing he'd been followed from the police station or about to be robbed, Schmidt fired at Mock after the tatted stranger reached for a black object in his pocket, according to the OCDA, which concluded the object was a cell phone but cleared the cop nonetheless.
Travis S. Mock Shot by Cop One Day, Arrested the Next
Mock's hospitalization included surgery to repair bullet wounds in his small intestine and a stay in the ICU, but he apparently recovered enough that he could be shot by Santa Ana SWAT officers Friday.
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The now-29-year-old Mock and Jason Erling Hallstrom, 41, were being chased on the 5 freeway for reasons not disclosed when the older man, who was behind the wheel, got off on Grand Avenue in Santa Ana and headed north.
At Grand and 15th Street, Hallstrom collided with a Nissan and both men got out and ran, drawing multiple rounds each from pursuing officers. They were both later reported in stable but serious condition at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where they were treated for their gunshot wounds.
Now, the OCDA has a new officer-involved shooting case to investigate, only this time they can lift the lines about Mock's lengthy criminal past from the other time a cop shot him.
UPDATE NO. 1, MARCH 21, 2:48 P.M.: Travis Mock pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday to felony counts of evading a peace officer/reckless driving, unlawful taking of a vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of resisting a public or peace officer.
Jason Erling Hallstrom, the driver of vehicle, has been charged with felony unlawful taking of a vehicle and a misdemeanor count of resisting a public or peace officer. He remains hospitalized after having undergone surgery.
UPDATE NO. 2, MARCH 25, 2:45 P.M.: Jason Erling Hallstrom passed away around midnight Saturday, according to the Orange County coroner (via Santa Ana Police).
The 41-year-old'a death was blamed on injuries suffered when he and Mock were shot by Santa Ana cops on March 15.
Neither's wounds were originally characterized as life-threatening, and Mock has already been released from the hospital.
The Orange County District Attorney's office is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.