An early morning encounter turned potentially deadly when a 27-year-old man, Solomon Cottrell of Los Alamitos, was arrested for allegedly firing at an off-duty police officer's car in Orange County. The event occurred near Jamboree Road and Barranca Parkway around 2:06 a.m. on Tuesday.
According to the Irvine Police Department, the off-duty officer observed Cottrell driving erratically, which raised suspicion of driving under the influence. The officer proceeded to follow the suspect's vehicle pending the arrival of on-duty officers. The situation escalated when Cottrell confronted the officer after driving on the wrong side of the road, at which point Cottrell, is said to have begun yelling obscenities.
To de-escalate the situation, the officer attempted to leave the scene, yet Cottrell ostensibly followed, eventually swerving towards the officer's vehicle. A purported gunshot was heard by the officer as he drove past Hearthstone on Irvine Center Drive, followed by Cottrell executing a U-turn and fleeing the scene.
While Cottrell managed to vanish from the location, the responding officers did find a shell casing at the intersection, substantiating the officer's report of a gunshot. Building upon this evidence, authorities utilized databases to identify Cottrell and subsequently located his Nissan Altima at the Pechanga Resort Casino's parking structure in Riverside County, as reported by KTLA.
When taken into custody at the casino, Cottrell was accompanied by a female passenger, who was initially detained but later released. Within the vehicle, law enforcement discovered a weapon that is believed to have been used in the incident and matched the caliber of the found casing. Cottrell is now facing attempted murder charges and has been transported to the Orange County Jail.
As the investigation proceeds, the Irvine Police Department encourages anyone with pertinent information to contact Detective Rebecca Steen at 949-724-7170 or via email at [email protected]. Full details of the case remain limited as the inquiry into these severe allegations of violence against an officer of the law is ongoing.
