Photo: Jon Paul Worden
On May 31, 2020, Santa Ana police officers were present in the area of Ross and 4th Street during a protest. While there, they observed a man throwing mortars at officers.
That evening, police saw the same man in the area of Birch and 4th Street. Officers saw the suspect lift his shirt and brandish a firearm at protesters. They observed the suspect leave in a car, at which point officers followed him.
some of the stash
A traffic stop was attempted but the driver ignored the officers and began driving erratically. Officers backed off for the safety of other drivers and drove the 2600 block of West Stanford Street, to the address to which the car was registered.
The car and both occupants of the car were located. One suspect was observed by Orange County Sheriff’s Airship “Duke” trying to leave through the back but he was detained by police officers.
The driver, the same man observed at the protest, was identified as 32-year old Jon Paul Worden. The passenger during the pursuit was his father.
A granted search warrant allowed officers to recover from the residence four AR-15 style assault weapons, one short barreled shotgun, three handguns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, several high capacity magazines, bullet proof, load bearing tactical vests, and over 600 pounds of illegal fireworks and mortars.
Worden was arrested for felon in possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of high capacity magazines, and assault with a deadly weapon on an officer. He was booked at the Orange County Men’s Jail and released on June 2, 2020.
