Police Spokeswoman Maureen Thomas

A 31-year-old Los Angeles man was shot once in the back while walking Sunday night in Center Park. Robert Martinez was in stable condition Monday at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana after undergoing surgery. Martinez told police he was walking alone through the park, located in the 200 block of South Center Street, when he heard a single gunshot and felt a sharp pain in his back. He called paramedics from a nearby phone booth about 7:20 p.m. Sunday.

A robbery suspect who could not elude a police dog managed to escape from his human captors this morning during treatment for dog bite wounds at a Santa Ana hospital, Santa Ana police said. The suspect, Eric Moore, had been captured under a house on West Cubbon Street by a police dog Monday after Alfredo Torrez, 36, flagged down officers and said two men had taken his wallet and two gold rings, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said.

A security guard at a department store entered a cashier's room Thursday and ran off with 10 money bags containing about $12,500, police said. Donald Ray Young, 31, of Santa Ana was last seen driving off in a blue Cadillac from the Target store at 1330 E. 17th St. after the 9 a.m. robbery, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said. Young, who had worked for about three months as a security guard and doorman at the store, arrived for work as usual at 6 a.m., Thomas said.

An 18-month-old girl run over and killed this week when her father left his car idling in their Santa Ana driveway was identified as Joanna Villa, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said. The accident occurred about 5 p.m. Wednesday when the father got out of car with the engine running to check under the hood, police said. His 3-year-old son, who was in the front seat, shifted the car into reverse just as Joanna walked around to the open door on the driver's side.

Police have released a sketch in the hope that someone can help them identify a woman whose headless body was found last week under a bush in Santiago Park. The woman's severed head was found Sunday in the creek bed of the same park, not far from where the victim's body was discovered. Autopsy results showed the woman died of multiple stab wounds to the neck, police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said. The type of weapon used was not revealed.

Police said Wednesday that they have arrested three youths in connection with the drive-by shooting of a 19-year-old Santa Ana man last month. Two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old from Santa Ana were arrested by juvenile gang investigators Sunday and Tuesday. Two of the suspects face murder charges but the third was released Tuesday because he was not charged, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Maguire said. The two in custody were scheduled for a detainment hearing this week, Maguire said.

A 24-year-old Santa Ana man who was shot twice in the chest early Tuesday died several hours later at a Fountain Valley hospital, authorities said. Francisco Batraes Zelaya died about 3:30 p.m. at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Zelaya was found about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday near the sidewalk outside a residence in the 800 block of South Townsend Street, Santa Ana police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said.

A three-car, chain-reaction accident resulted in what police called the unusual arrest of three drunk-driving suspects in three different cars. The accident occurred about 9 p.m. Monday when three cars traveling eastbound on 1st Street near Broadway collided in the middle lane, according to police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas. Police arrested each driver on suspicion of misdemeanor drunk driving, Thomas said. "This is a clear example of how widespread drunk driving is," she added.

As her husband and their 12 children sat in the living room with four guns trained on them, a Vietnamese woman was shot to death as she prayed beside her bed, Santa Ana police said. Investigators believe that the attack was part of a failed robbery attempt. Five masked gunmen, all believed to be Vietnamese between 16 and 20 years old, charged into the modest home, police said.