Man murdered his girlfriend and lead police on a chase, this is how it ended

credit: Jeff Harding

A man wanted in connection with a homicide in Riverside County was shot and killed during an officer-involved shooting on the Newport Beach Pier after driving onto the pier while fleeing from police Saturday morning, authorities said.

The man, whose identity has not been released by police, is suspected of committing a homicide in Menifee in the early morning, according to Santa Ana Police Department Officer Natalie Garcia, a spokeswoman for the agency. The pier will remain shut down for "several hours" as multiple law enforcement agencies respond, she said, calling the investigation "very complex."

At 6:10 a.m., Menifee Police Department officers asked Santa Ana police to assist in finding the suspect, whom they identified as 45-year-old Jose Velasquez, and taking him into custody, Garcia said. Officers responded to the 1400 block of Freeman Street in the city of Santa Ana and found him in a vehicle, she said, leading to a pursuit that traveled through multiple cities before ending on the pier 12 miles away.