A repeat thief is accused of being under the influence of drugs during a police chase that reached nearly 90 miles per hour on surface streets.
A second-striker who stole Legos from a Fullerton grocery store has been charged with felony gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for hitting and killing an innocent driver after running a red light during a high-speed police pursuit while under the influence of drugs last week. The pursuit reached speeds of nearly 90 miles per hour on surface streets.
Anthony Michael Hanzal, 43, of Anaheim, has also been charged with one felony count of evading a peace officer causing death, and one felony count of petty theft with two prior convictions.
He faces a maximum sentence of 26 years and four months if convicted on all counts. Hanzal is currently being held without bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on January 6, 2025, at the North Justice Center in Fullerton in Department N12.
On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, an undercover Fullerton police officer saw a man, later identified as Hanzal, grabbing boxes of Legos and stuffing them in a bag at a Fullerton Albertsons grocery store and then leaving the store without paying.
The plainclothes officer followed the man’s car in an unmarked police car and called for a marked vehicle to make a traffic stop. When the uniformed police officer tried to pull the suspected thief over, he made a quick right turn onto Brookhurst and sped off.
Hanzal rear-ended a vehicle stopped at a red light and took off, getting on the 91 freeway westbound, before exiting at Knott Avenue in the City of Buena Park, where Buena Park police officers took over the pursuit. The high-speed chase continued through the City of La Palma, where La Palma police officers took over the pursuit, reaching speeds of approximately 90 miles per hour on La Palma Avenue.
At the intersection of La Palma Avenue and Moody Street, Hanzal is accused of running a red light and colliding with the driver’s side of a vehicle, instantly killing 67-year-old Marianne Mildred Casey who was behind the wheel.
The impact of the crash pushed both vehicles into other cars, injuring other bystanders. Hanzal is accused of being under the influence of drugs at the time.
“Enough is enough. Actions have consequences and I am mad as hell that an elderly woman is dead because a drug-addicted repeat thief decided to steal Legos from a grocery store and then lead multiple police agencies on a high-speed chase through Orange County in the middle of the day,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Marianne Casey’s family should be planning their holiday celebrations and instead they are planning a funeral because California’s soft-on-crime policies have created an environment where there is no accountability. Those days are over, and while may be of little comfort to Marianne Casey’s loved ones, if you commit crimes in Orange County, there will be consequences for your actions and there will be justice for victims.”
Deputy District Attorney Devin Campbell of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
Click here for the Full Press Release.
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Categories: Local Government, Local News
This should be a manslaughter for the officer’s involved. Engaging a petty thief in a high-speed chase is far more dangerous and irresponsible than shoplifting a toy.
Stop blaming the officers for doing their jobs. It wasn’t the cops who engaged in a high speed chase, it was the guy running from the cops for something “petty”. This is why crime is out of control, because criminals think that no one will do anything about it when they steal because it was just a “toy”. This POS belongs in jail.
I am just trying to understand. Details about the circumstances surrounding this incident are missing.
1. Was the “undercover officer” on FPD duty at the time?
2. Was he working a private side job as security for Albertson’s?
3. Was he working alone?
4. Was the “unmarked police car” his take home, personal, or a true undercover car?
5. Was the want for Hanzal accurately communicated to Buena Park and La Palma PDs? What *was* communicated to them?
6. What was the value of the stolen Legos? The filed charges suggest it was under $950, and that without his prior convictions (which were presumably unknown at the time of the pursuit) this would have been considered a misdemeanor theft.
I think that these questions should be addressed sooner rather than later. In any case, the appropriate remedy for any alleged deficiencies in the police handling of this matter are civil, not criminal.
Response from Editor: According to the Fullerton Police Departments Public Information Officer Kristy Wells, “The undercover officer was on-duty at the time and working in their police officer capacity. He was alone at the time of the incident in his police department issued undercover vehicle. As with any pursuit, we will conduct a pursuit review/internal affairs investigation to make sure policies were followed.”