Huntington Beach police search for homicide suspect after victim dies from injuries

Huntington Beach police are searching for a suspect they believe was involved in an early Sunday morning homicide near the intersection of Olive Avenue and Main Street, where a man was discovered with significant injuries that resulted in his death.

Patrol officers responded to the scene at around 2 a.m. alongside firefighters, who provided medical aid and transported the man to a local hospital. The victim — identified by coroner’s officials Wednesday as Rozzalle Lamont Hellens, 29, of Anaheim, according to sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Matthew Parrish — later succumbed to his injuries.

Detectives from HBPD’s Major Crimes Unit took over the investigation, and evidence located at the scene indicates the homicide was an isolated incident and does not constitute an ongoing threat to the public, the release stated.

Department spokeswoman Jessica Cuchilla declined to give any further information on the victim, his injuries or the search for suspects but did indicate that police closed down the entire 200 block of Main Street for a period of about six hours to process the scene.

Storefronts in the vicinity were allowed to open for business on Sunday. One proprietor — Longboard Restaurant & Bar, located at 217 Main St. — posted on social media that the incident took place in front of the restaurant.

“A tragic event took place in front of our building early Sunday morning. Investigators had part of our street closed until mid-afternoon,� one post on Instagram reads.

“We appreciate the outpouring of concern through texts, calls and messages that we received from our HB family. Thank you to all that raced to The Longboard once we were open yesterday afternoon to show your support! We LOVE our community!�

While his cause of death remains unclear, Hellens was not unknown to Orange County law enforcement, according to court records and news reports.

In 2022, he pleaded guilty to several felony counts of assault and child abuse and endangerment stemming from a May 2021 domestic incident at his Anaheim home, according to City News Service. Orange County Superior Court records indicate he was sentenced to serve three years in state prison, with three additional sentence terms running concurrently.

Other convictions include a 2018 incident of misdemeanor reckless driving and driving when the privilege has been suspended or revoked, along with failure to provide proof of financial responsibility. In 2019, the Daily Breeze reported Hellens, then living in Garden Grove, led police on a high-speed pursuit that resulted in a collision injuring others. No court records were available on that prior incident.

Anyone who may have information related to Sunday’s incident is asked to call Det. Sgt. Anthony Pham at (714) 878-5640. Anonymous tips may be made by calling OC Crime Stoppers at (855) 847-6227.