GREG HARDESTY
ocregister.com
SANTA ANA – Donations continue to pour in for a disabled Vietnam War veteran who, days after arriving in Orange County last week, was robbed of money he was going to use as a deposit on an apartment.
Michael Neal Shaurette, 62, was left virtually penniless late March 15 after two men robbed him of $880 as he sat in his wheelchair at a bus stop in Santa Ana, waiting for a ride to a nearby motel.
Michael Neil Shaurette, a wheelchair-bound Vietnam veteran, recounts being robbed by two large men in Santa Ana last week.
One suspect, former Orange County high school basketball star Bobby Joyce, 41, has been arrested and charged with felony second-degree robbery. Joyce is due in court Friday for a pre-trial hearing.
The other suspect remains at large, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The plight of Shaurette, who grew up in Orange County but has spent the last several years living in Colorado, touched readers and viewers who learned about the robbery in the Orange County Register and on TV.
"We keep getting (donations) every day," Bertagna said. "We had three or four calls Tuesday."
Money for Shaurette, whose doctor urged him to return to a warmer climate because of his nerve disease, is being routed to the Santa Ana Police Department Foundation. So far, the public safety organization has collected several times over what Shaurette was robbed of, Bertagna said.
Those who want to donate money to Shaurette can click on a wheelchair icon on the foundation's website, sapdf.org.
After he was robbed, Shaurette had no money and nowhere to stay. A victims' service unit of the Santa Ana Police Department came up with money to allow him to stay in a motel through the end of March, Bertagna said.
Shaurette lives off of disability checks and won't receive his next check until April 4.
Shaurette served in the Vietnam War as part of his U.S. Army service from 1966 to 1972. He has been in a wheelchair for two years because of his disease, acute peripheral neuropathy. He also has a broken ankle he can't afford to fix.
Now, with a few thousand dollars set aside for him, Shaurette is considering his housing options, said William F. "Bill" Cunningham Jr., executive director of the Santa Ana Police Department Foundation.
Shaurette may rent an apartment but is considering low-income housing options offered through organizations like VetsFirst, according to Cunningham.
"We're hoping to help him set up a new life in Santa Ana," he said.
The foundation isn't pumping cash into Shaurette's pockets directly, but is working with veteran organizations to figure out which housing, food voucher, training and other programs will serve him best in the long-term, Cunningham said.
Ideas being floated around include buying Shaurette a more modern wheelchair.
Donations mostly have come from individuals and have ranged from $1 to $500, according to Cunningham. This week, the Patriot Guard Riders, a nationwide motorcycle club whose members support war veterans, gave the foundation a $601 check earmarked for Shaurette.
"Here's a guy who served his country, and who had returned to Orange County and was only here a couple of days before being robbed," Bertagna said. "Based on those I've talked to on the phone, a lot of people want him to know that not all of Orange County is like this."
Because a suspect in the robbery still is at large, police aren't divulging where Shaurette is staying.
The robbery occurred at around 8:15 p.m. in the 300 block of E. First Street on March 15.
Bloodhounds led to the arrest of Joyce a few hours later at the Flagstone Motel in Tustin.
Joyce, who played basketball at UNLV after his glory days at Santa Ana High School, has a lengthy rap sheet and has spent time in state prison for drug offenses.
Cunningham is pleased the public has stepped up to help out Shaurette.
"We're excited for him," he said. "We're going to do some real good things for this guy."
Contact the writer: 714-704-3764 or ghardesty@ocregister.com