Son Arrested in Father’s Shooting Death : Victim Was Retired Marine Officer Who Practiced Law in Orange

The 25-year-old son of a lawyer who was shot to death in his apartment Wednesday night has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Santa Ana police said Thursday.

Police Lt. Mike Mitchell said Jessie Mike Grimes, 55, was found dead in the upstairs bedroom of his apartment in the 2200 block of North Broadway in Santa Ana. He said witnesses heard a loud argument in the apartment before shots were fired.

Mitchell said police officers found the son, Michael William Grimes, in the apartment. After questioning, the son was booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder and was being held on $250,000 bail.

Police and friends of the family said the father and son shared the apartment.

Mitchell said Jessie Grimes, who had practiced law in Orange since 1981, had been shot three times in the chest. He also said one shot had been fired through the bedroom door before it was kicked in. No murder weapon was recovered, Mitchell said.

The victim, a retired U.S. Marine captain, was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. He is not related to Milton Grimes, a prominent Santa Ana attorney.

Valerie Dufresne, a close friend of Grimes, said she did not know of any difficulty between Grimes and his son.

“I really can’t comment on that,” she said.

Police also were unable to provide a clue to any rift between the father and son that might have led to the shooting.

Dufresne said she and Grimes were among the founders of the Women’s Legal Clinic in Los Angeles in 1978. She said Grimes was a longtime women’s rights activist who served as executive director of the legal clinic until he began his law practice.

Dufresne said Grimes, who was divorced, had encouraged her to attend law school. She now practices law in Costa Mesa.

“I’m absolutely shocked,” Dufresne said inside the victim’s office in the 500 block of North Glassell Street in Orange. She said Grimes “was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known. He was an amazing person. He believed very deeply in women’s rights. He did not have any enemies.”