SANTA ANA – The Mexican government is condemning the police killings of three of its citizens in the United States, including the Santa Ana shooting of Ernesto Javier Canepa Diaz on Friday.

On Monday, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it had called on the U.S. Justice Department to look at the cases for suspected excessive force.

Canepa’s family on Tuesday asked for justice as law enforcement agencies investigated the fatal shooting.

“I want those people who killed him to be punished,” said a tearful Selene Canepa, Ernesto’s sister.

Canepa’s family members gathered at their attorney’s Tustin office Tuesday and described him as a giving and loving person.

Canepa, who family said worked two jobs, was a dedicated father of four children.

“He didn’t deserve to die this way,” Selene Canepa said.

Santa Ana police on Tuesday said Canepa was the suspect in a Feb. 13 robbery in which he was accused of snatching a gold chain off a 63-year-old woman while she was loading her grandchildren into a car.

Police Chief Carlos Rojas said the robbery occurred in the 2300 block of N. Louise St., an area where a network of private video cameras caught a white Dodge Charger leaving the area.

Police were led to Ernesto Canepa on Friday through a description from the robbery victim and the footage of the vehicle, Rojas said.

Police located the vehicle and tried to approach him, Rojas said.

“We do know he became uncooperative at some point,” Rojas said.

Rojas said police found a replica firearm inside the car.

“Whether that (the replica handgun) had anything to do with why the officer used deadly force, we don’t know. That will be up for the District Attorney’s Office to determine,” Rojas said.

Arturo Sanchez, a spokesman with the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana, said the Consulate sent a letter on Sunday to the District Attorney’s Office, advising that they be informed of the investigation’s results.

The statement from the Mexican government calls on the Santa Ana Police Department to establish measures to repair relations with the community, as Canepa is the third case of a Mexican national to be shot and killed by police in a month.

The three incidents, according to the statement, “cannot be seen in an isolated manner.”

On Feb. 20, Grapevine, Texas, police fatally shot unarmed 31-year-old Ruben Garcia Villalpando on the roadside.

On Feb. 10, police in Pasco, Wash., fatally shot a homeless 35-year-old Antonio Zambrano-Montes. Police said he was throwing rocks.

Canepa had several misdemeanor violations, and no previous felonies, according to court records.

Staff writer Scott Schwebke and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: amolina@ocregister.com