Suspected tire thief couldn’t wheel himself away

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- He allegedly had more wheels than he needed, but it

didn’t help his driving any.

Early Friday, two police officers and a man caught in the act of

stealing tires were injured when the man rammed his truck head on into

the patrol car, officials said.

Richard Dennis Starling, 31, of Buena Park was removing wheels from a

Lexus parked in the Promontory Point condominium complex, police said.

When Starling saw the two officers walking toward him, he dropped what

he was doing and ran to his 1986 Nissan pickup truck parked nearby, said

Newport Beach Police Lt. Doug Fletcher.

He then drove straight into the Chevy Tahoe patrol unit, he said.

“It looks like he did it intentionally,” Fletcher said. “But we don’t

know why he did it. It could be anything from anger or rage to trying to

distract the officers. It’s hard to speculate.”

Officers Charles Freeman, 42, and Rachel Hall, 29, were treated at

Hoag Hospital for minor injuries.

Starling was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he is

still receiving treatment for a collapsed lung, broken ribs and other

injuries, police said.

As of Friday, he was listed in stable condition. But Fletcher said

police haven’t yet questioned him because he is still under medication.

After his release from the hospital, Starling will be booked at the

Orange County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a police

officer and attempted grand theft.

Fletcher said Newport Beach police are investigating the theft, but

the collision is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol’s

Major Accident Investigation Team, according to standard procedure.Both

grand theft and assault are felonies, but the severity of Starling’s

punishment would depend largely on his prior criminal record, of which

nothing is known yet, Fletcher said.

“But in most cases, assault on [police] officers increases the

penalty,” he said. “He may even be sentenced to serve time in state

prison.”