Woman fights off assailant

Deepa Bharath

A 40-year-old woman assaulted by a man in her garage Wednesday

afternoon fought off the intruder and warded off a possible robbery,

officials said.

The incident is the third in a rash of similar incidents in

Newport Beach, all targeting women entering their homes and wearing

expensive jewelry, Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

The victim in Wednesday’s incident was returning from a shopping

trip in Irvine to her home in the 700 block of Narcissus Avenue at

about 3:30 p.m., he said.

“She pulled into her garage and the garage door was closing,”

Shulman said. “But then it suddenly started going back up, and the

man entered the garage and punched her in the face.”

He said officials don’t know if the man demanded anything from the

woman, but that she started retaliating right away. A weapon was “not

seen,” he said.

“But apparently she fought pretty well,” Shulman said.

The man then ran out of the garage and fled the area either by car

or by foot, he said. The woman suffered minor injuries and went to

the hospital for a check up, he said.

Shulman said the attacker probably physically pushed the garage

door up or must have activated a child safety sensor that

automatically opened up the door for him. He said it is likely that

the man followed her home.

Shulman said that although the woman managed to fight off her

attacker, it is not the recommended reaction in such a situation.

“Generally speaking, we wouldn’t suggest putting up a fight,

because you never know how the other person is going to react,”

Shulman said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

A similar incident happened on June 10, when an 85-year-old woman

was pushed to the ground and robbed in her Dover Shores home right

after she had parked her car in her garage.

That incident was much like another robbery that occurred on Lido

Isle on May 15. In that case, a 55-year-old woman was hit on the head

with an unknown object and robbed in her driveway after returning

from a shopping trip.

The intruder in both cases took expensive jewelry from the women.

All three incidents happened in the afternoon.

Shulman said similar incidents have been reported in Huntington

Beach. Newport Beach police are working with investigators from that

city to solve the case.

Meanwhile, he said, residents must take precautions to protect

themselves from such attacks.

“Don’t wear expensive jewelry in public if it’s avoidable,”

Shulman said. “Be aware if someone is following you. If you think

someone is following you, drive to the police department, or call

police with the license plate number of the vehicle that’s following

you.”

The attacker is only described as a man wearing a black jacket and

same color shirt and hat. Those with information about any of the

incidents are asked to call the Newport Beach Police Detective

Division at (949) 644-3790.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].