FBI: Laguna Niguel Man Who Rammed Federal Employee, Building With Car In Custody
LAGUNA NIGUEL (CBSLA.com) — The parents of a man accused of running over a federal investigator in Laguna Niguel say in court documents that their son was depressed about being in debt to the IRS.
Geoffrey Rickner, 45, of Laguna Niguel was arrested shortly after 4:30 p.m. Thursday outside the Chet Holifield Federal Building in the 24000 block of Avila Road, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department and FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
After the assault, Rickner was taken into custody by officers with the Federal Protective Service, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Rickner's Mercedes also hit the south parking maintenance garage, ending up lodged into the building, Eimiller said.
Rickner was taken into federal custody and being held in Orange County. He may be arraigned in federal court later Friday on the assault charge.
His parents told FBI investigators that their son owed the IRS $200,000 and the agency may have believed their son was hiding assets.
A sheriff's bomb squad also searched the suspect's Mercedes sedan and the general vicinity of the federal property but found no explosive device, Eimiller said.
The man who was struck by the car is expected to survive. No one else was injured.
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