Irvine police have arrested a 29-year-old transient man suspected of punching a woman he was dating before forcing her out of her car and then taking off in the vehicle, the department announced Thursday.
The alleged domestic violence and carjacking occurred about 7 a.m. on Tuesday as suspect Tarrin Joseph Rippel drove the woman’s car in the area of Alton Parkway and Jeffrey Road, said Farrah Emami of the Irvine Police Department.
The victim — who suffered a bloody nose, a cut above her eye, bruising and a black eye — was taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries, Emami said.
Detectives investigating the case learned that Rippel was possibly in Cypress and on Wednesday, police in that city located the victim’s car in a residential neighborhood, Emami said.
Detectives spotted Rippel about 1 p.m. Wednesday as he exited a residence and got into the driver’s seat of the stolen vehicle and arrested him without incident, Emami said.
— City News Service