NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A man who stole a 60-foot yacht was arrested Thursday after a 10-minute chase that ended with him hitting two other boats and a seawall in Newport Beach harbor, police said.
A report of someone vandalizing a yacht led police to the Pacific Coast Highway shortly after 10 a.m. but when officers arrived they said the suspect jumped into the boat and took off, authorities said.
Dylan Eckardt took video of the boat colliding with a docked sailboat, knocking down its mast.
Debora Dolly was aboard the sailboat when it was struck.
“The entire starboard side came crashing in on me and it didn’t stop. It came once, twice, three times,” she told KCBS-TV.
Dolly said she hit her head but otherwise was fine.
After hitting the sailboat, the boat backed up, circled and, pursued by the Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol, continued through the harbor until it hit another parked vessel then slammed into a wall beside a bridge.
Joel Siam, 38, of San Diego was arrested on suspicion of grand theft of a boat and possession of a stolen boat and was jailed on $3 million bail, authorities said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
The yacht was in a dock for maintenance and the keys were inside when it was taken, sheriff's deputies told KNBC-TV.
The owner of the stolen boat told the station that it was bought new in August and was to be used for a charter business. The owner also said a half-bottle of tequila from inside the yacht was now gone.
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This story has been corrected to show Siam is 38 years old, not 33..
