Guido Enjoying His New Life in Corona : Retarded Teen-ager Injured in Irvine Gets Over His Nervousness

After moving from Irvine to Corona last August, one of the first things the Rodriguez family did was visit the local police.

Guido and Fara Rogriguez wanted to make sure that officers patrolling the family’s new neighborhood would know that their 19-year-old son, who had lost a kidney after a scuffle with Irvine police four months earlier, was autistic.

“They were very nice about it,” Rodriguez said of their visit to the station. “They introduced him to the officers and took his picture.”

Offered Police Suggestions

Later, Rodriguez was invited to address a roll-call meeting of the officers, to recount the incident involving his son in Irvine and to suggest ways in which the police could deal with other learning-disabled people.

On April 21, 1985, a sunny Sunday afternoon, Guido Rodriguez Jr., then 18, was riding his bicycle not far from his home. An officer on routine patrol would write later in her report that his actions were “suspicious,” that he refused to answer her questions and then fled.

As Guido rode back toward his house, later abandoning his bicycle and running down the street screaming, the officer radioed for help, warning that the young man may have stolen the bicycle and may have been under the influence of drugs.

A second officer cornered Guido in the family garage, where he was calling for his mother. Despite Fara Rodriguez’s cries that her son was retarded, the second officer grappled with Guido and threw him onto a rocky area of the front lawn. When Guido’s father arrived and repeated his wife’s warnings, Guido was released.

Three days later, after Guido complained about blood in his urine for what his parents said was the first time in his life, his kidney was removed.

The two police officers, along with a third who assisted in the arrest, were cleared of any wrongdoing following investigations by the Irvine Police Department and the Orange County district attorney’s office. According to the latter, the kidney was nephrotic, or congenitally enlarged, and would have had to be removed eventually.

Settlement Reached

The Rodriguez family’s $10-million damage claim against the City of Irvine was rejected, and they sued for $20 million. In February, the city and the family settled for $250,000, a figure confirmed by sources on both sides.

Rodriguez said that the money has been invested in a long-term trust for his son, who has a mental age of about 5.

These days, the tightknit, religious family lives a quiet life in a spacious Corona house.

“We looked for a peaceful-type place where Guido wouldn’t be nervous,” said his father, a native of Cuba who came to the United States in 1960. Rodriguez sold his Irvine computer business and now works as a consultant from an office in the house.

“If the incident hadn’t happened,” said Fara Rodriguez, “we would still be there. We felt uncomfortable there (afterward). Guido wouldn’t go to the front door.”

Within a month of the move, she said, “he was more relaxed. He loves this place, especially the house.”

An only child, Guido spends his time these days walking around the neighborhood, visiting a nearby dairy farm and listening to rock ‘n’ roll music on his stereo. Like his mother, one of Guido’s favorite artists is Elvis Presley.

Fully recovered from surgery and no longer in school, he works in the garden, mows the lawn, and goes shopping with his parents. They also take him bowling, and he bowled in the Special Olympics.

“I keep him busy,” his mother said.

The second of Guido’s two bicycles, which the boy never touched after the Irvine incident, was sold last week, Rodriguez said.

When the family took a vacation to Florida, Guido went along.

“Guido goes with us wherever we go,” Rodriguez said. “We never leave him with anybody.”

“We’re kind of overprotective,” his mother said.

Takes Care of Himself

With company at the dinner table, Guido smiles but says little. He understands English, but prefers to use Spanish at home. By and large, he takes care of himself, including shaving each day with a razor.

In many areas, such as what music to play, “he makes his own decisions,” his mother said.

He does not like to return to Irvine, even to go to his dentist. Whenever he hears the city’s name, he says, “No Irvine, no Irvine.” Yet Guido is able to go through his family’s scrapbook full of articles on the case and view videotapes of the news coverage without becoming upset.

On Saturday, seven of Guido’s teachers from the special schools he had attended in Buena Park and Fountain Valley joined a cookout at the Rodriguez home.

“We’re having a beautiful time,” Rodriguez said. “Guido’s in seventh heaven.”