Suspect Has History of Drunk Driving : Arrested in Connection With Doctor’s Traffic Accident Death

A 34-year-old Solana Beach man who is being held without bail in connection with the hit-and-run death of popular Rancho Santa Fe physician has a history of drunk-driving charges and has had his driver’s license suspended twice since 1985, state Department of Motor Vehicles records indicate.

Jeffrey A. Hinrichs, 34, of the 300 block of Barbara Avenue in Solana Beach, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony vehicular manslaughter. Sheriff’s deputies also booked him on suspicion of driving under the influence, felony hit-and-run driving, felony drunk driving, driving with a suspended license and evading arrest.

Hinrichs is being held in the County Jail in Vista pending the filing of formal charges.

Dr. Anthony Armino, 51, was riding his bicycle south along Old Highway 101 in Encinitas Wednesday morning when he was struck by Hinrichs’ car shortly before 5 a.m., authorities said.

Armino died at Sharp Memorial Hospital at 8:45 a.m. after suffering multiple head and chest injuries, a coroner’s deputy said.

Seen by Witness

Hinrichs was arrested a short time later at San Elijo Avenue and Dublin Lane by deputies who had received a description of his car from a witness to the accident, Deputy George Gardner said.

Gardner said Hinrichs led deputies on a brief chase that started at the intersection of Chesterfield Drive and San Elijo Avenue and ended when Hinrichs lost control of his car and hit a tree at Dublin Lane.

Gardner said the windshield on Hinrichs 1979 Chevrolet was apparently shattered by the impact of Armino’s body, which was thrown over the car in the crash.

According to DMV records, Hinrichs has been convicted on a number of vehicular violations, including drunk driving, over the past three years.

- On Feb. 22, 1985, the DMV suspended his license after his failure to appear in court for a 1984 speeding ticket.

- On Dec. 16, 1985, he was convicted in San Diego on a charge of reckless driving and driving without a license.

- Hinrichs was convicted of drunk driving in San Diego in February, 1986.

- In the City of Vista, Hinrichs was cited Nov. 7, 1986, for driving with a suspended license.

- He was cited again in Vista on Jan. 20, 1987, for driving with a suspended license.

- Then on June 8, 1987, he was convicted in Vista for drunk driving with a suspended license.

Hinrichs also was cited in Oregon for speeding on July 8, 1986.

A DMV spokesman said according to state records Hinrichs served jail time for some of the offenses. But he said the computer did not specify the terms of the sentences or fines.

Linda Rockey, Armino’s secretary of eight years, said the accident was the doctor’s third in eight years.

About seven years ago, she said, he collided with a jogger in Rancho Santa Fe and suffered a broken collar bone and pelvis.

In another incident about five years ago, the doctor’s bicycle crashed head-on with a car on Old Highway 101, she said. He refractured his collar bone and pelvis, she said.

Avid Cyclist

“He was a very avid biker,” Rockey said, adding that Armino cycled about 50 miles each day as a form of exercise and as a hobby. She said he had been biking at least eight years.

Rockey said the doctor was scheduled to be in his Solana Beach office on the 500 block of Lomas Sante Fe Drive at 8 a.m.

Armino came to California 22 years ago from New Jersey, Rockey said. He lived with his wife, Marilyn, in Rancho Sante Fe and had six children.

Rockey said Armino opened the 6,000-square-foot Solana Beach Medical Center last October and had a roster of some 2,000 families. She said he had been practicing medicine in the Solana Beach area more than 20 years.

“It was the most loyal practice I’ve ever been around,” she said.