Woman Jailed in Alleged Attack on Ex-Friend’s Father

A woman acquitted of trying to kill a Palos Verdes Estates woman she met while both were Girl Scout counselors has been arrested for allegedly assaulting the woman’s father.

Patricia Louise Shelter, 27, of Moreno Valley in Riverside County was arrested Sept. 9 after she allegedly attacked Jack Ruzicka with a knife at his home, authorities said.

Shelter later pleaded not guilty to one charge of assault with a deadly weapon and faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday in South Bay Municipal Court. On Friday, Shelter was in custody in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Shelter’s attorney could not be reached.

In July, a Torrance jury found Shelter not guilty of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon after she allegedly stabbed Ruzicka’s daughter, Heather, in the thigh outside the family’s home last December, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Sandra Buttitta.

In an interview, Jack Ruzicka said Shelter had been hiding behind a garage and surprised his daughter, who managed to escape by running into the family’s home. The family’s dogs chased Shelter away, he said.

During the trial, however, various members of Shelter’s family testified that Shelter was elsewhere when the alleged attack occurred, according to prosecutors.

Jack Ruzicka said his daughter, who has since married, met Shelter in 1988 while both were serving as Girl Scout counselors at a summer camp. When summer ended, the two decided to get an apartment together in Riverside.

Several months later, however, his daughter, now 21, decided to move out after Shelter made sexual advances toward her, Ruzicka said. Then, throughout 1989, his daughter received threatening phone calls and letters from Shelter, he said.

Last week’s alleged attack occurred shortly after Ruzicka and his wife, Gail, had returned from vacation, Palos Verdes Estates Police Chief Gary Johansen said. After hearing someone at the front door, Ruzicka opened the door, and Shelter attempted to stab him, Johansen said.

Ruzicka managed to shut and lock the door while his wife ran next door to call police, Johansen said.

After Ruzicka had also fled the house, Shelter got inside by breaking a small window next to the front door, he said.

Johansen said Shelter was later arrested inside the house. Officers recovered five knives from Shelter and found two more inside her car, which was parked a short distance away, he said.

Ruzicka said that after he fled the house, he looked through a window and saw Shelter walk over to a piano where his daughter’s picture was displayed. She stabbed numerous holes in the picture, he said.