Maid Hit Over Head in Burglary; Man Held

Police arrested a 25-year-old man Tuesday on suspicion of breaking into a home and hitting a woman over the head with a ceramic bowl.

Richard Wayne Dowling, described by police as a transient, was booked into the Huntington Beach City Jail on charges of residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and a parole violation, Fountain Valley police said.

According to police, Dowling broke into a home in the 9200 block of Honeysuckle Avenue in Fountain Valley through an upstairs bathroom window, where he found two women who were cleaning the house. When the women tried to flee, the suspect hit one of them on the head with the bowl.

The victims ran to a nearby residence and called police. Dowling was arrested as he attempted to break the garage door window of another home on nearby Daffodil Street. Police say he was trying to break into that residence as well.

The 39-year-old victim of the assault was treated and released from a local hospital.