Suspect in Assault on Officer Misses Hearing

A man accused of assaulting a Newport Beach police officer failed to appear at a probation hearing last week for an unrelated case in Riverside County, authorities said.

Newport Beach police said Jeffrey Wayne Minor, 30, of Irvine, may be in hiding.

Minor is scheduled to appear at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach on Thursday on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a Newport Beach police officer.

On Dec. 20, Officer Kristen O’Donnell stopped Minor on suspicion of drunk driving. Minor sped away, dragging O’Donnell 77 feet as she clung to the car, police said. She suffered minor injuries but has returned to patrol duty.

Authorities said Minor has a history of alcohol-related offenses.

“He’s dangerous when he starts drinking,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDermott said. “From all indications, he continues on a path of self-destruction. It’s very easy for him to take somebody with him.”

Police said Minor may be hiding in Riverside County, where he has friends and relatives.

Minor failed to appear at a hearing in Riverside last week in connection with a 1993 vehicular manslaughter conviction.

Minor’s father, Wayne M. Minor of Riverside County, said Monday he hopes his son will turn himself in.

Wayne Minor said his son may be distraught over his recent divorce from his wife of eight years. She recently moved to Utah, he said, taking the couple’s two young children.