Armored Vest on Victim Like Butter to Rifle

Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Riches never had a chance, fellow officers said Sunday.

Riches was wearing what is known as a bulletproof vest early Saturday morning as he pulled up to a Lake Forest 7-Eleven, but it was easily pierced by more than 12 bullets from an AK-47-style rifle fired by a gunman who allegedly boasted that he was armed to protect himself against “pigs.”

The deputy’s death underscores again that police have little protection against high-powered weaponry. In early 1997, two heavily armed bank robbers wounded 10 Los Angeles police officers and two civilians during a shootout in North Hollywood.

Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Ray Wert, who formerly worked alongside the slain deputy, said a vest such as the one Riches wore may as well be tissue paper when hit by rifle fire.

The AK-47 rifle is “a weapon of war,” Wert said. “Nothing short of armor plating is going to stop a bullet at that speed. People claim that it’s a hunting rifle. It’s not. Those are devastating weapons.”

Sheriff’s weapons instructor Jack Leahy said the toughest vest that patrol deputies are issued can stop, at most, a bullet from a .44 Magnum handgun.

Neither of the vests used by patrol officers, which are made by Top-Line USA, can withstand a shot from even a hunting rifle, he said. The department’s older vests are made of Kevlar, which boasts more tensile strength than steel. Newer ones are made of an even tougher material, called Spectra Shield, which is 10 times stronger than steel, according to company literature.

“You’d have to wear a 40- or 50-pound tactical vest” to stop fire from an assault weapon, Leahy said. That type of vest is issued to members of the Sheriff’s Special Weapons and Tactics Teams but would be impractical for patrol deputies, he said.

“You can’t walk around the street all day with a 40-pound [vest] on your body,” Leahy said.

Wearing body armor is always a trade-off for police officers: Heavier vests that cover more of the body can restrict movement.

Many deputies say they feel defenseless against the type of assault weapon used to kill Riches.

“We’re outgunned here,” Sheriff’s Deputy Andre Spencer said. “These violent criminals are getting some serious weapons, armor-piercing weapons.”

Spencer identified Maurice Gerald Steskal as a suspect in Riches’ killing when he recalled arresting Steskal three months ago.

As of Sunday, it was unclear how Steskal, an unemployed laborer, allegedly acquired the AK-47-style rifle used to kill Riches.

No such weapon is registered to Steskal, said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer.

Officials did not say whether the weapon used to kill Riches is one of the 75 gun types outlawed by manufacturer or model in California.

Steskal has had run-ins with the police before, but it could not be determined Sunday whether he had ever been convicted. It is illegal for ex-convicts to carry firearms.

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Times Community News reporter Jason Kandel contributed to this report.

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Stopping a Bullet

Bulletproof vests such as those worn by sheriff’s deputies are designed to protect officers from handgun assault. They may not protect against high-velocity rifle fire. How a vest works:

1. Vest “catches” bullet

2. Energy is dispersed across wide surface

3. Bullet flattens and stops

Sources: First Defense International Group, Orange County Sheriff’s Department