Police Probe Shifts to the Beating Tape

Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials concluded Tuesday that deputies did not use excessive force detaining an alleged car thief in Dana Point, a weekend incident videotaped by a bystander who has since made $5,000 selling the footage to television stations.

Instead, authorities said, they are concentrating their investigation into whether the suspect, Vincent Anthony Presta, 31, and the cameraman, Scott Enyeart, 35, provoked the incident as a money-making effort. Investigators have offered no evidence linking the men.

Enyeart, a hospital worker from Dana Point who shoots surf videos as a hobby, angrily denied knowing or having any relationship with Presta. “It’s not staged,” said Enyeart. “I’ve never met him.”

The video shows deputies breaking an SUV’s window, pulling Presta out, and then raising clubs, apparently striking the man several times.

Authorities said the force used appears to be appropriate because Presta refused to get out of the car and was “taunting” deputies, said Assistant Sheriff George Jaramillo.

“This is a guy wreaking havoc in the neighborhood,” Jaramillo said. “He has a long and violent history, and we’ve been dealing with him since he was a kid.”

Presta has served prison time for assault, possession of a weapon and receiving stolen property, according to California Department of Corrections records.

Officials said they needed to talk to witnesses and review a videotape shot from a camera mounted in one of the squad cars. Investigators do not have a copy of Enyeart’s video but said they had seen it.

The Sunday evening incident began as investigators collected evidence of a burglary and auto theft in the 23800 block of Street of the Violet Lantern. Deputies said Presta drove by in a car matching the stolen one.

With deputies following, Presta pulled into a drive at an apartment complex, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.

In the three-minute video, deputies are heard ordering Presta to get out of the vehicle but he refuses. Presta can be seen rolling down his window and then quickly rolling it back up after being doused with pepper spray.

Enyeart said he could see deputies smash the window with a baton, open the door and drag Presta out of the car. He said one of the deputies struck Presta about five times with a baton.

Presta was taken to Western Medical Center-Anaheim but refused treatment for arm and leg injuries, officials said. He is being held on suspicion of grand theft auto and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $10,000.

Enyeart said he was on his way to see the movie “Terminator 3” when he saw deputies speeding down the street. He said he stopped to investigate and grabbed the video camera he keeps in his car to record surfing action. Initially, he said, he placed a $10,000 price tag on the tape but lowered it when news crews lost interest. He ended up selling it to five TV stations at $1,000 each.