Man suspected of crashing stolen yacht had prior assault charge in San Diego, mental health referral

A San Diego man in jail on suspicion of stealing a yacht Thursday and crashing into several vessels in Newport Harbor is facing multiple felony charges, including grand theft, vandalism and battery with serious bodily injury.

Joel Praneet Siam, 38, is scheduled to appear in a Santa Ana courtroom later this week to answer to eight felony counts of vandalism causing damage above $400, as well as grand theft and receiving a stolen vehicle. Prosecutors are seeking an additional felony enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury.

Thursday’s incident isn’t Siam’s first brush with the law. Court records indicate he was previously charged in San Diego County with assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from an alleged Aug. 5, 2020 attack of another man with a skateboard, and referred to a pretrial diversion program for people with serious mental illness.

He is currently still enrolled in the two-year program after being granted entry by a judge on Oct. 19 and could be forced to face criminal charges should his diversion be determined unsuccessful, a spokeswoman with the San Diego County district attorney’s office confirmed Tuesday.

Siam’s more recent tangle with Orange County prosecutors comes after an act of vandalism escalated to include a joyride on a 60-foot yacht that ended after the vessel collided into a seawall near the Lido Island Bridge, a sheriff’s spokesman reported.

After cruising at high speeds and in reckless patterns along a portion of Newport Bay, Siam allegedly crashed the yacht into a seawall, causing the vessel to become disabled. Debora Dolly, who was aboard one of the vessels the yacht struck, told CBS2 the force of the collision caused part of her boat to crash in on her and hit her head, though she was not seriously hurt, City News Service reported.

Siam was taken into custody by deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol Division and transferred into the custody of the Newport Beach Police Department, which oversaw his booking. He is being held on $3 million bail, according to court records.

Although an online prison inmate locator maintained by the sheriff’s department indicates Siam’s profession as “CEO,” his LinkedIn profile claims he graduated from San Diego State University in hospitality administration in 2008 and most recently worked as an account manager for AT&T, a position that ended in January 2020.

Tanya Sierra, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County district attorney’s office said Tuesday Siam initially faced up to four years in state prison for charges filed in 2020 but was selected to participate in the mental health diversion program.

Announced in July 2020, the program was created to reduce the number of people who cycle through psychiatric crises and jail due to untreated mental illness by steering them toward treatment options. If a defendant successfully completes the program and is diverted, his or her case is dismissed with no jail time served.

“If not successful at any point during the diversionary period, criminal proceedings can be reinstated,” Sierra said in an email Tuesday. “Then, it would be set for preliminary hearing or jury trial depending on what stage the case was in when diversion was granted.”

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