Police seek suspect in Newport Beach rape case

Deepa Bharath

Police are still looking for a 41-year-old man who they believe fled

after finding out that officers wanted to interview him in connection

with a rape, officials said.

This time “America’s Most Wanted,” a television show that features

people who are wanted by the authorities on suspicion of committing a

crime, will feature Timothy James Marino of Newport Beach, who police

say, raped a 24-year-old woman in his apartment in September. The

show is set to air a week from today.

Marino and his friend, 26-year-old Allen Ward Crocker of Tustin,

took the woman to Marino’s apartment after the three spent the night

of Sept. 14 drinking and bar-hopping in Newport, said Newport Beach

Police Sgt. Steve Shulman.

“The men also made a videotape of the entire incident,” he said.

A jury convicted Crocker in March of felony rape after watching

the tape, which was turned in to police by Crocker’s attorney,

Shulman said. Crocker is awaiting sentencing.

“The videotape clearly shows what happened,” Shulman said. “The

woman seems to be passed out from the alcohol intoxication.”

Marino “was a friend of the victim’s,” he said.

The woman also told police that she remembers part of the incident

because she was slipping in and out of consciousness, but unable to

resist, Shulman said..

Police obtained an arrest warrant for Marino, who they believe may

have fled to Mexico, he said. His bail has been set at $500,000.

Marino abruptly quit his job in Anaheim where he had been working

for 11 years, and also vacated his Newport Beach apartment after

officers scheduled an interview with him, Shulman said.

The show comes on the heels of a jury deadlock in a high-profile

rape case where three teenagers were accused of raping an unconscious

16-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her with various objects, an

act they recorded on videotape.

The girl, identified only as Jane Doe, said she passed out after

drinking a foul-tasting mixed drink handed to her by one of the

defendants. She said she remembered slipping in and out of conscious

and throwing up, but that she did not recall the actual incident.

Jane Doe, who testified during the trial, admitted to having sex with

at least two of the defendants a day before the alleged rape.

Prosecutors in that case believed that the tape showed the

incident in lurid detail, but jurors, who were hopelessly split,

suggested a different interpretation. Jurors, in fact, ended up

voting 11-1 for acquittal on four out of 24 counts.

Producers of “America’s Most Wanted” did not return calls on

Friday.

The police department hopes that the show will bring in a fresh

flow of leads about Marino, Shulman said.

“I don’t think we’ve used this show in recent history,” he said.

“But we’re very thankful that they chose to profile this case and

help us get closer to bringing this person back so justice can be

served.”

Marino is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds,

with brown hair and hazel eyes, and “very muscular.” Anyone with

information about the case or Marino’s whereabouts are asked to call

Det. John Hougan at (949) 644-3771 or the police department’s crime

hotline at (800) 550-6273.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].