A 37-year-old man was charged with attempted murder and several other felonies as Orange County prosecutors accuse him of shooting and permanently paralyzing someone in a Stater Bros. parking lot in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Rodney Otis Rich pleaded not guilty Thursday, Aug. 20 to the charges against him that include one felony count each of attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a stolen and loaded gun in public, and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, according to a criminal complaint.
In April 2021, the complaint says, he was convicted of making a criminal threat.
He also faces felony sentencing enhancements for causing brain injury and paralysis to the victim, premeditating the attempted murder, and causing great bodily injury, prosecutors said.
Rich and his mother, 63-year-old Tamie Sue Walker, were additionally charged with resisting and obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor.
Officers responded around 7:35 a.m. Tuesday to the grocery store in the 2100 block of Newport Boulevard, where they found someone who had been shot in the parking lot. Authorities have not provided the victim’s gender or age.
The victim was hospitalized in critical condition, said Roxi Fyad, a spokesperson for Costa Mesa police.
Later that day, just before 3 p.m., police went to an apartment complex just blocks away, where they arrested Rich and Walker.
Rich was being held without bail, while Walker was released without needing to post bond, according to court records. She also pleaded not guilty on Thursday.