The tale of an alleged yacht theft attempt in Newport Beach has a sense of déjà vu.

Richard Marco Rodriguez, 35, of Whittier, was arrested Tuesday, Sept. 19, on suspicion of stealing a $3 million yacht – the same vessel he stole in 2014, according to authorities.

Rodriguez was spotted on the 78-foot Stimulus at about 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The yacht was in its docking space in the 200 block of South Bay Front on Balboa Island when Rodriguez managed to get inside, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.

“His story is that he found it unlocked,” Manzella said. “We were able to speak to the captain of the boat and the owner, and they said there was no reason for him to be there.”

The yacht Stimulus is docked on Balboa Island. A man who stole it in 2014 was arrest on suspicion of trying to steal it again on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Newport Beach. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The yacht Stimulus is docked on Balboa Island. A man who stole it in 2014 was arrest on suspicion of trying to steal it again on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Newport Beach. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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The yacht Stimulus, on the right, is docked on Balboa Island. A man who stole it in 2014 was arrest on suspicion of trying to steal it again on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Newport Beach. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The yacht Stimulus is docked on Balboa Island. A man who stole it in 2014 was arrest on suspicion of trying to steal it again on Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Newport Beach. (Photo by Sam Gangwer, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Investigators found no apparent signs of forced entry. Craig Brewer, the yacht’s skipper, said it’s not hard to get inside the vessel.

Workers on the dock spotted Rodriguez and called the yacht’s owner, who in turn called Brewer and asked him to check on the vessel.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Brewer said Wednesday. “I knew he was in jail, but there he was.”

In the 2014 theft, Rodriguez managed to get inadvertent help from the Orange County Harbor Patrol.

The yacht had became stuck between two docks and began drifting toward a seawall after, officials said, Rodriguez broke in and found a set of keys to start it. Thinking the man was authorized to be on the vessel, the patrol helped pull it to the mouth of the harbor … and off Rodriguez went with his stolen bounty.

When the Stimulus was reported stolen the next day, Newport Beach police put out an alert. The yacht was spotted a few hours later in Long Beach Harbor. Rodriguez was arrested after he attempted to ram a Long Beach police boat with the vessel.

Los Angeles County court records show Rodriguez was convicted of grand theft in March 2015. A jail term was set for five years; he was released on May 17.

Brewer said it looks like Rodriguez might have spent Monday night in the vessel.

“He goes in and makes himself at home,” Brewer said.

As Brewer approached the vessel on Tuesday, he said he flagged down a nearby Harbor Patrol boat.

Coincidentally, one of the deputies who responded was on the boat that inadvertently helped Rodriguez in 2014. Brewer said he teased the deputy about it, saying he hoped he wouldn’t help with a getaway this time.

Rodriguez told Newport Beach police officers he has “rights” to the vessel, Manzella said.

“He wasn’t threatening at all,” Brewer said, “he was just giving stories that were jumbled and inconsistent.”

In the first theft, Rodriguez told officials he was told to take the yacht to former Mexican president Vicente Fox, but rock legend Gene Simmons — aboard a nuclear submarine — ordered him to turn back when he reached San Onofre, authorities said at the time.

“I think he believed (what he was saying),” Brewer said.

For now, Rodriguez is landlocked.

He was being held Wednesday in the Orange County Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail on suspicion of grand theft boat/vessel and is scheduled appear in court on Thursday, Sept. 21.