D.A. wants more investigation after Newport arrest

The Orange County district attorney’s office so far has declined to file charges against a man who Newport Beach police say picked up an ax as they were investigating a nearby burglary last weekend.

The D.A.’s office instead asked for further investigation from Newport detectives.

Officers arrested Ryan Tyler Pautsch, 32, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and receiving stolen property.

The district attorney’s office asked police to investigate further, according to D.A. spokeswoman Farrah Emami. Because of that, Pautsch was released from jail Tuesday afternoon, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department records.

Detectives are following up on the case, said Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella.

Police say Pautsch was “heavily intoxicated” and uncooperative when they showed up at his Corona del Mar home around 1 a.m. Sunday.

Officers contacted him because they were looking into a burglary earlier that night in which someone stole a bicycle and a bonsai tree from a home about a half-mile away.

Investigators went to Pautsch’s home in the 2200 block of Waterfront Drive because he was an acquaintance of the burglary victim, Manzella said.

“At one point in the interaction, [Pautsch] grabbed an ax that was inside his residence and raised it to about shoulder height while facing the officers,” Manzella said.

After subduing Pautsch, officers found the stolen bonsai tree, police said.

[For the record, 10:30 a.m. Aug. 14, 2014: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the man behaved in a threatening manner. Police said the man was uncooperative but not aggressive.]