police brief

A man tried to commit suicide Sunday in the parking lot at Crystal

Cove State Park near Reef Point by running tubing from the exhaust of his

car to where he sat in the closed vehicle with a handgun at his side,

police said.

The man reportedly called a woman from his cellular phone about 3:30

p.m., and she informed police of his threat, said Lt. Andy Gonis of the

Newport Beach Police Department.

Police in helicopters found the man and officers were dispatched to

his car. When the man began to lose consciousness from the fumes, police

fired bean-bag pellets through the rear window to allow for ventilation,

Gonis said.

The police roused the man, took him into custody and arranged for a

mental evaluation, Gonis said.