Rehab rumor ruffles feathers

A false rumor involving an arrest outside a Newport Beach group rehab home has seeped into the political fodder between City Council candidates for District 7, Councilman Keith Curry and Dolores Otting.

A rumor that made the rounds Tuesday morning led people to believe Newport Beach police had arrested several members of a rehab facility at 435 Dahlia Ave., with five or six suspects forced to prostrate themselves on the ground. The rumor claimed these individuals were clients at the rehab home. The rumor was false. Just one person was arrested, and it had nothing to do with the rehab home.

Newport Beach City Council candidate Otting forwarded the erroneous e-mail to someone with an a large list of e-mail addresses.

The truth is that one motorcycle officer followed a reported stolen car until it was parked near 435 Dahlia, police said. After the driver walked away, the officer began to investigate the vehicle. The man returned a short time later and identified himself as the car’s driver, according to police. He was not handcuffed or ordered to lie on the ground. The motorcycle officer called in for another officer to take the man into custody without incident, police said.

“For a candidate to spread false and inflammatory rumors as part of a political candidacy is grossly irresponsible,” Curry said.

Otting, for her part, said she immediately regretted sending the e-mail and promised no longer to be a part of the “rumor mill.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t the right thing to do,” Otting said. “Sometimes you click the e-mail and it is already gone, and sometimes you think later maybe you shouldn’t have.”

The issue was addressed at the Newport Beach City Council meeting Tuesday night, when Councilwoman Nancy Gardner cleared the air on the issue, reciting police accounts of the incident. Still, Otting thought the issue was being made into more than it is.

“I think [Curry] is making mountains out of mole hills here,” Otting said. “I am sure Keith will be attacking me on every breath I take.”

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.