Suspects Identified In Violent Oroville Evacuation Carjacking
OROVILLE (CBS SF) – Butte County deputies released photos of two suspects Friday who are wanted for stealing a truck during last weekend's Oroville Dam spillway evacuation, running the owner over as they fled, leaving him with serious head and facial injuries.
The sheriff's department said Cody Bowles, 27, and Lucia Ripley, 31, are wanted for stealing Cameron Asbury's truck during Sunday's chaotic evacuation.
The Asbury family were among the 188,000 residents in Oroville and along the Feather River who were given less than an hour to flee their homes after a spillway at the massive Oroville Dam appeared to be on the brink of imminent collapse.
Deputies said Bowles and Ripley were wanted on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and carjacking.
Asbury, 33, was loading up the truck with his family's belongings after getting the evacuation order when a man identified by deputies as Bowles jumped into the vehicle. Ripley allegedly jumped into the passenger seat and the pair sped away.
Cameron's father told KPIX 5 that he and his son got in their other car and chased the stolen vehicle onto Farley Street in Oroville.
"He told him just leave the truck, man ... just jump out and leave the truck," Cameron's father said.
Instead of getting out of the truck, the man "gave it the gas and bee-lined right at him and ran him over," the father continued.
The unidentified man then fled in the vehicle and remained at large on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Cameron suffered major head and face injuries.
"He has major, severe head injuries," said his father. "The right side of his face is all tore off; crushed skull and nerve damage."
He was in critical condition after several surgeries, but his dad said he was now stable.
The Butte County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts should call the BCSO Investigations Unit at (530) 538-7671.
