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The camp ranger who called 9-1-1 after being carjacked by Christopher Dorner filed a lawsuit seeking to collect the entire $1.2 million reward that was offered to find the fugitive ex-LAPD cop who killed four people before taking his own life in a Big Bear cabin.
Rick Heltebrake is a full-time ranger at the Boy Scout-run Camp Tahquitz in Angelus Oaks. He came face to face with Dorner on February 12 when Dorner jumped out of a snowbank and pointed a gun at him. Heltebrake followed Dorner's directions and jumped out of the car and took his dog with him. Later Heltebrake called 9-1-1 from his cell phone, and not too long afterward San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies found Dorner hiding in a nearby cabin.
Attorney Allen L. Thomas is representing Heltebrake, according to the Los Angeles Times. In the suit, he wrote:
"Mr. Heltebrake's telephone call to Deputy Franklin notified law enforcement of Mr. Dorner's location, provided a description of the vehicle he was fleeing in and was the substantial factor in the capture of Mr. Dorner at the cabin location [...] Consequently, Mr. Heltebrake accepts the mayor's offer of the entire reward of $1.2 million."
But the couple who found Dorner hiding in their rental apartment before Dorner carjacked Heltebrake could also have a claim. Even Heltebrake himself told a reporter, "Someone owes me $1 million," before adding he wouldn't mind "parting it three ways" with the others.LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said the way the reward is disbursed will be decided once the investigation is complete. Two dozen groups chipped in to come up with the $1.2 million reward.
Related:
Man Allegedly Carjacked By Dorner Recounts His Story: 'He Was Dressed For Action'
Chief Beck On the Dorner Manifesto, the Victims, and Who Will Get The Reward
$1 Million Bounty Placed On Christopher Dorner's Head
