Defense questions Tarzan suspect’s mental competence for trial in robbery, burglary cases

A Huntington Beach man who authorities said swung from trees in the Santa Ana Zoo while claiming to be Tarzan may not be mentally fit to stand trial on robbery and burglary charges related to other incidents, according to his attorney.

Instead of arraigning John Rodenborn on Tuesday, an Orange County Superior Court judge appointed two mental health experts to assess him.

“Basically, I raised a doubt as to his mental competency,” defense attorney Jim Sweeney said after the hearing, declining to elaborate.

Rodenborn, 37, first made headlines when Santa Ana police said he was found shirtless and covered in mud near a monkey exhibit at the zoo on Aug. 4. Police arrested him on suspicion of methamphetamine possession.

Prosecutors didn’t file charges in that case, but they believe they have connected Rodenborn to more-serious crimes.

Investigators used surveillance video and DNA from a cigarette butt to link Rodenborn to an armed robbery at a Westminster gas station where a thief stole cash and threatened to shoot a clerk in April, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

California Highway Patrol investigators say they have connected Rodenborn to an Aug. 5 burglary at a state office building in Santa Ana, alleging that he posed as an inspector to get inside and steal electronics.

On Aug. 6, Costa Mesa police arrested Rodenborn in connection with the theft of a woman’s iPhone from a closed art gallery. Authorities said they chased Rodenborn on foot and cornered him near a trash bin after flushing him out of a garage in Newport Beach. He is facing burglary and trespassing charges in that incident.

Rodenborn, who has previous convictions for residential burglary and vehicle theft, could face life in prison if found guilty in the gas station robbery.

Before any trial though, a judge must decide whether Rodenborn is mentally capable of assisting in his own defense.

The appointed experts could have their reports ready for a hearing Oct. 6, Sweeney said.

If Rodenborn is considered unfit to stand trial, he could be held in a state treatment facility until he is deemed competent.

For now, he is behind bars with bail set at more than $1 million, according to county jail records.