Doc surrenders license after kidnap attempt
Physician was arrested in NM after targeting lawyer in Calif.
A doctor has agreed to voluntarily surrender his license to the New Mexico Medical Board after being convicted of attempted kidnapping, stalking and unlawful tampering with a vehicle.
In a stipulated agreement with the medical board, Richard Lee Austin acknowledged he was convicted of those crimes earlier this year in a California superior court. He also acknowledged that he failed to report to the medical board that he was arrested in Albuquerque in 2017 in connection to the crimes, according to the agreement. Under medical board rules, licensees must report an arrest within 30 days of the event. Austin has agreed to voluntarily surrender his license while the board completes its investigation into his conduct.
Austin’s attorney, Jack Earley of Santa Ana, Calif., said he has not represented Austin in his dealings with the medical board and would not be able to comment on them.
According to a complaint filed by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Austin was
accused of stalking and attempting to kidnap Newport Beach, Calif.-based attorney Limor Lehavi. The state also accused him of attempting to murder Lehavi, among other allegations.
Lehavi declined to comment and referred questions to the district attorney’s office.
Austin allegedly began stalking Lehavi after she successfully defended an insurance company against him in litigation stemming from a 2008 vehicular incident in California. According to news reports, prosecutors said Austin’s behavior toward Lehavi escalated until her co-workers confronted him when they found him in their law firm’s parking garage. He subsequently drove off, nearly hitting the co-workers in the process, according to prosecutors. Austin was eventually arrested in Albuquerque, and prosecutors said police found zip ties, duct tape and a loaded gun in his car.
The Journal was unable to confirm the circumstances surrounding the vehicle tampering conviction.
Earley said Austin had worked as an anesthesiologist in both California and New Mexico, and owned a trailer located in the Albuquerque area. He described the period leading up to the confrontation with Lehavi as “a difficult time” for Austin, as he had undergone surgery for cancer. But Earley said Austin never intended to kill Lehavi.
“Our position has always been that (Austin’s) intention was to make the lawyer go to her boss and come clean with the problems she had created for (Austin),” Earley said.
While he was convicted of attempted kidnapping, stalking and unlawful tampering with a vehicle, Earley said two juries have been unable to come to an agreement on whether or not Austin should be convicted of attempted murder. The attorney has filed a motion to dismiss any further trials.
The Journal could not determine late Monday whether Austin was currently in custody or whether he had received sentences for his convictions.