New Santa Ana | Category Archives: automobiles

Costa Mesa catalytic converter thieves caught red-handed

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Costa Mesa, Crime Leave a comment

Today at about 1:22 a.m., Costa Mesa police officers were dispatched to the 2600 block of Newport Boulevard regarding the sounds of power tools being used.

The police officers arrived and could hear a saw being used in the rear lot of the truck rental business. Officers began to approach the rear lot and saw a man start to run away. He was then detained.

A second man began running toward the fence adjacent to a neighboring parking lot. Officers were already in that parking lot. Once the second subject saw the officers on the other side of the fence, he gave up and was arrested.

A reciprocating saw was located under one of the trucks and pieces of rebar were cut from around the catalytic converter. The rebar had been put on all the trucks because of recent thefts.

The SAPD is cracking down on cruisers again on Easter Sunday

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a large-scale anti-cruiser enforcement operation on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021. It will begin at 6:00 PM and will conclude at 2:00 AM.

The City of Santa Ana has contended with large crowds, congested roadways, and criminal activity in years past on Easter Sunday. These activities are quality of life issues that impact our residents, businesses, and visitors.

Road closures, lane restrictions, and extra patrol officers will help the Santa Ana Police Department crackdown on the annual tradition of cars cruising on Easter Sunday.

To mitigate these issues, an increased police presence with a zero-tolerance approach along with lane restrictions and road closures will be in effect in the following areas: Bristol Street from 17th Street to Warner Avenue, Main Street from 17th Street to Warner Avenue, and Edinger Avenue from Main Street to Bristol Street.

The temporary closures and restrictions will delay traffic in some areas of the city.

The Costa Mesa Police Dept. is targeting distracted drivers in April

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Costa Mesa, Crime, Public Safety Leave a comment

COSTA MESA, Calif. (March 31, 2021) – April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) encourages drivers to give the phone a break and focus on the road.

Throughout the month of April, CMPD will have additional officers on patrol specifically looking for drivers who violate the state’s hands-free cell phone law.

“When you are driving, give the phone a rest,” Sgt. Dan Miles said. “A driver’s number one focus should be on the road. Anything that distracts you from the task of driving, especially a phone, puts yourself and others at risk.”

According to the 2020 California Statewide Public Opinion Survey, more than 75% of surveyed drivers listed “Distracted Driving because of TEXTING” as their biggest safety concern.

“Not driving distracted is a simple but significant behavior change,” Sgt. Miles said. “The goal is to increase compliance with the hands-free cell phone law to make sure drivers are focused and alert. Let’s share the road and do the right thing to keep the streets safe for everyone including drivers and pedestrians.”

Under current law, drivers are not allowed to hold a phone or other electronic device while behind the wheel. Drivers under 18 are not allowed to use a phone for any reason, including hands-free.

If you need to make a call or send a text, pull over and park at a safe location. Drivers should silence their phones or put the phone out of reach, such as the glove box or trunk.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The SAPD and other agencies issued 55 street racing citations from March 19-30

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD, Street Racing Leave a comment

#SantaAnaPD in partnership with other agencies as part of STEARRD (Strategic Traffic Enforcement Against Racing & Reckless Driving) program conducted street racing enforcement from 03/19 – 03/20 & enforcement efforts resulted in: (55) Cites, (3) Impounds & (2) Arrest pic.twitter.com/yPInwIo9rt
— SantaAnaPD (@SantaAnaPD) March 26, 2021

The SAPD, in partnership with other agencies as part of the STEARRD (Strategic Traffic Enforcement Against Racing & Reckless Driving) program, conducted street racing enforcement from 03/19 – 03/20. The enforcement efforts resulted in:

(55) Cites
(3) Impounds
(2) Arrest

These activities have proven to be deadly and they pose a clear and present threat to public safety on our streets! REMEMBER – The SAPD has a zero tolerance policy for reckless driving/street racing and has made this issue a top priority.

The SAPD is searching for an auto theft suspect who was caught on video

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD, Tustin 1 Comment

On 02/25/2021, the victim’s vehicle was stolen from the 2000 block of S. Cypress Avenue between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM.

On 02/26/2021 at approximately 11:18 PM, the suspect abandoned the victim’s vehicle at the Mobil gas station located at 13872 Red Hill Avenue in the City of Tustin. The victim’s vehicle has since been recovered.

Suspect Description: Hispanic, Male, between 25-35 years old, buzzed haircut, mustache, thin build, wearing a dark blue t-shirt and dark blue jeans.

Anyone with information on the identity / whereabouts of the wanted suspect is asked to please contact, Detective Romero at (714) 245-8529 / BRomero@santa-ana.org

The Tustin Police recovered two stolen vehicles and made several arrests

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Tustin 2 Comments

This week, officers on patrol located two occupied stolen vehicles and stopped them.

Pedro Sanchez and Eric Rocha were in a stolen Chevrolet Astro Van near Mitchell Ave and Newport Ave.

Sanchez was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle, drug offenses, and a violation of his probation terms. Rocha was arrested for possession of burglary tools, drug offenses, and a violation of his PRCS terms.

Gabriel Monsisvais was in this stolen Chevrolet Tahoe near First St and Tustin Ave.

Monsisvais was arrested for vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, drug offenses, and driving on a suspended license.

Check out the Car Culture exhibit at OCCCA in DTSA

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Editor Posted in Arts and Culture, automobiles, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art is hosting CAR CULTURE, through March 20, 2021. CAR CULTURE is a juried exhibition that pays homage to the hot-rodders, the low-riders, pin-stripers, skate-boarders, devisers and designers of trick bicycles and fabricators of custom motorcycles.

CAR CULTURE celebrates tail fins, roadside attractions, smog-choked freeways — the good, the bad and the beautiful. Everyone has a car story. Start your engines. Pedal to the metal. You’ll be in fast company.

Private gallery visits available by appointment only: info.occca@gmail.com. All COVID-19 Protocols in place – you must wear a mask and social distance during your visit.

Featured Artists: Hugo Almanza, Marea Atkinson, Marla Barrett, Pej Behdarvand, Richard Bohn, Nikita Budkov, Bob Conge, Scott Nelson Foster, Luis Garcia, Dave Hanson, Peter Hassen, Peter Hiers, Tom Lamb, Gregory Martin, John Oleinik, Levon Parian, Mila Reynaud, Rick Rietveld, Gigi Salij, Earl Shepherd, Rhiannon Valenti, Maura Valentine, Vanessa Viruet, Todd Wallace, Michael Ward, Lisa D. Watson, Carolyn Yarnell, Carol Zou.

The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art is located at 117 North Sycamore, in the Downtown Santa Ana Artists Village.

Cars involved in Santa Ana street takeovers now getting impounded for 30 days

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD, Street Racing Leave a comment

The Orange County Superior Court has been actively issuing 30-day impound orders to seize vehicles used in intersection takeovers in Santa Ana.

The SAPD Traffic Division is actively carrying out these orders – and they promise more is to come!

Street racers in Santa Ana cause traffic accidents and even killed a retired O.C. Register writer in a collision a few months ago.

LAPD cop charged with stealing a Silverado from a car dealer in Orange

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Los Angeles County, Orange Leave a comment

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Los Angeles Police Department officer has been charged with three felonies and three misdemeanors for stealing a truck from a car dealership in Orange and then calling his own department’s Vehicle Warrant Unit to change the stolen truck’s status from stolen to recovered. He is also charged with repeatedly accessing a confidential law enforcement database to check on the vehicle’s status while driving the stolen vehicle for more than a year, including to work as a police officer.

Matthew Calleros, 45, of Whittier, pleaded not guilty today to one felony count of the unlawful taking of a vehicle, one felony count of forging of a license plate, and one felony count of false personation. Calleros has also been charged with three misdemeanor counts of the unauthorized disclosure of information from Department of Motor Vehicle records.

He faces a maximum sentence of four years and four months in state prison if convicted on all counts.

Calleros was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to be back in court on April 15, 2021.

On October 25, 2019, Calleros is accused of going to B & J Car Company in Orange and driving off in a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado after he asked a car salesman to pull the CarFax on the vehicle.

Calleros is then accused of using another LAPD officer’s identification to call into the LAPD’s Vehicle Warrant Unit to report the stolen truck had been recovered.

Calleros is also accused of accessing the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) to run multiple checks on the vehicle’s license plate number and different license plate number belonging to a 2014 model Chevy Silverado which he put on the stolen vehicle.

Following a nearly year-long investigation by the LAPD and the Orange Police Department, Calleros was arrested on November 9, 2020 at the LAPD’s Hollenbeck Division. The stolen truck was parked in the employee parking lot.

“The badge is pinned over the heart of every law enforcement officer for a reason,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “It is a symbol of public faith in the job every officer has sworn to do and the laws they are sworn to uphold. When law enforcement officers use their training and law enforcement resources to victimize the very people they are sworn to protect, it tarnishes the badge of every law enforcement officer. Every time an officer’s actions erodes the public trust, it undermines the rule of law.”

Deputy District Attorney Frank Acosta of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.

The SAPD issued 53 street racing citations in two days

Posted on January 21, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana, Street Racing 1 Comment

The SAPD, in partnership with other agencies as part of the STEARRD program, conducted additional street racing enforcement from 01/15 – 01/16.

The SAPD’s enforcement efforts resulted in:

(53) Citations
(8) Impounds
(1) Reckless Driving / DUI Arrest
(4) Unrelated Arrests

The SAPD made 40 street racing spectator arrests last week

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD, Street Racing Leave a comment

The SAPD, in partnership with other agencies as part of the STEARRD (Selective Traffic Enforcement Against Reckless Driving) program, conducted additional street racing enforcement from 01/08 – 01/09.

Their enforcement efforts resulted in:

(27) Cites
(25) Impounds
(4) Street Racing Related Arrests
(40) Spectator Arrests

SAPD has a zero tolerance policy for reckless driving / street racing and has made this issue a top priority. These activities have proven to be deadly and they pose a clear and present threat to public safety on our streets #SAPDTraffi

Homeless catalytic converter thief arrested again in Fountain Valley

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Fountain Valley, homeless Leave a comment

On January 3, 2021 at 0302 hours, Fountain Valley Police Department Officers responded to the area of Talbert and Mt. Washington regarding a small fire.

When the police officers arrived, they located 50 year-old Felipe Batalla, a transient of Fountain Valley.

Some of you may remember Mr. Batalla from a recent press release regarding catalytic converter arrests (Incident #20-42155).

During this investigation, Officers found a shopping cart next to Batalla which contained 3 cut catalytic converters and a reciprocating saw.

Batalla was arrested (again) for possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, and providing false information to a Police Officer.

Mr. Batalla was subsequently booked into Orange County Jail for these charges. Incident #21-00170.

Car accident involving a wheelchair shuts down streets at Euclid from 1st St. to 5th St.

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Editor Posted in Accidents, automobiles, Disabled, Public Safety, Santa Ana, SAPD, Traffic Leave a comment

On Tuesday, December 29th, 2020 at 7:24 A.M., the Santa Ana Police Department received a call of a male down in the roadway at 100 N. Euclid Street.

Officers responded to the area and found an adult male down in the roadway suffering major injuries. Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) personnel responded and began to treat the male before pronouncing him deceased at the scene.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that the male pedestrian was crossing Euclid Street, in a wheelchair, when he was struck by a vehicle headed north on Euclid Street.

The vehicle involved in this collision remained at the scene and the driver was cooperative. Alcohol is not believed to have played a role in this collision. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

The surrounding streets were closed for approximately two hours.

The Santa Ana Police Department’s Collision Investigations Unit (CIU) is handling the investigation. Anyone possibly having information about this collision is asked to contact Investigator N. Guijarro at (714) 245-8219 or the Santa Ana Police Department’s Traffic Division at (714) 245-8200.

Catalytic converter thieves arrested in Fountain Valley

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Fountain Valley, Los Angeles County Leave a comment

On December 26, 2020, at 3:20 a.m., the Fountain Valley Police Department Officers responded to the 18000 block of Mt. Langley regarding a possible theft of motor vehicle parts in progress.

When the police officers arrived they set up a containment around the area and located a dark blue Chrysler 300 as it was leaving the area.

The four occupants in the vehicle were: 39 year-old Miguel Rodriguez of Los Angeles, 50 year-old Felipe Batalla a transient of Fountain Valley, 39 year-old Lorena Castillo of Los Angeles, and 30 year-old Marcelle Coleman of Los Angeles. Marcelle Coleman is currently on formal probation out of LA County for robbery.

In the vehicle, Officers located five cut catalytic converters, one cut muffler/resonator, three reciprocating saws, other burglary tools, methamphetamine, and narcotics paraphernalia.

Officers canvassed the area and discovered two vehicles, which had their catalytic converters stolen, one vehicle in which the catalytic converter was partially cut off, and one vehicle had been burglarized.

All four occupants were arrested and booked into Orange County Jail for burglary, conspiracy, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, and grand theft.

The SAPD and their partners issued 36 street racing citations on Dec. 11 and 12

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Editor Posted in automobiles, Crime, Santa Ana, SAPD, Street Racing Leave a comment

#SantaAnaPD in partnership with other agencies as part of STEARRD program conducted additional street racing enforcement. 12/11 – 12/12 their enforcement efforts resulted in 36 Cites, 6 Impounds, 5 Street Racing Related Arrests & 1 Unrelated Arrests. pic.twitter.com/NkwyUmsJxc
— SantaAnaPD (@SantaAnaPD) December 17, 2020

The SAPD, in partnership with other agencies as part of the STEARRD program, conducted additional street racing enforcement from 12/11 – 12/12

The SAPD’s enforcement efforts resulted in 36 Cites, 6 Impounds, 5 Street Racing Related Arrests & 1 Unrelated Arrests.

The SAPD has a zero tolerance policy for reckless driving / street racing and has made this issue a top priority. These activities have proven to be deadly and they pose a clear and present threat to public safety on our streets.