Over the past six months, Garden Grove Police Department Detectives have been investigating approximately 28 cases of robbery or distraction thefts, all sharing the same MO.
The suspect(s) tend to target elderly Asians wearing expensive jewelry. They would approach their “target” and remove his/her jewelry, then replace it with a fake piece. These suspects are so slick and methodical in their approach, that many victims did not realize their property had been stolen until hours later.
Using victim/witness statements, surveillance video and evidence left at the scenes, Detectives were able to develop several leads and tie these robberies/thefts to organized groups that identify themselves as Romanian travelers. These groups will move throughout the states, committing similar crimes.
Yesterday, on December 14, 2021 at 4:00 p.m., patrol officers stopped a vehicle on the 12500 block of Nutwood St. The front seat passenger, identified as Floarea Ghiocel, had an active warrant for some of the above-mentioned cases and was taken into custody.
As Ghiocel was being transported to the police department, the transporting officer noticed a suspicious vehicle following them closely. A vehicle stop was done on the car; and when the occupants were contacted, the driver was found to be Marius Ghiocel. He also had an active warrant and was taken into custody without incident. Both Floarea and Marius Ghiocel were later transported and booked at the Orange County Jail for robbery.
This investigation is on-going. Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact Detective Franks at 714-741-5836.
Yesterday afternoon, a resident called the Costa Mesa Police dispatch to report that her bike had just been stolen from the 100 block of E. 18th Street.
She immediately jumped into her car along with her canine companion, Harper, in search of her orange beach cruiser.
She located her bicycle being ridden by a man in the 1800 block of Harbor Boulevard and let the police know. The Community Policing Unit (CPU) sergeant responded to the area and stopped the subject on the beach cruiser as CPU officers arrived to the scene on their bicycles.
The suspect was promptly arrested and the victim’s bicycle was returned to her.
The victim and Harper, pictured here, were so happy to have their bike back!
Unfortunately, the subject had taken off Harper’s doggy basket, which was not located at the time of his arrest.
On Saturday, June 5th, an armed robbery occurred in Garden Grove where two males drove up to a male and female riding their bicycles on Chapman Ave. The suspects used their vehicle to block the path of the victims, before accosting them. One male exited the vehicle with a semi-auto handgun, while the other exited with a metal baseball bat.
The suspect holding the handgun approached the female victim and demanded her bicycle. Ultimately, they took her bicycle, bag pack and cell phone. The male victim was able to flee the location.
The Community Impact Unit (CIU) was contacted to conduct follow up, and were able to immediately identify the two suspects as David Linde and Francisco Sandoval. Both Linde and Sandoval were located, arrested, and later booked at the Orange County Jail.
Yesterday, June 10, CIU Officers obtained and served a search warrant on Sandoval’s residence. Six firearms, additional firearm parts and five receivers (potentially classified as machine guns) were located and seized.
Today Santa Ana Civic Center Patrol Officers have taken the 04/21/2021 SAPD Most Wanted Wednesday suspect, Brett Steven Malian, into custody.
Malian, 37-years-old, broke into a parked vehicle in the underground parking garage of the Doubletree Hotel, located at 201 E. MacArthur Blvd., on October 3, 2020.
Evidence collected at the scene resulted in the identification of Malian and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Early on Wednesday, Costa Mesa police officers responded to a theft of a laptop computer from a restaurant at the 3000 block of Harbor Blvd.
The suspects, a woman and a man, were seen stealing the computer on surveillance video and the woman was identified by her payment. She stood out due to her pink hair. The police officers took a report.
Later that day, a caller reported seeing a man and a woman with pink hair that were suspects from a porch theft which occurred a day earlier in the area. The caller kept observing the suspects until officers arrived and made contact.
The police officers confirmed they were the same suspects from both thefts. The suspects were found to be in possession of the laptop computer, drugs, and other suspected stolen property.
The woman with pink hair, Taylor Weber, 23, and her accomplice, Victor Garcia, 31, were promptly arrested.
Before 4 a.m. yesterday, the Costa Mesa Police Department received a call from a woman who believed a catalytic converter theft was occurring near a building carport at the 2700 block of Peterson Place. She reported seeing headlights and hearing the sound of a saw being used.
Police officers responded and attempted to detain a man, who quickly got into his vehicle and sped off through the complex. Officers activated their overhead emergency lights and initiated a pursuit.
The suspect attempted to evade and for a short distance, was on the wrong side of the road of Adams Ave. He then abandoned his vehicle at Baker Street and Mesa Verde East and fled on foot.
Officers quickly took the subject into custody.
Officers found an electric saw and a catalytic converter, which was later matched up to a victim vehicle in this picture.
IRVINE, Calif. (April 13, 2021) – Yesterday afternoon, IPD officers arrested 35-year-old Joshua Thompson for stealing mail in the area of Portola and Arrowhead. This morning, 27-year-old Oscar Cruz-Guzman and 29-year-old Emily Hernandez were arrested for mail theft in the area of Montanas Este and San Joaquin.
Yesterday, shortly after 3:00 p.m., witnesses observed an adult male in a white Toyota Scion stealing mail from unsecured mailboxes in the area of Portola and Arrowhead. A witness on a bicycle gave chase while another witness called IPD. The bicyclist saw an officer in the area and was able to point out the suspect vehicle as it drove away. The officer stopped the suspect and located piles of mail on the front passenger seat. It was determined Thompson stole mail from 39 different victims in Irvine and Mission Viejo. He was arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail for mail theft with a prior conviction.
At approximately 5:00 a.m. this morning, an officer was patrolling a neighborhood near Montanas Este and San Joaquin when he noticed a vehicle leaving the area. He stopped the vehicle driven by Oscar Cruz-Guzman, and learned he had active warrants for drug related offenses. A search of the vehicle revealed several pieces of stolen mail from two victims in Irvine. A female passenger in the vehicle, Emily Hernandez, had several master mailbox keys in her possession. Hernandez was arrested for mail theft, possession of burglary tools and possession of narcotics. Cruz-Guzman was arrested for outstanding warrants, mail theft, possession of burglary tools and drug paraphernalia.
Mail thieves typically seek credit cards or mail containing personal identifying information to be used for fraud related crimes. Please retrieve your mail regularly to help avoid becoming a victim.
Over the last holiday season, the Smart Stop Storage Facility, located at 12321 Western Ave. in Garden Grove, reported nine burglaries in a 6-week span.
During the investigation, Property Crimes detectives developed information that identified the suspect and learned she also rented a storage unit at the same facility.
This week, Garden Grove police detectives obtained and served a search warrant on the suspect’s storage unit. They were able to recover $10,000 worth of documented stolen property, from various Garden Grove P.D. cases.
The items included clothing, several large-screen flat-panel televisions, professional cooking equipment, retail products and personal belongings.
Several victims were contacted and able to arrive and claim their stolen property.
One of the victims was a mother who supports her family by selling the retail products at flea markets. With some of her inventory returned, she is now able to continue providing for her family.
Two minutes after 2 AM this Thursday, a Tustin PD K-9 Officer was in the area of Red Hill Ave. and Sycamore Ave. when he noticed a suspicious vehicle exit the Tustin Meadows neighborhood.
The police officer stopped the vehicle and contacted three occupants. The suspects were found to be in possession of a catalytic converter which was taken from a vehicle parked at the Tustin Meadows. Officers searched the area, and they were able to locate the victim’s vehicle.
The suspects were also in possession of a low-profile garage jack, a cordless saw, and drugs.
Richard Delarosa, Patrick Mendez, and Justin Jauregui were all booked at OC Jail for grand theft, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, and drug offenses.
COSTA MESA, Calif. (February 12, 2021) – The Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD) yesterday arrested Jacob Aaron Vazquez, 20, and Esther Kavina Maultsby, 19, both from Costa Mesa, shortly after being connected to two incidents, one a robbery and the other a theft.
On Feb. 11, 2021, at approximately 2:55 p.m., officers responded to the parking lot of a bank at the 1400 block of Baker Street regarding a robbery that had just occurred. Officers located the victim standing outside her car but the suspects had already fled the scene.
The victim had been sitting in her car at the bank with her young child, who was asleep in the car seat, when a male suspect opened her passenger car door and brandished a knife. The male suspect demanded her purse and money and threatened the victim before taking her purse. He then got into the passenger side of the suspect vehicle.
The victim then attempted to get her purse back when a female suspect exited the bank and shoved the victim away from the car. The female suspect, later identified as Maultsby, got into the suspect vehicle and the suspects fled the scene. The victim was able to report the license plate to CMPD before it left.
While investigating the robbery, officers learned of a prior theft call holding at TeWinkle Park involving a stolen purse and similar suspect descriptions. Officers were able to locate the suspect vehicle in a parking lot at the 1200 block of Adams Avenue and contacted the suspects in their car as they were attempting to leave.
Both suspects, Vazquez and Maultsby, were positively identified and arrested. Both of the victims’ property were recovered from the suspect car.
The Tustin Police Department has investigated over 115 catalytic converter thefts since 1/1/2020. The thieves target this vehicle part due to the precious metals of platinum, palladium, and rhodium inside. They use a sawing tool to cut the part away from underneath the vehicle.
The most targeted vehicles are Honda Element, Toyota Prius and Ford trucks. Lesser targeted vehicles include Honda Accord, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota and Chevrolet trucks, vans and SUV’s.
Catalytic Converter Theft Prevention Tips:
In 2020, the Tustin Police Department saw a spike in reported bicycle thefts with 133 (2017: 93, 2018: 70, 2019: 69).
YTD in 2021, there have been 12 reported bicycle thefts. In both January and February, The Tustin Police Department arrested an individual for attempted bike theft, interrupting the actual crime.
Bike Theft Prevention Tips:
Between 12/24/2020 and 01/18/2021, the Bowers Museum was the victim of four commercial burglaries. During three of the incidents, large metal freight containers and a shed on the property were burglarized.
Surveillance footage captured several unknown suspects climbing over the wall and locked fence, using a bolt cutter and an electric grinder to force entry into the containers.
Numerous power/hand tools, valued at approximately $5000 and miscellaneous items from the gift shop valued at approximately $3000 were taken.
Anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of these suspects is asked to contact Detective Castro at (714) 245-8345 or ACastro@santa-ana.org.
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former Orange County Sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty today to filing a false police report in connection with taking a credit card from a suspect. She later gave the card to her son who then used it.
Angelina Cortez, 41, was charged in September with one felony count of filing a false police report. An Orange County Superior Court judge reduced the charge to a misdemeanor today over the objection of prosecutors. The judge sentenced Cortez to 120 hours community service and one year informal probation. She had faced a maximum sentence of three years in jail if convicted.
Cortez was assigned to a training officer on November 19, 2018 when she and her training officer responded to a call of a man stealing wine and batteries from a San Clemente 7-Eleven store. Cortez is accused of taking the theft suspect’s credit card, putting it in her uniform shirt pocket and later giving it to her son, who then used it. The card was never booked into evidence.
“The public must be able to trust that law enforcement officers will carry out their duties lawfully,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “When the law is broken by the very people who are entrusted to enforce it, the integrity of the entire criminal justice system is compromised. We will not allow the rule of law to be abused by someone in a position of power who chooses to prey on the vulnerable.”
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.