Two Santa Ana auto theft suspects arrested in Irvine

Irvine Police Department Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PRESS RELEASE #06/06/2016

Subject: Officer Observations Lead to Weekend Stolen Car Arrests

Contact : Farrah Emami, Public Information Officer, 949-724-7112, femami@cityofirvine.org

Irvine, CA – The observations of alert Irvine officers resulted in the arrest of three suspects in two separate stolen car cases over the weekend.

In the first case, two suspects were arrested Friday, June 3, 2016. They are identified as Alfredo Mercado, 43, and Jaime Reynoso, 35, both of Santa Ana.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, an Irvine officer was patrolling a shopping center parking lot area at Von Karman Avenue and Barranca Parkway. He observed two men behaving suspiciously and contacted the subjects. When contacted by the officer, Mercado and Reynoso were next to a 2012 Honda Civic with paper plates. The vehicle was determined to have been stolen out of Westminster, and the suspects were captured on surveillance video driving the stolen car into the parking lot. Heroin was located inside the vehicle.

Mercado and Reynoso were arrested at the scene without incident. At the time of the arrest Reynoso had a warrant for a parole violation.

In the second case, a suspect was arrested Sunday, June 5, 2016. He is identified as Michael Murphy, 56, of Laguna Woods.

At approximately 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, an Irvine officer was patrolling a hotel parking lot on Von Karman Avenue and observed an occupied 1998 Chevrolet Malibu, which was reported stolen out of Costa Mesa. Murphy was in the vehicle and arrested at the scene without incident.

IRVINE POLICE DEPARTMENT
One Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 724-7000 www.irvinepd.org
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