Police Files
DUI checkpoint set for Newport Beach next Friday
The Newport Beach Police Department (NBPD) will hold a DUI checkpoint on Friday, Aug. 20 from 8 p.m.-2 a.m. at an undisclosed location within the Newport Beach city limits.
Checkpoint locations are chosen based on a history of DUI crashes and prior arrests. The primary purpose of checkpoints is not to make arrests, but to promote public safety by deterring drivers from driving impaired.
During the checkpoint, officers will look for signs that drivers are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
The Newport Beach Police Department is committed to keeping the traveling public safe.
“The safety of our community is and always will be our mission,” Lieutenant Ryan Peters said. “We are looking for impaired drivers because driving under the influence is dangerous and puts others on the road at risk.”
The NBPD also reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications or over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. Always follow directions for use and read warning labels about “driving or operating heavy machinery,” which includes driving a car. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal.
If you plan on drinking or taking medications that may impact your ability to drive safely, plan on staying at home.
Drivers charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Mariners home burglarized, suspect makes off with contents from safe
A residential burglary occurred earlier this week in the Mariners community. Sometime over the weekend between Saturday, Aug. 7 and Sunday, Aug. 8, an unoccupied home in the 1800 block of Toyon Lane was burglarized.
An unknown subject entered the home after shattering a glass door. Once inside, the suspect ransacked all of the bedrooms. The suspect located a safe and the key to the safe, allowing him/her to remove all of the contents within.
Reported losses included U.S. currency and a firearm.
No suspect information was available.
Resident surprised by suspect in master bedroom after three males enter Spyglass Hill home
While one victim was working in the upstairs master bedroom and the other was working in a downstairs room, three suspects entered a residence in the Spyglass Hill community by shattering a glass door. The incident occurred on Thursday, Aug. 5 at approximately 1:30 p.m.
Despite the glass breaking, neither of the victims heard the noise.
When one suspect entered the master bedroom and began rummaging through the master closet, the victim was alerted and confronted the suspect.
All suspects fled downstairs and out the same door that was used to enter the home. Nothing was taken.
Suspect #1 was described as a Hispanic male, wearing a dark colored long sleeve shirt; suspect #2 as a Hispanic male, wearing a gray long sleeve shirt; and suspect #3 as a Hispanic male wearing a white long sleeve shirt, blue jeans and a dark colored hat.
No other information was available.
Suspect ransacks Newport Coast home making off with safe and contents
While the victims were away between 8:45-11:15 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 7, an unknown suspect burglarized a residence on Tidal Surf in the Newport Coast community.
The suspect accessed the back yard by climbing over a wall and then entered the house through an unlocked rear sliding door. Once inside, the suspect ransacked the master bedroom and closet, before rummaging through drawers in another bedroom.
While inside the home, the suspect located a safe, removed it and fled the scene.
Losses reported included U.S. currency, watches, jewelry, identification and checks.
There was no suspect information available.
Worker scares off burglars from neighboring roof
On Thursday, Aug. 5, sometime between 12-1 p.m., two males attempted to burglarize an unoccupied home in the 1800 block of Kings Road in the Cliff Haven community.
The two unknown suspects accessed the back yard of the residence and then attempted to forcibly open a back door to enter the home. However, at some point the suspects realized that a worker on a neighbor’s roof was observing them and they fled the scene.
Newport Beach Police were not contacted until this past Tuesday, Aug. 10.
There was no loss of property, but NBPD was able to obtain information on the two suspects, both reportedly with short black hair and wearing dark blue long sleeve shirts.