Arrests are made that may have broken up a ring responsible for a recent spate of vehicle break-ins and thefts in Malibu and surrounding areas.
By Ben Marcus / Special to The Malibu Times
The arrest of three Los Angeles men caught red-handed breaking into cars along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu earlier this month may have broken up a car theft ring that has been operating for several months in the area.
Michael Palmer, 45, Oscar Jauregui, 24, and Hector Alvarez, 28, were arrested and booked Aug. 4 at Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station for vehicle burglary and possession of stolen property. All three men are residents of the City of Los Angeles. The three are suspected for a rash of car burglaries and thefts that have taken place in Malibu, Santa Monica, and in Ventura and Orange counties in recent months.
At around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 4, a surfer, who wishes to remain anonymous, had just gotten out of the ocean at Surfrider Beach and was changing near his car. “I saw two gentlemen walking down the street on the northeast side of Pacific Coast Highway, in front of Malibu Inn,” the anonymous surfer said. “They were looking in every car, casing every car, until they came upon a black F150 truck with tinted windows. I thought I saw them smash a window, and I thought, ‘Where’s a cop when you need one?’”
At that point, Deputy Jeff Slutske of Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s Station was driving past the area, heading northbound on Pacific Coast Highway. “We’ve had a rash of car burglaries and are always on the lookout for suspicious activity,” Slutske told The Malibu Times. “I saw one of the guys acting as a lookout and the other guy looking in the vehicle. As I approached I saw the lookout tap the other guy on the back”
Deputy Slutske stopped on the highway and watched the suspects as the surfer approached him. “Sure enough, there was Stansky, not Hutch, but that was enough,” the surfer said. The surfer relayed to the deputy what he had seen. Slutske later affirmed that a surfer did motion him over and confirm what he already suspected.
Slutske observed two Hispanic men who appeared to be in their 20s get into a Chrysler SUV driven by an older African American male. He then followed them northbound on Pacific Coast Highway, and put out a call for backup. Another deputy who was en route to Malibu Courthouse responded within a minute, Slutske said, and then he stopped the suspects on PCH, between Malibu Canyon Road and John Tyler Drive.
As Detective Dave Huelsen provided backup, Slutske approached the car and saw a woman’s purse covered in broken glass. As additional backup responded, Slutske ordered the driver, Palmer, out first, and then separated the two passengers, Jauregui and Alvarez. With the consent of the driver to search the car, the deputy found several women’s purses, a wallet wrapped inside a pair of man’s shorts, several iPods, a camera and a GPS, “which is a very popular item with car thieves, as they sell them on eBay,” Slutske said.
By now, three Sheriff’s deputies, Detective Huelsen and two parking enforcement personnel had responded to the scene, as Slutske placed the three men under arrest.
“Our deputies canvassed the area,” Detective Steve Colitti said, “and found additional victims whose cars had been broken into around the same time, in the same area.”
During the interview process, Colitti said one of the suspects revealed that he was a part of one of many crews that had been burglarizing cars not just in Malibu, but also in Ventura and Orange counties, as well as in Santa Monica. Also, at some point during the booking process one of the suspects made a telephone call from a holding cell, thinking it was a private conversation. A deputy who is fluent in Spanish overheard the conversation, Slutske said, and, among the things, the suspect on the phone said, ‘The police are coming, get the stuff out of the house and get my AK from the bedroom.”
Slutske alerted the Los Angeles Police Department to lock down the house, located in Los Angeles where two of the suspects lived, while six Sheriff’s detectives made way through afternoon traffic to the location. With the owner’s consent, detectives searched the house, and while the AK 47 wasn’t recovered they did find ammunition and property stolen from cars at Sycamore Canyon Beach, which could lead to additional charges of burglary, Slutske said. “And the same day, citizens who’d had property stolen-a wallet and the GPS-recovered their property at Lost Hills,” the deputy said.
Detective Colitti praised Slutske and his instincts: “Our patrol guys are awesome. The detective bureau notifies patrol and they notify us about suspicious people and trends that are occurring and they’ll concentrate on different areas-like this recent rash of car burglaries. They do great work and are always looking for criminals and people who are victimizing innocent folks.”
While the arrests might put a stop to the recent plague of car thefts that have left the streets and sidewalks of Malibu littered with broken glass, Colitti said: “People are leaving laptops, purses and cell phones on passenger seats that are in plain view. And that’s what these guys prey on. They see these as an easy target, and they break a window and they’re off.”
Jauregui, who had been on probation, and Palmer, who was on parole, were denied bail. Both are charged with felonies and were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. Alvarez posted bail for $25,000 and was released and is scheduled to appear in court in the next few months.