BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Police investigate dumping on roadway

Laguna Beach Police and Caltrans are trying to determine who dumped four mounds of debris, including dirt, asphalt and cement, in a water quality basin on the 73 Toll Road near Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Bob Rahaeuser said.

The debris was reported on the state-owned site at 10:26 a.m. March 5.

Dumping has become more common on Laguna Canyon Road and El Toro Road because haulers are seeking to avoid dump site fees, Rahaeuser said. “We are working with the CHP to track down and prosecute people who dump illegally,” he said.

Illegal dumping is a misdemeanor.

K-9 unit search ends in drug arrests for two

Three people were arrested after a drug-sniffing dog from the Irvine Police Department allegedly detected illegal drugs in a vehicle that was stopped by police on Laguna Canyon Road at 1:55 a.m. March 6 after an officer saw the driver cross the double-yellow line, Rahaeuser said.

The passengers’ demeanor led the officer to conduct a search of the vehicle, and two bags of methamphetamine were allegedly found under the glove box, Rahaeuser said.

The driver, Adam Franklin Laine, 46, of Huntington Beach, and passenger Susan Stainette, 54, of Santa Ana, were arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine. A second passenger, John Marvin Forbes, 45, of Aliso Viejo, was held without bail on a parole violation.

Man jumps 40 feet to evade police

A Long Beach man seeking to elude police jumped off a balcony 40 feet to the ground at Cliff Drive shortly after 6 p.m. March 6, Rahaeuser said.

Police had been called to the area behind Broadway Liquor at 6:07 p.m. on a report of three men drinking alcohol. When an officer approached, Aaron Lee Ashby, 42, allegedly fled and refused to stop when ordered. He ran up the Cliff Drive steps, went onto an apartment balcony, and then jumped to the ground, a 40-foot drop. The officer pursued him down Coast Highway to Ocean Avenue, and followed him into the Marine Room Tavern, where he was arrested. Rahaeuser said Ashby, who had a no-bail parole hold, will likely be heading back to state prison.

Two arrested at hotel check-in for stolen card

Two men were arrested at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at a hotel in the 1500 block of South Coast Highway on suspicion of using a stolen credit card, Rahaeuser said.

Jorge Recinos, 18, of Los Angeles, and Anirudh Mehta, 20, of Long Beach, had reserved a room using the credit card over the phone. The card proved to be stolen, Rahaeuser said.

When they arrived at the hotel to check in, the clerk summoned police, who arrested the pair on suspicion of burglary for trying to make a purchase with a stolen credit card.

Man carded, then arrested for assault

A homeless man was arrested on suspicion of assault after a store clerk refused to sell him liquor without identification, Rahaeuser said.

The incident took place at 3:41 p.m. Sunday at a market in the 700 block of South Coast Highway.

Richard Eaton Mzid, 33, was with a friend at the market seeking to purchase liquor. When he could not prove he was old enough, he allegedly shouted obscenities and was ordered out of the store. Outside, he allegedly continued his tirade, and when the clerk approached him, threw an object in her direction, which did not strike her. Police issued Mzid an assault citation and let him go; the other man was not detained.