3 Arrested In Theft Ring Targeting Newport Beach Homes: Police

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Three men from the San Fernando Valley accused of a series of burglaries in Newport Beach were taken into custody Wednesday.

The suspects are thought to be connected to a transnational organized residential theft ring that operated in the Newport Beach area over the past few months, police said.

The men apparently visited the Shady Canyon area of Irvine on Jan. 10 and were witnessed on surveillance video jumping over a fence carrying backpacks, police said.

Detectives found that the men's theft operation was disrupted before the burglary happened.

"The suspects then traveled to the Turtle Rock area, where prior burglaries had occurred. There, they were seen walking into an open space and crouching in nearby bushes before fleeing the area at a high rate of speed in a vehicle," according to a statement by the Irvine Police Department.

Detectives from the Newport Beach Police Department, with help from Irvine Police Department investigators, collaborated on a joint investigation that led to the arrest of all three suspects on Wednesday.

Investigators identified the suspects as John Brayan Soliz-Reinoso and Francisco Alegria, both 32-year-olds from Reseda, along with 22-year-old Daniel Mejias-Reinoso of Northridge, according to the Irvine Police Department.

Anyone with additional information regarding the burglaries was urged to email Irvine Police Department detective Mike Ward at mward@cityofirvine.org. Newport Beach Police Department Joshua Granger can be reached at jgranger@nbpd.org.