Newport Beach police lay out the loot

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT BEACH -- Hunched over two long tables laden with plastic bags

Tuesday, David Maddox found jewelry, watches and other items that he

didn’t even realize had been stolen from his home.

“I can’t believe it,” Maddox exclaimed, holding up a bag. “He took my

old, old watch. See how dirty this is?”

The Fullerton man was one of more than a dozen burglary victims from

Orange and Los Angeles counties who were called down to the city’s police

station Tuesday to sift through hundreds of stolen items recovered since

the arrest of John Robert Hershowitz last week.

Huntington Beach police arrested the 36-year-old parolee Thursday

after officers received his license plate number from Newport Beach

police.

A Newport Beach woman came home and surprised him, scaring the burglar

off but not before she managed to write down his license plate, said Det.

Randy Querry of the Newport Beach Police Department.

Police have connected Hershowitz to five burglaries in Newport Beach,

Westminster, Long Beach, Los Alamitos and Fullerton, Querry added.

Hershowitz is also suspected in at least 10 more burglaries in Newport

Beach.

Detectives caught him as he was allegedly trying to break into a home

near Newland Street and Arnett Drive, police said, after spotting the

1977 white utility truck Thursday morning that he had borrowed from a

friend nearly a month before.

Hershowitz tried to escape in the truck but was caught after a brief

vehicle chase and foot pursuit.

So far, the search of Hershowitz’s house and visits to three or four

local pawnshops has turned up about 250 items, from table saws to cuff

links, Querry said.

Hershowitz is being held in Orange County Jail without bail.

Although Querry had set hours Tuesday during which victims could drop

by to identify their items, he said he will hold on to the stolen goods

until they are all claimed.