POLICE BRIEFS

Surf City police have caught a male transient suspected of committing

three burglaries in the nude over the last few months.

Officers arrested Fady F. Elbouhy, 22, March 1 after receiving a tip

that he was at a residence in the 9000 block of Durham Street. Elbouhy’s

mother, whose name was not released, called the police at 8:30 p.m. to

alert them of her son’s location.

“She’s concerned for his welfare and well-being,” said Sgt. Janet

Perez, adding that the woman also said he had substance abuse problems.

Police initially suspected Elbouhy in two burglary incidents in the

early-morning hours of Jan. 29, when a naked man allegedly entered a

26-year-old woman’s residence in the 9700 block of Charing Cross at about

5:25 a.m. A half hour later and about four blocks away, a 49-year-old

male resident fended off a naked man attempting burglary on the second

floor of an apartment building in the 9800 block of Garrett Circle.

Evidence at the scene led officers to suspect Elbouhy, and connect him

with an incident in December, in the same general area, where a resident

returned home to find a naked man sitting in his living room, watching

television.

No items were reported taken, and no assaults, other than the

apartment building scuffle, occurred during the burglary attempts, police

said.

Perez said Elbouhy’s mother was aware her son was being sought in

connection with the incidents and had previously been in contact with

Huntington Beach detectives.

Elbouhy apparently had lived at the location of his capture in the

past, but took to the streets in recent times, she added.

He was booked at Santa Ana’s Orange County Jail on $235,000 bail, and

is set to appear at Orange County Superior Court’s West Justice Center on

Friday.

Pythons allegedly taken from Fountain Valley store

Two jaguar carpet python snakes were reportedly taken last week from

Prehistoric Pets, in the 18000 block of Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley.

Police said the snakes, one male and one female, are 2 years old,

about six feet long and valued at $7,500. They were last seen Feb. 28 in

the store.

There was no evidence of forced entry into the business and no damage

done to their cages, police said.

Anyone with information should call the Fountain Valley Police

Department at (714) 593-4472.

Suspect still sought in 1997 shooting

Huntington Beach police were still searching Tuesday for a suspect in

a Thanksgiving Day 1997 shooting that wounded two.

Police have identified Hung Quoc Do, 28, of Covina, as one of two men

suspected of attempted murder. Do’s 26-year-old brother, Dung Quoc Do,

was arrested on the same charge in his parent’s Aurora, Colo. home.

At about 1:10 a.m. Nov. 27, 1997, police arrived at the Majestic

Nightclub, at 18582 Beach Blvd., where two men were found shot in the

parking lot. Surf City resident Pham Phuong, then 34, and Thanh Pham,

then a 32-year-old Westminster resident, suffered nonlife threatening

gunshot injuries to their legs and were treated at Pacifica Hospital.

Police said the shots were fired after a fight between Phuong and Pham,

and a third individual.

Sgt. Janet Perez of the Huntington Beach Police Department said that

evidence and police work over the last three years led officers to

suspect Do and his brother, and ultimately to tracking the latter down in

Colorado.

Do’s last known address was in the 1100 block of Connell Street in

Covina. He has black hair and brown eyes, with three tattooed tear drops

under his left eye. Other tattoos include the word “Asian” on his left

arm, “pride” on his right arm, with a Playboy bunny on his chest. A

tattoo of a man pointing a gun is on Do’s back, and a prison tower and

man are on his left shoulder. Various Vietnamese characters are on his

shoulder and chest.

Perez stressed that the large tattoo on Do’s neck shown in police

photographs has since been removed.

Police said Do’s whereabouts are unknown, and he is to be considered

armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call the

Huntington Beach Police Department at (714) 960-8811 of the Investigation

Hotline at (714) 375-5066.

Surf City man killed in car accident

A Huntington Beach pedestrian was killed, and another jailed, after a

hit-and-run car accident near Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue Tuesday.

A motorist was driving eastbound on Warner, approaching Beach, when a

Antonio Tapias, 75, was walking north across the street near Oak Avenue,

police said.

Tapias, a Huntington Beach resident was in the eastbound lanes of

traffic when he was struck by a van, tossing him several feet into the

street’s center median, they added. He suffered massive head injuries and

was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses at the accident led police to suspect Thai Van Dang, 46, who

allegedly fled the scene after hitting Tapias.

Several citizens detained Dang near the intersection of Beach

Boulevard and Blaylock Street, where he was arrested by police and booked

for felony hit-and-run. Bail has been set at $10,000.

Police officials said it is undetermined whether alcohol or drugs

played a role in the accident, though an investigation is continuing.

Sobriety checkpoint set for Saturday

The Huntington Beach Police Department have planned a sobriety

checkpoint for Saturday at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and

Blaylock Street.

The driver’s license and sobriety checkpoint will run from 9 p.m. to 3

a.m.

Sgt. Janet Perez, a spokeswoman for the Huntington Beach Police

Department, said the point of the checkpoint is to make an extra effort

to keep city streets safe for everyone. The traffic bureau, she added,

hopes the measure will help avoid serious injury and fatal collisions

over the weekend by catching drivers under the influence before they can

cause an accident.

The checkpoint was originally scheduled for Feb. 24, but was canceled

due rain.

-- Compiled by Tariq Malik and Jack Schneider