Police arrest two for boat burglaries

Deepa Bharath

Police arrested two 20-year-old men early Wednesday morning in

connection with a barrage of boat burglaries in the harbor since

October, officials said.

Matthew David Lewis of Costa Mesa and Justin Christopher Little of

Newport Beach may have been connected with most, if not all, of the

more than 50 burglaries on boats docked along several miles of Coast

Highway, Harbor Island Drive and Bayside Drive, Newport Beach Sgt.

Steve Shulman said.

The arrests happened after a patrol officer scrutinized a boat

yard Wednesday morning in light of the recent burglaries, he said. At

about 3:10 a.m., the officer, who was patrolling on foot, saw a

dark-colored car park nearby and two men get off and walk down to a

dock, Shulman said.

The officer called for backup and police searched the dock for the

two men, but couldn’t find them.

“All the other officers left, but the officer who initially came

out there stayed back and waited,” Shulman said.

At about 4:30 a.m., the officer saw the two men returning to the

car with a large, rectangular object, he said.

“It turned out to be a plasma television valued at $10,000,”

Shulman said. “The officer’s patience and tenacity paid off.”

When officers contacted one of the men, he said it came from his

father’s boat. But police searching the area found out that a boat

had been burglarized and determined that the television belonged to

the owner of that craft, Shulman said.

In most of the recent burglaries, the alleged burglars had taken a

variety of things including liquor, binoculars, cameras, computers

and plasma television sets. Some of the boats had not been locked

while others had doors or hatches pried open, Shulman said.

“It’s always a good idea to lock boats because there are

transients and thieves who target boats because they have expensive

property in them,” he said.

Boat owners may also want to consider using alarm systems and keep

as few valuable items on board as possible, Shulman said.

“They should also check their boats and report such crimes on time

so we can determine when the incidents occurred,” he said.

Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol officials stationed in

Newport Beach also keep a close watch on docked boats, said Sgt.

David Ginther.

“So many burglaries within such a short time is abnormal for

Newport,” he said. “It’s usually quite a safe harbor.”

Local shipyards have been hit brutally over the last four months,

said Jim Werner, a manager at Newport Harbor Shipyard.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in the 17 years I’ve worked

here,” he said. “Once every two years, maybe, we’d have someone break

in and steal something small. But never of this magnitude.”

It changed the way the shipyard operates, Werner said, they are

now much more vigilant.

“We had to get on every boat and make sure everything was secure,”

he said. “But they even got on a boat ... which was well-locked. They

pried it open.”

Detectives are still piecing together evidence linking Little and

Lewis to other burglaries, Shulman said. Both men are being held in

Newport Beach city jail in lieu of a $150,000 bail and face felony

burglary charges.

Police are also asking possible victims or anyone who has bought

or has been offered items from the two men, to call Newport Beach

Police Department at (800) 550-6273.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.