BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Pedestrian hit on PCH dies

A pedestrian was killed Monday night after being hit by a Jeep on Pacific Coast Highway, east of Magnolia Street, police said.

Grant R. Haase, 26, of Fullerton may have been outside the crosswalk when he was hit by the jeep at about 6:30 p.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Earlier, authorities mistakenly said the man killed in the accident was 18 years old.

The jeep’s driver, Alissa Puccio, 25, of Newport Beach, was not hurt, police said. So far, she has not been cited.

Huntington Beach Police ask anyone with information concerning the accident to call Investigator Bob Barr of the Traffic Bureau at (714) 536-5666.

Fire damages shopping center

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused a fire that destroyed one unit in a strip mall and damaged several others, Huntington Beach firefighters said.

Huntington Beach firefighters received a call at about 3:45 a.m. Saturday of a structure fire in the shopping center on the northeast corner of Beach Boulevard and Garfield Avenue. The blaze began in one of the center’s units for storing construction equipment used in the recent remodeling of the storefronts, fire officials said.

The blaze gutted the store where it originated and spread to the shops on either side, causing some damage as well.

“We saved about two-thirds of the property and there were no injuries because all the businesses were closed,” battalion chief Bob Brown said.

The investigation is still ongoing, but so far it does not appear the fire’s cause was arson, Brown said.

Damage was initially assessed at $750,000, although a full inventory of what was inside has not yet been completed, meaning the cost will probably go up, Brown said.

DNA evidence helps nab robbery suspect

With help from DNA evidence and Westminster Police, Huntington Beach Police arrested a Los Angeles man suspected of robbing several Orange County fast-food restaurants over the last few months.

Maxcuim Herring Jr., 23, was arrested Oct. 24 outside of the West Court Justice Center in Westminster where he was scheduled to face charges in a September robbery, Huntington Beach Police said.

Using DNA found on plastic ties used to secure robbery victims, police connected the Westminster suspect to the alleged Huntington Beach heists, Lt. Craig Junginger said.

“He would wait outside [of the businesses], and when the employees would go make a money drop, he would pull out a gun and use zip ties to tie them up,” Junginger said. “That is how the detectives obtained the DNA evidence.”

The string of fast-food heists Herring is suspected of began on June 30 at a Huntington Beach Boston Market. A Jack in the Box, Wienerschnitzel and Wendy’s in Huntington and a Rite-Aid drugstore in Buena Park were also hit.

Herring has been charged with nine counts of second degree robbery and four counts of false imprisonment with enhancements or use of a handgun during the crimes, Orange County prosecutors said.