BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

FOR THE RECORD

An April 21 article, “Suspect in attempted smothering to be tried,” should have said that Joshua Matthew Drougas was scheduled for a pretrial hearing May 7 as part of the process of determining Drougas’ mental competency to stand trial, Orange County prosecutors said.

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Shooting suspects plead not guilty to charges

Two Costa Mesa men on Friday pleaded not guilty to possessing a deadly weapon and street terrorism in connection with a Costa Mesa shooting Wednesday on Pomona Avenue near James Street.

Michael Lewis Seward and Deyvis Yovani Rivera-Ramirez, both 18, are scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing May 1 on charges that they had a weapon commonly known as a Billy, according to the complaint filed against them by the Orange County district attorney’s office.

The two were also charged with street terrorism for participating in a criminal street gang and that the crime committed was to benefit the gang, according to the complaint.

On Wednesday they, along with six teenagers, were arrested in connection with a shooting at Pomona Avenue and James Street. Police reported that one rival gang member shot at Rivera-Ramirez and Seward, who were in a car with others when they had a dispute with an unnamed rival.

Seward was convicted March 1 on similar charges that he possessed a deadly weapon and participated in a street gang. He pleaded guilty to both charges. The district attorney’s office did not know what city the incidents happened in.

Costa Mesa Police spokesman Sgt. Marty Carver did not return calls or e-mails regarding the matter.

Diver hurt in search of sailboat wreckage

An Orange County Sheriff’s Department diver was injured Friday as he and others continued to search for a missing sailor whose 30-foot boat smashed into the Wedge jetty on Wednesday.

The 20-year department veteran had more than 10 years of dive team experience and is expected to be fine, Newport Harbor Patrol Sgt. Fritz von Rettberg said.

The diver twisted his knee while searching the wreckage of a boat belonging to Phoenix resident Eugene Ott, 61, who was last seen by his wife Tuesday. Ott’s wife said her husband was going to the Santa Barbara Islands from Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro. Authorities identified Ott when they found a bag of prescription medication floating near the shipwreck.

The diver’s injuries were minor, and he and was treated as an outpatient, von Rettberg said.

Newport Beach residents lose power

A malfunction in a piece of underground equipment caused an explosion in an electrical vault on Via Oporto, leaving 2,764 Southern California Edison customers in Newport Beach without power for an hour Friday afternoon, officials said.

The power company reported that just before 1:45 p.m. Friday, customers on Lido Isle, the Newport Peninsula and those near Hoag Hospital — areas south of 17th Street, north of the Pacific Ocean, east of Monrovia Avenue and west of G Street — lost power.

The Fire Department had to rescue someone who got stuck in an elevator in the 3400 block of Newport Boulevard because of the outage, and about 50 people in the surrounding buildings around the electrical vault were evacuated.

About an hour later, power had been restored to most customers, with a few close to the affected vault still without power.

Although the Newport Boat Show at the Lido Marina Village did not lose power, the outage reportedly was affecting it, Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said.

The boat show did not lower power and was using a generator. Half of Newport Beach City Hall lost power, with the other half running on generator power, Schulz said.

Suspect in attempted smothering to be tried

A Costa Mesa man who allegedly tried to smother a man at the Mesa Verde Convalescent Center on Center Street is scheduled for a pretrial hearing May 7 as part of the process of determining his mental competency to stand trial, Orange County prosecutors said.

Joshua Matthew Drougas, 18, was charged with attempted murder with premeditation and deliberation, elder abuse, and residential burglary. On Friday, he had a mental health competency hearing at which it was determined that a trial would go forward.

Drougas, who ended his enrollment at Newport Harbor High School in February, is accused of walking into the convalescent hospital and into the bedroom of Ted Mastos, 91, of Newport Beach.

Drougas allegedly tried to smother the Newport Beach man with a pillow, but Mastos woke up and called for help, police said. Mastos was not hurt.

Drougas appeared “confused,” police said after the incident.

Drougas remained in custody at Orange County Jail’s Intake Release Center on $500,000 bail. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

Man to be sentenced for two rape convictions

The sentencing of a Costa Mesa man convicted of two sexual assaults was continued on Friday to June 22 for the rapes of two women in a Costa Mesa apartment complex, prosecutors said.

Jose Fernandez Lopez, 34, could face life in prison.

In June 2005, Lopez gave police a DNA sample following the rapes of two women in 2004 and 2005 at the Newport Village Apartments on West Baker Street.

He was one of 125 men in the complex who provided police with samples. He was arrested the next month when his DNA linked him to the rapes.