Car thefts spike

The Costa Mesa Police Department arrested suspects in three car thefts Friday and Saturday, with two incidents occurring in the area around South Coast Plaza and the third involving a high-speed chase on the 73 Freeway.

Police made a total of five arrests in the three incidents, which appeared to be unrelated.

“We’re having a theme weekend,” Lt. Dale Birney said.

The first event occurred Friday around 1:30 p.m., when an officer spotted a car near the South Coast Plaza parking lot with a license plate that had been reported as stolen.

Costa Mesa police followed the car to Santa Ana and arrested the driver and two passengers after a brief pursuit.

The driver was identified as Uriel Burciaga, 27 of Anaheim, while the passengers were listed as Cristina Herrera, 33, of Santa Ana and John Acosta, 32, whose residence was not specified.

Birney said the car had been stolen from Anaheim and the suspects were in custody at Orange County Jail.

Around 11 p.m. Friday, police arrested 33-year-old Patrick Healey of Costa Mesa after a pursuit began when officers attempted to pull him over.

Police cars and a helicopter pursued the driver before he crashed into a guardrail on the overpass by Bear Street.

Healey was charged with vehicle theft, failure to yield, driving under the influence and reckless driving and booked at Orange County Jail.

The third arrest occurred around 4 a.m. Saturday morning, when police found Ruthie Zepeta, 43, of Torrance asleep outside 24 Hour Fitness on Anton Boulevard in a car that had been reported stolen from National City. Zepeta was also booked at the county facility.

Birney reminded car owners to take the usual precautions about their vehicles, including one that he said many people overlooked.

“Keep the doggone thing locked,” he said. “You’d be surprised how many people don’t do that.”