WEEK IN REVIEW

PUBLIC SAFETY

DNA evidence reopens 1984 murder case; suspect arrested

A Canadian citizen charged last week with a 1984 Huntington Beach homicide was deported just six weeks ago after serving time in a California state prison for a 1986 sexual assault in Costa Mesa.

The suspect, Gerald Su Go, 51, has been charged with the murder of Elizabeth May Hoffschneider while committing rape, burglary and robbery, district attorneys said.

Toronto authorities arrested Go last week in connection with the 1984 murder. DNA evidence linking him to the crime helped district prosecutors file charges on the cold case, but only after Go was deported.

If convicted of this crime he faces a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Go was convicted in 2004 for the 1986 crime, which happened in a Costa Mesa apartment complex where he lived at the time.

A Los Angeles Times story in 1984 reported that Hoffschneider, 38 at the time, was found strangled on her bed in the 16200 block of Parkside Lane, where she lived alone, after she went missing from her job in Fountain Valley.

The Toronto police fugitive squad arrested Go Oct. 23. He is scheduled for extradition proceedings in Canada to bring him to Orange County for prosecution.

 Local Community Emergency Response Teams returned home from assisting fire crews this week as the Orange County blaze came under full containment and safety crews headed back to their cities.

Local volunteers worked relaying messages between agencies, making meals and shuttling supplies and people around Irvine Regional Park in Orange. Some of the aides helped drive Orange County Fire Authority investigators to some of the charred neighborhoods for damage assessment.

The final engines from Newport Beach and Costa Mesa fire departments returned to their stations Monday morning from the Witch fire in the San Diego area after breaking off from the group fighting the Santiago Canyon fire in Orange County last week.

Only two members of the Newport Beach Fire Department stayed behind Monday to assist in containing the blaze. Costa Mesa had dispatched four engines; Newport Beach had sent three.

 Los Angeles FBI agents confirmed Wednesday that they believe the robber of the First Bank in Costa Mesa this week to be the Armada Bandit, a man wanted in connection with six similar robberies countywide, authorities said.

At 2:52 p.m. Tuesday, a man reportedly walked into the bank on the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Baker Street and slid a demand note across the counter to one of the tellers, police said.

The robber was described as white, 50, 6 feet tall, 200 pounds with a dark mustache, police said.

FBI agents said that the Armada Bandit is responsible for robberies on the following dates:

Yorba Linda on May 11; Fullerton on June 11 and Oct. 15; Azusa on June 15; Costa Mesa on June 22; Los Alamitos on June 28 and Placentia on July 12.

Both times in Costa Mesa the bandit hit the First Bank in the 3000 block of Harbor Boulevard, authorities said.

BUSINESS

High-end golf club, resort reopens since remodeling

The Pelican Hill Golf Club, the first phase of the Irvine Co.’s Resort at Pelican Hill, reopened Friday after two years of renovations. Around two dozen golfers arrived shortly after dawn to try out the revamped courses, which designer Tom Fazio amended with new turf, bunkers and irrigation.

Also opening Friday were the Pelican Grill restaurant and the brand-new clubhouse, done in the style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The rest of the resort, which includes bungalows, villas, a spa, a wedding chapel and restaurants, is scheduled to open in fall 2008.

Many of the first golfers Friday were regulars at Pelican Hill before it closed two years ago.

Mall to finish tall order with tree lighting in November

Fashion Island has boasted for years about having the tallest Christmas tree in America, and its streak appeared intact Thursday as Victor’s Custom Christmas Trees from Laguna Niguel delivered a 115-foot white fir to the Bloomingdale’s courtyard.

Officials plan to hold the annual tree-lighting ceremony Nov. 16 and 17.

The mall used to hold only one ceremony, marketing director Laura Davis said, but expanded a decade ago to accommodate the overflow crowds.

“I know it’s a very, very, very big deal,” said Juicy Couture manager Christine Sato, whose boutique opened at Fashion Island last year and resides conveniently right next to the tree.

NEWPORT BEACH

Legal counsel to take action against moratorium violators

Newport Beach will take legal action against rehabilitation-home owners who are in violation of a moratorium on new homes, city officials announced.

The city has already sent out letters to at least two homes that might be in violation and two other homes that plan to open, Mayor Steve Rosansky said.

It is not yet clear what type of legal action the city could take, but the city’s independent legal counsel would most likely seek to stop new homes’ openings and shut down those in violation.

COSTA MESA

Acosta’s attorney blasts appeal of judge’s dismissal

An ACLU attorney called an appeal filed in a criminal case against his client, immigration activist Benito Acosta, “meritless” last week after Costa Mesa challenged a judge’s dismissal of the city’s case against Acosta.

The city filed misdemeanor charges of disrupting a public meeting against Acosta stemming after a Jan. 3, 2006 City Council meeting at which Acosta, who goes by the name Coyotl Tezcatlipoca, spoke against a plan to have city police enforce immigration laws.

A federal ACLU civil case against the city alleging Acosta’s right to freedom of speech were violated at the City Council meeting is pending. Depositions in the civil case are slated to begin this month.

EDUCATION

Sports hit the field again since wildfire-sparked ban

The district lifted its restriction on outdoor activities for students Wednesday, more than a week after Southern California wildfires broke out. The clamp-down on outdoor activities started on Oct. 22 after Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard consulted with the Orange County superintendent and neighboring district leaders. Schools across Southern California kept students indoors during the school day and canceled sporting activities and traveling.

While the air quality is still troublesome for air-sensitive kids with lung ailments, the district has opened outdoor lunch and recess areas.