Burglaries spur beefed-up patrols

Police are stepping up patrols in the area just west of John Wayne Airport after three businesses were burglarized at about 2 a.m. Tuesday, Costa Mesa police said.

Someone pried open the front doors to three businesses in the Stonemill Design Center at 2915 Red Hill Ave., and stole computers and a statue, Lt. Clay Epperson said. More than $10,000 worth of property was stolen, he said.

The center is a wide property with several buildings housing businesses dedicated to interior and exterior home design.

“We’re going to be beefing up patrols,” Epperson said. “We’re constantly adapting our responses to trends in crime around the city.”

Tuesday’s burglary resembles one less than a mile down the road on Airway Avenue. On April 20, police rushed to a building in the 3151 Airway Ave. business complex after a burglar alarm went off early that morning when someone broke in through a window. Computer and medical equipment was stolen from there and from a business a few doors down.

The area is mostly abandoned on nights and weekends, Sgt. Bryan Glass said. Police monitor the area closely because burglars can hide easier in the area’s “nooks and crannies,” Glass said.

Computer equipment was stolen from three Newport Beach businesses in the same building overnight in mid-April.

Police said it’s not clear whether the three incidents are related.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.