Police plates are full with burglar

Police are asking for the public’s help in nabbing the “Dinnertime Burglar,” a 48-year-old man accused of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of items from dozens of homes in Newport Beach and Southern California, police said Thursday.

Paul Layton Keesling, a white male described as 5-foot-9, 190 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, has been burglarizing Newport Beach homes since at least 2005, said Sgt. Evan Sailor.

Keesling targets affluent neighborhood homes between 5 and 11 p.m. when the residents are away at dinner, officials said.

He looks for open side doors or breaks open windows or doors not visible from the street to get inside, Sailor said. Keesling takes jewelry, expensive watches and guns, police said.

“We don’t know if he’s arming himself or if he has a market for guns,” Sailor said.

Police were negotiating Keesling’s surrender with his attorney weeks ago, police said.

“Obviously, things didn’t work out too well,” Sailor said.

Keesling is wanted on a $3.5-million warrant, police said.

Newport Beach officers were able to identify Keesling through DNA found at a past crime scene, Sailor said.

Officials said Keesling has been targeting exclusive Southern California neighborhoods for more than two decades and was living in the area until he learned police had issued a warrant for his arrest a few weeks ago.

His last known address was in Reseda, but he has known associates in Los Angeles, Ventura and Kern counties, Sailor said.

Anyone with information on Keesling’s whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Glen Garrity at (949) 644-3761, Sgt. Mike McDermott at (949) 644-3765, or the department’s hotline at (800) 550-NBPD.