Barricade keeps police busy for nearly two...

Barricade keeps police busy for nearly two hours

Laguna Beach police arrested a Buena Park man and a Dana Point

woman after the pair had reportedly barricaded themselves inside an

apartment with two children and two other adults in Club Laguna

Tuesday, near the Aliso Viejo border.

Police responded to a domestic violence call made by a neighbor at

11:07 p.m. Monday and arrested 44-year-old Joseph Ausilio on

suspicion of violating a restraining order and 28-year-old Erin

Modoff on suspicion of delaying an officer.

The residence was quiet when police arrived, and none of the

parties involved appeared hurt when the situation was resolved at

around 12:50 a.m. Tuesday, Det. Paul Litchenberg said. Police deemed

the situation a barricade because people in the home knew police were

outside but weren’t responding to officers’ requests to open the

door.

The other two adults in the house weren’t arrested because they

said Ausilio and Modoff told them not to open the door.

All city police units responded to the incident, and Orange County

sheriffs patrolled the city for nearly two hours while Laguna Beach

police waited it out. Police entered the house after seeing Modoff

crawling beneath the bedroom window, which Litchenberg said is right

next to the apartment’s front door.

Officers ordered her to stand at gunpoint, which she did and told

police how many others were in the apartment.

Ausilio has a criminal history of domestic violence, and both he

and Modoff have a criminal history involving drugs, Litchenberg said.

The restraining order Ausilio violated was filed by Modoff.

“This is just one of those long, weird cases that’s tough to

understand what exactly happened and why,” Litchenberg said.

-- Mike Swanson

Complaint leads to drug bust, burglary arrests

A neighborhood complaint about several visitors going in and out

of an apartment on Cozumel Court led narcotics investigators to a

drug bust and an eventual stakeout that resulted in two burglary

arrests at a Home Depot in Laguna Hills.

Narcotics detectives arrested 21-year-old Stephen Robinson of Lake

Forest on suspicion of possession of stolen property, possession of

drug paraphernalia and possession of a firearm with a silencer June 6

in the 100 block of Cozumel Court. Narcotics detectives asked to

search the apartment, and the 20-year-old who answered the door

allowed it, Det. Paul Litchenberg said. Robinson arrived as they

conducted their search.

Detectives received a tip from one of the men in the house that

they had received the $1,800 worth of stolen tools found in the

closet from 34-year-old Steve Dees of Laguna Niguel, an employee at

Home Depot in Laguna Hills.

Detectives set up a stakeout and arrested Dees at about 2 a.m.

June 11 on suspicion of receiving stolen property and burglary after

seeing him stash power saws in a dumpster behind the building. In the

meantime, officers also saw another employee, 28-year-old Luis

Cespedes of Laguna Hills, run out of Home Depot and stash tools in

the bushes twice, Litchenberg said.

Cespedes was arrested on similar suspicions.

“Getting Cespedes was luck,” Litchenberg said. “He had nothing to

do with the tip we got on Dees.”

-- Mike Swanson