BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Two arrested in...

BRIEFLY IN

THE NEWS

Two arrested in burglary case

Newport Beach police detectives arrested two Aliso Viejo residents

on Tuesday on suspicion of burglary and auto theft, police said

Thursday.

Julio E. Blanco, 33, and 26-year-old Malin Margarita Larsson are

suspected of burglarizing a home in the Park Newport Apartments on

Jamboree Road and, four days later, stealing a car from the same

apartment complex, Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

He said the victims had talked to Blanco and Larsson before the

burglary. The two had said they were looking for an apartment,

Shulman said.

“But when the residents returned to their home, they found their

home had been burglarized and they were missing jewelry, car keys, a

cell phone, their credit cards and personal identification,” he said.

Four days later, a 2002 gold Toyota Camry was stolen from the

complex, Shulman said. Investigators tracked down Larsson through a

call made on the victim’s cell phone, he said. Detectives also

located Larsson’s home and found a late-model gold Toyota Camry in

the driveway with paper license plates.

Detectives staked out the home on Tuesday night and arrested

Larsson outside the home, Shulman said. Minutes later, Blanco was

also taken into custody.

Investigators found identification, credit cards and jewelry

belonging to the Newport Beach victims at the home, Shulman said.

They also found counterfeit currency, a matter that will be

investigated by federal authorities, he said.

Blanco and Larsson are being held in Orange County jail in lieu of

a $25,000 bail.

Gas line ruptures, closes Quail Street

Officials closed off Quail Street for more than two hours on

Thursday afternoon after a gas line ruptured when a construction

backhoe hit it, said Donna Boston, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach

Fire Department.

The call came in at about 2:30 p.m. from the 1200 block of Quail

Street, she said. No one was evacuated, and there were no fires or

incidents as a result of the leak, Boston said.

The Gas Co. will work to repair the line, she said.