Coast Liquor fire possibly arson Police believe...

Coast Liquor

fire possibly arson

Police believe that the fire that caused moderate damage to Coast

Liquor at 3:08 a.m. Wednesday morning is an arson.

Police responded to the fire in the 1300 block of South Coast

Highway and determined through investigation that it was an arson.

“We’re aggressively looking into some leads,” said Sgt. Darin

Lenyi, of the Laguna Beach Police Department.

The investigation is ongoing and police said they are unable to

release further details. Anyone with information regarding the fire

should contact call (949) 497-0370.

Children taken from home

Police responding to calls from City Code Enforcement and Social

Services found a mother and two children living in a house that was

deemed uninhabitable at 5:18 p.m. Monday in the 900 block of Baja St.

The house was unsanitary and a hazard to the health of the people

living there, said Sgt. Darin Lenyi, of the Laguna Beach Police

Department.

“It was one of the dirtiest houses, top five, that I’ve seen ...

and was definitely not an environment you’d want your child in,”

Lenyi said.

The floors in the house were unstable, there was water damage and

garbage everywhere, Lenyi said.

The two children, ages 10 and 14, were taken into protective

custody and the house was condemned by City Code Enforcement, police

said.

Police are investigating possible charges against the parents,

Lenyi said. The father was not in the house when police arrived,

authorities said.

Both City Code Enforcement and Social Services had received

complaints about the condition of the house and information that

children were living inside, police said.

DUI checkpoint snares drivers

The Laguna Beach Police Department arrested six people on

suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, during a

checkpoint held from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday in the southbound

lanes of South Coast Highway at Crescent Bay Drive, police said.

A total of 1,493 vehicles passed through the checkpoint and 396

were stopped by police officers.

When police stopped each vehicle, they provided the driver with

information about driving under the influence, checked for sobriety

and asked to see a current driver’s license.

Officers conducted 18 sobriety tests, from which six people were

arrested, police said. Four people were cited on suspicion of driving

without a valid license, and two people were cited on suspected drug

violations.

Police plan to perform additional checkpoints at various locations

in Laguna Beach in the future.

Citizen Academy offers signups

The deadline to apply for the Laguna Beach Police Department

Citizen Academy is Jan. 5 and the first class will begin Jan. 12.

There are still several spots open, and anyone who lives or works

in Laguna Beach is encouraged to apply.

The Citizen Academy is designed to provide a better understanding

of law enforcement for the community. It is a 12-week program and

classes will be held on Wednesdays from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Information:

(949) 497-0750, Ext. 230.