BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Broken water main floods three homes

Costa Mesa resident Dinh Dang thought a neighbor’s motorcycle woke him up at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday, but it was a lot worse than just a rude awakening.

What he heard was an underground water main bursting on the 1200 block of Baker Street that damaged his home and the homes of two neighbors.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Deng and his neighbors were without water and electricity. As of 4 p.m., 12 homes lacked water. Earlier in the day when Mesa Consolidated Water District crews were repairing the broken pipe, they noticed a cracked electrical conduit and called Southern California Edison, water district spokeswoman Amanda Gavin said.

Edison spokesman Marlon Walker said 22 homes on Babb Street where it intersects with Baker were expected to be without power until 8 p.m. Thursday.

The water flooded Deng’s home on Babb Street, a neighbor’s home at Babb and Baker streets and another at Baker and Croftdon streets.

— Ana Facio Contreras

2 women suspected of soliciting sex online

Costa Mesa Police detectives arrested two women on suspicion of prostitution Wednesday after officers were directed to a Costa Mesa apartment from an advertisement posted online, police said.

Detectives constantly monitor the online listings site Craigslist for illegal activity and spotted a posting that alluded to sexual activities, said Costa Mesa Sgt. Bob Ciszek.

The posting did not specifically advertise sex for sale but did include a picture of a woman who was not fully-clothed, Ciszek said.

Detectives called the phone number on the posting and were instructed to come to an apartment in the 3400 block of Avenue of the Arts. There, two women allegedly offered sex for money, Ciszek said.

Hee Kyung Kim, 31, of Costa Mesa, and Yu Jin Song, 29, of Los Angeles, were arrested on suspicion of prostitution.