1 suspect arrested in failed bike theft; another at-large

One suspect was in custody and another was at-large after two men attempted to steal a motorcycle from a parking stall in the 1500 block of Mesa Verde East, Costa Mesa police said Wednesday.

Luis Escobar, 23, of Huntington Park, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft of a motorcycle after he and another man tried to steal the bike from a residence, police said.

The bike’s owner woke up to the noise and called police. The men fled in a van without the bike, police said. Police speculate the bike was specifically targeted because the van was equipped to hold a motorcycle in the back.

After a brief chase, the men abandoned the van on the 2000 block of Monrovia Avenue and ran away, Lt. Clay Epperson said. Costa Mesa and Irvine police used K-9 units and helicopters to set up a perimeter, and Escobar was arrested. The second man is still at-large, and police have no physical description. Escobar will be arraigned today and is in custody at the James Musick Facility in Irvine.

— Joseph Serna