At least 20 burglaries in Huntington Beach blamed on South American gang
A break-in reported Feb. 14 in the 5400 block of Paces Ferry Way in south Huntington Beach is being investigated as a burglary gone wrong. Authorities said the home had several different points of entry and was ransacked.
The owner says he was asleep when someone broke in. He woke up to the smell of marijuana and a man in the house yelling at him, according to a report in the Orange County Register.
“I thought it was a joke,” he told the newspaper. “I did not want anyone to know I was home.”
The paper reports that the home at 5400 Paces Ferry Way had a back door and side entrance, and that the front door was in a different position.
The burglars apparently searched through everything, including the refrigerator, closet and drawers, looking for valuables.
The next morning police were called to the home, police said.
Huntington Beach police reported that a home at 5400 Paces Ferry Way in the 5300 block of Paces Ferry Way had several different points of entry. Officials said they discovered the home had been ransacked during the burglary. Authorities said they also discovered the burglar had used an ax to break the front door.
The owner of the home, who asked that his name not be used, told the Register he was sleeping when a man was in his home and yelling at him. He told the paper he was in bed and got up to find the home ransacked.
He said he confronted the man, but he left the home without saying anything. He said he woke up to the smell of marijuana and when he went into the back room he found the home ransacked. He said he woke up his wife and they went to check it out.
Police have not returned calls for comment.
A man who said he was a victim of a burglary in Huntington Beach is suing the homeowner for $20 million, claiming the man’s property was taken without compensation.
Daniel K. Wold