Rossmoor Burglars Caught in the Act

Police arrested a man and a woman who were caught trying to break into a Rossmoor home Monday afternoon, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

A man was in his home in the 3100 block of Blume Drive when he heard someone trying to break in through the front door, said Lt. Bob Wren. The resident confronted a man who was attempting to break in using a wood chisel, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino. The burglar fled, but the resident was able to jot down the burglars' license plate, added Amormino.

He called 911 and was able to give police a good description of the silver truck that the robbers fled in, added Wren.

“Fortunately, he gave a good description of the vehicle. I had people responding from all over, and our deputy spotted them,” said Wren. “They tried to get away, but, apparently they aren’t familiar with the area because they turned down a one way street (Old Ranch Parkway, which dead-ends due to construction work on the West County connector Freeway project).”

The victim was able to identify the suspects at the scene, Wren said. David Sutera, 34, of Huntington Beach and Brittany Early, 25, of Newport Beach were arrested and taken into custody on suspicion of burglary and possession of burglary tools.

The pair allegedly used a common tactic for residential burglars. They first knocked on the door and then, when no one answered, assumed that the house was empty, Wren said. However, the resident didn’t answer the door because he thought it was a salesperson, Wren said.

In 2011, Rossmoor suffered a spike in burglaries. This is Rossmoor’s second high-profile arrest in recent months. Last month, two men were arrested on suspicion of home-invasion robbery after allegedly tying up a 90-year-old woman and ransacking her house.

It's still too early in the investigation to say whether the man and woman arrested today have any link to the string of burglaries that has rocked the community in recent months, Wren said.