Police Seach Leads to 3 Arrests, 2 Stolen Vehicle Recoveries in Los Alamitos

The Los Alamitos Police Department on Thursday arrested three individuals and recovered two stolen vehicles following a large search effort in the Rossmoor Highlands neighborhood and a police pursuit that led onto the 605 Freeway.

Los Alamitos Police Department Capt. Bruce McAlpine said that officers were initially called to the 12100 block of Cherry Street in Rossmoor Highlands at around 2 a.m. after a resident reported someone was ransacking a vehicle. Upon arrival, police established a containment area and started searching the neighborhood with the help of the Seal Beach police, Cypress police and security officers from the Joint Forces Training Base.

During the search, McAlpine said police arrested two male juveniles. Police said one boy was hiding on the side of a residential home while the second boy was found hiding on the Joint Forces Training Base at the border with the Rossmoor Highlands neighborhood.

Also recovered during the search was 1991 Ford Tempo, which was reported stolen from the Lakewood area. According to police, it is believed that the two juveniles used the stolen vehicle to travel to Rossmoor.

The search and arrests didn't end there though.

McAlpine said that as the search continued, a 2008 blue Lexus SUV was seen driving in and out of the neighborhood in a suspicious manner. When police attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver of the Lexus led police on a pursuit that wound through Rossmoor and onto the 605 Freeway.

Police said that the pursuit ended with the Lexus crashed into a center median near the intersection of Carson and Norwalk Boulevard in Hawaiian Gardens. It was then discovered that the Lexus had allegedly just been stolen from Seal Beach.

The driver of the Lexus fled the area and avoided arrest while the vehicle's passenger, Olivas Vasquez, 22, of Hawaiian Gardens was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property and obstruction.

Vasquez was booked in the Orange County Jail. One of the juveniles arrested was released back to his legal guardian while the second juvenile was returned to the Los Padrinos Juvenile Facility in Downey, where he had allegedly walked away from.

Anyone with information on the incidents or who may have been a victim is asked to call the Los Alamitos Police Department at 562-594-7232.