Deepa Bharath
NEWPORT BEACH -- A 38-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of
burglarizing at least two homes in Corona del Mar, police said Friday.
Lora Mae Balajadia of Los Angeles was arrested Thursday night while
driving on East Coast Highway with allegedly stolen goods in her 1990
Toyota, police said.
The suspect was confronted earlier by a 69-year-old woman on Daffodil
Street who told police that she saw a stranger stealing items from her
garage.
The unidentified resident said she asked the stranger to leave, and
the woman did so after putting down a wallet that belonged to the
homeowner, police said.
The resident also told police that she saw the woman get into a 1990
Toyota and drive away.
An officer in a police helicopter spotted the car heading west on
Bayside Drive near the intersection of East Coast Highway and informed
patrols on the ground.
After officers pulled the car over, they found items allegedly
belonging to an 83-year-old woman who lived near Daffodil Street, said
Lt. Doug Fletcher.
He said that woman did not even know the property was missing and had
not reported anything to police.
"We found other property in her car [that] she said belonged to her,"
Fletcher said. "But we're investigating that."
Police did not release the names of the victims because of their age.
Fletcher said several senior citizens live in the Corona del Mar
neighborhood.
"This person obviously knew that and targeted them," he said.
Balajadia is being held at Orange County Jail on $25,000 bail and for
a no-bail parole violation, police said.
