Irvine Police Department

Some regional police forces have grounded their motorcycle units as a precaution while the manhunt for an ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer suspected of targeting law enforcement personnel continues. But Newport-Mesa police departments said Thursday that they haven't seen the need to take such a measure. However, an Irvine police spokeswoman said her department is following the same protocols as the LAPD, mainly keeping officers off motorcycles so they are not as visible. Authorities said Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, a suspect in three murders, including two in Irvine, is targeting police officers in retaliation for being fired from the LAPD in 2009.

The Irvine Police Department confirmed Friday that a woman was raped in her apartment near UC Irvine by an intruder July 8. Earlier on Friday, UCI police sent out a campuswide alert reporting that a sexual assault had occurred at an apartment near campus. Campus police issued the alert because the apartment complex is less than a mile from campus and is known for housing students. The rape occurred shortly after midnight, said Lt. John Hare, a public information officer with Irvine Police.

Irvine police have arrested a Costa Mesa couple who detectives suspect worked as a robbery and getaway team. Tyler Kovacs, 27, would try to steal something while his wife Karen Kovacs, 26, waited in a car idling nearby, police alleged Tuesday. Tyler Kovacs asked to borrow someone's iPhone in a coffee shop at Alton Parkway and Jeffrey Road in Irvine about 5 p.m. Monday, police said. When he tried to leave with the phone, the victim chased him and tried to physically stop him, but the husband reached his wife's waiting car and escaped, police said.

The 14-year-old Northwood High School student seriously injured in a suspected drunk-driving collision Sunday has died, Irvine Police Department said in a news release. Ashton Sweet's parents will donate the teenager's organs, according to the news release. Austin Farley, 26 of Irvine, has been arrested in connection with the accident, which also injured four others. Lauren Williams

The Irvine Police Department was awarded a $100,000 grant for a year-long program designed to deter traffic-related fatalities and injuries, police said Tuesday. The grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will target drunk drivers through additional DUI checkpoints, and target red light running and speeding, according to a police news release. New equipment purchases are also expected to be made with grant monies. "Thanks to the dedicated hard work of agencies like the Irvine Police Department, California has the fewest traffic fatalities since 1944," OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy said in the release.

Irvine police have another $88,300 with which to help educate the public about drunk driving and catch those under the influence, thanks to a grant from the California Office of Traffic and Safety. The department announced Tuesday that it was awarded the money to bolster DUI enforcement and education, including funding checkpoints throughout the city and officers with special training to identify impaired drivers. Drivers under the influence were responsible for 791 deaths and more than 24,000 injuries in California in 2010, according to an Irvine Police Department release citing state numbers.

A sobriety checkpoint is set to take place Friday night in Irvine, according to a news release from the Irvine Police Department. The checkpoint is scheduled to take place between Campus Drive and Bridge Road sometime during the evening hours, the release said. The Police Department makes public checkpoints to encourage safe driving and using a designated driver, the release said. -- Lauren Williams

A bookkeeper, who embezzled $1.7 million from work, was sentenced Thursday to 13 years and four months in state prison, prosecutors said. Rebecca Rhea Moore, 39, of Dyersburg, Tenn., pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including grand theft by embezzlement, computer access fraud and falsifying records, and forgery, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. Moore forged the company owner's name on checks. In addition to prison time, Moore will have to pay $1.7 million in restitution and $117,578 in state taxes to the California Franchise Tax Board, prosecutors said.

A hazardous materials team was dispatched to an Irvine office building Friday morning after a white substance was found in an envelope, authorities said. The building at 15750 Alton Parkway was evacuated after the Orange County Fire Authority's hazmat team arrived at 10:05 a.m., according to police and fire authorities. After several tests, the hazmat team declared the substance harmless at 12:03 p.m., and the evacuation was lifted, according to OCFA Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion.

A 40-year-old Irvine man was in custody Tuesday after he called 911 to say he killed his wife during an argument, police said. Shalabh Rastogi called police about 9:40 p.m. Monday and admitted to the crime, said Lt. Julia Engen of the Irvine Police Department. Officers arrived at the couple's apartment a few minutes later and found the 40-year-old woman “obviously deceased.” Rastogi cooperated with police and was arrested, Engen said. He was booked in the Orange County Jail on murder charges.

Irvine police have arrested a Costa Mesa couple who detectives suspect worked as a robbery and getaway team. Tyler Kovacs, 27, would try to steal something while his wife Karen Kovacs, 26, waited in a car idling nearby, police alleged Tuesday. Tyler Kovacs asked to borrow someone's iPhone in a coffee shop at Alton Parkway and Jeffrey Road in Irvine about 5 p.m. Monday, police said. When he tried to leave with the phone, the victim chased him and tried to physically stop him, but the husband reached his wife's waiting car and escaped, police said.

A bookkeeper, who embezzled $1.7 million from work, was sentenced Thursday to 13 years and four months in state prison, prosecutors said. Rebecca Rhea Moore, 39, of Dyersburg, Tenn., pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including grand theft by embezzlement, computer access fraud and falsifying records, and forgery, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. Moore forged the company owner's name on checks. In addition to prison time, Moore will have to pay $1.7 million in restitution and $117,578 in state taxes to the California Franchise Tax Board, prosecutors said.

Some regional police forces have grounded their motorcycle units as a precaution while the manhunt for an ex-Los Angeles Police Department officer suspected of targeting law enforcement personnel continues. But Newport-Mesa police departments said Thursday that they haven't seen the need to take such a measure. However, an Irvine police spokeswoman said her department is following the same protocols as the LAPD, mainly keeping officers off motorcycles so they are not as visible. Authorities said Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, a suspect in three murders, including two in Irvine, is targeting police officers in retaliation for being fired from the LAPD in 2009.

Irvine police have another $88,300 with which to help educate the public about drunk driving and catch those under the influence, thanks to a grant from the California Office of Traffic and Safety. The department announced Tuesday that it was awarded the money to bolster DUI enforcement and education, including funding checkpoints throughout the city and officers with special training to identify impaired drivers. Drivers under the influence were responsible for 791 deaths and more than 24,000 injuries in California in 2010, according to an Irvine Police Department release citing state numbers.

A man accused of hiding in his estranged wife's Irvine bedroom and threatening her with a knife pleaded not guilty to charges in court Friday, according to jail records. Danny Jose Urena, 27, of Irvine, was arrested after police responded to a call of possible domestic violence in the 300 block of Topeka about 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Irvine Police Department. Urena allegedly hid in his wife's bedroom closet while she was away. When she returned with someone, Urena allegedly threatened them with a butcher knife, police said.

In human terms, the three-vehicle crash in Irvine was casualty free. But as for the 1,600 pounds of live fish that sloshed onto the roadway after a truck flipped over Thursday, well, that's another story. The load of life fish, which authorities believed to be saltwater bass, spilled near the intersection of Walnut and Yale avenues in front of a local firehouse, said Capt. Marc Stone of the Orange County Fire Authority. Stone said the fish -- estimated to be worth roughly $13,000 -- were stored in large tanks that cracked open, and when firefighters opened the back of the truck, many of the fish spilled out, some dead and others still flopping around.

An Irvine man was taken into custody Friday on suspicion of fatally shooting his father, authorities said. Ernest Joseph Bruno, 60, was found dead Friday after family members discovered a significant amount of blood inside his Irvine residence. He was found with more than one gunshot wound, officials said. Irvine police officers responded to the scene at 1:30 p.m. Detectives identified a suspect, Steven Joseph Bruno, 21, who lived with his father. Investigators said that the suspect got in an altercation with his father regarding a disagreement about money.

A 41-year-old man died after a vehicle he was traveling in struck a traffic signal pole on Irvine Center Drive, Irvine police said. John Hwan Kim of Laguna Woods was dead when police arrived to the scene of the crash in the 8800 block north of Hubble about 12:40 a.m. Friday, according to the Irvine Police Department. Kim was alone in the vehicle at the time of the crash, police said. Police do not believe alcohol was a factor. Irvine Center Drive was closed to northbound traffic between Research Drive and Bake Parkway on Friday morning and afternoon, and workers continued work about 4:15 p.m. Friday on repairing the signal, Cmdr.

A 40-year-old Irvine man was in custody Tuesday after he called 911 to say he killed his wife during an argument, police said. Shalabh Rastogi called police about 9:40 p.m. Monday and admitted to the crime, said Lt. Julia Engen of the Irvine Police Department. Officers arrived at the couple's apartment a few minutes later and found the 40-year-old woman “obviously deceased.” Rastogi cooperated with police and was arrested, Engen said. He was booked in the Orange County Jail on murder charges.

A hazardous materials team was dispatched to an Irvine office building Friday morning after a white substance was found in an envelope, authorities said. The building at 15750 Alton Parkway was evacuated after the Orange County Fire Authority's hazmat team arrived at 10:05 a.m., according to police and fire authorities. After several tests, the hazmat team declared the substance harmless at 12:03 p.m., and the evacuation was lifted, according to OCFA Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion.