NEWS
By Jeremiah Dobruck and Hannah Fry | February 8, 2014
A split school board recently asked how much it would cost to post armed guards at campuses in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. In a 4 to 3 vote Tuesday, Newport-Mesa Unified School District trustees asked administrators to find out the price tag for armed security at a single elementary school or high school - something that could scale districtwide. In interviews after the vote, trustees emphasized the exploration doesn't mean they'll eventually put guns in the hands of guards, but the idea was distasteful enough to some board members to vote against even finding out the price.
NEWS
March 25, 2013
School officials Tuesday will commend the administrators and security guard who sprang into action when an angry parent allegedly brandished a BB gun on campus last month. On behalf of Estancia High School, Newport-Mesa Unified School District board members will honor Principal Kirk Bauermeister, Assistant Principal Michael Sciacca and security guard Xavier Castellano at the board's regular meeting. On Feb. 15, the two administrators wrestled what they thought was a real gun away from a disgruntled parent and Castellano sprinted through the halls warning classes to go into lockdown, according to school officials.
SPORTS
By David Carrillo Peñaloza | February 16, 2013
COSTA MESA - Celia Duran said she's not one to panic. The day before the junior led the Estancia High girls' basketball team to a 54-43 win against Ridgecrest Burroughs on Saturday, she said she was scared for her life. She took cover underneath a desk while her school went into lockdown on Friday afternoon. A student's parent allegedly brandished what looked like a real gun during a fight with a school administrator. The first thing that popped into Duran's mind was her coach, Xavier Castellano.
NEWS
September 11, 2012
Newport Beach police arrested an Anaheim man they said assaulted a security guard at Hoag Hospital. Austin Kristopher McKee, 23, was arrested after the incident about 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to Newport police spokeswoman Kathy Lowe. McKee was in the emergency room when he assaulted the guard, Lowe said. He was taken into custody on suspicion of battery. A motive for the alleged attack was unknown. — Lauren Williams Twitter: @lawilliams30
NEWS
By Mona Shadia, mona.shadia@latimes.com | December 13, 2010
COSTA MESA — The Planning Commission on Tuesday approved the creation of a task force that will attempt to address homelessness in the city. The task force, adopted after a unanimous vote, will have two commissioners and various community members. The commissioners chosen for the task force will be decided at the next meeting. "I think the task force is a way for the community to vet the current challenges and come up with a potential solution to an issue, which appears to be a major challenge for a lot of people on the Westside and the community at large," Planning Commissioner Steve Mensinger said.
NEWS
By Joseph Serna | August 31, 2009
A 57-year-old man who tried to rob a bank in Newport Beach Monday morning was caught as he tried to get away, authorities said. James Alexander Beverley, a transient in Newport Beach, was captured by a Wells Fargo security guard in the parking lot as he tried to make off with cash he’d just stolen from inside the bank, said Lt. Craig Fox. Police said about 9:28 a.m., Beverley handed a note to a teller at the Wells Fargo bank, 2750...
NEWS
August 11, 2009
Neither the cover of night nor a locked door could keep the law from four people police believe were stealing a plasma-screen TV from a vacated Newport Beach apartment Monday, authorities said. About 2:28 a.m., police received a call from the complex security guard at the Coronado at Newport Apartments, 1700 E. 16th St. He told officers he saw a woman, Saisha Miranda, 29, of Huntington Beach, pacing outside some apartments and occasionally looking up to the second floor and looking around as if she were a watch-out, authorities said.
LOCAL
July 15, 2009
Irvine police are crediting an off-duty Newport Beach police detective with helping nab a man trying to steal a case of beer from a grocery store there on Wednesday. Police said Detective Bob Watts saw Ryan William Prince, 24, wrestling with a Pavilions grocery store security guard who caught him leaving without paying for the alcohol. About 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Prince, who?s described as a 6-foot-5, 250 pound Tustin resident, walked into the Pavilions grocery store on Portola Parkway and grabbed a case of beer and walked out without paying, said Irvine police Lt. John Hare.
LOCAL
April 7, 2009
A man found dead Tuesday morning off the sands of Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina shot himself with a gun, the county coroner determined. The man, a 21-year-old Las Vegas resident, committed suicide about 11 p.m. Monday at the south beach area of the resort. He had been a guest of the resort’s RV park for the last few days. The coroner’s office has released the man’s name, but the Daily Pilot has a policy not to print the name of suicide victims unless they were a public figure.
NEWS
By Alan Blank | February 6, 2009
Security guard Virgil Piece was the only one who showed up to work Friday morning at the DMV in Costa Mesa, but he didn’t go into the building. The doors were locked, and he sat outside of the Westside office in a folding chair under an awning to stay out of the rain. Pierce was the security guard charged with telling distraught motorists that the office was closed because California forced many of its workers to stay home a few days a month so that the cash-strapped state can save some money on payroll expenses.