LAGUNA BEACH — An anonymous tip led Laguna Beach police detectives to arrest six people on charges including identity theft and possession of drugs for sale and helped save the life of one of the suspects, police said Thursday, April 19.
The arrests occurred on Thursday, April 12, following an anonymous tip on April 11, that some people had fraudulently rented an Airbnb in the 31000 block of Virginia Way and were dealing in narcotics, said Sgt. Jim Cota.
Detectives began surveillance on the home. Their investigation revealed that Daniel French was inside the property. French, of Orange County, is on formal probation with search and seizure terms from a prior burglary conviction.
ADVERTISING
While there, detectives noticed that French showed signs of a drug overdose and took him to the nearby Mission Hospital Laguna Beach.
In the house, police found heroin, methamphetamine, hypodermic needles and assorted stolen mail from Laguna Beach residents, Cota said.
After the search, six people were taken into custody for a variety of charges which include: possession of personal identifying information with intent to defraud, intent to use/sell/pass/publish fictitious checks, theft of mail, possession of burglary tools, false information to a police officer, probation violations, and possession, possession for sales, and transportation of controlled substances, Cota said.
The suspects are Savannah Mendes, Halley Ruml, Cory Wells, Anastasia Stevens, Joseph Sedeno and French. All are from Orange County but not residents of Laguna Beach.