Car Burglary Foiled by Off-Duty Officer

A Los Alamitos police officer with a keen eye for crime foiled an apparent auto burglary early Friday morning, arresting two juveniles in his second off-duty apprehension in two months, authorities said.

Officer Mike Balsis was on his way home about 3 a.m. when he saw two youths on a scooter driving along the 24600 block of Tabuenca, stopping periodically to try to open car doors, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

Balsis watched the youths until they “were successful in opening one of the doors,” Olson said. At that point, Balsis “immediately confronted them and took them into custody.”

The 17-year-old and 15-year-old Mission Viejo boys, whose names were not released because of their ages, were taken to a Sheriff’s Department station, where they were interviewed and released to their parents.

“Appropriate charges will be filed,” Olson said.

This was the second time in two months that Balsis has made an off-duty arrest, Olson said.

On Dec. 4, Balsis and an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer arrested Kenneth William Crowley, 28, of El Toro for an alleged sexual assault on a woman jogger in the area of Olympiad Road and Fonda in Mission Viejo.

Crowley is now awaiting trial.