Slide Looting Suspect Had Boy in Tow

Police arrested a man they say was looting one of three Laguna Beach homes destroyed during recent mudslides, with a 5-year-old boy in tow.

Onne John Maringola, 37, of San Juan Capistrano was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of residential burglary and felony child endangering for allegedly taking the boy into what police have classified as “an extremely hazardous area.”

Police say the boy, a Laguna Beach resident whose mother is a friend of the suspect, told them that Maringola reached into a broken window and took items from one of the homes. Police say they retrieved a food processor and a cordless telephone worth about $300 from nearby bushes.

“My best guess is (Maringola) was probably going to come back and get it later,” Sgt. Raymond Lardie said.

Police say the boy, a kindergartner, was crying and afraid to talk to officers until they assured him he was not in trouble.

“He was scared to death,” Lardie said. The boy was released to his mother shortly thereafter.

Police say the mother had no knowledge of the alleged burglary but had expected Maringola to pick up her son from school and then take him to the grocery store.

Officers were called to the Mystic Hills neighborhood about 1:40 p.m. Tuesday by a security guard hired by the city. The guard had been notified by a friend of one of the homeowners that someone “suspicious” was on the hillside behind one of the homes, according to police.

When police arrived, Lardie said, the suspect was walking quickly into the dense foliage along the hillside. When he didn’t respond to an officer’s calls to stop, the officer ran after him, police said. Moments later, another officer stopped Maringola and the child in the 600 block of Vista Lane, Lardie said.

Maringola was held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, Lardie said.

Lardie said the property owner identified the things retrieved from the bushes as hers.

During the pre-dawn mudslide, which occurred Jan. 18, one house slipped from its foundation, slid 50 feet down a ravine and burned to the ground. Two other houses also slid.

A security guard has been stationed at the site since then.

“That’s a very hazardous area at this point,” Lardie said. “It’s still very unstable.”

Municipal Services Director Terry Brandt said he expects all the properties will have to be leveled. City geologists have been examining the site and are expected to issue a preliminary report within a week, he said.