Surveillance camera captures burglar inside Costa Mesa home undergoing fumigation

A bright blue and yellow striped tent and numerous warnings of a pesticide fumigation in progress did nothing to deter a burglar from reportedly breaking into a home Saturday night and making off with multiple items, officials reported.

Costa Mesa Police Department Spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said the station received a call at 7 p.m. Saturday from the homeowner of a residence on the 1700 block of Tanager Drive, indicating that a video surveillance system had captured footage of at least one person inside the home.

“We had somebody report that their house was tented, and it was being fumigated,” Fyad said Monday. “They reported they had cameras set up and someone was in their home.”

Officers arrived on scene and established a perimeter around the immediate vicinity. A K9 officer team from the Seal Beach Police Department was called to assist CMPD’s own K9 unit, while a helicopter from Huntington Beach Police Department searched for suspects from above.

They cleared the home but did not locate any suspects, Fyad said. While no major appliances seemed to have been disturbed during the incident, the homeowner later reported the loss of some smaller personal items.

Details on what was allegedly taken were not immediately available Monday, and it is unknown whether the suspect acted alone, or if multiple people may have been involved.

Anyone who may have additional information on Saturday’s incident or who may have witnessed anything is asked to call the Costa Mesa Police Department’s Investigation Services Bureau at (714) 754-5205.

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