BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Retiree charged with child molestation

The Orange County District Attorney filed six counts of child molestation July 10 against Reinaldo Esquivel, 65, of Laguna Beach.

Esquivel was arrested July 4 by Laguna Beach police on suspicion of molesting an 8-year-old girl who is related to him, Sgt. Darin Lenyi said.

The alleged molestations occurred on an ongoing basis since the child was seven, Lenyi said.

Esquivel, who is retired, is being held on $1 million bail in Orange County Jail, and is scheduled to appear July 30 at Harbor Justice Center, according to the sheriff’s department website.

Woman eludes kidnap attempt

A 75-year-old Laguna Beach man is accused of attempting to kidnap a woman at a bus bench on Coast Highway in South Laguna around 8 p.m. on July 5.

The 29-year-old Laguna Niguel woman was waiting for a bus at Wesley Drive when she was allegedly accosted by the man, who she said pulled over in a car, got out, held a sharp object to her ribs and demanded that she go with him or die, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

The woman managed to break free and ran to a nearby grocery store, where police were called.

The suspect, Abbas Ghane, 75, who lives nearby, was apprehended shortly after police arrived at the scene.

Ghane, who spoke to police through a Farsi interpretor, was held on $75,000 bail and booked on charges of making death threats and assault with a deadly weapon.

No weapon was found.

July 4 argument ends in woman’s arrest

A 51-year-old Newport Beach woman was arrested on suspicion of making a terrorist threat after quarreling with another driver over a parking spot on Cliff Drive in Laguna Beach at about 12:45 p.m. on the Fourth of July, Kravetz said.

Shiva Azizi was waiting to pull into a parking spot when another driver pulled into the spot instead.

Azizi threatened to shoot the other driver and claimed that she had a gun, Kravetz said.

The other driver summoned police, who pulled Azizi over shortly thereafter and determined that she did not have a gun.

Azizi was taken to jail.

Man accused in attempted burglary

Javier Godoy, 38, of Mission Viejo, was arrested July 2 at 9:41 p.m. on suspicion of attempted burglary at a hotel in the 30000 block of Coast Highway, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

Hotel security had conducted an undercover operation following a string of burglaries and thefts from rooms at the hotel, Kravetz said.

Godoy was caught “red-handed” attempting to take items from one of the rooms, Kravetz said.

The suspect was detained by hotel employees and turned over to the police for booking, then transported to the Orange County Jail.