Irvine Burglary Terrifies Home Alone 12-Year Old But Leads to Arrest

IRVINE, CA – A residential burglar, ransacking an Irvine home Tuesday afternoon, was fortunately surprised enough to flee when he discovered a 12-year old resident of the home hiding in a closet.

Jason Bisbal, 38, of Mission Viejo, was arrested at his Mission Viejo home for the burglary after witnesses reported seeing him and his vehicle in the victim’s neighborhood before the burglary.

According to police, they responded to a report of the burglary in the 14000 block of Yucca Ave. shortly after noon with the suspect described as a heavy-set, white male wearing a red shirt and jeans.

The report indicated that the suspect first knocked on the door of the victim residence. When no one answered he went to the back yard via an unlocked gate and entered the home through an unlocked window.

As the suspect went to work seeking to pillage the house, he opened a bedroom closet and discovered the 12-year old boy who had apparently hidden when the suspect had come through the back window.

The suspect commanded the frightened boy to stay in the closet and fled shortly thereafter, said police.

Irvine police responding to the incident cordoned off the area and conducted a search with the assistance of the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa police departments.

Though the search didn’t immediately yield the suspect, the investigation did gain the witness information that lead to Bisbal’s arrest.

Possible losses from the victim property have yet to be known and police ask anyone with information related to this crime to contact Detective Shaver at (949) 724-7178.