Beach burglar back at it

HUNTINGTON BEACH — An ongoing problem of car burglaries at the beach continues, but a Tuesday arrest may help to take a bite out of that trend.

Julius Sager, 52, of Anaheim was taken into custody at the beach parking lot on Pacific Coast Highway near Goldenwest Street after Huntington Beach detectives witnessed him break into a truck using a key the truck owner, a surfer, had hidden on the vehicle.

The detectives were on a stakeout in response to previous such incidents and Sager was arrested for the same type crime in February 2009.

According to police, Sager arrived at the parking lot dressed in a suit and tie and proceeded to watch for beachgoers that stashed their keys somewhere on their vehicle while they went in the water.

This common practice of hiding one’s keys in places such as the wheel well or using key-hiding devices, has attracted other burglars and has lead to other recent arrests, including a duo that was nabbed near the Huntington Beach Pier in November.

Sager was arrested without incident and the property he had stolen was recovered.