Alleged Pipe Thief Arrested

A 51-year-old Mission Viejo man arrested Monday on suspicion of stealing pipe to sell for scrap is the alleged source of more than 20 other thefts in the city, authorities said.

At about 7:30 a.m. March 19, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Luis Cortez Huizar after a witness reported a man wearing black clothes tampering with sprinklers near Muirlands Boulevard and Ares Street.

After searching Huizar's black backpack, police allegedly found a pipe wrench and a stolen section of pipe called a backflow preventer.

Backflow preventers, also called backflows or backflow devices, are used in landscaped areas to stop irrigation water from mixing with potable water supply. Replacing preventers can cost thousands.

On Tuesday, Huizar pleaded not guilty to charges of grand theft and receiving stolen property.

OCSD officials allege Huizar is responsible for more than 20 thefts in Mission Viejo near Alicia Parkway, Muirlands and Jeronimo.

“As far as we know, he was working alone on this,” said OCSD Investigater Brad Kenneally, who has been handling the case.

Kenneally said the the call from a witness Monday morning underscored the importance of community members reporting crime.

"This is the perfect example," Kenneally said. "That was just the call we'd been looking for."

Huizar was arrested in January in Lake Forest on similar charges. According to court records, he pleaded not guilty to charges of grand theft, attempted grand theft, receiving stolen property, vandalism causing greater than $400 worth of damage and petty theft. 

He was released on $20,000 bail Jan. 19.

Currently housed in the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana, Huizar is scheduled to appear again in court on March 28, according to the arrest log.

Anyone with information about the alleged thefts is asked to call Kenneally at 949-425-1900.