Westminster Brothers Held in Auto Burglaries

Two brothers from Westminster were arrested in Newport Beach on Monday night in connection with as many as 50 car stereo burglaries, Newport Beach police said.

Jeffrey Summers, 27, and his brother, Gary, 24, were arrested in the Spyglass Hill area about 7:30 p.m., shortly after two thefts of car stereos were reported in the district. Three stereos were found in the car the brothers were driving, police said.

Police have been searching for suspects in a series of car-stereo thefts since November.

“They specialize” in stealing car stereos from Mercedes-Benzes, Police Officer Greg Armstrong said about the burglars.

‘Unlocked Car in Garage or Driveway’

“During daylight or evening, (the burglars) usually (rob) an unlocked car in the garage or driveway while the victims are home,” he said.

Victims in the Spyglass Hill burglaries told police that they noticed their stereos missing within 20 minutes of each theft, Armstrong said.

Police had a description of a suspicious car seen in previous stereo burglaries. Officer Gary Milius noticed a car of the same description--a 1987 silver Honda CRX without license plates--at the intersection of Ford Road and MacArthur Boulevard.

Milius pulled over the car, searched it and found the three stereos. Two of them were identified by Monday night’s victims, Armstrong said.

Police obtained a search warrant for the Summerses Westminster apartment, where they found 13 more car stereos, he said.

The Summerses are being held in Newport Beach Jail on suspicion of burglary. Bail was set at $25,000 for each. Police are also rechecking similar burglaries in Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Laguna Beach.

“They were brazen, clean, neat and fast,” Armstrong said. “They generally didn’t damage the cars, but in this particular case they just went to the well one too many times.”