IRVINE (CBSLA) — A mountain lion was captured today after into ran into an Irvine business. “Never had such a wild encounter like that,” said Claire Leenerts. “It was very scary.” The mountain lion is believed to be the same one that was seen swimming in Orange County over the weekend. Animal control and law enforcement initially tried to sedate the mountain lion but failed. The animal then ran into a nearby business. “When I first looked up I saw a cat hit the door, hit the partition, and wander through,” said Mark Waterhouse an employee of Morse Micro Office. Waterhouse added that the c ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) — It’s been 20 years since professor Iryna Zenyuk left Ukraine, but even as time passes all she remembers is the peaceful childhood she had. “It was very peaceful,” said the UC Irvine engineering professor. “Very nice childhood that I had in Ukraine.” But those memories of peace have disappeared amid a Russian invasion that continues to leave nothing but destruction and death in its wake. “This is the war that took away all of those things that were so precious to me,” she said. Not one to stand idly by, Zenyuk looked for any way to help those attempting to flee the devastating ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) — Irvine and Huntington Beach are two of the happiest cities in America, according to a new ranking. Irvine and Huntington Beach both ranked within the top 10 on WalletHub’s ranking of “2022’s Happiest Cities In America.” Other California placements on the list include Freemont at 1, San Fransisco at 3 and San Jose at 4 and San Diego rounded out the top 10. Meanwhile, Los Angeles ranked 54 on the list. Congratulations @Fremont_CA, Columbia, @sfgov, @CityofSanJose & @City_of_Irvine for being the happiest cities in America: https://t.co/XkhABYcrtJ pic.twitter.com/JcdCvK240F ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) — Irvine Police Department officers began pursuit of a suspect Thursday evening in Irvine. CHP’s successful PIT maneuver. (Source: CBS) The pursuit began in Irvine, when the suspect reportedly committed a traffic violation, but California Highway Patrol officials took over control of the pursuit shortly after the chase began. Per a report from Irvine Police, the suspect was shooting fireworks at pedestrians, and when officers arrived they found him sitting in his “blacked-out” vehicle. When they attempted to stop him, he fled. Just after 8:15 p.m., authorities attempted a ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) — Two men have been arrested on suspicion of robbing a Korean barbecue restaurant in Irvine, and police say they may have committed similar crimes elsewhere in Orange County. (credit: Irvine Police Department) Alanmichael Babauta, 25, of Westminster, and Allan Hoang, 28, of Monterey Park, face charges of robbery, kidnapping, burglary, false imprisonment, and conspiracy. Police say they were identified by detectives as the armed duo that robbed All That Barbecue, a Korean barbecue restaurant at 15333 Culver in Irvine, on Jan. 19. In that robbery, two men in sunglasses and masks ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) – New information has continued to come to light over recent days in the Heidi Planck missing person case. On October 29, officers entered her home with a warrant and guns drawn, expecting to find a crime scene. On Wednesday, detectives seized security video footage from the apartment complex building where Planck’s dog was found wandering alone on the 28th floor. The complex had previously been noncooperative when it came to the investigation, refusing to turn over any security footage without a warrant. On Thursday, investigators revealed that they had found new vide ..read more

STANTON (CBSLA) — Two men have been arrested in connection with a 2019 murder of an Irvine man whose body was found in the trunk of a car in Stanton. (credit: CBS) Jonathan Ho, 32, of Marina del Rey, and 27-year-old Nicholas Nguyen of Oklahoma city were arrested Thursday in the murder of Jeffrey Cheng. His body had been found in the trunk of a car parked on Leafwood Street on March 8, 2019. Sheriff’s homicide investigators executed warrant in Marina del Rey and in Oklahoma City, with the help of the U.S. Marshals Office, on Thursday and took Ho and Nguyen into custody without incident. Three ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) — Supporters of Desiree Horton, who was fired by the OC Fire Authority after being the first woman to pilot a helicopter for the agency, rallied in Irvine Thursday to demand she get her job back. (credit: CBS) Horton, a veteran pilot whose time includes a decade with CalFire, became the OCFA’s first female pilot in 2019. But after she was fired during her probationary period, Horton sued, claiming she was subjected to sexual discrimination, unfair training practices, and a hostile environment. Her supporters again rallied outside the OCFA meeting in Irvine to demand she be reh ..read more

IRVINE (CBSLA) – At voting centers in Orange County, a steady stream of people showed up to cast their ballots in the gubernatorial recall election, with at least 50 people in line before lunchtime at city hall and long lines just 30 minutes for polls closing. Orange County voter casting their ballot in person for Sept. 14 recall election. Asked why he wanted to vote in person, Irvine voter Anton Acre said he enjoys showing up for the hands-on approach. “Honestly, it’s part of the civic duty. I like being a part of the physical process,” Arce said. Charlotte Coleman, another Irvine voter sai ..read more

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Four people were arrested and close to $2 million in merchandise stolen from dozens of Southern California stores was seized in a bust on an organized crime ring last month. September 2021. (CHP) California Highway Patrol reported Monday that security with TJX Companies Inc. – the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods — discovered that their stores across Southern California were being repeatedly hit by a group of shoplifters and contacted the CHP Border Division’s Organized Retail Crime Taskforce. Investigators traced the stolen goods to a mobile home in M ..read more