Arrests made in fight, church burglary

Police in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa dealt with rowdiness on and immediately after St. Patrick’s Day when a fight started in front of a convenience store, a bargoer fought with a bouncer and a burglar broke into a church.

In Newport Beach, a drunk man fought with a bouncer and police outside Baja Sharkeez near the Newport Pier, police said.

Two officers intervened when they saw the fight at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The officers used bodily force to separate the two and then made an arrest, police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.

Police booked Benjamin Ray Aguilera, 32, of Orange on suspicion of public drunkenness and resisting arrest. The bouncer declined to press battery charges, Manzella said.

Shortly after 2 a.m. Wednesday, five “drunk 20-somethings” got into a fight outside a 7-Eleven in the 2600 block of Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa, police Sgt. Mike Manson said.

One of them broke through a store window and needed stitches at a nearby hospital, according to police. No one was arrested, Manson said.

About four hours later, a man was arrested on suspicion of breaking into Fairview Community Church at 2525 Fairview Road in Costa Mesa.

“Looks like he got in through one of the windows at the church,” Manson said.

Nothing was stolen, but the burglar did some damage inside as he was rooting around, according to Manson.

Police identified the suspect as Tommy Lamberson, 24, of Costa Mesa.