A social media video showing someone rummaging through a breached storage closet helped police identify and ultimately detain a man suspected of burglary, petty theft and drug-related offenses in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, according to authorities.
The video, which was posted to Facebook in September and viewed more than 20,000 times over roughly a month, shows a man wearing a hat and backpack sliding a knife into a sheath before taking inventory of a well-lighted storage room Sept. 1.
UPDATE 10/09/19‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️The Suspect has FINALLY been arrested and will hopefully do some time thanks to his poor choices! Although he was not arrested for MY trespassing and burglary charge .....he committed another crime that they arrested him for. But now this can be added onto the charges against him so for me I’m happy that he’s at least behind bars! One more druggie off our streets!!
UPDATE-from 09/01/2019 post
I would like to thank the community for helping me share the video and posts that have led to over 20,000 views and for the people that reached out to positively ID the suspect who is from HB and surprise.......Has an arrest record and was arrested just two weeks prior to this crime by HBPD!!
It was about a month ago we were broken into and burglarized for the 2nd time at our apartment storage unit at Luce in Huntington Beach. After doing as much as I could on my part to protect ourselves by purchasing surveillance cameras, filing a police report, posting the UNBELIEVABLE footage we were able to get of the suspect stealing our property to social media, flyers, contacting probation and parole department, news etc. It turns out even with the suspect being identified, he is still able to walk the streets and is probably stealing from more innocent hard-working victims today while your at the Air Show!HBPD detective told me EVEN with the video surveillance (which is the best he’s ever seen) and people identifying him they can’t just go out and arrest the suspect that there is a process!!!
WTH is wrong with our system?!? He told me he can’t disclose to me their process but they need to build a case then submit it to the DA and if the DA decides to press charges they go from there!! Wow 😮 I am just dumbfounded......seriously thought he was being sarcastic and I had to ask again” so your not going to arrest him?!”
Now this morning I wake to receiving a text with this attached video👇🏼 of 2 men breaking in with an ax & crowbar to an apartment on the 4th Floor that just happened in our apartment building 4 days ago at 1:00 in the morning and is so so disturbing!!!!Now I’ve also got to be worried about my safety in my home too and I’m losing faith that the system or Police will be here to protect me & MY rights!!
https://neighbors.ring.com/n/yEV6y
Posted by Nicole Dibiasi on Sunday, October 6, 2019
With the help of the video footage, authorities said, Huntington Beach police were able to identify the suspect, who they said had been arrested in separate incidents Aug. 11 and Aug. 31. Fountain Valley police had arrested the same person Aug. 18, according to authorities.
A warrant was issued and the Westminster Police Department arrested Kyle Robert Birkinshaw, 26, on Tuesday. Birkinshaw’s last known residence was in Rancho Santa Margarita, police said.
Birkinshaw pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one felony count of second-degree burglary, court records show. The incident was dated Sept. 1.
He also pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of petty theft that allegedly occurred Aug. 18 and a total of five misdemeanor counts of possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia. Those incidents allegedly occurred Aug. 11 and 31, court records show.
Birkinshaw, a convicted felon who has previously been charged with a long list of criminal offenses, pleaded guilty June 13 to petty theft and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, according to court records. That crime occurred April 17. The location was unclear.
Birkinshaw is in custody at Orange County Jail with bail set at $21,500. He is scheduled back in court Oct. 18, according to jail and court records.
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