Video leads to arrest in fishing-rod theft

A combination of security camera surveillance tape and observant employees resulted in the arrest of a Costa Mesa man suspected of breaking into a boat and stealing $7,000 of ocean-fishing rods, police said.

A man was seen on camera boarding a boat in the Newport Beach yacht basin and making off with the rods Tuesday. The cameras showed him leaving the boat and driving off in his car, an older model white Mercedes, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Bill Hartford said.

After surveillance video of the thief was shown to people and businesses in the area, staff at the Basin Marine Hardware store recognized a suspect days later.

“Everybody’s looking for this white Mercedes sedan,” store President Dave New said.

When New and some employees saw a car matching the description pull into the basin parking lot two days after the burglary, they recognized the car and the suspect’s mannerisms.

“The guy looked like he belonged in the boat biz — he looked like a fisherman-type dude that no one would suspect,” New said.

New followed the man’s car, wrote down the license plate and blocked him in while an employee called 911. A police officer stopped Gregory Jordan Groff, 45, and searched his car. Inside the trunk, the officer found the stolen fishing rods, Hartford said.

The arrest is credited to the security cameras at the yacht basin, installed a year ago after a rash of thefts in the area. With so many people coming in and out of their boats at night, the cameras have proven useful, New said.

“It was just like putting a gold star on this guy’s head — we knew it was him,” New said.

Groff was arrested on suspicion of burglary and was being held on $50,000 bail, Hartford said.