Yorba Linda Neighbors Help Deputies Round Up Burglary Crew

YORBA LINDA (CBSLA.com) — Four men and a woman have been arrested in connection with a burglary In Yorba Linda's Bryant Ranch community, authorities said Thursday.

Reports of suspicious activity in the 2700 block of Ben Nevis Way, north of the Riverside (91) Freeway, began coming in at about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. Neighbors reported seeing people darting out of a home in what they suspected was a burglary, Orange County sheriff's Lt. Scott Ostash said.

Deputies arriving at the scene saw a person jumping out of the trunk of a 2015 Hyundai and running into a nearby backyard, Ostash said. Deputies later learned the vehicle had been stolen and contained stolen items.

Another neighbor reported seeing three men hiding in the backyard of a nearby house in the 5000 block of Smokey Mountain Way, Ostash said. The three men were arrested and later identified as Larnel Anderson, 18; Mervin Benjamin, 22; and Donald Gordon, 18.

During the arrest, Anderson resisted deputies and was bit by a police dog, Ostash said. He was treated for injuries before going to jail.

Deputies in the neighborhood subsequently spotted and arrested two more people they determined were linked to the trio: Kendra Jemerson, 26, who was driving a vehicle throughout the area and was pulled over in the 27000 block of Mt. Whitney Way; and Phillip Ridge, 29, who was found in the rear area of a nearby home during Jemerson's arrest.

All five were in custody at the Orange County Sheriff's Department Central Jail Complex, Ostash said.

Benjamin was being held on $50,000 bail and scheduled to make his first court appearance Friday. According to jail records, the others arrested in the case were still being processed Thursday morning.

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