PUBLIC TIP LEADS TO ARREST.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Operating on a tip from the public, sheriff's deputies arrested a former business leader and four other people Thursday in a west Lancaster home, authorities said.

Alan Coon, 58, who owns Alan's Flowers & Plants in Palmdale, was found in the attic of a home in the 8100 block of West Avenue I, Palmdale sheriff's station Detective Mark Machanic said.

Coon is a suspect in auto theft and methamphetamine possession, Machanic said. Coon has made admissions in the case, the detective said.

Coon was a Palmdale Chamber of Commerce director in 1998, when he and 12 other directors and members were ousted for unspecified misconduct.

Sheriff's deputies also arrested Juan Peguero, 35; Christine Sowers, 41; and Michael Reed, 36, on suspicion of harboring a fugitive.

Lisa Staresinic, 41, was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine.

Machanic obtained a search warrant for the west Lancaster home based on information provided by the public.

"We want to thank all the citizens who called in," Machanic said. "Without the public's help, people like this can be very difficult to locate."

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