'Tarzan' Arrested Again After Being Accused Of Getting Into More Monkey Business

HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — It looks like "Tarzan" is back - sort of.

A Huntington Beach man arrested earlier this week on suspicion of attempting to break into a monkey exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo was taken into custody again, police said Friday.

John Rodenborn, 37, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of theft after reportedly stealing an iPhone from inside a closed Costa Mesa art gallery, according to Costa Mesa Police Lt. Greg Scott.

Officers were called out to the 2900 block of Randolph Avenue around 11 a.m. when the owner of Dax Gallery noticed her phone missing, Scott said.

The victim then checked the gallery's surveillance camera and saw a man later identified as Rodenborn entering a side door and taking the phone, according to Scott.

After contacting police, the victim used a phone location app to locate her phone at Bristol Street and Santa Ana Avenue, said Scott.

When officers responded to the location, they spotted Rodenborn in a flood control panel. He then climbed over a fence into a Newport Beach neighborhood and hid in a garage, according to Scott.

Rodenborn then fled from police by climbing onto a nearby apartment complex's garages dumpster area, where they took him into custody without incident, Scott said.

He was not believed to be under the influence of any drugs, according to reports.

Police Costa Mesa Police Lt. Victor Bakkila also told CBS2's Greg Mills that Rodenborn, once in the garage, attempted to camouflage  his appearance by pouring blue paint over his hair and face.

Peter Willows, a witness who was working nearby, saw Rodenborn run by and thought he looked a little strange.

Willows said, "He had paint all over him[self]. Like the Blue Man Group."

Rodenborn, who had been described as a transient, was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine after he was seen swinging from trees at the Santa Ana Zoo.