Huntington man’s body found in suspected suicide

A Huntington Beach man fell to his death from a Costa Mesa parking structure in the early morning, said police, who have initially ruled the death as a suicide.

The body of James Wellenstein, 35, was found at 1:35 a.m. outside the parking structure at 1901 Newport Blvd., adjacent a nightclub.

Evidence suggests Wellenstein had been smoking for a considerable amount of time on top of the structure, and hand and footprints show he crawled to the ledge before falling, said Costa Mesa police Sgt. Zack Hoferitza.

Wellenstein also removed his coat, which contained a large amount of untouched money, Hoferitza said.

Police are still investigating and said they hope to obtain more information after talking to friends and relatives.

— Daniel Tedford