by Liz Mullen
Blood on The Strand
Hermosa Beach Police Department officers followed a trail of blood 11 blocks long on the Strand before finding a man who was bleeding profusely from a cut on his hand in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 13.
HBPD started getting calls about the blood sometime after the bars closed and followed the trail of blood,which started at a restaurant on the 1100 block of the Strand and headed south. “They followed the blood trail all the way (almost) to Redondo Beach,” HBPD Officer Keaton Dadigan told the Easy Reader. Just on the Hermosa side of the city border, HBPD officers found a man who was bleeding.
“He was laying on the ground and from my understanding he was very severely injured,” Dadigan said. Officers called for medical assistance and Los Angeles County Fire paramedics took him to the hospital.
There was so much blood it sparked numerous calls to HBPD, not just that night but the next morning. The department put out a public advisory about the incident on its social media channels.
“The amount of blood was so disturbing,” one woman commented on HBPD’s Instagram post. “I hope the person survived,” she wrote, adding a sad face, prayer, and a heart emojis.
Another woman commented, “Saw this on my run today for miles. People were freaking out. It was disturbing.”
When the officers found the man, he was in no condition to give HBPD a statement, Dadigan said.
HBPD officers reviewed video of the man punching the restaurant window where the blood trail started, Dadigan said.
“This is an open case,” Dadigan said.
HBPD dealt with an armed robbery, arrested a suspect on felony probation on a weapons charge, and with a pellet gun assault during the week of June 30 through July 6.
Two suspects dressed in all black, wearing masks and sunglasses pointed handguns at a man and demanded his watch on the 1100 block of Manhattan Avenue on July 6. The suspects left the scene in a vehicle but were later stopped and arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department.
On July 5, HBPD officers made contact with a suspect sitting in a parked car with an open container of alcohol. Officers discovered the suspect was on felony probation for a homicide and was in possession of pepper spray. This suspect was arrested.
On June 28 on the corner of Longfellow Avenue and Hermosa Avenue two groups of people got into a verbal spat and began hurling insults at each other. A member of one of the groups pulled out a pellet gun and began shooting it, hitting one person in the face and another person multiple times in the back.
Fourth of July incidents included one person arrested for public intoxication, one person cited for public urination and one person cited for illegal fireworks.
HBPD officers found and returned to owners: a diaper bag and a bag containing a blanket.
Craigslist deal gone bad in Redondo
There were four residential burglaries, including one involving an occupied home and a Craigslist deal that turned into a robbery in Redondo Beach the week of June 28 to July 4.
The Craigslist deal gone bad occurred on the 1600 block of Hawthorne Boulevard on June 30. The victim met the suspect to conduct an agreed upon transaction when the suspect grabbed the IPhone 13 Pro out of the victim’s hand and fled.
Two of the residential burglaries involved break-ins at parking garages and the theft of electric bicycles. One involved a burglar breaking into a secured mailbox area and stealing packages.
The fourth occurred on June 30 on the 1100 block of Barbara Street. A suspect entered an occupied home through the second floor sliding glass window.
The residents screamed for the burglar to leave and he did — through the front door. This suspect was arrested.
Fire in the school
Manhattan Beach Police Department officers were busy arresting retail thieves and investigating vandalism at a school, as well as looking for a female pickpocket.
On July 6, MBPD officers responded to a fire alarm notification in a classroom on the 1400 block of 15th Street and found the Manhattan Beach Fire Department already on scene. Firefighters informed MBPD officers that they found several windows broken and band-aids that were smoldering from being set on fire.
A school employee informed MBPD officers that she saw a male juvenile near that classroom but he left on an e-bike along with another juvenile. MBPD is conducting an on-going investigation into the incident.
On July 4, MBPD officers responded to a theft at Target. A suspect filled a shopping cart with items and left without paying for them.
MBPD officers were able to locate the suspect’s vehicle and stopped it. Two suspects in the vehicle were arrested on grand theft and drug charges.
On July 5, MBPD officers were called to the Target, again. The store’s loss prevention officer advised police that a known theft suspect was concealing items in the store.
As the suspect was leaving the store, he used pliers to remove the security tags from items. MPBD officers arrested the suspect.
Also on July 5, a pick-pocket theft occurred at a bar on the 1200 block of Valley Drive. A man placed his backpack on the barstool next to him. A female sat down nearby and police believe she was able to lift credit cards and cash from the backpack. After the theft, the victim discovered declined and attempted fraudulent charges on his credit card.
MBPD is warning residents that the department is seeing an uptick in stolen wallets and fraudulent credit card charges.
There were 38 crime reports taken the week of July 4 through July 10, including 10 for theft, four for auto theft, one for residential burglary and three for vandalism. ER
