by Liz Mullen
“The biggest trend we are seeing is property crimes,” Hermosa Beach Police Chief LeBaron said in a recent interview. “The smash and grabs are highly publicized. But although they are serious, they are not as frequent.”
“We see a lot of bicycles stolen from garages,” LeBaron said. “People have got to realize, those e-bikes are worth a couple of thousand dollars apiece.” LeBaron said that many garage thefts are easily preventable because a lot of those lefts involve garages that were left open or not locked.
“The one crime we are seeing that is a little frustrating is the battery theft of e-bikes,” LeBaron said. “Someone parks a bike and goes indoors and someone steals the battery from it. They are really not secure. You can pop them right off. …We are seeing a lot of juveniles doing that because they can resell those batteries for a little bit of money.”
LeBaron spoke to Easy Reader on March 19, about the city securing almost $1 million for a Real Time Crime Center. The RTCC will enable HBPD to solve more property crimes through linking technology, LeBaron said.
At the Hermosa Beach City Council meeting on March 26, LeBaron told the city officials of a successful investigation HBPD detectives completed using technology. A Hermosa resident called the HBPD on March 16 when the resident discovered someone had stolen his identity and was using it to rent cars, one of which the suspect crashed.
HBPD detectives, working with the assistance of the rental car company and using advanced technology, were able to identify the suspect, LeBaron told the city council.
“This week detectives located that suspect and he was arrested for the crime of identity theft,” LeBaron said. “The suspect was also in possession of a loaded firearm and has numerous criminal convictions in his past history.”
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has agreed to prosecute the suspect and charged him with five felony counts, LeBaron said.
TWO ASSAULTS IN HERMOSA:
There were two reported assaults in Hermosa Beach during the week of March 10 through March 16, one involving a vehicle.
On the 700 block of Pier Avenue on March 16 a vehicle hit a person walking his bicycle. A pedestrian confronted the driver, who backed the vehicle out, striking the pedestrian, causing the pedestrian to fall.
In another incident on the 500 block of Pier Avenue on March 15, people arrived at the location to pick up property belonging to them. The suspect pushed one of the people, causing that person to fall. The suspect told HBPD officers the people were trespassing.
A dog bite was reported on the 700 block of 21st Street on March 16.
SCAMMERS TRICK ELDERLY MAN IN MANHATTAN BEACH; STEAL HIS WATCH:
Three scammers apparently tricked an elderly man in order to steal his watch in Manhattan Beach during the week of March 14 through March 20.
The man was walking on Highland Avenue on March 14 when three people approached him. The three suspects began complimenting the man and placing jewelry on him, distracting him.
The three suspects told him to keep the jewelry. It was only after the man got home that he realized his watch was missing.
Manhattan Beach Police Department officers were dispatched to the Trader Joe’s on Rosecrans on March 15 regarding a pickpocketing incident. A woman shopper realized that her wallet was missing from her purse when she was about to pay for her groceries. The woman later discovered that someone used her credit card.
A residence that is under construction on the 1200 block of 5th Street was burglarized twice in two days. Tools and a dryer were stolen between March 17 and March 18.
There were 54 crime reports taken for the week of March 14 to March 20 by the MBPD. Reports were taken for 10 thefts, four vehicle burglaries, two residential burglaries, one business burglary, one assault and one incident of vandalism.
TWO E-BIKE THEFTS IN REDONDO:
Two electric bicycles were stolen from two different garages in Redondo Beach and an employee who tried to stop a suspect from taking shirts was slapped and threatened during the week of March 1 to March 7.
On March 3 on the 1800 block of Hawthorne Boulevard a suspect picked out merchandise from an open store and concealed it in a shoulder bag.
The suspect was able to remove the security tags on Lacoste shirts and left them in the dressing room. The suspect left without paying for the shirts.
When confronted by an employee, the suspect slapped the employee and verbally threatened to kill the employee. The suspect got away.
On March 3 on the 3000 block of Prospect Avenue a suspect entered a parking garage by cutting the lock off an electronic gate.
The suspect got away with a Joy Rice Hurley Mini Swell e-bike.
On Feb. 29, on the 500 block of Alberta Avenue, a suspect entered a garage and stole a Super 73 S-1 e-bike.
There were two other residential burglaries during the week, including one on the 2200 block of Perkins Lane. The suspect entered the home by smashing the kitchen window and took a blown glass dragon, a blown glass sphere, clothing, including sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatpants and tennis shirts and a Mavic drone.
There was another residential burglary on the 2000 block of Artesia. The suspect entered by pushing open a window and took cash, a Social Security card, two Louis Vuitton handbags and a Louis Vuitton wallet.
