Police Beat
Catalytic thefts
The RBPD is investigating a series of thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles that occurred in the past week. According to police reports, suspects used a saw to cut the converters from under the vehicles, usually during early morning hours. Converters have been stolen on several different days and in both north and south Redondo Beach neighborhoods. Police are asking for the public’s assistance and to call RBPD at 310-379-2477 immediately if they see any persons loitering around vehicles during early morning hours. A common target vehicle is the Toyota 4-Runner.
Car burglar
According to police reports, an unknown suspect stole items from 14 vehicles and stole one vehicle during the early morning hours of July 27. The thefts occurred in the area of Aviation Way and Grant Avenue.
Robbery interrupted
A citizen was able to force two female robbers to drop the loot they’d allegedly stolen from a store on the 2700 block of Artesia Boulevard late in the afternoon of July 29, according to police reports.
The two suspects entered the business and began distracting the elderly female counter persons with excessive conversation, police said. They ultimately took one of the employees’ purses, took a business money bag and went through the cash register. One of the employees attempted to interrupt the theft and was pushed to the ground. The suspects fled the location in a black SUV, and possibly a red Honda Civic. However, before fleeing, the suspects dropped the cash and bags when a citizen who had witnessed the crime intervened.
Party busted
Police were called to the Crowne Plaza Hotel just after midnight on Aug. 1 regarding a disturbance in one of the rooms. A woman was arrested and booked on various charges after it was discovered that she had rented a room for a party for her 16-year-old daughter. Police allege she supplied alcoholic beverages to her daughter and other juvenile guests.
Later that day, police received a report of a teenage boy hiding in the bushes at the South Bay Galleria. An officer investigated and the juvenile attacked him. The officer subdued the juvenile, who turned out to be under the influence of narcotics. The boy, 17, was detained pending further investigation.
Armed robbery
A woman was robbed at gunpoint outside a bank on the 1600 block of Hawthorne Boulevard a little after 11 p.m. July 31, according to police reports. The victim was in her vehicle in the Bank of America parking lot when a man tapped on her window with a handgun and demanded money. The victim rolled down the window and handed him money. He left in a black truck that was driven by a second suspect. The victim returned to her home in the City of Torrance and notified police. ER