Police Beat: Manhattan Beach Macy’s hit, BevMo burglars caught, Hermosa white collar crime, more car burglaries in Redondo
Manhattan apprehends retail robbers
The Manhattan Beach Police Department dealt with multiple retail thefts earlier this month, including two incidents at the Macy’s, one of which involved juvenile suspects.
On Feb. 15, MBPD officers responded to a call regarding a theft in progress at Macy’s involving six juvenile suspects. When MBPD officers arrived on scene, the juveniles fled in different directions, some on foot and others on scooters.
The MBPD was able to nab five of the six and take them into custody. The juveniles were released to their parents, with court dates.
Later in the month, on Feb. 20, the MBPD was again called to the Macy’s after a suspect stole merchandise. The suspect fled the department store after a physical altercation with the store’s loss prevention employee. The MBPD was able to locate and arrest the suspect without further incident. That suspect was on probation and was booked for robbery.
Additionally, MBPD officers were called to the Old Navy, where a theft was taking place. MBPD officers arrived quickly and were able to arrest the suspect and book the suspect at MBPD jail for grand theft.
BevMo burglary suspects caught
Four suspects in a series of burglaries at the BevMo on Rosecrans Boulevard in Manhattan Beach were arrested by Manhattan Beach police early Thursday morning, February 29.
After responding to a burglary at BevMo officers pursued a vehicle they saw leaving the liquor store’s parking lot. The car chase ended in Inglewood, where the five suspects fled their car. Four were apprehended and one remains at large.
The same BevMo had been burglarized there other times in recent weeks.
In the early morning hours of February 16, MBPD officers were dispatched to the liquor superstore in response to a burglary alarm activation. When they got there, they found a broken window and a broken bottle of alcohol, but the burglars were gone.
Surveillance video revealed that a white sedan and a white SUV had pulled up in front of the store and multiple suspects got out of the cars. They smashed the window with a large piece of concrete and stole many bottles of alcohol from the store.
Two other burglaries of the same BevMo occurred between 2 and 3 in the morning on Feb. 2 and Feb. 6. The first time, the suspects unsuccessfully tried to enter by hitting the door with a baseball bat and a boulder. The second time they gained entry using a sledgehammer. The suspects in those two incidents were driving a black, four-door sedan.
HBPD white collar crime suspets, more drug arrests
The Hermosa Beach police department dealt with an unusual white collar crime and a car full of different narcotics during the week of Feb. 11 through Feb. 17.
HBPD responded to a call about an employee who stole from a company just shortly after being hired. The employee was given a company laptop, company phone and a company credit card. The suspect employee used the credit card to make multiple unauthorized purchases and then quit the company. The suspect employee did not return the company phone or computer after resigning.
HBPD is investigating the employee theft that occurred on the 1300 block of Hermosa Avenue.
On Feb. 12, HBPD officers made a traffic stop and found a nitrous oxide tank inside the vehicle.
They searched the vehicle and found one suspect was in possession of cocaine and ketamine. A second suspect was in possession of psilocybin mushrooms. A third suspect in the vehicle was holding cocaine.
The HBPD responded to several public nuances, including a subject who was cited for public urination on Feb. 16 on the 00 block of 11th St. and another subject who was intoxicated and challenging people to fight on 11th St. and Hermosa Avenue on Feb. 17.
HBPD is investigating various thefts including an electric bicycle that was stolen from an apartment complex courtyard and a Coinbase account that was hacked into with money transferred out of the account.
Additionally, during a traffic stop, HBPD officers found a passenger to be in possession of stolen Amazon packages.
HBPD officers also responded to help a resident who was receiving multiple threatening phone calls.
HBPD officers found and returned to owners a purse, a wallet and a bicycle.
Hermosa Christmas Eve fire death an accident
The Hermosa Beach man who barricaded himself in his home which later caught fire on Christmas Eve died by accident and of thermal injuries, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled.
Craig Zimmerman, 49, barricaded himself in his home after a family dispute on Dec. 24, 2023, refusing police pleas to come out. The home later caught fire and was engulfed in flames. Emergency personnel took one human body from the home. The family dog was rescued.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed “thermal injuries” as Cause A for his death and that the manner of death was an accident. The case is now closed.
More Redondo vehicle burglaries
There were seven vehicle burglaries and one failed attempted car burglary in Redondo Beach between Feb. 16 and Feb. 22.
In six of the incidents, the burglars entered the vehicles by smashing windows, including passenger side, rear driver side, rear passenger side, front passenger side, and the windshield.
Items stolen included a wallet, a school ID, an iPhone portable battery, a Verizon hotspot, multiple credit and debit cards, a power drill, a pocket knife and cash.
The failed burglary was attempted on a Silver Camaro. Suspects pulled down the passenger window, but fled when the owner of the car yelled at them.
In addition to those vehicle burglaries, owners of two different Prius SUVs reported losses. One SUV owner reported a Motorola cell phone was taken from a Prius that was possibly unlocked and the other reported that a registration sticker was stolen.
There were three residential burglaries — two of which resulted in no losses because burglars were thwarted by homeowners who confronted them. There was one commercial burglary in which the suspect entered a locked business with a key during that week of Feb. 16 through Feb. 22. ER