Police Beat: MB Strand walkers robbed, 3 robberies in RB, and 4 commercial burglaries
by Liz Mullen
MB Strand walkers robbed at gunpoint
The Manhattan Beach Police Department is investigating an armed robbery, an assault with a deadly weapon and four residential burglaries.
On Saturday June 22 at about 3:45 a.m. a dark colored Jeep Wrangler drove up to a woman and her friend who were walking on 40th Street and tried to get their attention.
The woman and her friend ignored the four people in the Jeep and continued to walk to the 3900 block of The Strand, where they stopped. The Jeep also stopped there and four suspects exited.
One of the four had a black handgun and told one of the two victims to give him everything they had. The victim gave the suspects cash and they drove away in the Jeep.
The Hawthorne Police Department also received two robbery calls from 135th Street and Aviation Boulevard with similar suspects and similar crimes.
Anyone with any information or pertinent video is asked to contact the MBPD.
MBPD Sgt. Taylor Klosowski can be reached at (310) 802-5123 and MBPD Detective Seth Hartnell can be reached at (310) 802-5127.
On July 15, MBPD responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon on the 1000 block of Manhattan Avenue. A man said he was patronizing a restaurant where a woman he did not know pointed a taser at his face and threatened to fire the taser.
The man said he had no idea why the woman threatened him. MBPD officers could not immediately locate the woman with the taser.
On July 15, MBPD officers responded to an abandoned vehicle on Veterans Parkway, near Valley Drive and Sepulveda Boulevard. Within 30 minutes there were four calls about burglaries in the area, three of them attempted, but failed.
MBPD set up perimeters with the assistance of other South Bay police departments, but no suspects were found. The investigation is ongoing and the vehicle has been impounded as evidence.
MBPD creates email for video/photo crowdsourcing
The MBPD also has recently created an email address for citizens to report crime and send videos and photos. The address is Eyewitness@manhattanbeach.gov. The email is not monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week. Anyone witnessing a crime in progress should report it immediately by calling 9-1-1.
Anyone with surveillance video or photos of the armed robbery on June 22 or any other crime is asked to email it to Eyewitness@manhattanbeach.gov.
Juveniles lose senses over scents
MBPD officers handled two situations involving juvenile crimes, including three juveniles who stole more than $1,000 worth of perfume and fragrances from the Macy’s.
On June 16, MBPD received a call about a theft at the department store on the 3400 block of Sepulveda Boulevard. Three juveniles entered the store, took out trash bags from a backpack and began scooping up fragrance bottles.
The three juveniles ran out of the store with trash bags full of expensive scents and went across the street to the Chevron gas station. MBPD officers detained all three juvenile suspects.
The Macy’s loss prevention officer identified the three as the suspects who grabbed the fragrances. All three were arrested on charges of grand theft and organized retail theft and taken to the MBPD jail. The juvenile suspects were released to their parents.
On June 13, MBPD officers were called to the 1600 block of Wendy Way about a report of juveniles fighting. One juvenile showed up to a party, uninvited, assaulted another juvenile and fled.
MBPD contacted the party crasher, cited him for battery and released him to his parents.
MBPD officers took 48 crime reports for the week of June 13 through June 19, including four for assault, four for residential burglary, and four for theft.
Three robberies in Redondo
There were three robberies in Redondo Beach during the week of June 7 through June 13, including one involving a woman who claimed to be armed and later said she didn’t have a gun.
On June 7 the woman entered a business on the 200 block of Prospect Avenue and said she was armed and wanted to take everything in the cash register.
The woman then said she was not, in fact, armed and put everything back in the register. There was no loss reported and the woman was arrested.
On June 6, a suspect grabbed property from a woman as she was unloading groceries from the trunk of her vehicle on the 500 block of Avenue G.
The robber, whose gender, age and race are unknown, got away with a Hermes Birkin bag, earrings, a Chanel wallet, miscellaneous beauty products, credit, debit and gift cards and cash.
On June 9, a suspect entered a store on the 1400 block of Hawthorne Boulevard, selected consumable items and left without paying for them.
An employee followed the suspect out, recovered the items and told the suspect to leave the area. The suspect threw two pieces of wood at the employee, injuring him, then followed the employee back into the store and jumped on him. The suspect was arrested and the items were recovered.
And four commercial burglaries
There were four commercial burglaries in Redondo Beach during the week of June 7 through June 13, including two on Harbor Drive.
Sometime overnight on Friday June 7, a business was broken into on the 1100 block of Harbor Drive, although it is unknown if there was any loss of property.
The next night a business was broken into on the 1100 block of Harbor Drive and the thief or thieves stole copper wire.
Sometime over the weekend of June 6 through June 9, someone entered a business on the 800 block of Catalina Avenue and stole a Beach Cruiser bicycle.
Also that same weekend, a suspect attempted to pry open a trailer dock door on the 1600 block of Kingsdale Avenue. That suspect was arrested and there was no loss of property.
Thieves Steal 2 Motorcycles, 1 RV in RB:
Car thieves downsized their game, stealing two motorcycles and went big — pulling off a heist of a motorhome/recreational vehicle.
Sometime between midnight and 9:19 am Saturday, June 9, a silver 2016 Airstream Travel Trailer, Flying Cloud, was stolen from the 800 block of Catalina Avenue.
A 2018 Yamaha R6 white motorcycle was stolen from the 2500 block of Marine Avenue on Thursday, June 6.
A 2010 Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle was stolen near the corner of Vail Avenue and White overnight on Saturday June 8. That motorcycle was recovered by RBPD. ER