by Liz Mullen
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner had not, as of last week, determined a cause of death for a 49-year-old white man believed to have started a domestic disturbance and a house fire in Hermosa Beach, which kept police and firefighters busy on Christmas Eve day.
Hermosa Beach Police Department officers responded to a call of a woman screaming on the 600 block of 11th Street at 3:21 p.m. Dec. 24, and discovered a family that had fled a residence after a male member of the family verbally threatened a female member of the family.
The man, whom police and the medical examiner have not publicly identified as of press time, was a Hermosa resident, according to HBPD Acting Cpt. Mick Gaglia. “When we got there, he was barricaded in and refused to speak with us,” Gaglia said.
At about 4.30 p.m. flames were observed coming from the garage of the residence. The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Hermosa station responded, but had to fight the fire with the disadvantage of not having access to the home or its roof. There were weapons inside the home, Gaglia said.
Neighbors in the surrounding area were evacuated, he said. “LA County Fire did a great job of controlling the fire,” Gaglia said. “They had to do it at a distance.”
At about 9:30 p.m., the HBPD, with the assistance from members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau, entered the residence and found the deceased suspect in the garage. The police rescued the family’s pet dog. An arson investigation is being conducted by the LACFD.
“It was a great response from all the other agencies who came to assist,” Gaglia said. “It’s a sad event all around,” Gaglia said.
Manhattan vehicle
burglaries continue
Manhattan Beach saw another increase in vehicle burglaries for the week of Dec. 14 through Dec. 20, with 15 total burglaries, 13 of them involving smashed windows.
MBPD warned residents about vehicle burglaries the previous week when there were six vehicle burglaries in the city.
There were two residential robberies in Manhattan Beach during the week of Dec. 14 through Dec. 20, both occurring when the residents were not home.
On Dec. 15 or Dec. 16, a house that was tented for fumigation was broken into and the bedroom ransacked. Jewelry was stolen.
In the second incident, someone smashed a window of a home and made off with a Rolex watch that had been in the bedroom.
Additionally, MBPD noted in its weekly report that shoplifting is on the rise in the city, with 12 retail theft incidents.
Redondo hosts
safety seminar
The Redondo Beach Police Department will conduct a community safety seminar onSaturday, Jan. 6, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center.
The seminar will include sensitive subject matter including education on the “run, hide, fight” response for people who find themselves in an active threat situation.
The seminar 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd is open to adults 18 and older only.
Alert South Bay Test
Alert SouthBay, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a test of the wireless emergency alert for the South Bay region on Tuesday, Jan. 9.
The test will involve a message sent to wireless phones at approximately 11:20 a.m. that reads, “THIS IS A TEST of the Alert SouthBay Regional Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed. For information about this alert, please visit www.alertsouthbay.com.” The same message will be sent in Spanish to phones with the main menu set to Spanish.
The purpose of the test is to ensure the system is working in the event of a real emergency. ER
