by Liz Mullen
Tacos with traffic
HBPD motorcycle officers will hold “Tacos with traffic” at El Tarasco, at 337 Pier Ave., from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22. Free tacos will be served. Officers will answer questions about traffic, including e-bikes, loud exhausts, speeding vehicles and neighborhood traffic issues. HBPD motorcycles will be on the scene for photo ops.
Suspect story
With the help of a citizen witness, Hermosa Beach Police Department officers arrested three suspects believed to have just stolen bicycles in Pier Plaza Saturday night.
An HBPD officer was enroute to his patrol in downtown Hermosa at about 12:50 a.m. Saturday night, Aug. 10 when a citizen got the officer’s attention, according to HBPD Officer Keaton Dadigan.
“He was flagged down by a citizen who said he saw suspicious subjects near a bicycle rack in Pier Plaza and it appeared they were trying to cut the lock off bicycles and steal them,” Dadigan said.
The citizen also said when he approached the three subjects near the bicycle rack they ran into a downtown parking lot and one of the subjects took one of the bikes.
The officer located the three subjects in the parking lot, including one who appeared to be obscuring something in his jacket. “Once the officer detained the subjects he located bolt-cutters that were hiding in the subject’s jacket,” Dadigan said.
“The subject gave the officers a story that he saw the bikes on Pier Plaza, that he’d seen them there over a month,” Dadigan said. “He thought because they had been there for a month, maybe it would be okay to cut the locks and take the bicycles.”
Dadigan said he doubted the suspect story and it was no excuse. “It doesn’t matter if it was there for two seconds or two months — you can’t steal someone else’s property,” Dadigan said.
One of the bikes located with the suspects cost more than $3,000.
Two of the suspects were arrested for grand theft and the third for possession of a burglary tool.
HBPD has a new camera system in Pier Plaza which was helpful in the investigation. “We have good, clear footage of the incident that took place,” Dadigan said.
Fire in the garage
Earlier Saturday evening, a little after 10 p.m. on Aug. 10, there was a garage fire in the 1200 block of 6th Street. Firefighters put it out within 30 minutes.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department received a call about the fire at 10:12 and got to the scene at 10:16 p.m. and immediately began fighting the fire.
Five fire trucks arrived on scene and the fire was knocked down at 10:41, according to LA County Fire Department spokesman Luis Garcia.
HBPD helped with crowd and traffic control. South Bay Responders on its social media channels said, “Propane Gas Tanks Explode.” Luis said he had no information about propane tanks or the cause of the fire.
Yes to loaded gun
On Sunday, Aug. 11 at about 3:45, an HBPD officer pulled over a vehicle with expired registration in the 1100 block of Hermosa Avenue.
“During the encounter with the driver, the officer asked if there were any firearms in the car, to which the driver replied, ‘Yes,’” Dadigan related.
The officer searched the car and found a loaded gun as well as a nitrous oxide tank and other narcotics, Dadigan said. “The subject was arrested for possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle and also for being in possession of a controlled substance while armed,” Dadigan said.
MBPD arrest BB shooter
Manhattan Beach Police Department officers arrested a juvenile suspected of shooting someone with a pellet gun and dealt with problems involving stolen backpacks during the week of Aug. 1 through Aug. 7.
On Aug. 6, officers responded to a report of a victim shot in the hand by a BB pellet on the 1700 block of Pacific.
Officers located and arrested a juvenile suspect who was in possession of a pellet gun. The victim did not require paramedics to treat the injury.
Also, on Aug. 6, MBPD responded to a report of a battery on the 2700 block of North Sepulveda Boulevard.
The victim was punched in the face by a suspect who had accused the victim of stealing his backpack months before. The victim declined medical treatment at the scene.
On Aug. 4, MBPD officers working the Junior 6-man Volleyball Tournament were alerted to a suspect stealing a backpack. Officers located the suspect and found an additional backpack containing other individuals’ ID cards.
MBPD arrested the suspect and later learned this suspect drove a stolen truck onto the sand and abandoned it earlier in the day.
There were 52 crime reports taken for the week of Aug. 1 through Aug. 7, including three for assault, 12 for theft and two for vandalism. ER
