Police Blotter: Shoplifting and Account Sharing

Window of opportunity:
Officer G. Valdes was flagged down in the 1500 block of Artesia Blvd on Thursday March 18, by a man who reported theft of his personal property from a parked car. At approximately 2:50pm that day, the man had parked and locked his 2009 Ford Taurus in the area. When he returned nearly five hours later, he discovered his briefcase and other personal items that he had left on the back seat were missing. He then noticed he had accidentally left one of the car's rear windows down.

Thief's cash for 'bills only:'
Police arrested Torrance resident Armando Mora Jr. just before 6pm Thursday, March 18, for stealing a pair of Bose headphones from Fry's Electronics along Sepulveda Blvd. When questioned, Mora told police that he "wanted [the headphones] at the spur of the moment." He had approximately $189 in cash on him, according to police, as well as a credit card. The suspect told an officer that though it appeared he had the means to pay for the headphones, he could not use any of the cash because he was "saving it to pay a bill."

Stolen bikes, locked and unlocked:
Police filed a report of a bicycle theft from Grand View Elementary School a little before 4:30pm Friday, March 19. A woman told police that her daughter had left her bike parked overnight in an area behind Ladera School where several other children leave their bikes unsecured. When the woman's daughter returned to the area the next morning, her bike—a pink and white three-speed valued at $450—was missing.

Just before 5pm that same day, police responded to another report of a stolen bicycle. A resident told police that he returned home around 3:30pm that day and remembered seeing his bike secured to the interior of his garage with a cable lock. The man left his home for a short period, leaving the garage door open. When he returned home at 4:30pm, he discovered his bike was missing from the garage and the cable lock had been cut. The bike was a white beach cruiser valued at $300.

Sticky fingers at the Beehive:
Employees of the Beehive clothing store downtown called police just before 3pm Monday, March 22 to report stolen merchandise. A worker discovered two tags on the floor that had been ripped from store items, along with two empty hangers on a nearby clothing rack. After reviewing the store's surveillance tape, the employee saw a woman remove the missing items—one hot pink Literature Noir backless dress ($230) and a pink- and white-striped Paul & Joe shirt ($176)—from the rack with the empty hangers. The woman was described by police as a "black female adult between 20 to 28 years of age," wearing black pants and a gray hooded sweatshirt, as well as a brown messenger bag slung over her shoulder.

The camera's view did not reveal the two clothing items being put into the woman's bag. Further viewing of the tape, however, showed the same woman taking one white IRO tank top ($170) from a different clothing rack, and this time the camera captured her putting it into her messenger bag. The store employee later discovered the merchandise tag for the tank top in the pocket of a hanging pair of pants near the second rack. Police recovered all three torn tags and had them examined for fingerprints.

Another thief with bills to pay:
At 3:25pm Tuesday, March 23, a woman came to the Manhattan Beach Police Station to report fraudulent bank activity. She told police that she discovered $2,208 missing from her credit union account. After speaking with a representative from the credit union, the woman learned that from July 2009 to March 2010, funds were being withdrawn from her account on a monthly basis without her knowledge or permission. The funds were used to make payments by an unknown suspect or suspects to the Southern California Gas Company, T-Mobile, Time Warner Cable and the Department of Water and Power. The woman said she does not go through every item in her statement, and for this reason she did not discover the missing money until recently.

Car worked over while owner works out:
Just past midnight on Wednesday, March 24, police took a report of a vehicle burglary at the 24 Hour Fitness parking lot along Rosecrans Avenue. The victim left his car locked with the alarm set at around 11pm that night before entering the gym. When he returned a little over an hour later, the front driver-side window was smashed and his cell phone and a Realtor's remote key box opener were missing. The car was parked under a parking lot light and there were no other cars in the lot that appeared to have been burglarized, said police.