Police Blotter: Stoned Sleeper and Dashing Diner

Houston's, we have a problem:
A manager at Houston's Restaurant reported July 8 that on two occasions the same unidentified woman ate at the restaurant and left without paying.

The first incident happened in November 2009, when the suspect placed an order and ate her food. When the bill ($45) came, she offered a Visa credit card in the name of "Sheila Dennis Sinclair." After the server told the suspect that the card had been declined, the suspect said she did not have any other means of paying. The suspect said she would come back the next day to pay the amount, but she didn't return.

A different server told police that on July 7 a person who appeared to be the same suspect ordered food and ate a meal. After the suspect said she could not pay the $32.93 bill, the server said she offered a temporary driver's license in the name of "Sheila Richardson Dennis" in an effort to show good faith that she would return the next day. However, she again failed to show up.

The second server gave police a copy of the temporary license and described the suspect as having long straight hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing a black and white striped shirt. The manager said he would provide police with a surveillance photo of the suspect.

Moving violations:
A man reported July 8 that his two Honda Yamaha motorcycles were moved from where they were parked on the road onto his front yard in the 400 block of 23rd Street. He told police he believed he was being targeted. Although he said that he does not have a good relationship with some of his neighbors, he declined to speculate who might be a suspect.

On June 29, he parked both of his motorcycles legally against the curb, facing the correct direction. Later that day, he said, the two bikes had been moved into an illegally parked position. As a result, he received two parking citations. The motorcycle owner told police he believes the same person is responsible for both incidents.

Slippery thief:
Police responded to a report of theft at Ralph's supermarket July 8 involving a suspect who refused to be detained by the store's two security guards. The suspect twice resisted being handcuffed by pulling his arms under his body.

On the third attempt, one of the guards grabbed the man's right arm and placed him in a "rear wrist lock" and guided him to the ground. When the man resisted being handcuffed, a guard laid on top of the man until police arrived and arrested him for theft. While the man was being taken to jail, he experienced an undisclosed medical issue that required treatment by paramedics. The suspect was released and taken to the hospital.

Computer lifted, pills gifted:
A Manhattan Beach Police detective contacted a woman July 8 about a red suitcase belonging to her that was found on the 400 block of 34th Street. After police returned with the woman to her home on the 200 block of 38th Street, the victim discovered that a Macbook Pro laptop had been stolen. She told police she could not immediately recognize what other property was missing. Police found six plastic baggies with unidentified pills in the suitcase, as well as a small baggie with two rings. The two rings belonged to the woman, but the pills were reportedly not hers.

Portrait of a thief:
On July 10, a woman reported that her camera accessory equipment was stolen as she was working as a wedding photographer at Marriott Hotel on Park View Avenue. She told police she saw a possible suspect in the background of one of her photos and would e-mail the picture to police.

Stoned logic:
On July 11, police responded to a call about a young man who was found sleeping inside a car belonging to the reporting party's neighbor. After police arrived, the suspect told an officer he had been dropped off at his 16-year-old girlfriend's apartment building in Hermosa Beach earlier in the evening. After talking to her, he said, he walked from her apartment to where police found him. He said he didn't want to go home because every time he gets home late, he gets into arguments with his family.

He didn't want to sleep at his girlfriend's place either, he said, because they had been arguing. He told police he decided he would try to sleep in a car and found an unlocked BMW. He entered, sat down, text-messaged his girlfriend and fell asleep.

The suspect told police he had smoked an unknown quantity of marijuana that night. He had rummaged through the car to look for cash, which he said he would have taken if he had found any. The officer reportedly told the suspect he could have slept in the apartment building's laundry area instead of breaking and entering a car. The suspect was then arrested.