A good year for the community has one inescapable drawback: the Crime Log is a little on the quiet side. On balance, Sun Region residents are better off that way. However, it does pose challenges to intrepid journalists. The fact is, we depend on our sources and the (sometimes daft) behavior of our fellow human beings to determine the content of our news copy.
Fortunately, when you have a whole year of crime reports to pour over there are always a few good stories to tell—such “suspicious vehicle” that turned out to be a police car.
A lot of people contributed to the Crime Log in 2009: Capt. Bruce McAlpine of the Los Alamitos Police Department, Lt. Bob Mullins and Sgt. Steve Bowles of the Seal Beach Police Department, Lt. Tom Gallivan of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Brian Smith of the News-Enterprise and, of course, the people who live in and visit the Sun Region. Without them, this reporter might have to get a real job.
The following then are the end-of-year crime stories for Seal Beach and neighboring communities.
Unless stated otherwise, the incidents took place in Seal Beach.
Crime Log Assembled by Charles M. Kelly
The crimes listed in the Sun Newspapers were reported to Seal Beach Police Department, Los Alamitos Police Department and Orange County Sheriff Department between Jan. 2 and Dec. 5, 2009.
Only street names are used; times given are reported times, not incident times. Crime Log entries are based on preliminary information. Space limitations make it impossible to publish every incident. Until proven guilty in a court of law, all suspects are considered innocent.
Seal Beach
January
Friday, January 2, 2009
He did not pass “Go,” he went straight back to prison—12:25 p.m.—7th Street—The caller said a white man in his early 20s was carrying a black case. The suspect had been seen loitering in a laundry room. Then the suspect was seen in the carport area. The caller thought the black case was a toolbox, possibly stolen from a home across the street from the caller’s home.
Officers conducted an investigation to determine if the man was in possession of stolen property. He gave officers a false name. When officers were able to identify him, they discovered that he was out on parole. Nicholas S. Evans, 28, was arrested for providing a false name to a peace officer. As a result, his parole was revoked and he was returned to state prison.
Tuesday, January 6
Call the electrician—12:27 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller, relaying second hand information, said someone was ringing the doorbell every two or three minutes. At 12:36 a.m., police determined that the cause of the problem was not a prankster. There was a short in the doorbell system.
Thursday, January 22
News flash: Halloween was in October—8:19 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller relayed information apparently obtained third or fourth hand. A transient told a clerk at the location that there was something gruesome in a nearby trash bin. One of the clerks called the police back at 8:29 a.m. He said he found what appeared to be a goat’s head with a stake through it. According to the dispatch log, it turned out to be a fake goat’s head.
Then Sgt. Bob Mullins (now lieutenant), public information officer for the Seal Beach Police Department, said the goat’s head was “something in the nature of a Halloween prop.”
Saturday, January 24
Get your own ball, sir—8:36 p.m.—Katella Avenue—In Los Alamitos, a man jumped onto a soccer field during a game and kicked a soccer ball. He fell down but then took off eastbound on Katella. The man told the police that he was “just having fun.” He was warned.
February
Sunday, February 1
What was the hurry?—10:14 a.m.—405 Freeway and Seal Beach Boulevard—A citizen walked into the lobby of the Seal Beach Police Department to report finding a bike on Seal Beach Boulevard. The citizen couldn’t wait. The citizen left the bike on the stairs outside the station.
Actually, most communities discourage people from walking in the street—1:53 p.m.—Bolsa Chica and Westminster—The caller said two men were seen walking down the middle of Westminster. Seal Beach Police contacted them. According to the dispatch log, they were out of towners who did not realize they could not walk in the street.
Shotgun suspect is an innocent security guard
An armed guard escorting the delivery of money to an ATM was regarded as suspicious by a witness on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 3.
The witness saw a man wearing fatigues, armed with a shotgun on Westminster Avenue, near the Boeing property, at 12:13 p.m. The man was at the credit union ATM at that location.
Naturally, the caller notified his supervisor, who notified Boeing security and they, in turn, notified the Seal Beach Police Department.
Boeing Security surrounded all the entrances to Boeing.
As of 12:19 p.m., no one saw the suspect.
Security tried to contact the original witness in order to get a detailed description of the man.
By 12:24 p.m., police had a description: the suspect was either white or hispanic, 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet tall, thin, with brown or reddish hair wearing fatigues.
He was also wearing a black vest over the fatigues, possibly a bullet proof vest.
No one, apparently, saw an armored vehicle in the area.
At 12:26 p.m., a charcoal-colored truck or van was reported parked next to the ATM. Someone was at the ATM. It wasn’t known if the man was withdrawing money or working on the machine. There was a second person, a short man, inside the truck.
By 12:31 p.m., police had confirmed that the man with a shotgun was simply a security guard.
Sunday, February 22
Arrested on Release—4:11 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—A man was serving a sentence as a “pay to stay” inmate of the Seal Beach Jail. He was released, only to be arrested again on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. According to Sgt. Bob Mullins, public information officer for the Seal Beach Police Department, when someone is released from custody law enforcement agencies routinely check to see if there are any outstanding arrest warrants for that person. Mullins said this was one of those rare occasions when there was actually an arrest warrant.
March
Saturday, March 14
Please lower the volume—4:15 p.m.—Oak Street—People were heard yelling and cussing at someone’s home. Los Alamitos Police Department officers found people watching a movie.
Saturday, March 21
Kids? There’s a public beach in this town, admission free—3:26 p.m.—Agua Place—In Seal Beach, a caller said three juveniles on bikes just went into the back yard of a home with a drained pool. The caller said this was an on-going problem. Police unit 113 issued a trespass warning to all the juveniles.
Friday, March 27
Thank you for your concern, but … —11:08 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway and 5th Street—In Seal Beach, a caller saw an elderly white man on the north side of the street. The caller thought the man looked lost. He was staring at a street light pole. Police unit 113 contacted a man matching the elderly man’s description.
He wasn’t lost. He was just going for a walk.
Saturday, April 4
Everyone’s a music critic—11:34 p.m.—Green and Enterprise—In Los Alamitos, a caller heard music “like a cat being strangled” at a nearby residence. Officers found teenagers playing the newest edition of Guitar Hero.
Officers told them to turn it down.
April
Sunday, April 12
Next time, sir, make sure you have the correct information—12:43 p.m.—Howard Avenue—In Los Alamitos, a car was driving slowly down the street and the caller thought the driver might be casing the area. Los Alamitos Police Department officers found the driver. He was bringing a car to his brother so the brother could go to work. However, he was unsure of the address.
Sunday, April 19
Bee on the Look Out (sorry, couldn’t resist)—8:39 a.m.—Catalina Avenue—The caller said there was a large hive with a swarm of bees in a palm tree located on the sidewalk in front of the residence. According to the dispatch log, the hive was located on city property. The matter was referred to the Seal Beach Public Works Department. According to the dispatch log, at 3:47 p.m., Bob Eagle of Public Works told the police that the bees were gone when Public Works personnel arrived.
May
Saturday, May 9
Suspicious Circumstances—12:49 a.m.—Bluebell Street—A Seal Beach woman woke and heard a loud noise outside. Her husband walked out and saw someone take off in a dark vehicle. The suspicious person apparently used masking tape to stick pennies on the door. Counseled.
Saturday, May 23
Don’t point cameras at military bases—10:03 a.m.—Westminster and Midway—A caller reported someone in a pick-up taking photographs of the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station. A second caller said the suspect was a woman and added that her vehicle was facing northbound, toward the 405 Freeway. According to the dispatch log, base security contacted her. She was taking pictures of birds. She was warned. The call was cancelled before a Seal Beach Police Department unit could be dispatched.
June
Tuesday, June 9
Sigh. If you don’t lock your car, you are only encouraging the crooks—5:39 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—Loss: $41 worth of various items. Someone apparently entered the caller’s unlocked vehicle sometime on Sunday, June 7.
Friday, June 26
Joe Friday never had to deal with this sort of thing—10:40 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller told police she was upset at the price difference between gas with a car wash and gas without a car wash. She tried to stop the pump, which caused her to spray gas all over her car. She was then angry that the attendant didn’t help her. Assisted.
July
Sunday, July 19
Stray Animals—1:12 p.m.—College Park Drive—The caller reported two pitbulls in the park. Police contacted Long Beach Animal Care Services. They had received several calls about the pitbulls and were en route.
Maybe you should hang out in a back yard—11:52 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—In Seal Beach, a caller said a group of young white males appeared ready to fight. Police determined the group was play fighting.
Monday, July 20
We hope she said yes—9:03 a.m.—Howard Avenue—The Los Alamitos Police Department received a report of a trash digger. Officers found a frantic man who thought he had thrown out an engagement ring by accident. The ring was found.
Monday, July 20
Let’s be clear: if you climb someone’s fence, law enforcement may be called—12:30 p.m.—Martha Ann Drive—In Los Alamitos, the caller reported seeing someone get out of a parked car and climb a fence into the rear yard of a residence. It turned out the man was with contractors working on the house.
Wednesday, July 29
No one noticed the paint job?—1:25 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—In Seal Beach, the caller reported a suspicious vehicle going westbound on the Pacific Coast Highway on the bridge over Anaheim Bay. A boat in the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station reported the same. According to the dispatch log, the suspicious vehicle turned out to be Seal Beach Police Department unit 121.
August
Trespassers fish on Old Ranch golf course
Two people cut a hole in the fence at the Old Ranch Country Club and went fishing on the golf course on Friday afternoon, Aug. 21.
The trespass was reported to the Seal Beach Police Department at 5:35 p.m. According to the caller, the caller said this was an on-going problem.
According to Seal Beach Police Sgt. Steve Bowles, the department’s public information officer, trespassing and fishing have been on-going problems at the country club for years.
Bowles said a lot of golf courses have the same problem.
He said the bass and catfish are necessary to the golf course’s ecosystem.
“They (the catfish ) eat up all the crud that nobody wants,” Bowles said.
The sergeant referred to the suspects as kids. The description in the police log did not include the ages of the suspects.
They were described as a white male and a white female. The male was wearing a blue denim jacket and a baseball cap.
The female was wearing a tan jacket and jeans. There was no further description of either illegal fisherman.
Police took a report for vandalism and trespassing.
September
Tuesday, September 22
More Suspicious People—9:58 p.m.—Heron Circle—Police received a report that there were four people inside a residence that should be vacant. The citizen who provided the information said one of the four people was a man with a shovel. Police contacted the owner of the home. The supposedly suspicious people were in fact the homeowner’s mother and friends, preparing to move.
Saturday, September 26
Suspicious Person—6:55 p.m.—Los Alamitos Boulevard—The caller thought a man located behind a business was burying some sort of animal. Officers found a man trying to plant tomatoes at his residence.
October
Thursday, October 22
Stolen Tree Limb—10:31 a.m.—Jasmin Circle—According to the caller, someone came onto a Seal Beach property about 10 minutes earlier, then broke off and stole a branch from the caller’s plumeria tree.
See what happens when you don’t study?—9:26 p.m.—Green Avenue—In Los Alamitos, a caller said she heard a woman screaming from a neighbor’s residence for the past few minutes. However, the screaming had stopped. Officers found a neighbor and her daughter refusing to do homework.
November
Wednesday, November 4
With respect, could you please remember your fanny pack in the future?—6:06 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—According to Seal Beach Police Sgt. Steve Bowles, the department’s public information officer, a customer in Ralph’s found a fanny pack that contained a gun. Store security locked up the property.
According to the Crime Log, the fanny pack also contained an identification card. The name on the card was redacted, blacked out, in the Crime Log.
Bowles said that ultimately it turned out the fanny pack belonged to an off duty law enforcement officer. He was contacted and the gun was returned to its owner.
Thursday, November 5
If people don’t want to legalize marijuana, they probably don’t want to buy it, either—11:38 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said his wife was leaving a store when she was asked to sign a petition to legalize marijuana.
When she declined, the young men with the petition asked if she would like to buy marijuana. The caller could offer no further description of the suspects. Message delivered to beat unit.
December
Saturday, December 5
Actually, noise was the least of anyone’s concern—4:19 a.m.—13th Street—The caller heard loud pounding coming from a neighboring residential unit. The caller thought the resident was out of town. Police unit 123 checked. Someone who was allowed to be in the unit was trying to get rid of a skunk.
