A Place Not to Rob
Friday, September 21 at 1:40 a.m. – Star Liquor at 1929 Main Street – As the clerk was counting receipts and closing, a man walked in the store, approached the clerk at the cash register, and demanded the money. When the clerk refused, the man went behind the counter and opened the register. The clerk tried to fight; the man grabbed the clerk; the clerk took a gun from behind the counter and fired a round into the floor to scare the man. That didn’t work, as the man continued to take the money and then fled on foot. The clerk gave chase and was joined by another employee who had been in the back of the store as well as two passing citizens, all of whom took the man to the ground and detained him until police (who had been summoned by a silent alarm) arrived and arrested the man, who was booked for strong-armed robbery.
Arresting the Handicapped
Saturday, September 22 at 7:35 a.m. – Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard – Officers responded to a call from a Big Blue Bus driver [the buses have “panic butons”], who reported that a man had gotten on the bus and refused to pay. When the driver told him that he had to get off the bus, the man hit the driver in the shoulder with his aluminum crutch and then left. Officers detained the crutch-wielding man a block away, and, after he was identified by the driver, he was arrested and booked for assault and battery.
A Cargo Not to Carry
Monday, September 24 at 1:50 p.m. –1500 block of Harvard Street – A detective on routine patrol saw a man riding a bicycle on the sidewalk and in the alley, driving through carports. The detective detained the man and searched his backpack, finding bolt cutters and channel locks. The man gave several contradictory explanations as to what he was doing in the area, and he was on parole. Particularly in view of the usefulness of the tools in burglarizing carport storage lockers, the Rosemead man was arrested for possession of burglary tools and on burglary investigation.
A Statement Not to Make
Friday, September 21 at 6:10 p.m. – Joe’s Diner at 2917 Main Street – A man walked in the diner and had two cheeseburgers and two beers. When it came time to pay, he refused, said he had no money, and told the staff, “Go ahead and call the police.” Which they did. The fellow was arrested. Defrauding an innkeeper? No, he was booked for commercial burglary, because if you enter a structure with the intent to commit crime, that is the more serious offense of burglary. By saying that he had no money, he indicated that he never intended to pay even as he entered the diner. (The fellow had prior arrests for similar incidents.)
