When Shoplifting Is Robbery
Thursday, November 8 at 7:15 p.m. – Whole Foods Market at 2200 Wilshire Boulevard – A woman walks into the store. She puts a pair of gloves and a tube of apricot scrub into her purse and leaves the store without paying. When she is confronted by store employees outside, she does not give up the goods, but tries to shove herself past them. Eventually, the employees detain her, handcuff her, and call the police. Responding officers arrest the Los Angeles woman not for mere shoplifting but for robbery: taking property by force or threat of force – when she tried to push past the employees with the shoplifted goods, she elevated her crime.
When Capflicking Is A&B
Sunday, November 4 at 11:00 a.m. – 3200 block of Donald Douglas Loop South – A man went to a business location off Ocean Park Boulevard at which he had stored some of his own personal business records with a business acquaintance. The acquaintance had recently died, and the other people at the location would not readily deliver the records the man was seeking without verifying that they were indeed his. The man became impatient, the exchange became unpleasant, and the man (“Suspect”) flicked the visor of the baseball cap worn by the tenant from the tenant’s head and tried to push his way in. The tenant allowed the man in and called the police. Responding officers arrested the man for assault and battery (“A&B”) – the intentional touching of another person without permission.
Ho Hum
Tuesday, November 6 at 3:40 p.m. – 2200 block of Colorado Avenue – Bomb Threat! A man called a business and said he had placed a bomb on the premises that would blow everybody up. Although the person receiving the call tried to find out when this was supposed to happen and other pertinent information, the caller simply repeated himself and hung up. Police were summoned, and they could see absolutely nothing to lend credibility to the call. The business opted not to evacuate. The Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was not called in. No explosive-sniffing dogs were sent for. Nothing happened.
On the Other Hand
Wednesday, November 7 at 8:55 a.m. [aka “Broad Daylight”] – Parking Structure 7 at 1502 4th Street – A woman drove into the parking structure, and as she prepared to park, a man appeared, pointed a gun at her, and forcibly pulled her from the car. He grabbed her purse, threw it onto the passenger seat, and fled in her vehicle. This is an ongoing investigation.
