Returning to the Scene
Thursday, February 7 at 1:30 p.m. – Wild Oats store at 500 Wilshire Boulevard -– A woman put her open purse on the child seat of her shopping cart as she shopped, and upon reaching the register she could not find her wallet or cell phone. After she double-checked her car, store employees reviewed surveillance videotape and saw a man known to them as a regular shopper lifting her wallet and cell from her purse when she left the cart to take items from the shelves. One employee saw the man outside the store and called police, but the man was gone by the time they arrived. Then, on February 12, the man returned to the store, employees recognized him and called police, who arrested the man, a transient, for grand theft.
Whadaya Think, Joe?
Saturday, February 9 at 11:30 p.m. – 3100 block of Lincoln Boulevard – Officers on routine patrol observed a 1985 Jeep Wagoneer with the driver’s door open and a man lying on the floor under the steering column with a flashlight. Deeming the scene suspicious, they detained the gentleman and noticed the ignition had been punched, a screwdriver was being used to start the car, and the rear passenger window had been smashed out. The fellow said he was in the process of buying the car from a friend, had lost the keys, and had to break into the car so he could drive it. Police attempted to verify the story, but no one was home at the registered owner’s residence. Under the circumstances, officers arrested the man for grand theft auto. The investigation is ongoing.
Hand in the Till, and More
Saturday, February 9 at 5:10 p.m. – The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 2901 Main Street – Officers responded after the store’s District Management Loss Prevention Section had noticed irregularities in the store’s deposits and detained an employee on a grand theft investigation. The employee admitted taking money over a three-month period; the loss amounted to several hundred dollars. A search of the employee as an adjunct to the arrest uncovered a small baggie containing methamphetamine and a marijuana pipe. He was arrested and booked for grand theft, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and on an outstanding narcotics-related warrant.
