A Ride in the Park
Sunday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m. – Pacific Park amusement park on the Pier – Park security reported that two groups of juveniles were arguing when a security officer overheard someone say that they had a gun. Police were summoned. The group from which the statement had come had boarded a ride, and responding officers stopped the ride, unloaded the group, and determined that one girl in the group had a loaded handgun in her purse. She was arrested for illegal possession of a handgun and released to the custody of her parents.
More on the Pier
Sunday, April 13 at 9:40 p.m. – Beachcomber souvenir shop on the Pier – A fellow entered the store, removed a shirt from the display rack, and left the store with the shirt but without paying for it. Employees detained the fellow outside the shop. He refused to pay and refused to return the shirt, and a shoving match ensued. He finally dropped the shirt and fled, but officers detained him on the ramp leading up to Ocean Avenue. The fellow was ID’d by the employees and witnesses, and he was arrested for what the police like to call “strong-armed robbery.” (Actually, all robbery – except maybe armed robbery – is “strong-armed” robbery, since it must involve the use of force or the threat of force to qualify as robbery.)
Parking Lot Rage
Sunday, April 13 at 3:10 p.m. – Ralph’s parking lot at 1644 Cloverfield Boulevard – A man was driving in his car to exit the lot, when a second man (“Suspect”) stopped his car in the middle of the lane, effectively blocking the first fellow from leaving. Suspect then got out of his car and walked away to talk to someone, leaving his car blocking the lane. The first fellow (“Victim”) honked his horn – to no avail – and got out and walked toward Suspect. Whereupon, Suspect jumped in his car and peeled away, nearly hitting Victim. He did hit Victim’s open car door and then, as they say, “fled the scene.” Victim got the plates, and SMPD put a warrant in the system. Two days later, Suspect was picked up in Los Angeles when he became involved in another traffic-related incident. LAPD called SMPD, who came and picked Suspect up and charged him with hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon (his car).
Another Deadly Weapon
Wednesday, April 16 at 10:15 a.m. – Coffee Bean at 1312 Third Street Promenade – A woman walked into the shop and tried to take the tip jar. Employees resisted, and the plastic jar fell to the floor and broke. The would-be thief picked up a 5-inch by 6-inch piece of the hard, serrated broken plastic and tried to slash one of the employees, and then she fled. Officers detained her a block away, and she was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.
