Police Blotter: Catching Thieves

Police Catch a Thief

As a plainsclothes officer patrolled Pier Plaza on Wednesday night, he noticed a man stealing bicycles. The man took one bike to a parking structure on the corner of Hermosa Avenue and 13th Street.

The officer waited for the man to leave the parking structure with the bicycle before he started to follow him into Manhattan Beach, according to the police report.

When the suspect realized he was being followed, he stopped, dumped the bicycle on the side of the road and tried to run off. Officers detained the suspect and retrieved the stolen bicycle, they said.

Caught on Bike

A local bike owner watched as suspects cut the cable lock from around his bicycle parked on Pier Plaza Thursday night. 

The bike owner confronted the thieves, but one remained on the bike, taking it for a ride. The bike owner knocked the person off of the bicycle, and the suspect then ran away on foot, according to police. 

Breaking into Car

A resident at 4th Street and Monterey Boulevard noticed a suspicious person trying to unlock a vehicle parked in a neighbor's driveway Friday night. The resident confronted the person, who quickly ran away, according to police. The vehicle owner told police that he didn't notice items missing from his car or damaged.  Police are continuing to search for the burglar.

Attempted Purse Snatch

One woman tried to steal another woman's purse at a Pier Plaza bar Sunday night, according to police reports. The owner of the purse saw the other woman exiting the bar with the purse in hand, and confronted the suspect. The owner retrieved her purse and belongings, before calling police.