Suspects Target Vehicles At El Porto Parking Lot, Police Say

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Multiple car thefts and vehicle burglaries were reported at El Porto in January, according to the Manhattan Beach Police Department.

Between Jan. 8 and 12, three vehicles were reported stolen and eight vehicles were burglarized at the popular surf spot, Easy Reader reports.

“It is pretty safe to assume that based on my training and experience, these criminals who stole a vehicle outside of Manhattan Beach and visited the El Porto parking lot, did so with the intent to commit additional crimes such as burglarizing vehicles, possibly stealing another vehicle, or stealing something accessible to them such as a bicycle, e-bike, or unattended packages from neighboring homes,” Christopher Ineguez of the Manhattan Beach Police Department said in his weekly Neighborhood Watch report.

Surfers often leave their car keys under or near the vehicles.

“I assure you that MBPD is well aware of this and is trying to combat this by having patrol officers conduct frequent patrol checks to deter crime as well as assigning officers undercover in the parking lot to catch these criminals in the act,” he added.

See the full Easy Reader report.