Crime Log: Former fire captain gets four years in state prison

An Orange County judge on Friday, March 16, terminated the probation for a former Long Beach Fire captain convicted of a 2011 hit and run in Seal Beach. He reportedly drank homemade booze while in county jail.

John David Hines, 39, Huntington Beach, was convicted last year of driving with a blood alcohol level of .24 percent, three times the legal limit, at the time of the April 1 collision with a bicyclist.

Hines was originally sentenced to four years and four months in state prison. However, the court stayed the sentence pending successful completion of five years of formal probation and one year in jail.

He didn’t succeed.

According to news reports, Hines made alcohol while he was in the Orange County Jail.

The following is the prosecution’s account of the origianl case.

On the morning of April 1, 2011 Hines got drunk at a bar in Long Beach.

At approximately 1:20 p.m., Hines drove erratically while going eastbound in his Chevrolet pick-up truck on Westminster Avenue in Seal Beach.

Hines lost control of his pick-up. He suddenly swerved into the bike lane and dirt shoulder.

He crashed into 47-year-old bicyclist Jeffrey Gordon.

The victim was thrown from his bike over 70 feet and landed on the shoulder of the road. Hines did not slow down or hit hit his brakes after crashing into Gordon. Hines fled the scene.

Two separate drivers who witnessed the crash followed Hines and called 911. Hines drove to his Huntington Beach home, where he was contacted by the Huntington Beach and Seal Beach police departments.

The force of the impact from the crash caused by Hines left a blood splatter on the defendant’s vehicle and resulted in major front-end fender and hood damage.

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Crime Log Compiled
by Charles M. Kelly

IN SEAL BEACH

Monday, March 5

Traffic Signal—12:46 p.m.—12th Street and Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said the signal for he left hand turn lane was not phasing correctly. The caller said the light stays red when lighter vehicles are waiting, but phases for heavier vehicles. Message delivered.

Burglary  Report—2:34 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—Loss: vitamins collectively valued at $2,600. Report taken.

Suspicious Circumstances—9:36 p.m.—5th Street—The caller said three teens knocked on her door, looking for her son and they were unknown to her.

Tuesday, March 6

Grand Theft Report—5:45 a.m.—5th Street—Loss: a 1972 Italian Masi bicycle valued at about $5,000. Occurred within the half hour prior to the call to police. A suspect vehicle was described as a small import, light colored.

Graffiti/Vandalism—7:12 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller reported graffiti on the walls in the parking lot.

Fraud—2:06 p.m.—Sunflower Circle—The caller received two checks from a company that does not exist. Counseled.

Petty Theft Report—3:16 p.m.—Old Ranch Parkway—A set of Laker tickets were taken from the caller’s office. Loss valued at $500.

Wednesday, March 7

Identity Theft—3:51 p.m.—B Row, Surfside Colony—Someone used a citizen’s information to  open a credit account and charged $8,000 on Feb. 3.

Residential Burglary—7:02 p.m.—Ironwood Avenue—The crime apparently occurred between 12:30 and 5 p.m.

The point of entry was blacked out in the log. Loss: jewelry and money. Report taken.

Drunk—7:49 p.m.—14th Street and Ocean Avenue—The caller reported a man who appeared to be extremely drunk in the alley.

Thursday, March 8

Suspicious Vehicle—1:57 a.m.—Fern Circle—The caller said a white box van with no windows pulled up to a neighbor’s residence. Someone got out of the vehicle, but got back in the van and left when he saw the caller watching. He left westbound on Almond. Police unit 206 said the man was a milk delivery man in a milk delivery truck.

Parole Search—7:08 a.m.—Mantova (in Long Beach)—An arrest was made as a result of this call.

Grand Theft—9:41 a.m.—Old Ranch Road and Seal Beach Boulevard—A citizen reported the theft of a generator with a light pole valued at $8,200 sometime on March 2 or March 3.

However, the citizen had a GPS location for the property. By 9:52 a.m., the California Highway Patrol had a suspect in custody. Report taken.

Found Property—12:10 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller reported finding a dark brown, soft leather briefcase against the wall, below purple flowers. Police unit 107 found a very old, empty bag—trash that was discarded. Log entry.

Keep the Peace—3:22 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said he paid for premium gas, but the attendant gave him regular and refused to fix it. Police unit 107 counseled the parties over a debit card charge.

Burglary Report—4:39 p.m.—Catalina Avenue—The crime apparently occurred between 12:30 p.m. and the time of the call to police. Point of entry: the front window. The residence was ransacked. Loss: cash and jewelry so far. No suspect information. A second residential burglary victim called police from another Catalina Avenue address.

Citizen Assist—6:44 p.m.—College Park Drive—The caller and his daughter were locked inside the park with their vehicle. Assisted.

Friday, March 9

Welfare Check—8:03 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue—The caller said a hatchback had pulled over in the bike lane on Seal Beach Boulevard, north of Westminster. An elderly man was in the passenger seat with the door open. The caller thought he might need help. The driver’s seat was empty. The caller speculated that the man might have pulled over and then sat in his passenger seat to rest. Police unit 106 was unable to locate the vehicle.

Traffic Hazard—6:02 p.m.—Main Street and Ocean Avenue—Six boys, described as 14 years old, were going up and down in the middle of Main Street on skateboards and holding onto cars.

Attempted Petty Theft—8:50 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—Someone came into the caller’s yard, picked up surf equipment—and ran when the caller turned the light on. The suspect was described as a man, either white or Hispanic in appearance, wearing a brown flannel shirt. No report desired.

Suspicious—10:06 p.m.—Fir Avenue—Someone knocked on the caller’s door and then rang the doorbell. The caller’s husband called out and asked who it was, but no one answered. Then the caller’s car alarms went off. The caller’s husband then came on the line. No further police services were necessary. Four juveniles were toilet papering the house. The police unit was cancelled prior to arrival.

Saturday, March 10

Illegal Peddler—8:56 a.m.—Main Street—The caller said a pan handler was verbally abusive with people when they refused to give him money. He was gone by the time police arrived.

Petty Theft—4:20 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said a man smashed the glass to the display case and took two iPhones. The suspect, described as an Asian man in his 20s, ran around the corner and was gone by the time the caller chased him. The suspect wore a dark baseball cap, shorts and sneakers. The suspect was recorded on video. Report taken.

Sunday, March 11

Drunk—3:42 p.m.—Neptune and Ocean—The caller said an individual was passed out on the dunes near Lifeguard Tower 8. A lifeguard was standing by. The man then woke up and was last seen running up Dolphin to Ocean Avenue. A lifeguard tried to catch up with him. Police unit 106 contacted the individual at 3:55 p.m. The individual, described in the log as a transient, was sent on his way. No further police services were necessary.

Welfare Check—5:59 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said there appeared to be a female gypsy asking for money. The woman had a baby with her. The woman was described as wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt with a purple undershirt and jeans. She was carrying the baby in front.

Burglary Report—7 p.m.—17th Street—The caller’s garage was burglarized sometime during the night. Loss: a desktop computer, two printers, a CD player and radio. Report taken.

Vehicle Burglary—10:56 p.m.—First Street—The caller said his car was burglarized less than 30 minutes earlier. Witnesses saw the suspect. Point of entry: a smashed  back window. Loss: golf clubs in a blue and white golf club bag, a travel bag, a green backpack, a black laptop/messenger type of bag. Witnesses described the suspect as a white man in a blue shirt, wearing black shorts and white shoes. Report taken.

IN Leisure World

Friday, March 9

Identity Theft—1:16 p.m.—Monterey Road, Mutual 2—Someone used the caller’s deceased husband’s information to get a room. Report taken.

IN LOS ALAMITOS

Tuesday, March 6

Area Check—11:12 a.m.— Chestnut Street—The caller said an unknown individual tried to open her front door knob, but the caller did not see the person. The caller said it had happened about 10 minutes prior to her call to the police. The caller phoned back to say she had found an advertisement attached to her doorknob and that she was OK.

Thursday, March 8

Patrol Check—2:15 p.m.—Cerritos and Los Alamitos Boulevard—The caller asked for a check on an individual, possibly a transient, sitting on the corner playing a guitar. The man appeared to be in his 60s and wearing a light colored shirt and jeans. He told police he was a car detailer who was waiting for a delivery truck so he could clean it. His story was confirmed by the owner.

Friday, January 13

Suspicious Circumstances—5:50 p.m.—Florista and Los Alamitos Boulevard.

IN ROSSMOOR

Monday, March 12

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—5:09 p.m.—Weatherby Road.

Disturbance, Family Dispute—7:42 p.m.—Baskerville Road.

Open Door—9:22 p.m.—Baskerville Road.

Open Door—10:48 p.m.—Yellowtail Drive.

Disturbance, Family Dispute—11 p.m.—Wendy Way.

Tuesday, March 13

Citizen Assist—1:19 a.m.—Montecito Road—The caller said someone filled her trash can with trash and now she has no room for her trash. She wanted the trash that was in the can fingerprinted to find out who did it.

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—12:51 p.m.—Martha Ann Drive and St. Albans Drive—An Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputy performed a patrol check for two individuals passing out flyers and possibly casing the neighborhood.

Suspicious Person in Vehicle—3:14 p.m.—Montecito Road—The caller said a man sitting in a Hyundai Accent four-door with a Nevada plate had been in the area for the past few days.

Disturbance—5:01 p.m.—Harrisburg Road and Weatherby Road—A deputy performed a patrol check for an individual described as a transient with a bottle of vodka.

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—6:34 p.m.—Wallingsford Road—The caller said there was a man laying in the grass near the apartments on Hedwig before the alley near the ARCO gas station.

Wednesday, March 14

Open Door—10:24 a.m.—Hillrose Drive—The caller said he was driving through the neighborhood and noticed that the front door and garage were open at the location and it did not appear that anyone was home.

Suspicious Person in Vehicle—10:48 a.m.—Bostonian Drive—The caller reported a vehicle parked in front of the caller’s residence for at least an hour.

When they saw the caller get on her cell phone, they left. The caller was concerned because of the recent burglaries. A deputy performed a patrol check for a white Volvo station wagon with luggage racks on the top and lots of stickers on the back with a plate similar to that of the other vehicle.

Suspicious Persons in Vehicle—12:11 p.m.—Foster Road and Blume Drive—The caller reported an SUV occupied by two men and a woman that had been parked for 10 minutes. The caller said they did not belong in the area.

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—1:27 p.m.—Copa De Oro Drive—The caller said a man was going door to door, saying hello to see if anyone was home. The caller thought he might be casing.

Petty Theft Report—3:21 p.m.—Hedwig Road.

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—3:51 p.m.— Bostonian Drive and Montecito Road—The caller requested a patrol check for a man who appeared disheveled and was drinking beer out of a glass bottle.

Thursday, March 15

Disturbance, Mechanical—2:12 a.m.—Oak Knoll Drive—The caller could hear a loud jack hammer, possibly on Martha Ann. However, the sheriff’s unit assigned to the call was unable to locate any noise.

Friday, March 16

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—3:01 a.m.—Wembley Road—The caller said an individual that the caller did not know, possibly drunk or on drugs, was knocking at the caller’s front door and trying to open it.

Then the caller said he was trying to remove the caller’s mailbox off the wall.

According to the log, a deputy detained a suspect. However, the log made no mention of an arrest.

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—6:16 a.m.—Katella Avenue—The caller said a homeless man was sitting on a bench in front of business, yelling and arguing with himself. He had wrapped himself in a dirty pink and white blanket.

Petty Theft Report—Noon—Rossmoor Way.

Suspicious Person or Circumstances—4:09 p.m.—Hedwig Road and Pemberton Road.

Petty Theft Report—4:13 p.m.—Davenport Road.

Suspicious Person in Vehicle—6:47 p.m.—Oak Knoll Drive and Montecito Road.

Suspicious Person in Vehicle—8:01 p.m.—Rowena Drive.

Saturday, March 17

Disturbance—12:27 a.m.—Los Alamitos Boulevard.

Ted Apodaca of the News-Enterprise contributed to this article.