Crime Log Compiled by Charles M. Kelly
Editor’s note: Information in the Crime Log is based on information provided by the Seal Beach Police Department. Where available, neighborhoods will be included. Incident time reflects the time police received a call. The number of units and the incident response times are taken directly from the log.
IN SEAL?BEACH
Friday, July 13
Hazard (Priority 3)—8:24 a.m.—Seal Way (Old Town)—The caller told 911 that a wire was down at the location. The Orange County Fire Authority was notified and had a unit en route. However, by 8:36 a.m., police had determined that it was a telephone wire, not an electrical wire. No further police services were required. Police unit 107 responded. Incident response time: 9 minutes 18 seconds.
Welfare Check (Priority 2)—9:07 a.m.—Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said a woman was with her friends. They were holding her up and appeared to have been drinking. The caller lost sight of them and speculated they might have entered a store. Police units 106 and S24 arrived in the area. Police unit 107 was available for back up. Police were unable to locate any of the individuals in question. Incident response time: 9 minutes 53 seconds.
Suspicious Circumstances (Priority 2)—9:37 a.m.—Electric Avenue and 12th Street—The caller, apparently relaying second-hand information from a voice message, said a device of some sort appeared to be attached to the mailbox at the location. Police unit 107 responded. It turned out the only thing attached to the mailbox was a Kitty Kat reward flyer. Incident response time: 5 minutes 14 seconds.
Citizen Contact (Priority 3)—9:47 a.m.—Landing Avenue—Police unit 107 requested fire/medics respond for an intoxicated minor. As of 9:59 a.m., the Orange County Fire Authority was on-scene. No incident response time was provided as the call was officer-initiated. Police unit S24 provided back up, arriving about a minute after unit 107 arrived.
911 Hang-up (Priority 2)—10:03 a.m.—Knollwood Road (Leisure World)—Dispatch called back and got a busy signal on the first try; no answer on the second. Police had a unit en route at 10:04 a.m. By 10:10 a.m., dispatch reached an individual who reported that his passport was lost; it turned out he misplaced it. Police unit 106 arrived at 10:10 a.m., about the time dispatch reached the man who had misplaced his passport. No further law enforcement services were required. Incident response time: 6 minutes 57 seconds.
Disturbance, Family (Priority 2)—11:08 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—Customers at the location told the caller that a man was kicking a woman. However, they were no longer fighting as of 11:09 a.m. As of 11:11 a.m., the caller told police that the man and the woman got in a car. The woman was driving. The caller gave police information about the car. Police units 106 and 107 responded. Neither was able to locate the couple in question. Incident response time: 6 minutes 8 seconds.
Person Down (Priority 1)—11:19 a.m.—Surfside Avenue (Surfside Colony)—The caller reported a man down along the wall at the location. Police units S24, 107 and M6 responded. Police unit S24 told dispatch that the man at the wall was a transient individual who had been sleeping in the dirt. He did not require law enforcement services and was sent on his way. Incident response time: 4 minutes 48 seconds.
Animal Welfare (Priority 3)—1:04 p.m.—Central Avenue and Main Street—The caller reported a Chihuahua in a car. The caller said the windows were only cracked open a little. Police unit 107 found a dog that appeared to be fine and did not seem to be in distress. The office stuck a hand inside the car. The temperature did not seem to the officer to be unbearable. Police contacted the registered owner of the car and advised that person about leaving a dog in a car. Lot item. Incident response time: 10 minutes 43 seconds.
Possible Burglary (Priority 3)—1:21 p.m.—Seal Way—The caller said his dog was in his neighbor’s apartment and that the neighbor’s apartment was locked up. The caller speculated that someone got into both apartments. The caller was not aware of any loss of property at that time. Police units 106, 107, M6 and S24 responded. Police found no signs of forced entry into either location and nothing was missing. Both apartments had sliding glass doors and both doors were ajar. Police suspected the dog may have entered the neighbor’s apartment by accident.
Possible Drug Activity (Priority 2)—3:41 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller reported seeing a man smoking a pipe inside the store. The caller requested to remain anonymous. Police units 107 and M6 responded. Based on two outstanding, no-bail arrest warrants, police arrested Michael John Schultz on suspicion of grand theft (the taking of cash or property worth more than $950) and kidnapping. Incident response time: 5 minutes 33 seconds.
Petty Theft (Priority 2)—7:06 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said a man had switched a store shirt for his own and removed the tag from the store shirt The caller said the man left his shirt. He had been inside the store for the past 10 minutes As of 7:10 p.m., the caller said the man had a pair of dress pants that he might possibly be concealing inside his own pants. Police units 241 and 207 responded. Police contacted a man who apparently matched the description of the suspect that the caller had reported to police. The log described the man as co-operative. He didn’t have identification. As of 7:32 p.m., the store management apparently indicated they had no desire to prosecute the suspect for petty theft. However, police arrested Hai Le on suspicion of possession of illegal drug paraphernalia and suspicion of possession of a controlled substance.
Saturday, July 14
Found Property (Priority 4)—6:39 a.m.—Marina Drive and San Gabriel River—The caller found a stuffed suitcase. Police unit 107 was en route at 7:11 a.m. Police unit 107 determined the multi-colored girls suitcase contained miscellaneous clothing for women. There was no owner identification in the suitcase. The property was booked as eligible for destruction. Incident response time: 55 minutes 44 seconds.
Vandalism (Priority 2)—7:50 a.m.—Marina Drive—Police unit 107 observed and reported a swastika at the location. Many details were blacked out in the log. Unit 107 requested the swastika be removed. Report taken. Police unit 107 was on-scene 2 minutes 59 seconds.
Car Burglary (Priority 3)—11:53 a.m.—North Gate Road—The caller said the car was burglarized between 10:50 a.m. and the time of the call to police. Point of entry: a smashed window. The window was not specified in the log. Police unit 106 took a report. Incident response time: 13 minutes 8 seconds.
Suspicious Car (Priority 3)—12:01 p.m.—Seventh Street—The caller said a car at the location had been running since the previous day. Police unit 107 responded. Police unit M6 was available for back up. Police located the registered owner of the car. Police unit 107 was en route at 1:07 p.m. and arrived at 1:13 p.m. The officer spoke with the car owner, who dd not realize the car was left on. Incident response time: 1 hour 12 minutes 10 seconds.
Theft (Priority 3)—12:34 p.m.—North Gate Road and Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller reported the theft of glasses/sunglasses from the caller’s car between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Police unit 106 was en route at 1:04 p.m. and arrived at 1:13 p.m. Police unit 106 took a crime report for petty theft. Incident response time: 38 minutes 53 seconds.
Suspicious Person (Priority 2)—8:08 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said a man was pacing back and forth. The caller apparently felt this was suspicious. The caller expressed the opinion that the man might be under the influence. Police units 207, 241, and C7 responded. Police unit S22 was available for back up. Police were initially unable to locate the man, but he was eventually contacted. By 8:25 p.m., officers had determined the man was OK. He was leaving the area. Incident response time: 15 minutes 38 seconds.
Welfare Check (Priority 2)—10:21 p.m.—12th Street and Ocean Avenue—The caller reported a child in a car by herself. No parents seen. Police units 207 and 241 responded. Police unit 207 determined the child was not in distress and the driver just ran into the house for a minute. Incident response time: 7 minutes 52 seconds.
Disturbance, Music (Priority 3)—11:52 p.m.—14th Street—The anonymous caller complained about someone playing loud music on a balcony. As of 11:55 p.m., no units were available. Police units 206 and 207 were en route at 12:31 a.m., Sunday, July 15. Police apparently advised/warned/counseled the person responsible for the music. Incident response time: 40 minutes 40 seconds. The two police units were on-scene for not quite 2 minutes each.
Sunday, July 15
Disturbance, Juveniles (Priority 3)—1:05 a.m.—Bolsa Avenue and Balboa Drive—The caller said juveniles were taping down something in the street. They kept running away. As of 1:10 a.m., two of the juveniles were reportedly in a parked car. As of 1:12 a.m., the caller said a car had just swerved around the tape. As of 1:13 a.m., one of the juveniles was re-taping the street. Police units 207, 241 and S22 responded. Police unit S22 contacted the juveniles and determined they were pulling a prank. Incident response time: 8 minutes 37 seconds.
Car Burglary (Priority 3)—8:57 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller said that sometime during the night, someone opened the trunk of the car. According to the log, the caller told dispatch that the car was locked and the point of entry was unknown. Police unit 107 was en route at 9:27 a.m. However, police unit 107 told dispatch that the car was left unlocked.
Loss: a jewelry box containing lip balm, gum and more than one pair of earrings. The caller did not wish to prosecute.
However, according to the log, a second victim, in the same time frame and area, reported the theft of sunglasses between 11 p.m. and the time of the call to police. It was unknown if the second victim’s car was locked. There were no signs of forced entry into the second car.
The second victim apparently wished to prosecute. Incident response time: 29 minutes 40 seconds.
Drunk (Priority 2)—4:26 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—Police unit 940 contacted an apparently drunk man on the sand. However, the man had a sober companion who agreed to take him home.
Suspicious Person (Priority 2)—5:25 p.m.—Bolsa Avenue—The caller observed a man carrying a grocery bag, not wearing a shirt and acting strangely. The caller speculated he might be under the influence of something. He was last seen walking eastbound on Bolsa, near the school. Police unit 106A found an individual matching the caller’s description. He was in his yard, doing yard work. No further police services were required.
Incident response time: 6 minutes 25 seconds.
Monday, July 16
Hail by Citizen (Priority 3)—5:44 a.m.—Taper Drive (The Hill)—A citizen flagged down police unit 207 to report an open garage door. Police unit found nothing suspicious at the residence. Police unit 207 was on-scene 5 minutes 5 seconds.
Disturbance (Priority 2)—5:48 a.m.—Eighth Street (Old Town)—The caller said a man, who the caller apparently described as a transient, was in front of the caller’s front gate, shouting gibberish. He was crouched down. The only description the caller could provide was that the man had matted hair. Police unit 107 was en route at 5:54 a.m. and arrived at 6:37 a.m., according to the log. Police unit 107 interviewed the man in the field. Incident response time: 48 minutes 43 seconds.
Petty Theft Report (Priority 3)—5:01 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—An individual came to police headquarters to report the theft of their wallet, which contained credit cards and a driver’s license. Someone had apparently made fraudulent charges on one of the cards. Report taken. Incident response time: 3 minutes 42 seconds.
Petty Theft Report (Priority 3)—9:58 p.m.—Ocean Avenue and 13th Street—The caller said that sometime on Sunday, July 15, someone took a pair of sunglasses, a bag of makeup and other property from the caller’s car. Police unit 241 was en route at 10:39 p.m. Police unit S22 was available at 10:50 p.m., but unit 241 apparently handled the call alone. Log item. Incident response time: 43 minutes 6 seconds.
Disturbance (Priority 2)—11:56 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said a man on a skateboard in the parking lot was disturbing employees and customers at the location. The caller said he had a flashlight and was flashing it at people. Police units 206 and 241 responded. Police arrested Javier Padilla on suspicion of resisting arrest. Incident response time: 3 minutes 15 seconds.
Tuesday, July 17
Municipal Code Complaint (Priority 3)—4:22 a.m.—12th Street and Seal Way—The caller reported a bonfire on the beach. Police unit 207 contacted a woman on the beach. She was leaving the area as of 4:54 a.m. Police unit 207 apparently advised/warned/cautioned her against having a bonfire on the beach. Incident response time: 24 minutes 45 seconds.
Transient (Priority 3)—6:30 a.m.—Seventh Street—The caller said a transient man was sleeping at the location. Police units 106, 141 and S20 responded. A fourth unit, 107, was available. The first unit was en route at 7:22 a.m. Police unit 141 cited the transient man under the Seal Beach Municipal Code. Incident response time: 1 hour 16 minutes 28 seconds.
Transient (Priority 3)—8:48 a.m.—Main Street (Old Town)—The caller reported that a man who had been sleeping in front of the store was refusing to leave. Police units 107 and 141 responded. Police unit interviewed him in the field. Incident response time: 2 minutes 45 seconds.
Attempted Fraud (Priority 3)—3:12 p.m.—Main Street (Old Town)—The caller, an employee of the business at the location, said an unknown person phoned the business on Monday, July 16, and convinced her (the caller) that she needed to wire money for an outstanding surveillance system bill. She was told to close the business, go to another location and wire the money to a location in Mexico. The owner of the business found out before the caller sent the money. Police determined that no money had been sent. Police unit 107 counseled the caller. Incident response time: 12 minutes 59 seconds.
