Crime Log Compiled by Charles M. Kelly
Editor’s note: Information in the Crime Log is based on the information most recently provided by law enforcement.
IN SEAL BEACH
Sunday, August 19
Suspicious Person (Priority 2)—6:34 a.m.—Central Avenue and Seventh Street (Old Town)—The caller reported a car occupied by a woman who may have been asleep with the door open. Police units 107 and 141 responded. Police unit 107 advised dispatch that there were no citations on the car. The driver left in another car. Incident response time 7 minutes 40 seconds.
Traffic Stop (Priority 4)—8:12 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard and Marlin Avenue—Police unit S34 stopped a car. By 8:30 a.m., the occupant of the car was in custody. Unit S34 requested a tow. Police units 443, 141 and 107 assisted. Police arrested Orvil Berry on suspicion of falsely representing his identity and based on a no bail warrant out of Santa Barbara County, suspicion of violating probation. As the traffic stop was police-initiated, no incident response time was provided.
Suspicious Person (Priority 2)—10:31 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said a man entered the location, dropped his backpack by the Halloween candy display and by the time of the call to police had a car full of vodka. The caller suspected that a petty theft might be pending. As of 10:32 a.m., the man was leaving with a backpack for which the caller said he had not paid. As of 10:33 a.m., the dispatcher heard multiple individuals yelling. According to the log, the caller became verbally disruptive.
As of 10:34 a.m., police unit 107 contacted the man. The backpack was recovered. By 10:42 a.m., three individuals had been detained. However, there were apparently no arrests. Police units 106, 141 and S34 also responded to the call, making a total of four units responding. The detained individuals were apparently interviewed in the field. Incident response time: 2 minutes 1 second.
Traffic Hazard (Priority 2)—11:54 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard —The caller reported a man with a yellow towel over his head sitting in traffic lanes. He was not in the roadway when police unit 141 arrived and he checked out OK. Incident response time: 1 minute 19 seconds.
Burglary Report (Priority 3)—1:24 p.m.—Dolphin Avenue and Seal Way—Suspects broke into one of the lifeguard towers overnight. The tower number was blacked out in the log. The loss included a pair of binoculars. The tower medical box was ransacked and another tower nearby was damaged. A key was broken off in the door to the tower. Police unit 940 responded. Police unit 107 was apparently available for back up but did not participate. Incident response time: 34 minutes 9 seconds.
Pedestrian Check (Priority 3)—1:37 p.m.—Marna Drive (Old Town)—Police unit S34 contacted a pedestrian behind a location on Marina Drive and advised the individual against digging in the trash. Incident response time: 11 minutes 37 seconds.
Petty Theft Report (Priority 3)—2:23 p.m.—Surfside Avenue (Surfside Colony)—The caller reported the theft of a briefcase from the caller’s car between 7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 17, and noon, Saturday, Aug. 18. Police unit 107 took a report.
Incident response time: 31 minutes 26 seconds.
Animal Welfare Check (Priority 3)—8:23 p.m.—Dogwood Avenue (College Park East)—The caller said a dog in the area was barking frantically as though something were wrong. The caller did not know the address of the barking dog. The caller said the barking had gone on for three hours as of the time of the call to police. The caller reportedly had never heard this before. Police unit 206 responded and unit 241 was available to provide back up but apparently did not participate. Police were unable to locate the barking dog. Incident response time: 6 minutes 27 seconds.
Suspected DUI (Priority 2)—8:33 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway and Anderson Street—The caller reported that the driver of a car was swerving all over the road as it traveled northbound on Pacific Coast Highway. The caller was following. As of 8:35 p.m., the suspicious car had stopped at a red light at Seal Beach Boulevard. At 8:35 p.m., the suspicious driver went through the now green light, continued on PCH through 12th Street and a red light on Main. As of 8:37 p.m., the suspicious driver sat through a green light on main before traveling northbound on PCH. As of 8:39 p.m., the driver reportedly swerved into the other lane. Police apparently contacted the car in Long Beach on Pacific Coast Highway. The driver was apparently not drunk after all. According to the log, the driver was elderly. Police units 207 and S22 responded. Unit 241 was apparently available for back up but did not participate. The driver apparently checked out OK, as the “close” section of the log entry states “chks.” Incident response time: 4 minutes 9 seconds.
Disturbance, Fight (Priority 2)—9:09 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller reported two men fighting at the end of the Seal Beach Pier. The caller did not see any weapons. As of 9:11 p.m., they were no longer fighting. Police contacted a man and a woman on the west side of the pier who were talking in a manner described in the log as “415,” meaning they were creating a disturbance but they were apparently not related to the two men who had been reported fighting. Police contacted two more individuals on the north side of the pier and determined that they were also unrelated to the fight report. Police units 206 and 207 responded. Police unit 241 was apparently available for back up but did not participate. Incident response time: 6 minutes 57 seconds.
Petty Theft Report (Priority 2)—10:50 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller reported that someone took alcohol from the store and left in an SUV. Three police units in all responded: 206, 207 and 241.
A fourth police unit, S22, was available for back up but did not participate. As of 10:53 p.m., unit S22 was following a car that apparently matched the description of the suspect’s car. As of 10:54 p.m., the driver was driving on the shoulder of the road. Then the driver yielded.
As of 11:02 p.m., unit 241 advised dispatch that the store did not want to prosecute. However, police brought a store employee to the scene for a field show up.
As of 11:19 p.m., police initially arrested Gengis Pitts on suspicion of petty theft. The suspect’s car was left with a woman at the request of the registered owner. As of 11:51 p.m., unit 207 advised that the charges had been upgraded to suspicion of grand theft. Incident response time: 4 minutes 59 seconds.
Tuesday, August 20
Traffic Collision (Priority 1)—1:39 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller used a cellphone to inform 911 dispatch that there was a car roll over at or near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard. As of 1:40 a.m., a second caller reported the same. As of 1:42 a.m., the Orange County Fire Authority had been notified. According to the log, one car hit another and rolled. It was not clear from the log which of the callers provided that information. As of 1:45 a.m., S22 requested assistance and shut down traffic at the location. Unit 207 reported that a woman identified as the driver of one of the cars was walking away from the location. As of 1:50 a.m., unit 241 requested a tow truck. Some details were blacked out in the log. Police units 206, 207, 241 and S22 responded.
Police arrested Hannah Bollinger on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and suspicion of driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or greater. Incident response time: 2 minutes 42 seconds. The response time does not include the time officers spent on the scene. Unit 22, for example, was on-scene for 11 minutes 47 seconds. Unit 207 was on-scene for 2 hours 7 minutes and 36 seconds.
