On Wednesday, July 7, the noise from a tree house construction project had gone on too long for a resident of College Park Drive.
So, at 6:27 p.m., the frustrated citizen phoned in a noise complaint to the Seal Beach Police Department. The caller said someone was building a tree house in the neighborhood. The caller said they were not authorized to build a tree house.
Seal Beach Senior Planner Jerry Olivera said the question of whether permits are required for tree houses has come up once or twice before now.
He said the city Building Code allows the construction of small structures such as storage sheds, playhouses or similar uses. No permit is required for such structures if they are 120-square feet in size.
The code section Olivera referred to specifically mentioned one-story structures.
The caller objected to the noise caused by the amateur construction crew.
This was apparently the second call police received that day about the tree house project.
Police unit 121 was dispatched to College Park Drive to deal with the problem.
Police unit 121 contacted three juveniles. The dispatch log did not say if they were boys or girls.
It turned out that the youngsters were tearing down, rather than building, a tree house they had constructed earlier in the day.
According to the dispatch log, the juveniles placed the debris on the ground.
They agreed to return Thursday, July 8, to clean up the debris.
Crime Log Assembled by Charles M. Kelly
The crimes listed in the Sun Newspapers were reported to Seal Beach Police Department, Los Alamitos Police Department and Orange County Sheriff Department between July 5 and July 16, 2010. Only street names are used; times given are reported times, not incident times. Crime Log entries are based on preliminary information. Space limitations make it impossible to publish every incident. Until proven guilty in a court of law, all suspects are considered innocent.
IN SEAL BEACH
Monday, July 5
Petty Theft—12:47 a.m.—Main Way—Someone stole dresses from the location at about noon. The name and address of the business were blacked out in the log. Suspect unknown. Loss: $80. Report taken.
Traffic Hazard—2:50 p.m.—13th Street—Someone dumped a large TV in the street. The TV was moved.
Grand Theft Report—8:14 p.m.—17th Street—Loss: two bikes that were locked up to the rear of the caller’s residence. The log did not provide an estimated value of the stolen bicycles. However, grand theft is defined as the stealing of property valued at $400 or more.
Tuesday, July 6
Fake Money—10:56 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue—A white man and two white women tried to pass counterfeit bills. However, the merchant refused to take the bills. The suspects were described as resembling a father, a mother and a daughter. According to the Crime Log, the man was described as 6 feet tall, weighed 250 pounds and had a shaved head. There was no description of his female companions.
Vehicle Burglary—1:07 p.m.—Dolphin Avenue—Point of entry: a smashed passenger side window. Taken: a black pocket book, boots, and money. Suspect unknown. Report taken.
Keep the Peace—1:51 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller accidentally left his ATM card in the machine. The staff at the location would not return the card to him unless he supplied them with the receipt from the ATM transaction.
Unfortunately, the caller had already thrown his receipt away.
Police assisted.
Suspicious Occupied Vehicle—3:08 p.m.—Crystal Place—The caller said a man had been sitting inside a vehicle for the past hour. The caller believed the man might be casing the area to commit a crime. Police unit 113 contacted the man in the car.
He was waiting for his girlfriend.
No further police services were necessary.
Wednesday, July 7
Coyote—2:40 p.m.—Fir and Goldenrod—The caller saw a coyote hunting in the residential area of College Park East. Referred to Long Beach Animal Care Services.
Hit and Run, Property Damaged—10:53 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—No one was injured, but property was damaged, when a vehicle collided with a center median. Police arrested Phillip Cabrera, 23, for drunk driving.
Thursday, July 8
Patrol Check Requested—2:50 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard and Landing Avenue—The caller said bicycle riders were being rude and were not using the bike lane. The caller said vehicles could strike the bikers. The offending bike riders were gone by the time police arrived.
Suspicious Person—2:52 p.m.—Daisy Street—The caller said a Hispanic man was knocking on neighborhood doors, possibly looking for work. Police unit 111 contacted the man. He was passing out business cards. No further police services were necessary.
Coyotes—9:26 p.m.—Crestview Avenue—The caller saw two coyotes enter the side yard of a residence. Report sent to Long Beach Animal Care Services via their Web site. Log entry.
Friday, July 9
Vehicle Burglary—8:04 a.m.—Masthead Court—Point of entry: a pried door lock. Loss: the navigation system, cup holders and a Swiss Army knife. The crime apparently occurred between 8 p.m., Thursday, July 8 and the time of the call to police. Report taken.
Dead Animal—12:35 p.m.—Landing Avenue—The caller, relaying second hand information, said there was either a dead cat or dog next to an orange cone in the field. Message delivered to Long Beach Animal Care Services.
Counterfeit Bill—7:55 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said a white man in his 20s tried to pass a counterfeit $20-bill. The caller was too excited to stay on the phone with police. Unit 123 contacted the suspect in front of the location. The suspect was cooperative. Counterfeit bill report taken.
Saturday, July 10
Counseling—9:38 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller complained that a class was going on on the south side of the Pier. The caller said the class was not authorized by the city. The caller was advised to call the police the next time she saw the same. Report taken for possible municipal code violation.
Forgery—12:09 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—A man tried to pass what a Chase bank employee believed might be a bad check.
The teller relayed the information to another bank employee, who called the police at 12:09 p.m.
According to the dispatch log, the caller had contacted the account holder whose name appeared on the check. The account holder reportedly denied writing a check to the suspect.
Police unit 111 arrested John Trujillo, 45, for forgery and business burglary.
Petty Theft—7:45 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—A juvenile, gender unknown, was arrested for petty theft at Kohl’s. The juvenile was described as cooperative. The suspect was released to mom’s custody. Report taken.
Sunday, July 11
Burglary Report—12:44 a.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller arrived home to find the front door open. The crime apparently occurred between 2 p.m., Saturday, July 10 and 12:30 a.m., Sunday, July 11. The apartment was apparently left open and unattended while the caller was gone. Report taken.
Coyote—1:26 p.m.—Neptune Avenue and Seal Way—The caller said two coyotes were running on Neptune and then went on to the Beach from Electric Avenue. Referred to Long Beach Animal Care Services. A dispatcher submitted an online coyote sighting report to LBACS.
IN LEISURE WORLD
Thursday, July 8
911 Hang-up—8:57 a.m.—Annandale Drive, Mutual 1—The call turned out to be a misdial. A woman was trying to call in her prescription. The call was cancelled before a unit could be dispatched.
IN ROSSMOOR
Monday, July 12
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—1:01 p.m.—Silver Fox Road and Mainway Drive.
Burglary in Progress—3:01 p.m.—Loch Lomond Road.
Vandalism Report—5:33 p.m.—Kempton Drive.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—11:55 p.m.—Bostonian Drive and Foster Road.
Tuesday, July 13
Welfare Check—5:27 p.m.—Bradbury Road and Los Alamitos Boulevard.
Wednesday, July 14
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—3:03 p.m.—Cortese Drive and Weatherby Road.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—9:41 p.m.—Martha Ann Drive and Channing Way.
Thursday, July 15
Petty Theft Report—9:27 a.m.—Blume Drive.
Citizen Assist—5:55 p.m.—Ruth Elaine Drive.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—7:59 p.m.—Hedwig Road and Pemberton Road.
Friday, July 16
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—11:19 a.m.—Shakespeare Drive and Baskerville Road.
IN SUNSET BEACH
Monday, July 12
Disturbance, Music or Party—2:36 a.m.—Paschalls Lane.
Annoying Phone Call—6:01 p.m.—Pacific Avenue.
Tuesday, July 13
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—1:39 a.m.— N. Pacific Avenue and 6th Street.
Wednesday, July 14
Firework Violation—10:23 p.m.—S. Pacific Avenue and 5th Street.
Thursday, July 15
Citizen Assist—12:20 p.m.—N. Pacific Avenue and 12th Street.
Friday, July 16
Disturbance—12:51 p.m.—N. Pacific Avenue and 10th Street.
Disturbance—1:27 a.m.—S. Pacific Avenue and 26th Street.
