Police on Wednesday, Jan. 8, arrested a suspect in a Seal Beach robbery that occurred on Christmas Day 2013.
Investigators from the Seal Beach, Cypress, Los Alamitos, La Palma and the Long Beach police departments arrested Oscar Mejia, 26, on Fourth Street in Long Beach. Mejia has been named as a suspect in at least four other robberies, all involving Craigslist.
Investigators found a firearm in the suspect’s car that may have been the weapon used in the Dec. 25, 2013, robbery, according to a statement issued by the Seal Beach Police Department.
On Wednesday night, Dec. 25, the victim met a man the CVS parking lot of the Seal Beach Towne Center on Seal Beach Boulevard. According to the victim’s report to the police, he was there to sell his gold Rolex watch to another man. The two first made contact on Craigslist.
However, instead of receiving money, the victim was robbed at gunpoint. The loss: the Rolex.
“After several days of exhausting efforts and countless surveillance hours, along with the assistance of numerous police agencies from both Los Angeles County and Orange County this arrest was possible. We are extremely proud and thankful for the hard work, dedication and agency cooperation these investigators have when catching serious felons. As of today, this alleged suspect has been positively identified in at least three Los Angeles County Craigslist robberies and one Orange County Craigslist robbery,” said Sgt. Phil Gonshak, Public Information Officer for the Seal Beach Police Department.
The Seal Beach Police Department advised citizens take the following precautions when meeting Craigslist contacts to do business:
- Never meet in person at night.
- Never meet in desolate locations.
- Never provide your personal information.
- Never meet alone.
The police are asking anyone with information about this case to contact Detective G. Krogman, SBPD, at (562) 799-4100, extension 1108.
