City of Torrance - Current Crime Trends

Liquor Boosters

DETAILS: On Wednesday, March, 20 2013 at 8:10 p.m., the above-pictured suspects entered the "ALBERTSONS" at 21035 Hawthorne Blvd. and took bottles of "CROWN ROYAL", "J WALKER" and "BUCHANANS SCOTCH" from a previously broken cabinet, placing the bottles in a cart and pushing same out the front door.... Click Here for full flyer.

Indecent Exposure

DETAILS: On Tuesday April 30, 2013 at 3:24 p.m., the two victims were walking home from BERT LYNN MIDDLE SCHOOL when they observed the suspect seated in the driver's seat of the suspect vehicle with the front passenger window rolled down as he chuckled at them. The suspect was holding his exposed penis with both hands and laughing. Click Here for full flyer.

PIGEON DROP TURNED ROBBERY

DETAILS: On Saturday March 30, 2013 at 9:30 a.m., the 64-year-old victim was working at a residence in the 21100 block of Ladeene doing exterior construction when he was approached by S1 who stated he had been dropped off by a taxi from Beverly Hills, had recently inherited a large sum of money and needed help donating the money to a charity..... Click Here for full flyer

CELL PHONE THIEF

DETAILS: On Wednesday, April 03, 2013 at 2:16 p.m., the 17-year-old victim entered the KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN at 16502 Crenshaw, placed her order and was filling her cup at the soda machine when the above-pictured suspect who had been seated at a booth, grabbed her cell phone from her left rear pocket and fled out of the location.... Click Here for full flyer

AUTO BURGLARY - SUSPECT VEHICLE

DETAILS: On Wednesday March 27, 2013/7:04 p.m., the above-pictured suspect vehicle parked next to the victim's '07 Cadillac Escalade in the "ALBERTSONS" lot at 21035 Hawthorne Blvd, punched the driver's side door lock for entry, took property and fled westbound through the lot, then eastbound through the parking lot toward Hawthorne Blvd and out of sight; the loss was a 3rd row seat made of a custom black leather that does not match any of "GENERAL MOTOR'S" stock upholstery and a purse... Click Here for full flyer

RECOVERED VEHICLE PARTS

DETAILS: The below-pictured suspect is responsible for the dumping of vehicle parts removed from a '98 Lexus GS4, 4Dr stolen out of LAPD-Topanga Division on March 16, 2013. The parts (seen at right) were left in and around the dumpsters on the south side of MAUI CHICKEN, 2100 Redondo Beach Blvd on Friday, March 29, 2013/12:15 p.m.... Click Here for full flyer

AUTO BURGLARY

DETAILS: On Wednesday, August 15, 2012/1:27 a.m., the above-pictured suspects entered the attached carport to the rear of the apartment complex in the 300 block of Calle Miramar, entered the victim's unsecured '08 Honda Accord, searched the interior and the trunk and took the victim's sunglasses. The male suspect is also captured on video checking for other unlocked vehicles in the carport by lifting their door handles. Click Here for full flyer

SKATER OFFICE CREEPER

DETAILS: ****UPDATE**** We put this original bulletin out on April 22nd, 2013. On April 28th, 2013, Officers from the Torrance Police Department saw a subject who matched the description of the "Skater Office Creeper." The subject had stolen property and it was determined that he was the suspect in this bulletin. Click here for full flyer

Original post: The above-pictured suspect is responsible for several (mostly south end) thefts from open offices and unlocked apartments in recent weeks; the suspect enters the locations when victims step out to use the restroom, throw out trash or retrieve laundry from the laundry room. Click Here for full flyer

Baskin Robbins Robbery

DETAILS: On Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 8:23 p.m., the above-pictured suspect entered the BASKIN ROBBINS at 3614 Pacific Coast Highway and robbed the 19-year-old lone, female employee. The suspect approached the cash register and ordered ice cream, standing around the cash register while she prepared his order. Click Here for full flyer

Credit Card Fraud

DETAILS: ****UPDATE**** We put this original bulletin out on March 13, 2013. TPD detectives received information regarding a second fraud charge and package delivery. Detectives conducted surveillance at locations in Torrance and Los Angeles and observed the suspect pick up a package. They followed the suspect and he was arrested on April 2, 2013. It should be noted a victim was from out of state and saw the bulletin that was put out to the public. For In Custody bulletin click here.

Original Post: The above-pictured suspect is shown at the FedEx office at 21023 Hawthorne Boulevard picking up a delivery of two "509 Power Amps" (valued at $15,700), purchased September 17, 2012 from the online stereo equipment company "Todd The Vinyl Junkie", using the name and credit card information belonging to a victim living in the 17500 block of Ermanita Avenue...........Click Here for full flyer

Counterfeit Currency

DETAILS: The above-pictured Suspect-1 entered the Walmart at 22015 Hawthorne and purchased two iPads with one legitimate $100 bill and the rest counterfeit $50 bills. Approximately 10-20 minutes later, Suspect-2 and Suspect-3 attempted to return the two tablets; employees had already determined the bills used for the payment were counterfeit, denied the transaction and recovered the iPads..........Click Here for full flyer.

Credit Card Fraud

DETAILS: The above-pictured suspects are responsible for the fraudulent use of credit card information belonging to three victims in Torrance Police Department crime reports. The victims' credit card information was used on weekends at ATMs in Palos Verdes Estates, Redondo Beach and Torrance. The victims' credit cards remain in their possession and skimming is suspected.
.........Click Here for full flyer.

Auto Burglary

DETAILS: On Wednesday, January 09, 2013, between 5:55 and 6:35 p.m., an unknown suspect smashed the window of the victim's vehicle parked in the northeast corner of the 24-HR FITNESS parking lot located at 4240 Redondo Beach Blvd, and took the victim's purse and backpack from the rear floorboard.........Click Here for full flyer.

Residential Burglary with Suspect Vehicle Information

DETAILS: On Monday, January 28, 2013 at 10:16 a.m., the victim was inside his residence in the 5500 block of Sara Drive when the suspect kicked in the front door after two minutes of loudly knocking and ringing the door bell. Click Here for full flyer.

Grocery Store Wallet Thief

DETAILS: The suspect pictured in this bulletin is believed responsible for numerous wallet thefts from female victims as they shop in grocery stores. The victims place their purses inside the "baby seat" area of their carts and shop before discovering the wallet thefts when they prepare to pay. Click Here for full flyer.

Robbery

DETAILS: On Wednesday, January 02, 2013 at 12:00 p.m., the above-pictured suspects entered JEWEL CAFE at 24667 Crenshaw (a business that buys jewelry) and inquired if the jewelry they traded would be paid for by cash or check. Click Here for full flyer.

FUMIGATION BURGLARIES

DETAILS: Beginning in mid-2011 Torrance and surrounding cities began experience a large number of residential burglaries wherein suspects are targeting single family residences and apartment buildings that are tented for fumigation. Click Here for full flyer.

RETAIL/RESTAURANT OFFICE THEFTS/ IN CUSTODY

DETAILS: ****UPDATE**** We put this original bulletin out in Jan 2013. This suspect was arrested committing the same type of crime in Hermosa Beach. The suspect was arrested on March 15, 2013 by Hermosa Beach PD and was linked to crimes in the city of Torrance. For the In Custody bulletin Click Here.

Original post: Since 28 Aug 12, there have been seven incidents wherein a BMA suspect enters an open restaurant or retail business and proceeds to the office where he pries open drawers and small safes and takes cash.Click here for the full fyer.

DISTRACTION BURGLARIES

DETAILS: In the last two weeks, four West End distraction burglary incidents have been reported to the Torrance Police Department. The information provided herein is intended to inform the community and prevent any additional crimes in our city. Click Here for the full flyer.

PIGEON DROP SCAM

DETAILS: Summarized in this flyer are some of the scams that have been reported to the Torrance Police Department in recent years; they are known as Pigeon Drop Scams. While the specifics vary from crime to crime, the commonalities include mostly older female victims being approached in commercial settings (stores and parking lots) by a first suspect, then a second who appears not to know the first, but is actually working in concert with him or her, offering to share in large sums of found or inherited money or lottery winnings.... Click Here for the full flyer.

THEFTS FROM VEHICLES

We have seen a rise in thefts from vehicles in recent weeks. As always, we want to remind you to not leave items in your car and to keep your car locked at all times. The majority of thefts have been from cars that were left unsecured. Feel free to distribute this informational flyer to your friends and family.

THIRD ROW SEAT AUTO BURGLARIES

DETAILS: Since 4/7/10, there have been seven incidents wherein third row seats (both singles and doubles) have been stolen from 2003-2007 General Motors SUVs (Denali, Escalade, Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon) after the door locks have been punched. As illustrated in the map above, vehs in commercial lots (daytime) and res areas (overnight) on or near Hawthorne Bl are being targeted; WED and weekends are most likely. CLICK HERE for the full Bulletin.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY SERIES

The City of Torrance has experienced an increase of daytime residential burglaries. The most common method of this increased trend seems to be where a suspect knocks on the door to the residence to see if anyone is home. If no one answers the door, the suspect walks to the rear of the house and forcibly enters via a rear door or window. Once inside, the suspect ransacks the residence and takes items that are easy to flee with (i.e. cash, jewelry, video games, laptop computers, etc). The suspect will make several trips to an awaiting vehicle, then flee the area with another suspect driving the car.

We are asking our community to be more aware of people in their neighborhood who they do not recognize as residents of the block, and/or, individuals acting suspicious.

For example, in two of our recent daytime burglaries, neighbors saw a subject in a neighbor's backyard that they did not recognize as a resident of the house and did not call us. Both of these houses were broken into. The suspets will also use ploys to justify their presence in your neighborhood. They may pretend to be a solicitor of some type or act as if they are trying to find a "friend's" house.

If you can be a good witness, please get the suspect's description, the suspect vehicle description (a license plate would be great) and possibly a direction of travel if you see the vehicle leave the area. Please DO NOT confront any suspect(s) or ask them "what they are doing" or tell them that you are "calling the police."

Please call the Torrance Police Department (310-328-3456) regardless of how insignificant you feel a situation may be. This may result in an arrest of a burglar.

Please refer to any of the links above to familiarize yourself with some of the current crime trends we are experiencing or that we think you should be aware of. While these are not all of the types of crimes you may encounter, they are a useful tools to help make you and your possessions safer. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Community Affairs at Communityaffairs@torrnet.com

On April 28th, 2013, Officers from the Torrance Police Department saw a subject who matched the description of the "Skater Office Creeper." The subject had stolen property and it was determined that he was the suspect in this bulletin.