Police Blotter: A Slap in the Face

Purse Snatcher Slaps

One woman's attempt to fight off a thief ended with a slap in the face. The 25-year-old woman was walking near the corner of 11th Street and Valley Drive around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday, June 5. A man approached her and tried to grab her purse.

When she refused to give it up without a fight, the suspect slapped her face, she told police. A vehicle immediately drove up to the street corner. The suspect hopped in with the victim's purse and drove away, southbound on Valley Drive.

Pilfered Parking Permit

A suspect snatched one woman's parking permit from her car on Friday, June 11. The woman told police that the vehicle, parked near the 200 block of Monterey Boulevard, was locked and a window was cracked open only two inches. 

The permit was a hanging tag that the woman said she kept on her front dashboard. Nothing else was reported as missing from the vehicle. The Hermosa Beach resident has asked the city for a new permit to replace the one stolen. 

Ripped Banners

Maybe it was the Yankees beating the Astros that weekend, or the Red Sox teeing off against the Phillies. Police have not reported a motive or suspect, but someone had ripped down a New York Yankees and Boston Redsox banner from a Hermosa Beach residence the weekend of June 11.

A man and his wife, who own the banners, said that they last saw them hanging from their home Friday night, near the 500 block of 2nd Street. The next day, each 3-by-5 foot banner was ripped and vandalized. Police are still investigating.