Manhattan Beach Crime: Burglary, Stolen Autos, Hidden Key Access

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — East Manhattan Beach and the Sand Section appear to have had the most residential burglaries, vehicle burglaries or theft from vehicles and auto theft, according to the latest Neighborhood Watch report issued by the Manhattan Beach Police Department.

The report, which covers Sept. 17-23, listed 7 instances of crime in East MB and 5 in the Sand Section. A crime, classified as a residential burglary occurred in the 200 block of Moonstone Street where an "unknown suspect(s) opened a garage door, entered an unlocked vehicle and stole a backpack."

Four instances of unlocked vehicles being entered took place, with three of those reporting no loss in the early morning entries [2:04 a.m.-4:30 a.m.]. During daylight hours, between 2:30 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, a purse containing a wallet, cash, driver's license, cards and cellphone was stolen from an unlocked car in the 700 block of Herrin Street.

Two auto thefts occurred during the week: A Jeep Grand Cherokee was reported stolen in the 200 block of Rosecrans Place and a Toyota 4Runner was stolen from the 2700 block of The Strand. Three instances of crime took place with "hidden access keys": In one instance, a wallet and cell phone were stolen from a vehicle in the 400 block of Rosecrans Avenue; a cell phone, wallet, bank cards and car key were stolen in another "hidden key access" that took place in the 3000 block of Highland, and a woman who used a "hidden key access" and attempted to steal the victim's backpack was detained and arrested for theft and other offenses. This took place in the 1000 block of The Strand.

In the 1500 block of 5th Street around 2:05 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, a resident saw an "unknown suspect(s) attempted to steal a catalytic converter from a parked vehicle" that belonged to him and "began to yell at the suspects. They left the catalytic converter hanging from the vehicle and fled." Police took a report classifying the activity as "Attempt Grand Theft."

In the 2300 block of The Strand, a bicycle was stolen from a porch around 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 17. The report did not mention if the bike was locked or unlocked.