L.A. Port Police arrest 3 suspects in memorial plaque thefts
Officials believe various monument heists in the region for precious metals may be connected
Los Angeles Port Police arrested three people in connection with numerous memorial plaque thefts in the Harbor Area and South Bay on Tuesday, officials said.
They were picked up Tuesday afternoon after a traffic stop in South Los Angeles, said Capt. Daniel Cobos, of the Support Services Division for the Los Angeles Port Police.
One Los Angeles resident, 42, was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, while two other L.A. residents — 37 and 28 — were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, Cobos said.
The suspects, riding in the same car, had a brass cemetery burial plaque and a plaque from a building in Long Beach when they were pulled over, Cobos said. Police earlier had identified the suspects from surveillance camera footage on Dec. 2 and put the word out to law enforcement agencies to be on the look out for them.
It is not known how many of the stolen plaques with valuable metals may already have been melted and sold.
Thefts of numerous plaques from throughout the area were reported in recent months, including those taken from several large memorials to the fishing industry and longshore workers on Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro. The Bruce's Beach plaque in Manhattan Beach and the Veterans Memorial in Redondo Beach also were stolen.
Police believe several of the thefts may be connected to the suspects, Cobos said.
Cobos described the thefts as “atrocious.” Many residents have expressed dismay over the losses that commemorate founding San Pedro family members going back for more than a century.
Los Angeles Councilmember
Tim McOsker, who represents the Harbor Area, expressed gratitude on news of the arrests.
“The heartless theft of these plaques was an insult to the memories of families who built this region through the fishing industry, who moved goods as part of the ILWU (International Longshore and Warehouse Union), and who protected our country during the war as Merchant Marine sailors,” McOsker said in a comment released Tuesday. “It was an affront to our entire community, and today the Harbor Area and the great people who shaped our history and culture are on the path to justice.”
Detectives and law enforcement officers worked “tirelessly” to find the suspects once the identities were known, Cobos said.
Port Police have been working closely with other area law enforcement agencies throughout the region where similar thefts have taken place in the past few months, Cobos said.
The suspects were taken to the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Division jail to be booked and were released by Tuesday evening.
The cemetery plaque found in their possession Tuesday appeared to be a marker for a priest, Cobos said. It was not clear which cemetery it was from, but thefts of more than 100 plaques were reported from Carson's historic Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in January.
Anyone with further information is asked to contact Los Angeles Port Police detectives at 310-7323500.