BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Airport threat made from local pay phone

The FBI and the OC Sheriff’s Department are investigating an incident of an alleged threat that was called in to LAX from a pay phone at a gas station in the 100 block of South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

The law enforcement agencies came to Laguna Beach on Aug. 3 around 3:39 p.m. requesting local police assistance in investigating the incident, in which someone allegedly threatened a chemical attack on the airport, Kravetz said.

Laguna police conducted a crime scene investigation on the phone and turned over the findings “” fingerprints “” to the FBI.

“A threat to the airport was made and the time of the threat has passed,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Tuesday.

LAX was on heightened alert as a result of the threat, but no violence occurred, nor was there a major response or facility closures due to the threat, Eimiller said.

“The incident is under investigation,” Eimiller said.

Eimiller said she could not reveal the exact time of the alleged call.

Man allegedly steals blanket, wallet at park

A 43-year-old Laguna Beach man, Matthew Lang, was arrested Aug. 1 at 9:33 a.m. on suspicion of taking a picnicker’s blanket and wallet at Heisler Park, Kravetz said.

The victim, a 55-year-old man from San Juan Capistrano, had laid out a blanket on a picnic table at the park in order to save the table.

He placed his wallet on the blanket and walked away to put more money in his parking meter.

Lang was seen allegedly going over to the table and rolling up the blanket with the wallet inside. When the victim came back and saw that his belongings were gone, a nearby person pointed out Lang, who was about to ride off on a bicycle.

As police arrived, the victim jumped in front of the bike and tried to stop the suspect, but the suspect grabbed the victim and twisted his arm.

Police officers caught the suspect, who was arrested for petty theft totaling $54 for the blanket and wallet, and assault and battery. The blanket was recovered, but the wallet was not located.

Last smoke proves unlucky for moving renter

An ex-tenant who didn’t leave soon enough was arrested on multiple drug charges Aug. 1 at 11:36 a.m. in the 200 block of Diamond Street, Kravetz said.

A woman who was moving into the apartment arrived to find two men smoking marijuana on the porch. She called police, who responded and, searching the area, allegedly found a meth pipe and some meth nearby.

Daniel Chomia, 27, of Garden Grove, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and methamphetamine, and held on $20,000 bail, according to police records.

The other man was released at the scene with no charges pending, Kravetz said.

Second check deposit fraud case reported

In the second such incident in two weeks, a woman was arrested Aug. 2 at 12:41 p.m. after allegedly trying to cash a fraudulent check at a local bank, Kravetz said.

The suspect, Vanessa La Res Brown, 37, went into Wells Fargo Bank on Ocean Avenue and tried to deposit a $7,000 check into an account she claimed was hers, Kravetz said. She told the teller she wanted $3,500 back from the deposit.

An alert teller found some contradictions in the suspect’s story. The suspect had a driver’s license with the real account holder’s name but the suspect’s photo on it, as well a credit card with the victim’s name on it. The teller also noticed that the suspect was 37 years old, while the owner of the account was 79 years old.

Police were called and detained the suspect, who then gave a false name. Police contacted the woman who has the account and she said she lives in Palo Alto, doesn’t know the suspect and never applied for, or received, the credit card that was seized from the suspect. The person who purportedly wrote the check to the suspect is a second victim, Kravetz said.

The suspect, from Los Angeles, was charged with burglary, grand theft, forgery, false impersonation of another and giving false information to police.

Woman involved in suspicious check case

In a July 15 incident at Bank of America, also on Ocean Avenue, a woman presented a check for $17,000, which made bank officials suspicious. After police investigated, the 18-year-old suspect in that case said she had been picked up at her home in Murrieta by two men who said she could have $8,000 if she cashed the $17,000 check. They dropped her off at the bank and she was supposed to meet them at Main Beach when she was finished, she claimed.

Apparently the group had been successful in the scheme at other banks, and bank security was alerted to those incidents. In the second case, the victim who purportedly wrote the check to the suspect wasn’t missing any of his checks.