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Last Saturday, deputies responded to Hollywood Sports Park in Bellflower regarding a vehicle burglary call. A citizen reportedly saw the suspect, Lorenzo Castro, stop his car in front of the victim’s unoccupied parked vehicle. Castro exited his car and, opened the victim’s car door, and removed two I-pads and a cell phone. Castro allegedly quickly returned to his car and attempted to drive out of the parking lot. The citizen used his vehicle to block Mr. Castro’s path, called 9-1-1, and flagged down a private security officer for help. Castro did not resist and remained in his vehicle pending the arrival of responding deputies. Castro could not provide any explanation to the investigating deputies how the stolen property ended up in his car. The owner of the stolen property, who did not witness the theft, later confirmed the aforementioned property had been stolen from his car. The stolen property was returned to the victim at the scene.

Castro was arrested and booked on charges of Grand Theft – 487 P.C. and Theft with Prior Conviction 666 P.C., at Lakewood Sheriff’s Station. He was later released on bond. He has a pending a court date of August 14, 2013, at Bellflower Superior Court.

While no one was harmed during this incident, we recommend reporting a crime in progress immediately by calling 9-1-1 and being a good witness. You can provide us with accurate details of what is occurring, a suspect’s description and their location, instead of intervening directly.

To report suspicious activity, call the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station at (562) 623-3500. Or if you wish to remain anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), or text the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637,) or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

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Captain Merrill Ladenheim
Lakewood Sheriff's Station
www.lakewood.lasd.org