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2400 block of Pacific Avenue. At 4:50 a.m., police went to a possible business burglary in progress. A trio of burglary suspects fled, but not very well. One was caught after a short car chase that ended in a crash and minor injuries to the suspect into a traffic signal pole at Willow Street and Magnolia Avenue. A second suspect was hiding on a roof, so he was taken down. At 7:30 a.m., a resident told of a suspicious person in a yard in the 2500 block of Cedar Avenue. He had been injured from the apparent scaling of fences. The fourth suspect remained at large.

Ocean Blvd. at Esperanza Ave. At 2:40 p.m., traffic was interrupted because of a city trash truck blocking westbound lanes causing drivers to turn northbound on one-way Esperanza or into the opposing eastbound lanes of Ocean, neither one a law enforcement approved activity. Traffic diversion was called in to make motorists behave by taking northbound Falcon to avoid a trash-filled stoppage.

Woodruff Ave. and Willow St. A dark Charger and gray pick up truck headed southbound accompanied by the distinctive sound of gunshots at 4:30 p.m., but with no further evidence of a no-no.

5400 block of East Ocean Blvd. At 5:50 a.m., the nude body of 47-year-old Norwalk resident Michael McCreadie was found with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on the beach at the waterline. After body had been removed, using metal detectors, police began a search for the weapon, which had yet to be located, meaning it washed out to sea, was picked up or was buried in deep sand.

5400 block of East Ocean Blvd. Police investigating the death of McCreadie located the body of a 49-year-old woman in a Ford Explorer parked nearby. As the woman apparently had been in poor health and likely died of natural causes, early speculation that the two deaths were connected proved incorrect.

1000 block of W. Carson St. After a vandalized motor vehicle was found in a flood control basin at 10:35 a.m., police located the strangled body of Samantha Lang, 29, of Signal Hill. According to some reports, Lang’s one-time boyfriend was later observed crying in front of her apartment.

Near the Queen Mary. A completely nude male was spotted heading in the direction of Hotel Maya at 4:20 p.m., which had not scheduled any event of this sort.

5400 block of Conant St. At 1 p.m., according to a resident, “a red Ford SUV sideswiped my neighbor’s truck,” then landed across the street in the resident’s front yard full of plants and decorations, “which were pretty much destroyed,” as well as a heavy arch, a heavy birdbath and various ornamentals object, which were displaced and not there in time for the holidays. The SUV was removed from the yard and back into the street. After completing legalities, the owner was able to drive it back to Whittier, whence it had traveled, after complaining about a problem with a tire.

4900 block of Ferro Court. At 6:30 a.m., police found Aaron Whatley, a 43-year-old resident of Long Beach with stab wounds to his upper torso. Paramedics transported Whatley in critical condition to a hospital, where he later died. “The subject who was responsible for the stabbing, also a male adult, remained at the scene and has been detained by officers while they conducted their investigation,” police said in a news release. Even so, the man named responsible was not immediately arrested.

Third St. and Pacific Ave. At 10:20 a.m., a stolen blue Acura from Lynwood being pursued by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department blew a red light when Long Beach Police took up the pursuit. At Sixth Street and Olive Avenue, the stolen car collided with another vehicle. A female driver ran either near or actually into a local parochial high school, while the male passenger stayed put. The female was quickly nabbed.

Deukmejian Courthouse. In the strangulation of Samantha Lang, police arrested the one-time boyfriend, Justin James Johnson, 41, for parole violations. He was charged with her murder and at his arraignment, allegedly confessed to the crime, asking to “get it over with. I’m guilty.” The judge refused to take his plea, setting a new hearing for December 21.

4100 block of E. Fourth Street. At 10 a.m., a large truck got stuck in an alley and began dislodging pieces of a fence and loosening power lines in a vain effort to free itself from local infrastructure. Locals called in authorities to help with this truculent need for freedom.

4300 block of Atlantic Ave. A 10:22 p.m. fire at George’s 50s Diner was tasked by firefighters, who arrived within five minutes, suppressing the blaze within 20 minutes. Meal service might well be affected in the near future.

steve@beachcomber.news