Community Scanner

Chestnut Avenue near 17th Street. At 3:50 p.m., police dealt with a knife-wielding individual who tried to attack someone. Somehow the police suspected the attacker was still armed and still inside a home, so they made PA announcements. When they called in SWAT, there was no response, so SWAT finally entered at 8:30 p.m. and discovered the suspect was gone, but not sure of the knife. No suspect description or any further details were made available.

Wardlow Road at Pacific Avenue. At 2:15 p.m., a female was holding up Blue Line service by jumping from track to track. The alternative would not have been pretty.

2400 E. Seventh St. At 5 p.m. a vehicle crashed into The Prospector bar and restaurant. According to police, “One of the parties involved sustained unknown injuries and paramedics have been dispatched to the scene.” No other injuries were reported and business was not disrupted as the car only hit an outside door and did not cause structural damage, meaning the mixed drinks and steak and lobster meals survived for future customer consumption.

5100 block of Centralia Street. A family gathering was disrupted when Fredrick Renay Taft, 57, entered the restroom in Pan American Park and at 4:35 p.m. was shot in the upper torso and killed by an unknown gunman, who according to others at the scene, fled on foot. He was described as being a white male in his 50s with knee-length socks and a camo hat. Police stated they do not have a motive, however family members described the shooting as a hate crime as Taft was black, the shooter was white. Further, racist graffiti had been observed in the park. No suspects have been further described or named. Over the following weekend, a vigil was held at the crime scene, with family members and police asking anyone who has knowledge of the crime to come forward.

1300 block of Studebaker Road. At 7:55 p.m., a two-door coupe driven by 23-year-old Anaheim resident Juan Serrano and three passengers were traveling south on Studebaker when it crossed the center divider, struck a tree, a light pole and an unoccupied motor home parked on an adjacent service road. Serrano was transported in critical condition; the front passenger, a 19-year-old resident of Huntington Beach, was transported in critical, but stable condition. The female rear passengers, 18 and 20-years-old residents of Stanton were uninjured and remained at the scene of the collision. According to police, speed appeared to have been a factor in the crash, but unknown if drugs or alcohol contributed. On July 27, Serrano died as a result of the crash.

Cherry Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. At 7:05 a.m., police were called about a man threatening bystanders and vandalizing cars with a metal object. After arresting the suspected attacker, the man who’d been attacked was taken to the hospital to treat a non-life-threatening cut to his upper body.

700 block of E. Medio Street. At an unknown time in the evening, a man in his 40s accidentally shot himself, but refused to let paramedics take him to the hospital. The victim/shooter was “manipulating his firearm” before it accidentally discharged, hitting him in the upper torso, causing a wound that wasn’t life-threatening. Police determined he hadn’t committed any crime, so they left as did the paramedics, man not included. The incident was deemed an opportune way to remind gun owners “to handle all firearms with extreme safety.”

Wardlow Road west of Woodruff Avenue. The female driver of a silver Chevy Camaro, identified as 24-year-old Summer Goller from Culver City, allegedly fled as police approached her over suspicion of car theft, reversing the Camaro and striking a police car at the 300 block of Bellflower at 12:45 p.m. The six minute pursuit ended at Wardlow Road in front of Marshall Junior High School, the car crashing into a fire hydrant at 12:51 p.m., leaving her trapped inside the vehicle. Fire fighters extracted Goller, then transported her to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A geyser of water erupted from where the hydrant was once located, causing a shutdown of Wardlow Road for several hours. A water department truck was on scene shortly after the crash. According to police, “the suspect will be booked on felony evading of a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, vehicle theft, possession of methamphetamine, hit and run, DUI, grand theft auto, resisting an officer, and possession of burglary tools, on $75,000 bail.” Not to mention the hydrant.

Fourth Street and Bonito Avenue. At 10:40 a.m., a woman in a second floor apartment was raising holy heck, throwing a trash can out the door and otherwise raising a fuss.

steve@beachcomber.news