Ready, Willing & Able.
This was written by Megan Duckett, business owner of Sew What? Rent What?
The month of December has been filled with petty theft and burglaries in the industrial areas of Rancho Dominguez.
Interestingly, despite making efforts to report these incidents, they rarely qualify for so much as a police report. Point in case is to take a look on crimestoppers.com. None of the recent events that were reported within our community even made it onto the map.
Dave Matthews of the Harbor Gateway Chamber of Commerce has recently stepped up and stepped in to help those businesses in the often forgotten business community of East Rancho Dominguez. With his dedicated team he has already spearheaded street cleanups on E Las Hermanas, E Harcourt and E Gladwick streets in the unincorporated county areas.
But beyond the cleanup initiatives, the HGCC has been providing support and educating local business owners experiencing theft.
A recent incident involved a thief entering a business through an open loading dock door. When approached by the property owner the tresspasser claimed he was “looking for power to charge his cell phone”. Alas, the damage was already done and a purse and car keys had already been stolen before the owner was able to direct the intruder off the property.
Having stripped the cash and some receipts out of the stolen purse, the thief then threw the empty purse and keys back over the front fence onto the property from which it had been stolen.
Little did the thief know …. There was an Apple airtag inside the wad of receipts. Thanks to this simple yet effective technology, the Apple software app “find my” was used to identify the location of the stolen AirTag. 1/2 mile away on the train tracks at a homeless encampment.
The Sheriff's were unable to assist as the value of the stolen item was minimal, so Dave pulled his resources together and coordinated with Lt Paz of the Union Pacific Railroad Police to meet the property owner on the train tracks and provided security while the AirTag was found! Technology supporting the team walking the beat! Thanks to Dave and Lt Paz, the AirTag was found, and the encampment where the thief was seeking refuge was revealed.
In yet another successful retrieval of stolen property, traffic control cones with AirTag identifiers in them were recently located and returned to the business owner. Stolen from a business by the driver of an unlicensed lunch truck, the AirTags helped the property owner to locate the stolen items 3 miles away.
Considered petty theft, this type of call to the sheriff can often include long wait times. So Dave and his crew assisted in documenting and retrieving the stolen property and providing an escort for the property owner.
It is with great appreciation for all that Dave and the HGCC do for our communities. Please support those who are supporting local business and making a difference.
To donate or join the chamber visit the HGCC website at www.thehgcc.com
Regards,
Megan Duckett
Sew What? | Rent What?
310-639-6000
I am committed to do whatever it takes to reshape our business corridors into safer, cleaner locations. Every incident matters and we must work together to ensure they are reported and resolved. This was a learning lesson with the AirTags and tracking. Railroad police were quick to respond and resolve.
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