by The Editors on February 28, 2009
On February 27, 2009 at approximately 4 PM a man with what witnesses described as a “surfer tan” walked into a Goleta, California Rabobank and demanded cash with a note.
The suspect escaped on foot after receiving an undisclosed amount, he said.. . The suspect is described by authorities as a white male with what witnesses said was a “surfer tan,” 6 feet tall, wearing sunglasses, a green beanie, a gray long-sleeve shirt and gloves. He did not appear to have a weapon.
Now that they mention it, he does look a bit of a surfer. If he looks like a familiar surfer call the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office at (805) 681-4168.
by The Editors on February 26, 2009
In November 2008 a phone caller posing as pro surfer Nathan Fletcher tried to scam some money out of pro surfer Derek Dunfee. Luckily, that didn’t work. Now looks like a month later the same guy got nearly $800 out of the San Mateo County Historical Museum using big wave surfer Grant Washburn’s name, according to a story in the San Mateo Daily Journal.
On Dec. 12, a day before Washburn was scheduled to attend events at the museum [to speak about Maverick’s], a man identifying himself as the surfer called the museum claiming to be stuck in Los Angeles without money. He told a museum employee that his wallet was stolen and he needed nearly $500 to purchase a ticket to the Bay Area and another $200 to purchase food and other small items, according to a search warrant filed by the Redwood City Police Department.
Money was wired to the man, however, when he called back for more workers became suspicious and called Washburn only to find that he was in San Francisco and had not made any calls.
[Link: San Mateo Daily Journal]
by The Editors on February 25, 2009
Those Mono County Sheriff’s officers sure are clever. Recently they placed an ad on Craigslist offering Mammoth Mountain lift tickets in exchange for narcotics and ended up nailing six people, according to a story in the OC Register:
Sheriff’s deputies advertised their sting operation on Craigslist.org, offering to sell Mammoth Mountain lift vouchers in exchange for narcotics. . . . The six people from Orange County, San Luis Obispo and Los Angeles came to Mammoth Lakes, gave the agents the drugs and were arrested Friday, officials said. . . . Deputies seized about a pound of marijuana, a fourth of an ounce of cocaine, Ecstasy tablets and prescription medications.
Nice way to drum up some out-of-town revenue for the county. It almost seems too easy.
[Link: OC Register]
by The Editors on February 23, 2009
Look like the pristine, white, mountain town of Park City in Utah’s Summit County in general is noticing an increase in crime thanks to an invasion of gang members, according to as story titled: Gangbangers Aren’t Boy Scouts, on Mountainnews.com.
Despite Park City’s playground image, it may be time to start locking doors and windows. . . An investigative report in the Salt Lake Tribune claims there are now 120 documented gang members from 20 gangs, with ties to Summit County. Another 60 people have been tagged as “persons of interest.” That’s up nine fold from a year ago. Further, 75 percent are predominately Latino, with many coming from California. “Their families move here for employment,” says Burton. . . “Fifty percent of Park City’s gang members live in Salt Lake City and have jobs in Park City or Summit County,” said Burton. “They take construction jobs or resort jobs or have friends up here.” Burton says some gang members work in the tourism industry as hotel shuttle drivers to make drug sales easier.”
Apparently, racism is still alive and well in Utah. At least they’re not blaming this on snowboarding.
[Link: Mountain News]
by The Editors on February 19, 2009
While on a shred trip to the continent Transworld Snowboarding scribe Jennifer Sherowski ran into a little pain on a train in Madrid, Spain and was relieved of her camera and some other stuff, according to a post on her blog.
We make our move to get off, and suddenly swarthy guy shoves me hard from behind and before I have time to turn around and be all, “What the fuck?!” I’m on the platform and the doors are closing behind me. And that seedy motherfucker is on the other side of those doors getting carried off by the train to the next stop—with my camera and whatnot in his hot little hands.
The guy is lucky those doors closed when they did, because he obviously didn’t know who he was messing with. That’s all we’re saying.
[Link: Jennifersherowski.com]
by The Editors on February 10, 2009
Washington State’s Tri-Cities area has had a string of convenience store robberies lately. That most recent was performed in Kennewick by a tall, thin, white man in his 20s.
He was wearing a yellow sweatshirt with a “Billabong” logo on the front of it and a blue bandana over his face.
Looks like he was on his way to the mountain to shred.
[Link: KNDO.com]
by The Editors on February 9, 2009
A Gold Coast Australia Billabong retail store was robbed by a man wielding a syringe, according to a story on Goldcoast.com.au.
The man allegedly held the Ashmore Billabong store employee at syringe point on Saturday morning before taking an unknown amount of clothing and leaving.
All the man took were some children’s clothing.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
by The Editors on January 16, 2009
The city of Dillon, Colorado has had so much trouble with snowboarders riding their urban locales that they’ve adopted a “zero tolerance” approach and are “confiscating equipment from those riders caught sliding down handrails and concrete barriers around town,” according to a story in the Summit Daily.
“We’re hoping this gets the message across that this wont be tolerated,” Dillon Police Chief Joe Wray said. “We have tried numerous things in the past to discourage it, but now the message is: If you get caught, we will now go for your pocketbook.” . . . Those caught riding rails were fined $100, plus $400 in advance should they break the same law again in the next 12 months. The individuals filming the stunts were fined $150 plus $350 held in advance. . . . Filmers were charged more because their actions are viewed as an attempt to profit from a criminal act, according to Wray.
Apparently, there’s not enough real crime going down in Dillon to keep the 5-0 busy.
[Link: Summit Daily]
by The Editors on January 1, 2009
James Blanning, 72, a well-known Aspen crank delivered “bombs wrapped as as Christmas presents to two banks Wednesday along with notes threatening “mass death” if they did not turn over tens of thousands of dollars.”
Blanning, who had lived in the Aspen his whole life, was found dead in his car Wednesday December 31, 2008 after apparently shooting himself, according to a story on CNN.
The incidents Wednesday sparked the evacuation of a 16-block area of Aspen on New Year’s Eve, one of the busiest days of the year for businesses in Aspen. . . . Bomb squads ultimately detonated the devices, and no one was injured.
We’re guessing ESPN is pretty glad this didn’t go down during the X Games.
[Link: CNN and The New York Times]
by The Editors on December 27, 2008
Don’t mess with Seany McDonald’s dad. When someone stole the 21-year-old University of Colorado student’s snowboard from the front porch (where he’d left it out over night) Dad called up The Aspen Times and offered a $1,000 bounty on whomever stole the board.
“I don’t want the snowboard back, necessarily,” said Bob McDonald, who is moving here from Newport Beach, Calif. “I just want the name and photograph of the Grinch who stole our son’s Christmas. … I want to challenge his community, his cronies, to say, hey, that was wrong. I’m hoping someone will turn him in.”
We hate crime and all but maybe Bob should just buy his son another board and remind him that it’s not a good idea to leave $900 laying around out in the front yard. . . even in Aspen, Colorado.
[Link: Aspen Times]
On February 27, 2009 at approximately 4 PM a man with what witnesses described as a “surfer tan” walked into a Goleta, California Rabobank and demanded cash with a note.
