Thieves Break Into Shore Meters

Thieves have taken one Belmont Shore parking meter and broken into more than two dozen others, leading to thousands of dollars in expenses.

The incidents started a few weeks ago when some thieves sawed off the entire top of a parking meter in Belmont Shore, the Belmont Shore Business Association was told by Mary Colburn, the Shore beat officer for the Long Beach Police Department. According to the report, there were no witnesses of the meter top being taken.

Apparently the thieves then used that meter to create a master key for all the meters in the area and proceeded last week to take money out of 28 more, damaging some meters, Colburn told the crowd. Less than $800 was taken, she said.

However, the expense will now run into several thousand dollars, as all the meters in the Shore will need to be re-keyed, said Belmont Shore Parking and Business Improvement Advisory Commission member Bill Lorbeer.

Police are still investigating the crime, Colburn told the business owners.

—Kurt Helin