3 arrested in connection with plaque thefts in San Pedro

Three people have been arrested in connection with the theft of bronze plaques from the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. 

The plaques were taken from the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial, the International Warehouse and Longshore Union "Bloody Thursday Memorial" located along Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro and the Japanese Fishing Village Memorial on Terminal Island in two separate incidents in late January, prompting an investigation from Los Angeles Port Police. 

The identities of the three suspects arrested have not yet been released, but investigators say that they were taken into custody during a traffic stop in the southwestern region of Los Angeles. 

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"The heartless theft of these plaques was an insult to the memories of families who built this region through the fishing industry, who moved goods as part of the ILWU, and who protected our country during the war as merchant marine sailors," said Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker, whose District 15 oversees the area. "It was an affront to our entire community, and today, the Harbor area and the great people who shaped our history and culture are on the path of justice."

The theft of the plaques dealt an emotional toll on the San Pedro community, city leaders aid. 

"This disturbing series of thefts has had a significant emotional toll on members of our community whose loved ones were memorialized both in the maritime and fishing industry," said Los Angeles Port Police Chief Tom Gazsi. 

He says that additional evidence that investigators recovered linked the suspects to a series of grave marker thefts from local cemeteries in the region as well. 

"Some of these memorial plaques that date back more than a century," Gazsi said. "These dear souls shall never be forgotten."

Metal thefts have been a serious issue for Los Angeles in County in recent months, with the crimes spanning from cemeteries in Carson and Compton, a plaque detailing the important history of Bruce's Beach, a bronze statue outside of a high school in Lynwood and miles worth of copper being taken from Pasadena city streets. 

Anyone with information is urged to contact detectives at (310) 732-3500.