BOOKING MUG: 'You got me.'
A man suspected of robbing a Hermosa Beach bank last month admitted, "All right, you got me," when detectives confronted him Wednesday.
Michael James Schuetta, 38, of Gardena admitted to robbing the Wells Fargo Bank branch at 1501 Pacific Coast Highway on Nov. 16, as well as a Bank of America branch in Torrance on Nov. 4 and a Citibank branch in Long Beach on Nov. 12, Hermosa Beach police Detective Mick Gaglia said.
In each crime, he also told police the amounts of money he took, Gaglia said.
Schuetta, who already was in jail, was arrested Nov. 20 when he allegedly tried to break into a house in the 2400 Block of Ralston Lane in Redondo Beach, police said.
According to officers, Schuetta was trying to get into the house to retrieve his former wife, who was staying with her father.
Police officers found him in a car in the driveway, but he refused to get out.
When officers blocked his path, he backed out over a planter and sped away west on Ralston. As he tried to make a turn, he lost control of the car and crashed into a patrol car and a street sign.
He again refused to get out of the car, but was soon arrested. He has been charged with assault and vandalism.
After his arrest, Redondo Beach police received an anonymous phone call that Schuetta was linked to the Hermosa Beach bank robbery, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Shawn Freeman said.
The caller, who had seen a surveillance photograph of the Hermosa Beach bank robbery suspect published in the Daily Breeze, said it was the man Redondo Beach officers had just arrested, Freeman said.
Acting on the tip, Hermosa Beach officers searched Schuetta's apartment and car, and found clothing that matched what the robber wore during the crimes, Gaglia said.
In the Hermosa Beach robbery, the man wore a gray Volcom-brand baseball hat, a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Detective Jon Sibbald confronted Schuetta in jail, and obtained the confession, Gaglia said.
When officers blocked his path, he backed out over a planter and sped away west on Ralston. As he tried to make a turn, he lost control of the car and crashed into a patrol car and a street sign.
He again refused to get out of the car, but was soon arrested. He has been charged with assault and vandalism.
After his arrest, Redondo Beach police received an anonymous phone call that Schuetta was linked to the Hermosa Beach bank robbery, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Shawn Freeman said.
The caller, who had seen a surveillance photograph of the Hermosa Beach bank robbery suspect published in the Daily Breeze, said it was the man Redondo Beach officers had just arrested, Freeman said.
Acting on the tip, Hermosa Beach officers searched Schuetta's apartment and car, and found clothing that matched what the robber wore during the crimes, Gaglia said.
In the Hermosa Beach robbery, the man wore a gray Volcom-brand baseball hat, a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Detective Jon Sibbald confronted Schuetta in jail, and obtained the confession, Gaglia said.
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
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