Countywide : Golfers Putter Around to Find Missing Clubs

The room looked more like an impromptu sporting goods store than a small, stuffy police classroom. More than $50,000 worth of stolen nine-irons, putters, bags, balls and other golf equipment, recovered recently by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, lined the walls.

As investigators kept watch, golfers hoping to recover their pilfered putters searched the contents of the room. More than 30 people showed up during the first hour that the gear was on display.

Nearly half got lucky and found all or part of their equipment, Sheriff’s Investigator Al Coutts said.

According to Coutts, the approximately 75 sets of golf clubs and other gear were seized when deputies last month arrested a suspect they have dubbed the “Golf Club Bandit.”

Randal Michael Labeda, 29, was arrested by deputies last month after an alert Laguna Niguel resident spotted him removing a neighbor’s $400 set of golf clubs.

After the arrest, Coutts said, police learned the suspect was planning to open a used golf equipment shop in Fountain Valley. “It was an excellent location,” Coutts said. “Right next to Mile Square golf course.”

An avid golfer himself, Coutts said that although Labeda hasn’t told police whether he indulges in the sport, he obviously knows good equipment when he sees it.

“The majority of the clubs here are all top-of-the-line clubs and retail for between $800 and $1,000 a set,” Coutts said. “I couldn’t afford to play with any of the clubs here.”

Labeda, who faces eight felony counts, including grand theft, burglary and possession of stolen property, is also a suspect in a string of golf club capers in Florida and elsewhere.

Coutts said Labeda started his westward trek in January, blazing a trail of theft reports in Florida, Alabama, Texas and Arizona before arriving in California in late March or early April.

Police in Texas have identified Labeda as a suspect in several thefts and Florida authorities may seek extradition, Coutts said. “When we’re done with him, we’ll send him back to Florida,” he added.

The Sheriff’s Department plans to hold a second public viewing session tonight. Victims who have had their clubs or other golf equipment stolen before April 23 may come to the Sheriff’s Department headquarters at 550 N. Flower St. in Santa Ana to identify their property.

Coutts said people hoping to recover their goods should bring a copy of a police report of the theft and some proof of ownership, such as serial numbers or photographs.