Huntington Beach : Soap Salesmen Slip Up as Officers Watch
Three out-of-town soap salesmen were arrested Wednesday night after they poured three gallons of liquid detergent into the fountain at City Hall while, unbeknowst to them, several police officers looked on, authorities said.
“They said they didn’t realize there was a police station there,” Police Sgt. Monty McKennon said. “It was all good, clean fun.”
But it was not clean enough for the trio to escape the law. They were jailed Wednesday night and charged with one misdemeanor count each of malicious mischief.
The suspects were identified as Nicholas James Healey, 23, of Chelsea, Mass.; Neill Thomas Ansbro, 21, of Pensacola, Fla., and Louis Albert Tepper, 18, of Chicago.
The three men make their living selling Sunsation All Purpose Cleaner and were in Huntington Beach hawking their wares when they poured the cleaner into the fountain at about 6:40 p.m.
Said McKennon: “They tried to clean the fountain up, and we cleaned them up instead.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
