Local News in Brief : Huntington Beach : Lottery Ticket Bandit Can Just Quit Scratching
A knife-wielding robber who stole 400 lottery tickets from a Huntington Beach market could be arrested if he tries to cash in a winning ticket, according to a California Lottery spokesman.
The stolen scratch-off tickets can be identified by the serial numbers, rendering them worthless, according to Bob Taylor, a California Lottery representative.
“If (winning tickets) are sent in for payment, they will not be honored,” Taylor said. “Our lottery security agents are uniformed officers and have arrest powers. They work in cooperation with local authorities.”
A man brandishing a 13-inch knife robbed Max’s Food Market at 17422 Beach Blvd. of the lottery tickets, $70 in cash and two six-packs of beer Wednesday night, said Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Carl Vidano.
The man, who fled on a blue mountain-terrain bicycle, was described as about 24 years old, 5 feet tall, short black hair and weighing about 130 pounds, Vidano said.
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