2 Plead Not Guilty in Alleged COD Scam

Two Gardena men were arraigned Monday on more than 30 petty theft counts involving an alleged “cash-on-delivery” scam in which cheap cans of household cleanser were sent unsolicited to people and businesses in three other states.

John Leland Lindquist, 63, and Michael Harrison, 33, pleaded not guilty and will face a pretrial hearing June 26 on allegations that they sent cans of Ajax cleanser to addressees in Arizona, Colorado and Florida, asking residents to pay $29.95 COD each. Their bail was set at $5,000 apiece.

Gardena detectives said they received numerous complaints from the receivers. One of them, Todd Baker, of Wickenberg, Ariz., told police he paid a United Parcel Service driver for a small box labeled “Handle With Care” because he thought his father had ordered it.

Lindquist and Harrison were arrested last week with Renee Cora Kennedy, 30, when the mailed packages were traced to a Gardena apartment. No charges were filed against Kennedy and she was released.

Detectives said the men sent out more than 4,000 of the COD packages during a three-day period last week.