North Hollywood : Attempted Theft Proves Disarming

Los Angeles police on Tuesday were searching for two teenagers who tried to steal some beer from a 7-Eleven in North Hollywood. As the two fled, one of the teens accidentally dropped his prosthetic right arm and later sent a family member back to the store to retrieve it, police said.

The bizarre incident began Monday around 1 a.m. when two youths entered a 7-Eleven in the 6600 block of Lankershim Boulevard and tried to leave without paying for two 12-packs of beer, Lt. Michael Ranshaw said. The store’s manager chased the teenagers, who got caught at the doors because only one was open.

A struggle ensued and by the time it ended the beer had been broken and one of the youths had dropped his jacket and his prosthesis. Ranshaw said the manager was later paid a visit by a man who identified himself as the suspect’s brother and then “asked for his little brother’s arm back.”

The man demanded to see the arm, but the manager refused to show it to him until he paid $22.60 for the damaged beer, Ranshaw said. The man refused to pay for the beer but said he would be back for the arm, police said.

At that point, the manager called police, who wrote a report and took custody of the prosthesis.

“We still have the arm and nobody has come to claim it,” Ranshaw said late Tuesday afternoon.