Crime Spoils Lure of Beach at Night

I am writing to help others, and to bring to the public eye that violent crimes against the innocent are on the upswing.

On the night before New Year’s Eve, my girlfriend and I thought it would be romantic to go to the beach, where we had our first date.

We always go to Laguna to listen to music and enjoy the company of our friends. Then we take a stroll along the moonlit beach and just talk and laugh--you know, the way new lovers do.

It was about midnight on Diamond Street in Laguna Beach, on the beach as we were walking back to our car after a great night of just being together, when five youths jumped from the rocks and cut us off.

I have been street-smart for many years and hold a degree in martial arts, so I knew what was happening. I moved forward and was watching one young man closest to me as the others came around us. My concern was for my girlfriend, and I was readying myself for the situation, as one youth grabbed the gold necklace from my girlfriend’s neck.

They all started running, and I told my shocked girlfriend I was going after them. She stopped me from doing so by saying she did not want to be left alone.

Up the hill we went, soaking from the escape route I picked, jumped into the car and went home!

We will never go down to the beach again, unless I pack a gun. Or how about some good old police awareness?

JERRY P. GARD

Monarch Beach