Plumber Held as Suspect in South Bay Burglaries

A plumber was in jail Friday on suspicion of committing a string of South Bay burglaries.

Bill Stinson Bounsall allegedly tried to put jewelry and a small amount of methamphetamine and marijuana down a toilet when confronted by detectives Wednesday afternoon at his Redondo Beach apartment in the 2000 block of Artesia Boulevard, said Hermosa Beach Police Sgt. Paul Wolcott.

Detectives were able to recover some of the jewelry from the plumbing, while other items allegedly taken during the burglaries may have been pawned outside the area, the sergeant said.

Bounsall, 42, was identified as the prime suspect in 10 burglaries in Hermosa Beach, and may be a suspect in similar crimes in Redondo Beach, the sergeant said.

The arrest occurred a few hours after police were called to a home that had been ransacked in the 1200 block of 6th Street in Hermosa Beach, Wolcott said.

“If we’re able to tie him to all of the burglaries, it will be ... over tens of thousands of dollars” in stolen property, he said.

Information provided by the Torrance Police Department’s Crime Analysis Unit put Hermosa Beach police on Bounsall’s trail, Wolcott said. That unit reported that the operating style used in the burglaries was similar to that used by Bounsall.

Bounsall was arrested in 1992 by Torrance police and served eight years for burglary. He is being held without bail.