BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Man suspected of trying to pass fake $50 bill

A 55-year-old Huntington Beach man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to use a counterfeit $50 bill at 5:15 p.m. July 9, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

A clerk at Whole Foods Market on Broadway called police after Peter Charles Rowley allegedly attempted to make a purchase with a fake $50 bill. The clerk recognized the counterfeit money and took the bill from the suspect, who fled the store. Police located him at Main Beach, where he was arrested.

Pair arrested at scene of previous credit-card fraud

A man and a woman who allegedly got away with $3,000 worth of merchandise purchased with a stolen credit card were arrested at 5:21 p.m. July 10 after allegedly trying to use the credit card for the second time at a women’s shop in the 100 block of South Coast Highway, Kravetz said.

The pair, Ali Ghafouri, 35, of San Diego, and Consuelo Rodrigeuz Jenson, 38, of Spring Valley, were recognized at the shop by a clerk as a couple who had used a stolen credit card to purchase more than $3,000 worth of items July 8, Kravetz said. The fraud was discovered after the purchases were made.

When the couple returned July 10, shop employees alerted police, who caught them with the allegedly stolen credit card.

“They were at the counter trying to buy additional items when we walked into the store,” Kravetz said.

Woman arrested after parked cars are hit

A visitor from Kansas was arrested at 10:36 p.m. July 12 on suspicion of DUI and hit and run after allegedly hitting two parked cars on South Coast Highway near Mountain Road with her Volkswagen Jetta, Kravetz said.

Abigail Mae Shultz, 21, allegedly caused a “moderate” amount of damage to a Lexus and a Range Rover.

Seagull lands in barrel of cooking oil at restaurant

Laguna Beach police rescued an errant seagull who landed in a 55-gallon vat of cooking oil sitting behind a restaurant in the 300 block of North Coast Highway, Kravetz said. The restaurant was not cited, at 12:43 p.m. July 11.