BRIEFLY IN PUBLIC SAFETY

Rash of fake $100 bills reported Sunday

A number of shops and businesses in and around downtown Laguna Bech reported receiving obviously phony $100 bills Sunday, according to police records.

The suspects were two women and one man, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Kravetz said.

The suspects were not arrested because they were moving store to store and the bills were not discovered until they were gone.

Some businesses accepted the bills while others refused them.

Woman arrested on DUI after solo crash

Shanna Fahimy, 27, of Lake Forest was arrested on suspicion of DUI at 6:38 p.m. Dec. 18 after a traffic collision at El Toro Road and the 73 Toll Road, Kravetz said.

Fahimy was driving her 2008 VW Passat northbound on El Toro Road when she struck a chain link fence along the west side of the road, causing minor damage to her vehicle.

No other vehicle was involved in the incident.

Sneak thief sought in wallet theft at gallery

Laguna Beach police are trying to locate a suspect who walked out of a local art gallery with a clerk’s wallet at 5:57 p.m. Dec. 29, Kravetz said.

The suspect was inside the gallery looking at the art, Kravetz said. When he wandered out of view the clerk found him in the office area. She told him he couldn’t be there and he apologized and walked out. Shortly thereafter, she found her wallet missing from her purse. The total loss is $500.

The suspect is described as a black male, 30 to 42 years old, 5-feet-10 to 6-feet-2, and 150 pounds. He was wearing reading glasses, a dark jacket and dark pants.

Pair arrested after traffic search

A man and woman were arrested on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop led to a vehicle search at 2:42 a.m. Sunday at Irvine Cove Drive and North Coast Highway, Kravetz said.

Robert Harry Halsey, 58, of Valley Village and Tracey Florence Martin, 49, of Chatsworth were pulled over for a traffic violation. Halsey was driving the vehicle, a Ford Thunderbird. Because Martin is on parole, officers searched the vehicle, allegedly finding two methamphetamine pipes.