Three Arrested for Stealing Bronze Plaques at Port of Los Angeles, Unclear if Linked to Similar Pasadena Theft

Three suspects were arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing bronze plaques in the Port of Los Angeles.

It is not known if the trio are the same people who stole two brass plaques from the John K. Van De Kamp Bridge in West Pasadena on Jan. 31. The bridge carries La Loma Road over the Arroyo Seco.

The Pasadena plaques held significant local historical value. One was dedicated to John Van de Kamp in 2017 when the bridge was renamed in his honor, listing the City Councilmembers of that time. Van de Kamp, a Pasadena resident, served as Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1975 to 1981 and as the 28th Attorney General of California from 1983 to 1991. The second plaque provided a description of the bridge.

City Public Information Officer Lisa Dederian expressed concern over the incident, attributing it to a new trend of thieves capitalizing on rising metal prices by stealing bronze plaques. 

“While it’s troubling they can remove a plaque, you can never remove the intent and history behind the plaques,” said Dederian.

In the Harbor area,  Los Angeles Councilman Tim McOsker made a similar statement about the plaques stolen from the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial, the International Warehouse and Longshore Union “Bloody Thursday” Memorial along Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro, and the Japanese Fishing Village Memorial on Terminal Island.

“The heartless theft of these plaques was an insult to the memories of families who built this region through the fishing industry, who moved goods as part of the ILWU, and who protected our country during the war as merchant marine sailors,” McOsker said in a statement.

“It was an affront to our entire community, and Tuesday, the Harbor area and the great people who shaped our history and culture are on the path of justice.”

Los Angeles Port Police Chief Tom Gazsi said “This disturbing series of thefts has had a significant emotional toll on members of our community whose loved ones were memorialized both in the maritime and fishing industry.”

Gazsi said additional evidence linked the suspects to thefts of grave markers at cemeteries in the region.

“Some of these memorial plaques that date back more than a century,” Gazsi said. “These dear souls shall never be forgotten.”

The arrests were made during a traffic stop in Southwest Los Angeles, Gazsi said.

The suspects’ names were not released.

Anyone with information regarding the thefts was urged to call Los Angeles Port Police detectives at (310) 732-3500.