PCP Use, Burglary Suspected in La Habra Case

La Habra police Friday evening subdued a man who went berserk while apparently under the influence of PCP, then confiscated from his car trunk up to $4,000 in rolled quarters that may have been stolen.

Police said they were trying to determine whether the coins had been taken in a burglary, because a safe-cutting torch was also found in the man’s trunk. The man, identified as Thomas Crawford, 38, of North Carolina, was placed in restraints and transferred to the La Habra Community Hospital for medical treatment.

Crawford drew a police response when passers-by reported seeing someone “acting strange” while seated in his car outside La Habra High School, in the 800 block of Highlander Street at 6:40 p.m. Friday.

When officers arrived to question him, they checked his trunk and found a suitcase and duffel bag filled with rolled quarters, Police Sgt. Phil Stufflebean said.

They also found rolled quarters strewn on the floor of the trunk, he said. Some of the bags were too heavy for a single officer to lift. Three police cadets were still counting the coins late Friday.

As police checked out the coins, Stufflebean said, Crawford tried to run away from the officers. It took four officers to subdue him.

“He was in an animal state,” Stufflebean said.

Stufflebean added that Crawford appeared to be under the influence of PCP, or phencyclidine, a powerful psychedelic drug also known as “angel dust.” PCP can cause mental or emotional disorders or death.

When brought into the police station, Crawford again became combative and had to be placed in restraints, Stufflebean said.

Because the car had North Carolina plates, La Habra police have put out a national bulletin on burglaries involving theft of large amounts of rolled quarters.

“It’s going to require a little investigative work to put this all together,” Stufflebean added.