Gotcha surfwear co-founder Tomson arrested in probation check

A former professional surfer and co-founder of the Gotcha surfwear company was arrested on suspicion of felony drug trafficking, Laguna Beach police said.

On June 18 officers conducted a probation check of Michael Elliot Tomson’s house on Mar Vista Avenue and found “items consistent with selling narcotics and 52 grams of cocaine,” Sgt. Tim Kleiser wrote in an email.

Kleiser said Tomson, 60, was on probation until 2019, though he did not indicate the related charge.

Tomson pleaded guilty in April 2014 to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and possession of a controlled substance stemming from a traffic collision a year earlier, according to court records.

An Orange County Superior Court judge dismissed two felony charges — for unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance — in the collision, court records say.

A call placed to Tomson’s attorney seeking comment was not returned as of early Monday afternoon.

Tomson is scheduled to be arraigned July 16 in the probation violation case.

Tomson and Joel Cooper started Gotcha in Laguna Beach in 1978, according to a May 2013 Coastline Pilot story. The company’s board shorts and T-shirts were popular among surfers in the 1980s.

The firm was based in Newport Beach before a 2005 sale to Perry Ellis.

—Bryce Alderton

Twitter: @AldertonBryce