Suspect Arrested - LBPD investigating burglaries involving theft of point of sale terminals
Release Date: 2022-10-27
UPDATE 10/27/22:
Over the last few weeks, detectives, officers, and a crime analyst have worked to follow all leads. Using video surveillance, LBPD personnel identified a suspect and developed a plan to apprehend him. Last night, officers observed the suspect in the downtown area, wearing clothing from previous burglaries. Officers safely arrested Soviya Phuiwandee, a 27-year-old resident of Long Beach, in the area of Alamitos Avenue and E. Ocean Boulevard. He was booked on 13 counts of burglary and his bail is set at $260,000.
Immediately after his arrest, detectives obtained a search warrant for his residence where they recovered stolen point of sale terminals.
We’d like to thank our business community for their assistance throughout this investigation. We would also like to commend our Detective Division and Special Investigations Division detectives, patrol officers, and crime analyst for their great work to identify this suspect and safely arrest him.
Photo of Recovered Point of Sale Terminals
Original Post 10/26/22:
The Long Beach Police Department is investigating a series of burglary incidents where a suspect breaks into a business and steals the credit card reader, also known as the point of sale terminal. These thefts are believed to be part of refund scams that are happening regionally.
Detectives believe there is a common suspect for multiple incidents, including the following:
- Sept. 4, 2022 at an unknown time in the 600 block of Redondo
- Sept. 11, 2022 at approximately 3:17 a.m. in the 0 block of Elm Avenue
- Oct. 15, 2022 at an unknown time in the 300 block of Pine Avenue
- Oct. 15, 2022 at approximately 11:46 p.m. in the 0 block of Elm Avenue
- Oct. 19, 2022 at approximately 11:50 p.m. in the 600 block of Pine Avenue
- Oct. 23, 2022 at approximately 11:32 p.m. in the 700 block of Pine Avenue
- Oct. 24, 2022 at an unknown time in the 400 block of West Broadway
- Oct. 25, 2022 at approximately 12:45 a.m. in the 700 block of Pine Avenue
- Oct. 26, 2022 at approximately 2:46 a.m. in the 100 block of East Broadway
- Oct. 26, 2022 at approximately 3:50 a.m. in the 1500 block of East Broadway
The suspect is described as a male, unknown race and age, small build, approximately 5’6” to 5’8”, wearing gloves and a face covering.
Burglary detectives are actively investigating these incidents. We will have additional police resources in the area overnight. Officers in our Downtown Entertainment District are proactively reaching out to businesses to provide safety tips to help deter criminal activity. Safety tips for businesses are available on our website in English, Spanish, Khmer, and Tagalog.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Burglary Detectives at (562) 570-7351. Anonymous tips may be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to your smartphone (available at the Apple App Store and Google Play), or visiting http://www.lacrimestoppers.org.
We encourage our Long Beach community to “See Something, Say Something” by reporting suspicious activity to Police Dispatch at (562)435-6711. Always call 9-1-1 for emergencies.
Photo of the Suspect
Example Point of Sale Terminal
This information is preliminary and is intended for early information use rather than being a formal investigative report.
