Public safety watch: Use illegal fireworks; face $500 fine

Roseville is reminding citizens that it has a "no tolerance" policy against illegal fireworks.

Anyone caught with illegal fireworks faces a minimum fine of $500, the Roseville Fire Department announced.

Legal, "safe and sane" fireworks are available at permitted fireworks stands, such as those throughout the city, said Fire Marshal Dennis Mathisen.

But illegal fireworks such as firecrackers, M-80s, Roman candles, sky rockets, bottle rockets and cherry bombs will lead to a citation and possibly even an arrest, he said.

"Anything that explodes, flies through the air or darts on the ground is illegal," Mathisen said.

With the dry conditions this year, the risk of sparking a fire through illegal fireworks is high, he said.

"It's imperative that we go after the illegal fireworks because they are extremely dangerous," he said. "They have the potential to cause devastating injuries or death or property damage."

Meanwhile, all fireworks – including those sold legally within cities – are banned from use in the unincorporated areas of Placer County because of the fire risks they create, said county spokeswoman Anita Yoder.

The exceptions are displays approved by the county and put on by pyrotechnics companies licensed by the state fire marshal, Yoder said.

The county ban includes such areas as Alta, Applegate, Dutch Flat, Foresthill, Granite Bay, Meadow Vista, Newcastle, Penryn and Sheridan.

In North Lake Tahoe, the ban applies to unincorporated areas such as Carnelian Bay, Homewood, Kings Beach and Tahoe City, Yoder said.

Mathisen urged all users of fireworks to exercise common sense.

"Be aware of the current fire conditions," he said. "And make sure you have a water source anywhere you are using the safe and sane fireworks."

Mathisen also cautioned that once the July Fourth holiday ends Friday, "it will be illegal to use or sell fireworks the very next day."

Elderly Loomis couple conned

An elderly Loomis couple was tricked by two men posing as water workers, who stole cash and other valuables by distracting them in the house, the Placer County Sheriff's Department reported.

The incident occurred at 10 a.m. Friday at an address not disclosed by the Sheriff's Department.

The suspects came to the door and asked the residents to check water-related equipment, such as the outside hose, said sheriff's spokeswoman Dena Erwin.

The homeowners performed the tasks, leaving the men inside to steal money and valuables, she said.

"It was sad because the victims were so elderly, they weren't able to give us a description as to whether the suspects were white or black or Latino," Erwin said.

But officers learned through investigation that the suspects may be in their early 40s with medium-color complexions, she said. They wore blue pants and work-type uniform shirts with a white name badge, she said.

They drove away in a raised pickup truck that was gray or blue, Erwin said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (530) 889-7800.

Bank robberies linked?

Authorities believe the arrest Friday of a suspect in a recent bank robbery in Rose- ville could clear up as many as a half-dozen bank robberies.

Scott Singewald, 41, of San Mateo was apprehended as he approached his vehicle in a hotel parking lot in Roseville.

He was booked on suspicion of robbing the River City Bank on June 11, said police Lt. Mike Doane.

The FBI said Singewald is being investigated for bank robberies that occurred Sept. 1 in Fairfield, May 3 in Woodland, June 20 in Sacramento and June 23 in Lincoln.

Singewald also is a suspect in at least one other robbery in which the FBI declined to give information.

The robber was dubbed the "Stuffed Shirt Bandit" because in at least two of the robberies caught on bank surveillance video, he was seen stuffing money inside his shirt, said FBI spokesman Steven Dupre. The break came when a citizen saw a photo of the suspect in the Roseville robbery and contacted police.

Doane said the witness gave a description of the man's vehicle, and officers later spotted the auto parked at a hotel on Lead Hill Boulevard. Police kept surveillance on the vehicle and arrested Singewald at 12:26 p.m., Doane said.

No weapons were found, he said.

Dupre said no weapons were seen during any of the robberies in which Singewald is being investigated.

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