Crooks Catching on to Cops' Fake Contest Stings?

La Mirada - Only eight alleged crooks fell for a fake sweepstakes prize offered by sheriff's deputies in La Mirada, it was reported today.

Letters were sent to 960 alleged criminals, inviting persons with outstanding arrest warrants down to the La Mirada Holiday Inn to collect a sweepstakes prize. The Whittier Daily News reports today that eight people with misdemeanor arrest warrants were nabbed by authorities who had set up an elaborate sting with "holiday giveaway" prizes.

Of the 960 invitations sent, four men and four women with outstanding misdemeanor warrants showed up. Officials said they were hoping for more arrests.

"It's not the numbers we wanted," Los Angeles sheriff's Capt. Patrick Maxwell told the newspaper, adding that it was a "learning experience."

The fake sweepstakes operation is a trick so common it has even been lampooned on "The Simpsons." But several alleged crooks were as gullible as Homer Simpson and fell for it.

One 22-year-old man displayed his booking sheet from his drunk driving arrest to prove his identification and claim his prize. He was arrested for failing to appear as ordered on that charge, the newspaper reported.

The goal of Saturday's operation was to bring wanted people to deputies, rather than sending deputies after the suspects, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Pat Valdez of the Norwalk Station, who organized the sting operation, told the Whittier Daily News.

Posing as the "Pelican Marketing Group," deputies sent letters last week to people throughout the county wanted in connection with crimes ranging from misdemeanor warrants to murder, Capt. Patrick Maxwell told the newspaper.

According to the report, the suspects were advised to bring their letter and identification to the Holiday Inn at 14299 Firestone Blvd., and told that they were guaranteed a prize worth at least $100, and would be one of 200 people with a chance to win a 2010 BMW 238i sedan.

To make the event seem legitimate, deputies borrowed a BMW sedan from McKenna Cars in Norwalk, decorated the hotel with balloons and signs and posed as welcoming members of the Pelican Marketing Group."We tried to make it as realistic as possible," Valdez told the newspaper.

Several others reportedly arrived to claim prizes, but their warrants had been resolved by the time the letters were sent out.

The "contestants" were asked to sign in with a deputy posing as a secretary, who would check to ensure the warrant was still valid. Next, they were asked to take a brief survey while undercover deputies would chat with them about which prizes they hoped to win. Then they were brought to a back room to pose for a photograph, and when they were told to smile more than half a dozen uniformed deputies swooped in and arrested them, the newspaper reported.

They were all smiles when they showed up to collect their prizes, Deputy Janet Ramirez told the newspaper. "Once they tell them they're under arrest, the smile fades quickly," she said.

The largest warrant in the sting belonged to Krystie Haro, 26, of La Mirada, who had a $100,000 arrest warrant related to an obstruction of justice charge, according to the newspaper.

"We're just trying to think outside the box," Valdez told the newspaper, adding that the sheriff's Norwalk Station had never tried the tactic.