Cases that made the record books
- The 1972 United California Bank burglary in Laguna Niguel, long described as one of the largest bank burglaries in US history, planned around a holiday weekend.
- The 2005 Bank of America tunnel job in Los Angeles, where crews dug toward a vault from a nearby excavation — the tunneling method reappeared in later Southern California attempts.
- The 2012 theft of a Salvador Dalí etching from a Manhattan gallery, mailed back anonymously from Europe. Not LA, but the mail-it-back move has local imitators.
- Repeated Hollywood prop and memorabilia thefts, which turn on ordinary grand theft statutes despite the extraordinary objects involved.
California laws that surprise people
- Removing or defacing survey monuments is its own offense.
- Various municipal codes still regulate oddly specific conduct — animals in certain public spaces, amplified sound, and permit-less street vending among them.
- Detaching a shopping cart from store premises is addressed by statute in California, which surprises nearly everyone.
Odd or not, these are bookable offenses and they run through the same schedule under Penal Code §1269b as anything else. See how is bail calculated.
What the strange cases have in common
Almost all of them get charged as theft, burglary, vandalism, or trespass — familiar statutes with familiar bail schedule amounts. The story is unusual; the booking is not. Theft and burglary bail bonds covers the ordinary version.