LA VERNE : Made Up as an Adult, Boy Still Blows the Scene

The young actor blew his big scene, but the makeup job may have been worth an Oscar.

A 16-year-old Altadena boy decked himself out in theatrical makeup and a bushy fake beard to buy alcohol at a market, police said, and may have pulled it off if he had not tried to write a bad check.

“He looked like he was about 25 or 30,” said Lt. Carl Brubaker. “It was kind of a sophisticated crime for a 16-year-old.”

Employees at the market on Foothill Boulevard got suspicious when the bearded customer tried to buy alcohol by writing a $41 check from a Redlands bank. He asked for cash back and presented a driver’s license to match the name and address on the check, Brubaker said. The store called the bank and found that the account had been closed.

The unidentified youngster was arrested for investigation of a seldom-cited penal code violation: wearing a disguise for the purpose of escaping recognition while committing an offense. He was released to his mother.