Police Blotter: Two Attempted Burglaries

From Oct. 30 through Nov. 5, the responded to 894 calls for service, 140 of which required formal investigations. The following is a summary report of the major incidents handled by the Department during this period.

Oct. 30:

At approximately 2:42 a.m., an officer observed a vehicle swerving lanes on Santa Anita Avenue at Huntington Drive, almost striking another car. The officer conducted a traffic stop and talked to the driver, a 20-year-old man. The officer noticed the smell of alcohol on the suspect's breath. The officer determined the suspect was driving under the influence of alcohol and other controlled substances. The officer arrested the suspect and booked him for DUI.

Shortly after 6:20 p.m., an officer responded to the 800 block of West Duarte Road regarding a theft. The victim explained his bike was stolen from his garage on Oct. 22 and his home surveillance camera caught the incident on video. The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic man, 25- to 35-years-old, approximately 6-feet tall and 170 pounds with a shaven head. He was wearing a dark T-shirt and khaki pants.

Oct. 31:

At about 12:30 p.m., an officer responded to the 1000 block of Loma Lisa Lane regarding an attempted residential burglary. While out, the residents received a phone call from their alarm company stating their kitchen window alarm had activated. When the residents returned, they found their pedestrian gate open and found the screen removed from a kitchen window and two cracked windowpanes. The suspect(s) fled undetected.

A short time later, about 1/2 a mile away in the 1000 block of Don Robles Drive, another person reported a burglary attempt. The victim explained that at approximately 12:20 p.m., a maroon SUV with three occupants pulled up to her home and parked. The rear passenger, a Black man about 5-feet-10-inches tall, wearing a baseball cap, black shirt, and blue jeans, exited the vehicle and walked to the front porch. The man knocked on the front door and the victim asked what he wanted. The man walked back to the vehicle and the driver went east on Foothill Boulevard. The vehicle appeared to possibly have paper plates or an out-of-state license plate.

At approximately 3 p.m., officers arrived at the 800 block of Arcadia Avenue to investigate a report of a son vandalizing his father's Mercedes. Officers talked to the father, who explained his son became upset after being asked to pay rent. Officers saw foot prints and a dented hood on the vehicle. Further investigation revealed the shoe prints matched the bottom of the son's shoes. The son admitted to stomping on the car. The father requested his son be counseled rather than prosecuted.

Nov. 1:

Around 11:54 a.m., an officer arrived at the area of Second Avenue and Camino Real Avenue to investigate a report of a couple fighting. The 24-year old man explained that he and his pregnant girlfriend had a verbal argument that resulted in a physical altercation. The man said his girlfriend grabbed and scratched his face and bit his arm while he was driving. To avoid swerving lanes, he stopped the vehicle and got out, when his girlfriend drove off. Further investigation is being conducted by the Detective Bureau.

At about 10 a.m., an student near a trash can threatening the safety of students. School officials contacted the Arcadia Police Department and the school was placed on lockdown. after a search of the school. Further investigation is being conducted by the Detective Bureau.  

Nov. 2:

At approximately 1 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of North Santa Anita Avenue to investigate a mail theft. Officers talked to the victim, who explained a business check was stolen from her mailbox. Earlier, a neighbor observed a woman remove mail from the victim's mailbox and flee in a gray station wagon driven by a man with dark hair and a goatee. The neighbor confronted the suspects and recorded the vehicle's license plate number as it took off west on Orange Grove Avenue. The female is described as white, 25- to 35-years-old, tall, with shoulder-length blonde hair. Officers matched the car to a 2002 Audi. Further investigation is being conducted on the vehicle's registrants.

Around 4 p.m., loss prevention personnel from at the detained a woman for theft. While on her lunch break, the woman concealed several cosmetic items inside her purse and left the store without paying. She was taken into custody for petty theft.

Nov. 3:

Shortly after 10 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop on Third Avenue at Genoa Street for a cracked windshield. When the asked to present a driver's license, the 43-year-old driver said he left it at home and gave the officer a false name. The man was arrested for driving without a license and failure to provide identification. During the booking process, the officer also discovered the driver had a suspended license.
 
At about 12:47 p.m., an officer took a fraud report at the Arcadia Police Department. The victim explained she received a phone call from a man she thought was her nephew, who explained that he had just been involved in a traffic collision with a Spanish diplomat in Madrid and needed a large sum of money in cash to pay for damages. The caller put an "attorney" on the phone, who explained the matter had to be taken care of quickly. The victim borrowed money from a friend and wired the money via Western Union. After completing the transaction, the victim called her nephew, who was unaware of what his aunt was talking about, and she realized she had been tricked.
 
Nov. 4:

At approximately 6:56 a.m., an officer responded to regarding a battery report. The officer spoke with the victim, who was being treated for a shoulder injury. The victim explained that he was sitting with his dog on the west-side of at 143 East Foothill Boulevard when a man approached him and grabbed the dog's collar. The dog's owner fought to maintain hold of the dog while the suspect verbally reprimanded the dog and pushed it to the ground. The victim held tight to the dog's leash, and the suspect eventually gave up and walked away. The suspect appeared to be a 40-year-old man, 5-feet-11-inches and 220 pounds.
 
Between 9:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., a home was burglarized in the 900 block of Rodeo Road. The two victims left their residence unlocked and found two of the living room windows fully opened when they returned. They lost included a watch, four air-guns, an iPhone, and laptop computer. The suspect(s) fled undetected.

Nov. 5:

Around 5:15 p.m., an officer was traveling southbound on First Avenue in the area of Colorado Boulevard, and conducted a traffic stop on a bicyclist traveling on the sidewalk. After making contact with the subject, the officer learned he was on parole for possession of narcotics.  A search revealed the subject was in possession of marijuana, illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia. The 46-year-old man was arrested for the listed charges and placed on a parole hold.

Shortly after 10 a.m., an officer responded to the 1100 block of West Duarte Road, in reference to a residential burglary that had just occurred. The officer made contact with the victim who explained he heard a crashing noise coming from his garage. When he went to investigate, he saw a man, approximately 18-years-old, 5-feet-6-inches to 5-feet-8-inches tall, with a thin build. He wore a blue shirt and blue pants and rode away on the victim's wife's bicycle. The victim chased the suspect, who eventually abandoned the bicycle and fled on foot, dropping his backpack.

The officer searched the contents of the backpack and found a GPS device. The officer went to the last location listed in the GPS — an apartment complex in the 1000 block of West Duarte Road — and advised the manager to contact police if any residents reported a theft. Later that day, the officer returned to the complex to investigate a car burglary. Through investigation, the officer determined some of the items in the backpack were stolen from the victim's vehicle, including the GPS device.