Highlighted Activity for the Weekdays of July 15-17, 2013

Attempt Mail Theft

July 15 at 1:58 p.m., a resident in the 500 block of Sombrero reported that a male White subject in a silver Honda Passport, or similar vehicle, drove on the wrong side of the street to his mailbox and attempted to open it.  Due to a similar incident, the victim had replaced their traditional mailbox with a security mailbox and the suspect was not able to open the mailbox.  The suspect realized he had been seen and fled the area.  The investigation is continuing.

Grand Theft Auto

July 16 at 1:48 p.m., a vehicle was reported stolen from the 600 block of West Duarte Road.  The vehicle was actually taken a week earlier, but the victim waited to report it because she thought it might be a family member who took the car and they would return it.  When the family member refused to return the car, the victim reported it as stolen.  The vehicle taken was a 2004 Volkswagen Beetle.  The LoJack system on the vehicle was activated and El Monte Police Department located the vehicle.  A short time later a possible suspect, the victim's brother, came forward and admitted he had taken the vehicle.  El Monte Police Department arrested him.

Vehicle Burglary

July 16 at 2:30 p.m., a vehicle was reported stolen from a business parking lot in the 1600 block of South Mountain.  The victim is an employee of the business and the theft occurred the previous day about 5:30 p.m.  The loss was an iPod, black Ray Ban glasses and a Bank of America checkbook.  That day, the victim saw a silver Acura SUV with two suspects who had jumped into the Acura and left quickly.  The vehicle entered the 210 Freeway.  The victim followed the vehicle on the freeway, but lost sight of it.  The investigation is continuing.

Grand Theft Auto – Motorcycle

July 16 at 2:57 p.m., a black, 2009, Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle that had been locked in a parking lot in the 100 block of West Huntington Drive was taken by unknown suspect(s).  The theft occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. that day.  The investigation is continuing.

Fraud

July 16 at 4:08 p.m., a male Hispanic suspect entered a bank in the 100 block of West Foothill and attempted to withdraw cash from an account that had just been opened over the Internet.  The funds in the account had been fraudulently deposited from another recently opened account.  The suspect provided a fraudulent California identification card.  The bank became suspicious and called the police.  

The suspect was on the phone with someone during the delay at the teller window.  He realized the police had been called and he then fled the location.  The suspect had committed the same crime a week earlier and had received $800 in cash.  Bank staff advised that this is a popular scam that has been occurring in Los Angeles County.  The investigation is continuing.

Grand Theft Auto

July 18 at 1:16 a.m., police responded to the report of a stolen vehicle from the 400 block of North Encinitas.  A 1997 Honda was taken from the front of the residence.  The investigation is continuing.

Detective Bureau Case Follow-up

Assault with a Deadly Weapon / Injury Hit and Run Traffic Collision / Driving Under the Influence – Suspect Charged

On July 6, the suspect driver in this case was involved in three incidents over a short period of time in three different locations, one in Monrovia.  In the Monrovia incident, the suspect drove his vehicle around a bicyclist on Huntington and Mountain before intentionally striking him.  The suspect was later arrested in Azusa.  The California Highway Patrol handled two of the three incidents and the case was filed jointly at Pasadena Superior Court.  The charges filed were three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, other than firearm; two counts of injury hit and run; and two counts of driving under the influence, resulting in injury.  The suspects bail was set at $320,000.

Felony Evading / Hit & Run Traffic Collision / Driving Under the Influence / Gang Injunction Violation – Suspect Charged

On June 4, a driver failed to yield and evaded an officer attempting to stop him.  The suspect made his way into the City of Duarte and drove into a cul-de-sac, where he exited his moving vehicle, injuring his foot.  The suspect was taken to a hospital.  He was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs.  The case was filed in Pasadena Superior Court and the suspect was charged with felony evading, misdemeanor hit and run, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and violation of the City of Monrovia’s gang injunction.

Suspect Arrested and Charged for Thefts From Vehicles

On July 13, a resident in the 1000 block of Norumbega saw a suspect in her vehicle.  The suspect, realizing he was seen, exited the victim’s vehicle with her purse in hand. The suspect ran from officers and he was not located.  A few hours later, a citizen reported a subject jumping over the wall adjacent to the wash into a backyard in the 200 block of Madeline.  Officers responded to the house and spoke to a number of subjects.  

Further investigation led to the issuing of a warrant for one of the subjects at the house on Madeline; he was located and arrested.  He admitted to committing a number of thefts from vehicles.  The case was filed in Pasadena Superior Court and the charges filed are one count of receiving stolen property and four counts of petty theft.  Detectives were able to connect the suspect to five other theft cases.  They were able to recover some of the property stolen and return it to their owners.