Crime Report: Multiple residences broken into while owners away
April 4
Burglary, residence: 900 block of Big Briar Way. A house-sitter was watering plants at around 2 p.m. when she noticed a rear sliding door had been shattered sometime since her last visit on March 30. A Ruger revolver and bullets the homeowner kept in the master bedroom closet were missing, as was some cash from a dresser drawer. The dresser and closet were ransacked, along with the living room and two upstairs bedrooms.
Burglary, residence: 5600 block of Stardust Road. A family had been on vacation since March 29. When they returned home around 3 p.m. April 4, the daughter noticed her bedroom window had been shattered and a blanket draped over the windowsill. The room was ransacked. A wooden jewelry box containing four gold bracelets and a gold necklace was missing from the master bedroom. Outside, nine garden lights had been taken out of the ground, their wires cut.
Petty theft: 400 block of Knight Way. A man was scheduled to receive a UPS package containing a child’s craft toy kit that day, but got home at 6:30 p.m. and was informed by a neighbor that the package had been found on Princess Anne Road with its contents removed. A neighbor’s surveillance camera showed a 12:30 p.m delivery. Three minutes later, a brown Nissan Altima with tinted windows passed by the house. Two suspects walked past the house, looking at the package, and entered the car, which drove out of view. At 12:36 p.m., one of the suspects ran up to the porch and exited east with package in hand. A witness who’d called in a similar vehicle as suspicious on Wyncrest Way said the driver was a black female adult with a red bandana, accompanied by a black male adult in a white T-shirt.
April 5
Forgery, check: 500 block of Berkshire Avenue. A business owner got a statement from East West Bank in Arcadia reporting a withdrawal by check from his account on Feb. 6, made out to Nest Corp.. The business name and logo were fictitious, but the routing and account number were his. He immediately reported the transaction as fraudulent.
April 7
Burglary, residence: 300 block of St. Katherine Drive. A woman maintaining an unoccupied home arrived at 8:45 a.m. April 7 and found three pill bottles on the front porch. She saw the interior had been ransacked and a rear door unlocked. Hand tools had been taken from an unlocked garage and placed in a bowl outside. The only items reported missing were keys taken from the master bedroom. Another woman who’d been gardening earlier that week arrived at the property and pointed out two sets of gloves on the driveway and by a garbage can. Pry marks were seen on the still-locked front door.
Attempted burglary, residence: 300 block of Santa Inez Way. A woman said she’d turned off her house lights before going to bed at around 10 p.m. Soon after, she was awakened by several loud popping noises. She looked out her bedroom window and saw two suspects in dark clothing in her backyard. The woman immediately turned on the lights and called 911, causing the suspects (believed to be male and about 5 feet 7) to run off. Two sliding glass windows had been shattered by the suspects.
Petty theft: 475 Foothill Blvd. An employee of Trader Joe’s told deputies sometime between April 4 and April 7 someone stole and unknown number of plastic bread pallets from the parking lot. The informant said another employee reported seeing a white or yellow cargo truck with a lift gate and graffiti on the side which may have been involved. The stacked pallets, he said, are left unsecured and unattended overnight.
April 8
Attempted burglary, residence: 5000 block of Alta Canyada Road. A female housekeeper entered an unused bedroom at around 4:40 p.m. and noticed a sliding-glass door leading to the balcony had been partially smashed and the left side of the door opened 6 inches wide. Outside, under the balcony, deputies observed four trashcans that may have been used to access the balcony. Two ladders in the backyard may also have been used, but entry was not gained because the slider door was stuck.
April 10
Burglary, residence: 1000 block of Descanso Drive. A man was on his way to Las Vegas when he received a call from his alarm company at 9:37 p.m. that an upstairs bedroom window had been broken. He returned home to find his wife’s bedside drawers opened and two necklaces missing. Several bedroom closet drawers were opened. Surveillance footage showed three suspects destroying the rear patio lighting after hopping over a perimeter gate at 9:21 p.m. One suspect attempted to open various doors and windows while the second destroyed the lighting and the third paced around and talked on a cellphone. The trio entered via the patio and later exited.
April 11
Burglary, residence: 4600 Palm Drive. Deputies responded to an 8:30 p.m. alarm call. They searched the property but found no signs of forced entry. The view of the interior also looked undisturbed, though a master bedroom balcony was obscured by trees. Thinking the home secure, deputies left. About an hour later, the adult daughter of the homeowner, who lives there and cares for the property, said she’d received a call from her mother at around 8:30 p.m. telling her the alarm company had issued an alert for the master bedroom. When the daughter arrived at 9:20 p.m., she saw the glass door to the balcony had been smashed open. The room’s closet had been ransacked, though nothing appeared missing. Seven outdoor landscaping lights had been damaged.
Twitter: @SaraCardine
