Crime Report: Burglary at Vista del Valle home unfolds while family enjoys evening outing to Dodger Stadium

June 20

Attempted burglary: 1000 block of Fairview Drive. A man reported that someone entered his property sometime between June 4 and June 19 and tried to open two windows, breaking their screens in the attempt. No items were taken.

Vandalism: 5200 block of Haskell Drive. A woman reported that sometime between 6 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. someone damaged the rear windshield of her car and put a 3-inch dent in the bumper below it.

June 22

Grand theft from unlocked vehicle: 1300 block of Salisbury Road. A woman reported that sometime between 4:30 p.m. on June 17 and 10 a.m. on June 22 someone stole her custom leather riding boots and some white subway tiles out of the rear of her car.

Burglary: 1000 block of Vista del Valle Road. A man reported that while his family was enjoying a Dodger game, someone broke into their home, sometime between 4:45 and 11 p.m. On the family’s return, they found all garage cabinets were open and the door leading from the garage into the house — which the man recalled locking before leaving — was open. Inside, the house had been ransacked and a sliding door to the master bedroom was shattered. The only item the man could immediately say was missing was an envelope containing miscellaneous U.S. currency.

June 23

Vandalism: Pedestrian bridge/trail over the 210 Freeway, between Verdugo Boulevard and Curran Street. A man who says he regularly walks his neighborhood a few times daily, reported finding graffiti, in assorted paint colors, on the bridge. It appeared to have been done sometime between 7:30 p.m. on June 22 and 9 a.m. on June 23. The responding deputy noticed two Latinos in their 30s, wearing hooded sweatshirts on the hot day and carrying a can of spray paint, leave a nearby restaurant. The deputy followed them as they walked behind the wall on Curran Street and asked what work they were doing in the area. Their replies are redacted from the report, but the deputy added that they immediately left the scene. He reported the damage to City Hall and was told by the public works director the wall would have to be sandblasted to remove the graffiti.

Vandalism: 4300 block of La Granada Way. The same deputy who took the above report found, at 12:30 p.m., blue graffiti in the same words as used in the Curran Street incident on a concrete overpass support. The deputy also noted a similar vandalism had taken place in La Crescenta.

Attempted strong-arm robbery: 400 block of Richmond Road. A man reported that his mother, who does not speak English, was the victim of an attempted robbery. The woman left her house at about 6:45 p.m. and started to walk westbound on Richmond toward Gould Avenue to attend church. A black man driving a blue car pulled up and a black youth, about 12 to 13 years old, jumped out of the passenger seat and tried to grab the woman’s purse. She held onto it and he started to retreat to the car. But her keys had fallen out during the struggle, so the youth picked them up and dangled them in front of her while trying again to take her purse. Again, she resisted and fell down. The youth got back into the car empty-handed and it was driven westbound on Richmond and out of view. The woman suffered small abrasions.

Burglary: 3900 block of Hampstead Road. A woman reported that she left her home securely locked at 7:30 p.m. When she returned at 10:30 p.m., she noticed several kitchen drawers and hallway closets open. Upstairs, her bedroom and its closet had been ransacked and a glass door to the second-story balcony shattered. Taken were an unknown quantity of miscellaneous jewelry pieces and some designer handbags. The responding deputy reported finding a patio chair stacked on top of a patio table below the balcony and surmised the intruder(s) had climbed on that furniture to reach the balcony.