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Crime Report: Burglary suspects in alleged tree-trimming scheme detained at gunpoint

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La Cañada Flintridge

Oct. 31

Burglary, residence: 5200 block of Indiana Drive. Two days earlier, a resident allowed a man and woman to stay the night at his house. When he told them to leave the following day, they allegedly stole his Lexmark scanner/printer from his office; he later saw the missing printer in the suspects’ car near his home and called the sheriff’s department. In the presence of deputies, the victim removed the printer and a red suitcase belonging to him.

Nov. 3

Reasonable cause, burglary; possession of burglary tools; driving on an expired license: Foothill Boulevard at Chevy Chase Drive. Deputies on patrol noticed a 1996 Honda Accord driving on Foothill at a high rate of speed and pulled it over. The driver, a 38-year-old Latino male from Los Angeles, appeared fidgety and sweaty and was very talkative. He said his friend let him borrow the vehicle to see his girlfriend.

A flashlight was found inside the vehicle, and the driver had a shaved vehicle key, used to gain access into locked vehicles, in his shorts pocket. A piece of paper in the man’s possession contained a security code number and several SIM card and telephone numbers. A search of the vehicle turned up a glove, several tools and a key ring with many different keys as well as a black wireless USB adapter.

Deputies surmised the items may have been connected to several recent vehicle thefts in La Cañada, La Crescenta and Glendale. The man was arrested, and his vehicle towed.

Vandalism, vehicle: 1800 block of Foothill Boulevard. A man reported that sometime between 9:30 p.m. the day before and 10:30 a.m. that day, someone shattered the rear window of his 1998 Ford Taurus while it was parked in his driveway. Nothing appeared to have been taken or disturbed.

La Crescenta

Nov. 4

Burglary, residence: 2700 block of Orange Avenue. A man reported that at 10 a.m. the day before, he was working in his frontyard when he saw a pickup truck park near his residence. Its occupants, two white men in their 40s, said they were building a fence for his rear-side neighbor and asked to see his backyard fence before they began their work. One of the men excused himself to make a phone call, while the second kept the man talking in his yard, blocking his view of the home. When the first man returned, the pair left.

Later that day, the man noticed money has been taken from his wallet, which had been on an end table inside his home. The victim’s wife, who was showering at the time of the visit, said money had been taken from her wallet too. They later talked to their neighbor, who said she had not hired anyone to work on her fence.

Receiving stolen property: 3100 block of Foothill Boulevard. While driving westbound on Foothill Boulevard at 3:56 p.m., deputies noticed a red Ford Explorer with a faulty rear brake light and conducted a traffic stop.

Approaching the vehicle, they saw several cases of energy drinks and a black plastic grocery basket from Vons. When asked if they could prove that the drinks belonged to them, the two occupants, brothers in their 20s, said no. They were detained.

In total, 18 packs of drinks were retrieved from the vehicle. After being questioned, the men admitted to taking the drinks from a Vons store in Montrose.

Nov. 5

Burglary, residence: 2700 block of Pinelawn Drive. Deputies got a call at around 9 a.m. from a burglary victim reporting a white truck with Nevada paper plates being connected to the crime. The vehicle was spotted driving southbound on La Crescenta and its three occupants were detained at gunpoint.

At least one man was wanted with two warrants. The victim later reported that the suspects had used a ruse about tree trimming to gain access to her residence and stole some jewelry while she was out in her yard with one of the men.

In addition to finding jewelry and cash inside the vehicle, deputies found items that could be used in the commission of a crime, including clothing, screwdrivers and walkie talkies. The victim positively identified the suspects, who were arrested.

Robbery, strong arm: 2675 Foothill Blvd. A manager at Ralphs grocery store told deputies that at around 5:45 p.m. a Latino male and a white woman entered the store, filled a shopping cart with groceries and attempted to leave when a struggle with the manager occurred.

A store manager told deputies a witness who saw the suspects advised her they had shoplifted at another store. As the couple attempted to leave the store, the witness and the manager chased after them, fighting after the cart in a tug-of-war fashion.

At one point, the cart hit a vehicle and sent bottles crashing to the ground. The female suspect misplaced her keys and the vehicle was abandoned. Inside, deputies found aluminum foil, commonly used to evade store sensors. The incident was captured by the store’s surveillance camera.

Burglary, residence: 2900 block of Mary Street. A woman left her home at 9:30 a.m. and returned at 7:30 p.m. to find it had been ransacked and burglarized.

A bedroom window was open and its screen missing. A jewelry box containing several pieces was missing from her nightstand. Another box of jewelry was taken from a bedroom dresser and a built-in dresser jewelry box were also missing. The suspect(s) took two HP laptops from a dining room wall unit before exiting through the front door.

The victim said she believed more had been missing. A neighbor reported seeing a male suspect in the victim’s yard at 6:59 p.m.

Nov. 6

Vandalism: 2900 Community Avenue. An informant told deputies sometime between 8 a.m. the day before and 7 a.m. that day, someone entered the school and threw eggs, shot green paintballs and toilet-papered the pool deck area. The suspects also poured syrup all over nearby hand rails. Loose egg cartons and a 1 gallon bottle of maple-flavored syrup were found in the area.

Petty theft: 3001 Foothill Blvd. At 8:47 p.m., a Walgreens employee heard the store’s security sensors go off. He was advised by a store associate that a white male had exited the store without purchasing items.

Video surveillance revealed a man wearing dark pants, a hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap enter the store, walk to the men’s hygiene products section and steal two electric razors. He then took four gift sets from a nearby display and walked to the pharmacy department. There, he purchased two hypodermic syringes and then ran out of the store with all the items, got into a black pickup truck with a yellow Rockstar energy drink sticker on it, driven by another person, and drove away.

Nov. 9

Shoplifting: 2647 Foothill Blvd. A Rite Aid employee told deputies at around 11:55 a.m. she saw a Latino man, about 5 feet 7 and weighing 200 pounds, walk to the store’s memory card aisle and place several miscellaneous items into a plastic Ralphs grocery bag. She asked if he needed any help, and the man indicated he wanted ice cream. When she went behind the counter to serve him, he walked past the counter and out the exit. The employee reported 17 digital memory cards and flash drives missing from the aisle.

Montrose

Attempted burglary, residence: 2300 block of Mira Vista Avenue. A woman reported that between 5 p.m. the day before and 7 a.m. that day, someone damaged her front door lock, possibly in an attempt to enter her home. There were no other signs of forced entry.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine

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