Crime Report: Unexpected tax refund check result of identity theft; Pair of cars at La Cañada Crest burglarized

La Cañada Flintridge

July 21

Identity theft: 4100 block of Dorset Place. A woman reported that on June 25 she received an unexpected income tax refund check from the state. She contacted her accountant, who in turn contacted the IRS. According to the IRS, someone had fraudulently used the victim’s social security number, and her husband’s, to file a false tax return.

Petty theft, unlocked vehicle; burglary, vehicle: 2100 block of La Cañada Crest Drive. Sometime between 8 p.m. on July 20 and 7 a.m. the next day, two vehicles parked on La Cañada Crest were burglarized in what sheriff’s deputies believe may be connected incidents.

In one case, a woman reported someone broke into her 2004 Toyota Corolla, stealing a bracelet and her insurance card from inside the glove compartment. In the second incident, the owner of a 2014 Toyota Camry was contacted July 21 by a sheriff’s detective and informed property possibly belonging to him had been recovered when deputies arrested a couple that morning at 5 a.m. for an unspecified crime.

One of the suspects was in possession of a receipt for service from a dealership with the victim’s name on it. No signs of forced entry were observed on his vehicle, and he admitted he may have left the car unlocked overnight.

Burglary: 700 block of Georgian Road. A woman reported that sometime between 12:30 p.m. and 3:35 p.m., someone entered her home and stole a Canon camera and a pillow case. Two bedrooms had been ransacked. The victim said she left the house secure, but when she returned the kitchen door was ajar and glass had been broken out of it.

Identity theft: 4800 block of Alminar Avenue. A man reported that on July 20 his accountant called to say he had received an email from the IRS saying the victim’s 2014 federal tax return had been rejected. When the accountant investigated, he was told by the IRS that someone had used the social security numbers of the victim and his wife to file a tax return unsuccessfully.

July 25

Vandalism: 4300 block of Beulah Drive. A man reported that sometime between 11:15 p.m. and midnight on July 24 someone threw eggs at two cars parked at his residence, an Audi and a Honda. He discovered it at midnight after going outdoors to retrieve something from his Audi. He said he suspected someone with whom he’d broken off a dating relationship was responsible for the act. He said a similar incident had occurred within the past month.

July 27

Burglary: 5200 block of Crown Avenue: A woman reported that at about 7 a.m. she awoke to a loud noise coming from the window next to her bed. She opened the inside shutter and saw that a male Latino had opened her window and had been trying to open the shutter at the same time she opened it.

The suspect ran off, and the woman heard him speaking to another man. She described the suspect as 20 to 25 years old, 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall, 200 to 220 pounds and wearing a gray hoodie. His companion was wearing a red jacket, but she couldn’t give any further description of him.

La Crescenta

July 21

Burglary, residence: 2900 block of Orange Avenue. A woman reported that sometime between 2 and 6 p.m. that day, someone entered her home and stole two diamond rings, a pair of diamond earrings and a black Lenovo laptop computer.

Although she’d locked her doors and windows, the victim admitted she may have left a northwest sliding-glass door unlocked. That was determined to be the point of entry and exit.

The master bedroom and guest bedroom were ransacked, and the jewelry was taken from a locked safe in the master bedroom closet, the key for which was in a nearby dresser drawer. The laptop was taken from an entertainment center in the living room. The victim said more jewelry was likely missing from the safe. Fingerprints were requested.

July 25

Burglary, business: 2600 block of Foothill Blvd. between 6:45 and 7:45 p.m. A store official reported that four Latina women entered a doughnut shop, purchased lottery tickets and then distracted the employee by breaking a glass bottle near a refrigerator case.

As the employee was cleaning up the mess, two of the suspects stole cash from a box near the register and the employee’s purse, which contained a wallet, credit cards, ID and currency. After the four women left in a white SUV, the employee noticed the thefts.

Reasonable cause, forgery, identity theft; petty theft, gift cards: 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard. Deputies received a possible forgery call from Hope’s Hallmark Shop about a Latino woman, who’d just left the location heading for Baja Fresh next door.

A Hallmark employee told deputies the woman entered the store with a Latino woman and man in their 20s and attempted to purchase several items, including two gift cards. She paid in four separate transactions, using a credit card number taken with her phone’s camera, the name of which matched her driver’s license.

Each of the four receipts she signed with signatures differing from that on her license. Next door, she attempted to purchase five gift cards in addition to “the fastest food you can make,” a Baja Fresh employee told deputies.

When told food and gift cards must be purchased separately, she demanded otherwise. A lead cashier tried to manually enter credit card numbers from the suspect’s phone, but they were declined.

The suspect grabbed the cashier’s credit card terminal, saying she worked at a “credit card billing company,” and began typing in her own numbers. Those numbers were also declined.

In the process, however, the suspect placed the gift cards in her pocket when the cashier wasn’t looking, according to the store’s surveillance.

Based on the information and footage provided by the stores, the deputies believed they had reasonable cause to arrest the woman for forgery and identity theft. During booking, the suspect said the phone was not hers and that it belonged to a friend.