‘Rambo Santa’ Arrests 2 Suspects

This was no jolly old St. Nick.

Casting aside his merry demeanor, a Monrovia police officer dressed as Santa for a gift giveaway helped nab two burglary suspects in an apartment break-in Wednesday.

It was far from a routine bust.

Sgt. Don Lacher, 35, had to struggle to free his revolver from beneath the pillow stuffed into his red trousers.

Moreover, he was subjected afterward to ribbing from officers who called him “Rambo Claus.”

The incident occurred as Lacher and his uniformed partner, Officer Anthony Trout, were en route to their 10th Christmas giveaway stop of the morning. A burglary call came over the police radio.

Two blocks away, they found the suspects loading a car with nearly $2,000 in stolen goods, including a television set and VCR.

That’s when Santa got tough with one of the suspects. “I said: ‘Look, Santa says lay down on the ground,’ ” Lacher recalled.

When David Villalobos, 26, of Pomona tried to get up, Lacher said he stepped on his ankle and said, “Santa knows who’s naughty and nice.”

Villalobos and Anna Marie Gallegos, 29, also of Pomona, were arrested on suspicion of burglary and possession of a loaded firearm.