Parks Worker Denies Stealing Tons of Blocks

Aveteran Glendale parks worker Monday pleaded not guilty to a charge of stealing nine tons of paving blocks from a city yard.

Thomas J. Bowman, 46, a 21-year city employee, has been ordered to appear May 8 in Glendale Municipal Court for a preliminary hearing on the grand theft charge. City officials ordered Bowman to stay home from work pending disciplinary action after he was arrested March 12.

According to court records, 1,327 concrete paving blocks missing from a city yard were found in the rear of Bowman’s home in Glendale, laid out to form a 20-foot by 30-foot parking area. The hexagonal blocks, which have since been dug up and returned to the city, were valued at more than $2,000.

Bowman and another city employee were accused of stealing the blocks by an anonymous tipster who telephoned police and sent a letter to city officials. Records indicate that at least 400 other blocks are missing from a locked maintenance yard at the Scholl Canyon baseball fields. No other arrests have been made.