Police asked to strengthen case against pair

GLENDALE — Prosecutors Wednesday asked Glendale police officials for additional information regarding the case of a pair of suspected auto burglars arrested Sunday in north Glendale after they fled from officers.

Police detectives must provide proof that the fleeing men are the same suspects who burglarized several vehicles. And they must link evidence found on the men to items stolen from the vehicles, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Until then, burglary charges are pending against Eddie Gibbs, 18, of Sherman Oaks and Brandon Hardman, 21, of Glendale, said Shiara Dávila-Morales, a spokeswoman with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The pair was arrested early Sunday after residents called police when they saw someone running through their backyards, Lorenz said.

Witnesses originally notified police of the men about 2 a.m. Sunday when they saw the pair trying the door handles on several parked vehicles along Oakendale Place and Glenwood Road, according to police reports.

An officer spotted the men exiting a vehicle and tried to make contact with them, but they fled.

Police immediately began searching for the pair. They discovered that two vehicles had been ransacked.

Officers soon received calls from residents advising them that someone was running through their yards.

Police set up a command post, where K-9 officers announced over a loud speaker that they were looking for the men, officials said.

A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter spotted Gibbs on the roof of the Village Beauty Center on the 2900 block of Honolulu Avenue, Lorenz said.

At about 7 a.m., police got a tip that a man later identified as Hardman was walking on Montrose and Ramsdell avenues.

A police dog caught up to Hardman on the 3300 block of Montrose Avenue and bit him, Lorenz said.

Hardman was taken to Verdugo Hills Hospital, where he was treated for the bite, Lorenz said, before being booked into the Glendale city jail.