Crime Report: Break-ins continue, fake Delta rep tricks ticket changer

July 29

Burglary, residence: 4300 block of Belair Drive, La Cañada. A couple left their home at around 8 p.m. to go on a walk. When they returned 45 minutes later, they saw a white sedan with tinted windows parked in front of the residence and heard a scuffling sound coming from inside their home. Flashlights were flashing around inside, and the homeowner heard a female’s voice coming from the white vehicle. Three male suspects ran from the home and got into the vehicle, which was driven northbound toward Foothill Boulevard. Inside, the home had been ransacked and a rear sliding door had been shattered. Two refrigerators in the kitchen had also been opened. Although cash was initially reported missing, the victim later located it in a wallet inside his bedroom.

Aug. 4

Burglary, residence: 2800 block of Henrietta Lane, La Crescenta. A man told deputies the night before he’d noticed two Apple MacBook Pro computers were missing, and checked his alarm system only to discover it had issued an alert on July 31 at 11:55 a.m. about an entry made via an unlocked basement door. Also missing were an Xbox console, two controllers and five video game discs along with two silver bracelets and a gold charm bracelet. The victim’s alarm system also showed a door on the home’s east side was opened at 12:08 p.m. the same day. A neighbor’s video surveillance footage showed a male suspect wearing dark clothing and a backpack entering the property at 11:55 a.m.

Aug. 5

Burglary, residence: 5100 block of Alta Canyada Drive, La Cañada. A man reported that sometime between Aug. 1 at around 11:30 a.m. and 9:56 a.m. Aug. 5, someone shattered a rear door and stole personal items from his home. He couldn’t immediately say what was missing, as his family resides primarily in another home on the same block and does not keep many valuables at the property that was burglarized. He told deputies a private chef comes to the home every Monday to prepare food there. A housekeeper who was at the residence on Aug. 1 said nothing was out of place when she left at around 11:30 a.m. to clean the family’s other house. Deputies observed pillowcases had been removed from separate rooms, possibly to hold stolen items.

Burglary; vandalism: 3800 block of Park Place, Montrose. A man left his apartment at around 9 a.m. to go to work. When he arrived home at around 7 p.m. he saw his garage’s shed doors open. A metal combination lock had been broken and several Christmas ornaments, including a reindeer, Santa Claus and lights, had been taken from inside. Deputies observed pry marks on the shed door.

Aug. 6

Theft by false pretenses: 5300 block of Godbey Drive, La Cañada. A woman told deputies she’d called Delta Airlines on July 29 to change a flight, using a phone number she’d found online, and was informed by a customer service agent named Alex that he would send her a new ticket at a lower promotional cost if she purchased it using a Delta gift card. The woman went to a store in search of a card but couldn’t find one, so called the representative back. He told her Delta would accept a Target gift card, if she could give him the card number after purchasing it. The woman complied but became suspicious and demanded a confirmation number for the transaction. Alex said he’d need 24 hours and instead gave her an invoice number for the refund of the first ticket. The woman found another phone number for Delta and learned they had no refund on file and had not rescheduled her flight.

Aug. 7

Vandalism: 2500 block of Manhattan Avenue, Montrose. A man who was part of an electrical crew that had left a client’s building at around 3 p.m. the day before reported that when they returned at around 7:20 a.m. Aug. 7 they saw main cables in the electrical box had been cut. Electrical box wires on the building’s second and third floors had also been cut. The man told deputies he didn’t know who cut the wires but said an employee working at the site was fired on July 26 for verbally abusing co-workers.

Burglary, vehicle: 1500 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A woman reported leaving her locked 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 in a rear parking lot while she went shopping. About 45 minutes later, she drove next door and purchased food from a pizza restaurant, parking her truck on the street. When she arrived home she noticed her wallet, containing her driver’s license and two credit cards, was missing from her purse. She told deputies she believed she may have left her wallet inside the restaurant.

Aug. 12

Vandalism, vehicle: 5300 block of Godbey Drive, La Cañada. A man said sometime between 8 p.m. Aug. 11 and 8 a.m. Aug. 12 someone slashed a one-quarter inch hole in the driver’s side front and rear tires of his 2019 Toyota RAV4 while it was parked in his driveway. Deputies noted in the report two other residences nearby had experienced similar incidents, although only one of the neighbors filed a report.

Vandalism, vehicle: 5300 block of Godbey Drive, La Cañada. A woman left her 2017 Toyota Prius parked in her driveway at around 3 p.m. Aug. 11. When she returned to the vehicle the next day at around 7 a.m. she saw the driver’s side tire had gone flat. She got the tire fixed but later learned from neighbors it may have been punctured, as multiple vehicles had developed flat tires over the same period.

Compiled from reports on file at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station.

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