Crime Report: Victim’s credit cards, stolen while she was grocery shopping, used at Town Center store

Aug. 13

Forgery, fraud: 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Crescenta. A family-operated business reported that a review of their business banking statements uncovered several unauthorized transactions and two checks that had been forged.

Theft by access card and petty theft: 600 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A woman reported that someone stole her red nylon zipper pouch containing cash, seven credit cards, two debit cards, three gift cards, her driver’s license and other forms of ID while she was grocery shopping. She discovered the theft at about 10:30 a.m., after she arrived at the checkout stand to make her purchases. Shortly thereafter she received text alerts that purchases had been made using a card belonging to her in the Town Center three blocks away. A deputy investigating the theft learned from a Town Center store employee that two Latinos who appeared to be between 20 and 25 years old entered the business that morning. One of them successfully purchased an Apple Watch, then tried to use the card to make another purchase but was declined. His companion then used one of the woman’s cards to buy an Apple Watch, an iPod Touch, a set of Air Pods and a Gen 6 iPad. A second purchase he also attempted was declined. Both suspects then walked out of the store carrying the goods.

Vandalism: 1100 block of Descanso Drive, La Cañada. At around 4 p.m. a man working at a residence heard four loud “snaps or bangs” coming from the street. He went outside to see that someone had shot a high-velocity pellet or BB gun and made dents on both the driver’s side doors of a 2010 Honda Civic that had been left parked on the street. He did not see anyone around carrying such a weapon. He notified both the sheriff’s department and the car’s owner.

Aug. 14

Grand theft: 900 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A worker at a job site where a business is undergoing renovations reported that an electric jackhammer and a wet electric cut-off saw were missing from the location. He said that on Aug. 4 he’d delivered both items to another employee at the latter’s San Bernardino home and that he thought they’d been used at the La Cañada site between that day and Aug. 9. But when he checked a storage container at noon Aug. 9 both the items were missing. He reported he had been unable to reach the San Bernardino man via multiple cellphone calls since that date.

ID theft: 2000 block of Hilldale Drive, La Cañada. A woman who acknowledged receiving calls from debt collectors since December 2018 — but ignoring them because she thought they were scams — learned via a review of her credit report that there were four open accounts in her name with past due balances. She said she did not open any of those accounts, nor did she authorize 28 other credit requests she also discovered on her record.

Aug. 15

Theft by access card: 5000 block of El Adobe Lane, La Crescenta. A woman reported that between Aug. 2 and Aug. 14 someone had fraudulently used her Citibank MasterCard to make several purchases.

Vehicle tampering: 2700 block of Alabama Street, La Crescenta. Someone sprayed expanding foam sealant into the dual tailpipes of a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta that had been left parked overnight between Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. The victim said she thought the vandalism might have been done by a male friend of hers from Crescenta Valley High School.

Aug. 17

Vandalism: 4700 block of Vineta Avenue, La Cañada. Sometime between 8 p.m. Aug. 16 and 9:30 a.m. Aug. 17, someone knocked over a mailbox.

Aug. 18

Vehicle burglary: 800 block of Wiladonda Drive. Sometime between midnight and 6 a.m. someone broke into a 2015 Hyundai Tucson via the driver’s side window, which was found smashed. The car had been ransacked, but the only item the victim could immediately say was missing was a plastic bag filled with school supplies.

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

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