Crime Report: 2 burglars surprised by resident in early afternoon break-in attempt
Oct. 15
Mail package theft: 200 block of Lamour Drive, La Cañada. A woman who had been out of town on Oct. 9 said she returned to town at 9 a.m. the next morning to find her mailbox hanging open and empty. The woman said she learned afterward that a pair of shoes she’d purchased via eBay but hadn’t received had been delivered by USPS at 5:52 p.m. on Oct. 9.
Identity theft: 4600 block of Vineta Avenue, La Cañada. A woman who has power of attorney for her father said that while reviewing his mail at his La Cañada home she discovered someone had used his personal identification to place a notice of levy against his bank account. The name of the business attached to the levy notice is the same as one that previously did business in La Cañada, but the reporting deputy did not know whether or not there was a connection to the two. The woman said she is certain her father, who is now residing in a senior living facility, has no association with that business. She further said her father’s personal identity has been stolen in the past.
Identity theft: 5500 block of Pine Cone Road, La Crescenta: A woman reported that someone used her personal identification to try to open two different types of credit cards in her name. Someone also tried unsuccessfully to open a credit account in her husband’s name, using his personal information.
Theft by credit card: 4300 block of Purtell Drive, La Cañada. A woman reported she’d been called by a representative at her credit union bank and alerted to some unusual activity on her account. She visited the bank in Glendale and was shown copies of the questionable activities. She said she didn’t recognize any of those transactions. She closed the account due to the fraudulent activity. She later learned from a bank representative that after the account was closed someone called the bank, posing as the victim — and using her home phone number — to request the account be reopened. The caller was unable to persuade the bank the account had been closed as part of a misunderstanding.
Oct. 16
Identity theft: 5500 block of Alta Canyada Road, La Cañada. Someone used a victim’s personal information to open a lease agreement for a 2019 15-inch MacBook Pro. The victim has canceled the checking account and debit card related to the lease and filed a fraud claim with the leasing company.
Burglary: 4000 block of Hampstead Road, La Cañada. A man said he was in his master bedroom closet changing his shoes at about 1:40 p.m. when he heard a loud noise coming from the bedroom area where an exterior glass door leads to a patio. As he approached the door, which had been shattered, the resident saw the shadow of someone tall. He parted the drapes covering the door and saw a black male standing on the patio and another black male behind him. The resident watched as the two intruders jumped a perimeter fence and ran up a hillside to Hampstead Road. The victim then moved to his front door to see if he could spot them and saw the two climb into a silver sedan and speed away northbound on Hampstead, then east onto Flintridge Avenue and out of view.
Oct. 18
Petty theft from unlocked vehicle: 800 block of Wiladonda Drive, La Cañada. A 2004 Lexus RX 330 that had been left parked on the street in front of a home overnight Oct. 17-18 was targeted by someone who ransacked the glove compartment and took a Bluetooth earpiece, a pair of prescription sunglasses and miscellaneous currency.
Petty theft: 2300 block of Pickens Canyon Road, La Crescenta. A woman reported that her wallet, which had been mailed to her home by a Big Bear Lake restaurant after she inadvertently left it there, was stolen sometime after it was delivered by a postal carrier at 1:38 p.m. on Oct. 16. The stolen wallet had contained her driver’s license, a bank checkbook, two credit cards and a debit card. Her daughter, who was at home the day the package was delivered, recalled seeing a black male, about 20 years old, walking away from their doorstep at around 3:30 p.m. but didn’t think anything of it at the time, assuming he was probably an independent delivery person for Amazon.
Oct. 20
Vandalism: 5500 block of Godbey Drive, La Cañada. A woman who parked her 2020 Toyota Sienna van in the upper parking lot at La Cañada Flintridge Country Club at about 10:30 a.m. to attend a wedding there found a rear window on the driver’s side shattered when she returned to the van at around 4 p.m. Nothing had been taken from her vehicle’s interior.
Compiled from reports on file at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station.