Crime Report: Man’s ID used to purchase phone time, photos for prisoner
Jan. 23
Identity theft: 5700 block of Catherwood Drive, La Cañada. A woman told deputies someone had stolen her identity in October and was continuously engaging in fraudulent activity, largely under her maiden name. She claimed her accounts with Nordstrom, Best Buy, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and Pier 1 Imports had all been compromised, with fraudulent purchases made at stores in Glendale, San Luis Obispo, Sherman Oaks and Northridge. The victim said unknown suspects ordered a checkbook under her name and used a check at a Ralphs. A North Hollywood storage unit was rented but the tenant stopped paying on the account.
Forgery: 1800 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A man claimed he was missing a check made out to him by his grandfather during a Dec. 23 dinner party. Informants said the check had been on a coffee table in the living room and may have been taken during the party. The victim later learned the check at been cashed on Dec. 26 and cleared the next day. An image of the check provided by Wells Fargo showed a signature that didn’t belong to the victim. He told deputies he believed it was forged.
Jan. 24
Petty theft: 1000 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. An employee of a store told deputies he was working an evening shift when a man walked in and cashed in some lottery tickets. Only after the man had left the store lot in a blue car did the employee notice an unknown number of other lottery tickets were missing. Surveillance footage of the incident showed a bald white male adult in his 30s wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts enter the store while the employee was in the back. He reached over the counter and grabbed lottery tickets before leaving.
Battery: 500 block of Foothill Boulevard., La Cañada. A man told deputies he was seated at a bank employee’s desk at around 3 p.m. when a process server approached him and inquired after his identity. When the man identified himself, the server threw an envelope at his chest and left the bank. The labeled envelope contained five pieces of paper and did not injure the recipient.
Petty theft: 700 block of Inverness Drive, La Cañada. A woman told deputies her friend had left a pot of soup outside her front gate at around 2:44 p.m., texting her a picture of the package. When she returned home at around 6 p.m., the soup was missing.
Theft by access card: 1600 block of Orange Tree Lane, La Cañada. A man who’d lost his wallet in Eagle Rock in early January and already canceled and replaced his credit cards said he received a phone call from a bank representative asking about potentially fraudulent purchases made on Dec. 16 and 17. The unauthorized charges include a Dec. 16 transaction at a store in Pacoima, a Dec. 17 payment to a technology company that provides phone services for California prisoners and another payment on the same day to an online service that transfers digital photos to print and delivers them to prisoners.
Attempted burglary, residence: 800 block of Greenridge Drive, La Cañada. A man said he and his wife were at home that day at around 8:58 p.m. when his wife reported hearing a noise near the front of the home. Footage from their Ring video doorbell showed a man wearing a mask running from the bushes by their driveway and through the frontyard. The suspect met a second man at the corner of the property and together they climbed down a hillside toward a neighbor’s house. The first man appeared to have a slim build and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with white sleeves and a black mask. The second suspect, also slim, appeared to be wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black mask and white gloves. Deputies believed they were chased off by the Ring system’s automatic flood lights.
Burglary, residence: 4200 block of Chula Senda Lane, La Cañada. A man left home with his family at around 6:30 p.m. that day. When they returned at around 10 p.m. they discovered the sliding glass door of a rear bedroom had been smashed. Several rooms had been ransacked, and the victim reported cash (amount redacted), his wife’s wedding ring and several other pieces of jewelry missing. Deputies observed a jewelry storage pad and a gold ring by the shattered glass door that the victim said had belonged to his grandmother. A neighbor said while waiting for a friend at around 9:30 p.m., she’d seen a white sedan across the street with its lights off and engine running take off northbound on Chula Senda.
Compiled from reports on file at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station.