Crime Report: 2 men with sledgehammer break cases, steal iPhones from busy store

Dec. 17

Petty theft: 4500 block of Rockland Place. Sometime between 9 a.m. Dec. 16 and 9 a.m. Dec. 17, someone stole a 2019 vehicle registration sticker, registration papers, a vehicle key and miscellaneous change from a 1965 VW Beetle that had been left parked unlocked and with the key in the ignition, at the victim’s home. The theft was first uncovered when a Leir Drive resident reported finding multiple vehicle registrations (2016, 2018 and 2019) for the VW while he was on a walk with his dog.

Dec. 18

Identity theft: 4400 block of Commonwealth Avenue. A woman reported receiving notices in the mail Dec. 17 that credit cards she had not requested had been ordered in her name, using her personal identification.

Identity theft: 5300 block of Godbey Drive. Someone fraudulently used the male victim’s personal identification information to open credit cards in his name.

Burglary, vehicle: 4200 block of Oakwood Avenue. While a work crew was tending to tasks along the horse trail, someone broke into lock boxes on their truck parked on Oakwood and stole three chainsaws and a blower. The theft occurred sometime between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.

Dec. 19

Petty theft: 400 block of Foothill Boulevard. A mesh-type backpack containing an iPad and iPad case with keyboard was stolen from a fast food restaurant when it was left momentarily unattended. Video surveillance tape showed the victim moving from his original table to another at about 1:30 p.m. that day. Two small children went over to the backpack, picked it up and took it to a white male adult who was seated at another table. The suspect then left the location with the bag, accompanied by the children and a woman.

Burglary, business: T-Mobile store, 506 Foothill Blvd. Two black males who appeared to be in their 20s, wearing gray hooded sweaters, walked into the business at 5:20 p.m. One of them pulled a sledgehammer out of his pants and began breaking some cellphone display holders. The two men then grabbed 4 iPhones and exited the store. A witness saw them get into a dark-colored vehicle that sped south on Gould Avenue and out of view.

Dec. 20

Identity theft: 800 block of Foothill Bouelvard: A man visiting the AT&T store to add a phone line to his account learned that someone on March 1 had used his personal identification to open another account in his name, with four lines, and had purchased four phones. That account had been terminated for failure to pay.

Identity theft: 3700 block of Normandy Drive. A man learned via a text message and emails that someone had used his personal identification to obtain cellphone services and access his credit card accounts.

Burglary, residential: 4200 block of Beulah Drive: At 7:10 p.m., deputies responding to an audible alarm discovered someone smashed a glass window on a door and damaged an alarm key pad. A ladder was found propped up against the rear second-floor balcony and bedrooms, including the master, were ransacked.The homeowner was on vacation at the time so it was not immediately clear what might have been taken.

Dec. 22

Forgery of completed checks: Foothill Boulevard at Vineta Avenue. A man reported he learned on Dec. 21 from his bank that two checks he’d mailed Dec. 1 from a U.S. Postal Service box at the corner of Foothill and Vineta had been altered to be made out to an individual he does not know. The checks had originally been made out to the tax assessors of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties, respectively. He was advised by Bank of America to close that account and file a fraud report.