Crime Report: Burglar who turned on bedroom TV vanishes before victim opens door to investigate

March 19

Forgery: 2400 block of Rockdell Street, La Crescenta. A woman reported a check she dropped in a mailbox on March 6 never reached its intended recipient. On investigating, she learned from the financial institution on which the check was drawn that someone had cashed it on March 11, but she was not provided any more details about the transaction. She was advised to make a police report.

Attempted theft by false pretense: 4800 block of Viro Road, La Cañada. A man reported that someone hacked his email and then contacted his bank to request that funds be transferred from his account to another. The request was flagged, and on March 18 the man was notified of the attempt by his bank.

March 20

Burglary: 500 block of Georgian Road, La Cañada. As reported in the Valley Sun last week, a family returned home at around 9:30 p.m. to see a burglar jump down off the roof of their rear porch. Two people dressed in dark clothes were then seen escaping the scene via a white SUV. Taken were an iPhone XS Max and 50 miscellaneous pieces of jewelry.

March 21

Grand theft: 900 block of Town Center Drive, La Cañada. On the morning of March 16 a store official was approached by an informant who told him an alarm had been triggered the previous night at the store’s emergency fire exit. Surveillance footage shows a man leaving the store at about 9:55 p.m. March 15 toting several high-end merchandise items including two smart watches, two Google wireless routers and two Dyson vacuum cleaners, among other goods. The suspect is described as a white male in his 20s, 5 feet 7, about 160 to 185 pounds, wearing a dark jacket, dark jeans and white tennis shoes.

March 22

Identity theft: 4400 block of Rockland Place, La Cañada. Two separate reports were filed from the same address, the first regarding someone fraudulently using a resident’s credit card to make fraudulent transactions on March 11 and the second detailing the fraudulent use of a resident’s debit card on March 22 to make several transactions in New Jersey.

Burglary: 600 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A store official reported that a man entered the store and asked a clerk to see a white leather Valentino handbag that was in a security case. After it was handed to him, he carried it around with him, appearing to shop for other items. He then took off without paying for the purse.

Forgery: 5400 block of La Crescenta Avenue, La Crescenta. On reviewing his bank account online, a man discovered someone had written and signed his name to several checks, then cashed them. The checks had been made out to his son, with whom he has not been in contact for several months.

Theft by access card: 2200 block of Waltonia Avenue, Montrose. A woman reported that on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 she found packages at her front door that contained items she had not ordered. She searched her bank statements online to determine what credit card was being used for those fraudulent purchases and she identified one card that had been used for both.

Burglary: 5300 block of Harter Lane, La Cañada. A woman reported that when she returned home at about 3:15 p.m. on March 19 a TV could be heard operating in the upstairs master bedroom. She went upstairs and found the door to that room closed. She opened it to find no one inside. She told an investigating deputy that she checked all the windows and doors and found everything secured except the door that leads from the residence to the garage, which is customarily kept unlocked, and the master bathroom window, which is always left open. A storage room that has no direct access into the home was found unlocked by the deputy, who noted the window blinds inside it had been disturbed. One of the home’s window screens was also found damaged. Missing from the property were pieces of jewelry, currency and a Nintendo Switch gaming system.

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