Crime Report: Wedding rings, gold bar stolen in daytime house burglary

April 3

Petty thefts: 900 block of Town Center Drive, La Cañada. Two separate incidents were reported on April 3. In the first case, a man reportedly walked into the store shortly before 7 p.m. on March 27, picked up bananas in the produce area, moved through the store to another department where he took a Nest security camera from its display shelf, removed its security wrappings and placed it in his shopping cart. Then he returned to the produce section, where he picked up two potatoes. Using the self check-out aisle, he paid for the bananas and potatoes but not the security camera. No further description of the suspect was noted in the report. On March 30, at 11:34 a.m. a black woman using the self check-out aisle scanned the UPC codes from less expensive goods to purchase some more costly toy items and girls’ clothing.

Vandalism: 700 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. Sometime between 9 and 10 a.m. on April 3, someone shattered the driver’s side window and damaged the side mirror of a 2004 Lexus RX350 that a woman had left parked in a lot near her workplace. She reported that she’d recently found stickers left on her SUV several times that had handwritten notes saying she could not park in that lot because it was reserved for customers. She believed she was being singled out, because none of her co-workers who park in the same lot have received the notices. She further believes the son of the property owner could be behind the stickers.

April 4

Vehicle burglary: 200 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada Sometime between 2 and 5:30 p.m. a 2010 Toyota Corolla that had been left parked on the third level of a school’s parking garage was broken into via a shattered front passenger window. Taken were a backpack, wallet with driver’s license and cash, an iPad, Texas Instruments calculator and a lunch container. A witness said he’d heard a loud crashing noise at about 3:40 p.m. that day, climbed the garage’s staircase and saw a blue car with loud exhaust driving off at a high rate of speed. Video footage shows the car he’d seen was a light blue Scion, 2005-2010 model, with a dark tinted window.

April 5

Grand theft: 2900 block of Community Avenue, La Crescenta. A high school student reported that someone took his laptop and charging cable from his unlocked gym locker while he as taking a PE class that afternoon.

Burglary: 4500 block of Littleton Place, La Cañada. A master bedroom was ransacked sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Taken were two women’s wedding rings, both with diamond baguettes; a men’s wedding ring, also with diamond baguettes; a Credit Suisse 2-ounce gold bar and a pair of gold earrings. More items might also have been taken, but the victim couldn’t immediately say what else was missing. He said he first learned things might be amiss when, sometime after he returned home that day and spent time in the kitchen enjoying lunch, he found a note on his front door from a sheriff’s deputy alerting him that a possible trespasser had been seen at the property, and that a window and a door were open. According to the report, a witness patronizing a nearby business saw a black adult female, wearing a black jacket and black pants, jump over a fence at the location.

April 6

Petty theft from unlocked car: 5200 block of Escalante Drive, La Cañada. A man who left his 2008 Lexus SUV parked in the driveway of his home at about 6:30 p.m. on April 5 reported that on the morning of April 6 he received an alert from American Express about a fraudulent charge to his account. He went out to his SUV to retrieve his wallet, which he’d left in a pocket on the side door. His Am/Ex card, a Visa card and cash had been removed from it. He later learned charges had been attempted at a McDonald’s and at a Food 4 Less store.

Burglary, vehicle: 4300 block of Alta Canyada Road, La Cañada. A woman who locked her 2018 VW Jetta when she parked it on her driveway at about 8 p.m. on April 5 discovered at 9:15 a.m. April 6 that someone had shattered its driver’s side window and stolen a brown leather organizer from inside the car.

Burglary, vehicle: 2900 block of Paraiso Way, La Crescenta. A woman who parked and locked her 2017 Kia Sportage at about 8 p.m. on April 5 returned to it at 9 a.m. April 6 to discover several items missing from it: a laptop, a computer bag, a gym bag, pink sneakers, miscellaneous gym clothing and the Kia’s vehicle manual. There were no signs of forced entry.

April 7

Mail theft: 1300 block of Verdugo Boulevard, La Cañada. A woman reported that pieces of mail were stolen from her mailbox on three separate occasions since March 22.

Strong-arm robbery: Montrose Avenue at Mira Vista Avenue, Montrose. A woman reported on April 7 that between 9:30 and 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27 she’d been the victim of a strong-arm robbery. She recounted that on that night she had been walking along Montrose Avenue, crossing at Mira Vista, when she saw a car, an older Kia, traveling east on that street. She waved the driver through, but the car stopped, a man exited it through a rear passenger door and grabbed for her purse. She said she held the purse tightly and asked what he wanted. He told her she wanted her money and then, she said, he punched her in the face. Her purse fell to the ground, the man grabbed her cash, shoved her toward the corner of the two streets and got back into the car, which was then driven southeast on Montrose Avenue and out of view. The woman, who had fallen to the ground in the scuffle, reported that she blacked out for a time. She was then offered assistance by a couple of good Samaritans who gave her a ride home. She said she didn’t want to immediately go to the hospital, nor did she call 911 to report the crime, because she was scheduled to get on a flight out of town later that night. She said she took pictures of her injuries at that time, which she showed to the deputy taking the April 7 report. She said that when she returned from her trip she went to Huntington Memorial Hospital for treatment, self-admitting to the “psych” ward. When asked why, she said she was going through a lot of things, including a divorce. Asked by the sheriff’s deputy if the man she was divorcing caused the injuries, she said no. The man who attacked her, she said, was white, in his 30s, with facial hair, wearing a white hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled to cover most of his face. When asked if she would want to pursue prosecution of her attacker, she declined due to fear of retaliation.