Crime Report: La Cañada home ransacked while its owner was hospitalized
May 21
Forgery, identity theft: 2400 block of Prospect Avenue, La Crescenta: A man checking his bank account discovered someone had fraudulently signed and cashed a check against his account.
Burglary: 800 block of Chehalem Road, La Cañada. A person looking after the property while its owner was being treated in the hospital reported that sometime between 4:30 p.m. May 20 and 11:30 a.m. May 21 someone shattered a rear door window and ransacked the home’s bedrooms and closets. It was unknown at the time of the report what might have been stolen.
Burglary: 2800 block of Willowhaven Drive, La Crescenta. A woman reported she’d left her home at 6 a.m. that day, securing it and turning on the alarm system before she went out. Shortly after 1 p.m. she was contacted by her alarm company advising her of the activation of a motion sensor inside the house. Checking her surveillance camera via her cellphone, she saw a male walking out the front door holding in his right hand what appeared to her to be a gun. Investigating deputies looking at footage shot by exterior cameras at the home saw a silver Nissan sedan parking near the home and two males wearing hoods and dark clothing approaching the rear patio area of the home. They can be seen looking through sliding glass doors before shattering one of them. When they exit via the front door, one of them is carrying a pillow case full of items. Both suspects climb into the backseat of the Nissan, which is driven out of view.
May 22
Petty theft: 4600 block of Crown Avenue, La Cañada. Sometime between midnight and 7:50 a.m. someone stole four iPhone chargers, two DVDs, a bottle of prescription medicine and a pair of Apple headphones from a 2012 Toyota Sienna that had been left parked unlocked in the driveway. The woman reporting the crime said she’s seen a white male in his 40s, possibly a transient, frequenting her property.
May 23
Grand theft, shoplifting: 900 block of Town Center Drive, La Cañada. Surveillance video footage shows a white male, 6 feet tall and 170 pounds, about 30 to 40 years old carrying two vacuum cleaners, one a Dyson and the other an iRobot Roomba, out an emergency door at 10:46 a.m. Security was alerted to the theft when an alarm at the door sounded.
Theft by access card, identity theft: 1000 block of Lavender Lane. Someone using the victim’s identity and Chase Bank credit card purchased a Rolex watch online on Feb. 25 and picked it up at the La Cañada Fed/Ex office after it was rerouted there when the victim wasn’t home to accept the delivery.
Burglary, locker: 1900 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A man reported someone took his iPhone and wallet containing his driver’s license, a credit card, a debit card and currency out of his gym bag, which he’d left in a locker that had been secured with his own lock while he worked out between 2 and 4:30 p.m. His credit card was used to purchase gas at the 76 station on Foothill at Angeles Crest Highway and someone unsuccessfully tried to complete a cash advance from the La Cañada Chase Bank and a purchase at another (name redacted) business. They were more successful at the Chase Bank’s ATM, where they made a withdrawal, likely using the PIN number the victim had attached to the back of his card.
Burglary, vehicle: 1800 block of Foothill Boulevard, La Cañada. A handbag containing a wallet with driver’s license, three credit cards, three gift cards and currency were stolen sometime between 5:50 and 6:20 p.m. from a locked 2010 Mercedes Benz SUV that had been left locked in a parking lot. The passenger front door window had been shattered.
May 26
Petty theft: 2100 block of Crescent Avenue, La Crescenta. Sometime between 6 p.m. May 25 and 11 a.m. May 26 someone entered an unlocked 2013 Kia Sorrento that had been left parked at the rear of a home and ransacked it. The Kia’s owner couldn’t immediately say if anything had been stolen.
Compiled from reports filed at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station.