Crime Blotter - July 20, 2011

Area 1: 2400 block of Olive Avenue: La Crescenta resident Marisa Romasanta Yance, 49, was arrested at 12:20 p.m. on July 11 on suspicion of possessing crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. A deputy contacted Yance at the front door of her home regarding two outstanding warrants and asked if she had any drugs on her. Yance admitted to having “dope” in her home. A search turned up two small plastic bags that contained rock cocaine, numerous charred pieces of steel wool and several glass pipes, including one with a steel wool filter commonly used to secure drugs in a pipe. Yance had a fourth pipe in her pocket.

Area 2

1600 block of Foothill Boulevard: Montrose resident Christopher Antonia Rios, 22, was arrested at 2:30 a.m. on July 16 on suspicion of reckless driving and driving with a suspended license. A deputy on patrol spotted Rios’ car exiting the 2 Freeway to travel westbound on Foothill and heard the car’s engine rev and tires screech as they lost traction. The deputy began to follow the driver, who had accelerated to 95 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone and was weaving in and out of traffic. The car pulled over shortly after making a hard left turn onto Briggs Avenue and after the deputy activated his lights and siren. Three passengers in the car appeared to be drunk, and Rios said he was their designated driver. Field sobriety tests showed Rios was not driving under influence. Rios claimed to be 17 and in a hurry to avoid breaking curfew, but his suspended driver’s license listed his age as 22.

4700 block of Hampton Road: A Garmin GPS navigation device and its charger were stolen from a 2009 Chevrolet Impala sometime between 10 p.m. on July 14 and 9 a.m. the next day. The front driver’s-side window was smashed. The GPS and charger were valued at $215, the broken window at $400. Although the GPS was taken, the victim’s purse and iPhone were left on the driver’s seat.

5400 block of Arroyo Summit Drive: Deputies responding to a residential burglary alarm at 12:18 p.m. on July 14 found the home’s front door pried open and glass door panels smashed. Nothing in the home appeared to be disturbed except a chest of drawers in an upstairs bedroom, and the homeowner did not notice any property missing. Damage to the home was estimated at $1,120.

Area 3

4000 block of Chevy Chase Drive: More than $900 worth of building materials was stolen from a home under construction sometime after 5 p.m. on July 16 and before 7 a.m. July 18. Plywood securing the garage and a door leading from the garage to the house had been pried open. Lost property included 15 boxes of ceramic tiles, valued at $800, and $120 worth of tile adhesive. Damage to the door was estimated at $300.

3800 block of Chevy Chase Drive: Charter Cable reported the theft of batteries and a power inverter from a locked cable TV power supply unit at 4:30 a.m. on July 12. The removal of the battery and inverter caused an immediate cable outage. The stolen batteries were valued at $540 and the inverter at $850. At 10:30 p.m. the day before, similar equipment valued at a total of more than $2,100 was stolen from a unit on the 2500 block of Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta.