La Cañada Crime: Two iPhones stolen from Apple store, safe stolen in home burglary

La Cañada

Feb. 25

Petty theft from vehicle: 5700 block of Evening Canyon Drive. A man had left his vehicle unlocked around 5:15 p.m. and returned at 7 p.m. to find the front driver’s side door ajar and the interior dome light on. He noticed items strewn throughout the vehicle, suggesting the compartments had been rifled through, and took an inventory of missing items. Gone were his navigation system, two messenger bags and a restaurant gift card. Police noticed no signs of damage or forced entry, surmising the suspect had simply opened the unlocked door.

Feb. 27

Burglary, residential: 4800 block of Ocean View Boulevard. A woman went to remove cash from a safe in her bedroom at about 6:30 p.m. when she noticed the safe was gone. The victim last remembered seeing the safe two days earlier, when she put some money into it. Although the woman reported keeping all doors and windows locked, police found no evidence of forced entry. Neighbors reported seeing nothing suspicious, and there were no surveillance cameras were identified. Fingerprint testing was ordered.

Feb. 28

Grand theft from vehicle, unauthorized use of credit card and personal information: 1900 block of Foothill Boulevard. At approximately 4 p.m. a woman returned to her vehicle and discovered property was missing. She was not sure if she had locked her vehicle, and there were no signs of forced entry. Among the stolen items were a purse, containing a driver’s license and credit cards as well as a money bag, and another bag containing school supplies. When the victim later called her credit company, she was informed her card had been used in two locations.

Burglary of a vehicle: 1900 block of Verdugo Road. A woman contacted police after returning from a movie at about 4:30 p.m. to find items had been stolen from her unlocked car, including the vehicle’s entire third row seat. Also missing were two children’s backpacks and an iPad. The victim was unable to provide police with the iPad’s serial number but promised to contact detectives with the information. No signs of forced entry were apparent, and the vehicle had no surveillance.

March 1

Grand theft of a business: 800 block of Foothill Boulevard. Police responded at about 2:30 p.m. to a theft call from the AT&T; wireless store stating that a white male in his 20s had stolen two Apple iPhones on display in the store. The suspect fled the store when cords on the phones triggered an alarm bell. He ran onto Foothill Boulevard and out of sight. The police put out a call to units in the area, providing a physical description, but no suspect was located. Security camera footage showed the man entering at 2:17 p.m. and pacing near the display phones before exiting the store.

March 2

Identity theft: 5400 Godbey Drive. A woman came to the sheriff’s station saying she’d received a letter regarding suspicious activity on a credit card for which she had not applied. The victim opened a fraud report and ordered a credit monitoring service that discovered more fraudulent activity, of which she had no knowledge.

March 2

Vandalism: 300 block of Meadow Grove Street. A resident contacted police to report that his driveway gate had been forced open and suspect(s) had strewn toilet paper across two trees in his front yard. They had also thrown tortillas and plastic spoons on the front lawn, along with strewn rice spelling out “LCHSF,” which the victim said he believed referred to “La Cañada High School Football.” A surveillance camera caught four males in hooded sweatshirts open the victim’s gate and TP the trees. He could not see what vehicle they were driving. The driveway gate motor had been damaged and was non-operable.

La Crescenta

Feb. 25

Identity theft: 2800 block of Willowhaven Drive. A woman called police after receiving an email stating she’d activated a line of credit at a store she had not been to. When the victim called the company, an employee explained the credit card had been applied for on Feb. 16, but could only provide a partial number and no name. The account was closed. When the victim researched her credit history, more fraudulent activity was discovered, all occurring on Feb. 16. The suspect applied for one card and received a free phone for having “outstanding credit.” Another application was thwarted when the suspect couldn’t answer the security question, and a third attempt was denied outright. The victim put out a fraud alert on her social security number and identity.

March 1

Attempted residential burglary: 4800 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. A man left his residence to run an errand at about 1:30 p.m and returned at 6 p.m. to find a hole in the kitchen window. Outside, a gardening tool was on a patio table right by the window. The 2-inch hole was the approximate size of the gardening tool, which police booked into evidence at the Crescenta Valley Station. Neighbors reported being home but seeing nothing. Police noticed the backyard was bordered by the flood control wash, which has pedestrian access to the north and south.

Identity theft, mail theft: 3300 block of Foothill Boulevard. On Feb. 15 a man received a call notifying him of fraudulent activity on his credit card and suggesting he contact police. At about the same time, the victim realized he’d not received mail at his home for the past several weeks. He called the post office and a manager notified him that mail had been delivered until a Feb. 18 “hold mail” request was requested by another man, allowing that person to pick up the victim’s mail at a post office location. The police went to the post office but were not allowed to view security camera footage that could have provided a visual identity of the suspect. The officer put out a check for the name, but received no additional information.

Montrose

Feb. 25

Identity theft: 3000 block of Rosemont Avenue. A woman called police with an identity theft report after receiving a credit card in the mail on Feb. 21. She contacted the fraud department, which immediately closed the account and referred her to police. That same day, the victim received another letter thanking her for applying for a credit card on Feb. 16, the same day as the other card, but asking for more information. The victim closed that account and purchased an identity protection service before contacting police.

Feb. 27.

Identity theft: 2200 block of Montrose Avenue. A man reported that upon checking his credit report, he noticed two accounts were in default — accounts he had no previous knowledge of. One account was opened in 2007 and closed July 2010. The other was opened October 2013 and closed that December. Both had outstanding amounts. The victim notified all credit bureaus involved.

Compiled by Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com