Crime Report: Safe pried open, jewelry stolen from home; Homeowner attacked during robbery

La Cañada Flintridge

Aug. 19

Burglary, residence: 3800 block of Hampstead Road. A woman reported that sometime between 8:05 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day, someone entered her home and stole several pieces of jewelry.

Deputies observed two patio umbrellas had been tipped over to block the view of the front door from the street. The front door had been pried open and another door was broken and splintered.

A medium-sized safe, which had been removed from the victim’s master bedroom walk-in closet, sat just inside the front door. It had been pried open, and its contents were scattered around on the floor beside where it sat.

Two guest bedrooms had also been ransacked, and jewelry boxes were found on the bed of the master bedroom. A gold necklace with a topaz pendant, a white gold ring containing three pearls and three diamonds, in addition to several pieces of costume jewelry were reported stolen.

Aug. 20

Robbery, strong arm: 4800 block of Castle Road. A woman returned home at around 9:10 p.m. after a night out with three of her children. On a multiresident easement where her house is located, she saw a white hatchback car parked and facing east. When she opened the front door, she heard loud thumping noises coming from the rear of the house. As she approached the rear of the house, she saw a 6-foot-tall man in his 20s, appearing to weigh about 180 to 195 pounds and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, black baseball cap and khaki pants. He was accompanied by another man in his 20s, of the same height and build, who was wearing a white T-shirt, who stood by some French doors.

The men ran out the back doors, and the homeowner ran to the front to confront them. The first man jumped and kicked the victim in the chest, causing her to fall and injure her knees, elbows and hands. Both men got into the white vehicle, which was driven south on Castle Road and out of view.

In a walk-through, deputies noticed the French door had been shattered and a fallen patio chair lay by the door, possibly used to break the glass. All three bedrooms had been ransacked, and a mobile safe containing the family’s dual passports and miscellaneous documents had been stolen.

The suspects left a leather glove, which was hanging from a doorknob, to avoid leaving fingerprints. The rear door was determined to be the point of entry and exit, as all other doors and windows were secured.

The victim told deputies she believes other items may have been missing.

Aug. 21

Identity theft: 4300 Belair Drive. A woman told deputies sometime between May and August, someone had used her information to open a Visa credit card account and file tax returns for California and Indiana.

On May 5, she received the Visa card in the mail and immediately canceled it. Three weeks later, she received a tax refund check she and her husband never filed for. On Aug. 4, she got a letter from the state of Indiana notifying her of inaccurate information. When she called the California State Tax Board, she was told there was a filing in her name, but she could not obtain the person’s personal information.

Aug. 24

Burglary, vehicle: 1200 Pequeña Lane. A man reported that sometime between 3 p.m. the day before and 4 p.m. that day, someone entered his locked 2013 GMC Yukon while it was parked in his driveway and stole the third-row seat from inside. The apparent point of entry was the vehicle’s rear hatch window, as evidenced by a damaged window latch that appeared to have been pried open.

Attempted burglary, vehicle:3800 Hampstead Road. A woman told deputies that between 7 p.m. Friday and noon that day, someone had attempted to enter her locked 1998 Lexus LS400 while it was parked in her driveway. The attempted point of entry was the front passenger side door, which had a damaged rubber door seal. A deputy observed the damage was consistent with that made by a “slim Jim” type tool. Nothing had been taken. A surveillance camera was located in the area, and fingerprints were found on the top edge of the front passenger window.

La Crescenta

Aug. 24

Burglary, vehicle: 4400 block of Sharon Avenue. A woman reported that sometime between 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. that day, someone entered her locked 2010 Honda Civic while it was parked in her driveway and stole a Garmin GPS unit, a digital tire pressure gauge and a USB car charger from the center console and glove compartment. Deputies could not determine the point of entry or exit, as all the vehicle’s doors were closed and undisturbed.