Monrovia Police: Thief Locks Himself Out of His Getaway Car; Intoxication; Telephone Scams

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for April 17-19. - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 404 service events, resulting in 78 investigations.

Parole Warrant – Suspect Arrested
April 17 at 9:09 a.m., a male subject was reported loitering on a property in the 500 block of S. Mountain. Officers arrived and a computer check of the subject revealed he had an outstanding parole warrant for his arrest. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody.

Injury Traffic Collision
April 17 at 10:26 a.m., an officer was dispatched to an injury traffic collision involving a commercial dump truck that was traveling east on Walnut and failed to maneuver a slight turn at California Avenue, clipping a fire hydrant. The water from the hydrant went into the Edison power lines, causing intermittent power outages in the area. Southern California Edison responded to evaluate the lines and the Monrovia Fire Department shut off the hydrant.

Traffic Collision / Driving Under the Influence – Suspect Arrested
April 18 at 3:00 p.m., a traffic collision was reported at Mountain and Royal Oaks. The driver attempted to make a turn onto Royal Oaks and struck a vehicle, then hit the center median and came to a rest. The investigation revealed the driver to be under the influence of some type of intoxicant, possibly an inhalant. He was arrested and held for a sobering period. He was later released with a citation to appear in court on the charges.

Petty Theft
April 18 at 8:54 p.m., a theft of merchandise was reported at a business in the 1600 block of S. Mountain. A male suspect took two leaf blowers and ran out the garden area of the store to the parking lot. The suspect attempted to get into a white Saturn with no license plates, when he realized he left the keys in the ignition and locked the doors before he entered the store. He dropped the leaf blowers and ran through the parking lot, out of sight. Officers searched for the suspect, but he was not located. The suspect’s vehicle was impounded. Later, the suspect called the business and asked for his vehicle back, but was told it was impounded by the police. The suspect was found to be on probation for theft and he refused to come to the police station for an interview. The investigation is continuing.

Telephone Scams
April 19 at 10:53 a.m., telephone scams were reported to police by two separate victims. The first victim received a phone call from a male suspect demanding money. The suspect told the victim he had his mother and if the money was not received, his mother would be harmed. The victim could hear an elderly female voice in the background, asking for help. The victim believed what the caller was telling him, and in fear for his mother’s safety, he drove to his bank to withdraw money. A coworker of the victim called police to report the incident and an officer responded to the bank. The officer arrived and contacted the victim as he was walking into the bank. The investigation determined that the phone call was a scam.

At 12:22 p.m., a second victim came into the police station to report another telephone scam. The suspect in this incident pretended to be a relative of the victim in need of money to get out of trouble. The victim in this incident realized the phone call was a scam and hung up the phone. She reported the incident so others would be aware.