Monrovia Police: Resident Locks Burglary Suspect in Garage; IRS Scam Hits Restaurant; Robber Uses Hot Coffee in Getaway; And So Forth...

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for May 5-12. - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 325 service events, resulting in 50 investigations.

Domestic Violence – Suspect Wanted
May 6 at 7:32 p.m., officers responded to the intersection of Duarte and Mayflower regarding a report of domestic violence. The investigation revealed that a married couple that live in El Monte were driving through Monrovia and became involved in an argument. The husband parked the vehicle and the argument moved out onto the sidewalk. The male suspect then forcefully pulled the wife's purse from around her torso, causing her to violently fall onto the street. The wife sustained multiple visible injuries from the fall. The suspect took his wife's cell phone and fled on foot. The suspect was identified and is currently wanted by the Monrovia Police Department. This investigation is continuing.

Grand Theft
May 7 at 8:19 a.m., a grand theft incident was reported in the 1400 block of S. Shamrock. The victim had parked his vehicle on the street, and when he returned to it the next morning, he discovered the catalytic converter had been stolen from the undercarriage of his vehicle. This investigation is continuing.

Possession of a Controlled Substance – Suspect Arrested
May 7 at 7:51 p.m., an officer on patrol near the intersection of Peck and Duarte observed a bicyclist committing a vehicle code violation. A traffic stop was conducted and further investigation revealed the subject was in possession of a controlled substance. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Grand Theft Auto
May 7 at 7:54 p.m., a vehicle was reported stolen from a business in the 1300 block of S. Mountain. The caller reported that one of their rental vehicles had been stolen from a back lot. The vehicle was entered into the law enforcement stolen vehicle system. This investigation is continuing.

Trespassing
May 8 at 2:15 p.m., officers responded to a residence in the 300 block of W. Palm regarding an intoxicated person trespassing on a property. The subject had already been advised they were not allowed on the property. Officers checked the area, but the subject had already left. This investigation is continuing.

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – Suspect Arrested
May 9 at 12:32 p.m., an officer was on patrol in the 100 block of W. Colorado when he saw a suspicious male subject standing next to a vehicle. Investigation revealed the vehicle belonged to the subject, and there was drug paraphernalia sitting in plain view that had been used to smoke a controlled substance. Further investigation revealed the suspect was also on probation. The suspect was arrested.

Residential Burglary – Suspect Arrested
May 9 at 9:09 p.m., a resident from the 1600 block of S. Mayflower called police to report a male suspect that had entered her open garage and was currently attempting to break into her vehicle. The resident remotely closed the garage door, locking the suspect inside. When the officers arrived, they found the suspect hiding inside the vehicle in the garage. The suspect was arrested for residential burglary.

Fraud – Suspect Arrested
May 10 at 10:38 a.m., an officer was patrolling the 800 block of S. Mayflower when he saw a motorist commit a traffic violation. After stopping the vehicle, the officer discovered the driver was in possession of several California Driver’s Licenses, Social Security cards, credit cards, and personal identifying information belonging to other people. The suspect was subsequently arrested for fraud.

Vehicle Burglary
May 10 at 7:32 p.m., officers responded to a business in the 500 block of W. Huntington regarding a vehicle burglary. The victim parked her vehicle in a parking lot and entered a store. When she returned, her vehicle window had been smashed and her purse was missing from the vehicle. This investigation is continuing.

Mental Evaluation
May 10 at 8:11 p.m., officers responded to the 500 block of W. Lime regarding a family disturbance. A neighbor called police and reported a woman yelling and dishes being broken. Officers arrived and discovered a mother and daughter having a dispute at the location. During the argument, the daughter grabbed some pieces of the broken dishes and started cutting herself. It was determined the daughter needed to be evaluated by a mental health professional. She was taken to a local facility, where she was held for mental evaluation.

Fraud
May 10 at 10:14 p.m., an officer responded to a fast food restaurant in the 600 block of W. Huntington regarding a report of fraud. The General Manager received a call from employees telling him the new store manager took all the money from the store and left for a short time, but then returned. The manager told the employees he had to make a payment. Officers arrived and detained the store manager. Further investigation revealed the manager received an IRS phone call scam stating the restaurant owed taxes. The manger was asked to purchase gift cards from CVS and give the caller the numbers. The manager went to CVS, purchased the gift cards, and provided the caller with the card numbers. Officers were able to confirm the manager's story. This investigation is continuing.

Robbery
May 11 at 7:09 a.m., a customer of a gas station store in the 700 block of W. Huntington reported a female subject had just attempted to shoplift food merchandise from the store. The suspect and employee were outside the store in a struggle over the property. The suspect then threw hot coffee she had stolen at the employee, which allowed her to escape. The employee was able to recover the other packaged food the suspect had stolen. Officers arrived, but were unable to locate the suspect. This investigation is continuing.

Injury Traffic Collision
May 11 at 9:38 a.m., a traffic collision was reported at the intersection of Myrtle and Evergreen, where one of the vehicles had rolled onto its side. Officers arrived and found one of the drivers had complaint of pain to his shoulder with no visible injuries. He was treated by paramedics. The driver who ran the red light was issued a citation.

Commercial Burglary
May 11 at 3:30 p.m., the property management company of an apartment complex in the 800 block of W. Duarte reported that they had just discovered someone had forced entry into their locked laundry room and took money from the facilities. Officers arrived and conducted an investigation. This investigation is continuing.

Public Intoxication – Suspect Arrested
May 11 at 3:37 p.m., police received a call reporting a heavily intoxicated male subject in a parking lot of a gas station in the 1500 block of S. Myrtle. Officers arrived and contacted the subject, who was determined to be too intoxicated to care for his own personal safety. He was arrested and held for a sobering period.

Theft From a Vehicle
May 12 at 8:22 a.m., a resident in the 300 block of E. Greystone walked outside his home to go to work and discovered someone had ransacked the inside of his vehicle, which had been left unlocked. Personal property was stolen from inside the vehicle. This investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary
May 12 at 8:56 a.m., a resident in the 900 block of W. Olive discovered that someone had forced entry into her locked vehicle and stolen personal items from inside. This occurred sometime during the night. This investigation is continuing.

Vandalism
May 12 at 10:33 a.m., an officer was patrolling the 1500 block of S. Mayflower when he saw new gang related graffiti spray painted under the 210 Freeway bridge. No suspects were located. Athens was contacted to remove the graffiti.

Theft
May 12 at 2:32 p.m., an officer was patrolling the parking lot of a hardware store in the 1600 block of S. Mountain when he was stopped by a customer who reported that while he was shopping, someone entered his unlocked vehicle and took his tools. This investigation is continuing.

Theft
May 12 at 5:39 p.m., a resident in the 600 block of W. Foothill parked outside her home and left her vehicle unlocked. She was inside her home for approximately five minutes. When she returned to her vehicle, she noticed someone had entered and took her purse. This investigation is continuing.

Stolen Vehicle Recovered
May 12 at 9:48 p.m., officers responded to a hotel in the 700 block of W. Huntington regarding a suspicious vehicle parked in the parking lot. Investigation revealed the vehicle was a stolen rental car. The vehicle was recovered and removed from the law enforcement stolen vehicle system. This investigation is continuing.