Monrovia Police: Driver Hits Tree, Runs Off; Gunpoint Robbery; They Arrest Each Other; Thefts from Vehicles; Thief Trades Purse for His Cell Phone; Auto Thief Suspect Arrested Using 'Find My' App

[Monrovia Police activities from the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Report for December 17-23. - Brad Haugaard]

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 300 service events, resulting in 67 investigations. 

Hit & Run Traffic Collision
December 17 at 8:24 a.m., a caller reported a driver exited the 210 freeway at Huntington, and collided into a tree in a restaurant parking lot across the street from the exit. The driver abandoned the vehicle, then fled the scene on foot. Officers searched for the driver but were unable to locate him. The vehicle was towed. This investigation is continuing. 

Armed Robbery
December 18 at 4:09 a.m., a resident in the 200 block of W. Pomona called to report that he had just been robbed at gun point. He said he was approached by a male subject who exited a black SUV. He stated the subject told him to give him everything he had while waving a gun in his face. This investigation is continuing. 

Domestic Violence – Suspect Arrested
December 18 at 5:06 a.m., a resident in the 300 block of W. Colorado called to report a physical altercation between his brother and his brother's wife just occurred. Officers arrived and spoke with both subjects. An investigation was conducted and it was determined the wife was the aggressor. She was arrested and taken into custody. 

Trespassing / Battery – Suspects Arrested
December 18 at 11:45 a.m., employees of a business in the 200 block of Railroad reported a suspicious person dressed in black filming in the business' private parking lot. Officers arrived and the subject moved to the public sidewalk. The business did not want to prosecute for trespassing. After officers left, the subject began instigating a fight with employees. One employee approached the subject and battered him. The subject in return used pepper spray on the employee. Officers were dispatched to the location again, and both parties placed one another under private person’s arrest. Officers arrested both parties. 

Vehicle Burglary
December 18 at 4:20 p.m., a resident in the 300 block of Genoa called to report a vehicle burglary. The resident walked outside her home and discovered someone had forced entry into her parked vehicle, then took her personal property. Officers arrived and took a report of the incident. This investigation is continuing. 

Residential Burglary
December 18 at 7:41 p.m., a resident in the 700 block of Mountain View returned home from work and saw his front door was ajar. Moments later a male subject exited the front door, saw the home owner, and ran back into the house. He continued out the back door and through neighboring yards. The home owner called the police and waited outside until the police arrived. Officers checked the area and the house, but did not locate the suspect. It was unknown what was taken at the time of the report. This investigation is continuing. 

Reckless Driving / Resisting Arrest
December 18 at 7:49 p.m., a resident in the 900 block of Greystone called to report a motorcyclist speeding up and down the street with the headlights off. Officers checked the area and located the motorcyclist. He was speeding, failed to stop at a stop sign, was not wearing a helmet, and the headlights were off. Several vehicles were driving in the area due to the neighborhood Christmas lights. The subject was identified by officers from previous encounters. Officers attempted a traffic stop, but the subject did not comply. He continued to drive to his residence where he quickly went into the backyard with his motorcycle. A police report was done and will be forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for filling considerations. 

Grand Theft
December 19 at 1:26 a.m., an employee from a business in the 1600 block of S. Mountain called to report four male subjects had just taken pallets of merchandise. They left the location prior to the police being notified. Officers responded and investigated the matter. This investigation is continuing. 

Domestic Battery
December 19 at 8:48 p.m., a female in the 600 block of E. Olive called to report a battery. The female stated that during a monitored child visitation with her ex-boyfriend, the male pulled her hair and pushed her multiple times. The child was present, but sleeping during the incident. The female sustained no injuries. Officers arrived to the location, but the male subject was not located. This investigation is continuing. 

Grand Theft
December 20 at 3:47 a.m., a witness observed two males in the parking lot of a business in the 1200 block of S. Myrtle, removing the catalytic converter from underneath a truck. Officers arrived within minutes, but the suspects had already fled the area. This investigation is continuing. 

Vehicle Burglary
December 20 at 11:06 a.m., an employee of a furniture store in the 400 block of W. Huntington called to report a vehicle burglary. The employee walked outside to her vehicle and discovered the windows were shattered and her personal property from inside the vehicle was taken. This investigation is continuing. 

Non-injury Traffic Collision
December 20 at 11:28 a.m., a caller reported two motorists collided into one another in the 1900 block of S. Myrtle. Officers responded and found no one was injured. Both drivers chose to exchange information only. 

Attempt Theft
December 20 at 12:28 p.m., a resident in the 1600 block of Pilgrim reported male subjects attempted to take a catalytic converter from her family's vehicle. The subjects were scared away by the resident’s father who ran after the suspects. The suspects fled in a vehicle. Officers searched for the suspects, but could not locate them. This investigation is continuing. 

Commercial Burglary – Suspect Arrested
December 20 at 12:36 p.m., the manager of a hotel in the 700 block of W. Huntington reported she discovered a male subject inside the hotel's locked conference room. Officers arrived and found the subject had entered the conference room by forcing entry to an exterior window. He said his intention was to take property from inside the room. He was arrested for burglary. 

Domestic Violence / Violation of a Restraining Order – Suspect Arrested
December 20 at 1:23 p.m., a resident in the 1400 block of S. Magnolia called to report a physical altercation had just occurred between her and her long-time boyfriend. Officers arrived and found the subjects together in violation of a valid Domestic Violence Restraining Order. The caller had visible injuries caused by her boyfriend battering her. He was arrested and taken into custody. 

Theft from a Vehicle
December 20 at 1:35 p.m., a resident in the 1800 block of Tenth Avenue reported someone had stolen the catalytic converter from his Jeep sometime during the day. His Jeep had been parked in front of his home. This investigation is continuing. 

Disturbing Subject
December 20 at 4:15 p.m., the pastor of a church in the 700 block of S. Shamrock called for assistance with a parishioner that was yelling at him and causing a disturbance to others. Officers arrived and kept the peace. 

Theft from a Vehicle
December 20 at 4:35 p.m., the customer of a grocery store in the 100 block of W. Foothill walked outside to her car and discovered her car had been ransacked and her purse was missing. She found a cell phone in the car that did not belong to her. Before leaving, a male subject approached her and handed her purse back to her apologizing for taking her purse, then asked if he could have his cell phone back. She gave the phone back to the subject, then left the area. Officers searched for the suspect, but could not locate him. 

Residential Burglary / Grand Theft Auto – Suspect Arrested
December 20 at 9:43 p.m., a caller in the 300 block of E. Palm said she heard someone breaking into her residence. She told dispatch that it was actually her son who was not allowed at the home. Officers arrived, but the son had already left after taking the family vehicle. The vehicle was reported stolen. A few hours later, the victim called the police to report he found his vehicle parked in a parking lot in the 1600 block of S. Mountain. His son who stole the vehicle was inside. Officers responded and arrested the suspect. There was a pending restraining order which needed to be served, the suspect was served with the Court Order while he was in custody with the Monrovia Police Department. 

Burglary / Grand Theft Auto – Suspect Arrested
December 22 at 8:42 a.m., a caller from a business in the 1100 block of E. Huntington said that the location had been burglarized in the early morning hours. Officers arrived and saw there were numerous items stolen along with a vehicle. The vehicle was entered into the law enforcement stolen vehicle system and was soon after located in San Dimas. The Monrovia Police Department Detectives arrived at the San Dimas location and arrested the suspect. 

Grand Theft Auto – Suspect Arrested
December 22 at 11:59 a.m., a victim in the 1800 block of Enterprise Way called to report his vehicle had been stolen sometime in the morning. Officers arrived and determined the vehicle had been unlocked with the key left in the ignition. The vehicle was entered into the law enforcement stolen vehicle system. The victim also advised that his wallet and Apple iPad were inside the vehicle when it was taken. The victim used the Find My iPad app, and saw it was in Palm Springs. Palm Springs Police Department was notified and located the vehicle occupied by one male suspect. The suspect was arrested and booked by Palm Springs Police Department. 

Homicide
On December 23 at 8:19 p.m., officers responded to a liquor store in the 400 block of W. Duarte regarding gunshot victim. Officers arrived and saw that there was one male subject lying on the ground inside the store. He was found to have a gunshot wound. The officers immediately began rendering first aid until paramedics from the Monrovia Fire Department arrived to take over. Despite the medical aid the victim died as a result of the injury. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Unit was notified and their detectives responded to take over the investigation.