Police Blotter: Threats to Shoot Skateboarders

This week a child molester was convicted in court, a man threatened to shoot skateboarders whom he believed were thieves, and an identity thief was arrested. Read on for more.

The following information was provided by the Monrovia Police Department:

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 659 service events, resulting in 103 investigations.  Following are the last week's highlighted issues and events:

Child injured in collision

On Aug. 13 at 12:46 a.m., a female driver in an SUV was traveling south on Mayflower when another female driver in a sedan pulled out in front of her in the 1300 block of South Mayflower. The driver of the SUV was unable to stop and struck the sedan. Her SUV drove over the front end of the sedan, she overcorrected, and then struck a wall under the freeway overpass. The SUV was occupied by a 12-year-old female and her mother. The child sustained a broken femur and the mother sustained a broken left foot, both were taken to a hospital for treatment. The driver of the sedan was determined to be under the influence and was arrested. She was also taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Transient trespassing

On Aug. 14 at 12:15 p.m., the owner of an apartment complex located in the 100 block of Montana discovered that one of the empty units at the complex is being used by what appears to be transients.  The transients left evidence of possible identity and the investigation is continuing.

Grand Theft Auto Recovery

On Aug. 14 at 7:45 p.m., a stolen 1993 Nissan Altima was located at a hotel in the 700 block of West Huntington. The vehicle had been stolen out of Azusa on July 28. No suspect information is known. The owner responded and recovered the vehicle. Investigation continuing.

More stolen Hondas

On Aug. 14 at 8:25 p.m., a green 1997 Honda was stolen from a carport area in the 400 block of West Duarte Road. The victim last saw the vehicle at 9:30 p.m. the previous night. Investigation continuing.

Stolen car recovered

On Aug. 15 at 8:20 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 1600 block of Radford Place regarding a suspicious vehicle. The officer located the vehicle parked on the street. It was a reported stolen vehicle and it was unlocked and intact. The victim was notified and responded to recover the vehicle. The victim did not find anything missing from the vehicle. A witness reported seeing a male Hispanic subject, 25-30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches, 200 pounds, with short hair and clean shaven. The subject drove the vehicle to the location and parked it. He then left the location in a Chevy Tahoe that had followed the stolen vehicle and was being driven by a female Hispanic, approximately 25-30 years old. The vehicle was returned to the victim and the investigation is continuing.

Vehicle burglary

On Aug. 15 at 1:54 p.m., an officer responded to the 200 block of South California on the report of a vehicle burglary. The victim reported that her locked vehicle was broken into and her property was stolen.

Pedestrian killed

On Aug. 15 at 4:07 p.m., officers responded to the 100 block of North Mayflower Avenue regarding a traffic accident. The incident involved a vehicle that struck a 77-year-old female pedestrian. The Monrovia Fire Department paramedics were on scene and readying the victim to be taken to a hospital. The driver of the vehicle was apparently backing up his van, using only his mirrors, and did not see the female victim and struck her. The female subject fell backward onto the roadway and hit her head on the street. The victim was taken to the hospital and was in critical care overnight. She passed away the next day. 

Skaters threatened

On Aug. 15 at 8:09 p.m., police received a call reporting a disturbing subject at the skate park in the 800 block of East Olive. The caller reported that a male subject was threatening people and said he had a gun, which was not seen, but he repeatedly reached into his waistband. The subject left the area prior to the arrival of officers.  The suspect was claiming that the subjects at the skate park had taken his wallet, which he believed he had lost there. A short time after the officers left the area, the subject returned and confronted three people at the skate park. He pointed at them and threatened to shoot them.  Officers responded and the suspect was positively identified by the victims, arrested, and charged for criminal threats.  The suspect did not have a gun.

Attempted burglary

On Aug. 17 at 10 p.m., a resident in the 400 block of South Mayflower reported an attempt burglary. Sometime between Aug. 16 and 17 an unknown suspect attempted to pry open the front door of the residence. There was no loss and the investigation is continuing.

Suspicious with warrants

On Aug. 17 at 1:04 p.m., an officer on patrol observed two suspicious subjects standing next to a vehicle in a parking lot in the 800 block of West Huntington and a third subject was crouching next to the vehicle. One of the standing subjects nudged the subject who was crouching down as if to alert him of police presence. The officer continued driving, but then went back to watch the three subjects.  The officer believed the subjects were tampering with parked vehicles and detained them. Warrant checks revealed one of the subjects had two no-bail warrants for grand theft auto. He was arrested for the warrants. The other two subjects were identified and released. 

Detective Bureau Case Follow-up

Identity thief arrested

On Tuesday, Aug. 16, Monrovia detectives served a search warrant in the 200 block of West Palm on an identity theft suspect's apartment. Detectives found evidence linking the suspect to the crime. Monrovia detectives also found evidence of three additional identity theft victims. The suspect was arrested and the handling detective is continuing his investigation by contacting the three additional victims. This case will be presented to the District Attorney's office for filing considerations. The suspect will be facing a minimum of 10 identity theft allegations/charges. The investigation into the additional victims may produce even more allegations/charges of identity theft.

Fumigation burglaries

On Thursday, Aug. 18, Monrovia detectives served a search warrant at a public storage facility in Arcadia in connection with two burglaries. The investigation led the handling detective to believe that one of the suspected burglars had a storage space at this storage facility. The search warrant allows the detectives to enter the storage space and to obtain information and records from the office regarding this space. This investigation is still ongoing.

Child molester convicted 

The suspect was arrested on Dec. 15, 2009, for child molestation.  The suspect, a registered sex offender, allegedly had repeatedly molested his live-in stepdaughter over an eight-year period, beginning when she was only 4 years of age.

The case was assigned to a detective for further investigation and the District Attorney's review. During the course of the detective's investigation, he was able to locate a previous victim of the suspect, an ex-girlfriend's daughter. She, too, was the victim of repeated sexual molestation by the suspect, which began when she was 6 years old.  This case occurred in West Covina in 1995, while the suspect lived with the victim's mother. 

Three felony charges were filed against the suspect for the Monrovia case by the Pasadena Superior Court and a jury trial began on Aug. 10. On Aug. 16, the case went to the jury, and in a short 60 minutes, they returned with a verdict: guilty on all counts.  Each of the three counts holds a 25-year-to-life sentence, due to his prior felony sexual assault conviction.