Crime Watch: 2 Elementary Schools Burglarized, More

Two Elementary Schools Burglarized

Classrooms at Excelsior Elementary School were burglarized during the early morning hours of May 2 and again on May 7.  Computers and audio-visual equipment were taken.

Then, overnight May 7/8, someone broke into a classroom at Buljan Intermediate School.  Computer and audio-visual equipment was taken.

If you live by a school campus, keep an extra eye and ear out for problems, and call 911 immediately anytime you see anything suspicious after-hours.

Two Men Arrested for Graffiti Tagging

At about 4:30 a.m. April 26 two males were seen "tagging" (writing a graffiti nickname) on a building in the 100 block of Main Street. 

On May 3, two men were seen writing the same "tag" on a city electrical box on Fairway Drive.  The two men, age 20 from Roseville and age 21 from Rancho Cordova, were both arrested on suspicion of vandalism and conspiracy.  The police department works with the public works and parks maintenance departments to document all graffiti in a database.  When we arrest graffiti vandals, we'll see to it that the court is aware of all their "tags" throughout the city. The court routinely requires convicted graffiti vandals to pay restitution to their victims for the damages they've caused.

Commercial Burglaries:

A plumbing business on Lincoln Street was burglarized over the weekend of May 4-7. The unknown burglars forced the door open and vandalized the inside of the building with spray paint. Nothing was taken.

Two Arrested for Suspicion of Prowling 

At 12:07 a.m. May 7, officers responded to a report of people dressed all in black on Atkinson Street trying to climb the fence into the auction.  No entry was made.  Officers detained a 16-year-old male from Lincoln in the area.  He was wearing all-black clothing, and officers located a black ski mask discarded nearby.  The male was arrested on suspicion of prowling and taken to Juvenile Hall.

On a possible related incident, at 10:22 p.m. on May 6, a resident of Fifteen Mile Drive reported two men, dressed all in black with ski masks trying to open his front door. He confronted them, and they took off running.  Officers patrolled the area in both vehicles and on bikes for the next hour, but were unable to locate the suspects.  They may be the same as prowlers later trying to climb a fence on Atkinson Street.

Trash Can Fire at Elliott Park

At 10:18 p.m. May 4, Roseville Fire Department firefighters and police officers responded to Elliott Park, to a report that juveniles had set trash in a trash can on fire.  Three or four unidentified juveniles were seen running from the area on foot. Firefighters quickly extinguished the small fire.

Residential Burglaries:

Monday, April 30

Garage burglary —Overnight on April 30/May 1, someone went into the garage of a home in the 1600 block of Ashford Drive and took bicycles and power tools.  There was no sign of forced entry, and the resident may have inadvertently left the garage unlocked.

Thursday, May 3

Attempted burglary —Between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on May 3, someone forced open a screen door and tried to pry open a sliding glass door in the back of a home in the 1600 block of Loon Lake Street.  Fortunately no one got into the house and nothing was taken.  Neighbors remembered seeing (from a distance) what appeared to be a solicitor in the neighborhood during the day, wearing a dark cap, white shirt and dark pants, carrying a clipboard.

Friday, May 4

Attempted burglary — Between 7:15 and 8:30 p.m. on May 4, someone forced open the side door of a garage in the 3100 block of Hopscotch Way.  Fortunately it didn't appear that anything inside the garage was disturbed.  A neighbor remembered seeing a suspicious vehicle in the area during the time the incident happened.  It was a dark green late-90s model Toyota Camry with two females in the front seat and a male in the backseat.  The vehicle wasn't known to the neighborhood, and was being driven very slowly up and down the street.

Saturday, May 5

Shed burglary — At 12:10 a.m. May 5, a resident of the 200 block of Fourth Street reported that someone had just taken his push lawnmower from his unsecured shed and pushed it up the street.  An officer followed up on a lead the next day and arrested an 18-year-old male from Roseville on suspicion of possessing stolen property and conspiracy.  The lawnmower was returned to the victim.

Vehicle-Related Crime:

Gas siphoning —Overnight on April 30/May 1, someone broke the locking gas cap of a vehicle at 5 Marcia Way and siphoned gas.

Overnight on April 30/May 1, someone went into a locked vehicle parked in the 1700 block of Meadowlark Way and took a portable GPS unit, a cell phone charger and other small items.  There was no sign of forced entry.

Overnight on April 30/May 1, someone went into an unlocked vehicle in a driveway in the 6100 block of Crater Lake Drive and took the vehicle registration paperwork and a portable GPS unit.

Between 7 and 9 p.m. May 5, someone broke the window of a car parked in the 300 block of North Sunrise, and took a purse that had been hidden underneath the front passenger's seat.  By the time the victim discovered the burglary, her credit cards had already been used to make unauthorized charges at local businesses.

Tip from Roseville Police: Never leave your purse, wallet or other valuables in your car. The thieves know all the "good" hiding places-and they might already be in the area watching.

Between 1:30 and 4 a.m. May 6, someone broke the window of a vehicle in an apartment complex lot at 300 Cirby Hills Way and took a laptop computer, a wallet containing ID cards and debit cards, and camping gear.

Tip from Roseville Police:  Apartment complex parking lots are popular targets for thieves, especially at night. Please don't leave your purse, wallet and other valuable items in your vehicle.

Over the past couple of weeks, Roseville Police have received a few reports of vehicle burglaries occurring in the late afternoon/evening hours in parking lots along Taylor Road and the Creekside area.  The unknown suspect punched the locks and took any items of value found in the vehicles-laptop computers, i-Pods, and portable GPS units.  Possible suspects, two white males driving an older red Honda car with oxidized paint, were seen in the area of one of the vehicle break-ins.

Tip from Roseville Police:  As always, don't leave valuable items, especially your wallet or purse, in your vehicle.  If you see someone acting suspiciously in a parking lot, cruising slowly around with no apparent purpose, or looking into vehicles, call 911 immediately. An officer will respond and check them out.

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