$5,500 Wired to Haiti in Telephone Scam of Sierra Madre Resident

In the seven-day period between Sunday, May 15, and Saturday, May 21, the responded to approximately 273 calls for service. Of those calls and reports, these were considered the most notable and added to the Sierra Madre police crime blotter.

4:48 p.m. - Petty Theft in the 500 block of Lotus Lane: A resident reported that a hedge trimmer was stolen from her property. The victim stated that a man had been staying at her house and when she asked him to leave he took the hedge trimmer without permission.

2:12 a.m. – Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol at the intersection of Sierra Madre Boulevard and Kersting Court: An officer stopped a 24-year-old El Monte motorist for a Vehicle Code violation and determined that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. The driver was arrested and transported to Pasadena Police Department for booking.              

12:20 a.m. – Robbery in the 200 block of Sierra Madre Boulevard:  A victim reported seeing a suspect walk into her backyard where he took recyclables from her trash bin and put them in his truck. The victim confronted the suspect, who punched the victim and drove away with the recyclables in a light gray 2008 Honda Accord, license #6PRA516. The suspect is Jeffrey Stephenson, 48. 

3:26 p.m. - Make Annoying Telephone Calls in the 600 block of Oak Crest Drive:  A former boyfriend made annoying phone calls and sent text messages to the victim who had ended the relationship.

8:19 a.m. - Grand Theft in the 500 block of W. Sierra Madre Boulevard:  This case involves a victim in her 80s receiving a bogus telephone call asking her for money. The suspect identified himself as a police officer and told her that her grandson had been arrested in Haiti and needed money to bail him out of jail. The elderly victim complied and wired $5,500 dollars through Western Union to Haiti. The victim later discovered that her grandson was never arrested and that the call was a scam.

1:23 p.m. - Use Another’s Personal Identification to Obtain Credit: The suspect(s) stole the victim’s banking account information and tried to cash three forged checks. The suspect(s) also used the victim’s debit card to steal $907.

Editor’s Note: All map placements are approximate and based on information provided by the Sierra Madre Police Department.