Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 28, 2010

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com

5

Public Safety

Mountain Views News Saturday, August 28, 2010

Sierra Madre Police Blotter

Arcadia Police Blotter

For the period of Sunday, August 15, through Saturday, August 21, the Police Department 
responded to 1,001 calls for service of which 132 required formal investigations. The following is 
a summary report of the major incidents handled by the Department during this period.

Sunday, August 15:

1. A traffic stop was conducted at Second and California around 12:22 a.m. for excessive 
speed. The odor of an alcoholic beverage was detected on the driver’s breath and person, and 
the passenger initially provided officers with a false name and date of birth. The passenger 
also advised that there was a gun in the glove compartment, and indeed a loaded handgun 
was found. A 25-year-old male Hispanic driver was arrested for DUI and carrying a loaded 
firearm, and a 23-year-old male Hispanic passenger was arrested for obstruction.

2. Around 1:36 a.m., units responded to the 100-to-1 Bar, 100 West Huntington, in 
reference to an altercation between a patron and an employee. Investigation revealed that a 
24-year-old male Hispanic was bothering other patrons and fought with the doorman. The 
suspect was taken into custody for disorderly conduct/drunk in public and for a $30,000 
outstanding misdemeanor warrant.

Monday, August 16:

3. Between 4:30 p.m. and 5:40 p.m., an auto burglary occurred at the 24-Hour Fitness 
parking lot located at 125 North First. Unknown suspect smashed a car window and stole a 
purse.

4. Loss prevention personnel from Macy’s advised that they had detained two sisters for 
theft around 6:43 p.m. The juveniles concealed store merchandise while in a fitting room 
and left the store without making payment. Additional stolen property from American Eagle 
Outfitters, H&M, and Forever 21 were also recovered. Private persons’ arrests were made, and 
the 16 and 17-year-old Caucasian suspects were taken into custody for commercial burglary.

Tuesday, August 17:

5. A commercial burglary occurred between 4:00 p.m. on August 16 and 6:45 a.m. on 
August 17 at a construction site located in the 00 block of Hacienda. Unknown suspect(s) 
stole tools and a front door totaling about $6,490.

6. Shortly after 4:00 p.m., a bank robbery occurred at Bank of America, 180 North Santa 
Anita. A male Asian, 5’6” to 5’7”, 140 pounds, with a moustache and goatee, presented a 
demand note and claimed to have a gun. Fearing for her safety, the bank teller gave the 
suspect money from her cash drawer.

Wednesday, August 18:

7. Between 3:45 p.m. on August 17 and 7:47 a.m. on August 18, a commercial 
burglary occurred at the Dana Middle School construction site. Unknown suspect(s) climbed 
over a chain link fence, pried open a storage container, and stole about $9,550 in tools and 
welding equipment.

8. Around 5:19 p.m., units responded to the 800 block of Fairview regarding a murdered 
victim found inside an apartment unit. A 47-year-old male Caucasian was bludgeoned to 
death. A few days later, the victim’s 44-year-old brother was arrested for the homicide.

Thursday, August 19:

9. JC Penney’s loss prevention personnel detained a male juvenile for theft around 6:37 
p.m. The 14-year-old Hispanic was seen concealing a pair of tennis shoes in a shopping bag 
and then left the store without paying. A private person’s arrest was made, and the juvenile 
was charged with commercial burglary. Additional stolen property from Zumiez and The 
Scream were also recovered.

10. Units were dispatched to the 100 block of East Haven around 8:23 p.m. The victim 
claimed that two male Caucasian suspects struck him in the face and midsection. He had 
visible injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. The victim declined 
prosecution so a report was taken for documentation purposes.

Friday, August 20:

11. Shortly after 4:30 p.m., a car was found idling in the intersection of Second and 
Bonita. Officers detected the odor of alcohol in the vehicle and found an unconscious 
female in the driver’s seat. The 23-year-old Hispanic later awoke and a field sobriety test was 
conducted. It was determined that the woman was operating the vehicle while intoxicated 
and was arrested for DUI.

12. A victim came to the station around 5:47 p.m. to report a grand theft that occurred 
between 4:00 p.m. on August 19 and 8:00 a.m. on August 20. The victim believes that her 
wallet was stolen at the Foreign Exchange store located at Westfield Mall on the 19th.

Saturday, August 21:

13. An auto burglary occurred between 8:00 p.m. on August 20 and 8:00 a.m. on August 
21 in the 400 block of West Duarte. Unknown suspect smashed a car window and stole a 
$2,000 laptop computer.

14. Around 2:33 p.m., units responded to Wells Fargo Bank, 444 East Huntington, 
regarding a commercial burglary. A male African-American suspect disguised 30 rolls of 
pennies by placing a dime on the top and bottom of each roll in order to steal about $140 from 
the bank.

During the week of Sunday, August 8th, to Saturday August 14th, the Sierra Madre Police 
Department responded to approximately 311 calls for service.

Wednesday, August 11th:

10:22 PM – Robbery, 300 block West Sierra Madre Blvd., Three suspects robbed a male 
juvenile at gun point. One suspect pointed a silver colored handgun and stole the juvenile’s 
I-Phone and skateboard. The subjects fled westbound on West Sierra Madre Blvd. in a four 
door burgundy Honda, partial license plate number 6C. The suspects were all described as 
male whites wearing black “hoodies”. One suspect had blonde hair and freckles. The total 
loss was reported at $400.00. 

Saturday, August 14th:

8:11 AM – Grand Theft, 00 block Esperanza Ave. Suspect stole gardening equipment from 
the bed of pick-up truck. The truck was parked in the apartment complex carport area. The 
crime occurred between 7:30 pm, Friday, 8/13 and 7:30 am, Saturday, 8/14. Stolen were a 
leaf blower, weed eater, and hedge trimmer. The loss was estimated at $425.00. 

During the week of Sunday, August 15th, to Saturday August 22th, the Sierra Madre Police 
Department responded to approximately 333 calls for service.

Thursday, August 19th:

11:08 PM – Prowling/Peeking in Doors and Windows, 300 block West Montecito Ave. A 
suspect described as a white man with close cut hair was reported looking into the windows 
of an occupied home. Officers detained a suspect nearby who matched the description, and 
they arrested him for an outstanding warrant. The prowling case is still under investigation. 

SMPD Officers Discuss Neighborhood Watch


Photo By Bill Coburn

Sierra Madre Police Officers Dabney (l) and 
Atkinson (r) take a few moments to discuss 
the importance of the Neighborhood Watch 
Program with the Sierra Madre Kiwanis 
Club.

 The Neighborhood Watch is a crime 
prevention program that teaches citizens 
how to help themselves by identifying 
and reporting suspicious activity in their 
neighborhoods. In addition, it provides 
citizens with the opportunity to make 
their neighborhoods safer and improve the 
quality of life. Neighborhood Watch groups 
typically focus on observation and awareness 
as a means of preventing crime and employ 
strategies that range from simply promoting 
social interaction and “watching out for each 
other” to active patrols by groups of citizens.

 All Neighborhood Watches share one 
foundational idea: that bringing community 
members together to reestablish control of 
their neighborhoods promotes an increased 
quality of life and reduces the crime rate in 
that area. 

 There are several Neighborhood Watch 
Groups in Sierra Madre at this time. If one 
has not been organized near you, contact the 
Police Department at 626-355-1414 for help 
organizing one.

THE WORLD AROUND US


Cosmic Lens Used For The First Time To Study “Dark Energy”

 Astronomers have devised a new method 
for measuring what is perhaps the greatest 
puzzle of our universe—“dark energy.” This 
mysterious force, discovered in 1998, is pushing 
our universe apart at ever-increasing speeds.

 Now for the first time, in a study reported 
in the Aug. 20 issue of the Journal Science, 
astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space 
Telescope were able to take advantage of a giant 
magnifying lens in space—a massive cluster of 
galaxies—to narrow in on the nature of dark 
energy. Their calculations, when combined with 
data from other methods, significantly increase 
the accuracy of dark energy measurements. 
This may eventually lead to an explanation of 
what the elusive phenomenon really is.

 “We have to tackle the dark energy problem 
from all sides,” said JPL astronomer Eric Jullo. 
“It’s important to have several methods, and 
now we’ve got a new, very powerful one.” Jullo 
is lead author of the paper on these findings.

 Scientists aren’t clear about what dark energy 
is, but they do know that it makes up a large 
chunk of our universe—about 72 percent. 
Another chunk, about 24 percent, is thought to 
be “dark matter,” also mysterious in nature but 
easier to study than dark energy because of its 
gravitational influence on the matter that we can 
see. The rest of the universe, a mere 4 percent, 
is the stuff that makes up people, planets, stars, 
and everything made up of atoms.

 In their new study, the science team used 
images from Hubble to examine a massive 
cluster of galaxies, named Abell 1689, which acts as 
a magnifying, or gravitational, lens. The gravity of the 
cluster causes galaxies behind it to be imaged multiple 
times into distorted shapes, like a fun-house mirror 
reflection that warps your face.

 Using these distorted images, the scientists were able to 
figure out how light from the more distant, background 
galaxies had been bent by the cluster—a characteristic 
that depends on the nature of dark energy. Their method 
also depends on precise ground-based measurements of 
the distance and speed at which the background galaxies 
are traveling away from us. The team used these data to 
quantify the strength of the dark energy that is causing 
our universe’s expansion to accelerate.

 “What I like about our new method is that it’s very 
visual,” said Jullo, “You can literally see gravitation and 
dark energy bend the images of the background galaxies 
into arcs.”

 According to the scientists, their method required 
multiple, meticulous steps. They spent the last several 
years developing specialized mathematical models and 
precise maps of the matter—both dark and “normal”—
constituting the Abell 1689 cluster.

 “We can now apply our technique to other gravitational 
lenses,” said co-author Priya Natarajan, an astronomer at 
Yale University, New Haven, Conn. “We’re exploiting a 
beautiful phenomenon in nature to learn more about the 
role that dark energy plays in our universe.”

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.
com.


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