Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 4, 2011

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Mountain Views News Saturday, June 4, 2011 

 Mountain Views News Saturday, June 4, 2011 

Monrovia Police Blotter

Community invited to Foothill Unity Center 

public forums on needs of local low-income 

families June 6-7

During the last seven day period, the Police 
Department handled 520 service events, resulting 
in 95 investigations. Following are the last week’s 
highlighted issues and events:

False Information to a Peace Officer / Possession 
of a Controlled Substance / Warrant - Suspect 
Arrested

On May 19 at 2:50 p.m., an officer on patrol in 
the 200 block of West Foothill stopped a bicyclist 
for a violation. The officer had suspicions that 
the bicyclist did not provide his true name. The 
officer’s fingerprint reader revealed the suspect 
did give a false name. The suspect was found to 
have a warrant out for his arrest and a search 
revealed a small package of methamphetamine 
on his person. The suspect was arrested and taken 
into custody.

Felony Evading / Driving Under the Influence - 
Suspect Arrested

On May 22 at 2:35 a.m., an officer on patrol 
in the area of Duarte Road and Sixth noticed 
his radar activate, which indicated a vehicle 
was approaching at a high rate of speed. The 
vehicle passed by and the officer went in pursuit, 
attempting to stop the vehicle. The driver failed 
to stop and made numerous sharp turns in an 
attempt to get away. The driver finally stopped at 
the 210 Freeway and was detained. During the 
investigation, the driver was determined to be 
driving under the influence and was arrested.

Outstanding Warrant - Suspect Arrested

On May 22 at 9:35 a.m., an officer was patrolling 
a business parking lot in the 100 block of West 
Foothill when he saw a male subject loitering in 
front of a store. He recognized the subject and 
knew he had an outstanding felony warrant for 
his arrest for possession of methamphetamine. He 
detained the subject and confirmed the warrant, 
then arrested him without incident.

Commercial Burglary - Suspect Arrested

On May 23 at 5 a.m., officers responded to a 
burglary alarm at a business in the 300 block of West 
Huntington. Upon arrival, they found someone 
had forced a back window open and entered the 
location. There was no evidence of any property 
taken. One of the officers noticed a suspicious 
person on a bicycle leaving the area of Cypress 
and Magnolia. The bicyclist was detained and 
found to be in possession of numerous packages 
of cigarettes. A search of the area revealed that a 
neighboring business was also burglarized by a 
suspect using a cutting tool to create a crawl space 
into the location. The investigation revealed that 
the cigarettes found in the suspect’s possession 
were stolen from that business. The suspect was 
arrested. The investigation is continuing.

Vehicle Burglary

On May 23 at 6:17 a.m., an officer was dispatched 
on the report of a vehicle burglary that occurred 
in the 200 block of West Lemon. The window on 
the victim’s vehicle was broken and items inside 
the vehicle were stolen.

Grand Theft Auto

On May 23 at 7:12 a.m., a victim called to 
report his green, 2005 Honda Pilot had been 
stolen sometime during the night. The victim’s 
son parked and secured the vehicle in front of 
the residence the night before. He believes this is 
related to a burglary at his residence in which his 
extra keys to his vehicle were taken. There were no 
signs of forced entry.

Theft from a Vehicle

On May 23 at 11:22 a.m., a resident in the 300 
block of North May called to report a theft from 
her vehicle. The suspect took checks and other 
items from the vehicle during the night. The 
victim believes she left the doors unlocked.

Robbery - Suspect Arrested

On May 23 at 4:18 p.m., loss prevention 
officers from a business in the 700 block of East 
Huntington called regarding a female subject 
they detained for shoplifting. The female would 
not comply with the loss prevention officer’s 
request to walk back inside the store. After several 
attempts, the loss prevention officer tried to take 
the female’s hand to control her and she began to 
fight him. As they fell to the ground, the suspect 
kicked at the loss prevention officer. A police 
officer arrived and the female suspect was taken 
into custody without further incident.

Residential Burglary

On May 23 at 4:49 p.m., a resident in the 800 
block of Oakdale Avenue called to report that 
someone had broken into her home. She had left 
the location and had been away from her home 
overnight. When she returned the next day at 
about 4:30 in the afternoon, she found the rear, 
sliding glass door had been smashed. Officers 
arrived and checked the premises. Miscellaneous 
items, jewelry, and a rifle and revolver were taken.

Hit and Run Traffic Collision / Evading Police / 
Attempt Suicide / 72-Hour Mental Evaluation

On May 23 at 11:55 p.m., police received a call 
reporting a man and woman arguing in the area of 
Palm and Canyon. Officers arrived and contacted 
the female subject. She said she had been arguing 
with her boyfriend, who then left her there and 
drove away. An officer saw the boyfriend driving 
north on Primrose from Colorado, then east on 
Lemon. The officer attempted to make a traffic 
stop, but the man drove through the red light 
at Myrtle. He continued east on Lemon and ran 
the stop sign at Ivy. He lost control of his vehicle 
and collided into a parked car in the 200 block 
of East Lemon. The suspect fled the accident 
scene on foot. The suspect was not located, but 
his identity was determined. Officers attempted 
to locate the suspect at his home, but he was not 
at the location. The next morning at 8:18 a.m., 
officers were dispatched to the suspect’s residence 
in the 200 block of Poinsettia. The 19-year-old 
suspect had returned and was threatening suicide. 
Officers arrived and were told the suspect locked 
himself in his room and he had two knives with 
him. The suspect refused to open the door for 
officers. Officers forced entry through the door 
and detained the suspect without further incident. 
He was taken to a hospital, where he was held for 
mental evaluation. Charges will be filed with the 
District Attorney’s Office.

Vehicle Burglary

On May 24 at 6:29 a.m., a resident in the 100 
block of McKinley called to report that someone 
had broken into her vehicle. An officer was 
dispatched to the location and found that the 
suspect had broken out a rear passenger window. 
The victim had left her purse in the vehicle and it 
had been taken by the suspect.

Commercial Burglary - Suspect Arrested

On May 25 at 1:59 p.m., loss prevention from 
a business in the 500 block of West Huntington 
reported that a female subject had taken 
merchandise and exited the store without paying. 
She fled in a black vehicle driven by a male subject. 
Loss prevention officers obtained the license plate 
number. An officer responded and contacted the 
loss prevention officers, who provided the license 
plate number of the vehicle and a photo of the 
female suspect. A DMV check of the license plate 
indicated the vehicle is registered to a residence 
in the county area of Arcadia. The officer 
contacted the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department 
and requested they drive by the location to check 
for the vehicle. The vehicle was located at the 
residence. Monrovia officers went to the location 
and contacted the female suspect. She was arrested 
for burglary without incident.

Detective Bureau - Case Follow-ups - This week, 
the Detective Bureau filed two significant cases 
with the District Attorney’s Office and completed 
a third case for filing consideration:

Felony Filing for Second Degree Commercial 
Burglary

Patrol arrested a subject on May 23, 2011, at 
0455 hours for the suspected burglary of the 
cigarette kiosk business at 336 W. Huntington 
Drive. This suspect was in possession of 96 packs 
of cigarettes from the business. The handling 
detective processed all of the cigarette packs for 
latent print evidence. The detective recovered 
four latent prints from the cigarette packs. The 
detective obtained the owner’s fingerprints and 
had a forensic fingerprint expert compare the 
latent (evidence) fingerprints to the owner’s 
fingerprints. The latent (evidence) fingerprints 
belonged to the owner. This is important because 
it eliminated the argument of a second suspect 
actually committing the crime. The person 
arrested with the cigarettes was wearing gloves 
when he was arrested. This person is suspected of 
committing other burglaries and he was arrested 
two weeks before and charged with trespassing. 
The detective presented the cigarette case to 
the District Attorney’s Office and the District 
Attorney filed a felony complaint against this 
subject for second degree commercial burglary.

Felony Filing for Three Counts of Second Degree 
Commercial Burglary

Patrol arrested four subjects for burglary 
on May 18, 2011, for stealing alcohol from the 
Pavilions store at 130 W. Foothill Boulevard. 
These four people matched the descriptions of the 
four subjects who had just previously committed 
a burglary of alcohol from our Albertsons store at 
725 E. Huntington Drive. These four subjects also 
had alcohol bottles our Pavilions’ store determined 
to have been from the Pavilions store in Arcadia. 
The four subjects made bail and were released 
from custody. The handling detective conducting 
his supplemental investigation obtained evidence 
these four individuals were responsible for the 
Albertson’s burglary and had indeed committed 
a similar burglary at the Arcadia Pavilions. The 
detective presented this case to the District 
Attorney’s office and the District Attorney filed 
three counts of second degree commercial 
burglary against all four suspects.

Case Submitted to the District Attorney for Filing 
Consideration

Patrol responded to a residential burglary 
at 133 E. Pomona on February 20, 2011. The 
suspect stole $5,950 worth of women’s jewelry. 
The handling patrol officer obtained a latent print 
from a cigarette wrapper found on the residential 
property. The latent print was processed by the 
Crime Lab and the print was identified. The 
handling detective conducted his supplemental 
investigation and discovered this subject had 
been arrested by deputies from the Temple City 
substation on the same day as our burglary. 
Our detective coordinated with the Temple City 
detective and learned this subject was arrested 
with women’s jewelry in his possession which 
the deputies booked into their evidence system 
as property under observation. Our detective 
contacted the victim and the victim identified the 
jewelry as hers. The jewelry was returned to the 
victim. The detective has submitted this case to 
the District Attorney to obtain an arrest warrant 
case of residential burglary against the suspect.


Community members who have ideas or 
concerns about the programs and services 
needed by low-income families in Pasadena, 
Altadena, South Pasadena, Monrovia, Arcadia, 
Duarte, Sierra Madre or Bradbury are invite to 
share their input at one of two evening Public 
Forums for Community Needs Assessment.

Information gathered at the forums will be 
considered in planning Community Services 
Block Grant (CSBG ) services and programs for 
2012 and 2013. Foothill Unity Center is eligible 
for these funds as the Community Action Agency 
(CAA) for the Foothill Area.

 The first forum will be held Monday, June 
6, at the Center’s Pasadena location, 191 North 
Oak. The second will be on Tuesday, June 7, at 
the organization’s Monrovia headquarters, 415 
West Chestnut Avenue. Both events are from 5 
to 7 p.m.

Light refreshments will be served. For more 
information call Gerald at (626) 358-3486.

 About Foothill Unity Center

Foothill Unity Center, Inc., has been serving 
low-income families and those in crisis for over 
30 years. Founded in 1980 in a church closet to 
provide food to a few hungry families, the Center 
has become the major source of food, health 
services and crisis assistance for over 4,000 low-
income families in its service area: Pasadena, 
Altadena, South Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra 
Madre, Monrovia, Duarte, Azusa, Baldwin Park 
and Irwindale. In 1991, the organization was 
incorporated. In 2008, it was federally designated 
the Community Action Agency for the Foothill 
Area.

The Center acts as a lifeline for very low income 
individuals and families who are struggling to 
survive. Clients are often unemployed, employed 
at wages too low to provide for their families, 
on welfare, or facing a temporary crisis. It also 
serves seniors, homeless, disabled, emancipated 
foster youth, victims of domestic violence, and 
students on limited incomes. 38% of its clients 
are children.

Pension Reform Takes Center Stage 

In Monrovia Budget Talks

by Scott Ochoa

Although the redevelopment elimination 
drama has not yet played out, another major 
policy initiative is being introduced - but what a 
difference some actual strategic policy analysis 
makes. Pension reform is a very hot topic, and 
understandably so. To folks not in state and local 
government service, the pensions drawn by some 
government employees can seem downright 
opulent. When you move past the examples 
identified by the media to enflame folks’ anger and 
when you set aside the cartoonishly extravagant 
- and unlawful - situation in the City of Bell, 
however, the pensions come back into a more 
normal focus for street crew workers, planners, 
teachers, etc. The question, I think, then becomes: 
“Can the California Public Employees Retirement 
System (PERS) afford this current system?” 
Increasingly, the answer appears to be “no.”

It is important to remember that it was not too 
long ago that PERS was making huge amounts 
of money in its investment portfolio, it and its 
members cities were “super-funded” (meaning 
that they had more than enough money to pay 
out any and all retirement promises), and that 
PERS was creating and offering a variety of 
retirement plan options such as “3%@50” for 
public safety employees and “2.7%@55” for non-
safety employees. With these plans available, city 
councils were petitioned by employee groups and 
unions to adopt the more lucrative options - and 
many of us did. To be sure, in consultation with 
PERS, the long term costs were identified and were 
reportedly minimal - after all, PERS was making 
so much money on its investments that the cost 
of the benefit enhancements was marginal. And 
faced with the relatively minimal costs, cities 
found it difficult to deny the requests. After all, 
if the benefit doesn’t cost much and many other 
agencies are adopting it, how can you maintain 
your agency’s ability to be competitive in the 
market - especially in the face of equally powerful 
and popular public safety unions? And after the 
police and fire unions received the benefit, non-
safety benefit enhancements trickled into the 
miscellaneous employee unions. For our part, in 
Monrovia, City Councils required that the unions 
“purchase” the benefit enhancements by forgoing 
raises for a period of time.

None of this is meant as a slam or indictment 
of PERS, or employee unions, or the cities, or 
councils. Looking back, I think all parties did 
what you might expect them to do (save PERS 
employees’ alleged indiscretions, of course). 
Rather, it is important for all to note that the world 
has changed since the summer and fall of 2008. 
PERS’ failure to see the “iceberg” on the horizon 
has at least some similarity to Bear Stearns, and/or 
Lehman Brothers, and/or AIG, and/or the federal 
governments’ failure. All of these folks (save the 
Fed, of course) were making huge amounts of 
money and couldn’t help but believe that the 
housing bubble would continue to grow - or at least 
slowly deflate, instead of pop. Or as Julius Caesar 
once observed, “Men willingly believe what they 
wish.” For that matter, in the late 1990s and early 
2000s, no one at all seemed too concerned about 
pension reform. Thus, in my humble opinion, it is 
important that we maintain an even-keel and we 
more toward reform in a fair, sober and judicious 
way.

Now that the dust is beginning to settle from the 
financial meltdown, we must take steps to ensure 
that our system is sustainable. And “sustainability” 
requires that we examine the assumptions that our 
retirement system is based on. While the Great 
Recession of 2008-09 exposed the weakness of 
the system, I believe the system’s failures must be 
addressed in broader context.

Already, the Little Hoover Commission, the 
League of California Cities, as well as individual 
cities are studying and preparing for this new 
reality. Indeed, many cities are already moving 
in a direction to assure their communities of this 
sustainability and still provide employees with fair 
and competitive compensation.

In Monrovia, this endeavor has been taking 
shape for the last two years and has allowed us 
to avoid the crushing impact of these benefits. 
Indeed, Monrovia has changed its compensation 
negotiation strategy (by moving away from the 
spiraling compensation surveys previously used 
to examine salaries and benefits) and we have 
implemented a hybrid/defined contribution 
retiree medical program. Additionally, last year, 
we negotiated with employee groups so that 
they would begin to pay for a portion of their 
retirement costs.

These steps, taken in partnership with our 
employee groups and management team (who 
all appear to understand the new economic 
reality), will pave the way for additional changes 
in the coming years. Over the next three 
years, Monrovia will implement a two-tiered 
retirement program for new employees; we will 
negotiate with employees to absorb increasing 
amounts of their own retirement costs, until they 
have reassumed the entire employee share; and 
we will adjust the structure by which employees 
accrue bankable hours and expend such hours. 
Again, all of these changes require that we meet 
and confer with our unions; however, the City 
Council is indicating its intention to move in a 
direction that is fair, competitive and sustainable 
for the long term.

I fully expect there to be thoughtful and 
provocative discussions about options, 
alternatives, and suggestions as we head down this 
direction. Still, the trajectory of our thoughts and 
ideas has shifted over the last three years.


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