Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 2, 2013

7

Mountain Views News Saturday, February 2, 2013


MONROVIA WILL HOLD 
CITY ELECTIONS IN 
APRIL

By Joan Schmidt

 There have been a lot of comments, speculation 
and even a meeting to decide the fate of the April 
elections in the City of Monrovia. Alice Atkins, 
City Clerk and Steve Baker, City Treasurer, are 
unchallenged. There are two empty seats on 
the City Council and only two candidates have 
officially filed, so why would there be an election? 
Why didn’t more people file?

 It’s been an interesting process. Three people 
pulled papers to run. Clarence Shaw, Major in 
the US Army Reserves, current Council Member 
Larry Spicer, who has been filling in for Shaw 
on an interim basis, and Attorney Alexander 
Blackburn. However, only Spicer and Blackburn 
filed their papers by the deadline. Then Clarence 
Shaw resigned from the Council, and Council 
Members and residents were not pleased that 
there were only two candidates and the untimely 
resignation of Shaw.

 An election cannot be canceled without 
going through the proper procedure. Before any 
decision was made, there was a special Council 
Meeting opened to the public. There was mention 
of an election costing about $58,000. Mayor 
Lutz, and Council Members Becky Shevlin, Tom 
Adams and Joe Garcia all spoke of the democratic 
process, that you can’t put a price tag on freedom, 
and the voters need to vote in their candidates. 
They felt there should be an election. Residents-
quite vocal - came to the meeting; some wanted 
the election canceled, while others thought it 
should be held.

 By a vote of 3-0, (The Mayor abstained), the 
decision was made to hold the election. There 
will be a write-in option. Cyrus Kemp, a retired 
hotel, restaurant and resort manager, and Robert 
C.J. Perry, a marketing consultant and reservist 
with the Army National Guard have submitted 
letters declaring their intent to run as write-in 
candidates. To qualify, they must get and submit 
required nomination forms, collect 20 valid voter 
signatures and allow time for those signatures to 
be verified. All this must occur between February 
11 and March 26. Monrovia residents please don’t 
forget to vote on April 9th !

BURGLARY ALERT IN DUARTE AND TIPS FOR 
RESIDENTS EVERYWHERE

By Joan Schmidt

 Several months ago I was dropping off newspapers at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Satellite 
Station in Duarte and met Aida Torres, Crime Prevention Specialist for the City. Since that time, she 
has sent me many pertinent news alerts about crime activity, safety issues and more.

 Yesterday I received “Burglary Alert”, a warning from the City of Duarte/ Sheriff’s Department 
that a home burglary occurred in Duarte in the 1600 block of Royal Oaks Drive, and that Sheriff’s 
patrols and other security measures have been increased in response to the rash of burglary activity 
in the area.

 This burglary happened between 2:00 and 4:00 pm Monday, January 28th while the residents were 
not home. An unknown person entered through the open garage door and stole an unloaded black 
Ruger rifle, which had not been in a secure location (no safe/no trigger lock). There were no witnesses.

 When I had attended the Monrovia-Arcadia- Duarte Town Council Meeting, two weeks ago, 
Captain Nee and area deputies also had reported a spike in burglaries in county areas. It seems 
outrageous that this occurs in broad daylight and frightening to me. What if any preteens or teens 
had been home or walked in on this?

 Aida was kind enough to forward these important tips to share with our readers:

• Make your home look occupied; leave the TV, radio or lights on, or your dog in the backyard.
• Lock all doors, windows, and garage doors before you leave the house or go to bed.
• Use motion detector lights outside.
• Don’t allow daily deliveries of mail, newspapers or flyers to build up while you are away. 
Arrange for the post office to hold your mail, or a friend or neighbor to collect them regularly.
• Push-button locks on doorknobs are easy for burglars to open. Install deadbolts on all your 
outside doors.
• Keep your yard clean and bushes trimmed. Don’t give burglars a place to hide. (Nineteen 
• years ago, after the Town Council formed, our deputies gave us this tip. We were so 
surprised and had never realized it!)
• If you have an alarm system, use it, even if you leave for a short time.
• If you don’t have an alarm system, buy signs that say you have an alarm and post them 
around your home.


If anyone has any information about the above mentioned burglary, please contact Sergeant Anthony 
Haynes at (626) 357-7938, Ext. 320. If you witness a crime in progress, call 911. Anonymous tips 
can be left at the Sheriff’s Satellite Station Crime Tip Hotline at (626) 357-7938, ext. 462. Tips can be 
emailed at duartecrimetips@lasd.org .

County residents who see any suspicious persons or vehicles in your neighborhood, please report 
them by contacting Temple Sheriff’s Station at (626) 448-9861 or (626) 7171.

Special thanks to the Sheriff’s Department and Duarte Public Safety Office for these valuable tips! 
Final reminder: LOCK THOSE CAR DOORS and DON”T have cell phones, I Pods, Notebooks, etc. 
on the seat and visible to anyone walking by! Captain Nee reminded us that this was an invite for 
someone to break into your car!


MONROVIA POLICE DETECTIVES RECOVER LARGE 
QUANTITY OF STOLEN PROPERTY FROM LOS ANGELES 
COUNTY BURGLARIES 

 

On January 18, 2013, the request for a welfare check on a suicidal female subject led Monrovia police 
officers to a residence in the 200 block of South Alta Vista. While searching for the suicidal subject, 
officers found a large cache of cameras, electronics, and other stolen property at the location. 
During further investigation, detectives uncovered information that led to a storage facility in West 
Covina where they found another large quantity of stolen property. Investigation by Los Angeles 
County Sheriff detectives has indicated that many of the victims of these suspects were individuals 
who had placed themselves on the Los Angeles Times vacation list. These victims were subsequently 
burglarized. 

Monrovia Police Blotter

Highlighted Activity for the Weekdays of January 28-30, 2013

 

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department handled 386 service events, resulting in 80 investigations. 
To see a complete listing of crimes reported, go to http://www.crimemapping.com/map/ca/
monrovia for crime mapping. For Police Department news and information, visit our website at http://
www.ci.monrovia.ca.us/city-government/departments/police-department-homepage and follow us on 
Twitter for police notifications.

 

Juvenile Problem

January 28 at 11:42 a.m., officers were dispatched to an elementary school in the 200 block of Jasmine 
Avenue. A 10-year-old student was found to be in possession of a plastic Airsoft pistol. The student 
said he left it in his backpack from the day before and forgot he had it in the backpack. He showed 
it to a fellow student. The fellow student later reported the incident to school personnel. The principal 
called the student in and retrieved the Airsoft pistol. There were no plastic BB's or magazine 
clips with the pistol. The student's parent was notified and responded to the school. The parent later 
surrendered two additional Airsoft pistols and requested Monrovia Police Department have them 
destroyed. No injuries were reported and the school will be suspending the student. The incident was 
documented.

 

Grand Theft Auto

January 28 at 7:11 p.m., police responded to the 600 block of Vaquero on the report of a stolen vehicle. 
The victim parked and locked her vehicle on the street at 4 p.m. in the evening. She returned to her 
vehicle the next day a little after 7 p.m. and discovered it had been stolen. The vehicle is a blue, 1991 
Toyota Camry. The investigation is continuing.

 

Residential Burglary

January 29 at 10:33 a.m., police dispatch received an alarm call from a residence located in the 400 
block of Parkrose. The alarm was heard by neighbors who checked outside after a few minutes and 
saw the front door of the residence was open and called police. Officers responded and realized the 
front door appeared to have been kicked open. Containment of the area was established and the residence 
checked. No suspect(s) were located or seen by neighbors. It appears the suspect(s) kicked the 
front door and headed straight to the master bedroom. The loss appears to be costume jewelry. The 
investigation is continuing.

 

Residential Burglary

January 30 at 3:54 p.m., police responded to the report of a burglary in the 200 block of North Mountain. 
The resident left at 7:20 a.m. and returned at 3:30 p.m. Upon her return, she discovered her 
home had been broken into and ransacked. The loss was jewelry from the master bedroom. The 
suspect(s) entered through an unlocked living room window and ransacked the entire residence. The 
investigation is continuing.

 

Residential Burglary

January 30 at 11:12 p.m., a residential burglary was reported in the 400 block of Norumbega. The 
crime occurred between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. The suspect(s) forced open the front door and the house 
was ransacked. Jewelry was stolen from the location. The investigation is continuing.


We’d like to hear from you! What’s on YOUR 
Mind?

Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com or www.facebook.
com/mountainviewsnews AND Twitter: @mtnviewsnews