Arcadia · Monrovia · Duarte | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, March 9, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 Mountain View News Saturday, March 9, 2019 UNANIMOUS ARCADIA CITY COUNCIL ACTS TO PLACE LOCAL FUNDING MEASURE ON THE BALLOT TO MAINTAIN PUBLIC SAFETY AND OTHER CITY SERVICES ARCADIA POLICE BLOTTER For the period of Sunday, February 24th, through Saturday, March 2nd, the Police Department responded to 930 calls for service, of which 113 required formal investigations. The following is a summary report of the major incidents handled by the Department during this period. Sunday, February 24: 1. Shortly before 7:51 a.m., an officer responded to a residence in the 00 block of West Las Flores Avenue regarding a burglary report. The officer discovered sometime between 11:00 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. on the previous evening, unknown suspect(s) smashed a rear glass door but were scared off by a barking dog inside the home. No suspects were seen and no witnesses were located. 2. At approximately 1:51 p.m., an officer responded to Arcadia Supermarket, 645 West Duarte Road, regarding a theft report. Over the course of two days, two male suspects stole more than $1,550.00 worth of seafood. Suspect 1 is described as an Asian male, 35 to 45-years-old, black hair, seen wearing a grey long sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and black eyeglasses. He had a mustache. Suspect 2 is described as an Asian male, 40 to 45-years-old, approximately 5’2”, 150 pounds, with a dark complexion. The investigation is ongoing. Monday, February 25: 3. Just after 11:00 a.m., an officer responded to Trading Co., 11908 Clark Street, regarding a commercial burglary report. An investigation revealed unknown suspect(s) forced entry into the business by ramming a roll up aluminum bay door with their vehicle. There was a similar incident on the same night at Protech Construction, 11626 Goldring Road. The suspect’s vehicle is believed to be a newer model, white Chevrolet 1500 truck. The investigation is ongoing. 4. At approximately 3:21 p.m., an officer responded to a medical office in the 00 block of North Fifth Avenue regarding a fraud report. The victim, a doctor, discovered the suspect forged a prescription form and attempted to fill the prescription in Riverside. The investigation is ongoing. Tuesday, February 26: 5. Around 9:11 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 300 block of Sharon Road regarding a burglary report. An investigation revealed unknown suspects smashed a rear window, activated the alarm, and cut wires to a cable box likely assuming the cable box was connected to the alarm system. Officers determined the crime occurred on February 21st at 7:55 p.m. A neighbor’s surveillance footage captured a black SUV in front of the home during the crime. The investigation is ongoing. 6. Just before 12:59 p.m., an officer responded to a residence in the 1700 block of Oakwood Avenue regarding a stolen vehicle report. The victim discovered his 2013 Toyota Tundra had been stolen from the location. He left the keys in the ignition and the vehicle unlocked. The investigation is ongoing. Wednesday, February 27: 7. At about 1:45 p.m., an officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of Camino Real Avenue and Santa Anita Avenue for driving with a broken windshield. A records check of the occupants revealed a 36-year-old female passenger from Arcadia had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant and a second passenger, a 39-year-old male from Temple City was on probation for vehicle theft and was found to be in possession of a meth pipe. Both suspects were cited and released in the field due to medical concerns. 8. Shortly after 4:34 p.m., an officer responded to rePLANET, 745 West Naomi Avenue, regarding a battery report. A verbal argument turned physical when a customer pushed an employee to the ground. The customer, a 64-year-old male from Pasadena, fled before the officer arrived. The suspect is outstanding at the time of this report. Thursday, February 28: 9. Before 1:50 a.m., officers responded to Santa Anita Cleaners, 1001 North Santa Anita Avenue, regarding a burglary alarm activation. The officers discovered unknown suspect(s) attempted to pry open the rear door, however, a secondary lock prohibited them from entering. The investigation is ongoing. 10. Around 11:16 a.m., an officer responded to Coco’s Restaurant, 1150 Colorado Boulevard, regarding a theft from vehicle report. The officer determined the suspect entered the unlocked vehicle and stole a computer monitor, cash, and the victim’s wallet. No suspects were seen and no witnesses were located. Friday, March 1: 11. At about 12:55 a.m., officers responded to Empress Nails and Spa, 411 East Huntington Drive, regarding a burglary report. Surveillance footage revealed a lone suspect entered the business by unknown means, attempted to steal the ATM, but failed as it was bolted to the ground. The suspect fled and no loss was reported. The suspect is described as a male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and baggy black pants. The investigation is ongoing. 12. Just before 8:56 a.m., an officer responded to the Arcadia Police Department front counter regarding a vandalism at an apartment complex in the 700 block of Fairview Avenue. The reporting party discovered a security gate door knob had been damaged sometime between February 22nd and February 28th. No suspects were seen and no witnesses were located. March 5, 2019 – The Arcadia City Council unanimously placed the Arcadia Public Safety, City Services and Accountability Measure on the June 2019 ballot to maintain public safety and other local services. “City staff and the Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee have indicated we have a multi-million dollar structural deficit,” said City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto. “As police and fire are 60% of the City’s General Fund budget, we have acted to give Arcadia voters the option of generating more locally-controlled tax revenue to maintain public safety and other City services at current levels.” “With changes in state law allowing for the early release of prisoners and shortening sentences, Arcadia residents have expressed the importance of maintaining police protection and the number of Arcadia officers at current levels,” said Arcadia Police Chief Robert Guthrie. “The City currently has five fewer police officers than it did in 2008. Unless more revenue is generated, as many as 13 police officer positions could be cut, affecting police patrols and response times.” “Cleaning and maintaining City neighborhoods, streets, parks, and other public facilities is important to the community,” said Public Works Services Director Tom Tait. “Maintaining the City’s infrastructure is part of what makes the quality of life in Arcadia better than surrounding communities.” Additionally, the City had previously indicated that without additional local funding, as many as ten firefighter/paramedic positions and fire coverage in North Arcadia could be affected. For more information about the Arcadia Public Safety, City Services and Accountability Measure, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 574- 5401. MONROVIA FIRE AND RESCUE RESPONDS TO MULTIPLE FIRES (MONROVIA, CA.) – On March 6, Monrovia Fire & Rescue responded to a vege-tation fire on the corner of Chestnut Avenue, a fire to a public book-sharing unit, and a structure fire at the 700 block of West Colorado Boulevard. On March 7, the department responded to a structure fire at the 800 block of West Walnut Avenue. It has been determined that these fires are suspicious in nature. Verdugo Arson Task Force, assisted by the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Bureau of Alco-hol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators, are currently on the scene with K9 units. The Monrovia Police Department Detective Bureau has detained a person of inter-est for the incident and is investigating if that person has any connections to the fires. The investigation is still in its infancy and the person of interest has not yet been booked. Damages were significant to the structure under construction on the 700 block of West Colorado. No one was present in the home at the time of the fire, and no in-juries were sustained. In addition, damages were sustained to multiple neighboring houses, along with heat damages to nearby cars. The structure under construction and the adjacent property have both been red-tagged. The City will be issuing a Notice of Order to Abate. For the fire on the 800 block of Walnut Avenue, two people currently reside at the house, with only one occupant present when the fire began. The person was treat-ed for smoke inhalation and was released at the scene. This home has also been red-tagged. Property damage and content loss for the fires has been calculated at over $1 mil-lion. There were no injuries that required medical care at any of the four fires. The Monrovia Police Department and Monrovia Fire & Rescue encourages com-munity members to always report any suspicious activities by calling 911. Monrovia Police Department arrested and booked Ryan Dhalliwal, a 25-year-old resident of the City of Monrovia, for arson (PC 451). Dhalliwal was detained early this morning for questioning and has now been arrested and charged for starting the fire to a public book-exchange unit on the 700 block of West Chestnut Ave-nue. COMMUNITY MEETING TO DISCUSS POSSIBLE SALES TAX MEASURE SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, MARCH 11, 6:00 – 7:00 P.M., IN LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM The City has scheduled a Community Meeting to discuss issues and answer questions related to a potential sales tax measure in 2019. We want to hear from the community to see if a local tax measure could be a viable solution for Monrovia as we search for ways to protect our local sales tax capacity from other governmental jurisdictions, including LA County. The meeting will take place at the Library Community Room (321 S. Myrtle Ave.) on Monday, March 11, from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please visit us online for more information. AFTER PROCUREMENT DELAYS, TERRADO DRIVE SPEED BUMP INSTALLATION IS SET TO MOVE FORWARD Just a quick note to let everyone know that we’re making plans to move forward with the installation of speed bumps on Terrado Drive. If you recall, in late 2018, residents on Terrado Drive submit-ted a petition asking that the City install speed bumps on their street. Based on that feedback and an assessment conducted by staff, we made plans in December to coordinate the installation of the requisite speed bumps. Based on the preliminary engineering work that was done, it was de-termined that nine speed bumps would need to be installed on Ter-rado Drive, and based on the cost of the improvements and our ex-isting procurement processes, we coordinated an informal bid which identified Lake Traffic as the low bidder. However, after awarding the procurement contract for purchasing nine speed bumps to that firm, they became non-responsive, which has required that we look to purchase the speed bumps from an alternative firm. Given that delay, we are currently around 6 – 8 weeks away from receiving and installing the speed bumps. We’ve communicated this updated schedule to the residents on Terrado Drive. 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||