Police blotter 12-4-20

Thursday, November 19

A resident in the 600 block of Huron Place called CPD at 8:02 p.m. after noticing a suspicious person parked in a Jeep. Police arrived and questioned a 42-year-old Pomona woman, Mayra Fabela. A records check revealed a felony arrest warrant for an insurance fraud charge. She was arrested, booked, and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.

Friday, November 20

Claremont police on patrol at 10:41 p.m. at the Knight’s Inn, 721 S. Indian Hill Blvd., ran the  license plate of a 2004 GMC Yukon parked in the parking lot. It had been reported stolen, so they approached the driver, Maria Calderon, 33, from Rancho Santa Margarita. It turned out Ms. Calderon was not only arrested for felony grand theft auto and felony possession of a stolen car, she also had multiple warrants, at least one of them a felony, out of Orange County. She was booked and cited for the two new felony car theft charges, then transferred to an Orange County jail to answer for the warrants. 

Sunday, November 22

A short but wild car chase ended abruptly at 10:46 a.m. when a 39-year-old Claremont man crashed his vehicle into a tree, revealing an assortment of drugs and a loaded handgun. It began when CPD officers attempted to pull over a suspicious vehicle near Indian Hill Blvd. and Bonita Ave. Police say the driver, Marcos Elizade, instead took off southbound on Indian Hill and then turned left on Arrow Hwy., reaching speeds of up to 60 miles-per-hour before crashing into a tree in front of  LA West Liquors in the 300 block of Arrow Hwy. Cops detained both Mr. Elizade and his passenger, Erica Lopez, 36. A search of the car allegedly turned up the loaded .380 pistol, and enough methamphetamine, heroin and the prescription benzodiazepine sedative Xanax to lead officers to believe the drugs were for sale. They were both arrested on two felony counts of possession of a firearm with narcotics involved, and possession of a loaded firearm, and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a meth pipe. Mr. Martinez was also charged with eluding arrest, for the car chase, as well as a probation violation for a previous conviction. Since neither suspect would say who the handgun belonged to, police took DNA swabs from both of them, and from the handgun. They’re awaiting test results to determine the gun’s owner.

Claremont cops received an alert regarding a stolen Cadillac Escalade seen in the area. At 10:21 p.m. they located the unoccupied Caddy in the parking lot of the Knight’s Inn, 721 S. Indian Hill Blvd. A review of motel security footage allegedly showed three suspects getting out of the hot SUV and entering a room. Police then moved to arrest the trio. A knock at the front door sent the three scrambling out the back, but cops were waiting there as well, and arrested them without incident. Andrew Hernandez, 18, from La Verne was charged with two felonies: grand theft auto and possession of a stolen vehicle; Ontario resident Rebecca Rosales, 28, was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, a felony; and Savannah Martinez, 25, from Pomona, was picked up for an outstanding warrant. Ms. Rosales spent two days in the Claremont jail before appearing in Pomona court November 24 on the felony firearm violation.

Tuesday, November 24

Claremont Police Department received a call at 7:30 a.m. from the staff at Motel 6, 840 S. Indian Hill Blvd., regarding a woman attempting to steal some wiring from outside the building. When police arrived they saw Jasmin Rucker, 32, from Covina, walking away from the motel. During questioning, Ms. Rucker allegedly admitted to “having a little bit of dope” on her. Cops found some methamphetamine in her right front pocket, and arrested her for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. There were no charges filed for the alleged property theft. Ms. Rucker was booked and released with a citation to appear in court.

Wednesday, November 25

Multiple police vehicles responded to a stolen car pursuit that thankfully ended without anyone getting hurt or any property damage. It began when Claremont cops attempted to pull over a 2017 Infiniti Q60 for vehicle code violations at 9:10 a.m. near Indian Hill Blvd. and Oak Park Dr. The driver, Derek Quinonez, 24, from Los Angeles, initially complied, but after stopping apparently had second thoughts and put the car in drive and drove off, heading south on Indian Hill Blvd. with police in pursuit. Mr. Quinonez then turned right into the Cobblestone apartment complex in Pomona, stopped the car, and took off running across Indian Hill Blvd. Claremont police gave chase on foot and caught up with him quickly, and he was arrested without further incident or injury. It turned out the Infiniti had been stolen off the used car lot at nearby Claremont Toyota. Mr. Quinonez was charged with two felonies: possession of a stolen vehicle and evading arrest, as well as resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. He was booked and held for arraignment in Pomona Superior Court.

Friday, November 27

Claremont police responded to a strange early morning commercial burglary call at an office space located in the Village Plaza building at 250 W. First St. An employee in the office surprised the alleged burglar, Jose Hernandez, 31, from Claremont, at 9:45 a.m. Cops arrived quickly and arrested him outside the office on a commercial burglary charge. They allege Mr. Hernandez took a flash drive and some paperwork, but nothing else. Police could not say, and the arresting officer’s report did not indicate whether the alleged burglar targeted the business for personal reasons, or if it was a random crime. Regardless, Mr. Hernandez was booked and released with a citation to appear in court.

A Claremont man was arrested for felony hit and run after he allegedly left the scene of a 9 p.m. traffic accident near Mt. Baldy Rd. and Padua Ave. After interviewing the other party in the crash, who was complaining of neck pain as a result of the collision, police were able to locate Jorge Cardenas, 24, who complied with their request to return to the accident site. Once there, he was arrested on the felony charge, booked and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.