Police blotter 11.3.12

Flurry of accidents keeps aircrews hopping

Emergency aircrews were called out to Claremont on 4 separate occasions over 2 days this week for unrelated car accidents. Each accident involved a biker or pedestrian. The first incident—which occurred on Monday, October 29—took place around 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Dartmouth and Foothill Boulevard. A car took a premature left turn onto Dartmouth at Foothill, colliding with a motorcycle traveling east on Foothill. The motorcyclist, a 41-year-old male, was airlifted to USC. He was joined at USC later that morning by a 19-year-old bicyclist who was struck by a car near Sixth Street and Indian Hill. The 19-year-old female was going east on Sixth Street and was hit when she entered lanes of traffic to go south on Indian Hill. She was airlifted for head trauma. Neither sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Lieutenant Shelly Vander Veen.

The following evening at 5:15 p.m. a man was flown to USC Medical Center after a solo motorcycle crash near Arrow Highway and Olive Street. The motorcyclist, traveling east on Arrow Highway, locked his brakes and slid his bike in reaction to a car he thought was going to pull out in front of him from the Peppertree Square Shopping Center. Because the man was unable to answer the police’s questions, he was sent to USC for possible head trauma.

A 43-year-old pedestrian was sent to USC in critical condition after being hit by a car near First Street and Claremont Boulevard Tuesday night. The man was walking south on Claremont Boulevard when the vehicle, also traveling south, collided with him. When police arrived on scene, they found the man lying in the street. He was flown to USC with major head trauma. The driver of the car remained on scene. His condition is unknown at this time.

Wednesday, October 24

A burglar with an inclination for the bottle broke into a home in the 1800 block of Denver Avenue Wednesday morning through an unlocked front door and left with only one object in hand. A resident, at home at the time of the burglary, heard a thump downstairs and went to inspect the noise. The burglar fled through a sliding glass back door, taking one bottle of wine with him. Nothing else was reported stolen.

Thursday, October 25

A 28-year-old Claremont resident claims he wasn’t aware an $1800 check he cashed at Wells Fargo was a fake after being arrested for fraud Wednesday. Louis Dominguez Perez said he had received the check in the mail and, though unsure of the sender, cashed the fictitious check on Tuesday, October 23, at the Wells Fargo at 203 N. Yale Ave., according to Lt. Vander Veen. He returned 2 days later to withdraw the money, but left the bank empty-handed. Mr. Dominguez Perez was arrested for knowingly withdrawing insufficient funds.

Saturday, October 27

After taking it upon himself to conduct a series of unwanted house calls around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday, 21-year-old Danny Johnson of Azusa received an unwelcome call of his own from Claremont police. Mr. Johnson was awoken by the police in the courtyard of an apartment complex in the 600 block of San Jose Avenue, where he had fallen asleep after knocking on several apartment doors. Mr. Johnson, who had a cut to his forehead, admitted he had a lot to drink and had no idea where he was. He was arrested for drinking in public.

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A Blaisdell Park visitor in need of the restroom was given a shock Saturday evening when he entered the men’s restroom to find a roll of toilet paper on fire. Fortunately, the man was able to put out the toilet paper fire without incident. There are no suspects.

Sunday, October 28

A residence in the 1600 block of Benedict Avenue was left in the dark early Sunday morning after 2 burglars stole 5 landscaping lights from the front yard. A resident of the home reported seeing a couple with flashlights, but did not think anything of it until the theft was discovered later that day, according to Lt. Vander Veen. The burglars are described as a Hispanic male and female about 30 years old. The loss is estimated at about $250.

Monday, October 29

It wasn’t until after being escorted off campus that a suspicious woman seen at the Webb Schools was linked to an on-campus crime. The woman had carted off a backpack stolen from one of the classrooms. Police found the woman down the street no longer in possession of the backpack. However, after a quick search, the backpack was found hidden in bushes nearby. Amanda Hohn, 21, of Ontario, admitted to stealing the backpack with a MacBook computer and was arrested.

—Beth Hartnett

news@claremont-courier.com