Police blotter 9.22.12

Wednesday, September 12

Two men—one wearing a skeleton mask, the other wearing skinny jeans and what appeared to be a turban—are believed to be linked with an act of vandalism to an American flag at the Alexander Hughes Community Center the evening of the 11th anniversary of 9/11. A maintenance worker at the center, located at 1700 Danbury Road, placed the flag at half-staff the morning of September 11 in remembrance of the tragedy. Video surveillance reveals the 2 men tampering with the flag around 9:30 that evening. The maintenance worker returned around 11:30 the next morning to find the flag with apparent fire damage, according to Detective Rick Varney. The investigation continues.

Thursday, September 13

A man returned to his parked car in the 700 block of West Bonita Avenue early Thursday evening to find the vehicle already occupied. A stranger with severe facial acne and a shaved head was staring back at him from the driver’s seat of the car. The burglar quickly exited the vehicle and ran before the owner of the car could catch him. A woman walking a small dog near the scene of the incident, believed to be a “lookout,” heard about the incident from a witness and got into a car nearby. A man matching the description of the burglar was seen getting into the passenger’s seat. The man is described as Hispanic, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighing 110 pounds and wearing a white shirt with baggy black pants. The woman is described as Hispanic with blonde hair and a purple streak, about 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 100 pounds. At the time of the incident, she was wearing a black tank top and black pants.

Saturday, September 15

The owners of Fruizen, a Claremont eatery located at 697 E. Foothill Blvd., called police Saturday evening after believing an angry customer was in possession of a knife, according to Det. Rick Varney. Police located the man, who was not found with a knife but was found with an outstanding warrant worth $5000 for driving with a suspended license. He was arrested.

Sunday, September 16

Three bikes parked in the 600 block of Amherst Avenue were targeted in a bicycle-part burglary. Stolen loot included wheels, bike seats and tires. Matters were made worse for one victim, whose bike was left with a derogatory note. An unpleasant 4-letter word was found written in black Sharpie on the woman’s bike.

***

A suspicious man was spotted sitting in a white pickup truck parked in the Our Lady of the Assumption parking lot around 8:50 p.m. His presence drew particular curiosity as he had been spotted loitering at the church on previous occasions, according to the police report. Don Woodward, 52, was arrested for an outstanding warrant for driving under the influence.

Monday, September 17

During a search of a driver on felony probation Monday morning, it was the passenger who ended up in trouble. The man was initially pulled over for driving at unsafe speeds. Upon discovering the man was on probation, police conducted a consent search. Though the man was not found in possession, the passenger admitted she had methamphetamine in a meth pipe hidden in her bra and underwear, according to the report. Brenda Hernandez, 25, of Pomona was arrested for the drugs and drug paraphernalia. The man was released at the scene.

Tuesday, September 18

A 26-year-old man was arrested under unusual circumstances involving what police thought was a stolen vehicle. Police received a hit on a stolen vehicle out of Rancho Cucamonga spotted near Claremont and Foothill Boulevards Tuesday morning. A felony traffic stop was conducted at the Doubletree Hotel, where police discovered the car had 2 different license plates. Miguel Rubio, the driver of the vehicle, claimed the car belonged to his girlfriend. Instead of paying for new registration for her car, he swapped his back license plate with hers, according to Det. Varney. Sometime after, Mr. Rubio’s car was stolen while at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga and the incident was reported to the police. With the use of Claremont’s camera system recognizing the license plates of stolen vehicles, Claremont Police received a hit on the car driven by Mr. Rubio. Even though it wasn’t the stolen vehicle, the camera matched the stolen vehicle with the back license plate placed on the car. At the end of the story, though Mr. Rubio was not guilty of driving a stolen vehicle, he was arrested for false tags.

—Beth Hartnett

news@claremont-courier.com