Police Blotter: January 20, 2023
Monday, January 9
At 7:30 a.m. Claremont police responded to the 1300 block of N. Towne Avenue regarding a woman throwing rocks at passing cars. When officers arrived Riverside resident Maria Garcia Moreno, 36, waved them down and said she needed help. Officers reported Garcia Moreno was acting erratically. A records check revealed she had four felony warrants in Riverside County, including possession of stolen property and auto theft with $100,000 bail; taking drugs into a jail, $50,000 bail; auto theft, $50,000 bail and possession of stolen property, also $50,000 bail. In addition, she had a misdemeanor warrant in San Bernardino County with $25,000 bail. She was arrested on the warrants, transported to the Claremont jail and booked. She was issued a citation for the misdemeanor warrant and transferred to Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside County to be held on the felony warrants.
Thursday, January 12
Officers on patrol at 2:10 a.m. reported seeing a white 1994 Honda Del Sol heading east on Foothill Boulevard that failed to stop behind the red light limit line at Towne Avenue. When the car did come to a stop, it was reportedly blocking the crosswalk. The driver, Pomona resident Reiber Gomez, 28, allegedly turned north on Towne and sped up to 59 mph in a 40-mph zone. Officers said the Honda was swerving in its lane and nearly collided with the curb. They pulled Gomez over for the vehicle code violations and after questioning him, reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol and that he appeared intoxicated. Gomez refused both the field sobriety tests and the preliminary alcohol screening, but was arrested for DUI based on officers’ observations, including his driving. Gomez was transported to the CPD jail, where he provided a breath sample police say was about 2.5 times the legal limit to drive. He was booked, held for detoxification, and released with a citation to appear in court.
Friday, January 13
Officers checking the neighborhood adjacent to Bridgeport Avenue and Scripps Drive at 4 a.m. reported seeing a silver 2003 BMW 325i with dark tinted front windows, which they then pulled over for the equipment violation. Officers questioned Montclair resident Erick Bolanos, 29, who allegedly said he did not have a driver’s license. A records check of his passenger, David Flores, 38, from Los Angeles, brought up a San Bernardino County felony no-bail warrant. Flores allegedly admitted he had a pipe in his sock, which officers determined had been used for smoking methamphetamine. Both men were arrested and transported to the Claremont jail, where Bolanos was released with a citation for being an unlicensed driver. Flores was booked on the felony warrant, transferred to the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles, then later transported to a jail in San Bernardino County.
Police received a 7:31 p.m. call about an alleged burglary in the 3400 block of Grand Avenue. The victim arrived home around 7 p.m. to find a broken window in the master bedroom, and discovered several rooms had been ransacked. The unknown suspect stole jewelry and money of undetermined value. A neighbor had a video surveillance camera which may have evidence of the crime, but police had not reviewed the footage at the time the report was written. If anyone has information about the burglary, please contact the Claremont Police Department at (909) 399-5411.
Saturday, January 14
Officers driving near the intersection of Harrison and Harvard avenues at 5:04 a.m. allegedly saw two people going through items in the trunk of a car. As officers pulled into a parking lot, the pair, 41-year-old William Dillon, of Montclair and 34-year-old San Jose, California resident Amber Sutton, reportedly walked over to a second car and proceeded to go through items in that vehicle as well. Police determined the pair had rented the two cars, but during a records check found Sutton had three misdemeanor warrants and Dillon had a felony warrant in Orange County. Sutton was issued a citation for her warrants and released at the scene. Dillon was arrested, transported to the CPD jail, where he was booked on the felony warrant and transported to Orange County Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana.
Police were called at 9:08 a.m. to the 200 block of W. First Street regarding a man attempting to sell computers. Responding officers spotted a 26-year-old unhoused man with whom they were familiar from previous interactions. As the officers approached, the man allegedly grabbed four boxes containing laptop computers and headed up the alley and across the breezeway south of The Press restaurant. He then allegedly put the boxes down on table in the 100 block of Harvard Avenue and fled on foot. Officers told him to stop, but he refused and ran onto the Metrolink platform before heading toward the businesses on the south side of the tracks. Police say he discarded objects from his pockets as he ran from officers. Additional police units arrived and the man was taken into custody in the 100 block of S. Indian Hill Boulevard. A records check showed he was on probation for theft and had an outstanding Los Angeles County probation warrant. Officers recovered four Apple MacBooks, six cell phones, an Apple iPad and two Apple iPods. The iPad was taken from a Claremont High School student in Village West on January 13, but the victim did not immediately report the theft for fear of getting in trouble. The iPad was returned to the student. Property tags on the other electronics indicated they belonged to Pomona College, and officials from the college confirmed a burglary occurred at Sumner Hall, 333 N. College Way, sometime between January 11 and 14. Employees of the college positively identified the computers, the iPods and the phones as their property, which police say had a value of $5,020. The unhoused man was arrested for felony possession of stolen property, the probation warrant, and misdemeanor resisting arrest. He was taken to the Claremont jail, booked and held for a court appearance on Wednesday.
