Police Blotter, a year in review: December 27, 2024
by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com
February 9
Claremont Police Department officers helped serve two search warrants at San Bernardino County residences following an investigation into residential burglaries in Claremont and other cities. Deveon Blaylock, 35, of Fontana, who was free on bond for attempted murder, two vehicle pursuits, and an unrelated possession of firearms case, was located at a Rancho Cucamonga residence, where police said he was in possession of a stolen gun. While being booked at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, he was allegedly found to be in possession of narcotics. Blaylock was charged with five felonies: burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, participant in a criminal street gang, and possession of narcotics in a jail facility. The second warrant served in Fontana yielded eight firearms, three of which were reported stolen. Officers arrested Deandre Scott, 41, of Fontana, for felony possession of a stolen firearm. At the time, police said Scott was employed by the City of Pasadena as a gang interventionist. After booking, Scott was released with a citation. Blaylock was held at West Valley.
February 11
Police received an 8:57 p.m. call from someone reporting a man on surveillance cameras who did not belong at an office building in the 600 block of S. Indian Hill Boulevard. Police located the 33-year-old unhoused man on the third floor of the building and ordered him to sit down. The man allegedly refused the command and began fighting with officers, shoving one and dragging another down a flight of stairs. At the bottom, police said the man ripped equipment from the officer’s vest and struck him. As the officers attempted to take control of his arms, he allegedly tried to bite them multiple times. The man was detained after additional officers arrived. Police said they recovered narcotics paraphernalia near where they had initially contacted the man, who was treated at the scene for minor abrasions by L.A. County Fire Department personnel. He was arrested for felony battery on a police officer and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. A records check showed he was also on post-release community supervision for a felony battery on a peace officer charge in San Bernardino County. He was taken to the Claremont jail where he was held for court.
February 24
Police responding to an 11:34 p.m. report of loud music coming from Chaparral Elementary School, 451 Chaparral Dr., were allegedly greeted by six people running across the parking lot toward a car. Five of them made it into the vehicle, while another allegedly threw a .223 Remington rifle with its serial number scratched off, also known as a ghost gun, over a fence into a nearby yard. Police detained all six people. A search allegedly turned up a nitrous oxide tank and balloons nearby, and the discarded gun. Police then cited four juveniles for misdemeanor curfew violations and released them to their guardians. A fifth juvenile was cited for two misdemeanors, violating curfew and being in possession of nitrous oxide. Police say Carlos Perez, a 19-year-old from Pomona, claimed possession of the gun. He was booked for openly carrying an unloaded firearm, a misdemeanor, and held for court.
March 15
Pomona resident Gilbert Flores, 33, walked into CPD, 570 W. Bonita Ave., at 11:29 p.m. to report his car had been stolen from Oak Park Cemetery. When police searched the car’s information on their database, it revealed Rialto PD had issued an advisory that the vehicle Flores was claiming had been stolen had been involved in a pursuit earlier in the day. That pursuit ended in a crash that saw two of the three occupants arrested, with the third fleeing the scene. Flores was subsequently arrested by Claremont PD and charged with falsely reporting a crime, a misdemeanor, and was held for Rialto PD. Flores was charged with recklessly evading police, a felony, and released on bail March 16.
March 27
CPD officers on patrol pulled over a car at 9:36 p.m. for a vehicle code violation at Foothill Boulevard and Regis Avenue. A records check of the driver, Rico Love, 40, found a misdemeanor warrant, and he was arrested and transported to the police station. During the booking process police realized the man who identified as Mr. Love was actually 47-year-old Duarte resident Victor Cass. Cass was then re-arrested and charged with providing a false name to police, delaying an investigation, and driving on a suspended license, all misdemeanors. He was later released with citations to appear in court.
April 1
A homeowner in the 1800 block of Wheaton Avenue called police at 5:38 p.m. to report his front door handle was broken and five people were standing inside his house. They claimed to have rented the property, but the owner said they had no business being there. Arriving police ordered the would-be renters to leave, and a records check on one, Kevin Tapia, 31, of San Dimas, turned up a felony warrant issued by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Tapia was arrested and booked at CPD before being transported to the Riverside Detention Center, where he was held for the warrant. He appeared at the Indio Larson Justice Center April 4.
April 5
Claremont police received multiple calls from Claremont Colleges Campus Safety officers regarding a protest at Pomona College’s Alexander Hall, 550 N. College Ave. At about 4 p.m., campus safety reported approximately 100 to 150 protesters were outside Alexander Hall, while another 30 to 40 protesters were inside the building, some inside President Gabriella Starr’s office, and they were refusing to leave. Officers from Claremont and surrounding agencies responded at 5:30 p.m. Police spoke with a representative from the protesters, and said they gave them opportunities to leave the president’s office, but after refusing to leave, they arrested 19 for misdemeanor trespassing: Tali Maximon, 22, Olivia Bozzo, 22, Amanda Dym, 21, Analise Pugh, 20, Eunice Kim, 20, Elinor Attisani, 20, Melia Oliver, 22, Miller Simon, 19, Matthew Njue, 19, Sathyagopal Siddapureddy, 21, Jacob Ragaza, 19, Alice Chapman, 18, Andrea Siame, 21, Mikayla Kidd, 21, Marissa Woodworth, 20, Julianna Deibel, 22, Sophie Kim, 23, Krasimir Staykov, 20, and Diana Truong, 21. All were transported to CPD jail, where they were booked and released with citations to appear in court.
May 19
Multiple witnesses called police at 6:15 p.m. to report a woman had struck a 3-year-old child in the face with a rake at Griffith Park, 1800 Woodbend Dr. The woman then left the park and witnesses followed her to a nearby residence. Police located the suspect, a 29-year-old Claremont woman, and arrested her for felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony child abuse. She was transported to CPD jail and held for court.
August 20
After connecting online, a juvenile girl met with a 19-year-old South American man at Motel 6, 840 S. Indian Hill Blvd., on July 20, where the man is alleged to have performed sex acts with the girl. Police were called to the scene at 5:30 p.m., but the man fled before they arrived. Following an investigation, on August 20 police set up a surveillance detail outside the man’s Los Angeles area home and he was arrested for three felonies: lewd and lascivious acts against a minor, oral copulation with a minor, and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He was brought to CPD, booked, and held for court. He was moved to Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles on August 23 and appeared at Pomona Superior Court on October 9.
October 11
Police were called to Oakmont Outdoor School, 120 W. Green St., at 12:30 p.m. regarding a report of someoneexposing himself. Arriving officers questioned a 43-year-old unhoused man, and after a victim positively identified him, he was arrested for indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, booked and held at CPD. He was later transported to Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles, then to Twin Towers Correctional Facility. He appeared at Pomona Superior Court October 16, and was subsequently returned to Twin Towers.
November 1
Police got a family disturbance call at 6:45 a.m. and headed to the parking lot at the 500 block of E. Base Line Rd., where they learned a father and son had gotten into an argument, and the son had allegedly pushed his father to the ground, causing him to hit his head on the pavement. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The son, a 55-year-old Upland resident, was arrested for attempted murder and elder abuse, both felonies, and transported to CPD where he was booked and held for court. On November 6 he was transported to Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, where he was to be held in front of his December 18 Pomona Superior Court appearance.
November 20
About 6 p.m., an employee at a business in the 600 block of W. Foothill Boulevard called police to report a man had been causing a disturbance inside the location, but had fled. The employee provided a description of the man’s car, and officers caught up Covina resident Brian Borland, 35, near the intersection of Foothill and Claremont boulevards. After field sobriety tests he was arrested for DUI and driving without a license, both misdemeanors. He was then booked at CPD, held for detoxification, and released with a citation. But after learning his car had been impounded, police say Borland became irate, refused to leave, and kicked the station’s pedestrian door, damaging it. He was then arrested again, this time for felony vandalism. After booking he was released with a second citation.
