Police Blotter: January 14, 2022
Saturday, January 1
Claremont Police Department patrol officers pulled over a car near the corner of Foothill Blvd. and Mills Ave. at 11:33 p.m. for not having a front license plate. A records check of the driver, Danny Quintero, 28, from Hesperia, turned up an arrest warrant, and a search allegedly uncovered a bindle of methamphetamine in his right front pocket. Quintero was arrested for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, and for the warrant, booked, and released with a citation to appear in Pomona Superior Court.
Sunday, January 2
Claremont police stopped a 2017 Nissan Ultima for a vehicle code violation at College and San Jose avenues at 12:41 a.m. A records check revealed the driver, 34-year-old Los Angeles resident Joshua Burbank, had three misdemeanor and one felony warrants out for his arrest, the latter from Pomona Police Department. His passenger, Monique Mendoza, 23, from Orange, also had an outstanding felony warrant. They were both arrested and booked. Mendoza was released with a citation to appear in court. Burbank was released into the custody of Pomona police, where he was held in front of a court appearance on the felony warrant.
Monday, January 3
Brothers Juan Rojas, 30, and Jose Rojas, 29, both from Chino, were arrested together after being found in possession a stolen car and burglary tools. The incident began when Claremont police dispatch advised officers to be on the lookout for a white 2018 Hyundai Elantra that had been reported stolen in Pomona. At 12:09 a.m. Claremont patrol officers located the hot Hyundai moving near Foothill and Indian Hill boulevards and pulled it over, along with a Chevy Silverado pickup. The driver of the Hyundai, Jose, was found to be on probation for a previous felony conviction, and he had a warrant out for his arrest. He was arrested for three new felony charges: possession of a stolen car, car theft, and burglary, as well as a misdemeanor, possession of burglary tools, and for the warrant. His brother Juan, who had been driving the Silverado, was arrested for felony car theft and was found to be on probation for a previous felony grand theft auto conviction out of Orange County. Police say Juan drove Jose to the Elantra, who stole it, and the pair drove off together. Both men were booked and held for their Wednesday, January 5 arraignment in Pomona Superior Court.
Tuesday, January 4
A 21-year-old Inglewood man, Joseph Sturges, was arrested at the Knight’s Inn, 721 S. Indian Hill Blvd., after police allegedly found “nunchaku,” or “nunchucks” in his car. Cops say they noticed Sturges sitting in the driver’s seat of a grey 2020 Dodge Challenger in the parking lot at 9:56 a.m., and that he consented to a search, which turned up the nunchucks in the center console. He was arrested for misdemeanor possession of nunchucks, booked, and released with a citation to appear in court.
Wednesday, January 5
Jesse Quinteros, a 38-year-old Pomona man, was arrested on two felony counts of car theft and possession of a stolen car after Claremont police pulled over a black 2000 Honda Civic near the corner of Mountain Ave. and Arrow Hwy. at 12:21 a.m. The city’s license plate reader cameras had alerted them the Honda had recently been stolen out of Ontario. Quinteros was booked and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.
At 12:37 a.m., police on patrol at Motel 6, 840 S. Indian Hill Blvd., ran the plate of a 1996 Honda Civic that came back stolen out of Pomona. They then waited, and a short time later two men exited a motel room and got in the Honda. Police then approached the car and arrested the driver, Jeffery Flores, 33, from San Bernardino, for felony car theft and possession of a stolen car. A search of his passenger, 21-year-old Ontario resident Monserrat Becerra Escamilla, allegedly turned up a meth pipe. A records check then revealed a warrant for his arrest, and that he was on probation for a previous criminal conviction. Escamilla was subsequently arrested as well, for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, the probation violation, and the warrant. Police then knocked on the door of the motel room the men had come from, and allegedly found Alexis Ortega, 25, inside. A records check of the Riverside woman revealed an outstanding warrant for her arrest, and she was issued a ticket onsite. Her male companions were both booked at the station before being released with citations to appear in court.
Friday, January 7
A quick-thinking out-of-state victim of identity theft alerted Hotel Casa 425 that someone had rented two rooms at the 425 W. First St. hotel, and it wasn’t her. The CPD was then called, and officers made it to the hotel at 10:20 a.m. While they were standing in the lobby, Donnell Gloss, a 34-year-old Redlands man, emerged from an elevator to retrieve a luggage cart, apparently in advance of checking out. Police made a quick arrest and went upstairs to check into the two fraudulently rented rooms. In one they allegedly found Keryss Jones, 31, from Rialto, and in the other, 30-year-old Akai Carraway, from San Bernardino. Both women were arrested. A subsequent search of the rooms is said to have turned up numerous profiles, including names, addresses, credit cards and other identifying information belonging to multiple victims — including the unwitting female sponsor of the trio’s Casa 425 outing — as well as a methamphetamine pipe. All three were charged with two felonies: identity theft and grand theft, and the women picked up the additional misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. All were booked and released with citations to appear in Pomona court.
