Police Blotter – July 9th, 2021 Edition
Thursday, July 1
While conducting a 10:17 p.m. traffic stop near Indian Hill Blvd. and Auto Center Dr., Claremont Police Department officers were approached by a security guard from the nearby Motel 6, 840 S. Indian Hill Blvd., who said a man in the parking lot had threatened to shoot and kill him. The officers quickly located the suspect, 48-year-old Compton resident Willie Sampson, whom they say refused to comply. Police say Mr. Sampson fought them as they were trying to take him into custody, biting one officer and kicking another in the stomach. Eventually he was subdued and transported to the police station, where he was booked for making criminal threats, a felony, and resisting arrest and assault on a police officer, both misdemeanors. He also had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant out for his arrest. While being moved to the Claremont jail, Mr. Sampson allegedly spit on another officer and a jailer. He had a good long while to contemplate the charges against him, as he was held until July 6, when he appeared for his arraignment in Pomona Superior Court.
Friday, July 2
Police on patrol near Arrow Highway and Mountain Ave. at 11:12 a.m. say they saw a man walking down Arrow pulling a brown city of Claremont garbage can. Officers questioned Steve Hardy, 29, from Pomona, who said he was transporting recyclables to a recycling center. During a search, police allegedly found a small black baggie of methamphetamine in his sock. Mr. Hardy was arrested on two misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and theft of the city trash can. He was booked and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.
Saturday, July 3
An early morning drive on a Claremont resident’s lawn didn’t end well for Diana Ordaz-Cherrington, 37, from Rancho Cucamonga. Police responded to a 2:43 a.m. call from a resident in the 2100 block of Silver Tree Road regarding a person driving a 2017 white and black Ford Explorer on their lawn. They found the Explorer a short distance away, pulled it over and questioned Ms. Ordaz-Cherrington, whom they say displayed clear symptoms of alcohol intoxication. She was arrested for DUI and spent the rest of the morning detoxing in the Claremont jail before being released with a citation for the misdemeanor drunk driving charge.
Sunday, July 4
Cops say a grey Honda piloted by Pomonan Daniel Gula, 35, nearly collided with their police car after blowing through a stop sign as it was traveling north on Bonnie Brae Ave. at 9:36 p.m. The officers reportedly had to swerve to avoid being hit by Mr. Gula. Needless to say, they quickly pulled him over, and say he displayed signs of being drunk. After he allegedly failed a field sobriety test, Mr. Gula was arrested for DUI. He spent the rest of his night and early morning sobering up in the Claremont jail before being released in the wee hours with a misdemeanor drunk driving citation.
Monday, July 5
Claremont police on extra patrol near the Evey Canyon turnout on Mt. Baldy Rd., where car break-ins have been rampant for years, noticed a black 2007 Nissan Frontier parked near Fergus Falls at 1:45 a.m. Since there’s no parking allowed past midnight, they approached and found two people inside, Daniel Salvadorramos, 27, from Rancho Cucamonga, and 43-year-old Pomona resident Michelle Montenegro. A records check turned up outstanding misdemeanor warrants for both, and they were taken into custody on the warrants, booked, and later released with citations to appear in Pomona court.
Claremont police were called to the 300 block of Green St. at 1:45 a.m. by a 36-year-old woman who said her live-in boyfriend had assaulted her, pushing her into a wall during an argument and causing injury to her face. Arriving officers investigated and arrested the suspect, a 36-year-old man, for felony domestic violence. He was booked and then posted $50,000 bail before being released pending his arraignment in Pomona Superior Court.
In a Blotter first, an alleged victim of car theft managed to locate his stolen vehicle himself, give chase in another car, and then flag down a nearby Claremont police officer who arrested the suspect at gunpoint. It all began the evening of July 4, when a 34-year-old Pomona man’s silver 2017 Buick Regal was allegedly taken from his driveway by a 23-year-old unhoused man, an acquaintance of the victim. The man reported the car stolen, and a few hours later, at 12:16 a.m. July 5, Claremont’s license plate reading cameras picked it up near Foothill Blvd. and Towne Ave. At the same time, the victim, who had been driving another car while searching for his stolen Buick, saw it as well as it turned into the parking lot of the Stardust Motel, 433 E. Foothill Blvd., Pomona. The victim then hailed a nearby Claremont police officer and pointed out where the suspect had parked his stolen car. The Claremont officer called for backup, but before it arrived saw the suspect getting out of the car, and drew his gun and ordered him to stay put until the other officers arrived on the scene. The 23-year-old unhoused man was then arrested without further drama for two felonies: grand theft auto and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was then booked and held in the Claremont jail pending his arraignment in Pomona court.
Police on extra patrol near Auto Center Dr. and Indian Hill Blvd. at 10:34 p.m. were hailed by a 39-year-old Pomona woman who told them her 33-year-old live-in boyfriend had beaten her and then fled from the room they’d rented at the nearby Knight’s Inn, 721 S. Indian Hill Blvd. The woman said the man had slapped her numerous times in the head and grabbed her by the neck with his hands. Cops found the suspect two blocks away and arrested him for felony domestic violence and misdemeanor resisting arrest. He was also on post release community supervision for a previous assault conviction. The alleged assailant was booked and spent a few days in the Claremont jail before being arraigned July 8.
Tuesday, July 6
More drama unfolded at the auto dealerships in the 600 block of Auto Center Dr. when the private security firm monitoring cameras called Claremont police at 3:43 a.m. to report two men going through unlocked cars in the used car lot. Arriving police found the suspects, 30 and 31, and both unhoused, and say they were in possession of paperwork taken from the ransacked cars, cleaning supplies from a storage closet at the dealership, and that the 31-year-old had a methamphetamine pipe on him. Both were arrested for misdemeanor prowling and petty theft, with the 31-year-old picking up the extra misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Both were booked and released with citations.
