Police Blotter: June 3, 2022
Tuesday, May 24
Claremont Police Department officers responded to a family disturbance call in the 600 block of S. Mountain Ave. at 4:10 p.m. The caller said 33-year-old Hacienda Heights resident Muataz Albadawi had arrived at her family home looking for his daughter and her mother, who is his ex-girlfriend. Both had been at the location earlier, but had left, the caller said. She then told police after being told his ex and daughter were not at the home, Albadawi said “If I see her, I will choke her and kill her,” referring to his ex. Alarmed, the woman then called CPD. Arriving officers talked to Albadawi at the scene and interviewed his ex by phone. The ex reportedly told police she was fearful and believed he would carry out his threats. Albadawi was then arrested on one felony count of making criminal threats, booked, and jailed. He later posted a $50,000 bond and was released with an arraignment date in Pomona Superior Court.
Friday, May 27
An ex-girlfriend of Adrian Diaz called police at 12:20 p.m. to report the 35-year-old Los Angeles man had minutes earlier threatened to “come get her during the night,” and was now banging on the front and back doors of her apartment in the 200 block of Marywood Ave. Diaz was gone when officers arrived minutes later, but they learned the woman had active restraining orders against him to stay away from her and her apartment. She reportedly told police, “I am scared of him.” At 1:35 p.m. a CPD officer saw Diaz’s tan Toyota Camry heading in the direction of the woman’s apartment, and made a traffic stop. Diaz was arrested for making criminal threats, a felony, and for violating a restraining order, a misdemeanor. He was booked and held in the Claremont jail until his June 1 arraignment in Pomona Superior Court.
Sunday, May 29
A Fontana was arrested minutes after a call to CPD from a Claremont woman who said at 5:03 p.m. a Hispanic man in his 20s had exposed his penis to her and began to masturbate in the area of Indian Hill Blvd. and First St. At 5:20 p.m. police arrived to take a report from the woman, who told them she had last seen the man walking east on the Metrolink tracks toward the platform. Officers located Jason Lopez Caldera, 24, shortly thereafter. The alleged victim then arrived and identified Caldera as the man who had assaulted her, saying, “Yes, that is him. Definitely him.” Caldera was then arrested for misdemeanor indecent exposure, booked, and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.
Claremont PD received a 5:01 a.m. call from a resident in the 100 block of Brown Dr., who reported seeing a person on his surveillance camera attempting to open a car door parked outside the home at 4:27 a.m. Police responded, viewed the surveillance footage, and at 5:45 a.m. located a man they thought to be the one they were looking for at the Chevron/McDonald’s location at 860 S. Indian Hill Blvd. They then approached the man, Vincent Padilla, a 21-year-old Colton resident, who initially provided a false name. With databases turning up no record of the fake name, Padilla then reportedly gave his true identity, and apologized for lying. He then told officers he had found something in the bushes outside nearby Norm’s restaurant which he should not have on him. Officers believed he was alluding to a weapon, and did a pat down search.
During the search police say they felt what they believed to be a handgun outside of his right front jacket pocket. It turned out to be a loaded 9 mm Hi-Point C-9 Luger semiautomatic handgun with five hollow point bullets in the magazine. A subsequent records check revealed Padilla was on parole for a previous felony car theft conviction, and a firearm records check indicated the gun was recently reported stolen out of Colton during a residential burglary. Padilla was then arrested on four felony counts of possession loaded firearm, possession of a stolen loaded firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and theft of a firearm. He was booked, and after his parole officer issued a felony parole hold, he was held in the Claremont jail in front of his June 1 arraignment in Pomona Superior Court. While being transported to the courthouse, a CPD detective told the COURIER Padilla spontaneously stated he was “Just trying to help out the people of Claremont,” and had intended to turn the gun in to CPD.
Monday, May 30
A would-be bicycle thief was taken into custody after reportedly slamming into an open CPD cruiser door while attempting to escape from a burglary at Jax Bicycle Center, 217 W. First St., on a $5,700 Trek Rail 5 Deore bike. Police say John Christos, 33, from Arcadia, tripped an alarm at Jax at 5:12 a.m. by smashing the front window of the shop. Arriving officers saw the smashed window, and a second officer on the way to the shop saw Christos about 500 yards away, pedaling southbound down Indian Hill Blvd., and attempted to make a traffic stop.
The officer said Christos then attempted to avoid police by flipping the bike around and heading north on Indian Hill. The officer then got ahead of the rider, pulled to a stop and opened his door. That’s when police say Christos swerved to avoid the open door but clipped it, and was thrown from the bicycle, ending up sprawling on the pavement in the number two lane of Indian Hill Blvd. Police then confirmed the high end bicycle was missing from Jax, and returned it, apparently still in as new condition. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene, but Christos refused medical treatment. A search reportedly turned up broken pieces of porcelain from spark plugs commonly used to break glass, and a pair of bolt cutters. Christos was arrested and charged with burglary and possession of stolen property, both felonies, and possession of burglary tools and resisting arrest, misdemeanors.
