Police Blotter: October 8, 2021
Monday, September 27
In the first of what would turn out to be a week full of car burglaries and thefts, Claremont Police Department officers responded to a 6:14 a.m. call from a resident regarding a smashed front driver’s side window of a 2018 Chevy Cruze in the 1400 block of north Mills Ave. The thief made off with a rosary necklace, a sun shade and some black yarn sometime between 7 p.m. the night before and 6 a.m. Police could find no evidence or suspects, and are asking the public for assistance. If anyone saw anything, please call CPD at (909) 399-5411.
A 3:37 p.m. fight between two girls in Claremont High School’s central quad escalated to the point where one of the combatants, 15, was arrested for misdemeanor battery. The alleged victim, 17, walked into the Claremont police station at 6:20 p.m. to make a battery report. She was observed to have sustained swelling to her left cheekbone and the left corner of her mouth, and scratches and abrasions on her lower right cheek. She identified the 15-year-old suspect, who was arrested later that evening, booked, and issued a citation to appear in juvenile court on the battery charge. She was then released into the custody of family or a guardian.
Tuesday, September 28
Claremont’s license plate reading cameras—which had been down for a time due to maintenance—made their mark again this week, alerting officers to yet another alleged car thief within city limits. A 24-year-old San Dimas man was arrested for felony car theft after a camera near Foothill Blvd. and Towne Ave. picked up the plate at 3:30 a.m. of a silver 1997 Honda CRV that had been reported stolen out of Claremont September 26. Police located the hot Honda shortly thereafter in the parking lot of 7-Eleven, and arrested the driver, Neil Lopez, without incident. The San Dimas resident was also allegedly in possession of a methamphetamine pipe, which earned him a second charge of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. His passenger, Wilber Ambrocio, 29, from Chino, had a San Bernardino County warrant out for his arrest, and he was taken into custody as well. Both men were booked and released with citations to appear in Pomona Superior Court.
Police responded to a 11:45 burglary report from Claremont Lincoln University, 150 W. First St., wherein the suspect apparently entered the school’s electrical room by using a pry tool and cut a modem cable, essentially shutting down its website. Police were unable to locate a suspect or a nearby security camera that may have recorded his or her movements, and there were no witnesses. If anyone saw anything, please call CPD at (909) 399-5411.
Wednesday, September 29
Police took a 6:43 a.m. car burglary report in the 2300 block of Westbrook Ct. The victim said someone entered his locked car and stole a tool box sometime between 4 p.m. September 28 and 7:30 a.m. the 29th. There are no suspects, so again, anyone who may have seen anything is urged to call CPD at (909) 399-5411.
A 63-year-old Claremont man was victimized by burglars who entered his home in the 100 block of east Fairfield Dr. through an unlocked back door, ransacked the home, and made off with $16,000 in cash and an unknown amount of jewelry. The heist occurred sometime between 9:26 and 10:05 a.m. Police have no suspects, and are asking anyone who may have seen anything to please call (909) 399-5411.
Claremont cops arrested a 56-year-old Los Angeles man on a charge of sexual penetration with force or fear, a felony, in connection with an alleged sexual assault that occurred during the course of a massage he was giving to a 24-year-old female victim on September 21. Police say the masseuse was employed by a massage business located at 250 W. First St., Claremont, at the time of the alleged assault. The suspect was arrested at 10:30 a.m. at Claremont Police Department headquarters after he was called to the station for questioning. He complied, and investigators then obtained a statement and some evidence and arrested him on the felony charge. The man was booked and released with a citation pending further analysis of the evidence obtained, police say.
A license plate reading camera sent out a stolen car alert, and at 1 a.m. police located the hot black 2012 Honda CRV near Indian Hill Blvd. and San Jose Ave. The driver, Miguel Lopez, a 51-year-old Pomonan, was arrested for felony grand theft auto. A search of the passenger, Michael Fuentes, 25 and also from Pomona, allegedly turned up methamphetamine. He was taken into custody for misdemeanor drug possession. Both men were booked and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.
Saturday, October 2
A 20-year-old Ontario man, Brian Sitanggang, was arrested on two misdemeanor DUI charges: one for being over the legal limit of .08, and a second for having any alcohol in his system at all while driving while under the age of 21. Police responding to a report of a traffic collision—either with another car or a curb; the witness was unsure — at 1:51 a.m. near College Ave. and Foothill Blvd. Arriving officers were unable to find the car, a black BMW 5 Series, so they made a search of the area. They located the car a short time later, parked near Platt Blvd. and Dartmouth Ave., and showing damage on the front driver’s side. They then found Mr. Sitanggang, whom they say admitted to driving the BMW and had been involved in an accident. After a field sobriety test, he was arrested on the DUI charges, booked, held for detox, and released in the morning with a citation to appear in court.
Sunday, October 3
Claremont cops took another stolen car report at 6:55 a.m., this one from a resident in the 1300 block of west Base Line Road. The man said he parked his white Toyota Tundra on the street at 5 p.m. October 2, and when he returned the next morning about 6:30 a.m., it was gone. An investigation is ongoing. If you saw something, please call CPD at (909) 399-5411.
The week of car thefts and burglaries continued when CPD officers took 10:10 a.m. report from a resident of the Colby Kai apartment building, 655 Colby Circle, whose 1997 Ford Ranger was allegedly stolen between 9 p.m. October 2 and 10 a.m. October 3. Police again have no suspect information, and an investigation is ongoing. Like all cars reported stolen in the city, the Ranger was entered into the Stolen Vehicle System, a national database. Anyone with any information about the theft is urged to call CPD at (909) 399-5411.
In the final car theft entry for this week’s Blotter, Claremont police made a 10:25 p.m. high risk traffic stop near the intersection of Indian Hill Blvd. and San Jose Ave. on a 2017 Acura ILX that had been reported stolen September 27 out of Garden Grove. With guns drawn — because the purloined Acura carried with it a felony car theft charge — officers coaxed the driver out of the vehicle. Police say Garden Grove resident Tomas Carrasco, 38, was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and he was arrested without incident on one misdemeanor DUI charge in addition to felony car theft. Carrasco was then booked and released with a citation to appear in Pomona court.
