Police Blotter: September 23, 2022
Sunday, September 11
Claremont Police Department officers conducting an area check at 1:18 p.m. near Patty’s Mexican Restaurant, 1332 N. Towne Ave., found a man lying down in the parking lot, and stopped to check on his welfare. A subsequent records check revealed the man, Pomona resident Erik Lopez, 32, was on probation and had felony burglary and misdemeanor vandalism warrants. He was arrested, transported to the Claremont jail, and held until he could be transferred to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He appeared in court Tuesday, September 13.
Officers on patrol at 10:19 p.m. near Base Line Road and Indian Hill Blvd. began following a 2022 Honda Civic west on Base Line. They reported the car was traveling 80 mph in 45 mph zone. They attempted a traffic stop, but the driver — later identified as Lucerne Valley resident Zyriah Carter, 21 — reportedly accelerated to speeds over 100 mph, and a pursuit was initiated. Police followed the Honda on College Way where they say Carter was traveling at twice the posted speed limit of 30 mph. She then turned left on Williams Ave. and continued to speed before crashing while attempting to turn onto Foothill Blvd., disabling the Honda. Police say Carter then jumped out of the car and was ordered to the ground. Asked why she fled, she allegedly responded, “I am inebriated.” Officers performed field sobriety tests and arrested her for driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, and felony evading a police officer. She was transported to CPD jail, held for detoxification, and released with a citation to appear at Pomona Superior Court.
At 11:57 p.m., officers on a DUI saturation patrol spotted a white Acura TL with an alleged equipment violation and performed a traffic stop near Indian Hill Boulevard and San Bernardino Road. Police say the driver stopped the car in the middle of the roadway before pulling into a driveway in the 1500 block of north Indian Hill Blvd. in Pomona. Officers questioned the occupants and say they smelled alcohol and saw several open containers of beer on the front passenger side floorboard. According to police, driver Sergio Ruiz Lopez, 50, from Pomona, was also holding a methamphetamine pipe in his hands. A field sobriety test indicated Ruiz Lopez was driving under influence of controlled substance, and he was arrested for DUI. A records check showed his driver’s license had been suspended because of a previous DUI conviction. Police then questioned the other occupants. A records check on Montclair resident Lasha Shores, 45, found she had four active misdemeanor arrest warrants from the City of Pomona and San Bernardino County. The two other occupants, Pomonan Jesus Lopez, 30, and Ontario resident Maria Alarcon-Garcia, 34, were arrested for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. Alarcon-Garcia was also charged with being under the influence of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor. The four were transported to the Claremont jail, booked and were all later released with citations. Ruiz Lopez and Lopez will have court dates in Los Angeles County Superior Court while Garcia and Shores are scheduled to appear in San Bernardino County Superior Court. The special DUI patrol is paid for by the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Thursday, September 15
Claremont police and the Los Angeles County Probation Department conducted a special enforcement detail between 4 and 11 p.m. in the area around the 10 Freeway and Indian Hill Boulevard. The sting, which involved two undercover female officers posing as sex workers, netted 11 arrests, including the following men who were arrested for misdemeanor solicitation for prostitution: La Puente resident Ricardo Tapia Tovar, 47; Andrew De La Cruz, 27, from Fontana; Nicholas Tun, 34, Walnut; Ernesto Rojas Castaneda, 37, Apple Valley; Arnold Garcia Agular, 20, Pomona; and Los Angeles resident Jesus Barajas, 27.
During the special enforcement detail, police received a call at 7:21 p.m. about a man acting erratically at the Motel 6, 840 S. Indian Hill Blvd. When officers arrived, they reportedly saw the suspect, later identified as Paul Naranjo, 33, in a physical altercation with a motel employee. Police placed Naranjo in handcuffs and called paramedics to evaluate the injuries he received during the fight, but he refused medical care. Naranjo then allegedly began spitting at officers as he was being placed in the back of patrol car, and some saliva landed in the mouth of an officer. A records check revealed Naranjo was on parole for domestic violence and had an active no-bail parole hold. He was arrested on a felony battery on a police officer charge, booked, and held until he could be transferred to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Police were conducting a 11:19 p.m. welfare check at La Puerta Sports Park when they saw a car in the parking lot in violation of city curfew regulations. Officers questioned the driver, Marcos Valdez, 39, from Whittier, and a records check revealed an outstanding San Bernardino County misdemeanor warrant. He was arrested, transported, booked, and released with citation to appear in court.
Friday, September 16
Police conducted a DUI checkpoint, also funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, between 7 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday in the 400 block of south Indian Hill Blvd. They screened 883 vehicles and netted seven arrests: two for DUI, three for suspended driver’s licenses, one for a warrant, and another for misdemeanor resisting or delaying an officer after a driver refused to provide ID.
Sunday, September 19
Officers on patrol at 11:36 p.m. spotted a black Nissan Frontier parked perpendicular to the curb and blocking the road on San Jose Avenue east of Indian Hill Blvd. Police say they then saw two men attempting to tow a blue trailer out of a construction site, but the trailer had become high sided on the jack and was stuck. They questioned the driver, 41-year-old Bakersfield resident Mitchell Klein, and passenger James Placencia, 54, from Hesperia. A records check showed Placencia had a San Bernardino County misdemeanor warrant. Police then found the trailer had been reported stolen in Monrovia and Klein was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle. The trailer’s owner arrived later to claim it. Placencia was also arrested, and the two men were transported to Claremont jail and booked. Placencia was released with a citation while Klein was held in front of a Tuesday, September 20 court appearance.
