Police blotter 11-15-19

Tuesday, November 5

Someone tried to break into a building at Oak Park Cemetery, but left empty-handed. Between 3 p.m. on November 5 and 9 a.m. on November 6, the unknown would-be burglar used a rock to smash the windowpane on the side of the building, but did not go inside, Lt. Jason Walters of the Claremont Police Department said. Police are investigating.

Wednesday, November 6

An Electra Hybrid 5-speed bicycle was stolen from a business park at 678 south Indian Hill Boulevard. After the victim secured his bike around 9:40 a.m., surveillance footage showed a man riding up to the bike on his own bicycle and cutting the lock. The suspect then returned without his bicycle and stole the bike. The bicycle was worth about $600.

Thursday, November 7

Police arrested 45-year-old Ernest Gardner of Claremont after he was seen stumbling through traffic near San Jose and Indian Hill around 4:45 p.m. When officers arrived, they noted Mr. Gardner was under the influence of a controlled substance. He was arrested, booked and later cited out.

Friday, November 8

A Pomona woman was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats to her co-workers at Super King. Police allege 25-year-old Gladys Brockington made the threats to her coworkers, which Lt. Walters described as “threatening bodily harm,” on October 26. On November 8, Ms. Brockington arrived to the Claremont Police Department to speak with detectives, and she was arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats. Details of the threats were not available.

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A 42-year-old man was pulled over by police after the car he was driving was reported stolen, but it turned out he wasn’t responsible. The car was reported stolen from a rental car company after someone paid for it using a stolen credit card. When the car was found just after 7 a.m. at Indian Hill and San Jose, the driver said he was borrowing the car from a friend. He wasn’t charged, and police are still investigating.

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Around $1,500 worth of change was stolen from a home on the 4000 block of Garey Avenue. Between 3 p.m. on November 8 and 2 p.m. on November 9, the unknown thief smashed the rear sliding glass door to the home, taking a coffee container with the change inside. A detached garage on the property was also broken into, but nothing was taken.

Saturday, November 9

A car collided with a small bear on Base Line Road in Claremont over the weekend. The car hit the bear around 10:45 p.m. Saturday night in the area of Base Line Road and Claremont Heights Drive, according to Sgt. Hector Tamayo of the Claremont Police Department. The bear fled the scene, but was found about a block away on Aquinas Avenue. The bear appeared to be injured, and officers from the Department of Fish and Wildlife tranquilized the bear and took it away.

“It sounds like it wasn’t too serious,” Sgt. Tamayo said.

Sunday, November 10

Three people were arrested in the Village on drunk in public and DUI charges within an hour of each other. The first arrest occurred just before 3 a.m. in front of The Press, when 46-year-old Gary Mitchell of Claremont, who initially left in an Uber, came back to the bar and started banging on the windows, Lt. Walters said. He was arrested for public intoxication.

Around the same time, 36-year-old Kenneth Crocker of Monrovia was found slumped over in a car that was parked in front of the bar, Lt. Walters said. He was also arrested for public intoxication.

As police hauled the two drunken men to jail, they came across a car that was stopped in the middle of the roadway at First Street and Yale Avenue. The driver, 23-year-old Cynthia Flores of Corona, was found to be driving her car while intoxicated, and was arrested for DUI.

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Three teens were arrested on various charges after they were seen smoking weed in a car at Wheeler Park around 11:20 a.m. One of them was a 15-year-old boy, who initially gave a false name to police and was arrested on that charge. David Washington, 19 from Pomona, was also arrested after police found a loaded gun in his waistband, as well as a 30-round magazine. Kevin Bullock, 18 from La Verne, was arrested for possession with intent to sell after police found pills, a couple of scales and a large amount of marijuana and cash. The fourth person was released without charges.

Monday, November 11

A call regarding a suspicious vehicle turned into an identity theft arrest. A neighbor on the 1000 block of Amador Street called police around 3 p.m. after noticing a car they didn’t recognize. The driver, who gave a fake name, but was eventually identified as 46-year-old Kevin LaChapelle of West Covina, was allegedly in possession of numerous IDs and driver’s licenses that did not belong to him, Lt. Walters said. He also had two warrants out for his arrest. He was arrested and taken to CPD jail, where he was held for court.

—Matthew Bramlett

news@claremont-courier.com