Officers pull over to talk to some suspicious guys sitting in a car, and someone else pulls up and says, “Hey! That’s my car!” Beautiful. But hands down, the chilling rug store robbery is the crime of the week. Full police report after the jump.

August 11-17, 2010

(Hundred block given in place of exact address)

The Weekly Crime Summary is a list of reported auto thefts, burglaries, robberies and other activities occurring in the City of South Pasadena. An alert and well-informed citizen makes you less of a target to a criminal. Remember; call the South Pasadena Police Department to report any suspicious activity.

RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE

• 8-12-10, 2:40 PM, 600 block of Charter Oak. ’88, Acura Legend. Officer is alerted by the Automated License Plate Reader that vehicle parked on the street is stolen. Vehicle is found to be stolen from Pasadena.
• 8-11-10, 4:38 PM, 1900 block of Hill. Honda Civic. Officers investigate an occupied suspicious vehicle parked in the street. As officers are speaking to suspects, victim drives by and tells officers that suspects just stole his vehicle in the 5900 block of Monterey, Los Angeles. SUSPECTS ARRESTED: S1 – Male, 39, Los Angeles. S2 – Male, 23, Los Angeles.

AUTO BURGLARY

• 8-17-10, 8:48 AM, 1000 block of Palm. Witness sees suspect walking down his driveway and confronts him. Suspect leaves and minutes later, suspect is seen by another witness looking into cars in the 400 block of Monterey. Upon officers’ arrival, suspect runs away and is later arrested. Suspect is found to have entered an unlocked vehicle in the 1000 block of Adelaine. Suspect matches description to suspect seen in the burglary below (800 block of Bonita). Suspect is also identified in using a stolen credit card that was stolen in an auto burglary on 7-29-10 in South Pasadena. LOSS: None. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 18, South Pasadena.
• 8-15-10, 7 AM, 800 block of Bonita. V1: ’03, Honda Element, V2: ’03, Honda Accord. Suspect makes entry into V1’s unlocked vehicle. V1 sees suspect inside vehicle and suspect leaves. Minutes later, witness sees suspect enter V2’s vehicle. V2 yells at suspect and suspect runs away. LOSS: None. SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: Male, Asian, 17-25, 508, 150, wearing blue sweatshirt, gray shirt and black pants.
• 8-12-10, midnight to 6:45 AM, 1300 block of Oak Hill Place. ’08, Ford Expedition. Suspect(s) makes entry by unknown means. LOSS: Briefcase.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

• 8-13-10, 7 AM to 8:15 PM, 900 block of Columbia. Suspect(s) kick front door open to gain entry. LOSS: None.
• 8-12-10, 6 PM to 9:45 PM, 1800 block of Bushnell. Suspects’ takes loss from victim’s opened garage. Witness follows suspect and calls police. Suspects are later arrested. LOSS: Bicycle. SUSPECT ARRESTED: (2) Male, Juveniles.
• 11-1-09 to 8-11-10, 12 PM, 500 block of Arroyo Square. Suspect was friends with victim and may have found a hidden key to gain entry. Victim was able to get back a few items from suspect’s sister but suspect still has some outstanding items. LOSS: Guns (recovered), ammunition, binoculars and hunting equipment.

COMMERCIAL BURGLARY

• 8-17-10, 3 PM, 1700 block of Garfield (Ralphs). Employee sees suspect exiting store without paying for loss. Employee detains suspect outside of store and suspect is arrested. LOSS: General merchandise. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Female, Juvenile.

ROBBERY

• 8-14-10, 7 PM, 1000 block of Mission (rug store). Suspects gains entry through an unlocked rear door. Victim was alone inside his business doing work in the showroom, when the victim heard some noises coming from the backroom. The victim walked into the backroom and was immediately sprayed in the face, with possibly pepper spray. The suspects then tied up the victim. Later, victim’s family came to the store and found victim tied up. LOSS: Antique rugs. SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION: (3) males.

DRUNK IN PUBLIC

• 8-16-10, 3:15 PM, 1300 block of Huntington. Officers respond to a person lying on the ground. Officers contact person who is found to be heavily intoxicated and unable to care for himself. Suspect is also found to have an outstanding warrant. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 30, South Pasadena.

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

• 8-15-10, 12:45 AM, Pasadena/El Centro. Officers respond to a suspicious person looking into vehicles. Officers locate suspect and suspect is found to be in possession of marijuana. Officers check the area, but cannot locate any burglarized vehicle. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 35, Pasadena.

RESIST/OBSTRUCT ARREST

• 8-11-10, 2:09 PM, Fremont/Maple. Suspect is riding a bicycle and stopped for a traffic violation. Suspect refuses to comply with officers commands and takes a fighting stance. Suspect resists arrest and is finally arrested. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 21, South Pasadena.

ASSAULT & BATTERY

• 8-13-10, 9:59 AM, 1300 block of Huntington (T-Mobile). Suspect (customer) gets upset with victim (employee) and throws a cup of coffee at victim.

THEFT

• Unknown date/time to 8-13-10, 700 block of Orange Grove. Suspect(s) takes loss from victim’s vehicle. LOSS: License plate.
• July 27 to 8-6-10, 3 PM, 400 block of Raymondale. Victim responds to an internet ad as a mystery shopper. Suspect sends money orders to victim and instructs victim to cash the amount and keep a portion of it, and to send the remaining amount to England. Victim is later notified by bank saying money orders were counterfeit.

FALSE REGISTRATION

• 8-12-10, 2:17 AM, Monterey/Indiana. Suspect is stopped for a traffic violation and found to have expired registration tabs. Suspect is also found to have a suspended driver’s license. SUSPECT ARRESTED: Male, 24, Pasadena.

IDENTITY THEFT/CREDIT CARD FRAUD/CHECK FRAUD

• July 2010 to 8-16-10, 1100 block of Fremont. Suspect(s) takes victim’s checks and forges signature, than cashes them.
• Sept. 2007 to 8-12-10, 1500 block of Camino Lindo. Suspect(s) uses victim’s personal information and opens several credit card accounts.