Teens arrested in school break in

A group of local teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of breaking into Vista Elementary School (500 Vista Dr.) on Sunday night.

At 11 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, the teens used bricks to break windows of a classroom at the school. Once inside the classroom, the suspects ransacked and vandalized the classroom, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.

They also attempted to steal computers but as police responded to the scene following notification from burglary alarms, they dropped the computers and fled the area. They also left behind their bicycles in order to evade police.

Based on previous contact with the individuals, police recognized the bicycles and subsequently identified the suspects. Two of the juveniles were located today at 12:50 p.m. walking near Bonita and Cambridge Avenues. Another suspect was arrested at his home in the 700 block of West San Jose Avenue.

A fourth suspect was already in custody at Los Padrinos Juvenile Detention Center as a result of his involvement in a burglary at a 98-Cent Store in Pomona early Monday morning. The teens will be held with no-bail at Los Padrinos pending a court appearance scheduled for Thursday.

Attempted robbery at Little Caesars

A second Claremont business was targeted this week by robbers. After the incident Monday at Video Paradiso, staff at Little Caesars (336 S. Indian Hill Blvd.) got a scare from an armed man. At 9:23 p.m., the man entered the business and placed an order for food.

As the employee rang him up and gave him the total, the suspect displayed a 9mm handgun and demanded money from the register, according to a CPD press release. The employee removed the money from the register, however the suspect did not take the cash and left. He walked out of the business, heading eastbound towards Arrow Highway.

The suspect is described as a male Hispanic 20-30 years old, 5'11, 250 lbs, with short black hair, wearing a tan jacket and black pants. He had a tear drop tattoo under his left eye and another tattoo on the right side of his neck.

Little Caesars has been targeted by robbers several times in recent years. There have been at least 5 reported robberies at the restaurant since 2007. If anyone has information about the incident, contact the Claremont Police Department at (909)399-5411.

Robbery at Video Paradiso

A robbery took place at Video Paradiso (330 W. Bonita Ave.) in the Village last night. According to a Claremont Police Department news release, a man entered the store around 9 p.m. and tried to sell several used DVDs. The suspect did not agree to the offered price for his DVDs and made threats about using a knife against the employee.

The man then reached over the counter and attempted to grab money from the register. The employee stopped the suspect from taking the money and a struggle ensued. Another employee heard the struggle and tried to help her co-worker. The second employee joined in the struggle at which time the suspect took a pair of scissors away from her, threatening both employees with the scissors. The suspect was able to get away from the employees and fled west on Bonita Avenue towards Indian Hill Boulevard.

The man is described as a white male, 19, buzzed blond hair, wearing a turquoise shirt with a pattern on the front, dark colored shorts and sneakers. He also had a pair of roller blades in his possession.

If anyone has information about this case, they are asked to contact the Claremont Police Department at (909) 399-5411.

Armed robbery on Monday night

An armed robber targeted La West Liquor Store at 333 E. Arrow Hwy. last night. At 9:18 p.m., police received a call reporting that the robbery just took place. The suspect entered the business, displayed a handgun and demanded cash from the register, according to a police press release. The clerk complied and handed the suspect an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect then fled the location on foot in an unknown direction.

The robber is described as a black male, about 19 years old and weighing about 150 pounds. He was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and tan shorts. Anyone with information in this case should contact the Claremont Police Department at 909-399-5411.

Police investigating a homicide

Claremont police are investigating a homicide after the body of a man was pulled from an empty field at the northwest corner of Foothill Boulevard and Monte Vista Avenue.

Upland police originally received a call from a witness on Monday, December 27 about a subject seen dragging a dead body in the field. Upland and Claremont Police arrived at the scene to find the subject standing next to the dead body.

They determined the death occurred in Claremont jurisdiction but the body had been dragged over 170 feet to the area of Foothill Boulevard and the drainage tunnel that runs under Foothill and Monte Vista.

The Claremont Police Department began its homicide investigation with the assistance of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. The subject seen dragging the victim was initially arrested but later released pending further investigation. The Coroner has is withholding the name of the victim until he can be positively identified. The exact cause of death is unknown at this time.

More info on last week's high speed chase

For those following the news about the high speed chase on Base Line Road, here's a bit of background information.

Last Tuesday morning, a Claremont police officer attempted to pull over a silver BMW on Base Line Road near Padua Avenue for not having a license plate. The officer was not aware at the time that the car had been stolen. Rather than pulling over, the driver sped off, heading eastbound on Base Line.

At Benson Avenue in Upland, the driver ran a red light and crashed into 2 vehicles, killing one man and injuring another. One witness said the car was moving about 55 miles per hour at the time of the collision.

The man who died as a result of the crash had strong ties to Claremont and people in the city. William Blanchard, 76, grew up in the famous Gumby house in Claremont, attended Webb School and graduated from Pomona College. His father was a music professor at Pomona for many years.

The driver is Brett Fagan, 25, of Covina. He is being held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

According to Kenneth Ford, Chief Deputy Regional for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Fagan was released from prison on June 2 after serving most of his 2-year sentence for a previous auto theft. He was not a part of California's controversial early release program.

He was on parole and in violation of his parole at the time of the accident, police said. Fagan faces charges that include murder, auto theft and felony evasion of police.

A memorial service will be held this Saturday for Blanchard beginning at 11:15 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Upland. The church is located at 262 N. Euclid Ave.

Claremont man accused of weapon's smuggling

First there was the donut shop ivory smugglers. Now Claremont has another accused smuggler, this time in heavy weaponry.

Joseph O'Toole, 79, is accused by federal prosecutors in Florida of attempting to broker a deal that would send as many as 2000 AK-47s to Somalia, a country with a UN-imposed arms embargo since 1992.

Today, Somalia is known for its lawlessness that has allowed piracy to flourish in the waters off its coast.

O'Toole and a co-conspirator, Israeli national Chanoch Miller, were both arrested in June in Florida. According to the indictment, the men unknowingly communicated their flight and payment plans for the weapons deal with an undercover agent from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Many in the community know O'Toole as a friendly man who is active and involved in the community. He ran for city council in 1997 and has been a vocal opponent of the Base Line affordable housing project in recent years. I even wrote about O'Toole a couple months back on an unrelated topic here.

His arraignment hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 9 in Ft. Lauderdale. A more detailed report of Mr. O'Toole's alleged crimes will appear in Saturday's edition of the COURIER.

Suspected bank robber arrested

Police officials in Orange County have arrested a man they believe robbed the Citibank in the Old School House last month.

Erik von Holland, 47, was arrested earlier this week at his home in Brea on suspicious of robbing the Citibank and 3 other banks in Orange County, according to Claremont police.

Called the "100s and armed bandit" by law enforcement, Mr. Holland was identified through surveillance photographs taken of him during the heists. He wore baseball hats during the robberies but otherwise did not conceal his appearance.

Mr. Holland was identified by the Tustin Police Department while police were showing surveillance photos to Orange County Parole Agents. A parole agent recognized the suspect and provided a name to police.

He was arrested by Orange and Fullerton police officials at his residence. The involved agencies are working with FBI with the intent of filing multiple federal counts of bank robbery.

The Claremont robbery took place on Friday, May 21.

Robber photos released

Police have released the following photos of the suspected bank robber who stole an undisclosed amount of cash from Citibank in the Old School House.

On Friday, May 21, the man pictured below walked into the bank and handed the teller a note stating, "I'm armed. Remain calm and I will not hurt anyone." The robber asked the teller for $5000 in cash.

The FBI have dubbed the man "the 100s and armed bandit." He is also suspected in bank robberies in the cities of Orange and Santa Ana.

No weapon was seen during the robbery, but police say the man implied in the note that he was carrying a weapon.

Witnesses and police described the robber as a white male, late 30s to early 50s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, wearing a baseball cap, a button down dark green shirt and blue jeans.

Anyone who has information regarding the "$100s and armed bandit" can call the Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation office at 310-477-6565 or the Claremont Police Department at 909-399-5401.

Police arrest man twice in 4 days

In today's issue of the COURIER, we ran a story about a Claremont police officer who was injured while pursuing a burglar.

On Saturday, Officer Matt Hamill broke his ankle in 2 places after jumping from a 12-foot fence during the pursuit. Another officer eventually tracked the suspect down about 200 yards from the scene. He was hiding in some bushes.

Police arrested Robert Hunt, 19, of San Dimas for stealing alcohol from Vons and resisting arrest causing serious bodily injury.

During the booking process, Hunt's fingerprints were taken and entered into the Cal-ID print system. On Tuesday, a match was returned on the prints for a residential burglary that occurred in Claremont on April 24.

During that incident, a resident in the 400 block of Platt Boulevard woke to voices heard in his home and the sound of footsteps leaving through the front door. It was discovered that someone entered the home and stole a laptop.

Police were able to locate several latent fingerprints. Initially there was no match in Cal-ID to the prints and they were maintained pending a match.

Yesterday in court, Hunt pleaded guilty to misdemeanor petty theft for stealing alcohol from Vons and obstructing an officer. He was sentenced to probation.

As Hunt was leaving court, Claremont police detectives arrested him again for the residential burglary. Police are continuing to investigate if Hunt is responsible for additional thefts or burglaries.

Police nab prowler

Police arrested a 17-year-old Claremont resident involved in yesterday's hot prowl on Morningside Drive.

Yesterday around 2:15 a.m., a resident woke to the sound of noises in his home. He got up to inspect the cause of the noise and found a man in his 7-year-old daughter's bedroom.

He chased the suspect from the home and immediately called police. Police did an area check but were unable to immediately locate the suspect.

Based on forensic evidence found at the scene, police arrested the teenager at his home around 3:30 this afternoon. The 17-year-old lives less than a mile from the Morningside Drive home.

Police believe the juvenile entered the home on more than one occasion and are still trying to determine his motive. Nothing was ever reported stolen from the home.

He is currently being held at Los Padrinos juvenile detention center. Criminal charges should be filed by the DA's office soon.

Be sure to read Saturday's issue of the COURIER to learn more details of this unusual case.

Prowler enters home while residents sleep inside

An alarming piece of news about a "hot prowl" sent via the Claremont Police Department's E-Watch system today. The incident took place early this morning at a residence on Morningside Drive near Towne Avenue and Scripps Drive.

On Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at approximately 2:15 am, an unknown suspect entered a residence in the 1100 block of Morningside Dr. by forcing open a window. A resident awoke to noises heard in the house and found an unknown suspect in his 7-year-old daughter's room. The resident chased the suspect out of the house and the suspect was last seen running eastbound on Morningside Dr. The suspect was described as a male with light skin, 5'4 to 5'7, approximately 145 pounds, and wearing black clothing and a mask.

If you believe you have information that may assist in the investigation, please call Claremont Police Department Detective Bureau at (909) 399-5411. As a reminder, if you observe any suspicious activity, contact the Claremont Police Department by calling 911 or (909) 626-1296.

Debating Pixie Donut Shop

I try not to get involved in commenting on letters to the editor submitted by COURIER readers. But one recent letter attacks an article I wrote for being "sensational," "twisted" and "over-the-top awful" so I felt compelled to respond.

Here it is as printed in today's issue of the COURIER.

Dear Editor:
Your article on Saturday, January 23, was over-the-top awful. How dare you call out an established business in our town on an alleged and, in my mind, meaningless allegation.
You questioned whether or not the business could retain its customers. Well, I, for one, will not only keep going to Pixie but because of your sensationalism in your article, I might just throw a little more in the tip jar.
For the last 11 years, my morning starts the same way as it does for so many in our neighborhood. No, it is not with a stop at a place with a “barista” with a javelin through her nose. It is not to a place where the youth sit with their laptops and work away on their social networking sites. It is not at a place where you can order coffee a thousand different ways.
It is at a place where you are greeted by June the same way each day. It is at a place where June and her husband start each day at 3:30 a.m. The start of their normal 13-14 hour day (364 days per year). It is a place where June knows everyone’s favorite drink. Not many drinks to pick from you see, and that is great. They have coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice, soda and milk.
I remember the time June apologized for having to raise the price on coffee. They raised the price on a large coffee from $1 to $1.20. Still a far cry from the $4 triple grand latte with no whip made with sub soy milk and one raw sugar. Oh, yeah, leave room. Pixie does not have scones, reduced fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake or their own labeled water, saving children in some far away third world country.
Pixie does have the best donuts and muffins you will find in our community. They have a simple brown bulletin board that they will let you post any event that supports the local community. They have been a constant supporter of local schools, youth sports and youth groups. June and her husband have been part of our kids lives watching them grow up. My kids started by staring through the glass cases at the glazes and frosting. Now they get to enjoy looking over the cases and seeing June’s warm smile as she wishes them luck whether they are going to sports, a dance or school.
Pixie is poetry in motion every morning as June and her staff know the orders of most and work in harmony to move the masses through their small, simple donut shop. They are a Claremont family with their kids going through Claremont schools. They support us and I know I will continue to support them despite the twisted article written about something that took place in 2006. You should have stuck to reporting on “Storm Watch Twenty Ten!”
As I read your description of the all-powerful Department of Fish and game and their aid on Pixie in 2006, all I could picture was the TSA finding a shampoo bottle. Whew, I feel so protected by these almighty governmental agencies.
Pixie, you are an example of what this country is about and is getting away from. You are hard-working, simple people with great values. You deliver a great product at a fair price with great customer service.
Thanks for being a fixture in the community and see you tomorrow at 4:45 a.m.
Your loyal customer,
Hal Hargrave

The letter was in reference to the federal indictment announced last week against the owner of Pixie Donut Shop, Moun Chau, who authorities believe was involved in an ivory smuggling operation. The ivory came from African elephants, classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. You can read more about African elephant poaching and the ivory trade here.

Hargrave's letter doesn't touch on the charges that Chau's activities violated a federal law, the Endangered Species Act, and an international treaty signed by the United States. Or that he is facing up to 25 years in federal prison for his alleged crimes. Or that evidence points to the fact that Chau had an ivory carving studio in the back of his doughnut shop.

Instead, Hargrave criticizes everything from coffee shop employees with nose piercings to Ethos Water for "saving children in some far away third world country." By the way, Ethos, founded by CMC grad Peter Thum, has to date raised over $6 million toward a grant for humanitarian water programs.

Hargrave clearly likes the blue collar setting at Pixies while thumbing his nose at the foo foo coffee shop atmosphere at places like Starbucks. In fact, he applauds Pixie owners for being a family-run business that is friendly and offers good products at reasonable prices.

I am not doubting that Pixies has good doughnuts or the owners are friendly to their customers. But the fact remains that federal agents found dozens of pieces of ivory in the business as well as tools to carve them into decorative products, likely to be sold on to collectors.

I personally find ivory smuggling a reprehensible activity. I applaud federal laws and international treaties banning it and punishing those who commit it for personal gain. Whether a poacher, trader or ivory carver, all are links in a chain that decimated elephant populations before laws like the Endangered Species Act were created.

In a community like Claremont so concerned with sustainability of the natural environment, I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who is disturbed by a business owner allegedly smuggling ivory from overseas and carving it in the back of his shop. Apparently, Hargrave isn't bothered by this, calling the indictment against Chau a "meaningless allegation."

Yes, in the article I questioned whether the business will suffer because the owner is an accused ivory smuggler. I think it's a legitimate question. I know some people who won't go there anymore. But apparently there are people out there, like Hargrave, standing strongly behind the business.

I, for one, plan to get my doughnuts from Yum Yum from now on.

CMC grad is OC's most notorious criminal

The Orange County Register recently created a new blog dedicated the 50 most notorious crimes in the history of Orange County. With the county celebrating its 120th Anniversary, the newspaper thought it would highlight these dark parts of the county's history.

Written by Register reporter Larry Welborn, the blog generated both praise and criticism, with some readers calling it "sensational" and untimely as it was published right around the holidays.

One feature of the blog also allowed readers to vote on what they thought was the most notorious crime story in the history of the county. The top vote getter was Randy Steven Kraft, whom I wrote about here.

The Claremont McKenna College graduate is believed to have killed some 65 young men in California, Oregon and Michigan over a 13-year span. Police found a scorecard in Kraft's vehicle with 65 codified names on it.

Kraft was finally arrested on May 14, 1983 when CHP pulled him over for swerving and discovered a dead marine in his passenger seat. Many of his victims were simply shoved out of his moving vehicle on the side of the freeway, discarded like a piece of litter.

Kraft was convicted of 16 murders and sentenced to death in 1989. He is still on death row.

Police bust Claremont heroin dealers

According to a CPD news release from yesterday evening, 2 residents were arrested for drug possession and sales. On Monday evening, an anonymous citizen called police to report what they thought were subjects in a parked car smoking narcotics on the 400 block of Norwestern Drive. Police responded and found 3 subjects related to the vehicle.

Cameron Thompson, a 19-year-old Claremont resident, was found to be in possession of heroin and was arrested. Shayne Gillispie, 20-year-old Claremont resident, was arrested and taken to
Pomona Valley Hospital based on the officer’s belief that Gillispie had swallowed packaged heroin at the time of the initial contact. While at the hospital, Gillispie regurgitated approximately 15 balloons of heroin. A third subject was released at the scene.

A search warrant was served at Gillispie’s residence where additional heroin and other evidence were located. A search was also conducted at Thompson’s residence where additional evidence including bindles of cocaine were located. Thompson is currently being held at Claremont PD jail for possession of cocaine and possession of heroin; bail is $10,000. Gillispie is being held at Claremont PD jail for possession of heroin for sale; bail is $30,000. They are scheduled for arraignment at Pomona Court on December 30, 2009.

Death investigation

The Claremont Police Department is investigating a death case involving a new born baby. According to a CPD press release, a 17-year-old mother gave birth on Saturday morning around 2:30 a.m. at her home on the 400 block of S. Indian Hill Blvd. Police say the teenager "did not render immediate medical care that would be associated with a delivery of a child."

The mother was later taken to Pomona Valley Medical Center where she is recovering. The baby was also taken to the hospital where it died. According to the press release, the Los Angeles County Coroner determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation.

The CPD is currently conducting an investigation to determine if the mother is criminally culpable in the infant's death.

Suspicious activity

A warning from police:

On Wednesday, February 4, at approximately 1:15 pm, an 11-year-old female Sycamore School student was possibly followed home from school by a male subject. The subject is described as Hispanic, 20-30 years old, 5 foot 10 inches tall, wearing a camouflaged patterned shirt. The suspect stayed 20 feet behind her and did not speak to her.

If you have children, please remind them not to speak to strangers and report any similar suspicious activity immediately to the Claremont Police Department.

Homicide victim's name released

Claremont Police have released the victim's name in the city's first homicide investigation since 2006.

Alan Henry Lindley, 60, was found murdered in his home on the 700 block of West Arrow Highway. Police estimate the time of death between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning last week.

Lindley was discovered on Friday, January 30 after his employer notified police that he did not turn up for work.

Police will not disclose the nature of his death "pending further investigation," according to a press release.

Anyone with information about the nature of Lindley's death should contact the Claremont Police Department at (909) 399-5411.

Possible Homicide

This just in from the Claremont Police Department about a possible homicide-

On Friday January 30, 2009 at about 11:15 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 700 block of West Arrow Highway to check on the welfare of the resident after the resident's employer reported that he did not show up for work. Responding officers found inside the residence a deceased male adult, possibly the resident, who appears to be in his 50's or 60's; identification is pending. The cause of death is not yet determined, but does not appear to be natural, accidental, or self inflicted. Further details regarding the possible cause of death will remain undisclosed until further investigation can be conducted.

Police aren't saying anything further right now, but we'll post more information as it arises.

Home Invasion

Claremont police have arrested 3 men involved in a burglary attack on a local realtor at his home on West 10th Street.

On Tuesday morning, Vince Gottuso, a well-known and well-like man around town, returned home and interrupted 2 burglars. The men attacked him, causing serious injuries to his face and head.

Around 11:45 a.m., Gottuso's wife returned home to find it ransacked. She did not initially find her husband.

She went outside to call police. When police arrived, they found Gottuso laying on a couch in the home. He had lost alot of blood and was clearly in bad shape.

He was airlifed to USC Medical Center where he is being treated for head trauma.

Reports from his family members indicate that Gottuso is doing much better, but there is a long road to recovery ahead. He is currently in the ICU but is expected to return home within a week.

Kudos to the Claremont police detectives who've focused all their energy on the case over the past 2 days. They've conducted surveillance, interviewed witnesses, processed forensic evidence and quickly made these arrests. We are all be better off and feel safer knowing that these dangerous individuals are off the streets.

Along with burglary and assault with a deadly weapon charges, the 2 attackers could be sentenced on charges of attempted homicide, which would put them away for a very long time.

The COURIER staff wishes Vince a very quick recovery and all the best to his family.