Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Department detectives are investigating claims about a pair of armed robberies last week near Glenhaven Park in La Cañada Flintridge, an official said.
Sgt. Alan Chu said a resident of a home on Parkdale Place reported that when he answered his door just before 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, he faced a black man in his 20s with braided hair who was armed with a semi-automatic gun. The man demanded money. The resident reported opening his safe and handing over a platinum diamond ring, a gold chain, a watch and a substantial amount of money. The assailant then allegedly instructed the victim to take off his clothes and stand in the kitchen while he exited the home through the front door.
At the same time, Chu said, a worker who’d been doing concrete repair work on the home reported being robbed by the armed man in the bathroom in the park, where he’d gone to use the restroom.
“The bathroom is still in visual sight of the house, and he went in there and the guy said he did the pocket check on him, patted him down and took his money,” Chu said.
In the incident report, the victim said he opened the door thinking the individual approaching was a delivery man, because he was holding a cardboard box. The man was dressed in a khaki windbreaker and dark jeans, and not, Chu said, wearing a delivery outfit or driving a delivery truck, as TV media reported.
No surveillance footage was available, according to Chu.
“There are not a lot of leads to work on,” said Chu, who noted that another construction crew was working on the street at the time of the alleged robberies and did not report seeing anything suspicious.
“The two victims saw him, but that’s it. Otherwise, there’s nothing there. It’s a curious case, especially very close to noon, when this happened.”
— Mirjam Swanson
