City Councilman Greg Brown took to Facebook to commend the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Department on a job well done soon after he learned of the arrest of three men on burglary charges.
“Great news!” Brown wrote online. “One or more burglaries were no doubt stopped tonight!”
According to the sheriff’s incident report, the three men — two of whom are 25 and 26 years old and from L.A. and the third who is 25 from Yucca Valley — were arrested at around 8 p.m. on March 7 after being found to be in possession of burglary tools.
A deputy stopped a black Nissan Altima after he saw it failed to stop at the limit line at a stop sign at the intersection of Fairmount Avenue and Jessen Drive, according to the report.
After the driver of the car couldn’t produce a driver’s license, the deputy learned that he had warrants for his arrest for a parole violation and for driving on a suspended license and that he was on active probation for robbery.
The men were arrested and booked, according to the report and Sgt. Alan Chu, on charges of reasonable cause burglary. Authorities determined the suspects didn’t have a reason to be in the area, were driving a rental vehicle (which recently had window tint installed) that was five days overdue for return, were in possession of hammers and a window punch as well as jewelry, Korean currency and clothing that could hide their identities.
The driver of the vehicle also was charged with reasonable cause for driving the vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Chu said that by Monday one of the suspects had been released on insufficient evidence.
“They had burglary tools,” Chu said. “But until we find a burglary to connect them to, there’s nothing we can do. It’s not against the law to own a crowbar or a mask. We know what they were doing, but can we send them to jail for it?
“So now we are looking for the victims. Any information would be good; we would love to find the victims.”
To report information to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Department, call (818) 248-3464.
— Mirjam Swanson
Three Men Arrested on Suspicion of Burglary
