Friday, September 25

Thousands of dollars worth of copper was stolen from Pomona College over the weekend. A burglar entered a construction site at 200 N. Amherst Avenue and stole copper brackets from electrical boxes. The estimated cost of the copper is $6000. Police have no suspects.

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A burglar broke into 2 homes on the 200 block of Oberlin Avenue and attempted to enter a third home. Between 7:30 p.m. and midnight, the burglar gained access to one residence through an unlocked bedroom window. The thief stole a laptop, a flash drive and a backpack, valued at $1190.

A neighboring home was again entered through an unlocked window after the burglar cut through a window screen. There, an iPod and women's underwear were stolen. The property taken was valued at about $400. A third home had its window screens removed but the burglar was not able to open the locked windows.

Claremont Police Detective Joe Maddox said the crime was unusual because residential burglaries typically occur in the morning hours while people are away at work.  There were no witnesses and police have no suspects.

Monday, September 28

Police were called to the area of Towne Avenue and Foothill Boulevard after a man was seen jumping up and down in the street. When police arrived at 4:05 p.m., they found Gregory Lavin, 36, of Yorba Linda. It was discovered that Mr. Lavin was under the influence of a controlled substance and he was subsequently arrested. He did not explain to police what he was doing jumping up and down in the middle of traffic.

A woman’s home was burglarized after she was lured into her backyard through a distraction technique. Around 2:30 p.m., a woman knocked on the front door of the home on the 1900 block of Chapman Road. When the victim answered the door, the woman explained that she lived in the property behind the home and needed to take measurements from the other side of the wall for a sand blasting project.

Monday, September 28 (cont.)

After the woman finished taking measurements and pictures and wrote down some notes, she left. About an hour later, the victim realized about $6000 worth of jewelry was missing from her bedroom and called police.

The woman taking measurements is described as an Asian female, age 35 to 40, 5 feet 4 inches tall with black hair. The victim did not see the second burglar. Within the last 2 months, the same type of distraction burglary has taken place in Claremont, with at least 3 homes targeted. In the previous cases, the female accomplice to the scheme was described as a white female.

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A man was arrested after he was seen driving erratically on the 210 Freeway by another motorist and was followed into Claremont. Around 11 p.m., the driver was spotted weaving and swerving in traffic. At the Archibald exit in Rancho Cucamonga, the driver nearly hit the other motorist’s vehicle. The witness followed the erratic driver, who exited the freeway at Base Line Road and parked his car in the Vons parking lot on the 5000 block of East Base Line Road.

When police arrived, they found the man passed out in his vehicle with the lights on and the keys in the ignition. The driver was determined to be under the influence of alcohol and based on the witness’s testimony, he was arrested.

Juan Cruz, 41, of Victorville was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, providing false information to an officer after he tried to give a false name and driving on a suspended license. Police said Mr. Cruz had 5 previous arrests for driving under the influence.