On Monday, April 29 a man took it upon himself to aid police in his own arrest. According to Lt. Ciszek, 31-year-old Kristian Urquieta of Orange got out of the passenger seat of a car and approached officers, identifying himself and asking for directions for him and his friend in the driver’s seat. Police discovered that not only was Mr. Urquieta wanted for an outstanding warrant, but the car they were driving had license plates revealing the car was stolen out of Fullerton.
On Friday, April 5 Jaime Frey may have been the one to see the comedy show that night, but Claremont police had the last laugh. The 36-year-old skipped out on paying her tab for watching the Flapper’s Comedy performance and walked right into the arms of officers who awaited her at the police department, which happens to be located just down the street from the club. The owner of the club explained the situation to police.
It wasn’t a great week for Claremont cyclists. A woman was knocked off her bike late Thursday afternoon by a driver coming out of the parking structure in Village West. The driver failed to stop to see if she was ok. Another female cyclist was airlifted to USC Medical Center last week when she lost control of her bicycle near Mountain Avenue and Via Espirito Santos Street. She had been traveling at unsafe speeds and unable to stop, according to police. She suffered from abrasions to her elbow and thigh and pain to her shoulder and back.
The good news keeps coming for the Claremont Police Department. In recent months Claremont’s budget success and grant funding has allowed the local police department the ability to add to its ranks.
First, with the addition of a four-legged staff member named Dodger, a one-year-old British Labrador trained to identify narcotics. He is now the trusty partner of Officer Sean Evans, following him around to local schools and assisting in drug searches around the city.
Last month, officers began the search for a part-time, $32,500-a-year police detective with the approval of the Claremont City Council.
On Thursday, March 7 a man claiming his truck had run out of gas wasn’t enough to justify 53-year-old Eddie Paz’s excuse for changing his mode of transport to a stolen bike, especially when it turns out the truck was stolen to begin with. Police caught up with Mr. Paz at the Keck Science Center where they found him, bolt cutters in hand, putting the bike into the back of the stolen pickup.
