Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ARCADIA – Crews extinguished a fire that burned in a two-story complex Sunday morning that left no one injured.

The second-alarm fire burned in the apartment complex, 2607 S. Santa Anita Ave, just after 4 a.m. June 13. It is not immediately clear if a cause has been determined.

It took firefighters more than one hour to fully extinguish the flames, according to the Arcadia Fire Department.

Assisting agencies included the Monrovia, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Gabriel and Los Angeles County Fire departments.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ARCADIA - Two firearms, a sledgehammer, a pry bar and a bank bag containing cash and checks were recovered from a van used in a restaurant robbery, Arcadia Police said.

A witness told police of a burglary at Papa John’s Pizza, 1312 S. Baldwin Ave., around 5:11 a.m. May 14. The suspects fled in a white van east on Naomi Avenue, but officers caught up to them, according to the Arcadia Police Department.

The three unidentified suspects were arrested after officers concluded they were involved in the burglary, Arcadia Police said.

Two of the three suspects also had arrest warrants from other cities. They were booked on suspicion of burglary and for weapons crimes, Arcadia Police said.

ARCADIA – Two catalytic converters, cutting tools and a vehicle jack were discovered during a traffic stop by officers searching for suspected thieves May 8.

Police were called to the 500 block of Fairview Avenue just before 5 a.m. to investigate a reported catalytic converter theft that just occurred. Officers found a suspicious vehicle and conducted a traffic stop, according to the Arcadia Police Department.

“During their investigation, the officers located two catalytic converters, several saws, and a vehicle jack,” the Arcadia Police Department said in a written statement.

Both suspects who were unidentified were subsequently arrested.

ARCADIA – A suspect who fled a home after triggering the resident’s security alarm was found and arrested early Monday, Police said.

The unidentified suspect attempted to pry open the rear door of a home in the 700 block of Callita Street at 4 a.m. May 3. He fled on foot once he set off the alarm, according to the Arcadia Police Department.

The resident was able to witness the crime through security camera footage as the suspect failed to breach the locked door.

Responding officers located the suspect at 712 Callita Street and he was taken into custody after an investigation.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

UPDATE, 1:15 p.m.: Technicians with the Arson/Explosives Detail rendered the suspicious item safe around 11:25 a.m., according to Ramon Montenegro, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau.

The L Line has since resumed normal service.

“There were no explosives that were found. Our Arson/Explosives Detail used their methods to make sure there was nothing in there, however we may still want to question the individual that left it there,” Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

No one has been detained, or is in custody, yet.

ARCADIA - Bomb squad technicians have been called to investigate a suspicious item reportedly placed on top of a parked Sheriff’s patrol vehicle at the L Line Arcadia station Saturday morning.

Road closures are in effect immediately near the Arcadia L Line station, 200 N. 1st Ave., as deputies await the arrival of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Detail, according to Ramon Montenegro, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau.

The Metro Emergency Security Operations Center notified deputies around 8:40 a.m. after discovering the suspicious item on top of the patrol vehicle through a security camera, Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

Montenegro declined to describe what the item looks like.

A bus bridge is being requested for passengers, as there is no L Line service to or from the Arcadia station, according to The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“There’s CCTV footage in the area and our investigators are reviewing it now,” Montenegro told SGV CityWatch.

ARCADIA – Investigators are trying to determine why a vehicle left the roadway and slammed into two power poles and a flood control fence, a crash that killed the driver.
 
The solo collision occurred in the area of Las Tunas Drive and El Monte Avenue at 11:37 p.m. February 21. When officers arrived, the driver was dead. Two passengers suffered minor injuries, according to Lt. Jeremy Lachenmyer of the Arcadia Police Department.
 
Anyone with information on this collision is urged to call Arcadia Police at 626-574-5151 and reference case number 21-0623. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ARCADIA - An 84-year-old man was found dead after firefighters extinguished flames inside an Arcadia home Wednesday.

Firefighters did however rescue three family members from the burning home in the 1900 block of South Santa Anita Avenue. Firefighters were dispatched around 6:06 p.m., according to the Arcadia Fire Department.

Upon arriving, firefighters reported heavy smoke and flames from the rear of the home and reports of trapped occupants, the Arcadia Fire Department said.

The victim has not been publicly identified.

The cause is under investigation.

ARCADIA - A domestic battery suspect was sentenced to four years in the slammer in the beating of the mother of his two children from 2019, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Robert Michael Mendez, 28, pleaded no contest in September of this year to one felony count of injuring a girlfriend or child’s parent, according to Deputy District Attormey Lisa Daruty.

The beating took place in Mendez’s Arcadia Home September 29, 2019.

When the victim attempted an escape, Mendez dragged her back to the home while beating her, Daruty said in a written statement.

The incident was caught on security camera footage as the victim fled Mendez.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

ARCADIA - Three males fled a home after a resident stumbled upon a burglary in progress, police said recently.

The home burglary unfolded in the 1400 block of Glencoe Drive around 7:15 PM October 13. The resident claimed that he and at least one of the three suspects opened fire at each other during the confrontation, according to the Arcadia Police Department.

Police found no evidence substantiating that gun fire occurred.

The three suspects, only described as possibly white or Latino males wearing hooded sweatshirts, fled the scene on foot and disappeared. No suspect vehicle was seen.

Anyone with information on this burglary is urged to call the Arcadia Police Department at 626-574-5151. Reference case number 20-3416. Provide information anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or at lacrimestoppers.org.