Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

POMONA - Authorities finally took a domestic violence suspect into custody late Friday night after he refused to surrender at the end of a very dangerous pursuit.

Ryan Screnar, a 37-year-old Upland resident, will be facing multiple felony charges in the coming weeks after investigators file the case against him, according to the Claremont Police Department.

Screnar allegedly went to the victim’s home in the 2200 block of Forbes Avenue sometime Friday and banged on the front door and attempted to force it open. Officers made contact with him as he sat in a vehicle outside of the residence and refused to exit, according to the Claremont police department.

“Responding officers determine the subject had an active domestic violence court order preventing him from being at the location,” according to the Claremont Police Department in a written statement.

Screnar allegedly used his vehicle to ram several police vehicles and drove towards officers. He fled the neighborhood and was pursued by Claremont officers through town, as well as Ontario, Upland and Pomona where the pursuit ended with a crash on northbound Towne Avenue north of Bonita Avenue.

Screnar refused to surrender. Additional resources from Upland Police, Pomona Police, and the Foothills Special Enforcement Team worked to get Screnar to exit peacefully, which he did after being smoked out with pepper spray.

Medics treated Screnar at the scene and transported him to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center for further treatment.

CLAREMONT – A Los Angeles man and 17-year-old runaway from a group facility were arrested, accused of burglarizing a Claremont business October 18.

The duo are accused of burglarizing Euro Café, 546 E. Baseline Rd. Officers were dispatched at 2:47 a.m. and after arriving 30 seconds later, saw a suspect flee the business and into a waiting black Jeep SUV, according to the Claremont Police Department.

An officer attempted to block the driver from escaping, but the driver used the Jeep SUV, later determined stolen in Ontario, to ram the patrol vehicle, according to the Claremont Police Department.

While being pursued by officers, the driver and passenger fled onto Baseline Road without headlights and soon entered the eastbound 210 freeway in opposing lanes of traffic. Officers cancelled the pursuit due to the driver’s reckless nature, according to the Claremont Police Department.

“While checking the IS-210 freeway for the suspect vehicle, an officer located a traffic collision on the freeway, west of Fruit Street, involving the suspect vehicle and another vehicle. It was determined that the suspect vehicle was unoccupied, and officers responded to the area to search for the suspects,” according to the Claremont Police Department in a written statement.

One suspect was caught hiding in some bushes. A Claremont Police K9 arrived and sniffed out the second suspect who was also hiding in some bushes along the right shoulder.

Officers found in the Jeep SUV three cash registers, one reportedly taken from Euro Café, according to the Claremont Police Department.

Dejon Butler, 19, was booked on suspicion of burglary, felony evading, evading while driving the wrong way, grand theft auto, possession of a stolen vehicle and resisting arrest. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail ahead of a scheduled court appearance October 20.

The 17-year-old was booked on suspicion of burglary, resisting arrest and was later released to the custody of the group facility on a citation to appear in court, according to the Claremont Police Department.

The La Verne Police Department and a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Helicopter assisted with the search.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

CLAREMONT - A large safe and other personal property was recovered from the vehicle occupied by four burglary suspects who decided to flee from Claremont Police and the California Highway Patrol until they crashed and rolled their SUV in Downey Sunday night.

The suspects are accused of committing two residential burglaries May 16. Officers responded just after 8 p.m. to the 800 block of Brigham Young Drive after a resident saw three suspects armed with baseball bats enter the rear yard of a residence. Police did not find the suspects, but recovered a baseball bat. Minutes later, police responded to another address a short distance away, the Claremont Police Department said.

A residential burglary alarm was triggered just before 8:30 p.m. in the 4100 block of New Hampshire Ave. Responding officers saw a white SUV leaving the neighborhood. A Claremont officer in an unmarked police vehicle began following that white SUV. Backup officers confirmed a burglary happened at the New Hampshire home, Claremont Police Department said.

The white SUV was trailed onto the westbound 210 freeway and then to the southbound 605 freeway with additional Claremont officers and a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter also following.

The California Highway Patrol was requested to take over the chase and after attempting to conduct a traffic stop, the suspects fled at high speed.

The pursuit entered the city of Downey where the suspects attempted to exit onto Bellflower Boulevard where they crashed on the offramp and rolled in their SUV. The driver ran away, leaving his three accomplices behind in the SUV to eventually be arrested.

The driver fled through residential properties and reportedly ran into a garage where he hid briefly before officers located him with the help of a helicopter and took him into custody, according to California Highway Patrol radio traffic.

Lancaster man Dequan Clark, 20, Los Angeles man Jaheim Hickman, 19, Los Angeles man Bernard Peoples, 23, and a 15-year-old juvenile from Hawthorne were taken into custody.

Inside the SUV, officers located property reportedly taken from the home on New Hampshire Avenue, Including a large safe. Additional property was also found believed to have been stolen from a home in Chino Hills, Claremont Police said.

The three adult suspects were booked on suspicion of attempted burglary, burglary and possession of stolen property.

Two of the adult suspects are being held without bail at the Claremont Police Department Jail for probation and parole violations, while the third adult suspect is being held at the Claremont Police Department Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, Claremont Police said.

The juvenile suspect was later released on a citation to his parent. All three adult suspects are scheduled to appear at Pomona Superior Court on Tuesday, May 18, Claremont Police said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

CLAREMONT - A 39-year-old Claremont man crashed a VW Jetta November 22 while evading police and officers discovered drugs and handguns in the car.

The unidentified driver refused to stop for an officer who reportedly observed the suspect commit a traffic violation at Indian Hill and Bonita Avenue around 11:08 a.m. During the chase, the driver lost control and crashed into some trees at Elder Drive and Green Street, according to the Claremont Police Department.

“Upon officers conducting a search of the vehicle, they found a loaded .380 Jimenez Arms Inc. handgun located inside a sock in the center console and a loaded Springfield Armory XD 9mm handgun on the ground. Also found inside the vehicle was Xanax, heroin, and methamphetamine, all packaged for sales,” Claremont Police said in a written statement.

The suspect was arrested and booked on suspicion of illegal possession of firearms and possession for sales. The suspect had a female passenger, but there was no word if she was arrested, or set free.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

CLAREMONT - Three people were caught Saturday at the end of a pursuit minutes after having robbed a pharmacy, police said.

The suspects are accused of robbing Claremont Pharmacy, 358 S. Indian Hill Blvd., at gunpoint around 11:09 a.m., taking pharmaceuticals and cash. Arriving officers witnessed the suspects driving away and followed, according to the Claremont Police Department.

The three suspects abandoned their vehicle at the East I-10 Freeway on ramp at Vinton Avenue in Pomona. All three suspects were caught a short distance away, Claremont Police said.

The property taken from the pharmacy was recovered, as well as a 9-millimeter handgun taken in a Gardena residential burglary, Claremont Police said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

CLAREMONT - Police arrested three suspects, including one juvenile, after they led officers on a high-speed chase into Los Angeles Monday morning.

The three suspects were witnessed by a passerby as they reportedly burglarized a Jamba Juice and the neighboring Poke Dot, 175 N. Indian Hill Ave., just after midnight October 29. The driver fled the suspect vehicle as officers arrived. One of the three passengers took the wheel and led police on a pursuit, according to the Claremont Police Department.

The suspect who fled on foot is still outstanding.

The pursuit sped along the west I-10 freeway and north on the 605. The pursuit transitioned to the west 210 freeway and to the west 134.

The suspects entered surfaces streets from the south 2 freeway where the three suspects in the vehicle fled on foot in the area of West Avenue 40 and Delevan Street in Los Angeles, according to Claremont Police radio traffic.

The California Highway Patrol,  Glendale Police officers and a helicopter assisted Claremont in tracking down the suspects.

Evidence found in the suspect vehicle linked all three suspects to the burglary, Claremont Police said.

A sledgehammer was apparently used to gain access to at least one of the businesses, according to Claremont Police radio traffic.

Arrested were Lancaster man Jailyn Cottrell, 18, Palmdale man Davine Bruce, 18, and a 15-year-old boy.

Cottrell was booked on suspicion of felony evading officers, burglary, possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest and conspiracy to commit a crime. He is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Bruce was booked on suspicion of burglary, possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest and conspiracy to commit a crime. His bail set at $20,000.

The boy, a Long Beach resident, was booked on suspicion of burglary, possession of burglary tools, resisting arrest and conspiracy to commit a crime. He is being held at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.