Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DUARTE - A burglary was discovered early Saturday morning at Duarte High School, a fast pitch softball team’s equipment taken and no suspects identified.

A coach arrived to Duarte High School, 1565 Central Ave., around 7 a.m. May 13 to prep the field and discovered a broken door behind home plate. Further detective work revealed a busted lock on a shed and equipment taken from the 16U Lady Colt .45s, according to Coach Phillip Peinado.

“All softball gear is gone for the girls,” Peinado told SGV CityWatch. “They stole both pitching machines we have. Those are about $2,500 a piece. There were nine girls who left their equipment in the shed, gloves, bats, helmets, pitching masks, catching gear, their cleats. Everything.”

Peinado estimates the loss is $1,700 per player. Boxes of brand new CIF softballs and a speaker used to announce players and play music was also taken.

Whoever committed the burglary made use of an existing hole in a chain link fence near the first base dugout and widened it in order to take the equipment, Peinado believes.

Two buckets filled with Duarte High School equipment, including jerseys, were left behind on the way through the torn chain link fence, Peinado told SGV CityWatch.

Possibly more than two burglars may have been involved, Peinado believes, because the two stolen pitching machines are considerably heavy to move.

There is currently no suspect, or surveillance video available, according to Sgt. Blalock of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station.

Monday may shed some light once Duarte High School’s athletic director reviews the recordings. There is one camera near the football equipment shed that may have captured the burglary, or the escape, since a burglary attempt was made to take football gear, Peinado told SGV CityWatch.

“The .45 girls play for Duarte High School. Everything that I bring, I leave for the high school. In the five years that I’ve been there I’ve never had an incident,” Peinado said.

Most of the stolen equipment was personalized with Peinado’s logo, except for player bats, Peinado said. He contacted Play It Again Sports, which sells used sporting equipment, to be aware of anyone attempting to sell the stolen items.

Play It Again has a store in Pasadena, Fullerton and Los Alamitos.

For now, a few sponsors have reached out to help financially. Helmets, gloves and cleats are most needed, Peinado said.

a gofundme has been launched.

Anyone who would like to help the Lady Colt .45s can direct message Peinado through his Instagram: ladycolt45_peinado07.

Anyone with information on this burglary is urged to call the Sheriff’s Temple Station at 626-285-7171.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DUARTE - A burglar alarm led to the arrest of a man accused of ransacking a classroom at California School of the Arts April 10.

Deputies went to the school, 1401 Highland Ave. at 3 a.m. and located a suspect, only described as a Latino man, inside of the property. The classroom he was inside where the alarm activated was ransacked and multiple laptops were placed next to a door, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station.

The suspect was not identified.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DUARTE - Deputies searched two schools in Duarte Tuesday morning and soon determined that a call of an active shooter turned out to be a hoax.

Deputies searched and secured Duarte High School, 1565 Central Avenue, and California School of the Arts, 1401 Highland Avenue, February 7.

A call was received at 9:29 a.m. of an active shooter at the Duarte High School address, but the caller mentioned California School of the Arts, according to Sgt. Robert Leyba of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station.

“We’ve been informed just a little while ago that there were several hoaxes in different counties with an active shooter and students,” Leyba told SGV CityWatch.

Both schools were searched, and nothing was found.

Detectives are trying to determine the source of the call and if the call in Duarte was related to any of the hoax calls in surrounding counties.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DUARTE - Administrators at an arts school cancelled Thursday classes after a perceived threat in which a student allegedly joked about taking a gun to school.

California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, 1401 Highland Ave., announced in a message to parents Wednesday night that classes June 2 would be cancelled and a decision on how students could make up final exams would be made.

“We wanted to inform you that it has been reported that a student made what was described by witnesses as a “joke” about bringing a gun to school tomorrow,” according to CSArts in the parents message.

The scheduled graduation pre-rehearsal was also cancelled.

“We have shared the reports with law enforcement and are in the process of completing a full investigation into the allegations,” according to CSArts in the parents message.

Several attempts to speak with Det. Sgt. Richard Lewis of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station were unsuccessful.

It is unclear if the student was cited or arrested, or even located.

California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley boasts itself as a public charter school, offering college preparatory education. CSArts is a tuition-free donation-dependent school, made possible through a public-private partnership with the Duarte Unified School District, according to the CSArts website.