Police Blotter: Hit-And-Run, Family With Drugs

Sunday's was just one of several incidents the Monrovia Police Department fielded in the past week. There were also robberies as well as dealing with a husband-and-wife duo suspected of possessing meth around their children. Read on for more.

The following information was provided by the Monrovia Police Department:

During the last seven-day period, the handled 517 service events, resulting in 98 investigations.  Following are the last week's highlighted issues and events:

Possession of a controlled substance

On Aug. 26 at 8:47 p.m., officers responded to the area of Magnolia and Duarte regarding a female subject following a male subject who allegedly took something of hers while at the street fair. Officers located both parties and determined that no theft had occurred. The subjects are boyfriend/girlfriend and were arguing over drugs. Both subjects were patted down and checked for warrants.  The male subject was found to be in possession of cocaine and was arrested.

Attempted robbery

On Aug. 27 at 1:58 a.m., a suspect in the 300 block of West Lemon reportedly simulated a gun under his shirt and demanded money from a male victim. The victim did not believe the suspect had a gun and fought with the suspect.  The suspect fled south on Alta Vista empty handed. Officers arrived and met with the victim and a witness, and also began an area check for the suspect.  A male subject matching the suspects description was seen running south on Magnolia and was detained. The victim positively identified the suspect and he was arrested and taken into custody.  

Farmer's Market hit-and-run

On Aug. 28 at 2:20 p.m., a male subject driving his vehicle east on Primrose drove through the cones blocking the roadway at Lime for the Sunday Farmer's Market event.  The coordinator for the event stopped the vehicle inside the event and told the driver the street was closed to vehicle traffic.  The male subject became angry and yelled that he lived that way, pointing east.  He was told one more time that the street was closed.  The driver proceeded through, striking the event coordinator and running over his foot.  He sustained a broken ankle.  A witness followed the suspect into a parking lot nearby, where officers apprehended him.  He was arrested without further incident.

Drugs, meth and children

On Aug. 29 at 5:04 p.m., a caller reported a male subject battering a female subject inside a vehicle in the area of Colorado and Alta Vista.  The caller followed the suspect vehicle as it drove away recklessly on the wrong side of the road, nearly colliding into numerous vehicles along the way. As an officer drove up behind the suspect vehicle, the driver looked back and discarded a small bag into the roadway and continued driving.  The suspect then stopped for the officers a distance away from the area where he discarded the bag. The officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and detained the male subject without further incident. 

The female did not have any injuries and denied being a victim of domestic violence.  The subjects are husband and wife, and they had their two small children, ages 1 and 2, in the backseat of the vehicle.  The female was under the influence of a controlled substance and there was drug paraphernalia concealed where she had been sitting inside the vehicle.  She was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics paraphernalia, and child endangerment.

The bag discarded by the male suspect was recovered and found to contain methamphetamine and a drug smoking pipe.  He was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, domestic battery, child endangerment, and reckless driving.  He was later found to have lied about his identity and was found to be on parole; a parole hold was obtained. 

The two small children were not harmed during the incident and were taken into protective custody. They were later released to a grandparent after being interviewed by the Department of Child and Family Services.

Driving under the influence

On Aug. 31 at 4:51 p.m., a fast-food restaurant in the 100 block of West Duarte Road reported a female in their drive-thru who was driving drunk.  Officers responded and detained the female.  An investigation was conducted and the female was subsequently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. 

Strong-arm robbery

On Aug. 31 at 5:07 p.m., a business in the 300 block of West Huntington reported a female subject had just taken merchandise out of the store without paying for it.  An employee attempted to stop the female, and the female fought with the employee to try and get away with the merchandise.  Officers responded quickly and apprehended the suspect. She was arrested on suspicion of strong-arm robbery and taken into custody.

Burglary

On Aug. 31 at 9:33 a.m., an officer was dispatched to the 500 block of West Duarte Road on the report of a burglary. The victim reported that he locked his garage the night before at about 5:30 p.m. and went in for the evening.  When he walked out to the garage in the morning at 8:20 a.m., he saw one of the two doors open.  He checked his garage and discovered a miter saw and some of his tools were missing.  The garage doors had been secured with padlocks.  It appears the suspect(s) cut the locks and took them, as they were not located at the scene.  The investigation is continuing.