Crime Blotter: Cans and Converters

The following reports were taken from the

Car Window Smashed

On March 22, a female resident of the 2600 block of Altura Avenue found the rear window of her four-door Scion smashed. The victim noted that a tree-trimming crew had been working near the car but she had not seen anyone damage it. She reported that the car’s doors had been locked and nothing was missing from inside the vehicle.

Entry Via Brick

On March 22, a female resident of the 4300 block of La Crescenta Avenue returned home at noon to discover the glass of the back door smashed, with a red brick visibly lying inside. Scared, she ran to a neighbor’s home and called deputies. A search of the house showed that it had been ransacked, yet televisions, computers, and a Playstation were untouched. 

Drunk in Public

Deputies found Damon Lane Jones, a 44 year-old unemployed male resident of La Crescenta, lying on his back along Foothill Boulevard and Briggs Avenue at 8:10 p.m., March 23. According to the incident report, Jones smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes, and was not able to stand on his own. Jones was arrested, cited for being drunk in public, and released into the care of his mother.

Can’t Take Cans

Deputies responded to a call just after midnight on March 24. Two men were removing items from trash bins along the 2700 block of Franklin Boulevard. Deputies confronted Robert Randal Mesec, a 60 year-old male resident of La Crescenta, standing alongside a blue van and rummaging in a recycling bin with a flashlight. Through the open van door, deputies could see several empty bottles and cans strewn about.

Deputies informed Mesec and the driver of the van, 45 year-old John Norris, also of La Crescenta, that taking recyclable materials out of such bins is a misdemeanor.

Mesec then argued that it was not against the law, claiming that he had the right to take the recyclables because they were on a public street. He also reportedly said that he needed the materials to “stay alive” and had been stopped several times by both Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies and Glendale Police for pilfering recyclables. Both men were cited for theft of recyclable materials.

School Storage Shed Burglarized

The head custodian of the Mountain View Elementary School reported that sometime between 11 p.m. March 23 and 6:30 a.m. March 24, unknown suspects broke into a storage shed on school property and made off with landscaping equipment. Among the items stolen were a wheelbarrow, hand truck, and battery charger. Deputies saw that the hinges of the shed’s door had been pried apart. It was noted that the suspects may have used a hose cart to help them scale the high fence that surrounded the area.

Catalytic Converter Spree

Between the hours of 10 p.m. March 26 and 11 a.m. March 27, three separate incidents of catalytic converter theft were reported to deputies. Two incidents were reported along the 2300 block of Florencita Drive involving a Toyota T-100 pick-up truck and a 2000 Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck. Both vehicles had been parked on the street in front of victims’ residence. A third catalytic converter was reported stolen from a 2000 Toyota 4 Runner parked in front of a residence on the 2500 block of Altura Avenue.

Public Intoxication

Employees of a bar on the 2800 block of Foothill Boulevard called for help with a drunk customer on the night of March 27. At 11:25 p.m., deputies responded to find Mario Ernesto Argueta, a 28-year-old male from Tujunga, standing on the bar’s porch and having a hard time keeping upright. He refused to take a taxi home and instead began to stumble around the bar’s parking lot.

Due to his condition, deputies arrested Argueta, who had difficulty getting into the back of the patrol SUV. According to the report, after insisting to deputies that he be allowed to seat himself inside the vehicle without assistance, Argueta lost his balance and fell. He was transported to the Verdugo Hills Hospital and treated for a minor cut near his eyebrow.

After being given an “okay to book,” Argueta was taken to the Crescenta Valley Station.