Recently in Altadena Category

ALTADENA -- A man and woman beat and robbed a man Friday on Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena, authorities said.
The incident was reported about 6:30 p.m. on Fair Oaks Avenue near Mendocino Street, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Mike Brandriff said.
A black woman in her 30s approached the victim, a man in his early 50s, and propositioned him for sex, Lt. Larry Landreth said.
A black man in his 50s then pushed the victim to the ground, causing him to strike his head, and punched him in the face, the lieutenant said.
As the injured man lied on the ground, he added, the woman reached into his pocket and stole his wallet.
The man and woman ran south on Fair Oaks Avenue and deputies searched the area with police dogs, but Landreth said the robbers were not found.
The victim suffered a broken nose, a large cut to his head and other injuries in the attack, Landreth said.
He was hospitalized but checked himself out before deputies could interview him at the hospital, officials said. The address and other information he left at the hospital did not appear to be valid.

ALTADENA -- A masked gunman held two gas station employees at gunpoint during a robbery Sunday, authorities said.
The crime was reported about 7:40 p.m. at an Arco station at Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Greg Cisneros said.
The robber threatened two cashiers at the store with a black handgun and demanded money before fleeing southbound on Fair Oaks Avenue on foot, the lieutenant said.
He was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 165 pound, wearing a black hooded sweat shirt and black pants, Cisneros said. Because he wore a mask, the robbers race was unknown.
Officials were reviewing surveillance footage from the store late Sunday in hopes of developing leads, he said.

ALTADENA -- A robber used a note to steal cash from a bank teller early Thursday, sheriff's officials said.
The crime occurred about 10 a.m. at Chase Bank, 2333 N. Lake Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. John Stanley said.
A robber described as a black man in his 40s, between 6 feet 2 inches and 6 feet 4 inches tall, and about 200 pounds, the sergeant said. He was bearded and wore all black clothing.
He used a note to demand cash from a teller, while gesturing as if he had a weapon, Stanley said. No weapon was seen.
The robber was last seen running southbound from the bank with a "large amount" of stolen cash, he added.
PHOTO: courtesy of the FBI

ALTADENA -- A father and son were arrested early Thursday as deputies were investigating a home burglary, authorities said.
Jabari Varnado, 20, was booked suspicion of residential burglary, while his father, 55-year-old Lonell Varnado, was booked on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a stolen firearm, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Sheila Sanchez said.
While neither son nor father has been linked to other Altadena burglaries Thursday afternoon, "We have a strong suspicion the investigation will lead us in that direction," Sanchez said.
At a community meeting held earlier this month, sheriff's officials said Altadena, particularly the eastern portion of the city, has seen a significant spike in burglaries this year. The city-wide increase amounted to about 27.5 percent over last year.
Thursday's arrest came after a woman arrived home in the 1300 block of Eastlyn Place shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday an interrupted a man burglarizing her house, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said in a written statement
Evidence dropped at the scene of the alleged break-in led investigators to the home of Jabari Varnado in the 2200 block of East Washington Boulevard, Sanchez said, where he lived with his father. Officials declined to give more details about what type of evidence was found.
Deputies set up a surveillance on the home and arrested both men without incident early Thursday, Sanchez said
Jabari Varnado, who was on parole for a previous burglary conviction and wanted on three warrants, was being held without bail, Sanchez said. Lonell Varnado was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail. Both are due for arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court Monday.
Sanchez said detectives were still looking into whether the father or son has any gang ties.

ALTADENA -- Sheriff's officials met with Altadena residents Wednesday evening to ask for their vigilance and warn them of an spike in burglaries this year.
More than 200 people attended the event, held at Webster Elementary School, which was hosted by commanders and detectives from the sheriff's Altadena Station.
"It's been a bad year, especially in the east half of Altadena, for burglaries (and) thefts, but especially residential burglaries," Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Richard Pippin.
Officials responded to 204 reports of burglaries as of Wednesday this year, Pippin said, up from 160 burglaries reported at the same time last year. That amounts to an increase of 27.5 percent.
Authorities added that they take burglaries, particularly residential burglaries where the crooks are more likely to encounter residents, seriously.
"It's a real violation of the sanctity of a home," Pippin said.
Detectives attribute the majority of the crimes to cliques of the Bloods street gang which call Altadena home.
The Pasadena Denver Lanes Bloods, the Altadena Denver Lanes Bloods, the Squiggly Lanes Bloods and the Project Gangster Bloods all operate in the area, Pippin said, and have apprently taken in increased interest in burglary.
"I think it's sort of a gang trend," he said.
The most common form of residential burglary going on now is that where the burglars first knock on the front door of a home to see if anyone is home, then break in through the back if they don't get an answer.
This type of burglary is most common during daylight hours, when residents are often at work, Pippin said. If someone does come to the door, the crooks will often have a story prepared, such as they are searching for a lost cat or need water for an overheated radiator.
If a suspicious person does knock at the door, Pippin said, residents are advised not to remain silent.
"Do not play possum in the house," he said, as that may lead crooks to believe no one is home and it's a good place to break in. "Don't answer (the door), but do something to let them know you're in the house."
In another scheme, officials said, one burglar will distract a resident by telling them they are some sort of worker who needs access to the back yard, while others ransack the home.
Officials offered several tips to help residence reduce their likelihood of becoming victims of a burglary.
"There is nothing more effective than knowing your neighbors," Pippin said, and being able to recognize when something is amiss.
Locks, alarm systems, security lights and dogs were all offered as suggestions, as well as keeping windows covered to prevent burglars from window shopping and making sure the entrances to homes are visible from the street.
If residents own guns, they're urged to keep them in a safe that's bolted into the floor to prevent them from being stolen in burglaries.
"None of these things will guarantee your house will be safe, but they're deterrents," Pippin said.
Sheriff's Altadena station Capt. Roosevelt Blow said he was pleased to see the meeting so well attended.
"It shows that you have concern, and we appreciate that," Blow said.
Fred DeVito, 57, of Altadena said he found the meeting "informative."
"It let's us know as residents that (officials) are concerned and trying to stop it," he said.
"When he started talking about the gangs, that kind of scared me," DeVito said, but added he's glad officials are speaking candidly with the community about local issues.
"You don't want them to sugar-coat it," he said.

There are several smoke animations on the web, including the SSD Fire Detection Map.This satellite image comes from the NOAA:

View Altadena evacuation area in a larger map

Basic Information

Incident Type	Wildfire
Cause	Under Investigation
Date of Origin	Wednesday August 26th, 2009 approx 03:30 PM
Location	Los Angeles River Ranger District / Angeles National Forest
Incident Commander	Jim Hall

Current Situation

Total Personnel	751
Size	5,000 acres
Estimated Containment Date	Tuesday September 08th, 2009 approx 06:00 PM
Fuels Involved	Very heavy fuels of ceanothus, chamise, scrub oak and manzanita across the entire fire area, 15 to 20 feet in height with Big Cone Douglas Fier in the drainage bottoms. Fuels have not experienced any significant large fire activity in the past 40 years.
Fire Behavior	Friday behavior was very active to extreme, with rapid rates of spread and flame lenghts up to 80 feet. There is a potential for Saturday's fire behavior to be similar to Friday. Around noon Saturday, after the inversion has lifted, expect actively spreading fire with upslope runs. Spotting may occur from 1/4 mile up to 1/2 mile.
Significant Events	3 Mandatory Evacuations as of early Saturday morning include Starlight Crest Drive north to Green Ridge Court, including Forest Green Drive, two, Big Briar Way at Haskel, and third, Donna Maria Lane, Indian Drive, Hacienda Drive, Alta Canada Rd., North of Linda Vista, La Canada Blvd. north of El Vago Street. Evacuation Center: La Canada High School, 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada, CA. Angeles Crest Highway remains closed.

Outlook

Planned Actions	Prepare and protect structures when and where necessary. Construct handlines and dozer lines.
Growth Potential	Extreme
Terrain Difficulty	Extremely steep and inaccessible
Remarks	1800 homes threatened. 27 commercial properties and 52 other stuctures threatened.

Current Weather

Wind Conditions	5-8 mph E
Temperature	80 degrees
Humidity	30%

ALTADENA - Sheriff's Search and Rescue team members are heading for Altadena neighborhods in Millard Canyon, La Vina and The Meadows warning residents to be ready to leave if the Station Fire continues to spread east.

"You can't help but be worried," said Sheriff's Law Enforcement Technician Ruby Kinkle. "We're advising people they should be ready to evacuate."

Meadows resident Lee Stapensky said it appeared to him that the fire was getting close to Gould Mesa, which he estimated is a mile from The Meadows, a semi-rural enclave in West Altadena reached by a single road.

"It looks as if it's approximately at the ridge west of Gould Mesa," said Stensky, who has been monitoring the fire since Friday morning.

Fire Service spokesman Bruce Quintelier said that, based on other hearsay reports, what Stepensky has seen "in a general fashion, may not be too far from being correct - spot on."

The fire has been burning so rapidly throughout the day that it's been difficult to keep up with mapping its perimeters, Quintelier said.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - Residents are being evacuated in the northern part of La Canada Flintridge as the Station Fire now rages out of control.

At about 8 p.m. last night, the Station Fire was 10-percent contained and had burned 500 acres. Overnight, firefighters lost whatever containment they had and the fire has now scorched 1500 acres, spokesman with the U.S. Forest Service Gabriel Alvarez said.

"The wind shifts, the weather conditions, a lot of different factors," contributed to the increased intensity in the fire, Alvarez said.

Residents north of Vista Del Valle Road, east of La Canada Boulevard and north of Starlight Crest Drive are under mandatory evacuations, Alvarez said. About 873 homes are under those evacuations, Alvarez said. An evacuation center has been set up at La Canada High School.

There are now 750 fire personnel fighting the Station Fire, one air tanker, four helicopters and as many as sixteen engines, Alvarez said.

Highway 2, Angeles Crest Highway, is closed all the way across to Big Pines, Alvarez said.

ALTADENA -- A man is expected to recover after he was shot late Thursday, officials said.
The shooting was reported as "shots fired" shortly after 9 p.m. at Lincoln Avenue and Figueroa Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John Roberts said.
The victim was struck once in the buttocks and was taken to an area hospital, he said.
No information about the shooter or the motive was available late Thursday.

ALTADENA -- Authorities arrested two men Friday after they allegedly wounded another man in a gang-related drive-by shooting that was witnessed by police officers.
Dalonte Andrews and Terence Bonds, both 18-year-old Pasadena residents, were jailed in connection with the shooting, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Larry Landreth said.
The wounded man, who was 18-years-old, was shot once in the buttocks and had already been released from the hospital late Friday, he said.
Los Angeles police officers in plain clothes witnesses the shooting about 2:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of N. Lincoln Avenue and alerted local sheriff's deputies, the lieutenant said.
The LAPD officers followed the suspects in a Volkswagen Touareg SUV, which was later determined to be stolen, before officials stopped the vehicle and arrested the men without further incident, Landreth said.
Authorities believe the shooting was gang-related.
The suspects are believed to be associated with the Pasadena Denver Lanes Bloods gang, while the victim is believed to have ties to the Squiggly Lane Bloods gang, Landreth said.
Andrews and Bonds were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and auto theft, he added.
According to court records, Bonds, who was on parole for burglary, was being held without bail. Andrews was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Both suspects are due in Pasadena Superior Court for arraignment Tuesday.

ALTADENA -- Three shootings within a square mile radius and within less than 24 hours left one teenager dead and another man injured over the weekend, officials said.
The attacks occurred between late Saturday and Sunday evening and began with the fatal shooting of a teenage boy, followed by a drive-by shooting and ending with injuries to a man shot at by an attacker hiding behind a bush, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's officials -- who assigned extra patrols to the city Sunday -- said the shootings may be connected.
"I think they're probably related," Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Angela Shepherd said, based on the close proximity and time frame of the attacks.
The first shooting occurred about 11:10 p.m. Saturday in the 100 block of East Altadena Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck said in a written statement.
Deputies responding to call of "shots fired" discovered the victim lying in the street, suffering from gunshot wounds, Peck said.
The wounded teenager died from his injuries at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena Sunday morning, coroner's officials said.
He was listed with the coroner's office as a John Doe and was described only as a black teen between 16 or 17 years old.
The teen was not believed to be involved with gangs, Shepherd said. No suspect information was released, and a motive in the attack was not known.
About 12 hours later, someone opened fire on a man near Harriet Street and Lincoln Avenue, Shepherd said.
The victim -- described only as a black man with suspected gang ties -- was working on a car when a shooter inside a passing silver-colored SUV began firing shots, Shepherd said.
Two parked cars were struck by the gunfire, but the man was not hit, she said. The shooter was described as a black man wearing a black beanie.
Then several hours later, shortly before 5 p.m., a 39-year-old man was shot in the thigh and ankle near Stonehurst Drive and Canyada Avenue, Shepherd said.
The wounded man, who was also suspected to have gang ties, was taken to a local hospital where he was expected to survive.
In that attack, authorities said the shooter opened fire on the victim from behind a bush across the street before fleeing west on Stonehurst Drive on foot.
The suspect was described as a black man, about 5-feet-11-inches tall, wearing a black hooded sweat shirt and a black beanie.
Authorities believe the two later attacks may have been gang-related.
At the scene of the fatal shooting Sunday, a man lit a candle at a memorial to the slain teen.
He declined to give his name, but identified himself as a friend of the victim and said his friend lived in Altadena.
Resident Lauren Eaton, 26, who lives across the street from the shooting, said she heard about four gunshots late Saturday.
As sheriff's officials began arriving at the scene, "I didn't want to come out," she said. "It was kind of nerve-racking."
Eaton said the spate of shootings left her uneasy.
"It makes me nervous in the sense that it could happen anywhere," she said.
Another neighbor -- who asked his name not be published in fear of retaliation -- said he was also worried about the eruption of violence.
"I'm concerned about it ... how safe it's going to be," he said. "I better stay home at night."

*Pictured above: A memorial of candles and flowers marked the scene of a fatal shooting that claimed the life of a teenager late Saturday in the 100 block of East Altadena Drive.

ALTADENA -- A teenage boy died at an area hospital after he was shot in a residential neighborhood late Saturday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred about 11:10 p.m. in the 100 block of East Altadena Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Lillian Peck said in a written statement.
"Altadena Station deputies responded to the area for a 'shots fired' call and discovered the victim lying in the street, suffering from gunshot wounds," the statement said.
The wounded teenager died from his injuries a short time later at an area hospital, Peck said.
No further details were released.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.