Arcadia: June 2008 Archives

ARCADIA -- Two men wearing Halloween masks bound an employee as they robbed a Radio Shack Thursday, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. at the store, located at 1435 S. Baldwin Ave., said Arcadia police Lt. Bob Anderson.
Two men entered the store wearing "presidential-style" masks and ordered the lone employee into the bathroom at gunpoint, Anderson said.
After binding the employees eyes and mouth with tape, they ordered him to stay in the bathroom, Anderson said.
The robbers stole money from the employee, and unknown merchandise from the store before fleeing, he said.
The employee was discovered by a Fed-Ex delivery man about 15 minutes after the robbery, Anderson said.
The robbers were described only as Latino men of average height and weight, said Anderson.
The employee was not injured, he said.

This might be the hottest day of the heat wave as it's expected to begin cooling off tomorrow.

Arcadia police reported a trio of bears, probably a momma and her cubs, took a dip in a pool at a home located at 317 Whispering Pines drive around 11:30 a.m.

The three bears were gone by the time cops arrived. No word on Golidlocks...

Reminded me of Sampson (memorialized at left)

Big Brown's shot for glory in the Belmont got me thinking about a horse named Charismatic, a horse that truly had an opportunity for greatness only to break down in the stretch of the Belmont in 1999 and finish third.

That after winning both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness....

Charsimatic got me thinking about jockey Patrick Valenzuela, one of the most troubled, yet charismatic, jocks ever to ride at Santa Anita or Hollywood Park.

Valenzuela's struggles with substance abuse, suspension, and a robbery accusation, only highlight the demons some riders face.

If anyone had his share of demons, it was Charismatic's rider Chris Antley, "the Ant Man."

It was Chris Antley's heroic move jumping from Charismatic's back in the Belmont stretch that saved the injured horse's life. Sadly Antley's own life was cut short when he died in Pasadena in 2000.

The case was initially treated as a homicide, but for some reason Pasadena police dropped their investigation after learning Antley had ingested a toxic cocktail of illegal substances that may have contributed to his death.