SOUTH PASADENA – For the past two weeks, David Booth would come home and notice one or two wine bottles missing from his wine rack.

His grown children denied taking the wine. He changed the lock on the rack and still the bottles kept disappearing.

Five to six breaks-ins later where only wine was stolen, Booth decided to set a trap Friday which led to the arrest of the suspected burglar.

The 48-year-old Booth took the day off, parked his car about a block away and went back to his duplex in the 1800 block of Wayne Avenue. He closed the curtains and waited in a bedroom with his camera and a cell phone at the ready. He was careful not to make a sound. No TV either.

“I thought he’d come in through the kitchen window,” Booth said.

About 12:30 p.m., there was a noise and a man trying to force open the window of the bedroom Booth was in.

“He snapped the window hard. He sort of popped it open. I snapped a couple of pictures,” Booth said.

The man tried to reach for and grab the camera then told Booth he was going to call the police on him.

“What? You are going call the police on me?,” Booth told the intruder.

He then uttered a couple of expletives at the man and called the police. The culprit fled.

South Pasadena police Sgt. Tony Abdalla said within minutes, responding officers spotted the man pictured in Booth’s photograph and detained him about a block away.

Joshua Rivera, 27, of South Pasadena was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

“Generally, we do not recommend people confronting burglars because they are known to carry weapons, but in this case, nobody was hurt and the burglar was caught,” Abdalla said. “That’s a happy ending in my book.”

Rivera, who lives in the neighborhood where the burglaries occurred, was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending his initial court appearance, officials said.

Alcohol was the only thing taken during the burglaries. It was mostly wine plus a bottle of Bacardi which was in a kitchen cabinet. The burglar bypassed Booth’s watches and laptop.

“I was going crazy. I even asked my kids, ‘Are you taking my wine?’,” Booth said.

He came up with a plan. Take a picture of the burglar, get out of the place and call the police.

“I had the morning free. It worked out fine,” Booth said.

- Ruby Gonzales and Brian Day

SOUTH PASADENA — The public is invited to join South Pasadena police officers and firefighters Sunday as the departments host an open house.

The event is to be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the South Pasadena Police Department, 1422 Mission Street, organizers said in a written statement.

There will be giveaways, police K-9s, helicopters, demonstrations, fire equipment on display, a car show, free child fingerprinting and more, police said.

A nearly a dozen community businesses are sponsoring the open house.

SOUTH PASADENA — Police plan to hold a driver’s license and sobriety checkpoint later this month, officials said.

The checkpoint is to take place from 8 p.m. Aug. 24 to about 2:30 a.m. the following morning at an undisclosed spot in the city, South Pasadena police Sgt. Robert Bartle said.

At the department’s last checkpoint last month, three motorists were arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, the sergeant added.

Funding for the checkpoint is being provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Four El Monte teenagers are accused of leading authorities on a high-speed chase from South Pasadena to El Monte in a stolen car while flashing gang signs at pursuing officers early Sunday.

The incident began about 2 a.m. when a South Pasadena police officer tried to pull over a 1997 Honda Accord for running a red light on Fremont Avenue at Monterey Road, South Pasadena police Sgt. Tony Abdalla said. Authorities later learned the car had been recently stolen from El Monte, but not yet reported to police.

The Honda entered the westbound 10 Freeway before exiting at Soto Street and getting back onto the freeway eastbound, Abdalla said.

“The vehicle drove eastbound on the 10 freeway in speeds in excess of 110 mph,” the sergeant said.

Officers noticed the young suspects displaying gang signs to their pursuers periodically throughout the chase, he added.

After a pursuit lasting about 30 minutes, Abdalla said, police and California Highway Patrol officers took the four teens into custody in El Monte when the car came to a stop on a cul-de-sac in the 10600 block of Ellen Street.

“It was determined they were El Monte gang members,” he said.

The teens were taken into custody by CHP officers and were expected to face charges including auto theft and felony evading of police, officials said.

SOUTH PASADENA — A 71-year-old man died early Sunday after he was struck by a van while crossing Pasadena Avenue, authorities said.

The man’s name was not released Sunday afternoon pending confirmation that his family had been notified, Los Angeles County coroner’s officials said. Police described him as a Highland Park resident.

He was crossing Pasadena Avenue at Arroyo Drive, inside of the crosswalk, about 7:45 a.m. when he was struck, South Pasadena police Sgt. Mike Neff said.

As the man walked south across the street, an eastbound full-sized van failed to yield for him, the sergeant said.

Paramedics treated the injured man for about half an hour, but he was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The van driver, a 77-year-old Highland Park man, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Neff said. Alcohol or drugs did not initially appear to be a factor, though blood was drawn for testing.

Neff said officers issued the driver a citation for vehicular manslaughter, requiring him to appear in court, but did not arrest him.

The decision of whether to file charges against the driver will be made by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

“The case will be presented to the D.A.’s office after the investigation is done,” Neff said.

The collision occurred where Arroyo Drive dead ends in a fork with Pasadena Avenue. The intersection is not regulated by any traffic signals or stop signs.

SURVEILLANCE PHOTO courtesy of the South Pasadena Police Department

SOUTH PASADENA — Police have released surveillance videos showing two men they say stole a puppy from a pet store last weekend.

The men are being sought for stealing a brown, female, 6-month-old “puggle,” June 23 from Pet’s Delight, 725 Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena police officials said in a written statement. A puggle is a type of dog bred from a pug and beagle.

The men entered the store about 2:50 p.m., police said. One of the thieves acted as a lookout, while the other grabbed the dog. Both men left the store without paying for the animal.

The dog was implanted with a microchip, and has been reported stolen, officials added.

The dog was valued by the pet shop at about $1,000, Detective Richard Lee said.

Police described the thief who took the dog as a Latino man of 35-40 years old, about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 185 pounds. He had black hair and wore long black shorts, along with a white basketball jersey with the phrase “#1 Orlando Magic” on the front and “Hardaway” on the back.

The second thief was described as a Latino man of 35-40 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and 180 pounds, police said. He had black hair and wore a white T-shirt and black shorts.

They were last seen driving off in a green, 2002 Mercury Villager minivan.

Anyone with information was asked to call South Pasadena police detectives at 626-403-7280.

View the video here.

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_20974196/police-south-pasadena-dog-thieves-caught-camera