From the Lafayette police blotter
Tuesday, Jan. 22
AUTO BURGLARY — A burglar smashed the front passenger window of a car in the 0-100 block of Moss Lane and took $1,050 in property.
Thursday, Jan. 24
BURGLARY — A burglar entered an unlocked house in the 1300 block of Summit Road and took $12,000 worth of computers and cameras.
Saturday, Jan. 26
VANDALISM — A vandal pushed out the slats of a glass window at the Diablo Valley Montessori School and threw a burning object inside around 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 29
BURGLARY — A burglar stole $300 in tools from a garage in the 1000 block of Sierra Vista Way between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. The garage was opened with the garage door opener, which had been stolen from an unlocked car between Jan. 10 and 11.
from Moraga police log
Monday, Feb. 4
AUTO BURGLARY — Officers were dispatched to make contact with the victim of an auto burglary. The Ascot Court resident revealed that her empty black vinyl computer case had been taken from the rear storage compartment of her locked vehicle, which she had parked in her assigned parking space for her residence at 3 p.m. Feb. 3. When she returned to the vehicle at 7 a.m. Feb. 4, she realized that the vehicle’s rear hatchback window had been smashed and the computer case was missing. The total loss was estimated at $1,150, which includes the cost of the window replacement.
COMMERCIAL BURGLARY — Officers were dispatched to make telephone contact with a Saint Mary’s College Administrator regarding a burglary report. The administrator reported that at 3 p.m. Feb. 1, she had left her personal laptop locked in her office in Dante Hall, and at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 4 she returned to find the laptop missing. She said there was no forced entry and no window access into the room.
Many of Lafayette’s city staff members can now add “burgeoning movie star” to their resumes.
In response to City Manager Steve Falk’s interest in answering resident questions about municipal finance, they put together a 6-minute video, which is posted on the city’s Web site.
“I think the people are asking fair questions, but we need to kind of be more aggressive about getting our message out there,” Falk said.
To that end, his staff was willing to “embarrass themselves” by acting in the film, which cost the city $4,700.
Sunday, Nov. 11
THEFT — A Walnut Creek taxi driver placed an Oakley woman under citizen’s arrest after she took a cab ride from Walnut Creek to Lafayette and then refused to pay. She was eventually arrested and taken to Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez.
Friday, Nov. 16
IDENTITY THEFT — A 41-year-old San Francisco man used his 81-year-old father’s identity to get a credit card. Son and father, who lives in Lafayette, have the same first and last names.
From the Orinda police log:
Wednesday, Nov. 21
GRAND THEFT — A resident in the first block of Martha Road reported a bicycle valued at $700 missing from inside her garage at 11:20 a.m.
Lafayette police arrested a man Nov. 17 after he led officers on a short pursuit, and they found stolen property in the vehicle, authorities said.
Police got a call about 12:30 p.m. from a resident in the 3300 block of Woodview Drive who reported seeing someone looking into a vehicle, according to sheriff’s Lt. Charles Skuce and Lafayette police Chief Mike Hubbard.
The resident gave responding officers a direction of travel and vehicle description, Skuce said. Officers soon tracked down the vehicle, but the driver did not respond to their attempts to stop it.
The driver led officers on a short pursuit before crashing into two other vehicles at Olympic and Tice Valley boulevards, Skuce said.
Officers arrested Fernando Veliz, 32, of San Pablo, on suspicion of burglary, possession of stolen property and felony evading. He was being held in lieu of $120,000 bail at the West County Detention Facility.
Property in the vehicle had been taken in four residential burglaries and from vehicles, Hubbard said. Officers found a lawnmower on the front seat, an electric guitar and miscellaneous tools, including a leaf blower. The items were returned to owners.
At Tuesday’s Lafayette City Council meeting, it seemed the residents of two adjacent neighborhoods might need to be separated by a demilitarized zone.
At issue: Traffic calming measures on Stanley Boulevard and Springbrook Road, which are to be put to a neighborhood vote starting after Thanksgiving.
On one side: Residents on or near the two streets who have been clamouring for traffic calming for years to protect pedestrians heading to nearby schools and parks.
Their opposition: Residents of Bacon Court and Bacon Way, whose only way in and out is along Springbrook Road. They are concerned about emergency response times to their homes.
In the culmination of a four-year process, residents will be sent a ballot on Nov. 26 asking if they want traffic calming along Stanley Boulevard and Springbrook Road, and if so, whether they preferred a design based on speed humps or based on islands, chicanes and other road-narrowing options.
Let’s talk turkey. It seems that all of Lamorinda is. And the Friday Sun reflects that.
We solicted reader photos of wild turkeys and scores of you emailed images of a seeming wild turkey invasion: Turkeys in the road, on the roof and in back yards throughout Orinda, Moraga and. Lafayette. Check it out in the Friday Sun,
We keep hearing stories about rafters of wild turkeys standing in the middle of Lamorinda roadways,. stopping traffic. But so far, the critters have eluded our photographers. Kinda like Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster. So dear readers, if you see wild turkeys in these days before Thanksgiving, send us the photos as jpgs or prints. Send jpgs to lmclaughlin@bayareanewsgroup.com. And send prints to Leanne McLaughlin, Lamorinda Sun editor, 2640 Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek 94598. Include your name and a phone number. We’ll try to run the photos before the holiday.
Two burglars interrupted in the act by a Lafayette resident escaped in their gray Toyota Tundra pickup truck Oct. 15. A resident of the 1500 block of Reliez Valley Road arrived house at about 2:45 p.m. Oct. 15 to find an unfamiliar truck parked in her driveway. She walked into her house to get a cordless phone, she told police, and walked back outside to call 911. As she did so, a man ran out the front door and jumped in the truck. Another man ran out the back door and jumped in the truck. The resident banged her phone on the truck’s windows as it quickly sped off, knocking her down. At least $825 in property was missing, although the inventory of missing items was incomplete
Sunday, Sept. 9
BURGLARY — A burglar smashed the door of a house in the 1200 block of El Curtole Boulevard about 5:40 p.m., tripping the house’s alarm system. Jewelry, credit cards and other property valued at $18,725 were taken.
BURGLARY — Burglars pried open the side door of a Mt. Diablo Boulevard restaurant and dragged a large safe from the office. The safe and its contents were valued at $10,000.
Thursday, Oct. 11
BURGLARY — An anvil was stolen from the maintenance yard of the Lafayette School District. Between 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. Thursday, someone cut the fence of the yard and stole the anvil, valued at $1,000.
Sunday, Oct. 14
AUTO BURGLARY — A resident of the 1100 block of Vacation Drive reported that his unlocked car was burglarized between 9 a.m. Saturday and 7:30 a.m. Sunday. Two sets of golf clubs valued at $600, a handmade calf-skin bible valued at $600, a digital camera valued at $115 and a phone valued at $90 were taken from the car.
From the Orinda police log:
Friday, Oct. 19
GRAND THEFT — Two mountain bikes valued at $4,000 were reported missing from the front porch of a house in the 400 block of Camino Sobrante.
Some unusual items were reported to Lamorinda police in the first half of October:
from Lafayette police:
Wednesday, Oct. 3
THEFT— Checks worth $12,000, $13,000 and $2,500 were stolen from the mail box of a Hope Lane resident.
Tuesday, Oct. 9
PUBLIC INTOXICATION — A 52-year-old Orinda woman was arrested at the intersection of Moraga Road and Mt. Diablo Boulevard on public intoxication charges. She was dancing in the road and cursing at cars, according to police reports. She had two bottles of vanilla extract in her pocket, the report said, which the officer believed she drank to get intoxicated.
Fromt the Moraga police:
Friday, Oct. 12
BATTERY — An assistant principal at Campolindo High School reported a student was injured during the football game. The student was wearing the school mascot costume during the game. During half-time, an Acalanes High School student approached the student and pulled on the costume head, removing it. The student ended up on the ground with a slight injury to her neck. The student identified the responsible Acalanes student to school staff.
Monday, Oct. 15
GRAND THEFT— Officers contacted a citizen regarding a theft report.. She said she had parked her car in her designated carport on Miramonte Drive at 8 p.m. Oct. 14. She returned to her vehicle at 6:30 a.m. Oct. 15 and noticed items missing, including a toilet seat still in the box.
From the Orinda police
Tuesday, Oct. 2
ILLEGAL ENTRY — A family residing in the first block of El Gavilan reported to police at 8:47 a.m. that their home had been invaded by eight juveniles. The suspects were found drinking and using drugs inside the home. The group left when confronted.
Monday, Oct. 8
PETTY THEFT — At 2:01 p.m., a woman reported her laptop stolen while she was at a park in the first block of Orinda Way. Reports state she left the device on a bench for 45 minutes, and when she returned it was gone.
Thursday,Oct. 11
STRONG-ARM ROBBERY— A resident in the first block of El Sueno reported being attacked while in his garage at 9:05 p.m. According to police reports, a man grabbed him from behind the neck and took his wallet, containing credit cards and $800 in cash. He and two others waiting outside then took off. No vehicle was seen or heard.
In his column this week , Mike Zampa says a doomsday struggle for global supremacy continues between the cities of Lafayette and Walnut Creek. At stake: the title of coolest place to live.
“Why should we care?’ he asks. “Because our children are being drawn into the maelstrom.
“(We) first published details of the bitter feud between the neighboring towns three months ago. Actually, it created the feud. It called Walnut Creek smug, trendy and “just like the mall, only without Cinnabon.” It also said that Walnut Creek’s mother wears combat boots.
“Consistent with its smugness, Walnut Creek failed to take the bait. There has been not a word of rebuttal since the expose ran.
“This kind of aloofness is what we’d expect from an economic superpower (defined by The World Bank as “any place with piles of sales tax and its own Restoration Hardware”).
“But here’s something we didn’t anticipate from Walnut Creek – covert manipulation of our youth. Unnamed and nefarious operatives have gotten to Lafayette youngsters. They’ve convinced them that the best sandwich in creation is in Walnut Creek.”
