January

A former employee of the Glendale City Attorney’s Office, Cassandra Alexander, 53, was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after she admitted embezzling nearly $700,000 in a scheme that used false documents to make it appear the money was being used to pay civil claims against the city.

CV Sheriff’s Station detectives investigated an early morning robbery that occurred at a home in the 2700 block of Mary Street. A woman apparently woke up to someone rummaging through her closet. She got up to confront the suspect, who threw her on the bed. There was a brief struggle and the suspect fled the home with credit cards and a cellphone. Charles Anthony Daniels was later arrested, suspected of the burglary and assault. He was being held without bail. His next court date is Jan. 3, 2019.

City of Glendale officials agreed to pay over half a million dollars in a settlement with former police lieutenant Ludmilla Abrahamian who filed a lawsuit against the city alleging she was denied a promotion due to her race and gender. Abrahamian was with GPD since 2010 and filed suit in May 2016 alleging racial and gender biases held by then-Chief Robert Castro. She claimed this tainted the promotion process for a captain’s position in the department.

February

An officer stopped a vehicle for a tinted window violation at Verdugo and Mountain. The officer smelled a strong odor of what appeared to be marijuana. After an investigation he found a large quantity of cannabis, a 9mm loaded firearm and a second loaded .30 caliber handgun. The driver, Jose Sanchez, 19, of Lawndale was in possession of over $1,000 in cash and had a $2 million warrant out for his arrest for attempted murder and a second warrant for assault with a deadly weapon. He was arrested.

Crescenta Valley High School suspended a student after he made a threat to the school. According to the administration, it was not a substantive threat; however, the school reacted quickly to investigate and let the students and their families know there was no threat and that the campus was safe.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Glendale Police Dept. worked together to arrest an armed robbery crew. The crew was apprehended within 24 hours of a theft that occurred in Tucson, Arizona. The thefts included several Verizon stores including one in Glendale.

One year and still no word of, or from, Elaine Park, a La Crescenta resident and CVHS graduate who would be 21 years old. Elaine was last seen leaving her boyfriend’s home in the Malibu/Calabasas area. Her car was found on Feb. 2, 2017 parked on Pacific Coast Highway near the intersection of Corral Canyon. Anyone with information leading to Park’s whereabouts can contact a special tip line at (800) 551-3080 where callers can leave a message or speak to an operator. The information can be shared anonymously as well.

For more information, visit www.elainepark.tips.

March

Neighbors in the 3900 block of El Lado Drive in the Glenwood Oaks area heard a crack and then saw a large oak tree topple to the ground trapping Patricia Kennedy, 76, from Tujunga. The woman’s legs were severely injured and she was transported to the hospital. Kennedy suffered multiple fractures resulting in skin grafts and seven surgeries.

GPD AB 109 Task Force conducted
a probation compliance check in the
6700 block of St. Esteban Street in the City of Tujunga involving Levon Vardanyan, 55, a convicted felon on probation for fraud with search conditions. After the search of Vardanyan’s home, GPD recovered four assault rifles, three shotguns and a .45 caliber handgun. Several high capacity magazines were recovered, along with over 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

A reward of $20,000 was issued for any information leading to the suspect or suspects who apparently threw a boulder off the Orange Grove Boulevard freeway crossover in Pasadena, striking and killing a 23-year-old man. Guadalupe Gutierrez, 21, was driving with her family westbound on the Ventura (134) Freeway when a boulder suddenly crashed through the front passenger side window of her vehicle. Her husband, Christopher Lopez, was in the front passenger seat and was struck by the boulder. Gutierrez drove immediately to Glendale Adventist Medical Center. Her husband, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The investigation is ongoing.

One month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Rosemont Middle School and Crescenta Valley High School students participated in nationwide protest to bring attention to gun violence.

A La Cañada High School student was arrested by LASD for making criminal threats against the school. Sgt. Chu, LASD-CV Station, confirmed that the arrest was made and there was enough concern to take the student into custody.

May

A juvenile was placed in custody by LASD after threats were made by a student via social media toward Rosemont Middle School. The threats were immediately responded to by GUSD and LASD. “Appropriate disciplinary measures have been taken and there is no current danger to Rosemont students or staff,” according to a school statement.

Police, sheriff, SWAT and fire vehicles were part of a standoff after the Los Angeles Police Dept. attempted to serve a warrant to a resident in a home in the 2400 block of Harmony Place. The standoff continued for hours until officers were able to enter the home and discovered the resident had died of a “self-inflicted injury.”

June

About 400 people were evacuated from the Alex Theatre during a performance of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles after a bomb threat was received. A person called in the threat to the Alex box office after the performance started. GPD was called and responded with the LASD Bomb Squad K-9 Unit. Law enforcement didn’t find any evidence of a bomb. GPD took the bomb threat seriously as did the Alex staff.

David Bushman, who was convicted of the murder of La Crescenta resident Arthur Palmer, 73, was sentenced to a total of 56 years to life. Palmer’s body was discovered by a neighbor in July 2015. He was last seen on July 21. Bushman was Palmer’s nephew through marriage.

An attempted carjacking was thwarted by good Samaritans and an advanced ignition system. A woman was sitting in her silver Mercedes SUV in the Ralphs parking lot in La Cañada. Her daughter was asleep in the backseat of the vehicle when suddenly a 19-year-old Los Angeles man, Jose Quintanilla, allegedly opened the driver’s side door. Without warning he punched the woman in the arm; the force pushed her toward the center console. Her right shoulder struck the passenger side door. The man then entered the vehicle and revved the engine several times in an attempt to drive away. The woman yelled, and both she and her daughter exited the vehicle. The suspect then pushed the ignition button and the vehicle’s engine turned off. He apparently was confused by the ignition system and good Samaritans nearby were able to detain him. 

Glendale Fire Dept. responded to an apartment complex on fire in the 3100 block of Montrose Avenue. A lower level apartment was fully engulfed in flames. One person was transported to the hospital due to smoke inhalation. The fire also caused downed power lines and a gas leak from a broken pipe behind the apartment unit.

Carl Povilaitis was sworn in as the new police chief of the GPD. Povilaitis has been with GPD for 27 years.

July

The name was released by LASD of the suspect believed to be involved in a burglary in the 2900 block of Los Olivos Lane. Esnaider Alvarado Martinez, 19, was the suspect whose face was captured by a Ring video doorbell system.

Former Glendale police detective John Balian, 45, pled guilty to three counts against him. Balian was arrested in May and charged with bribery of programs receiving federal funds, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

August

LASD, with partners Ventura County Sheriffs and other local agencies, arrested eight suspects as part of an ongoing investigation into a Pasadena/LA County-based criminal street gang that committed residential burglaries in LA and Ventura counties, including burglaries in La Cañada.

A woman and man were suspected of being involved in a series of thefts of car batteries throughout Glendale and La Crescenta. The pair was arrested.

A man’s body was found in a garbage can wrapped in a blanket on La Tuna Canyon. The LA County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death was a stab wound to the chest. The investigation is ongoing.

September

GPD responded to what at first they thought was a vehicle used in an assault and ended up savings a man’s life. The driver felt dizzy and knew he needed to pull off the road; that was the last thing he remembered. He lost consciousness due to a heart attack. GPD officers performed CPR and used an Automated External Defibrillator that was in one of the patrol units to save the man’s life.

James Trotter, 22, of Long Beach, Devon White, 21, of Lynwood and Tonaye Eunice James, 23, of Las Vegas were all convicted of the Aug. 8 murder of Hye Soon Oh. The suspects approached the victim in the parking lot of her apartment complex in the 2900 block of Montrose Avenue, robbed and fatally shot her. GPD worked with U.S. Marshal’s Regional Task Force in the investigation that led to the arrest.

A Vons employee was assaulted by a shoplifter who became violent. The shoplifter was later identified and arrested.

A fatal accident that occurred on
the southbound I5 Golden State Freeway resulted in the death of a CV High School graduate. Matt Fielding, 25, was struck and killed by a vehicle while driving his motorcycle. Matt was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and graduated CVHS in 2011.

GPD recovered 604 marijuana plants throughout a home in the 100 block of Wonderview Drive in Glendale. It also discovered electricity at the location that was being stolen to facilitate the illegal marijuana growing operation. A suspect was arrested.

Ryan Alvarez, 36, was arrested in the city of Lancaster for several felony charges stemming from a shoplifting and vehicle pursuit from Vons market in the 3200 block of Foothill Boulevard in August. Officers received a call concerning a theft at the store. They were in the parking lot when they approached the suspect and ordered him to stop. He ignored their commands and ran and a foot pursuit ensued. The suspect entered a white Mustang and as he attempted to flee he struck a patrol vehicle and ran over an officer’s foot. After a wild drive down Foothill Boulevard, he abandoned the vehicle in another parking lot and fled on foot. The officers did not find the suspect at the time; after an investigation his identity was discovered and an arrest was made.

A wrong way driver on the Foothill (210) Freeway collided with another vehicle. The accident was fatal for both drivers.

October

A vehicle pursuit by GPD following a routine traffic stop resulted with a driver and passenger being arrested for felony evading, resisting arrest, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and burglary. During the pursuit the suspects threw several items out of their vehicle including a BB gun and small tools.   

A suspect was arrested for an assault against a Vons employee. The assault occurred in September when the suspect was seen taking bottles of liquor from the store without attempting to pay. When the employee approached the suspect, the suspect began yelling obscenities, took a liquor bottle and struck the employee several times.

Several suspects were arrested for a series of home invasion robberies in cities across Southern California including La Cañada.

November

It started with a bank robbery at Wells Fargo in Montrose and continued with a Los Angeles Police Dept. car chase through La Crescenta, Montrose and Glendale. A suspect was found hiding in a Montrose neighborhood after he allegedly robbed the Montrose Wells Fargo Bank. A short time after Glendale police captured the suspect, a high-speed vehicle pursuit by LAPD of two robbery suspects that began in Highland Park raced through Crescenta Valley southbound into Glendale.

Former LASD Sheriff Jim McDonnell conceded the election to newly-elected Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

Wildfire across California destroyed homes and shattered lives. The Woolsey Fire in Ventura County, as of Dec. 14, had destroyed 1,500 structures and damaged 341. Three firefighters were injured and three people died due to the fire. The Camp Fire in Butte County destroyed 13,972 residences, 528 commercial buildings and 4,293 other buildings.

A suspected DUI driver damaged a crosswalk retaining wall and landscaping in the 2400 block of Honolulu Avenue.

Two men were arrested regarding burglaries of about 30 vehicles in the Crescenta Valley that occurred on Jan. 31, 2018. The suspects were identified through DNA collected by the GPD. 

December

The embattled Welcome to Glendale sign at Lowell Avenue on Foothill Boulevard was removed – permanently – by the City of Glendale. The sign had been damaged by three accidents, two involving DUI drivers.