Arcadia Police Department News & Information Blog

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

At about 9:25 pm Monday evening, October 25, 2010, two suspects robbed the Subway sandwich shop located in the 400 block of East Huntington Drive and made off with an amount of cash. The first suspect entered the store and pointed a handgun at an employee, telling her to place the cash in a bag that he was holding. The employee complied and handed over cash from the register as the suspect grabbed additional money from the tip jar. The suspect fled out of the location and met up with the second suspect who was outside, acting as a look-out. Both suspects fled on foot.

The first suspect is described as a male Hispanic, 20-30 years old, 5'-08", 180 lbs, gray baseball cap, long sleeve burgundy shirt, black shorts, colored tattoo on neck, wearing black framed glasses, armed with a black handgun. The second suspect was described as a male Hispanic, 20-20 years old, 5'-10", 150 lbs, light skinned, wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to call Arcadia Police Detectives at 626-574-5160. You can also submit crime tips and information via text, phone, or web to LA Regional Crime Stoppers, 800-222-TIPS (8477), or by clicking on the "Submit a Tip" button on the APD Blog side bar.

Distracted Driving Enforcement Campaign

Earlier this month, law enforcement from throughout the Los Angeles area conducted a day of zero tolerance enforcement for distracted driving violations. Officers across the county will once again be out in force today, Tuesday, October 26, 2010, in an effort to combat distracted driving. Arcadia Patrol and Traffic Officers will join in the effort and will have zero tolerance for cellular phone, texting, and other distracted driving violations today.

Remember that holding your phone and using the speaker during a call while driving is still a violation. Using a speaker equipped phone is not the same as using a bluetooth device. Please put the phone down and leave the texting and calling for when you have arrived safely at your destination. This same advice goes for reading a newspaper, putting on make-up, or pampering a pooch in your lap while driving. Each of these have the potential to constitute a distracted driving violation of unsafe speed. Drive safely, drive smartly!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Red Ribbon Week 2010

Red Ribbon Week is October 23th-31st, 2010. Red Ribbon Week began in remembrance of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena who was kidnapped and murdered in Mexico in 1985. Agent Camarena had been working undercover for the DEA and was key in developing information that led to the eradication of large scale narcotics manufacturing operations in Mexico. Mexican cartel leaders sought revenge for these operations, murdering alleged informants and ultimately Agent Camarena. The Red Ribbon Coalition website gives a well written summary of the history of Red Ribbon Week and offers an excellent tribute to slain DEA Agent "Kiki" Enrique Camarena.

Following his death, in Agent Camarena's home town, Calexico, CA, the public outpouring of support turned in to an organized community response in which citizens dawned red ribbons. They became a voice for prevention in order to reduce the demand for illegal drugs and use of drugs in America. The following year the California State PTA adopted the Red Ribbon Campaign. Then, in 1988, Red Ribbon Week was recognized nationally with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan serving as the Honorary Chairs.

Today, the Red Ribbon Celebration brings millions of people together to raise awareness regarding the need for alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention, early intervention, and treatment services. It is the largest, most visible prevention awareness campaign observed annually in the United States.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Burglary Victim Followed Home?

Last night at about 6 pm, a woman returned home to the 800 block of West Huntington Drive after running errands, which included a stop at a bank in Rosemead. The victim pulled into her townhouse garage and left the garage door open. She exited her car and walked toward the interior door when she heard a noise and saw a male suspect reaching into the passenger side of her car. The suspect grabbed the victim's purse which was still on the passenger seat. The suspect immediately ran out of the garage and into an awaiting vehicle which fled the complex to eastbound Huntington Drive. The victim was not injured and the loss included the purse and contents along with an amount of cash. She was not sure whether or not she had been followed after leaving the bank.

The suspect was described as a male Hispanic, 25 years old, 5'-08", "skinny", dark short hair and clean shaven. The suspect was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. The suspect vehicle was an older model 4-door sedan, white in color.

Stay Informed with Alerts Straight to your Cell and Email!

The Arcadia Police Department News & Information Blog is a great way to stay informed on up to date info from your Police Department. But we also offer emergency alert, advisory, traffic, and community information that can be sent directly to your cellular phone and email. This service is provided FREE to you and free to local governments nationwide by Nixle. Nixle is operated in conjunction with NLETS, an international public safety information network providing secure, authenticated messaging.

The information distributed through Nixle is controlled by personnel at the Arcadia Police Department. Notifications or alerts of an emergent nature, community information, traffic or road closures, crime information, are just some of the examples of what can be communicated to the residents who subscribe to Nixle. The information can be sent to the entire user group or a specified target area based on locations related to the information. For example, a crime bulletin may be sent to a particular neighborhood or a specified radius, such as within a ¼ mile of the target address or area.

There are two ways to "subscribe" to the Arcadia Police Nixle alerts and notification. In order to receive just emergency alerts, you can text your zip code, 91006 or 91007, to the law enforcement Nixle number of 888777 on your text capable cell phone. You will receive a confirmation text in response letting you know that you are set-up properly. This will work for any zip code so long as the local agency or county is participating in Nixle. You may incur text related charges but that is based upon your personal cellular plan. This type of enrollment limits your notifications to emergency alerts to your cell phone only!

The more complete and informative way to subscribe to our Nixle page is to register on-line at http://local.nixle.com/arcadia-police-department/. By subscribing via the web, you will be able to receive all messages from the Arcadia Police Department. Once you subscribe to the Arcadia Community Wire, there are settings that allow you to select things such as the time of day that you may be notified and also types of notifications.

By using Nixle, the Arcadia Police Department adds another valuable tool that allows us to better communicate and share information with our community. Use of Nixle is in addition to conventional notifications, meetings, bulletins, press releases, and other forms of communication. We look forward to sharing information with you!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Great California ShakeOut Drill 2010

The City of Arcadia participated in the Great California ShakeOut today. At 10:21 am, a simulated 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Southern California area and impacted the City. The Arcadia Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated in a mock drill and representatives from all City Departments were on hand. Methodist Hospital and Westfield Santa Anita personnel were also present. This type of exercise gives City personnel the opportunity to hone first responder and operational skills in the event of an emergency. Don't forget to visit the ShakeOut website for tips and links for emergency preparedness.