Wednesday, July 29, 2009

New Home for the Crime Prevention Unit

The following announcement just came across Web Watch. Congrats to the Crime Prevention Unit on their new home!

[Begin quoted text.]

THE CRIME PREVENTION UNIT HAS MOVED!

The Crime Prevention Unit has moved to the second floor of City Hall, located at 505 S. Garey Avenue, Pomona. The office will be open Monday-Thursday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. All telephone numbers will remain the same.

If you have any questions please call Crime Prevention at (909) 620-2318.

Michael Ellis, Sergeant
Special Operations

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Banning Shopping Carts in Parks: Thoughts?

A neighbor thinks the city should create an ordinance banning shopping carts in parks. Thoughts?

Monday, July 27, 2009

Walking Dogs Off-Leash

Thank you to Lt. Rilloraza, the Northest Area Commander, for sending the following update regarding a concern filed by a neighbor of Garfield Park:

"From June to now, we had 9 CFS regarding a subject walking his dog off-leash and in Garfield Park in the evening hours (between 2100 and 2300). This subject apparently would then yell to his dogs to try to get them to come to him which caused residents to get upset in the late hour. Officers responded to all calls for service but were unable to locate the subject with the dogs. Patrol officers conducted extra patrols but never observed the subject in the park. I had Officer M. Rodriguez go out to the residence at 529 N. Reservoir this month and he spoke with a subject who admitted taking his dogs off leash to the park during the nighttime. Officer Rodriguez explained he could not let his dogs run around unleashed at the park and the park closed at sunset. Rodriguez warned him that if he was caught allowing his dogs to run off-leash in the park he would be subject to a citation. This subject was very cooperative and stated he would stop doing this."

Please keep in touch with your Area Commander. Let her or him know of any concerns you have in your neck of the woods. She or he will get back to you with the relevant information. For those of us in the Northeast quadrant, Lt. Rilloraza is our guy. He can be reached at 909 802-7494 and AreaCommander_Northeast@ci.pomona.ca.us.

"A Violent Weekend in L.A. County"

This story, which appears in today's LA Times, reports briefly on Friday night's shooting on the 500 block of McKinley here in Pomona and provides a little regional context. Looks like Ed's H-map will be a bit crowded for the month of July. For additional information about the homicide (and to view the homicide maps Ed prepares regularly) stop by the M-M-M-My Pomona blog.

[Begin quoted text.]

Violent weekend in L.A. County
By Ari B. Bloomekatz
July 27, 2009

A man killed in a frontyard in Maywood. A 16-year-old shot and killed in El Monte by police after a car chase. A man killed during a reported home-invasion robbery.

It was a violent weekend in Los Angeles County, authorities said.

In the first of the string of violent deaths, a 16-year-old youth, described by authorities as a gang member, was shot and killed Friday by a Baldwin Park police officer who believed the young man was reaching for a gun, authorities said.

The shooting followed a police pursuit of a reported stolen vehicle that ended in the 11200 block of Mildred Street in El Monte.

After officers stopped the vehicle, the youth, who was later identified as Jose Ramon Jimenez of La Puente, and another youth got out and ran, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which is investigating the shooting.

An officer who was chasing Jimenez fired four shots when he thought the youth was reaching for a gun, authorities said.

A handgun was recovered from the scene where Jimenez was shot.

In Pomona late Friday night, police who responded to a call of shots fired in the 500 block of McKinley Avenue found 34-year-old Emilio Moncayo suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Lt. Paul Hitt of the Pomona Police Department.

Moncayo died from his injuries, Hitt said.

A shooting in the 9000 block of Stanford Avenue near 90th Street early Saturday morning left at least one man dead and another wounded during a possible home invasion, authorities said.

Police said two men broke into a single-family home about 2:13 a.m. and shot two men, one of whom later died.

The incident may have been gang-related, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Norma Eisenman.

Luis Flores, 66, was shot and killed Saturday afternoon in the 2000 block of El Segundo Boulevard after getting into an argument with another man, authorities said.

Flores was shot and killed outside a residence where cockfights are held, a coroner's official said.

About an hour later, a man was shot and killed in the 2500 block of East 132nd Street.

The man was standing on the sidewalk with two other men about 3:45 p.m. when a car pulled up and someone inside fired an assault weapon, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The two other men standing on the sidewalk were not injured, authorities said.

In Maywood, a man who was standing with his family in the frontyard of a home in the 3700 block of East 55th Street was shot and killed about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Authorities said a man was shot and killed early Sunday morning in the 3700 block of Foster Avenue in Baldwin Park.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

"I'm looking for Jonathan..."

Last night around 12:30 AM we heard footsteps on the rocks around the house. I said, "Hello?" A guy's voice called back, "I'm looking for Jonathan." I said, "Wrong address," listened as the guy then make short high-pitched whistles as he walked down the street.

Suspicious? We thought so, so we called dispatch. Cruisers arrived to the park within a minute or two and talked with someone in the park. I went to bed, hoping the meandering fella found either Jonathan or some common sense.

As the sign on the house says, we report all suspicious activity.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Missing Pooch

The following announcement came across Web Watch yesterday:


**MISSING DOG**

Two females walked into the victim's front yard where the dog was playing with the victim's children. Supsect #1, who is described as a Hispanic female, 5'3", 150 lbs., brown eyes, brown hair, 30-40 years old,

picked up the dog and walked up to a vehicle that was parked to the front of the residence. Suspect #2, who is described as a White female, 5-6", 160 lbs., brown eyes, brown hair, got into the driver's seat of the

vehicle and drove away.

Witnesses were able to get the license number and description of the suspect vehicle. The vehicle is a 2006 Chrysler 300, black with tinted windows, license number 5SIG581. Attempts were made to contact the

registered owner of the vehicle, but met with negative results. The dog is a 4-month old blue-nosed pit bull who goes by the name of "Pookie."

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

If you build it, they will come.


Over the past few months neighbors in the Garfield Park area have been in touch with the city via Councilperson Lantz concerning updates in the park.

The city initiated one of the hoped-for updates a couple weeks ago: a sand volley ball court. The workers dug a hole, put up the yellow caution tape, hauled in sand, and installed posts for the net.

This evening's entrance into the neighborhood revealed a fully "staffed" volley ball game taking place on the new court. What a delightful scene!

If you're on the market for a lovely sand volley ball court, consider the south end of Garfield Park. I'm not sure if the net stays with the posts or if players have to bring their own net; I'll keep an eye out over the next few days and will report back.

Other anticipated updates include new playground equipment (up to code and everything!), a basketball half-court, the removal of a strange little building, and up-lighting to show off the statue of the Goddess Pomona. Looking good, Garfield, looking good.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Report out from Area Commander Meeting: July 13, 2009

This evening's Area Commander meeting focused on the Southeast quadrant of the city (East of Garey and South of Holt). Here's a quick report out of observations, issues, and questions that came up:

I. We heard (again) about the Area Commander concept. If you don't already know about it, check out previous posts labeled "SARA Meetings." The facilitators circulated yet another new handout complete with new e-mail addresses for the commanders and new pairings of Community Service Officers with quadrants. I had no idea we had a new CSO until tonight, and I'm told the change took place a month ago. At any rate, I'll request an electronic copy of the handout for the blog.

II. I was very pleased to see Spanish language translation at the meeting. The translation service clearly played a role in making it possible for people to participate in the meeting who could not have participated in an English-only meeting.

III. Participants raised a bunch of questions about ne'erdowell neighbors who drink all day, smoke various substances all night, and generally manage to intimidate others on the block. The only real action point suggested by PD is the usual: keep calling dispatch. I was surprised by the PD's responses to these concerns -- not a single mention of the value of organizing with others in the community (well, no mention until I asked whether a CSO could speak to the role a Neighborhood Watch group could play in addressing such concerns). I think the PD missed a big opportunity here to plug Neighborhood Watch and to explain the role of the Crime Prevention Unit.

IV. Other issues raised: whether it is appropriate to request a Spanish-speaking officer when calling dispatch (answer: yes, but one may not be available), how to get pitted alleys repaired (answer: communicate with the Director of Public Works), and how to get parking lines repainted (answer: again, Public Works).

V. I was disappointed to hear a resident from the Northwest quadrant say he has heard nothing about a concern he filed at last month's meeting. This evening he was told to initiate another complaint; this response took the wind out of my sails. I thought the whole purpose of the Area Commander Meetings was to make sure residents and PD could benefit from two-way communications. At least in this case, it seems the guy was asked to go through the motions a second time, having seen no benefit from his earlier efforts to share information. Argh.

VI. Community Service Officer Sonia Carrigan offered a brief presentation about identity theft.

VII. Crime maps for the past month were available in hard copy. I will e-mail the Crime Prevention Unit to request pdfs for blog posting. Stay tuned.

Last Chance: The Great Campout at the Fairplex

I'm guessing someone somewhere made announcements about the Great Campout, but I just heard about it this evening. Alas, the deadline for signing up your kiddos is this Friday, July 19th. Hop to it. Here's what you need to know...

Great Campout at the Fairplex

Friday, July 31st
For Pomona school students 9 - 12 years old
Free food, activities, door prizes.
All campers will receive a free sleeping bag.
Police supervision all night for a safe and fun event.

All campers MUST pre-register by Friday, July 19th. To pre-register, call 909-620-2408.


This event is hosted by the Pomona Police Department, The Community Engagement Group, City of Pomona Recreation Department, and the LA County Fairplex.

Monday, July 13, 2009

2009 National Night Out Flyer

For those of you considering preparing an entry for the National Night Out flyer contest, it seems knowledge of the baseline might come in handy. Here is a copy of this year's flyer.


NNO Flyer

Contest to design the next National Night Out flyer

The text from a letter sent out by the Crime Prevention Unit appears below. If you're a creative artsy type, your talents could win a BBQ event for your neighborhood:


***********

June 25, 2009

Dear Neighborhood Watch Members:

On Tuesday, August 4, 2009, Neighborhoods across the Nation will be hosting block parties, socials and neighborhood gatherings to recognize National Night Out. National Night Out (NNO) is a nationwide crime prevention campaign that reminds residents to take a stance against crime, be good neighbors, join Neighborhood Watch groups, in turn, send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized against crime.

This year Pomona Police Department is encouraging all Neighborhood Watch Groups to join us for our annual celebration at 400 Civic Center Plaza from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. We will still have our contest!!!!

How to win the BBQ dinner for your NW Group: Develop a winning flyer that will be used to promote next year’s (2010) NNO event. The flyer should be festive and convey the spirit of National Night Out. Entrees should be on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and should outline your theme/ideas for 2010’s NNO celebration (be creative).

How to win the “Ice Cream Social” for future meeting: All early registered Neighborhood Watch Groups will be placed in a drawing and one (1) group will be selected in a random drawing to win an “Ice Cream Social”.

We also have great prizes donated by local businesses. Only registered Neighborhood Watch Group members are eligible for NNO drawing.

As you can see, this year’s NNO plans are just a little different from last year’s celebration. We truly want groups to uniquely celebrate and promote this special evening that depicts Neighbors helping Neighbors to Fight Crime. The City of Pomona would like to show it’s appreciation for the outstanding service you provide in improving the quality of life for all citizens. Come out and join the fun!

All entrees for the contest and early registration forms must be submitted by Friday, July 24th . Mail your forms to: Pomona Police Dept.

Attn: Crime Prevention Unit

490 W. Mission Blvd.

Pomona, Ca 91766

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Pomona Families Affected by Fire

On the off-chance you don't follow the M-M-M-My Pomona Blog, please gather there to support the families affected by the Saturday fire on Garey, just north of Holt.

Do you live East of Garey and South of Holt?

If you live East of Garey and South of Holt, you will want to attend this month's community meeting with the Pomona Police Department. The meeting is slated for Tuesday, July 14th at 7 PM in Council Chambers. The Watch Commander for this quadrant of our city will discuss issues specific to this area. That's right, this meeting offers residents a chance to talk to _the_ person in charge of supervising and coordinating policing efforts in this area.

Of course, all are invited and encouraged to attend, even if you live in one of the other fair quadrants of our city!

Friday, July 10, 2009

National Night Out: August 4

Mark your calendar for a celebration of police and community partnerships:

National Night Out
Tuesday, August 4th beginning at 5:00 PM
Pomona Civic Center

I had a great time last year -- food, demos, information, and lots of neighbors.