This Week from the Los Altos Police Log: March 9-15

This week’s tip—it’s definitely not advised to leave your wallet and expensive laptop in your car, which is parked out on the street, overnight. Also, if you’re trying to escape a warrant for your arrest, you might want to drive more carefully, so you don’t get pulled over by the police, who are sure to check your record and figure out you’re on the run.

Friday was a fairly quiet day for the Los Altos Police – that is, except for the nearly-constant stream of 9-1-1 hang-up calls coming in, all turning out to be accidental misdials.

The one Friday incident of note is when a resident of Yerba Santa Avenue walked in to the police department just before 2:45 p.m. Friday to report a prior grand theft from her car. Sometime, overnight, her wallet and laptop computer had been stolen out of her car. A report was taken, but the police have no suspects as of yet.

On Saturday around 11 a.m., police officers caught someone driving without a license near the intersection of El Camino Real and Jordan Avenue. The subject was issued a citation arrest.

Less than a half hour later, officers were called to take a report from a resident on Hawthorne Court of fraud. The resident reported that someone had used his or her credit card information. The amount of losses have yet to be determined.

Just after 1:30 p.m. Saturday, officers took another report of petty theft from an unsecured vehicle, from the 700 block of Campbell Avenue.

Around 6 p.m., officers tagged a motor home that had been parked for several days in the same spot, at S. Springer Road and Camelia Way, with a “for sale” sign in the window, which is a violation.

Early Sunday morning, a conscientious party called the police to report a possible burglary in progress, at a home in the 100 block of Garland Way, shortly after 6 a.m. Officers responded to the home and thoroughly checked the property, but spotted no crime or suspicious activity. Officers called the reporting party back to relay the good news.

That night, just after 9:30 p.m., officers made a routine traffic stop near N. Clark Avenue and El Camino Real and discovered the driver was wanted on a $150,000 misdemeanor warrant out of San Bernadino County for driving with a suspended license. The driver was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

On Monday just before 12:30 p.m., police received a complaint from someone in the 2000 block of Grant Avenue of a vehicle alarm sounding continuously. Police called the owner of the vehicle, who agreed to respond and silence the car alarm.

That evening around 5:15 p.m., police responded to a home in the 200 block of Cuesta Drive on a report of malicious mischief. The person’s car had been leaking a lot of water, so he or she had just come back from taking it to the dealer to be checked. The dealer reportedly told the owner that there was no way that much water had collected in the car by itself – someone had poured water into the car’s gas tank. Officers took a report of the incident.

Early Tuesday, around 2:44 a.m., officers received a report of grand theft from an apartment complex in the 2000 block of Homestead Court. The victim had discovered his pick-up truck on cinder blocks, with the tires and rims stolen. It is estimated the theft occurred sometime between 6 p.m. and 2:45 a.m. while the truck was parked in the garage of the apartment building. A report was taken.

At around 3:45 p.m., officers were called to Coronado Avenue on a complaint of a solicitor bothering residents. Officers responded and located the solicitor, who was advised that soliciting door-to-door is a violation of municipal code. The subject was sent on his or her way.

Later that evening, a whopping five 9-1-1 calls were received from the same home in the 2000 block of W. El Camino Real, within a five-minute period just before 6 p.m. Each time, police called the home back, and it was determined to be mischievous children playing on the phone.

Just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, officers were contacted by a woman on Arrowood Court to report she had just received a fraudulent phone call. The reporting party said someone claiming to be an employee of Microsoft had just called and asked her to turn on her computer. When the woman asked for a callback number and to speak to a supervisor, the caller hung up. No report was taken.

Around 10 p.m., a woman called to report petty theft. Earlier that evening, she had accidentally left her purse on a bench outside the in downtown. Sometime during the 30-minute window between when she left it there and when she returned to retrieve it, the purse was stolen. The value of the items inside, or any subsequent losses, is unknown, and the police have no suspects.

On Wednesday around 1:45 p.m., officers were asked to assist a resident in the 100 block of W. Edith Avenue who was receiving harassing phone calls. Officers assisted the person with taking care of the situation.

Just before 5 p.m., a resident of the 1000 block of Fallen Leaf Lane called the police to report the theft of his or her recyclables, which is a violation of municipal code in Los Altos. Officers spoke with the resident about the situation, but he or she decided not to file a report.

At 6:21 that evening, an unlucky car owner called police when he or she witnessed someone stealing the car, as it was happening. Officers responded to the 1000 block of Aura Way and took a report for a stolen vehicle.

On Thursday just before 3 p.m., the police department received a complaint of a panhandler bothering people in the 200 block of Main Street downtown. Officers responded and searched the area, but were unable to locate such a person.

At around 3:10 p.m., the police department was called to assist the fire department with a fuel spill in the 2000 block of Homestead Road. Police responded and gave assistance.

Between 5:30 and 6 p.m. that evening, officers responded to sounding alarms. The first was a residential alarm in the 1000 block of Covington Road. Officers checked the home and determined the alarm had merely malfunctioned. The second was a commercial alarm in the 100 block of W. Portola Avenue. A party called to report the alarm and request police assistance, but the request was then cancelled while officers were en route.

The information in this article was supplied by the Los Altos Police Department. Where arrests are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

For questions about this police log, contact Los Altos Patch Editor L.A. Chung at lachung@patch.com.