Christmas spouse fight

The Arcadia Police Department responded to 859 calls for service from Sunday, Dec 20 to Saturday, Dec. 26, of which 142 required formal investigations.
Here is a summary report of the major incidents handled by the officers of the Arcadia Police Department during this period. (Listed in crime categories created by Arcadia’s Best).

ARCADIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Calls for Criminal Activity
Totals Year-to-Date (thru 12/26)
Calls for Service: 49,715 (2008 Total: 49,699)
Formal Investigations: 7,004 (Total 2008: 6,705)

Domestic violence
* Shortly after 10 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21, officers responded to the 400 block of Stanford in reference to a domestic violence incident and were informed that the husband had left the scene. Investigation revealed that the couple got into an argument and the husband choked his wife.  The 45-year-old male Caucasian suspect later returned to the residence and was arrested for inflicting corporal injury to spouse.
* Units were dispatched to the 700 block of West Val around 10:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) in reference to a spousal battery. During an argument the suspect pushed, choked, and struck his wife. A 39-year-old male Asian was arrested for battery since he was the predominant physical aggressor, but additional filing consideration against the wife has been requested since she also tried to choke her husband.

Auto burglary
An auto burglary occurred in the 300 block of South First between 5:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20. Unknown suspect(s) shattered a car window and stole the victim’s wallet. The suspect(s) then used the credit cards and debit cards in the wallet to make about $2,300 in unauthorized purchases.

Stolen vehicles
* Around 1:55 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 20, an automated license plate reader alerted officers to a stolen vehicle parked at 60 East Huntington. Two female occupants, a 27-year-old African-American and a 22-year-old Hispanic, were taken into custody for vehicle theft.
* Two vehicle thefts were reported at Westfield mall Saturday, Dec. 26; a 1990 gray Honda Accord was stolen between 7:35 a.m. and 6:15 p.m., and a 1995 white Honda Accord was stolen between 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (The white Honda was recovered at Colorado and Santa Anita on Dec. 27.)

Residential burglary
* Between 10 a.m. on Dec. 22 and 11 a.m. on Dec. 23, a residential burglary occurred in the 400 block of West Longden. Unknown suspect(s) made forced entry into the home via a rear door and ransacked rooms. It is unknown at this time what property was taken.
* A robbery occurred in the 500 block of East Live Oak around 4:23 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24. A male Hispanic suspect, in his 20’s, confronted a victim and demanded property while he held onto the victim’s arm. The victim was able to run away, but the suspect caught up and tripped him. The suspect then brandished a handgun and took the victim’s cell phone.

Business/Commercial burlgarly, theft, robbery, grand theft
* A commercial burglary occurred at Zales located at Westfield mall around 10:33 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 21.  A male African-American suspect asked to see several diamond rings and it was later discovered that he had exchanged one of the rings with a fake one.  The reported loss was about $3,000.
* A manager at American Apparel detained a 17-year-old female Asian for theft on Tuesday, Dec. 22. The suspect took merchandise into a fitting room, removed tags with a knife, and concealed the items in her purse. A private person’s arrest was made, and the juvenile was taken into custody for commercial burglary. She was later cited and released to her father.
* A commercial burglary occurred in the 100 block of East Santa Clara between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24. Unknown suspect(s) broke into a vacant unit, smashed a hole in the drywall to enter an adjacent office, and rummaged through the location. The suspect(s) set off the alarm and fled the scene.
* A robbery occurred at Wireless 101, located at 101 East Huntington, around 5:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26. A male Hispanic took a cell phone, battery, and charger and a female employee tried to stop him by grabbing onto his hood. The suspect then struck the employee in the face and fled the scene with the stolen property.

Drugs, alcohol
* A traffic stop was made at 1003 South Baldwin around 1:53 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23, for excessive speed. A 24-year-old male Caucasian driver was contacted and it was determined that he was operating the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and was arrested.

Identity theft/Embezzlement
* A victim came to the station around 10:52 a.m. Monday, Dec. 21 to file an identity theft report. Between June 8 and December 21, unknown suspect(s) obtained the victim’s checking account information by unknown means and charged $970 on the PayPal website.
* Around 12:19 p.m. Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day), a victim came to the station to file a fraud report. She received an email from Experian indicating that a Sears credit card account was opened using her personal information and made over $2,270 in unauthorized purchases.

Click image above for video of ride-along demo of new automated license plate reader system.

Click two images below for two-part video of Police volunteers, including ride-alongs.

Click image above for video tour of police station.

Click image above for video of dedication to Arcadia’s only officer who died in the line of duty.

Murder of Arcadia Sushi Restaurant Owner

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich office held a joint press conference May 28 with Arcadia Police Department detectives to announce the offering of a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murder of an Arcadia sushi restaurant owner 18 months ago.
The Arcadia City Council decided during their meeting June 2 to add another $20,000 to the reward for a total of $40,000.
A surveillance video shows an armed robber entering through the restaurant’s backdoor just before 9:30 p.m. on November 25, 2007, and confronting three employees.
After that, he robbed the cash register, along with Wei’s wife, who also worked at Osaka Ya. He netted about $200, according to police.
(Click image below to see short video of spontaneous memorial vigil at Osaka Ya immediately after the murder.)

Despite the surveillance video and multiple witnesses to the murder that followed, police have been unable to identify the suspect who later shot and killed 42-year-old Osaka Ya owner Jason Wei in his shop at Vons Pavilion shopping center, 815 W. Naomi Ave.

The restaurant was initially closed and sold when Wei’s wife, son and daughter moved back to China. It has since re-opened under the same Osaka Ya name but under different ownership.
Wei’s family has moved back to their home in Arcadia, according to neighbors.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Arcadia Police Department, (626) 574-5160, or leave an anonymous tip at 1-800-78-CRIME. Find further editorial and video coverage of Tuesday’s press conference in the Pasadena Star-News and/or ABC TV.