Credit Card

GLENDALE — Detectives continue to investigate an identify-theft case that led to the arrests of two men and a woman, who reportedly placed a detachable credit card skimmer on a bank’s ATM access door. Glendale police Financial Crimes Unit detectives on July 24 arrested Meher Abolian, 21, Tiffany Conant, 20, and Rane Melkom, 22. Police observed them attaching the credit-card skimmer and later detaching it. Identity thieves often use credit-card skimmers that are small hand-held devices that read a card’s magnetic strip and store information, such as names, account numbers and expiration dates.

GLENDALE — Salvation Army’s last-minute decision to introduce credit card machines at its iconic red kettle stations this season got a lukewarm response from the public, but plans to expand the program will continue, officials said. Glendale was one of only seven cities in the Southland to participate in the three-week trial after the Salvation Army Southern California Division took notice of the early success a corps in Colorado Springs was having with a similar program.

LA CRESCENTA — Sheriff's detectives are investigating a security breach at a local Chase bank where alleged thieves placed a credit card skimmer on an ATM that may have allowed them to steal customer information. Detectives are waiting to receive critical evidence, including surveillance tapes and a list of potential victims, from the Chase bank on the 2900 block of Foothill Boulevard to determine the scope of the July 24 breach, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Harley, who's based in La Crescenta.

Two Hollywood men face multiple charges of theft after they allegedly bought $100 gift cards at the Target in Glendale using stolen credit card information, officials said. Arthur Darbinyan, 21, and Alik Dzhanoyan, 20, were charged with five counts of theft of access card information, three counts of identity theft and two counts of second-degree commercial burglary, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Their bail was reduced from $290,000 to $100,000 Tuesday in Superior Court.

GLENDALE — Evidence of a fraudulent credit card operation led to the arrests Tuesday of three Tarzana men suspected of stealing tens of thousands of account numbers. Michael Castro, 24, William Johnson, 32, and Benjamin Granados, 31, were arrested Sept. 23 on suspicion of identity theft after detectives found re-encoded credit cards and equipment used to create those cards inside their Tarzana apartment, Glendale Police Det. Patrick Magtoto said. Police also found two guns.

A man was arrested Monday night after he allegedly drove his vehicle into a fire hydrant, police said. Officers responding to the crash allegedly found several fraudulent gift cards in the driver's pockets. Police found Edmound Nasiri, 26, of Glendale at about 6 p.m. in the driver's seat of a white utility truck, which was atop a broken fire hydrant that was leaking water onto San Fernando Road and Sonora Avenue, according to Glendale police reports. Nasiri, who had allegedly smoked a narcotic and was feeling sick, was unable to get out of his truck, police said.

School-vending initiative unveiled GLENDALE -- Nestle USA has introduced an initiative that would have its vending machines in schools nationwide. Nestle USA is based in Glendale. The Nesquick Milk Vending Initiative would provide campuses with machines that would carry Nesquick's flavored milks. The program would provide a beverage alternative to regular school-vending choices such as water, milk and other beverages, officials said. New travel software program touted MONTROSE -- A new software program designed to provide more detailed travel data on corporate credit-card purchases for travel has been created by Montrose Travel.

A 21-year-old Burbank man faces identity theft charges this week after police found a re-encoded credit card in his home during a probation search. Gaik Panosian, who is on probation for identity theft, was arrested Tuesday after a Special Enforcement Detail officer recognized him near Doran Street and Concord as someone who detectives were looking for, Glendale police said. In February, detectives conducted a probation compliance search at Panosian's apartment and found a re-encoded credit card, police said.

Ben Godar A Pizza Hut delivery driver asking for a credit card Thursday was shown a gun instead, police say. The incident occurred about 2:40 p.m. at an apartment in the 400 block of West Colorado Street, police reports said. A man inside the apartment had placed an order using a credit card. When the driver asked the man to produce the card, the man became irate and displayed what the driver believed to be a revolver. The driver left the scene and called police.

A 25-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested today after he allegedly tried to rob a gas station customer of his credit card, sheriff’s deputies said. Jose Hernandez was taken into custody about 1:40 a.m. in the 3000 block of Community Avenue, where he allegedly fled after the robbery attempt, according to Sgt. Ray Harley of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. Hernandez, who was allegedly holding an empty beer can, approached the customer at the Shell gas station on the 3000 block of Foothill Boulevard and demanded his credit card, Harley said.

Police are asking for the public's help after a woman allegedly was robbed Wednesday afternoon on Brand Boulevard. The woman, who works as a housekeeper, was walking to a Wells Fargo Bank branch at about 3:20 p.m. when two men approached her from behind, according to Glendale Police Department reports. One of the men grabbed her arm and the purse from her right shoulder. They told her, “Don't move and don't act scared,” according to reports. The housekeeper told police she didn't struggle with the men because she was afraid.

A 21-year-old Burbank man faces identity theft charges this week after police found a re-encoded credit card in his home during a probation search. Gaik Panosian, who is on probation for identity theft, was arrested Tuesday after a Special Enforcement Detail officer recognized him near Doran Street and Concord as someone who detectives were looking for, Glendale police said. In February, detectives conducted a probation compliance search at Panosian's apartment and found a re-encoded credit card, police said.

A man was arrested Monday night after he allegedly drove his vehicle into a fire hydrant, police said. Officers responding to the crash allegedly found several fraudulent gift cards in the driver's pockets. Police found Edmound Nasiri, 26, of Glendale at about 6 p.m. in the driver's seat of a white utility truck, which was atop a broken fire hydrant that was leaking water onto San Fernando Road and Sonora Avenue, according to Glendale police reports. Nasiri, who had allegedly smoked a narcotic and was feeling sick, was unable to get out of his truck, police said.

Two Hollywood men face multiple charges of theft after they allegedly bought $100 gift cards at the Target in Glendale using stolen credit card information, officials said. Arthur Darbinyan, 21, and Alik Dzhanoyan, 20, were charged with five counts of theft of access card information, three counts of identity theft and two counts of second-degree commercial burglary, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Their bail was reduced from $290,000 to $100,000 Tuesday in Superior Court.

The Glendale chapter of the Salvation Army is working to raise about $100,000 this holiday season, sending more of its ubiquitous red kettles to local storefronts on the weekends to capture a piece of the shopping crowd as the nonprofit tries to move past a soft fundraising drive last year. The number of kettle locations has dropped in recent years as stores have closed and newer retailers have more than one entrance, said Salvation Army Glendale Capt. Rio Ray. Kettle donations were down about $20,000 last year compared to four years ago, he added.

A 25-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested today after he allegedly tried to rob a gas station customer of his credit card, sheriff’s deputies said. Jose Hernandez was taken into custody about 1:40 a.m. in the 3000 block of Community Avenue, where he allegedly fled after the robbery attempt, according to Sgt. Ray Harley of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station. Hernandez, who was allegedly holding an empty beer can, approached the customer at the Shell gas station on the 3000 block of Foothill Boulevard and demanded his credit card, Harley said.

GLENDALE — Police soon will be equipped with new crime-fighting tools that will allow patrol officers to identify stolen credit cards on the spot, analyze audio-visual evidence and maneuver better in confined spaces. Grants from the Glendale Police Foundation will fund the purchase of load-bearing vests for Special Weapons and Tactics officers, credit card readers for patrol cars and video and audio equipment, Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. The $2,500 mini-grants from the foundation come quarterly, mostly via fundraising and donations, member Nancy Michael said.

GLENDALE — A couple are scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges that they had more than 200 blank access cards and fraudulent credit account paperwork for celebrities such as Tim Burton and Tommy Lee Jones, police said. Ex-convict Christopher Herrick, 43, and Traci Godlef, 42, were taken into custody about 11:17 p.m. Wednesday at the Glen Capri Inns and Suites in Glendale on suspicion of identity theft and forgery, according to police reports. Inside the motel, police also reported finding a credit history report with a Van Nuys address and the name "Gaylord Focker," a character in the film "Meet the Fockers.

MONTROSE — Police are searching for burglars who targeted 11 vehicles in Montrose this week who may live nearby. Residents on Monday reported that their vehicles were burglarized sometime late Sunday or early Saturday. Some windows were smashed, while others showed no signs of forced entry, police reported. “It’s obviously someone that is comfortable with the area,” Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. The burglars, he said, were likely familiar with the area because they had to make a great amount of noise and carry a large quantity of valuables.

According to a recent Gallup and Healthways poll, anger in Glendale is on the rise and comparable to residents in Pittsburg. That fact rather astounded me, considering that when compared to Pittsburg, we live in the land of milk and honey. Granted, due to the rains, the last couple of months have not been the prototypical picture of California dreamin’. I myself spent part of Sunday vacuuming water out of the entryway of our house. And while that may have been annoying, it wasn’t enough to make me as mad as say, having to live in Pittsburg would.