Law Enforcement

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Some of the youngest people at the Glendale Police Department were rewarded Sunday for their law enforcement skills. Several teens who have been learning about law enforcement through their participation in the department's Explorer program received trophies at a ceremony for their performance in the Code-3 2000 competition held in Pasadena on Saturday, officials said. Code-3 is an annual event in which young people from Explorer posts throughout the state and Nevada are tested in realistic law enforcement scenarios.

CHATSWORTH ? Former Glendale Police Officer Arthur Crabtree took the stand in his trial on Monday, explaining the details of a plan he formed to harass law enforcement officers over the Internet. Crabtree, 45, faces one felony count of attempted lewd acts on a child, three felony counts of attempting to send harmful matter over the Internet, four misdemeanor counts of attempted child molestation and one misdemeanor count of child molestation. The attorney, who has a home in Santa Clarita but is living in Hawaii, sent a bus ticket in January to an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl and arranged a rendezvous at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Los Angeles, Deputy District Atty.

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- For her last days of work, Tahnee Lightfoot wore something special. The investigator for the Glendale Police Department sported the same shoes she wore on her first day in law enforcement, when she was 17 and in the Explorer program at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station in La Crescenta. "It seemed appropriate," said Lightfoot, raising her leg to show off the black dress shoes that lace up. Lightfoot, 34, is handing in her badge after 13 years with the agency to move to Australia, where her new husband owns an excavation company.

A convicted sex offender who eluded law enforcement for two years was arrested Saturday at his aunt's home in Glendale for failing to follow conditions of his parole, police said. Juan Reyes, 27, had allegedly failed to register as a sex offender since Sept. 19, 2010, according to a U.S. Department of Justice database. The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force found Reyes, who is homeless, about 10:14 p.m. at his aunt's home on the 1200 block of East California Avenue and immediately took him into custody, according to Glendale Police Department reports.

Darleene Barrientos After a judge denied the city's motion for a new trial Tuesday, the City Council decided late that night to appeal the verdict in the $3.5-million judgment awarded to three female Glendale Police officers who suffered sexual harassment, discrimination and a hostile work environment. The city's defense lawyers, during the court hearing, brought up several alleged problems with jury instructions, juror conduct and testimony supporting the officers' allegations.

Jackson Bell Ask Sabina Simonian and she'll tell you that working through college isn't easy. But after receiving a $500 scholarship from the Armenian National Peace Officers Assn. last month, the Glendale Police cadet can breath a little easier and work a lot less to pay for tuition at Cal State LA. "Now I don't have to work as much and I can focus more on my course work," said Simonian, a 22-year-old Glendale resident who puts in between 25 and 30 hours at the station.

Janine Marnien Sheriff's Deputy Gary Stead's career hasn't always been easy, but it has always been rewarding. Stead has spent almost 33 years with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department -- his entire law-enforcement career. But this month, the La Crescenta resident will finally put an end to that experience, when he retires. "I'm going to miss the people," he said Thursday. "The people I've worked with are like an extended family. I've been very fortunate to have the support of our station captain, Ralph Martin, the citizens of La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge, the mayor and everyone else connected with La Canada Flintridge."

Jackson Bell Extra money the state received from a settlement with tobacco companies should be used to boost law enforcement in Los Angeles County, instead of a proposed half-cent hike in the sales tax, Supervisor Michael Antonovich said Wednesday. The county board voted 4-1 last month to add Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca's sales-tax measure to the Nov. 2 ballot, which would raise the levy from 8.25% to 8.75%. The higher tax would generate about $9.3 million for Glendale, $164 million for Los Angeles and $247 million for the other 86 cities -- 40 of which use the Sheriff's Department for law enforcement.

On Nov. 2, the community faces some serious and important choices at the ballot box. First of all, the three-strikes law has done more to remove serious, habitual, career criminals from our community than any other law that I am aware of during my 32 years of law enforcement service. Proposition 66 will dilute the three strikes law and cause the release of up to 26,000 career criminals back onto our Califrnia streets. If this happens, I guarantee we will see crime rise. I urge you to vote no on 66 and join the governor and the overwhelming list of law enforcement officials opposing this measure.

Glendale Police Department Chief Randy Adams calls Bill Lockyer the state's "top cop." Lockyer, the California Attorney General, spoke on police and public safety issues during a community breakfast at the Glendale Police Station Wednesday. "He's a friend of law enforcement. He's open and accessible. He's a man of action," Adams said at the breakfast, which his department and the Burbank Police Department co-sponsored for host Dario Frommer, the California Assembly majority leader and 43rd district representative.