Police Car

Alex Coolman NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- A Glendale man was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of fatally shooting his brother-in-law. Police believe Hartune Nipiossian, 41, shot his brother-in-law, 38-year-old Glendale resident Armen Bikhoyan shortly after 10 p.m. in the 100 block of North Belmont Street. Nipiossian started shooting when the two men got into an argument while driving in the victim's Toyota 4Runner, said Glendale Police spokesman Sgt. Rick Young.

Every Thursday, Ray Keesler wears a uniform and a badge and patrols the neighborhoods of Glendale in a police car. But Keesler, a La Crescenta resident, is a volunteer. He is a member of the Glendale Police Department's Reserve Senior Volunteer Patrol. Keesler drives through the city's streets and gives citations to motorists who commit parking violations. The first step in Keesler's volunteer career involved taking part in three months of training after his background check cleared.

Jackson Bell Lewie Guay has seen the gruesome consequences of motorists who don't use their seat belts properly. The Glendale Police Traffic Bureau sergeant recalled a motorist who died about 10 years ago because she did not buckle her lap belt. Even though she was wearing the belt's shoulder strap, she slid underneath it and into the steering column in a head-on collision. To help prevent such tragedies, the Police Department on Monday began a three-week crackdown on those who do not buckle up. "There are still a lot of people not wearing seat belts or wearing seat belts improperly," Guay said.

Three days after I packed my small bag with my few belongings and $2, I boarded a bus from a gas station in a town that was only one mile from one end to the other. I hit the road to basic training in San Antonio, Texas, at Lackland Air Force Base. I worked hard to finish high school to be able to leave three days after graduation. Before I left I had two small jobs and spent most of the money I had saved on school dues, cap and gown, class ring and such. I was really sad, but happy to leave the town I came from in New Mexico.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — One driver called it a trap. But bystanders and police officers involved in a crosswalk sting operation Thursday had a very different view of the morning's events. "They're doing a good job," Glendale resident Vagan Ovalyan said. He lives just feet from the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Myrtle Street, where two Glendale policemen dressed in plain clothes paced the intersection, which has no marked crosswalks, Thursday in an effort to see if drivers would yield for them.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE ? Five people, four of whom were either on parole, probation or had warrants out for their arrest on charges ranging from theft to narcotics possession, were arrested on Saturday at a Hillway Drive home ? which police and community members say has long been a problematic household. Andre Sanabria, 33, of Glendale; Paul White, 48, of Glendale; Ashlee Coffey, 21, of Burbank; Ian Soovajian, 23, of Montrose; and Sara Whiteaker, 23, of Sunland were arrested on Saturday afternoon either inside or in the area surrounding the home, in the 3700 block of Hillway Drive.

Two young women approach Glendale police sergeant and city spokesman Tom Lorenz as he stood in front of the police station Friday. They ask if he knows how they can find out the names of the six officers put on paid administrative leave over charges of misconduct. She got a traffic ticket, one woman says, and wondered if it was written by one of those officers, and whether he would come to court if she fought it. "I can't tell you their names," Lorenz says. "The officers have a Bill of Rights that protects their identities while they're under investigation.

On a recent motorcycle ride, I thought about a column I was planning to write on the wonders of this form of transportation. The column would have covered motorcycle safety, training and riding techniques. Unfortunately, my train of thought was interrupted when a thoughtless pedestrian darted between two parked cars and into my path. Using the skills I have learned from many years of riding, I was able to quickly maneuver the motorcycle and avoid the pedestrian.

Darleene Barrientos A Glendale man is scheduled to enter a plea today as to why he allegedly broke into a police cruiser and tried to grab the shotgun locked inside. Pablo Aparacio, 36, was being held on $20,000 bail after he was arrested for breaking the driver's side window of an officer's car, getting in and trying to remove the shotgun locked inside, Glendale Police spokeswoman Officer Leticia Chang said. Officer Michael Ryan was at a call Friday in the 800 block of South Glendale Avenue when police dispatchers told him to go to another incident nearby.

NORTH GLENDALE — Police are investigating a rash of vehicle burglaries in a neighborhood north of the Foothill (210) Freeway. Officers started receiving calls from residents in north Glendale last week that multiple cars were being burglarized in the area, Glendale Police Sgt. Bob Zahradien said. Since last weekend, eight burglary reports were filed, including incidents on Burritt Way, Santa Carlotta, Montrose Avenue, Lauderdale Avenue and Brook Hill Terrace, police records show.