Police Dog

GLENDALE — A 23-year-old man was arrested early Saturday after he and two other men tried to carjack two motorists in Glendale and La Crescenta in the same night, police said. The man, whose name wasn't immediately released, and his accomplices allegedly approached a motorist early Saturday at Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Forest Highway in attempt to steal the car, said Sgt. Gary Ogurek of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station. The motorist may have seen a gun, he said.

ALHAMBRA — A Glendale man was sentenced Monday to serve 170 years to life in state prison for trying to accost five girls in Glendale and trying to rape six other women. Judge Rafael Ongkeko reviewed letters, including one from a former teacher, in support of Christopher Poe, 27, before he made his decision to sentence him to life in prison. But the letters, he said, didn’t significantly outweigh the incidents in the case. “Certainly, he will be in prison for the rest of his life,” Ongkeko said.

On Monday, four Glendale Police Department officers received life-protecting gifts from the community. The officers are four dogs, Sam, Yudy, Marlin and Quai, in the K-9 unit, the gifts were Ballistic Armor vests. K-9 Unit Commander Lt. Rodney Brookf said the unit began 10 months ago after a more than 20-year hiatus. "The K-9 unit reestablished by Chief [Randy] Adams," Brookf said. The unit is funded from state and federal government grants and donations from the community.

Jackson Bell Caila, Burbank Police Department's drug-sniffing dog, can stand outside a car and detect the faintest traces of methamphetamine on a pipe stashed inside the trunk, officials said. A Supreme Court ruled last week that a police dog can legally sniff a car's exterior even when the officer has no probable cause for searching the car. This will allow Caila to sniff for such scents during traffic stops. In 1998 an Illinois state trooper pulled a man over for speeding, according to court papers.

ALHAMBRA — A sentencing hearing was continued Thursday for a Glendale man convicted of trying to accost five girls in Glendale and trying to rape six other women. Christopher Poe, 27, was found guilty on July 23 of four counts of assaulting and attempting to rape four women; four counts of burglary; four counts of molesting four girls; one count of attempting to kidnap and rape a girl; one count of sexual battery; one count of sexual penetration by foreign object; and one count of attempted forcible rape, according to a criminal complaint.

GLENDALE — A Glendale police officer sustained minor injuries early Monday after crashing into two parked cars while responding to the scene where a man had tried to flee from police, officials said. The officer, responding to calls for backup, had been traveling with lights and siren activated on Broadway and had entered the intersection at Glendale Avenue, where another motorist failed to stop. The officer was forced to swerve, hitting the parked cars. Soon after the crash, a Glendale police dog tracked down Nicholas Romero, 25, hiding in the attic of a gas station building on Broadway and Eagledale Avenue.

Hundreds of people and their dogs outfitted in bandanas, sports jerseys and knit sweaters helped raised more than $260,000 for the Pasadena Humane Society during its 13th annual Wiggle Waggle Walk on Sunday. The event at Brookside Park in Pasadena featured two walking routes - dog water bowls included - as one of the society's major fundraisers. Pasadena Humane Society provides animal control services for Glendale and other areas. “Thank you for being a part of this great community event to witness your support in the care and treatment of pets,” Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard said.

DOWNTOWN — It took a 12-year-old Pennsylvania girl who suffers from a neurological disorder several tries and a police department on the other side of the country to finally make her wish of connecting with a K-9 unit come true. After getting nowhere with local police stations in her home state, Glendale police officers arranged an educational trip for Grace Bunduka and her mother, Rosanne Bunduka, to visit the area’s police dogs. On Wednesday, Grace finally got to meet several police dogs and hold their leashes at a training facility in Ventura.

CITY HALL — Despite initial City Council concerns about allowing boxing matches in the city after a 62-year ban on the sport, the two events held so far have run smoothly, police officials said. Friday evening’s “Glendale Glory 2,” the second recent boxing event at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, came near the end of a one-year trial period approved by a wary City Council in March to allow professional fights. Boxing had been banned in the city since 1947 following pressure from residents who said boxing was “unwholesome.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Police arrested a woman and two men Monday night and were scouring a Hilton Glendale parking garage for two others after they fled police in a car that could be tied to two shootings, one in Glendale and one in Los Angeles, police said. The chase began at about 5:30 p.m., when Pasadena Police Department patrol officers tried to pull over a Nissan Murano at Howard Street and Mentone Avenue in Pasadena for failure to yield, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.