Thief

GLENDALE — A 52-year-old parolee is expected to be arraigned today in connection with stealing more than $1,000 from church donation boxes in Glendale and Burbank, police said. Glendale police and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Peter Galindro, who was on parole for burglary, Monday night at his mother's home in Los Angeles, just hours after they released his photograph to the public in an effort to generate tips, officials said. "He is not a nice person," said Bill Evans, facilities director of Holy Family Catholic Church, where Galindro allegedly pilfered about $400 in donations.

Glendale police officers are searching for a man they believe repeatedly pilfered donation boxes at Holy Family Catholic Church in recent months, stealing hundreds of dollars meant for the poor. The most recent incident took place on Dec. 27 when the man, described by witnesses as 5 feet 10 inches tall, bald, about 50 years old and of Middle Eastern or Latino descent, was spotted at 4 p.m. in front of Holy Family School, said Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz. The man disappeared, only to be seen an hour later inside the Lomita Avenue church entrance stealing money from the Haiti relief offering box. He fled before police arrived.

In an unusual turn of events, a $1,500 purse that was stolen from a La Cañada store on Saturday was returned Thursday morning by presumably the woman who took it. “Can you believe it?” said Joanna Nelson, owner of Frockx clothing store. When Nelson arrived at her store about 10 a.m. on Thursday morning she was surprised to see the purse inside a paper grocery bag sitting at her store’s back door. The saga of the stolen purse began about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday when a woman who appeared to be in the last stages of pregnancy entered the store.

Restaurant robbed of more than $2,000 A thief stole more than $2,000 from Hamburger Central on Sunday night after he pointed a handgun at an employee and demanded cash, police said. The 19-year-old employee was closing the restaurant?s back door on the 200 block of North Central Avenue just after 9 p.m. when a thief approached him, pointed a gun at him and said, ?Give me the money,? according to a police report. Fearing his life, the employee opened the door and entered the restaurant?

A 19-year-old Glendale woman was punched several times in the face late Tuesday as another woman tried to swipe her purse, police said. The victim, whose name wasn't released, was walking about 10:03 p.m. Tuesday at Chevy Chase Drive and Carlton Drive when another woman ran up from behind her and tried snatching her purse, according to Police Department reports. The would-be thief punched the woman three to four times in the face when she resisted. Unable to steal the purse, the thief ran away, hopped into the passenger seat of an idling SUV and fled the scene.

A thief got away with a woman's purse Sunday after he stole it from her SUV while she was placing items in the trunk, police said. The woman was standing at the rear of SUV about 8:20 a.m. on the 900 block of North Glendale Avenue when the thief stole the purse from the SUV's passenger seat, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. The purse contained a cellphone, cash and credit cards. He allegedly got into a silver Mercedes SUV and fled toward the Ventura (134) Freeway.

I am "blown away" by the unmitigated gall of the self-confessed grocery cart thief James Brackett. He steals from markets and gets away with it because the markets cannot spend the hours that it takes to prosecute the thieves. If the City Council wanted to do its job, there would be enforcement of city ordinances that would not require store management to testify in court for thievery. The ordinance would make it possible for any city employee to write a citation for the theft.

Ben Godar When residents open a window to let in some cooler air during the summer, police warn it is important to make sure they do not let in a thief as well. Glendale Police have already seen an increase in the number of burglars entering through screen windows and doors, police spokeswoman Officer Leticia Chang said. "We understand the weather is hot, but you don't want to give a burglar a chance to enter," she said. A home in Burbank was broken into a week ago by a thief who entered by removing a screen from an open window, police said.

A thief on Saturday made off with a 21-year-old woman's wallet after a struggle over her purse, police said. The thief approached the woman about 11:49 p.m. as she was entering her car on the 200 block of West Garfield Avenue, according to Glendale police reports. He allegedly grabbed the woman's purse, but she refused to let it go. She screamed for help, which prompted the man to flee the neighborhood. Still, the man was able to steal the woman's wallet, which contained $5 in coins and a AAA card, police said.

Justin Rubin, 18, is a senior at Glendale High School. Move along folks, nothing new to see here. "The Big Bounce" isn't exactly a bad film, but if you have seen a caper film in the last 10 years, chances are you have seen this movie before. Based upon the popular Elmore Leonard novel, the film is standard fare all the way through. Drifter and petty thief Owen Wilson gets caught up in a con game to rob $200,000 from his former boss on the island of Hawaii.

In real life, there's nothing funny about identity theft, as anyone who's gone through it can attest. (Believe me, I learned the hard way.) Unfortunately, if the new comedy "Identity Thief" is anything to go by, there's nothing funny about it on screen either. OK, not nothing funny. Let's be generous to director Seth Gordon and screenwriters Craig Mazin and Jerry Eeten and say there's not very much funny here. It's a film built around a simple log line: average nice guy must share a road trip with the resourceful sociopath who has destroyed his credit rating (and pretty much everything else in his life)

A thief on Saturday made off with a 21-year-old woman's wallet after a struggle over her purse, police said. The thief approached the woman about 11:49 p.m. as she was entering her car on the 200 block of West Garfield Avenue, according to Glendale police reports. He allegedly grabbed the woman's purse, but she refused to let it go. She screamed for help, which prompted the man to flee the neighborhood. Still, the man was able to steal the woman's wallet, which contained $5 in coins and a AAA card, police said.

A thief got away with a woman's purse Sunday after he stole it from her SUV while she was placing items in the trunk, police said. The woman was standing at the rear of SUV about 8:20 a.m. on the 900 block of North Glendale Avenue when the thief stole the purse from the SUV's passenger seat, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. The purse contained a cellphone, cash and credit cards. He allegedly got into a silver Mercedes SUV and fled toward the Ventura (134) Freeway.

A 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to punching a gas station clerk after he allegedly stole sandwiches. Dana Hall was charged with one felony count of second-degree robbery in connection with the Jan. 4 incident at the Shell gas station in the 600 block of North Pacific Avenue, authorities said. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge kept the bail amount for Hall at $50,000, said Shiara Dávila-Morales, spokeswoman for the county district attorney's office. The robbery occurred at about 9:13 p.m. when Hall reportedly walked into the gas station and began stuffing sandwiches into his pants, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Donations inside an offering box have again been stolen from Holy Family Catholic Church, police said. The theft was reported 5:25 p.m. Thursday after a woman saw a man flip the offering box upside down and attempt to retrieve money from a slot, according to Glendale police reports. This incident wasn't the first theft of donations from the church at 209 E. Lomita Ave. Last year, Peter Galindro was convicted of two felony counts of burglary after stealing about $400 from the church's collection boxes, which contained donations to help the poor and for Haiti relief.

A 19-year-old Glendale woman was punched several times in the face late Tuesday as another woman tried to swipe her purse, police said. The victim, whose name wasn't released, was walking about 10:03 p.m. Tuesday at Chevy Chase Drive and Carlton Drive when another woman ran up from behind her and tried snatching her purse, according to Police Department reports. The would-be thief punched the woman three to four times in the face when she resisted. Unable to steal the purse, the thief ran away, hopped into the passenger seat of an idling SUV and fled the scene.

GLENDALE — A 55-year-old Glendale man will have to pay a Glendale jewelry store $9,200 for a Rolex watch he allegedly stole or he will face jail time, officials said. Gary Demirchyan pleaded no contest on Monday to a felony count of grand theft of personal property, but that was not part of a settlement negotiated with prosecutors, said Shiara Dávila-Morales, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. The watch, which was stolen last year from Classic Design Jewelry store in the Glendale Galleria, was never recovered, police said.

GLENDALE — A 52-year-old parolee is expected to be arraigned today in connection with stealing more than $1,000 from church donation boxes in Glendale and Burbank, police said. Glendale police and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested Peter Galindro, who was on parole for burglary, Monday night at his mother's home in Los Angeles, just hours after they released his photograph to the public in an effort to generate tips, officials said. "He is not a nice person," said Bill Evans, facilities director of Holy Family Catholic Church, where Galindro allegedly pilfered about $400 in donations.

Glendale police officers are searching for a man they believe repeatedly pilfered donation boxes at Holy Family Catholic Church in recent months, stealing hundreds of dollars meant for the poor. The most recent incident took place on Dec. 27 when the man, described by witnesses as 5 feet 10 inches tall, bald, about 50 years old and of Middle Eastern or Latino descent, was spotted at 4 p.m. in front of Holy Family School, said Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz. The man disappeared, only to be seen an hour later inside the Lomita Avenue church entrance stealing money from the Haiti relief offering box. He fled before police arrived.