A resident on South Barcelona reported a scary incident. On Thursday evening around 8:00, their door bell rang and the door was left unanswered. A few minutes later, their dog started barking and when the resident looked out the window, she noticed a man in the backyard! The man did not act scared or concerned when he was confronted and told her that he was checking out the pool for an estimate. They had never inquired about an estimate. The sheriff was called and a report was filed. The man is described as short, Hispanic male with thick glasses.

 

Last night on the west side of Canyonside Ct. there was a mailbox that was purposely knocked to the ground. There is also a slid mark on the grass and the sidewalk close to the mailbox. It was reported that a noise was heard by surrounding neighbors last night.

 

Thank you for the updates! It’s good to keep our community informed. Let me know if you feel like we should have another meeting in the month of July. This has been a great group and a great way to keep neighbors connected.

We had a very successful second meeting. We invited the principal of Monte Vista High School, Randy Montesanto. He told our group some of the ideas they are trying to implement on the campus. He reemphasized that Monte Vista is a closed campus. Although the schedules may vary between the students, all students should be in attendance between the times of 8:30 and 12:00. If you see anyone loitering on the streets or the parks during that time, they are most likely truant. Mr. Montesanto seemed very interested in helping our community and told us that by emailing or texting a description of the individuals and a location he would instantly receive the information on his phone. It would allow him to send some of the school supervisors to check out the situation. His email is: rmontesa@guhsd.net. It isn’t possible to lock the back gate on Canyonside permanently, but it was discussed to have the gate locked between the above given hours to discourage easy passage during the day. Mr. Montesanto told us that he was looking into widening the footbridge in the back so a cart could go through for the campus security to gain faster access to the neighborhood.

 

Our Crime Prevention Specialist also shared a website, www.crimemapping.com. This website lists crime in an area. It contains the information he pulled up for our meeting. Checking it out in between meetings can help keep you informed of what’s happening around here. It was also emphasized again to contact Sherriff officers or the school (during school hours) instead of confronting suspicious individuals personally. You never know what kind of person you’re dealing with or what they are capable of doing. Please leave it to the professionals. We were told if you see anyone in the backyard of neighbors, call 911. It could very well be a crime in progress and should be taken as an emergency.

 

Crime Watch: 

On April 29 at 5:45 AM a member of our group who lives on the west side of Canyonside Ct. heard a “pop, pop” sound coming from Highlands Blvd. She also heard footsteps running afterwards. When she looked down there was a newer model sporty black hatchback car. A male got into the passenger side of the already running car. The car then went up Cliffside. It didn’t come down for over 5 minutes and then drove down Cliffside at a normal speed. Less than an hour later, she heard angry voices as damage was discovered. The truck that was robbed still had the cement block inside that was used to bash the window. The owners believe that around $700 worth of merchandise from a home business was stolen. Another neighbor on Highlands shared that he was getting ready for work around that same time and was taking some items out of his truck and he couldn’t find some personal items that he thought should have been in his truck or that he’d possibly dropped on the way out to the truck. There was no damage to his car, but he wondered if the item was swiped at the same time as the break in. Our group member spoke with the Sherriff that is assigned to our neighborhood. He told her that it’s becoming a known fact to criminals that Sherriff officers take a 6-6 shift and more and more crimes are being committed around that time since they know the officers are at the station or on their way there during those times of day.

 

 

On Monday night, around 10:00 pm, he heard a truck come up the hill and turn off its engine to coast down the east side of Canyonside Ct. He saw two males; one white and one Latino put on stocking caps after getting out of their vehicle. He yelled down at them and they yelled profanities back at him and sped away. It was too fast to get a license plate number but he does have a good description of the vehicle; a gold/tan Chevy Silverado extended cab truck with tinted windows. He called the Sheriff and has been speaking with a detective. Paulette spoke to an officer patrolling the neighborhood this week and was told that car break-ins are on the rise in this area. The people breaking in seem to be interested in anything left in view.

 

Thank you for watching out for your neighbors. Thank you everyone for being on watch. I’ve heard about people calling the Sheriff Department about suspicious people and vehicles. We have a very successful group so far.  April 21 we’re planning our next Neighborhood Watch meeting at Hansen Clubhouse at 6:00. I have invited the principal from Monte Vista High School. I’ll send out details as the date gets closer.