July 1, 2005 ID Theft & $4,000 in Checks Forged

I wanted to let you know that some items were stolen from J's truck, sometime during the night on Friday 7/1 near Kiki Drive.

Among the items were two checkbooks. When we were on vacation last week - multiple forged checks were attempting to clear our accounts. They spent four thousand dollars - over 2 days. What a Mess!

The good news - when we returned on Sunday night it was to a message from a Pleasanton detective who had arrested two suspects (on an unrelated charge) and recovered J's checkbooks and other items. The men had fake CDL's with J's information and their pictures & signatures.

Not sure yet if any other credit was opened with J's info. We filed a police report with Pleasant Hill police also.
I'll keep you updated.
N

June 15, 2005 Car Stolen from Morello Ave Home

Sometime between 12:30-7:00 AM our Chevy was stolen right out in front of our house on Morello in PH.

The thieves stood out in the middle of the street as our truck was parked on the street and removed the weather-stripping and used a coat hanger to open the driver side door.

8 days later the car was found by the Sheriffs Dept. in Richmond, the inside completely stripped. A suspect was apprehended working on and adding to the trailer hitch, most likely to tow more stolen cars, but haven't heard anything else lately. Thanks, J

May 30, 2005 Car Entered on Kiki Drive Money Taken

Just to let you know...someone got into my car, which was parked in my driveway. The suspect rummaged through my middle compartment and scattered everything all over the front seat, but nothing appears to be missing except some spare change.

There were no signs of a forced entry, so it is possible that I may have left it unlocked. I do not believe this was done by a teenager or "kid" because he did not take any of the handheld games that was in the middle compartment.

He simply tossed them aside. This was probably done within the last week, since I don't drive that vehicle too often, I'm not sure of the exact time of occurrence. Anyway...just FYI...thanks and keep up the good work. S of Kiki

May 26,2005 Dogs, Sensor Lights, Do Not Deter Criminals

PLEASE REPORT ALL SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOU FEEL IT MIGHT BE. THERE ARE PATTERNS HAPPENING AGAIN AND TOGETHER WE CAN DETERMINE THE PATTERNS AND HELP THE POLICE.

THESE PUNKS ARE RUTHLESS AND HITTING US DESPITE OUR SENSOR FLOOD LIGHTS, DOGS AT HOME, ALARM SENSORS VISIBLE IN WINDOWS, VEHICLE CLUBS ON STEERING WHEELS, AND ALARM COMPANY SIGNS OUT. NONE OF THIS SEEMS TO DETER THE THUGS!!!

PLEASE TALK WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FIND OUT WHAT ELSE WE MAY HAVE MISSED. ENCOURAGE THEM TO SHARE WITH THE GROUP BY EMAILING ME. THANK YOU. If nothing else get to know your neighbors by first names.

May 25, 2005 Odin + Kiki Houses of Concern

I heard from one of my neighbors who have lived in the area for many years, that two Methamphetamine users live in the area. One on Odin and one on Kiki. There are always a bunch of hippies at the house and the house is a mess. The garage is full of garbage and junk. I can get the address if needed.

Many of us are concerned about the limited policing that our crime infested area. They are not doing enough to help deter these criminals. I rarely if ever see police patrolling the area. Someone needs to write the police chief and the mayor a letter to see if immediate changes can be made about their method of policing our area.

Neighbors are shocked with all the problems the neighborhood is having. It seems like the neighborhood watch signs are not enough to deter the criminals. There are also several homeless people living behind the canal trail and they could be possible suspects to the recent car burglaries and other occurrences around the neighborhood.

The autos that were broken into all had money taken from them. No stereos, cd's or other similar electronics devices that could be sold for good money. It's like a homeless person or a drug user just looking to score some cash.

Over the past two years, Pleasant Hill Police have been dispatched to a residence on Odin Drive at least a dozen times. I do not think this person belongs to your neighborhood watch program and I am sure you never heard anything about the police routine visits to this location.

The house was originally a 1250 square ft home, but additions to this home put the house at nearly 2400 square ft. Looking at the home from the backside of the canal trail, I would find it hard to believe that the Pleasant Hill building department would have issued permits for this work to be done.

On most days you will see a Truck in the driveway. This is the house that you will find drivers of Harley Motorcycles visiting often and the characters riding these motorcycles are not the kind of people we would want visiting our neighborhood.

My thoughts about this residence are that the (possibly illegal) additions made to this house are now being used as rooms for rent. I believe they have at least 2 or maybe even 3 tenants including the owner of the Truck residing there.

Another house on Odin Drive also seems to have drug-using residents. The house and garage is cluttered with junk and would definitely be considered a fire hazard if inspected by the fire dept. These people never open their garage and seem to only come out at night. These people again, look out of place and do not fit in the neighborhood.

I believe that some of the crimes occurring in the neighborhood could be committed by someone living amongst us. Thieves do not have the time to be watching us, but people who live in the area can ne watching you and you would never even think twice about it. Below is the information regarding the two residences on Odin. I hope this helps.

May 24, 2005 Crime Watch Meeting Minutes

Office TC reported
Ø Several cars were stolen from DVC and then driven to a quiet cul de sac nearby, where 2 teens would strip the car of what they wanted and then abandon the cars right there.

Ø Westover neighborhood had been hit unusually hard with several break ins (near Mangini Farms.)

Ø There is a Pleasant Hill native, white 34-year-old homeless male named Adam, who rides a ten-speed bike and has dark bottom teeth, who frequents the area to support his alcohol addiction. He tends to go into cars for spare change and small items to cash in on would likely have been the one who stole recyclables on Morello/Kiki.

Ø One neighbor has seen Adam a number of times and his territory covers several miles according to police. He also frequents Big C Athletic parking lot where I work out and I see him lingering in the lots. There has been numerous car break ins there as well. His encampment is along the canal according to police.

Ø Officer TC says that perpetrators will go for anything in sight including gym bags, lap tops, purses, canvas bags, Day Planners, whatever looks enticing!

May 22, 2005 Kiki Dr Undercover Police Drug Surveillance

Since I received your last email two days ago I have been working on trying to figure out who the stakeout officers were from. They were not from Pleasant Hill PD.

I understand Concord PD was working some kind of drug case in our city, but no one in Concord has told me it was them on Kiki.

It is possible Concord PD was only parked on Kiki and was actually watching another street and they don't know our city well enough to be able to tell me it was them when I asked if they were on Kiki.

In other words, they could be working a case on, say your street, and when I asked who was on Kiki, they don't realize they are actually the same area. On the other hand, it could be another agency altogether. As a matter of common courtesy they should notify us, but many times they don't.

I don't know if you recall we are being sued by a CHP officer who was pruned out at gunpoint by two of our officers when a citizen reported seeing a man with a gun. (He was in plain clothes at the time). CHP should have called us but never did.

Next time you make contact with them ask what agency they are with and ask for ID. Then call us a 288-4600 and we can do whatever we have to do to verify.

Regarding the solicitors, I don't see that many calls from the neighbors other than you and maybe a couple of others. Please let the neighbors know they should call us at 288-4600 and we will chase them away. Officer TC

Officer C admits that Concord Police were undercover doing drug surveillance recently in Pleasant Hill. It could have been the Concord cops seen scoping out on Kiki recently but I don’t know that for sure. It most definitely was Concord Police doing the stake out on Kiki because I asked them what they were watching for and they ID’ed themselves as being from Concord Police.

They were awaiting someone who was expected in the area and they were going to nab this person. That was all the info they gave me so I didn't push beyond that, but now wished I had.

It wouldn't be the first time I have heard about a rental home on Kiki that has young men with drug problems. This house is located near the elementary school. I am very interested in pressuring the owner to evict these tenants. Anyone able to let me know who owns this rental? I will pursue it for sure and would love if others would do the same once I get this information to share with you. Power in numbers. A police officer provided that tip last year.

Saturday May 21, 2005 Soliciting on Skander Lane & Kiki

This past Saturday evening (around 5:30 p.m.) we had a solicitor at our door. It was young white male about 20-25 yrs old selling something. I say something, because it was never clear as to what he was selling.

I told him we weren't interested and he left. I watched him go up Skander towards Kiki, knocking on other doors. What struck me about this incident was that the seller had nothing in his hands. No clipboard, nothing!

If he was selling something, why didn't he have some pamphlet of any sort? As I watched him go to other houses, I decided to call the PH Police and described him to them.

They stated that they would send a vehicle over to check him out. Unfortunately, we were on our way out of the house for dinner and never got a chance to see if a police vehicle was sent.
Thanks for all of your hard work.
T of Skander Lane

May 20, 2005 Suspected Meth House on Odin

I heard from one of my neighbors who has lived in the area for 10 years, that two Methamphetamine users live the area. One on Odin and one on Kiki.

There are always a bunch of hippies at the Odin house and the house is a mess. The garage is full of garbage and junk. I can get the address if needed.

May 15+16th, 2005 Kiki Backyard Entered Gate Left Opened

I heard noise outside, in the early morning, on Sunday May 15th. At 7:30a Sunday, I found my gate to my backyard had been opened.

From your reports, this correlates to the event on Hodur Ct. where someone tried to get in on a second story balcony.

On Monday, May 16th, I came home from work to find my gate wide open, and the interior door from the garage to the house open.

My alarm went off, and the police were notified. I left at 7:30a and the alarm went off at 10:30a. Nothing seemed disturbed. I've heard that people can go around with garage door openers, and check to see if yours operates on the same frequency. I don't know if this is what happened, but now I lock that interior door.

May 16, 2005 Kiki Drive Both Homeowner's Cars Broken Into

My wife informed me this morning that neighbors who live on Kiki Drive down the street had both of their automobiles broken into between 9 PM and 3:30 AM this morning.

People who live in the area should not leave articles in plain view. It’s an open invitation to criminals.

Also, if neighbors observe suspicious individuals looking into autos or lurking in the area they should call the police at once.

It's my experience in dealing with auto burglars that they are generally armed, e.g. long screwdriver etc. Call police rather than try and run criminals down yourselves.

Sunday May 15, 2005 Hodur Court Cars + Home Tampered With

Just thought Hodur Court should know about more cars being tampered with. This makes 3 that I know of in the past 2 weeks.

A home on Hodur Court had someone climb onto their master bedroom balcony and tamper with the sliding patio door on their second floor. T

he same home had a woodpile in front of their garage window. The wood was disturbed/moved and the window was tweaked despite the visible security sensor being at the point where the tampering occurred.

No mention of an alarm sounding was discussed.

May 14, 2005 Duffy Court Man Peeking in Windows, Suspicious Behavior

Just so you know... (And I am soooo glad to be in contact with you for more reasons now than ever), a few months ago, I reported to police a young man that came [only] to my door after peering in our window (all front windows have NO coverings) on a hot day wearing all black with a leather jacket on.

He saw me in the window and knocked on the door. He claimed he was "collecting for school for a senior trip" but he had NO documentation or anything.

Then, about 3 weeks ago, I was having a meeting at our house and a different guy came to our door with the same BS except he told me that he was "Tammy's son from around the corner" and he was collecting magazine money for a trip to Maui.

He was very charming, however, when he showed me the [lamented] magazine documentation there were no prices. I told him that I don't do business that way and that I knew of no one named Tammy in the neighborhood.

The next day, my friend who lives off of Elderwood told me that a guy came to her door saying the EXACT same thing. I am sorry that I did not report this guy too. I know we need to get window coverings... I have glanced through your document, and will show my husband too. We would love to get in on the neighborhood watch thing.

May12, 2005 Hodur Court Trespasser 2nd Floor Balcony Entry attempt

A book-solicitor came to our door, but my husband got rid of him quickly.

A week or two ago I saw a young man on a Hodur Court lawn. He was bending over, maybe stretching, not sure, but he didn't seem to be doing anything suspicious aside from that.

I don't know if you have any 20-ish sons or someone helping with your yard, so I didn't say anything.

Then, either the same or the very next day, a car was sitting across from your house and then the cops showed up. I don't know what that was all about, but the cops not only were talking to the driver but also appeared to be searching the car (I saw one cop opening the trunk of the car).
Very strange, but I was glad to see the police there. Do you know what that was about? And do you have any young men in your life that would have any reason to be standing on your lawn?

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May 12, 2005

J from Hodur Court noticed his back window near the garage looked tampered with in the past 2 weeks in front of that same window the woodpile had been knocked over. Their second floor patio door off the master bedroom also had evidence of someone being up on the bedroom balcony. The screen door was open.

Around the same time I noticed their back yard gate was opened about a third of the way. It is never left opened and there was no evidence of any gardeners around. I made a mental note of that, but thought perhaps the wind blew it or that the latch wasn’t locked. In lieu of their window tampering, I would say the 4 incidents were related.

I certainly hope folks will attend another crime watch meeting in the near future. I will alert you when it is scheduled. THERE IS A 45 PERSON CAPACITY AND WE HAD STANDING ROOM ONLY FOR PRIOR MEETINGS.

May 11, 2005 Three Crime Scouts Intimidate Ride Bikes

Over the weekend, I noticed 3 young men 18-20ish (who looked unfamiliar and out of place,) slowly walking up Kiki on the Hodur side of the street. 2 of the guys had pads of paper and pens (scouting no doubt.)

They walked very leisurely and began to head down our street as though they were going to go door to door to sell something. That was until they noticed me watching them…. so before they knocked on the first door at the top of the street, they nonchalantly turned around and left the court.

I took my dog for a quick walk to see where they went after that and they walked down into the Paso Nogal Park off Kiki. They watched me and kept turning around to see if I was following them or watching them.

Shortly after that, a car full of young men drove along Kiki from Morello direction, pulled a U turn at our intersection and then came back, repeating the U turn, before heading back to the park entrance where the other young men had entered. Intimidation tactic perhaps.

A neighbor on Hodur Court claims some young men kept riding their bikes up people’s driveways and then u - turning. They did this time and time again into several folk’s driveways recently.

After what happened over Easter with residents being asked to leave their home by 3 strangers that entered their Kiki home, I believe that thieves watch us. In fact they watch so closely as to know who is home and when and who is able bodied and who is not.

Disturbing to say the least! This home was entered while residents were home. Residents were told to leave the home when 3 strangers were inside.

May 10, 2005 Soliciting Books for Boys Club on Hodur Court

Did a young man come to you door tonight? He was on Hodur Ct.
He introduced himself as somebody’s son from around the corner. He mumbled so you couldn’t determine exactly whose son he was. Most likely he was the son of a gun. (It was likely a ploy to gain our trust.)

He claimed to be selling books, but had no order forms, only a booklist/pamphlet without prices. When we said we weren’t interested in buying books, he said we could give to the local Boys/Girls Club where his mother works. (Oh yes, the mention of dear mother again!) She must be so proud of him!

He claimed he lived right around the corner, had no ID, and no doubt was telling fibs.
My husband asked him which Boys Club his mother worked at.

Apparently this was a trick question which caught him off guard, cause the guy looked down and then away (you could tell he was stalling for time to think of a good answer,) after some hesitation, he responded with, “Oh you know…the one over there on Jackson!”

After some more chatting, my husband asked, “Where did you say your mother lived? This was another trick question. He mumbled and mispronounced the name of a street nearby.

He had a hard time making eye contact after that. I called the cops to come question him and persuade him off our street and out of our area.

There is no such street named Jackson. I also researched Boys and Girls Clubs of America and there is no club in PH or Concord for that matter! The one in Mtz. is on Alhambra. Why am I not surprised?

April 20, 2005 Repeated Suspicious Driver Behavior on Hodur

At the end of April , a white car came from Morello down Kiki and turned into Hodur. The driver and passenger and I made brief eye contact when they first turned down our court, but then something strange happened.

I twice observed the same few folks very slowly driving a white vehicle down our Hodur Court and studying every home.

If you have a copy of this email describing the pair that drove our court a few times back to back which I sent earlier to some of you, please send it back to me. I cannot seem to find it and it had more particular information including the make of the vehicle, date, time etc., etc.

Kind of like an owl turns it’s head so far round, the driver and passenger kept their faces turned opposite of my direction at all times except for that brief moment before they noticed my watching them.

Regardless of which way they drove on the court, they kept their faces turned so far to the other side… that it appeared strange to me. It appeared they didn’t want to be identified. They were older and somewhat homeless looking.

If they’d have been lost or searching for someone in particular, or even been interested in buying a home on our street, you would think they might at least acknowledge my being there in my driveway watching them.

I continued to watch them the entire time they were on the court and both trips taken. I know they were aware of my watching them! I even began to go to the edge of my drive as they approached it, because I would have asked them if they were lost.

April 11, 2005 Mesa Verde Place Home Broken Into

We live on Mesa Verde Place, in Pleasant Hill, which is off Paso Nogal near the golf course. Our house was burglarized on the 11th of April, 2005. The culprit broke the glass door in the backside to make an entry. Our estimated loss was over $15,000.

I have his picture from the video surveillance of ToysRus where he tried to use our credit card. I also have his complete profile from the guy who works in the electronic section of ToysRus and saw the suspect that night.

The burglar also tried to sell one of my jewels through the bay area Craig’s List and I have a phone number and an e-mail address from that advertisement. The suspect continues to be at large and will probably strike another home soon.

Unfortunately we were not aware of some of the other incidents that had happened in our neighborhood. Quite a few stolen cars had been abandoned on our street. Also one of our neighbor’s purses was stolen from her car parked just outside the house. Had we known all this was occurring right in our neighborhood we would have been more cautious.

Easter Vacation 2005 Home Entered ~Occupant present~ Searching for Lost Cat

A home on Kiki was entered while her two unsuspecting and disabled family members (son and husband) were home. Here is what happened…

A Hispanic woman and her young son knocked on the door and asked if they could look for their lost cat. They proceeded to look throughout the home in bedrooms, etc for this “cat.” Later, a 3rd stranger appeared in the home that was not at the door when the other 2 knocked and were let in. He was a much larger male, who demanded that the residents leave their home immediately.

I did find the incident regarding the people "looking for their lost cat". It is a matter of concern to us so we are asking all you neighbors to really be vigilant and report suspicious activity.

Incidentally, it makes it easier for me to research an event if you can give me the exact date and rough time of that event.

You are also welcome to come to our police lobby and look through our daily log on a regular basis. Otherwise keep in contact and I will do what I can to get you your information. Please let the neighbors know they should call police at 288-4600 if any future problems. Officer TC

March 31, 2005 Morello Front Door Attempted Opening

A resident on Morello claims someone tried opening his front door (thinking it was his wife coming home from work, he let it go.)

A few minutes passed (his wife never did arrive,) and then someone knocked at the door. He answered to find an African American salesman.

The resident asked the salesperson to present ID permit, and the man became angered calling the resident prejudiced. The resident is quite sure this fellow was the one that attempted the front door handle before knocking. Police were called and the man was spoken to and left.