Creek Police Beat: Maybe the Saddest Story Ever Told, Concerns About Smog Tests, and Some Greatest Generation Guys Go At It

Thursday, August 12

Sorry, but we need to start this week's Creek Police Beat with the saddest story you may read today: Two kittens fell into a storm drain on Stinson Circle a little after midnight. Only one was reportedly rescued.

That's not safe! The driver of a pickup truck, parking in the County Connection bus zone at Broadway Plaza, refused to move his vehicle. The driver of a County Connection bus  was forced to stop in the middle of the road to let off passengers during morning rush hour.

Smash 'n' grab on Oakland Boulevard at Trinity Avenue: Someone stole personal papers and a state-issued gasoline card in the middle of the night from a UC-San Francisco van.

Questionable smog test? This isn't the first time I've heard concerns raised about smog check services offered at businesses around town. A caller reported that he had a smog check at a shop in the 1800 block of Mt. Diablo Boulevard, and the shop asked for $100 to fix the car. The caller took his car to another shop, which passed it on the spot. Have you had this problem yourself?

Rudgear Road had two smash 'n' grabs in the middle of the afternoon. In both car burglaries, GPS devices were stolen.

Here's an idea: Take your dogs with you! Residents in the 1000 block of Camino Verde Circle went on a walk sans dogs.  Reasonable unhappy neighbors called police to complain that dogs were barking for more than two hours.

Thieves struck the Creekside neighborhood once again. This time the thieves stole two white pickups overnight. A four-door 2003 white Ford 150 was stolen from Creekside Drive, while a white Toyota Tacoma was swiped from Near Court.

Smash 'n' grab in the 2400 block of Walnut Boulevard at 11 a.m. The suspect? A man on a bicycle, possibly a white male, 50 to 55 years old, with a red mustache and a goatee

This week's Drug Store Cowboy Olympic games are sponsored by Hydrocodone! A customer grabbed his prescription from the Walgreens in the 2900 block of North Main Street--and ran off without paying for it.

Home burglary in broad daylight: Sometime between noon and 2 p.m. someone used a ladder to enter a bathroom window of a home in the 100 block of Arbolado Drive to steal jewelry, a digital camera and $200 in cash.

Maybe the Greatest Generation needs to give it a rest: A 911 call came in at 12:23 a.m. with callers in a heated debate over some matter regarding World War II: Were there advance warnings of the Pearl Harbor attack? Did the United States really need to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Police officers contacted family members and gave advice. People, peace. That war, as catastrophic as it was, ended more than 50 years ago.

If this is not disturbing I don't know what is: An 8-year-old boy wandered into a home in the 700 block of Picnic Lane looking for his parents at 9 p.m. While a neighbor tried to help, the boy was ultimately taken into the custody of child protective services.

Imagine that! Shadows were reported in Diablo Shadows Park.  Five men were told to pipe down and leave the park shortly after midnight.

Just another Saturday night downtown: A few guys getting arrested for being drunk in public.

A juvenile skipped out on a $25 cab fare after giving the taxi driver only $10. This incident occurred around 5 a.m. at Comistas Drive and Crystal Court.

More Drugstore Cowboys at work? Someone ransacked a business in the 2000 block of Ygnacio Valley Road sometime in the night and stole prescription medication samples.

A resident on Youngs Court was very upset about the dead jasmine plants in her back yard and worried that someone means harm to her oak tree.

Second Avenue was struck by a slew of mail thefts. Four residents reported thefts of mail. Nearby Thomas Lane was also affected.

Kudos to the citizen who reported a possible drunk driver on Ygnacio Valley Road; that driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

A man named Daniel took cops on a foot chase downtown at around 1:21 a.m. The apparently intoxicated fellow was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest.

A 1998 Honda Civic was broken into in the 1400 block of Quail View Circle. Stolen: a radio, an emergency tool kit, and a steering wheel cover. A second car on nearby Mallard Drive also was hit. Both cars had slightly open windows at the time of the burglaries.

It's come to this:  Two men were fighting over a parking space at Target at 2p.m.

Apparently you need a permit to sell fruit in Walnut Creek. A man attempting to sell strawberries on Dapplegray Lane was told to shut down until he had proper permits.

Pipe down Mt Pisgah resident: Your neighbor didn't appreciate your loud patio party at midnight.

A stolen car with two different license plates was recovered at South Main Street and Lilac Drive. No suspect or evidence at this time.

Another day, another car break in. From Mitchell Drive, Oak Grove Road to Peachwillow Lane: Is Walnut Creek a hotbed for car burglaries?

The idiot parent award this week goes to: Whoever left his or her baby unattended in a Nissan Quest at the Countrywood shopping center on Bancroft Road. The caller reported that the baby was screaming in the car at 4:40 p.m.

Kudos to the Danville citizen who found a Walnut Creek residents wallet!

Walkin' after midnight: Three kids were playing in the bushes and the trees at Walnut Boulevard and Ygnacio Valley Road at 12:45 a.m. Their mother was taking them for a walk.

Another  smash 'n' grab on Creekside Drive: This time to a Jeep Liberty in the middle of the night. A GPS, glasses, snow chains, registration and insurance were stolen.

Seriously? A caller on School Lane believed her neighbor's contractor was deliberately trying to harass her by leaving a 2x4 on her property. The responding officer moved the piece of wood for her.

A group of homeless men were cursing employees at a business on Botelho Drive. They were also demanding free beer.

Summer hooligans strike again. Reports came in at about 10 p.m. of someone driving a brown and orange Suburban (brown and orange, seriously?) driving around San Carlos Drive and Ygnacio Valley Road, with the driver and passengers throwing water balloons at pedestrians.

Someone called to say that a man was jumping a fence between Trinity and Cole avenues and looking into the windows of vehicles and condos. Police responded and arrested a guy named Christopher for an outside felony warrant.

Anyone lose a business card holder? A citizen turned one in that was found near Whole Foods Market.