Staff Reports 

Photo Courtesy: Chino Hills Police Department

Chino Hills– The Chino Hills Police Department has been investigating several vehicle burglaries near Los Serranos Country Club in the month of June. From one of the burglaries, video surveillance was obtained and a local resident was arrested.

On June 30, a Chino Hills resident, Manuel Hernandez, 21 years-old, was recognized by deputies after viewing the video footage. After a search was conducted, deputies located and apprehended Hernandez at a residence in Chino Hills. At the residence, property belonging to the victims was located and seized.

If anyone has additional information regarding this investigation, or additional crimes, please contact Detective Rosa at the Chino Hills Police/Sheriff’s Station, Case # 221602169. You may call them at (909) 364-2000. Or if you choose to remain anonymous, call WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME. You may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.

The following list consists of some tips to prevent vehicle burglary, courtesy of the Yucaipa Police Department.

Even with today’s busy schedules, we need to stay diligent when it comes to preventing car related crimes.  Auto theft is almost always classified as a crime of opportunity.  As such, we need to practice good preventative measures in order to eliminate this opportunity and make our cars less desirable to criminals.

• Always lock your doors, even when you plan on only being gone from your vehicle briefly.  It is not uncommon for thieves to walk down a row of parked vehicles checking the doors to see who has left their vehicle unlocked.  Do not leave any windows open including vent/wing windows or sunroofs.
• If you have an alarm on your vehicle, use it!  It is an effective deterrent to an auto-burglar who often chooses the easiest targets.
• Do not leave valuables in your vehicle.  Although that sounds like “common sense”, most of the reports that we take happen when the driver or passenger has done just that.  Your car is an automatic target when doing so.
• When you are out and about, please leave items out of sight before reaching your destination or move them inconspicuously.
• Do not leave any sign that there may be valuables hidden in your vehicle, such as docking stations or connector cables.  Covered up items that are left on the floorboard are an invitation for a criminal.  Not doing this may prevent you from having to spend money on broken windows.
• Park in busy, well lit areas whenever possible.  Well traveled areas with plenty of vehicle and pedestrian movement are less likely to invite criminal activity.
• As a last line of defense and to aid in the recovery process, mark your valuables.  Engrave them with a “personal identifier” that is something other than your social security number or drivers license.
• Report suspicious persons seen wandering around in parking lots or neighborhoods that are looking into vehicles.  Don’t hesitate to call 911 if you sense there is a theft that is about to occur.