Police Arrest Altadena Man on Suspicion of San Marino Home Burglary

An 18-year-old Altadena man was arrested in connection with a San Marino home burglary Friday.

A resident on Avondale Road called San Marino Police at around 10:49 a.m. Friday to report that her home had just been burglarized, according to a San Marino Police Department statement.

Two male suspects were seen leaving the home in a black Chevrolet HHR, and a witness gave police officers the license plate number of the car.

San Marino Police determined the suspects’ car was rented to a Pasadena resident, and when SMPD contacted the resident, he told them he loaned the car to Adrian Rodriguez, 18, of Altadena.

Officers contacted Rodriguez by phone, and Rodriguez said he was near Lincoln Avenue and Woodbury Road in Altadena.

Around the same time, a witness reported a man hiding computer equipment in the bushes in the same Altadena neighborhood. The witness identified Rodriguez as the man and the equipment was verified as being stolen from the Avondale Road home in San Marino, police said.

Rodriguez was arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property. A second suspect is still at large.

“The bulk of it was computer equipment,” said San Marino Police Chief John Schaefer. “There is still some property outstanding, I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it is computer-related equipment and he had none of the property on him.”

A Pasadena Police Department helicopter also responded to the scene Friday and found the black Chevrolet HHR driving on Lincoln Avenue.

“Cops stop that car, and it has a female driver [and] no stolen property in it, so they can’t connect that to the burglary,” said Schaefer.

While the SMPD has discussed any possible connection between this burglary and other recent San Marino burglaries, , Schaefer said the SMPD currently has no proof to link Rodriguez to another burglary.

“But the investigation is ongoing, so if we should be fortunate enough to get some identification via some fingerprints or DNA or some other mechanism, that’s a possibility, but right now I don’t have enough to link him to another burglary,” said Schaefer.

One recent San Marino burglary caught on surveillance showed the suspects’ car as a white Chevrolet truck, and another showed a silver Jetta. The Chevrolet HHR rental car Rodriguez drove has not been connected to those crimes.

The investigation of this crime is ongoing. Anyone with additional information should contact the San Marino Police Department, (626) 300-0720. Refer to case number CR 11-0345.