Update posted 8/20/13 – I just spoke with the officer that was the watch commander yesterday, and as it turns out, Sgt. Joe Ortiz was also the officer that first noticed the suspect. He told me that the house at which the attempted burglary took place was the same house on Lima that had been burglarized on Aug. 12th. He said that the suspect fled to the west as he (Ortiz) came in from Lima, and that although they set up containment, the subject managed to elude them. Since the burglary on the 12th was reported after the fact, they do not know if it was the same person involved in both incidents.
Posted 8/19/13 – At about 2pm this afternoon, the City posted on its Facebook page that an investigation was underway and police were searching for a suspect in the 100 block of Lima. The Foothill Air Support Team (FAST) was assisting in the search. An officer on patrol had interrupted the suspect as he attempted to enter a home through a side window. Nothing was taken from the home, and there were no reports of damage to the property, either.
However, SMPD, with assistance from the Monrovia Police Dept., conducted a yard to yard search of the neighborhood. During the course of the search, a blond female wearing blue shorts jumped a fence and ran on to Grove St. SMPD says at this point that it does not appear she was involved in the incident.
The male suspect originally interrupted by the SMPD officer was not located. Residents are reminded to keep their doors locked and their eyes and ears open. According to the PD, several homes were found to have their back doors unlocked during their yard to yard search