As the search for missing Orange County teen Bryce Laspisa enters its third week, deputies continue to investigate the circumstances as well as crime across our valley, including several arrests.

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A Saugus man nicknamed the “Valentine’s Day Scammer” was arrested on grand theft and burglary charges Monday. He is charged with scamming women, similar to crimes for which he had already been sentenced to year in jail.

A pair of armed robberies within a week of each other at gas stations three miles apart, has left deputies searching for three suspects and wondering if the two crimes are related. The most recent occurrence was Wednesday. In both cases, the suspects walked into the store wearing ski masks and demanded money from the cash register.

The father of Bryce Laspisa was victimized by burglars Tuesday. His car was broken into while he was searching for his son, who has been missing since Aug. 30. Two suspects have been arrested and are being held in lieu of bail.

The burned body found in Castaic last week was identified on Wednesday as a murder victim who lived in South Los Angeles, unrelated to both the body found in Gorman and the Laspisa case. Three suspects were arrested in connection with the murder.

Another DUI Checkpoint is scheduled for Friday night, between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies will check drivers for signs of impairment at an undisclosed location.

Court appearances for several local suspects this week resulted in plea deals and sentencing in some cases.

Sherman Cox, 24, of Newhall pleaded no contest to burglary and drug possession charges Monday, and is expected to receive a 32-month sentence for breaking into a vehicle in June.

The bank robbers who garnered attention by robbing a bank in Santa Clarita in December and leading deputies on a chase to downtown Los Angeles where they began throwing money out of their car, will finally begin their trial this month.

Omar Chaparro, 19, of Canyon Country was sentenced to two years in state prison Tuesday. He is convicted of assault with a deadly weapon after a stabbing incident in July.

Epifanio Nevarez, 58, of Canyon Country, pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges that he committed lewd and lascivious acts with a 13-year-old student in his Canyon Country home. He was sentenced to six years in state prison.

Last week’s crimes and arrests are highlighted in the station’s weekly Nixle reports. Nixle reports provide a snapshot of crime, as well as notify citizens of any local crime trends. Click here to sign up.

Below are reports from different Sheriff zone’s throughout the SCV. KHTS lists the zones in alphabetical order as they are made available.

Here’s a summary of incidents that took place in the last week in Santa Clarita.

New private funding has recently allowed for deputies to prepare a crime report for the Stevenson Ranch/Westridge area. Crime reports for this community have not been available for a number of months.

If you would like to view recent crime statistics for areas not listed, the data is available at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station website, which has a crime-mapping resource.

Canyon Country east

Last week, the following Part 1 crimes occurred in Canyon Country East:

(1) Attempted Burglary, (5) Residential Burglaries, (2) Grand Theft Autos, (1) Arson:

Santa Clarita detectives arrested a male in Lancaster, who was involved in several residential burglaries. During the arrest and subsequent search warrant at the suspect’s home, several stolen items from the Canyon Country area were recovered. Contact Detective Darland if you have any information regarding the burglaries.

Even though there was an arrest for burglary in Canyon Country, we still had 5 residential burglaries. In some instances, the suspect entered the victim’s homes by kicking in the front door or by shattering the back sliding glass door. In all the incidents the victims were not home and they occurred during daytime hours. A variety of items were stolen such as jewelry and electronics.

A 2004 Infiniti G35 was stolen from a driveway near the 17000 block of Sweetgum Ln. A 2005 Honda Accord was stolen from a driveway near the 17000 block of Silverstream Dr.

A small brush fire started behind a home near 29000 block of Florabunda Rd. The fire was suspicious and was determined to be arson by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. If you have any information please contact Sheriff’s Arson detectives.

Canyon Country west

This past week in Zone 7, the following Part-1 Crimes occurred:

(1) Rape, (2) Robberies, (1) Residential Burglary, (3) Commercial Burglaries, (1) Shoplift, (2) Grand Theft, (6) Petty Thefts and (1) GTA.

An incident of rape was reported on the bike path near Discovery Park. A suspect was arrested shortly after the incident. The case is currently under investigation by LASD Special Victims Bureau.

A strong arm robbery occurred near the 18600 block of Via Princessa. A male suspect exited a vehicle and took the victim’s purse from a shopping cart. After a short struggle, the suspect was able to gain control of the purse and fled in an awaiting vehicle.

On Wednesday, Sept. 11, two suspects were arrested in connection with the robbery. The case is being investigated by Santa Clarita Station Detectives.

A residential burglary occurred near the 27600 block of Ennismore Avenue. The victim arrived home and noticed a vehicle, with an unknown male sitting in the driver’s seat, parked in front of her residence. As the victim entered her residence through the garage, she heard her front door slam and the vehicle speed away. Upon further inspection of her residence, she noticed her laptop was missing.

A commercial burglary occurred near the 26300 block of Friendly Valley Parkway. An unknown suspect shattered the front glass entry door with an unknown object and entered the location, taking several hundreds of dollars from the cash register.

Two male suspects were arrested for a shoplift/burglary near the 26400 block of Carl Boyer Drive. The suspects were detained by loss prevention personnel after exiting the store, failing to pay for items they concealed in a backpack. The suspects were subsequently arrested by responding deputies.

Two incidents of grand theft occurred near the 26400 block of Centre Pointe Parkway. Unknown suspects took two back flow valves from nearby businesses.

A GTA occurred near the 26500 block of Golden Bush Way. A 2001 Volvo was taken from the carport of the residence. The vehicle was unlocked and the keys were left on the floorboard.

Newhall

Overall crimes reported in the Newhall area saw a slight increase during the week, but year to date reported crimes still remain lower than the previous year.

Between Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1 a power saw and a power washer were stolen from a backyard storage shed in the Polynesian mobile home park, 23450 Newhall Ave (ref 12274).

During the early morning hours of Saturday, Aug. 31 a red “Schwinn” bicycle was stolen from the garage of an apartment in the 21300 block of Alder Drive. The victim had opened the garage earlier that evening to allow ventilation and forgot to close it when he went to bed (ref 12193). Unfortunately open and unattended garages can be tempting to opportunists. If it seems your neighbor has accidentally left his garage open, be a good neighbor and let them know or report it to Santa Clarita Sheriff’s station (661)255-1121 and we will check it out.

On Monday, Sept. 2 around 6:30 p.m., a fight and a related vandalism were reported in the 24200 block of Race Street. The incident is possibly gang related and is being investigated by Santa Clarita station COBRA Detectives (ref 12128).

On Thursday, Sept. 5 around 5:00 p.m., a customer’s wallet was stolen from a business in the 24800 block of Orchard Village Road. The victim left her wallet and other personal belongings on a table while she used the restroom. Later when she returned home, she realized the wallet was missing (ref 12267). It is all of our responsibility to be vigilant with the security of our personal belongings. It only takes a second for an item to be taken while it is left unattended and often can take hours or days dealing with reporting and replacing stolen items.

On Friday, Sept. 6 at 10:40 p.m., two masked suspects robbed the “Lyon’s Classic Oil” located at 23950 Lyons Avenue. The suspects fled the location south onto Atwood Blvd to a waiting dark colored vehicle. The incident is being investigated by station detectives. If you have information which may assist in the investigation, contact Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and reference report number 12308.

Sometime between Saturday, Aug. 31 and Saturday, Sept. 7 a vacant apartment was broken into in the 23700 block of Valle Del Oro. A sliding glass door was shattered and folding window shades were stolen (ref 12327).

On Sunday, Sept. 8 around 9:00 p.m., personal items were stolen from a patio table of an apartment in the 21300 block of Bottletree Lane. The victim left the items unattended for approximately 15 minutes. He believes the suspect stepped over the short patio wall and made off with the items while he was away (ref 12387).

Stevenson Ranch/Westridge

There were four part one crimes in the zone this week, three petty thefts and one spousal assault.

A petty theft was reported from “Marshalls” on The Old Road. The “Marshalls” loss prevention officer reported that two males stole two purses from the location. The purses were recovered; however the suspects fled the area in a vehicle (ref -12254).

Two petty thefts were reported from Six Flags Magic Mountain. One victim stated she took her purse on a ride. When she left the ride, she forgot her purse. After she realized she had forgotten her purse, she returned to the ride. Her purse had been turned in to the employee working the ride, but her cell phone had been stolen from the purse (ref -12260). In the other crime, two victims reported they placed their cell phones in a purse, and left the purse in a cubby hole close to a ride. Six Flags Magic Mountain does provide secure lockers but not all patrons choose to use them. When the victim’s returned they discovered their cell phones had been stolen from the purse (ref -12125).

A spousal assault was reported in the 26100 block of Forster Way in Stevenson Ranch. The victim alleged that her husband assaulted her during a domestic dispute. The investigation is ongoing (ref -12171).

Multiple arrests were made over the last week. There were arrests for assault, narcotics, burglary, and DUI’s by both Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s deputies, and officers from the California Highway Patrol.

Valencia

There were twenty Part-1 Crimes reported during the past week. The criminal incidents included an attempt robbery, an assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft auto, and a theft from an unlocked vehicle.

An attempted robbery occurred at a public restroom during the hours of 2:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m., Monday afternoon. The victim was confronted by a male suspect while using the bathroom stall. The suspect told the victim to hand over his cell phone. When the victim refused, the suspect became upset and began yelling at the victim. The victim was able to leave the restroom and call the Sheriff’s Station. The victim was not injured and a suspect was arrested in connection with this incident.

An assault with a deadly weapon occurred between Carrizo Drive and Arroyo Park Drive at 10:30 p.m., Thursday. The victim was riding his bicycle when he was confronted by the suspect. An exchange of words occurred between the two individuals, resulting in the suspect hitting the victim in the head with a bottle. The victim was treated for his injury. No suspect(s) have been identified in this incident and the investigation is ongoing.

A grand theft auto occurred in the 23000 block of Magic Mountain Parkway at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The vehicle, a 2003 BMW, was stolen from the parking structure of the apartment complex. No suspect(s) have been identified at this time.

A theft from an unlocked vehicle occurred at a local gym parking lot between the hours of 4:00 p.m.–7:30 a.m. The vehicle was parked in an underground parking structure. The items stolen were a laptop, a video recorder and phone charge, all which were left in plain view on the passenger’s front seat.

Do not become a victim. Do not leave valuables unattended or visible in your vehicles. Secure items in locked trunks or take personal belongings with you when you exit your vehicle. If possible, park in well-lit areas.

There were eleven arrests made by proactive Santa Clarita deputies assigned to the Valencia area last week. Arrests included robbery, driving under the influence of alcohol, receiving stolen property, and warrants.

If you have any information regarding the above mentioned crimes or see any suspicious activity, call the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at 661-255-1121.

Or if you wish to remain anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or by clicking here.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

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