Crime & Safety

Police: South Pas Man Sets Trap, Catches Burglar Breaking In

Believing his home to have been burglarized several times recently, a resident acted like no one was home and waited for an intruder. Then he saw someone opening his window.

A South Pasadena resident who told authorities someone had been stealing alcohol from his house, set a trap for the would-be burglar Friday and allegedly caught the man breaking into his home. 

The resident hid inside his home and waited with a cell phone and camera when, just before 1 p.m., he heard a loud banging and watched a window being forced open from the outside, according to a press release from South Pasadena Police. 

"The opening of the casement style window parted the drapes and the resident saw the suspect standing directly outside the window. The resident quickly snapped a digital picture of the suspect and yelled, "Got you [expletive]!" the press release states.

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Police say the suspect fled the location on foot and the victim called the police. Officers searched the area and located a suspect matching the description and shown in the victim's photo in the 1700 block of Wayne Ave. After the victim positively identified the suspect as the one that broke into his home, police arrested Joshua Rivera, a 27, of South Pasadena on suspicion of residential burglary.

Rivera is being held at Pasadena City Jail on $50,000 bail. There was no property loss from the burglary, police said.

Find out what's happening in South Pasadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Generally, we do not recommend people confronting burglars because they are known to carry weapons," South Pasadena Police Sgt. Tony Abdalla said in a prepared statement. "But in this case, nobody was hurt and the burglar was caught. That's a happy ending in my book."


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