10/12/2009 10:20:00 PM
Police play cat & mouse:
Chino man faces multiple theft charges
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| John Travis Altman, 24, of Chino Valley |
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By Lisa Irish
The Daily Courier
Prescott police arrested a Chino Valley man on charges of theft of a motor vehicle and many other felonies Saturday afternoon after he drove his car into a yard on Pinon Drive.
Officers charged John Travis Altman, 24, of Chino Valley, with unlawful use of means of transportation, possession of stolen property, prohibited possession of a weapon, driving on a suspended license, criminal impersonation and endangerment and booked him into Camp Verde jail.
A Prescott police officer found Altman in the parking lot of Taylor Hicks Elementary School at 1:49 a.m. Saturday sitting in a white Toyota Corolla with its headlights on, said Lt. Clayton Heath of the Prescott Police Department special operations bureau. Altman told the officer he was waiting for a friend.
When the officer asked for his identification, Altman said his name was John Lake, but it took him a while to answer his date of birth, which made the officer suspicious. Altman then told the officer his real name and that he had a suspended driver's license.
While officers, checked the license plate, Altman drove away through the school's front lawn, Heath said. The officers followed Altman, but lost sight of him.
Soon afterward, officers found Altman's car stuck on a dirt mound in a side yard one foot from a home in the 1800 block of Pinon Drive.
"Altman ditched his car at Pinon then ran into the brush," Heath said.
Inside Altman's car, officers found a gun, a pry bar, baseball bat, an iPod and a digital camera. Officers didn't find Altman, but had the vehicle towed away.
A short time later, Altman's grandmother, who owned the car he had driven, called Chino Valley police to report her car missing. She told police Altman did not have permission to use her car.
Prescott police officers arrested Altman a few hours later, when his friends drove him back to Pinon Drive to pick up the car, Heath said.
Late Monday, Chino Valley police reported that during a search to Altman's grandmother's home officers found two laptop computers that matched the description of the seven laptops stolen from Chino Valley High School on Sept. 23. They since identified the computers as two of the seven stolen, said Cmdr. Mark Garcia of the Chino Valley Police Department.
During the investigation, officers learned that Altman's friend Samuel Boyles, 26, a custodian at Chino Valley High School, said he used his school keys so he and Altman could steal the computers.
Chino Valley Police booked Boyles into the county jail on charges stemming from his involvement in the burglary.
At the time these crimes occurred, Altman was out on bond from a prior attempted burglary at the Ace Hardware in Chino Valley. During that arrest, Altman kicked out the rear window of the patrol car, escaped and officers caught him a short time later.
Chino Valley police still are looking for the five other Dell laptop computers stolen from the high school, Garcia said.
Anyone with information should call the Chino Valley Police Department at (928) 636-4223 or Silent Witness 1-800-932-3232.
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Posted: Friday, November 13, 2009
Article comment by:
JD
They've gotten this guy quite a few times now. Why don't they just keep him in lock down so he can quit running the streets?
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Hey No Name, I am family and we are a spiritual bunch. Unfortunately, we have given him many, many ,many chances.
If he could get better on prayer alone...he would be a miracle convert.
Posted: Thursday, October 15, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Travis comes from a good family and is going through a tough time right now. Say what you want but we are praying for him!!!
Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Article comment by:
The Devil Guy
Holy Moly; they arrested Marilyn Manson in Chino!
Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
This person is absolutely the scum of the earth.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
The expression on his face will perfectly match the one his cellmate "Bubba" will give him in prison.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
C
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Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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No name provided
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Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Cane Man
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Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Drugs are badd
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Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Conservatives are cool cats
But we are taught not to judge someone by his appearance. There is a reason why people that look like this are outcasts. I bet this guy has tattoos, also.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
CHUD2
Resident: How are the Chino Valley police incompetent? They solved the burglary. What is incompetent about that? Could you please explain your comment a bit better?
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Always report suspicious activity...
I live in the Pinon Drive area, and at about 5:30 a.m. that morning, two males knocked on my front door. It was still dark out, so there was no way I was going to open the door. I spoke to them through an open window, and they asked for help in getting their car unstuck. While offering to call someone for them, they opened my outside screen door, at which time I loudly said "Hey!" They quickly took off. It did cross my mind to call 911 and report what happened. Now I wish I had. I guess the moral of this story would be to rely on your instincts and report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood. It concerns me to think of what might have happened if they had gone to my elderly neighbor woman's door. Excellent job by our law enforcement professionals in apprehending these individuals. In desperation, who knows what potentially could have happened.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Stupid is as stupid does.
JM85 You don't have to be on drugs to be stupid. Nowhere in this articl are durgs mentioned it is sad that a few criminal elements have ruined the drug culture for the rest of us.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
honkybrujo
Sounds like someone who could use a vacation at Hotel Florence at the Arizona State Prison.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
CVPD Fail.
"Lost sight of him" and "kicked out the rear window of the patrol car, escaped and officers caught him a short time later." Pravda? How incompetent are the CVPD, really? If a guy kicks out the back window of a patrol car, it's going to take him a minute to turn around in the confines of the backseat, while (hopefully) handcuffed, and jump out the window. How could the PD not notice that?
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
John Travis Altmas is a loser!!
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racist, vulgar, invasive of anotheršs privacy, illegal, constitutes hate
speech, or harms minors in any way. You may not post content that degrades
others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin,
religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification. Epithets
and other language intended to intimidate or to incite violence will not be
tolerated. Debate, but donšt attack. The Daily Courier encourages vibrant
discussions and welcomes active debate in its discussion forums. But
personal attacks are not tolerated, and are a direct violation of these
Terms of Use."
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
To Resident: First of all, wonderful effort of all police agencies involved. A PCT officer was doing his job and actually contacted the individual inside of his car while parked outside of an elementary school. The officer managed after being lied to, to acquire the subjects name and date of birth. Yes, the suspect fled because he was driving and knew he was suspended. However, he ran because ultimately he knew that he would be tied to burglary charges. I digress, local agencies have a no pursuit policy for misdemeanor charges for a MULTITUDE of reasons. At that time all the PCT officer had was misdemeanor charges. The next day, another savy PCT officer knew the subject would probably return to the vehicle. The subject did and was arrested. Here's the twist, if the PCT officer never does his job and contacts this individual, he never gets caught with stolen property and subsequently tied to a burglary charge, by the way from another school. Oh by the way those are felony charges. To conclude, excellent police work by both PCT PD and Chino Valley PD. It's obvious the incompetent person here is you. It's one thing to read an article, but to actually comprehend what you read and are to extrapolate important information, well that's something completely different. PCT and Chino PD. Thanks for what you do while others are sleeping and to resident, maybe you should reside somewhere else.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Thank you
Hey Resident. Read the story and try to understand. Somebody give you a ticket or arrest one of your kids. Look in the mirror before calling someone incompetent. Good job all the way around for both agencies. This would not have happened if this joker was still in jail instead of having been released for the first burglary.
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
The editor has removed this comment because it violates the Terms of Use
agreement for dCourier.com. The "Use of Service" portion states, "If you use
the Service, including the Messages Boards or Blogs, or submit essays,
e-mail messages or other information via www.courieraz.com or
www.prescottaz.com, you agree to abide by and be bound by the following:
1. You may not post, upload, or transmit any material or links to material
that is libelous, defamatory, false, misleading, obscene, indecent, lewd,
pornographic, violent, abusive, threatening, harassing, discriminatory,
racist, vulgar, invasive of anotheršs privacy, illegal, constitutes hate
speech, or harms minors in any way. You may not post content that degrades
others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin,
religion, sexual preference, disability or other classification. Epithets
and other language intended to intimidate or to incite violence will not be
tolerated. Debate, but donšt attack. The Daily Courier encourages vibrant
discussions and welcomes active debate in its discussion forums. But
personal attacks are not tolerated, and are a direct violation of these
Terms of Use."
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Marty Strika
Photo caption: "Oh-oh Say can you see..."
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Nice photo!
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
JM85
Why would you run from the police in a car that's connected to you or a family member?Even if he wasn't dumb enough to go back like he was it was only a matter of time before they found out who he was. This guy has to be on drugs to try to go back to a car he ditched in someone's yard. LOL
Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Resident
Is this a some kind of comedy script for SNL sketch or is the Chino Valley police so incompetent? Unbelievable.
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