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Police Bulletin

Scammer bilks woman out of nearly $2,000

A con artist claiming to be the victim's grandson swindled a woman out of $1,900 last week, police reports said.

The man said he was calling from Colombia, South America, and, posing as the victim's grandson, said he'd been in an accident that had broken his nose, damaged a vehicle and sent a friend to the hospital. The woman, who lives in the 1000 block of Via di Salerno, wired the $1,900 in her grandson's name via Western Union. The incident took place between 10:20 a.m. June 7 and 2 p.m. June 8, but was reported June 9.

A wire transfer can be picked up anywhere with a code word arranged in advance between the sender and recipient. Police have been warning about a scam that targets the elderly with claims of relatives hospitalized or in emergency situations who need cash immediately.

In other police reports:

* No one was injured when a trash can was set on fire June 10 near Zorn's Restaurant in the 3000 block of Hopyard Road. Two witnesses reported a barely coherent homeless man told them of a fire in the parking lot. They were then told by juveniles that the man was near the can just before the fire started. The man was not identified.

* Three sets of tires were slashed overnight June 7. Three vehicles parked at Stoneridge Mall apartments in the 6200 block of Stoneridge Mall Road reported tires slashed, between 9:50 and 10:30 a.m. June 8. It's at least the fourth set of slashed tires in the last few months; several juveniles were arrested in one of the earlier cases.

* Brandon Troy Stanberry, 20, of Dublin was arrested at about 11 p.m. June 7 for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Stanberry was taken into custody at 10:25 p.m. in the 3700 block of Hopyard Road after an officer recognized him at 7-Eleven. A search turned up six painkiller pills and $17 cash.

* Rebecca Kathleen Anderson, 44, of Pleasanton was arrested at 8:37 p.m. June 6 on a Pleasanton felony warrant in an elder abuse case involving the theft of about $491.

* Roxanna Kay Eberhard, 41, of Pleasanton arrested at about 3:45 a.m. June 7 for identity theft. Mail in another person's name was found on the passenger seat of her car after a traffic stop at the intersection of Black Avenue and Santa Rita Road at 3:03 a.m.

* Michael Robert Ornelas, 20, of Pleasanton was arrested June 12 in the 1000 block of Stoneridge Mall Road at about 3:49 p.m. for auto theft and petty theft. Police say he took a car that had been owned by his family, removed a $300 stereo and returned the car to where it was parked.

* A residential burglary took place in the 4400 block of Holland Drive, but it's unknown at this time exactly what was stolen. The door to the laundry room at the rear of the home was pried open, as was a walk-in closet of the bedroom of the home, which had been dead-bolted. A list is being compiled; the report was filed at 8:42 p.m. June 10.

Under the law, those arrested are considered innocent until convicted.