Police calls: Grand piano missing from Atherton home

This information is from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and the Menlo Park and Atherton police departments. Under the law, people charged with offenses are considered innocent unless convicted.

ATHERTON

Residential burglary reports:

■ A resident of Howard Way told police that, months ago, someone stole a Young Chang baby grand piano from inside the house, a loss of about $10,000, Nov. 8.

■ Two air compressors are missing from a construction site on Bay Road. The break-in included cutting through a latch on a utility trailer as well as entering the house through an unlocked door, Nov. 9.

Theft report: An Apple MacBook Pro valued at $1,700 has gone missing from a backpack sitting in the theater dressing room at Sacred Heart Schools at 150 Valparaiso Ave., Nov. 10.

PORTOLA VALLEY

Auto burglary report: A woman returned to her parked and locked vehicle at the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve parking lot to find the window smashed and her purse and other property missing for a loss estimated at $3,361, Nov. 5.

Controlled-substance paraphernalia report: Deputies approaching the intersection of Westridge Drive and Cervantes Road encountered a man dressed in black and claiming to be a caregiver for a nearby residence. Seeing a methamphetamine pipe on the ground, deputies asked the man about it and he admitted that it was his. He explained by saying that he needed meth to “keep him going” at several jobs, said deputies, who issued him a notice to appear in court, Nov. 10.

Fraud report: A person claiming to represent Medicare called a resident on Veterans Day asking for her bank account information, which she provided, then realized that it was a federal holiday. She informed deputies in anticipation of fraud perpetrated on her account, Nov. 11.

WEST MENLO PARK

Residential burglary report: With losses estimated at $1,600, two residents of a Valparaiso Avenue home reported a smashed glass door at the rear of the house and two laptop computers and several pieces of jewelry missing. The residents found the entire home had been ransacked, including closets rummaged through and drawers left open, Nov. 11.

LADERA

General information report: A resident of Siesta Court reported several pieces of jewelry with a total value of $12,000 are missing from the family safe, Nov. 12.

WOODSIDE

Theft report: A Woodside High School student, responding to the bell starting class, left her cell phone on the other side of the room from her seat. At the end of the class when she went over to retrieve her phone, it was gone, Nov. 8.

MENLO PARK

Auto burglary reports:

■ Someone stole two laptop computers, a cell phone, a car key and reading glasses after smashing a window on a locked vehicle parked on Crane Street. The loss is said to be about $4,470, Nov. 14.

■ A purse with an estimated value of $590, including its contents of a wallet, keys and a checkbook, is missing from a locked vehicle parked on Garwood Way and with no obvious signs of a break-in, Nov. 12.

■ A trailer parked in a driveway on University Drive was found with a dent, a door pried open and a $200 mattress missing, Nov. 13.

■ Someone attempted to steal $13 worth of copper wire from a vehicle parked on University Drive, Nov. 5.

Theft reports:

■ Binoculars with an estimated value of $2,500 are missing from a business on El Camino Real, Nov. 07.

■ A $1,200 laptop computer has gone missing from Abbott Vascular Inc. on Campbell Avenue, Nov. 14.

■ A man on a bicycle stole shoes and an Apple iPhone that were lying unattended on the ground in the 200 block of Bay Road. The owner of the stolen items estimated the loss at $700, Nov. 11.

■ Thieves stole seven bicycles, locked and unlocked, in seven incidents for total losses of $1,900. The bikes had been on Willow Road, Santa Cruz and Ravenswood avenues, San Antonio Street and Pope Street, Nov. 1-14.

■ A man left his wallet with $450 in it on a counter in a Willow Road market and returned to find it missing, Nov. 3.

■ A woman stole a pair of underwear from a table in Ella Lingerie on Chestnut Street, Nov. 14.

Fraud reports:

■ A resident of Santa Margarita Avenue told police that an unauthorized person used the resident’s bank account to pay off a $2,194 credit card debt, Nov. 8.

■ A resident of Pierce Road reported suspicious activity in her checking account, specifically an unexplained deposit of $4,000 and a withdrawal of $836, Nov. 4.

■ A business owner in the 200 block of El Camino Real mailed $1,000 in prepaid debit cards, as instructed, after being threatened with a power shut-off by someone claiming to be from Pacific Gas & Electric Corp., Nov. 5.

Stolen vehicle report: A white 1995 Mercury Villager from Windermere Avenue, Nov. 13.

By Dave Boyce

By Dave Boyce

By Dave Boyce