Sunshine draws shady characters

Oct. 25, 1905: Pasadena police picked up a man after complaints that he had been begging door to door. Earlier in the week, they were called to a plumbing business where someone had tried to break into a safe by drilling holes in it. In a story headlined “Crooks Make Presence Felt,” the Times reported an alarming trend.

“The army of crooks that each year is flocking in increasing numbers to Southern California is making its presence known in Pasadena by the unusual number of suspicious characters noticed about the streets, and incidentally an almost nightly burglary or other form of offense,” the newspaper said.

As for the man accused of begging, The Times said:

“To the housewives, the fellow is alleged to have claimed that he was sick and unable to work, while he appears to be as sound as a bell. The police think he may have been only maneuvering to enter Orange Grove Avenue homes.”