Mold Remediation in Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Neighbors remain on edge as burglars dressed as gardeners are targeting homes in San Bernardino County.

On Dec. 5, surveillance video captured two masked men in a black SUV approaching a Rancho Cucamonga home on Stoneview Road at around 4:22 p.m.

“It looks like there’s someone who drives up from the front,” a neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, told KTLA. “My understanding is they also broke into the house from the inside [first.]”

The neighbor said the suspects were dressed as gardeners or maintenance workers.

“I believe they were monitoring the residence because of how quickly it happened, how familiar they were, how they were able to get in and out very quickly,” he said.

After parking in the driveway, the first suspect steps out and opens the car trunk. The second suspect opens the home’s garage door from the inside.

Both men quickly lift a large safe out of the garage and into the trunk of their SUV.

“It’s a black Mazda,” the neighbor said of the getaway car. “I can’t say that I’ve seen it before.”

Edgar Sumpter, a man who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 16 years, said there have been a handful of burglaries over the past few years.

It’s unclear whether the previous break-ins involved the same suspects. Residents in the area said they did not recognize the two men.

After hearing the news, concerned neighbors said they plan to remain vigilant.

“One of the main reasons why I want to bring attention to this is because I fear that they could strike again or commit other similar types of crimes,” the unidentified neighbor said.

“I will keep an eye out a little more closely because now that they’ve tried one house, they’ll probably try another one,” Sumpter said.

Anyone with information on the incident can call the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department at 909-884-0156.

The plot thickens in the case of a missing jackpot-winning lottery ticket that expired over the weekend.

A man who won one of two Mega Millions jackpots from the same drawing, both sold at the same store, claims he actually purchased both winning tickets but lost the other. Now he’s suing the California Lottery in hopes of keeping the entire pot.

Faramarz Lahijani came forward in June to claim the winnings from one of two winning lottery tickets sold at the same gas station in Encino in December 2023.

He was awarded $197 million for presenting one of the winning tickets. But now, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Lahijani is claiming he’s the rightful owner of both winning tickets.

He says he purchased both tickets but lost one of them and was unable to track it down before it expired over the weekend. He submitted a claim for the second ticket on Dec. 4, three days before the expiration date.

The winning numbers from the Dec. 8, 2023, drawing were 21, 26, 53, 66, 70, and Mega Ball 13. Lahijani claims his children picked the numbers, which he’s used for decades.

At the time, California Lottery officials couldn’t say if the unprecedented lottery result was a coincidence but said it was only possible for the tickets with matching numbers to be purchased in separate transactions.

The breach of contract suit seeks the remaining $197 million that comprised the rest of the overall jackpot from the December 2023 drawing, alleging that there is sufficient evidence to prove Lahijani was the purchaser of both winning tickets.

Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery, released a statement to KTLA that reads, “It would not be appropriate for the California Lottery to comment on an active lawsuit or any pending litigation to protect the integrity of the process involved.”

In the event that the lawsuit is bogus and the rightful winner of the second jackpot is someone other than Lahijani, the deadline to claim the prize in person passed on Saturday.

But that’s not the only way a lotto winner can claim their prize.

Jackpot winners, who remain unknown to lottery officials until they come forward, can also mail in the winning ticket and required paperwork, as long as it is postmarked before the claim deadline.

Then it’s a waiting game.

It could take days for the winning ticket to arrive at the California Lottery headquarters in Sacramento depending on mailing method—the California Lottery recommends certified mail.

And even then, the Lottery processes more than 10,000 claims per month, so it could be several weeks before the mail is even sorted and opened.

If the winner ended up letting the ticket expire and forfeiting the reward, or if Lahijani’s suit is dismissed, the prize money will be allocated to public education in California, in accordance with state lottery regulations.

In the 2023-24 fiscal year, proceeds from California Lottery games contributed over $2 billion to public education in the state.