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Meatball-Loving Bear Makes Frequent Return Trips To La Crescenta Neighborhood

LA CRESCENTA (CBS) — He's back and he's still hungry.

Residents of La Crescenta are again on alert after several late night visits from a big black bear. You remember the bear. He loves Costco meatballs.

Joey Ball woke up early one night last month after hearing noises in his garage. He was startled at 3 a.m. to find a huge black bear casually munching on a bag of Costco meatballs out of his garage refrigerator.

Ball says, "He had the bag and he had food all over his face and I remember seeing them in his hand. That's when I slammed the door really quick."

After police scared the bear off, he apparently came back for another nibble. The next morning, Ball found fresh evidence the bear returned. "There were these wet paw prints from where he was pushing on the door trying to get back in."

Residents have been on bear watch ever since.

The next night, the bear returned to a neighbor's orange tree and made himself at home.

Officials with California Fish & Game believe the bear came down from the Verdugo mountains.

The bear has returned so often to this one neighborhood, they've even given him a nickname, Glen Bearian. And, of course, GB also has a twitter account.

This past Tuesday Bearian tweeted, "Please don't be afraid of me. I won't eat you ... unless you're a meatball from Costco."

All jokes and kidding aside, police and many residents believe the real bear is getting too brazen and too close for comfort.

Ball, for one. His home has been the most visited. This past Thursday, Glen Bearian decided to camp out in his backyard and take a nap. After a doze, the bear tried to get back into Ball's garage yet again. "It's getting a little out of control," an annoyed Ball told CBS2 and KCAL9 reporter Rachel Kim.

"I had a golf club and a pan, and I was banging them like they told us to. [To frighten the bear away.] But he wasn't having it," says Ball, "I even shined the flashlight in his face and he kept eating."

Police shot the bear with bean bags, several times, before he decided to run off.

Authorities are asking residents to not leave food out and to lock garbage cans. They also advise putting bleach on discarded food items to discourage the bear's sense of smell.

RELATED LINK: Black Bear Roaming For Food In Foothills Of Glendale, La Crescenta

RELATED LINK: La Crescenta Residents On The Lookout For Meatball-Munching Bear

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