Recently in San Pedro Category

A man who shot and killed himself at a San Pedro park was reportedly sending e-mails to friends before he took his own life, the police said Tuesday.

The 44-year-old man shot himself around 7 a.m. on Monday inside a bunker at Angels Gate Park near 36th and Gaffey streets, according to Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the Coroner's Department.

A woman walking her dog found the deceased man, said Los Angeles police Lt. David McGill, a detective at the Harbor Division.

The man was identified, but his name is being withheld until his family is notified.

McGill said officers had looked for the man since early in the morning after people called and said they were getting e-mails from him in which he said he was going to commit suicide.

Rev. Robert W. Bowman, headmaster at CrossRoad Christian Academy in Gardena, was arrested yesterday at his San Pedro home. Staff writer Vu Nguyen has the story.

We have a follow in today's Daily Breeze about the stand-off Friday in San Pedro. You can read it here.

In our previous entry, posted while the whole thing was still unfolding, many residents left some interesting comments. Read: Man with gun barricades himself in San Pedro residence.

Dwight Mitchell Waters, 39, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two child molestation counts for having sex with a 13-year-old student in May 2008. He got six years and will have to register as a sex offender. Read all about it here.

Previously: San Pedro boxer accused of raping teen had fight of his life inside his head

This photo is taken from his MySpace page. He apparently went by the nickname Polar Bear.

Banes, 29, of San Pedro was shot and killed on Monday on 11th Street. Today's new article.

I received this today from Krystal Atchley, the daughter of San Pedro homicide suspect Rufus Atchley. He is suspected of killing Robert Justin Banes, 29, on 11th Street near Pacific Avenue on Monday, then fleeing to a house on 19th Street and triggering the daylong SWAT standoff.

Gabriel Martinez, 27, was convicted by a jury last week of one count of child cruelty by endangering health. The jury found him not guilty of two counts related to allegations he orally copulated a 16-year-old boy.

Today, the former Bandini Elementary School playground supervisor was sentenced to probation and ordered to stop drinking and to attend child abuse and alcohol counseling.

I'm working on a full story for tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

The investigation continues at Princess Cruises Coral Princess' final destination.

 

LONG BEACH - Charges were filed today against two Whittier men allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of a woman whose body was discovered late last month in San Pedro.

Deputy District Attorney Carrie Smith of Long Beach Branch Office said Michael Lee Bonfiglio, 31 (dob 6/12/77), and Raul Tiscareno, 26 (dob 9/20/82), are charged with one count each of murder, conspiracy to commit a crime and second-degree robbery. 

A Los Angeles Fire Department assistant chief and his family pleaded no contest Wednesday to charges stemming from a San Pedro hit-and-run and an ensuing cover-up.

Robert Franco, 53, and his wife, Gerri Franco, 49, each pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor conspiracy count and were sentenced to 36 months probation and 30 days of community service, according to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the City Attorney's office. Their son, Richard Franco, 20, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of hit-and-run. He also got 36 months probation and 30 days of community service for the state Department of Transportation, Mateljan said.

Richard Franco slammed his Toyota Tundra truck into two parked cars on 37th Street around 2 a.m. on Nov. 3. The truck flipped, and he immediately used his cellular telephone to call home, according to prosecutors. His parents arrived a few minutes later and Franco stayed while Mrs. Franco drove their son away. She soon returned and picked up her husband, and they left. However, they returned again minutes later and told responding emergency personnel that Mrs. Franco was behind the wheel.

The truth was learned from neighbors who witnessed the events, prosecutors said.

When charges were filed in May, a fire department spokesman said the department would not take any action against Franco until the criminal case was complete.