December 2009 Archives

RIVERSIDE -- Prosecutors charged a pastor this morning with four felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly selling narcotics out of his Home Gardens church and possessing a stolen pistol.

Anthony Garduno, 51, pastor of Our Lady of Tepeyac, pleaded not guilty to the charges this afternoon in Riverside Superior Court.

A judge set bail for Garduno at $250,000 after denying a request for reduced bail from Garduno's court-appointed attorney, according to online court records.

Garduno, a self-identified bishop in a small offshoot of the Roman Catholic church, was arrested Tuesday after Riverside County sheriff's investigators searched his Magnolia Avenue church and found methamphetamines, a stolen pistol, and evidence of possible sexual crimes against children.

Last week a former parishioner told sheriff's investigators that Garduno sexually assaulted him about four years ago, when the man was 17.

Investigators obtained a warrant to search Garduno's church after presenting the man's accusations to a judge.

When investigators searched the church, they found pills believed to be the date-rape drug GHB, which was possibly used by Garduno in sexual assaults, a sheriff's sergeant said Wednesday.

Tests must be performed on the pills before they can be confirmed as GHB, the sheriff's sergeant said.

Sheriff's investigators have urged potential sexual assault victims of Garduno to contact them at 951-955-2600.

Garduno was formerly a Roman Catholic priest, but he left the church about a decade ago following allegations that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a male parishioner, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino said in September.

"I believe it was for inappropriate contact with a parishioner, or an attempt to do so," said spokesman John Andrews. "It was an adult, somebody I think in a marriage-preparation class."

Garduno said in an interview last month that in addition to overseeing his Home Gardens church, his duties as a bishop include oversight of a church in Ontario that has its own pastor.

On Sept. 15, Garduno was shot several times during an attempted robbery at his church. Garduno said last month that he still had a bullet lodged in his right arm from the incident.

The five men allegedly responsible for the robbery are also accused of holding up five divers the day of the shooting.

Investigators initially believed Garduno's church was randomly targeted because of its proximity to a diner, said sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez.

But in light of Garduno's new drug charges investigators are reassessing their original theory, and are examining whether the robbers were targeting the church for drugs and cash, Gutierrez said.

"Where there is drugs there's usually cash," Gutierrez said.

The five alleged robbers are set to stand trial in Riverside Superior Court on Monday for the attempted murder of Garduno and several additional felonies.

The defendants include Pomona residents Timothy Jacquemain, 18, Jacob Bushow, 19, and Andrew Swindle, 23, Chino resident Anthony Coleman, 21, and Perris resident Willis Bagley, 38.

Five robbery defendants (L-R): Pomona residents Timothy Jacquemain, 18, Jacob Bushow, 19, and Andrew Swindle, 23, Chino resident Anthony Coleman, 21, Perris resident Willis Bagley, 38.

View 9/15/09 crime spree pastor shooting in a larger map

RIVERSIDE -- A pastor pleaded not guilty this afternoon in Riverside Superior Court to criminal charges for allegedly selling drugs and possessing a stolen pistol.

Anthony Garduno, 51, pastor of Our Lady of Tepeyac, was charged by prosecutors this morning with four felonies and a misdemeanor.

Garduno was in custody during this afternoon's hearing, and a judge set his bail at $250,000 after denying a motion from Garduno's attorney for reduced bail.

A Riverside County pastor was charged this morning with four felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly selling narcotics out of his Home Gardens church and possessing a stolen pistol.

Anthony Garduno, 51, is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges this afternoon at 1:30 in Riverside Superior Court. Read yesterday's post for additional information on Garduno's case.

A man suspected in a failed hand-off of Mexican immigrants that left a 12-year-old boy dead is asking a judge to lower his bail.

Pedro Escobedo is scheduled for a bail hearing Monday in San Bernardino Superior Court. He is currently being held on $5,000,000 bail, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Prosecutors say they believe Escobedo, 46, was part of a smuggling ring and the driver of a white Ford Explorer who motioned toward a small group of men in a restaurant parking lot in the Cajon Pass in December 2006. Something went wrong, and a Nissan Maxima sped out of the lot followed by the Explorer, witnesses told authorities

The boy, Gabriel Garcia, was in the passenger seat of the Maxima, as the two vehicles sped southbound on the 15 Freeway in a 45-mile car chase. Witnesses say gunshots were fired from the Explorer.

A Redlands woman who is accused of killing of teenage mother in 1994 will get to hear some of the evidence against her at a hearing Thursday.

A preliminary hearing is set for 52-year-old Seferina Marquez Ponce in San Bernardino Superior Court, according to court records. Lawyers in the case announced their readiness for the hearing at a court appearance Monday.

Redlands police arrested Ponce in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Sarah Hernandez Reyes, who lived on the Ponce's property and whose family reported her missing Oct. 4, 1994. She was charged with one count of murder.

A Riverside County pastor who was shot during a recent robbery at his church has been arrested for allegedly selling drugs and keeping a stolen pistol.

Anthony Garduno, 51, was arrested Tuesday morning at his Home Gardens church by Riverside County sheriff's investigators after a search of Garduno's church turned up evidence that he was selling methamphetamine there, according to a sheriff's news release.

Sheriff's investigators also found evidence that Garduno, who lived at the church, may have committed sexual assaults there, according to the news release.

Garduno was booked on suspicion of drug sales and possession of stolen property, and remains jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, according to booking records.

About three months ago, Garduno was shot several times during an attempted robbery at his church, Our Lady of Tepeyac at 13462 Magnolia Ave.

Investigators initially believed that Garduno was randomly targeted by five men who allegedly went on a crime spree on Sept. 15, said Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez.

Besides shooting Garduno, the men are accused of holding up five diners in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. They are set to stand trial in Riverside next week for attempted murder and other felonies.

Garduno's church is near a diner, and investigators believed the church robbery "was a crime of opportunity" because of its proximity to the diner, Gutierrez said.

But when criminal allegations surfaced against Garduno, sheriff's investigators began examining the theory that the men targeted Garduno's church to take drugs and cash, Gutierrez said.

"Where there is drugs there's usually cash," Gutierrez said.

Sheriff's investigators obtained a warrant to search Garduno's church after a man contacted authorities Dec. 21 and accused Garduno of sexually assaulting him about four years ago, when the alleged victim was 17, Gutierrez said.

Investigators searched the church Tuesday, and found evidence indicating Garduno may have had additional victims, Gutierrez said.

Among the evidence recovered by authorities were drugs believed to be GHB, a common date-rape drug, Gutierrez said. Investigators must perform tests on the drugs before they can be confirmed as GHB, Gutierrez said.

Investigators believe Garduno may have used the reputed date-rape drug in the course of sexual assaults, Gutierrez said.

Garduno is a pastor in an obscure offshoot of the Roman Catholic church.

He identifies himself as a bishop, and he said in an interview this month that in addition to running his Home Gardens church, he oversees a church in Ontario that has its own pastor.

Garduno was a Roman Catholic priest, but he left the church about a decade ago following allegations that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a male parishioner, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino said in September.

"I believe it was for inappropriate contact with a parishioner, or an attempt to do so," said spokesman John Andrews. "It was an adult, somebody I think in a marriage-preparation class."

Sheriff's investigators have urged Garduno's other alleged sexual assault victims to contact them at 951-955-2600.

Five robbery defendants (L-R): Pomona residents Timothy Jacquemain, 18, Jacob Bushow, 19, and Andrew Swindle, 23, Chino resident Anthony Coleman, 21, Perris resident Willis Bagley, 38.

View 9/15/09 crime spree pastor shooting in a larger map

A man suspected of killing a 52-year-old wheelchair-bound woman in October is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on murder and robbery charges.

Anthony George Gooden, 29, is set to enter a plea on the charges at an arraignment in Victorville Superior Court, according to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.

At his last court appearance Dec. 17, Gooden waived his arraignment, according to court records.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies say Gooden planned to rob Brenda Robinson on Oct. 8 at her Apple Valley home in the 21300 block of Nisqually Road. Gooden and a second man went to the home, and Gooden shot her before the pair fled.

Prosecutors say a trial may begin next week for a Riverside man accused of fatally stabbing his 18-year-old girlfriend in 2005 with such force that a knife broke off in her throat.

Anthony Lamont McCullough, 39, returns Monday to San Bernardino Superior Court to determine whether his trial will get under way in the slaying of Shicole Deshon Bester at an H Street motel in San Bernardino.

Deputy District Attorney Joanne Uhlman, who is prosecuting McCullough's case, said she hopes the trial will start by Tuesday. Generally, lawyers must argue pretrial motions before the court and select a jury before testimony can begin.

McCullough faces murder charges in the death of Shicole Deshon Bester on March 8, 2005 in a second-floor room at the Econo Lodge Motel.

By Stacia Glenn

A Twentynine Palms man has been charged with the Dec. 10 slaying of a man he was arguing with outside a Highland apartment complex.

Alcide Levont Lewis Walker, 29, was charged Tuesday with murder, second degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a criminal complaint filed in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Sheriff's investigators say Walker shot Ryan Peters, 23, of San Bernardino, outside an apartment complex in the 25100 block of Fifth Street. Witnesses told investigators Peters was arguing with a group of black men prior to the shooting, but it's unsure what they were fighting about. Robbery is believed to play a part in the motive, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller.

By Stacia Glenn

A $500,000 felony warrant has been issued for a Yucca Valley man wanted for possessing and distributing child pornography.

Peter Ault, 50, has been charged with one count of distributing child pornography and nine counts of possessing child pornography, according to a criminal complaint filed in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Sheriff's officials said they believe he is trying to avoid being arrested. His last known address is 55524 Yucca Trail #75 but he is known to hang out in Joshua Tree.

By Stacia Glenn

Three people were charged this morning with last week's armed robbery of a Del Taco in Rancho Cucamonga.

On Thursday, two men in black hooded sweatshirts busted into the fast food restaurant on Archibald Avenue. One pulled a gun and ordered the employees to the back of the store while the other grabbed cash from the safe and cash registers.

Sheriff's deputies later recognized the black Chrysler 300 nearby and arrested Connell Caldwell, 28, of Victorville; James Smith, 24, of Upland; and Kerrio Fernandez, 30, of Barstow. Fernandez was believed to be driving the getaway car.

A jury convicted Amber Rose Riley nine months ago of participating in the grisly stabbing death of Terry Taylor atop Perris Hill in San Bernardino.

Jurors only needed less than an hour to find the now 22-year-old Riley guilty of murder in the 2003 killing. But Riley requested a new trial, and a new lawyer joined the case in June to form a new trial motion.

On Monday, a San Bernardino Superior Court judge is expected to decide whether Riley should get another trial or get sentenced to state prison.

Three men who were suspected in a deadly gang shooting in San Bernardino, which was possibly sparked by the rebuff of a marijuana request, will be sentenced in January after they each recently accepted plea bargains.

Donte Lazon Mack, his brother Dorian Lavonn Mack, and Chrystopher Lamarr Young each pleaded guilty Dec. 23 in San Bernardino Superior Court to one count of assault with a firearm and a street gang enhancement in the slaying of Devin Tervelle McDavis, according to court records.

Under the terms of the plea bargain, each of the men faces seven years in state prison and one strike at a Jan. 29 sentencing hearing, prosecutors said.

A U.S. federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Monday that police cannot zap someone with an electronic stun gun unless the suspect poses an immediate threat.

The ruling sets police standards for use of the Taser, saying stun guns must be used only when "substantial force" is needed.

Officers are now prohibited from using a Taser on a person simply for acting erratically or disobeying orders, according to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

- The Associated Press

FONTANA -- Prosecutors filed criminal charges Monday against three people allegedly involved in a fatal street racing crash in Bloomington.

The alleged drivers -- Eric Escobedo, 21, and Lorin Renee Guzman, 19 -- were charged with vehicular manslaughter and other felonies for the April 5 crash that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Beatriz Irene Porras of Fontana.

The people allegedly involved in the race were part of a group that first traveled to Riverside for a soccer game. After the game they planned to celebrate Porras' birthday at a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant, said California Highway Patrol Officer Hope Maxson.

After they left the soccer field shortly before 5 p.m., Guzman challenged Escobedo, of Fontana, to a race when both stopped at red light, said Deputy District Attorney Lyle Scollon.

The race between the two drivers reportedly reached speeds of up to 100 mph, Maxson said.

About a mile after the race started, Escobedo allegedly lost control of his 1995 Toyota Camry, causing the car to overturn in the area of Cedar Avenue and El Rivino Road, according to a CHP news release.

Porras, one of five people in the car, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected when the car overturned, according to the news release.

Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Coroner's Department.

Porras' young child was also in the car that crashed. The child suffered a forehead gash and chest and abdomen scrapes, Scollon said.

In addition to vehicular manslaughter, Escobedo and Guzman were charged Monday with child abuse and participating in a speed contest causing injury.

Prosecutors also charged Guzman with leaving the scene of an accident.

A passenger in Escobedo's car, 19-year-old Ivan Rizo, was charged as an accessory Monday.

Rizo allegedly attempted to craft an alibi for Guzman after the crash, lied to authorities about the incident, and tried to convince a witness to lie about the crash, Scollon said.

Escobedo was arrested after the crash and jailed in Riverside County, but he was released because criminal charges were not initially filed.

After charges were filed Monday, a judge issued arrest warrants for Escobedo, Guzman and Rizo, Scollon said.

Once in custody, bail for Escobedo and Guzman will be set at least $200,000, and bail for Rizo will be set at $25,000, Scollon said.

There is no record of any of the three defendants facing prior adult criminal charges in San Bernardino County.

A search of the Riverside County court system yields only one result -- Guzman has an active case for allegedly failing to obey a stop sign on Nov. 17.

Grand Terrace City Councilman Jim Miller will enter a formal plea in January on a felony conflict of interest charge after he recently waived his right to preliminary hearing.

Miller, 62, is accused of voting to send $18,000 worth of city advertising contracts to his wife's newspaper. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing at an appearance Dec. 17 in San Bernardino Superior Court, according to court records.

At a preliminary hearing, a judge will listen to witness testimony and then determine if sufficient evidence exists to support the charges. Miller has been charged with one count of felony conflict of interest.

When Miller returns to court Jan. 14, he will enter a formal plea on the charge. If convicted, he could face up to three years in state prison.

Statement from Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. on the Second Appellate District Court of Appeals' decision on Dec. 17 to overturn California's ban on violent felons possessing body armor:

"Every day, California's law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities," said Attorney General Brown. "Allowing violent felons to possess military grade body armor puts their lives further at risk and jeopardizes public safety. My office will petition the California Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision next month."

The arraignment for a 16-year-old Yucaipa boy charged with starting the Pendleton and Oak Glen fires was delayed this morning after his attorney challenged the decision to try him as an adult.

Ricky Sean Lukacs was originally arrested and charged as a juvenile for the Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 blazes that burned more than 1,000 acres in Oak Glen, threatened about 400 homes and burned 860 acres in Yucaipa before it was contained.

The charges were later refiled in adult court because two homes burned in the fires.

A San Bernardino Superior Court judge delayed Lukacs' arraignment until Jan. 6 so his defense attorney can file a motion challenging the charges against the teen.

San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Douglas M. Elwell has been named the county's presiding judge, effective Jan. 1.

Elwell has served as assistant presiding judge since January 2008 and has served on several court committees while also hearing a daily criminal trial calendar. In June, he was selected by his fellow judges to succeed Judge James C. McGuire as presiding judge.

Elwell has served as the supervising judge in Redlands, Fontana, Chino and Rancho Cucamonga. He has also served as a drug court judge.

Judge Ronald Christianson will become the assistant presiding judge, also effective Jan. 1. He was appointed in 1994 as a municipal court judge and then elevated to a superior court judge in 1997 by appointment.

A man who posed as a firefighter was ordered held on charges of sexually assaulting children who participated in a phony fire explorer program that he created in Apple Valley.

Judge James M. Dorr heard testimony from law enforcement officers at a hearing Monday in Victorville Superior Court and ruled that sufficient evidence existed to hold Robert William Tell for trial on the charges, according to court records.

Tell, 39, returns to court Jan. 6 to enter a plea on the charges.

SAN DIEGO -- During a court hearing here today, an attorney for death row inmate Kevin Cooper called Cooper "an innocent man" and told a federal judge that executing him would be unconstitutional.

Norman Hile's comments came during a largely administerial hearing in U.S. District Court to acknowledge that the U.S. Supreme Court's denied Cooper's request to intervene in his case last month.

To mount a new appeal of his murder convictions and death sentence for four brutal ax killings in Chino Hills in 1983, Cooper would likely need to discover new evidence supporting his innocence claims or his contention that his trial was unfair.

"If anyone has any information about the crimes or anything else that happened, please come forward," Hile said in an interview.

During today's hearing, an attorney for the state Attorney General's Office told U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff that the state has a moratorium on executions in place due to a federal judge's concerns that its method of lethal injection may not be humane.

Deputy Attorney General Holly Wilkens said the state is not prepared to set an execution date for Cooper.

Wilkens told Huff that the California Department of Corrections is expected to complete its execution protocol by May, and the state may then resume executions, which have been on hold since 2006. The new protocol is expected to be challenged in court.

Hile told Huff that he reserves the right to file additional challenges to Cooper's conviction.

In 2005, following a review of evidence, Huff upheld Cooper's convictions, denying a petition in which he claimed he was not responsible for the killings.

Hile said after the hearing that he will continue to seek evidence to support Cooper's assertion that he is innocent, "in hope that we can prove that before he's executed."

Hile declined to comment when asked whether any witnesses have come forward with new information since the U.S. Supreme Court's declined to intervene in the case last month.

WANTED: Of the five defendants, only one has yet to be arrested -- Andrew Angel Valenzuela, 19, of Ontario.

POMONA -- Prosecutors filed a 10-count complaint this morning against five people named as participants in an extensive local crime spree that included three killings, a kidnapping and an assault.

Four of the five defendants appeared in Pomona Superior Court today for an arraignment hearing, which was postponed, while the fifth defendant -- 19-year-old Andrew Angel Valenzuela of Ontario -- remains at large.

At the center of the alleged crime spree is 32-year-old Robert Caballero of Pomona, according to authorities.

Prosecutors accuse him of shooting and killing a man in Pomona in September, then participating in two local killings that occurred on consecutive days last month.

He's also accused of assaulting a man, kidnapping an 18-year-old woman and threatening to kill her by setting her on fire.

The other four people named in the complaint -- a group that include's Caballero's girlfriend and cousin -- each allegedly participated in one killing.

Prosecutors allege that many of the crimes were committed for the benefit of a gang, and four of the defendants could face the death penalty if convicted on all charges.

The first alleged crime attributed to the group is the shooting death of Armando Vidana, who was killed Sept. 29 in Pomona.

Prosecutors have charged Caballero with murder for Vidana's death, and have charged Caballero's girlfriend, 20-year-old Jessica Prendiz, with allegedly serving as an accessory to the crime by reportedly attempting to dispose of the murder weapon.

The remaining defendants are named as participants in last month's killings.

On Nov. 5, Caballero, Pete Trejo, and Anthony Caballero allegedly lay in wait for Lorraine Majnarez of Covina before kidnapping her and killing her beside Mt. Baldy Road in the San Gabriel Mountains.

On Nov. 6, Robert Caballero and Valenzuela allegedly killed David Padilla of El Monte by pounding his head in with a rock. Padilla's body was discovered by authorities under a freeway overpass in Chino.

The four men charged with murder in connection with the two November killings are also charged with kidnapping an 18-year-old woman who was rescued by authorities when Robert Caballero was arrested Nov. 7.

The woman told police she was with the group with the two November killings were carried out, and she led authorities to Minjarez and Padilla's bodies.

Prosecutors have said the woman, whose name has been withheld for fear of gang retaliation, would be killed if located by the group's associates.

In addition to three counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping, prosecutors charged Robert Caballero with an Oct. 2 weapons violation, a Nov. 5 assault, and a Nov. 6 weapons violation.

He was also charged with evading a police officer for the Nov. 7 high-speed chase that ended with his arrest in Montclair.

The Caballero cousins and Trejo are being held without the possibility of bail, and Prendiz remains jailed lieu of $500,00 bail.

All four defendants are next due in court Feb. 10.

Rodolfo Rodriguez (left) and Nolan Lopez appeared in West Valley Superior Court this afternoon to be arraigned.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Two men accused of shooting and killing a truck driver this week in the course of a robbery pleaded not guilty in West Valley Superior Court this afternoon to murder and other charges.

Rodolfo Rodriguez, 28, and Nolan Lopez, 36, remained silent during the brief arraignment hearing, with a judge entering pleas on their behalf and appointing attorneys to represent them.

Judge Stephan Saleson set bail for both men $2 million. They are next due in court Tuesday.

The men are accused of shooting Central California trucker Rafael Valencia Ochoa, 52, in the cab of his truck late Tuesday, and taking several of his personal items, including his wallet.

Ochoa's freight truck crashed into an embankment on the Milliken Avenue onramp to the westbound 10 Freeway at about 11:40 p.m., and Rodriguez and Lopez allegedly ran from the cab.

Ochoa, who authorities believe had just left a nearby truck stop, stumbled out of the cab suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, said Deputy District Attorney Tom Colclough.

"He was very, very badly wounded, and did not make it (alive) to the hospital," the prosecutor said.

Police found Rodriguez and Lopez nearby and took them into custody, and also found shell casings and a handgun that investigators believe was used in the shooting, Colclough said.

Colclough said he didn't know what relationship if any Ochoa had with his alleged killers, why the men were in Ochoa's truck, or what may have motivated the alleged attack.

Ochoa's family members have been in contact with authorities, and "they're very saddened about losing one of their family members," Colclough said.

The prosecutor said authorities had no reason to believe Ochoa, of Ivanhoe, was transporting drugs or other illegal material in his cargo bay that his alleged killers may have targeted.

Colclough said that Ochoa's cargo at the time of the shooting was some kind of fruit product -- possibly fruit or fruit juice.

Rodriguez, of Huntington Park, and Lopez, of Bell Gardens, were charged by prosecutors today with murder, robbery and carjacking.

Rodriguez, who has served three prison terms this decade for prior crimes, was charged with an additional felony for allegedly possessing a gun as a felon.

Prosecutors also allege the two men committed the crimes for the benefit of a street gang.

Colclough said one of the men was a member of a Los Angeles-area gang, but the prosecutor declined to say which man was an alleged gang member or what specifically tied the alleged crime to a gang.

Both men could face more than 75 years to life in state prison if convicted of all the charges filed against them, Colclough said.

"It's doubtful they could live long enough to see a parole date," Colclough said.

Nine of Rodriguez and Lopez' relatives attended today's arraignment, and many audibly sobbed during the hearing.

Lopez's relatives declined to comment to a reporter after the hearing, but Rodriguez's mother-in-law, Lucie Cruz of Duarte, granted an interview request.

"We feel bad for everybody, for the other family," Cruz said. "(Rodriguez) is a husband and a dad."

Cruz said she doesn't believe her son-in-law is capable of committing the crimes he's charged with.

"No," she said. "He has a heart. I don't know what happened with them."

Cruz called Rodriguez a "sweetheart" with two boys who "loves his kids to death."

An accountant accused of embezzling more than $550,000 from his Ontario employer was released from custody this afternoon after posting $815,000 bail.

Heng Bill Chhay, 37, spent the night in a Rancho Cucamonga jail after being taken into custody Thursday morning following an arraignment hearing in West Valley Superior Court.

He was released from West Valley Detention Center at about 2:30 p.m. today, according to booking records.

Chhay, of Acradia, pleaded not guilty Thursday to 15 felony charges alleging that he embezzled money from Empire Cos. over an 11-month period while working as the company's top accountant.

Chhay confessed to the embezzlement when he was interviewed by a federal investigator Oct. 28, according to an investigative report in Chhay's court file.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A high-level accountant pleaded not guilty this morning to charges that he embezzled more than $550,000 from his Ontario employer.

Heng Bill Chhay, 37, arrived at West Valley Superior Court out of custody, and was jailed at the conclusion of the arraignment hearing.

His attorney, Karen Goldstein, said she expected Chhay would be able to post bail, set at $815,000.

Chhay, of Arcadia, worked as the top accountant at Empire Cos., a land development and construction company, for more than two years before leaving in May last year.

For the last 11 months he worked there, Chhay allegedly wrote himself 13 checks from company accounts -- ranging in size from $7,750 to more than $193,000 -- and deposited them in his personal bank accounts.

Chhay allegedly covered up the embezzlement by manipulating the company's computer system to make it appear the checks had been voided prior to being cashed, according to an investigative report attached to his court file.

According to the report, Chhay confessed to the embezzlement when he was interviewed at his home in October 28 by a criminal investigator for the U.S. Postal Service.

When prosecutors filed 15 felonies against Chhay last week for the alleged embezzlement, they recommended bail be set at $815,000.

This morning, Goldstein asked Commissioner Ronald J. Gilbert to lower the bail to about $550,000 -- totaling the amount allegedly embezzled.

Goldstein told the commissioner that Chhay has lived in California since 1984, is married with three children -- aged 9, 6 and 4 -- and would be willing to turn over his passport and be fixed with a GPS tracking device while out on bail.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Dowd opposed lowering Chhay's bail, and Gilbert sided with the prosecutor. Chhay is next due in court Jan. 21.

Chhay's wife was in tears after a bailiff took Chhay into custody at the conclusion of the brief hearing.

The accountant wore khaki slacks, a light-blue dress shirt and a blue sweater vest to his court appearance.

He was accompanied by his wife, his attorney, and two other people. At least one person was an agent from bail bonds company.

Besides saying she expected Chhay to make bail, Goldstein declined to discuss Chhay's case during a brief interview after the hearing.

Dowd said he has not discussed with Goldstein whether Chhay is open to a plea bargain, or wants to take his case to trial.

When Chhay confessed on Oct. 28, he said he used the embezzled money to pay his bills and student loans, and to purchase luxury cars and take a Las Vegas vacation, according to investigative reports.

Chhay reportedly told the investigator that he embezzled the money because he didn't feel he was fairly compensated and appreciated at Empire Cos.

A Rancho Cucamonga businessman's personal and corporate assets were frozen by a judge this week after federal regulators filed a civil complaint accusing the businessman of defrauding investors of millions of dollars.

Michael John Bowen, 57, allegedly raised $28 million from about 500 investors while lying and deceiving them about his Orange County-based business operations, according to the claim filed in Santa Ana federal court Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bowen allegedly lied to investors about one of his companies going public in the United Kingdom, and portrayed business ventures as successful when in reality they were failing, according to the SEC complaint.

The SEC complaint alleges that Bowen misappropriated $3.8 million of investors' money, by using the funds to cover personal expenses and by transferring money to other entities he controlled.

Read the SEC news release here, and read a PDF of the SEC's complaint here.

U.S. District Judge James Selna issued a temporary restraining order Monday freezing Bowen's assets, requiring accountings from his companies, prohibiting the destruction of documents, and ordering expedited discovery in the case.

Bowen could not be reached for comment Wednesday. No one answered the door at his home in the 12500 block of Churchill Drive, and he did not respond to an e-mailed interview request.

In the course of the alleged fraud, Bowen used more than $3.8 million of investor money for inappropriate uses, the SEC alleged.

Bowen used the money to pay for trips to Hawaii and Costa Rica, and spent $170,000 to purchase luxury cars and motorcycles, according to the SEC's complaint.

The SEC also alleged that Bowen used investors' money to contribute $45,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, which funds congressional races for Republican candidates.

The bulk of the alleged fraud occurred in the course of Bowen's fundraising to construct a storage facility in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., the SEC alleged.

After forming Orange-based Eagle Storage & Development, LLC in 2003, Bowen raised about $24 million from about 470 investors, promising eight-percent annual returns, according to the SEC's complaint.

Federal regulators said none of the investors ever received returns from the project.

In promotional materials seeking investors, Bowen and his employees touted the project's success even after the company defaulted on a loan and a judge placed its facility under receivership in October 2007, according to the SEC's complaint.

Bowen allegedly conducted similar frauds -- raising about $4 million from investors -- in business ventures to build homes in Kingman, Ariz., and to purchase and lease helicopters providing charters for tourists on the Hawaiian island of Kauai.

In advertising his projects, Bowen and his employees falsely promised investors that Eagle Storage would be consolidated with an associated Bowen-owned company and shares would soon be publicly traded in the United Kingdom, the SEC alleged.

But even as the company told investors the public offering would yield high returns, in reality Bowen knew a U.K. offering was impossible because his company's financial records were in such disarray that an accountant was unable to perform a prerequisite audit.

Bowen also failed to disclose to investors that in 2005, the Alabama Securities Commission ordered him to stop selling unregistered shares for his storage facility.

A state appellate court has turned down an appeal from a Pomona man convicted of kidnapping, raping and torturing his girlfriend.

Raul Carrillo Alderete, 30, was sentenced to more than 100 years in state prison last year after being convicted by a Pomona Superior Court jury of 11 felonies related to numerous instances of abuse.

In an appeal to the 2nd District Court of Appeal, Alderete asked for a new jury trial -- objecting to one of the jury instructions -- and argued that his sentence was unconstitutional because its length constitutes cruel an unusual punishment.

A three-judge panel disagreed with Alderete's arguments and rejected his appeal on Tuesday.

Alderete did manage one small achievement in his appeal -- the justices granted him 34 days of conduct credit for his time in jail awaiting trail.

PDF: 121509 Alderete Appellate Ruling.pdf

Prosecutors accused Alderete of continuously abusing his 18-year-old girlfriend while the couple was dating in 2006 and 2007.

Alderete was accused of punching the woman and choking her, stabbing her with a screwdriver, forcing her to perform sex acts, and sodomizing her with a flashlight and beer bottle, according to a summary of the case in the appellate ruling.

He also threatened to kill her, according to authorities.

The woman reported the abuse to Pomona police when she was hospitalized in February 2007 with injuries caused by Alderete. Alderete remained a fugitive until the following year.

In December 2007, Alderete visited his estranged wife's home in North Hollywood, and kidnapped one of the children he fathered with the woman, according to the appellate summary.

In rejecting Alderete's claim that his prison sentence was cruelly long, Presiding Justice Norman L. Epstein highlighted Alderete's prior felony convictions and his apparent lack of remorse for his actions.

"He claims he was remorseful for his involvement in the charged activity, yet he remained a fugitive for almost a year, and during that time, he abducted his baby from his wife's home," Epstein wrote. "This does not demonstrate remorse."

A high-ranking employee at an Ontario accounting firm has been charged with 15 felonies for allegedly embezzling more than $500,000 from the company.

Heng Bill Chhay, 37, allegedly wrote himself 13 checks ranging in size from $7,750 to more than $193,000 over an 11-month period while he worked as the top accountant at Empire Companies.

Chhay, of Arcadia, was charged by prosecutors on Friday.

He is expected to appear at West Valley Superior Court on Thursday to turn himself in and be arraigned on the charges, said Deputy District Attorney Michael Dowd.

Chhay's bail was set by a judge at $815,000. Dowd said today that he was unsure whether Chhay intends to post bail at his Thursday court appearance.

According to investigative reports attached to Chhay's court file, Chhay confessed to the embezzlement when he was interviewed Oct. 28 by a criminal investigator for the U.S. Postal Service.

Chhay told the investigator he used the embezzled money to pay off bills and student loans, buy stocks and luxury cars, and for a $5,000 trip to Las Vegas, according to the report.

"Chhay was asked why he did this and he responded by saying he got a lot of companies out of trouble and felt like he was not compensated well enough for doing so, and also felt a lack of appreciation," wrote U.S. Postal Inspector Ross Hinckley in the report.

Chhay and his attorney, Karen Goldstein, did not return calls seeking comment today.

As the corporate controller of Ontario-based Empire Companies, Chhay was responsible for overseeing the accounting for 78 companies that hired Empire Companies to do their accounting work.

The companies, many based in Inland Empire, included 53 companies engaged in land development, homebuilding or commercial-property management, as well as 13 aviation companies.

Chhay was hired at the company in March 2006, but did not begin his alleged embezzlement until June 22, 2007, when he allegedly sent a company check for more than $193,000 to his post office box in San Marino.

Over the next 11 months, Chhay allegedly sent 12 more checks to the post office box. The last two checks -- totaling about $90,000 -- were sent on May 8, 2008, the day before Chhay left the company, according to investigative reports.

Chhay would take the checks from his post office box and deposit the money into his personal bank accounts, according to investigative reports.

After depositing the checks into his bank accounts, Chhay would allegedly manipulate his company's computer system to make it appear the checks had been voided prior to being cashed, according to investigative reports.

An Empire Companies executive contacted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in June after the alleged embezzlement was discovered. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigates crimes committed through the postal service.

Chhay is currently the chief financial officer at Champion Arrowhead, a Los Angeles company that manufactures plumbing and irrigation products. The company's CEO did not return a call seeking comment this afternoon.

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Monday it will decide how much privacy workers have when they send text messages from company accounts.

The justices said they will review a federal appeals court ruling that sided with Ontario, Calif., police officers who complained that the department improperly snooped on their electronic exchanges. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco also faulted the text-messaging service for turning over transcripts of the messages without the officers' consent.

Users of text-messaging services "have a reasonable expectation of privacy" regarding messages stored on the service provider's network, 9th Circuit Judge Kim Wardlaw said. Both the city and USA Mobility Wireless, Inc., which bought the text-messaging service involved in the case, appealed the 9th Circuit ruling.

The justices turned down the company's appeal, but said they would hear arguments in the spring in the city's case.

The appeals court ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Ontario police Sgt. Jeff Quon and three others after Arch Wireless gave their department transcripts of Quon's text messages in 2002. Police officials read the messages to determine whether department-issued pagers were being used solely for work purposes.

The city said it discovered that Quon sent and received hundreds of personal messages, including many that were sexually explicit.

Quon and the others said the police force had an informal policy of not monitoring the usage as long as employees paid for messages in excess of monthly character limits.

The case is City of Ontario v. Quon, 08-1332.

WANTED: Of the four suspects, only one has yet to be arrested -- Andrew Angel Valenzuela, 19, of Ontario.

POMONA -- Three additional suspects are expected to be charged with murder next week for their alleged roles in back-to-back slayings, bringing the total number of men charged for the killings to four, a prosecutor said today.

The four men allegedly carried out the two local killings last month in consecutive days, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd. Three of the men are in custody, and the fourth -- 19-year-old Andrew Angel Valenzuela of Ontario -- remains at large, Dodd said.

The first victim was a Covina woman who was strangled to death in the San Gabriel Mountains. The second victim -- a cousin of two of the suspects and an alleged El Monte gang member -- was left for dead under a Chino freeway overpass after his head was pounded in with a rock, a witness told authorities.

Police and prosecutors working on the case have declined to identify what they believe motivated the killings. When asked whether he will allege gang enhancements when he files charges, Dodd said he was "still trying to sort all that out."

Authorities learned of the killings after Pomona police arrested one of the suspects, Robert Caballero, following a Nov. 7 traffic pursuit on Holt Avenue.

At the time of his arrest, Caballero was already wanted as a suspect in a Sept. 29 gang killing in Pomona. He was quickly linked to two additional killings.

When he was arrested, Caballero was traveling with an 18-year-old woman who told police she had been with the Pomona man for the past month.

The woman, who Dodd said had a dating relationship with Caballero, told police she was present when two killings were carried out in the two days prior to Caballero's arrest, according to an affidavit written by a Pomona police detective to obtain a warrant to search Caballero's car.

The woman told police that Caballero had beaten her and threatened to kill her by setting her on fire, according to Detective Mark McCann's affidavit.

She offered to assist police in locating the bodies of the victims, who she knew only by their first names, Lorraine and David, according to the affidavit.

Dodd said the first victim, 32-year-old Lorraine Minjarez, was taken up Mt. Baldy Road in the San Gabriel Mountains on Nov. 5 in a car driven by Robert Caballero's cousin, 24-year-old Anthony Caballero.

There were total of five people in the car, the witness told police: Robert and Anthony Caballero, Peter Trejo, Minjarez, and the witness.

When the group reached an area near mile marker 1.34, they pulled to the side of the road. Everyone in the car besides Anthony Caballero exited the vehicle, Dodd said.

Minjarez was strangled and stabbed, and her throat was cut, according to authorities. The group buried her body alongside Mt. Baldy Road before leaving.

The next day, Robert Caballero and a second suspect, Andrew Angel Valenzuela, allegedly collaborated in the killing of 29-year-old David Arthur Padilla of El Monte.

The 18-year-old woman who spoke to police said she was with Caballaro at the time of his arrest told authorities that Caballero killed Padilla by pounding his head in with a rock, according to McCann's affidavit. Padilla's body was recovered by police under a 60 Freeway overpass in Chino.

Robert and Anthony Caballero are both in custody -- with Robert Caballero charged with murder for the Sept. 29 shooting death in Pomona of Armando Vidana, and Anthony Caballero charged with murder for his alleged role in Minjarez's killing.

Peter Trejo has been in custody since Nov. 20 for allegedly violating his parole, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg.

Dodd said he expects to file murder charges against Trejo and Robert Caballero next week for Minjarez's killing.

The prosecutor said he also expects to file murder charges next week against Robert Caballero and Valenzuela for Padilla's killing.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A jury deliberated for only five minutes this week before finding an Ontario man mentally competent to face criminal charges for allegedly killing his girlfriend, a prosecutor said today.

Mario Adrian Reyes, 36, has been charged with murder for the October 2008 killing of his girlfriend of six months, 34-year-old Ana Maria Garcia.

Criminal proceedings against Reyes were suspended in February after a judge declared doubts about Reyes' mental competency.

Deputy District Attorney Don Pezza said Reyes has been behaving unusually since his arrest in November last year. Reyes grunted at jail staff members instead of talking to them, and he spread feces around his cell, Pezza said.

But according to Pezza, Reyes' odd behavior was just an act -- put on in an attempt to avoid prosecution.

"He was faking a mental disorder," Pezza said. "They jury saw through it. There was a plethora of circumstantial evidence that he was faking."

Reyes' attorney, Lee Sonnenberg, declined to comment on the case when reached for an interview.

Reyes allegedly killed Garcia after Garcia told Reyes she was leaving him and moving out of the house the couple shared in the 1600 block of East Yale Street in Ontario, Pezza said.

"It basically was, 'If I can't have her nobody can,'" Pezza said.

Reyes then allegedly dumped Garcia's body in an Inglewood storage unit before fleeing to Mexico. He was arrested by authorities there and extradited to the United States.

Pezza said that Reyes' behavior following Garcia's killing shows that Reyes is "cunning, calculated and smooth, and very different from the image that he's trying to portray."

Prior to his arrest, Reyes had short hair and neatly trimmed facial hair. But during his time in custody he has neglected basic hygiene and grooming, Pezza said.

In West Valley Superior Court this week, Reyes had long, greasy, disheveled hair, and a long beard.

Jurors found Reyes competent to face criminal charges on Wednesday following four days of testimony from psychologists, Garcia's family members and others who have had contact with Reyes.

The jury took more time to choose a foreman than to reach consensus on a verdict, Pezza said.

Pezza said that while Reyes was housed in the unusual-behavior unit of a local jail, he attempted to mimic the behavior of the inmates who suffered from actual mental illnesses.

But when Reyes believed jail guards were out of view, he would revert to his normal behavior and carry on regular conversations, Pezza said.

Reyes is next due in court Monday. He remains jailed at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga in lieu of $1 million bail.

FONTANA -- A woman accused of trying to ram police officers with her car pleaded not guilty to attempted murder today in Fontana Superior Court.

Sonia Hawley, 32, allegedly drove her car toward police officers Saturday during a police narcotics investigation, said Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker.

When Hawley allegedly steered her car toward the officers, the officers opened fire, shooting Hawley in the arm, Decker said.

Hawley, of Fontana, appeared in Fontana Superior Court today via video link from West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where she remains jailed in lieu of $1.35 million bail.

In addition to attempted murder, prosecutors charged Hawley on Monday with two felonies related to transporting narcotics. She is next due in court Tuesday.

Hawley is on parole for possession of narcotics for sale, and she has been convicted of several drug offenses since 2004, according to court records. She also has convictions for attempted forgery and petty theft.

Two Fontana police officers were on foot looking for Hawley at about 9:50 p.m. Saturday in the 16000 block of Merrill Avenue. Decker said the officers were awaiting the arrival of drugs.

Hawley arrived at the location and initially exited her car, but she immediately ran back to the vehicle and drove toward the officers, Decker said. No police officers were hurt.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the police shooting.

Staff Writer Lori Consalvo contributed to this report.

POMONA -- Prosecutors have filed murder charges against a man allegedly involved in the killing last month of a Covina woman whose body was buried alongside Mt. Baldy Road in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Anthony Lawrence Caballero, 24, allegedly served as the driver during the killing of Lorraine Minjarez, 32, whose body was recovered Nov. 7 by Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators, said Deputy District Attorney Bjorn Dodd.

Sheriff's investigators arrested Caballero on suspicion of murder Nov. 17, and he was charged Nov. 19 by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Dodd said Caballero took Minjarez up Mt. Baldy Road along with a group of other people involved in the killing. Minjarez was strangled and her neck was slashed, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Dodd and Caballero's attorney, Joe Borges, declined to speak in detail today about the Mt. Baldy Road killing. Dodd declined to identify Caballero's alleged motive, saying he will wait for a preliminary hearing to reveal further information about the case.

"It's too early on in the case," Borges said. "I'm going to do everything I can to represent him. It's just too early on in the case for me to make a comment."

Caballero is the first person to be charged in connection to Minjarez's killing, though authorities have also linked his cousin, Robert Caballero, to the case.

Dodd said he anticipates filing charges against Robert Caballero for Minjarez's killing. Dodd has already filed murder charges against Robert Caballero for a September gang killing in Pomona.

Authorities have also linked Robert Caballero to the killing last month of David Arthur Padilla, 29, whose body was found under a 60 Freeway overpass in Chino.

Another alleged suspect in Padilla's killing, 19-year-old Andrew Angel Valenzuela of Ontario, is currently wanted by Chino police.

Anthony and Robert Caballero both appeared in Pomona Superior Court on Tuesday to be arraigned in their murder cases, but the hearings were postponed to Dec. 22.

Both men remained jailed Tuesday in lieu of at least $1 million bail.

Pictured (L-R): Freddy Najarro's recent mug shot; image of the suspected killer captured by a partygoer's video camera.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A judge ordered a Pomona man held for trial on murder charges today after hearing testimony from the defendant's brother and others connected to a 1992 cold-case killing.

Freddy Najarro, now 36, is accused of stabbing a 19-year-old Riverside man to death following an argument at a late-night party on May 15, 1992 in a vacant warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga.

For 17 years investigators were unable to identify Dennis Smalling's killer, but this summer an anonymous tip led them to Najarro, who was 18 at the time of the incident.

After more than three hours of testimony today at a preliminary hearing in West Valley Superior Court, Judge Michael A. Sachs said there was "ample evidence" that Najarro committed murder.

Michael Alva, Smalling's best friend, testified that he saw Smalling and Najarro staring each other down not long after he, Smalling and two of their friends arrived at the party.

Alva said Smalling appeared tensed up, as if ready to fight, standing face-to-face with Najarro near the dance floor.

"What's going on?" Alva recalled asking Smalling.

"This guy's talking (expletive)," Smalling responded, according to Alva.

Najarro called Smalling, who is black, a racial epithet, Alva testified.

Both men then simultaneously sprang into action -- with Smalling taking swings at Najarro with his fists, and Najarro repeatedly stabbing Smalling with an object Alva described as a screwdriver, corkscrew or ice pick.

The crowd in the warehouse disbursed when the fight broke out, and Najarro left the party with his brother and his girlfriend, according to testimony today.

Smalling was pronounced dead that evening at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana.

The key piece of evidence in Najarro's case is an image captured from video footage shot the night of the party.

Investigators played the footage for Alva during an interview shortly after Smalling's death. Alva pinpointed Smalling's killer, and a young woman who was with Smalling's killer.

On Tuesday, Najarro's brother testified that the couple pictured in the image is Najarro and his former girlfriend, Silvia Gutierrez.

Mauricio Najarro Jr. testified that he went to the party with his brother and Gutierrez, but he didn't witness the incident that resulted in Smalling's death because he wasn't nearby when the fight took place.

Mauricio Najarro testified that after the "commotion" near the dance floor area of the party, his brother tapped him on the shoulder and told him they were leaving the party.

Freddy Najarro had a "busted" nose and cut lip, and he asked his brother to stop at a gas station so he could clean himself up, Mauricio Najarro testified.

Freddy Najarro told his brother that someone at the party "rushed him," and he responded by stabbing him, Mauricio Najarro testified.

Freddy Najarro said his folding knife closed on his hand during the incident, and he cut himself, Mauricio Najarro testified.

When the group stopped at a truck stop to allow Freddy Najarro to clean up, Najarro tore off a piece of cloth from his T-shirt to bandage his wounded hand, Mauricio Najarro testified.

Prior to Freddy Najarro's arrest in August for the cold-case killing, he told Mauricio Najarro that sheriff's investigators were looking into the warehouse incident and were attempting to contact Gutierrez, Mauricio Najarro testified.

Freddy Najarro told his brother that he worried investigators would match his DNA to evidence found at the warehouse, Mauricio Najarro testified.

Najarro's involvement in Smalling's death was also detailed this afternoon by a sheriff's detective who spoke to Gutierrez in August as part of his investigation.

Gutierrez told San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Robert Alexander that she and Najarro danced together at the party, and Najarro became irritated by three men -- one of them Smalling -- who were watching them dance, Alexander testified.

Gutierrez told Alexander that Smalling hit Najarro several times before Najarro responded in defense. Gutierrez said she didn't see Najarro with a knife during the incident, according to Alexander.

"Freddy said he was getting beat up so he shanked the guy," Alexander testified, recalling Gutierrez's words.

But when Najarro and Gutierrez returned home following the party, Najarro burned his clothing in the fireplace, Gutierrez told Alexander.

"He said he needed to burn the evidence," Alexander testified.

Gary Wynings, Najarro's defense attorney, argued prior to Judge Sachs' ruling that the evidence presented today supported nothing stronger than voluntary manslaughter, because Smalling "was the initial aggressor against my client."

In response, Deputy District Attorney John Patrick Thomas said there was no evidence that Najarro feared Smalling during the incident.

Alva testified that Najarro appeared unafraid of Smalling, and Smalling was not armed, Thomas said.

As promised in Sunday's newspaper, here are the court documents accompanying the lengthy story on Frank Holder, the veteran Pomona police sergeant who was arrested for bank robbery after his retirement. The story should be up right now on the Daily Bulletin Web site.

Oct. 31, 2008: Federal Complaint.pdf

Aug. 14: Plea Baragin.pdf

Nov. 9: Prosecution Sentencing Position.pdf

Nov. 9: Defense Sentencing Position.pdf

Nov. 13: Letters From Family and Friends.pdf

Nov. 19: Psychological Reports.pdf

Five defendants (L-R): Pomona residents Timothy Jacquemain, 18, Jacob Bushow, 19, and Andrew Swindle, 23, Chino resident Anthony Coleman, 21, Perris resident Willis Bagley, 38.

A Jan. 4 trial date has been set for five local men accused of committing string of armed robberies and shooting a clergyman in the course of a day-long crime spree in September.

The five men are accused of holding up five diners in Los Angeles and Riverside counties on Sept. 15 between 2:30 p.m. and midnight.

They are also accused of trying to rob a church in Home Gardens in Riverside County at about 10 p.m. The pastor of Our Lady of Tepeyac, Antonio Garduno, was shot during the incident.

The defendants include Pomona residents Timothy Jacquemain, 18, Jacob Bushow, 19, and Andrew Swindle, 23, as well as Anthony Coleman, 21, of Chino, and Willis Bagley, 38, of Perris.

The defendants appeared in Riverside Superior Court today for a trial-readiness conference. They remain jailed at Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside.

View 9/15/09 crime spree pastor shooting in a larger map

FONTANA -- An alleged gang member on parole for resisting arrest has been charged with two counts of attempted murder for allegedly stabbing two strangers last week.

Jose Antonio Urbina, 20, is accused of attacking two teens on Nov. 23 in the 9200 block of Live Oak Avenue in Fontana after one of the alleged victims said he belonged to a rival tagging crew, according to investigative reports attached to Urbina's court file.

Urbina was arrested Nov. 25 at a house in the 1000 block of East Elma Street in Ontario. He is reportedly a member of an Ontario street gang, but had recently moved to Fontana.

Urbina pleaded not guilty to attempted murder this morning in Fontana Superior Court. He remained jailed in lieu of nearly $2.3 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Shortly before 1 p.m. the day of the incident, the two alleged victims walked together toward a friend's house on Live Oak Avenue -- about a half-mile east of the Auto Club Speedway -- when a man identified as Urbina called out to them from behind, the victims told sheriff's detectives.

Urbina, who was with a second alleged suspect, reportedly asked the teens where they were from and whether they tag. One of the alleged victims said he was from a Fontana tagging crew, the victims told detectives.

In response, Urbina threw a beer can at the alleged victim and called out the name of an Ontario street gang, the victims told detectives.

Urbina and the second suspect then attacked the two alleged victims. Urbina allegedly stabbed the 18-year-old victim twice -- in the back and the butt -- and the 17-year-old victim once in the back.

The two victims ran south to their friend's house for help, and Urbina and the second alleged suspect ran north on Live Oak Avenue, the victims and another witness told detectives.

The two teens were treated for their wounds at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The 18-year-old victim suffered a collapsed lung, and the 17-year-old victim had a kidney removed, according to sheriff's reports.

Both victims identified Urbina as the alleged assailant in photo lineups presented to them by detectives.

In the course of their investigation, sheriff's detectives learned that Urbina often hung out at a home on Elma Street in Ontario that authorities believe is abandoned and frequented by gang members and drug users.

Detectives traveled there at about 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 25 and located Urbina. He alleged resisted arrest and was Tased before he was taken into custody.

Urbina, who reportedly has two felony convictions, declined to speak to detectives when he was arrested, according to investigative reports.

The second suspect in the stabbing incident was described by one of the victims as a Hispanic man about 18 or 19 years old. He is reportedly about 5 feet 7 inches tall, clean shaven, with a medium build, short hair and dark complexion.

He was last seen wearing a plain white long-sleeve T-shirt and blue pants, according to investigative reports.

A Chino man accused of molesting three children pleaded guilty this week to lewd acts on a child and another felony as part of a plea bargain reached with prosecutors.

Jeffrey Allan Bitetti, 39, will be sentenced to three years in state prison and be required to register as a sex offender for life. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 3 in Chino Superior Court.

Prosecutors charged Bitetti with five felonies in 2006 for allegedly molesting three children under 14 in multiple instances dating back to the 1990s.

Two of the alleged victims were his girlfriends' children from previous relationships, and one of the alleged victims was a prior girlfriend's niece, according to police testimony last year in a preliminary hearing.

On Tuesday, Bitetti pleaded guilty to a felony count of lewd acts on a child, and an amended count of felony narcotics possession. Four additional felonies related to alleged child molestation will be dismissed when he is sentenced, according to court records.

Court records also say that Bitetti, who is free on bail, will be taken into custody at the Feb. 3 hearing.

FONTANA -- Two alleged gang members convicted Tuesday of two counts each of attempted murder face prison sentences of at least 40 years to life, the prosecutor in their case said this morning.

Angel Valencia, 20, and Andrew Valdivia, 19, both of Fontana, were accused of shooting at a man and his 19-year-old son who confronted them last year over gang threats and tagging in Fontana's Southridge neighborhood. The 42-year-old father was shot twice, and his son was not hit.

Deputy District Attorney Norma Alejo said that Valencia and Valdivia face base sentences of 15 years to life because their attempted murder convictions carry allegations that the shooting was gang related and willful, deliberate and premeditated.

An additional 25 years will be tacked onto the sentences because of an enhancement for gun use, Alejo said. Valencia's sentence will likely be lengthened because of a prior strike conviction, Alejo said.

A judge will have the discretion of ordering Valencia and Valdivia to serve sentences for their two attempted murder convictions back-to-back, lengthening their total sentences to at least 80 years to life, Alejo said.

But because both convictions stem from the same incident, the sentences for the two attempted murder counts will likely run concurrent to each other, Alejo said.

They are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 13 in Fontana Superior Court.

FONTANA -- A jury found two alleged gang members guilty of two counts each of attempted murder this afternoon for shooting at a father and son who interrupted them while they were tagging last year.

Angel Valencia, 20, and Andrew Valdivia, 19, both of Fontana, could each face up to life in prison when they are sentenced Jan. 13 for the September 2008 shooting, in which one of the victims was shot twice.

Jurors heard four days of testimony in the alleged gang members' trial, and deliberated for a full day before reaching guilty verdicts this afternoon.

In addition to two counts of attempted murder, a jury affirmed numerous additional allegations against Valencia and Valdivia that will lengthen their prison sentences.

According to authorities, Valencia and Valdivia were spotted tagging a wall in Fontana's Southridge neighborhood by an man, then 18, who notified his father. The father and son returned to the area with baseball bats and Valencia and Valdivia fled.

The two alleged taggers later enlisted a third man to drive them to the father and son's home, and Valencia and Valdivia allegedly opened fire when they arrived. The father, then 41, was shot twice.

The alleged driver, 24-year-old Daniel Casas, testified against Valencia and Valdivia during the trial in exchange for a plea bargain from prosecutors that carried a one-year jail sentence.

A man found guilty of murder in October for a 2003 shooting death in Bloomington has been appointed a new attorney to help him argue for a new jury trial.

Brian Gary Cullens, 47, was scheduled to be sentenced in Fontana Superior Court last week for the killing of Donald Marshall, 41, but the hearing was postponed after Cullens told a judge he wished to seek a new trial, according to court records.

Cullens is scheduled to next appear in court Nov. 10.

Cullens and Marshall were reportedly feuding at the time of Marshall's death because Marshall believed Cullens had an affair with his wife while he was incarcerated.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- Jury selection began this afternoon in the mental-competency trial of an Ontario man accused of killing his girlfriend last year, leaving her body in an Inglewood storage unit and fleeing to Mexico.

A jury will not be asked to determine whether Mario Adrian Reyes, 36, is guilty of murder, but whether his mental state allows him to be prosecuted.

Prosecutors accuse Reyes of killing his girlfriend, 34-year-old Ana Maria Garcia, at Garcia's home in the 1600 block of East Yale Street in Ontario.

Following the October 2008 killing, Reyes went missing and was eventually located by authorities in San Felipe, Mexico on Nov. 4, 2008.

The day after Reyes' arrest, investigators found Garcia's badly decomposed body in the storage unit, according to a police news release.

Attorneys in Reyes' case failed to pick a jury by the end of this afternoon's court session. Jury selection is scheduled to continue at 10 a.m. Wednesday in West Valley Superior Court.

Criminal proceedings against Reyes have been suspended since February, when a judge declared doubts about Reyes' mental state. Reyes has remained in custody since his arrest.

News release from Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills):

California Legislature

Curt Hagman

Assembly District 60

Press Release

For Immediate Release Contact: Mike Spence

November 30, 2009 (916) 319-2060

Assemblyman Curt Hagman Requests Governor Set a Date for Kevin Cooper Execution

Assemblyman Curt Hagman - "It is time for California to deliver the justice it promised Kevin Cooper's victims and their families."

Sacramento--Today, Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills), Vice-Chair of the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee, urged Governor Schwarzenegger to set a date for the execution of convicted murderer Kevin Cooper. The California death row inmate lost his last appeal today when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review his conviction.

Cooper was sentenced to death for the brutal murders of a Chino Hills residents Doug and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter Jessica and 11-year-old neighbor Christopher Hughes, after escaping from the nearby Chino Prison.

"A death row inmate who was incarcerated when Jerry Brown was California's governor still hasn't received his punishment. Kevin Cooper has been allowed 26 more years of life than he gave the Ryen family and Christopher Hughes," said Assemblyman Hagman, "It is time for the State of California to deliver the justice it promised Cooper's victims and their families in 1983."