WHITTIER -- A fire damaged a home, along with a 75-year-old pickup truck, but caused no injuries Friday, authorities said.
The blaze was first reported just after 11:30 a.m. at a house in the 14300 block of Chestnut Street, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Quvondo Johnson said.
"On arrival, we did see smoke and fire coming from a single-story, single-family dwelling," he said.
A man who lives at the home returned from a trip to the store just before firefighters arrived, Capt. Matt Arledge said. He and a neighbor were trying to control the flames with water hoses.
Firefighters extinguished the flames by 11:50 a.m., Johnson said. No one was injured.
The fire mainly scorched only one room of the home, however the house sustained smoke damage throughout, Battalion Chief Ron Cabrera said. The blaze left the home uninhabitable pending repairs.
The blaze caused an estimated $200,000 worth of damage to the home and its contents, including a 1937 Chevrolet pickup truck parked at the property, the residents, Keith and Nancy Kowalsi, had been restoring, officials said.
The couple has invested about $20,000 in the project and had planned to continue the restoration, Nancy Kowalsi said.
Additionally, Nancy Kowalski said, a chest she inherited from her mother containing china and a doll collection was consumed by the blaze.
Nonetheless, she said she was just happy no one was hurt.
"It's all stuff," she said. "It can be replaced."
Nancy Kowalski said she normally would be home at the time the fire broke out, but she was delayed at work Friday due to a malfunctioning copy machine.
The couple has lived in the home for 15 years, she added.
The cause of the fire was initially believed to be accidental, possibly caused by discarded smoking materials, officials said.
SOUTH LOS ANGELES -- Investigators arrested a second school teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, an Alhambra man, Friday on suspicion of child molestation, authorities said.
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Special Victims Unit arrested Martin Springer, 49, about 10 a.m. as he was exiting a Los Angeles Unified School District building at 107th Street and Western in South Los Angeles, sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said in a written statement.
"The allegations involve two girls who were allegedly fondled in the classroom at Miramonte school by suspect Springer," Parker said. "They were approximately 7-years old at the time of the incidents, which were alleged to have occurred during the past three years."
Springer was being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles pending his arraignment, which was scheduled Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to county booking records.
Springer's arrest stemmed indirectly from Monday's arrest of another teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, 61-year-old Mark Berndt.
Berndt is being held in lieu of $23 million bail pending his Feb. 21 arraignment on 23 counts of child molestation.
He's accused of taping the eyes and mouths of students, placing cockroaches on their faces and spoon-feeding them a substance authorities have said had been identified as Berndt's semen.
Berndt's arrest came after a photo shop employee became concerned and notified authorities while developing Berndt's pictures, investigators said.
"As a result of recent requests from the sheriff's department for members of the public to contact us with any information regarding possible criminal activity at Miramonte school, we received new information (Thursday) morning. That information led investigators to (Springer)."
Springer was interviewed by investigators Wednesday and subsequently suspended from his teaching duties, Parker said. he had been under surveillance by deputies since Thursday, Parker said.
He was arrested by detectives exiting a school building at 107th Street and Western in South Los Angeles, officials added.
No one answered one phone phone numbers listed in public records as belonging to Springer Friday afternoon. A second phone number associated with him was disconnected.
And the investigation continues, Parker said.
"Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau investigators are seeking the help of the public to identify possible additional victims during the suspect's tenure at Miramonte Elementary School," he said.
Additionally, Parker said, "Sheriff (Lee) Baca understands the public's concern about this and has dedicated the necessary resources to thoroughly investigate all the information that we have received and will receive."
Anyone with information was asked to contact Special Victims Unit detectives at 877-710-5273, or tips can be left anonymously be calling L.A. Crimestoppers at 800-222-8477.
PHOTO of Martin Springer courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Former Rosemead Mayor, El Monte Union High School Board member and candidate for state Assembly John Tran entered a guilty plea in a bribery scam that targeted a developer. The feds said Tran took money in exchange for promises to get a project through City Hall. When he wasn't elected in 2009 and the project fell off the City Council's radar, it looks like the developer went to the Feds. Here's the paperwork
bribery - Rosemead mayor - Tran plea agreement.pdfPASADENA -- A woman pretending to be a police officer ended up in jail Thursday after an encounter with the real thing, officials said.
Sonia Yeretzian, 37, was booked on suspicion of impersonating a police officer, as well as outstanding warrants including one for a previous allegation of impersonating an officer in Pasadena, Pasadena police Lt. Diego Torres said.
The woman wore a blue shirt, blue pants and boots when she told firefighters she met in the 1100 block of Linda Vista Avenue Thursday afternoon that she was a police officer, Torres said.
The firefighters became suspicious and called police, who responded, found Yeretzian driving in the area and pulled her over, the lieutenant said.
She told Pasadena officers that she was a member of the Los Angeles Police Department, which turned out to be false, Torres said.
It was not clear why the woman claimed to be a police officer, he added.
According to county booking records, Yeretzian was being held in lieu of $64,500 bail pending her initial court appearance.
LA MIRADA -- Two men were stabbed Thursday during a possibly gang-related fight at La Mirada Regional Park, officials said.
The incident was reported shortly before 4 p.m. at the park, 13701 Adelfa Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Arnold said.
Three suspects, initially described only as Latino men, became involved in a fight with three other men, the sergeant said.
At least one of the suspects pulled a knife, and two of the men in the other group of combatants were stabbed, he said. Both wounded men were taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
The stabbing was suspected to be gang-related, Arnold said. No further details were available.
ARCADIA -- An intense fire Thursday destroyed a vacant Arcadia home that was in the process of being sold, authorities said.
The fire was first reported about 6:25 p.m. in the 1300 block of South First Avenue, Arcadia Fire Department spokeswoman Beth Stogner said in a written statement.
Both Arcadia and Monrovia firefighters responded to the blaze, which had already engulfed the home when they arrived, Stogner said.
"The structure was dangerously unstable due to a heavy interior fire load," she said. "Taking a defensive stance, firefighters extinguished the fire utilizing exterior tactics."
The fire did not spread to nearby structures, including the nearby Richard Henry Dana Middle School gym, officials said.
The cause of the fire, which caused an estimated $300,000 worth of damage, remained under investigation, Stogner said.
The home was vacant and was in the escrow process when the fire occurred, she said.
PHOTOS courtesy of the Arcadia Fire Department
SANTA FE SPRINGS -- Three men have been jailed in connection with a fatal car-to-car shooting that left an 18-year-old Whittier man dead and another man critically wounded, authorities said.
Mark Joseph Rodriguez died at a hospital shorty after the shooting, which was reported about 6 p.m. Thursday on Sorensen Avenue, just south of Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
Jason Uzel, 37, of Whittier, Brian Recinos, 22, of Whittier and Frank Ramos, 45, of Eureka, were booked on suspicion of murder, Whittier police Officer Bradley White said.
Rodriguez and the other shooting victim were in the back seat of a car when someone opened fire on them with .45-caliber handgun from a pearl-white compact car with aftermarket rims, Whittier police officials said.
Two other people in the car that was shot were not wounded, police said.
"A (sheriff's) deputy made a traffic stop on a vehicle (and), found a .45(-caliber) casing in the car," Whittier police Lt. Carlos Solorza said. The car matched the description of the one driven during the attack.
Two men inside the car -- later identified as Uzel and Recinos -- were found to be on parole, the lieutenant said. Officials searched a home connected to the men and seized a handgun of a similar caliber to the one used in the shooting, he added.
"It was good police work," Solorza said.
Continued investigation led to the arrest of Ramos about 12: 45 a.m. Friday, according to police and county booking records, however further details of his arrest were not available Friday.
The shooting took place on a commercial street lined with concrete warehouses and factories.
It was not clear if Thursday afternoon's shooting was related to another Santa Fe Springs shooting reported the previous night. In that incident, a 12-year-old boy was wounded in the leg while sleeping when bullets tore through his family's home in the 9300 block of Danby Avenue -- about two miles from the scene of Thursday's shooting.
Both shootings were described by police as being apparently gang-related.
According to county booking records, all three suspects were being held without bail pending their initial court appearances.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Whittier Police Department, which provides police services to Santa Fe Springs.
PICO RIVERA -- Detectives have recovered 14 charity gum dispensary stolen from area local businesses as they continued seeking the man suspected of pilfering them, authorities said.
The investigation began in January when a representative of a children's cancer charity reported to sheriff's officials that five plastic collection boxes had been stolen from businesses in the Pico Rivera and Norwalk area, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Robert Smith said.
A man had taken the boxes pretending to be a representative of the charity, Smith said. He told shopkeepers that he was a new employee of the charity, and he had been instructed to collect the boxes.
An investigation led by Detective Eric Callahan identified a suspect, and officials carried out a search warrant Thursday at the man's Lakewood home, Smith said.
Deputies recovered the five missing donation boxes, long with six others, the lieutenant said. The gum remained in the boxes, though the money had been taken.
Eight of the 14 boxes were determined to belong to a children's cancer charity called the "Hope for Kids Foundation," Smith said.
Detectives were still working Friday to determine who owned the other six donation boxes, he added. They were believed to belong to another children's charity.
Detectives withheld the suspect's name pending his arrest, Smith said.
Anyone with information about the thefts, or who knows who may own the six recovered collection boxes which haven't been accounted for yet, is asked to call the sheriff's Pico Rivera Station at 562-949-2421.
VAN NUYS -- A judge sentenced a man to 21 years in prison Thursday for the fatal shooting of a popular Pasadena professor, officials said.
Steven Ronald Honma, 56, of Westlake Village, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in November for the March 20, 2010 slaying of 50-year-old Norman Schureman of Altadena.
Schureman was a professor at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Honma received his sentence in Van Nuys Superior Court from Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rubinson, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said in a written statement.
The shooting took place at a Persian New Year's Eve Party hosted by Schureman's mother-in-law in the 31700 block of Kentfield Court in Westlake Village, officials said.
"The defendant got into a fight and was asked to leave," according to the D.A.'s statement. "Honma left the party but returned with multiple concealed weapons, ammunition and a serrated knife."
Sheriff's officials said Honma had two guns with him at the time of the shooting, though only one was fired.
"When Honma was asked to leave a second time, a fight ensued and the defendant drew a handgun, fatally shooting Schureman," according to the statement.
Schureman taught product design at Art Center for nearly two decades.
He is survived by his wife and two young children. More than 1,000 mourners gathered for his memorial service at the school, and a scholarship has been established in his name.
SANTA FE SPRINGS -- Investigators asked the public's help Thursday in finding a big rig driver who fled the scene of a four-vehicle crash that left a 4-year-old boy critically injured.
The crash occurred about 7:25 p.m. Tuesday on the northbound 605 Freeway, just north of Telegraph Road, California Highway Patrol officials said in a written statement.
The chain-reaction crash involved a big rig, a Honda Civic, a Toyota Avalon and a Nissan Altima, CHP Officer Al Perez said. The badly injured boy was riding in the Honda.
The cause and circumstances of the crash remained under investigation, he added.
Witnesses were able to provide CHP investigators with a partial license plate for the big rig, as well as a partial name of the business that owns the truck, Perez said.
In order to find the hit-and-run driver, CHP officials asked that anyone who may have witnessed the crash to contact Officer Destiny Tafoya at 562-868-0503.
WEST COVINA -- Police arrested two men who ran from a stolen car Thursday, including one who was subdued with a Tazer and a bean bag gun after trying to choke a police dog sent to capture him, authorities said.
Officers received a report of a stolen car about 2:10 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Fleetwell Avenue, West Covina police Lt. Tommy Garcia said.
Officers searching the area spotted the stolen car about 2:30 p.m. less than a mile to the south, parked along a curb on Azusa and Fairgrove avenues, the lieutenant said.
Both men, initially described as appearing to be in their late teens or early 20s, ran from the car once they spotted an approaching police officer, Garcia said.
The passenger was captured almost immediately, he said, however officials set up a search perimeter to hunt for the driver.
A short time later, were notified by a resident of the 1700 block of Newcrest Drive that he had arrived home to find a man had broken into his house and was hiding in his bathroom, Garcia said.
Police ultimately forced their way into the home and sent in a police dog, the lieutenant said.
"He was fighting with the dog. He wasn't giving up," Garcia said. "He actually got the dog into a position where he was choking the dog."
At that point, officers shocked the suspect with a Taser with no effect, he said. Officers then fired a bean bag round at the suspect and took him into custody.
The suspects' names were not available Thursday afternoon pending booking, officials said.
The passenger was being held on suspicion of auto theft, while the driver was suspected of auto theft, burglary and resisting arrest.
WHITTIER -- Police are planning to hold a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Friday.
The checkpoint will take place from 7 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday in the area of Whittier Boulevard and Philadelphia Street, Whittier police officials said in a written statement.
"Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough," according to the police statement.
When possible, officers will, "strive to delay motorist only momentarily," the statement added.
Funding for the checkpoint is being provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY -- Bank robberies in Los Angeles County and across the state have hit a 10-year low, according to the FBI.
Annual bank robbery statistics released by the FBI Wednesday indicate that officials investigated 122 bank robberies in the county in 2011, compared with 168 in 2010.
With the exception of a moderate uptick in bank heists in 2008 and 2009, bank robberies in Los Angeles county have been steadily waning since 2002, when 401 such crimes were reported.
A similar trend was seen statewide, where 677 bank robberies took place in 2011, down from 779 in 2010 and 1,405 in 2002, according to the FBI report.
"The decrease in overall robberies is attributable in part to closer cooperation among law enforcement agencies, successful prosecution by the United States Attorney's Office and its counterparts at the district attorney's offices, as well as a more proactive approach by the banking community in the implementation of additional security measures," FBI officials said in a written statement.
"In addition, media coverage of increasingly clear bank surveillance photographs, and rewards offered by banks and law enforcement (have) contributed to the community's awareness and has generated valuable assistance from the public in the identification of unknown subjects," the statement said.
According to the data, California saw about twice the number of bank robberies as any other state. New York comes in second with 339 bank robberies reported in 2011.
Bank heists have been on a steady decline since the early 1990s, officials added.
The FBI's Los Angeles Field Officer serves seven Southern California Counties including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Though yearly numbers show bank robberies declining, "In January 2012, the pace of bank robberies has increased and so far this year, 40 bank robberies have been reported in the seven-county area, primarily in Los Angeles and Orange counties, followed by Riverside County.
About 12 percent of the heists reported to the Los Angeles Field Office of the FBI were "takeovers" -- in which employees or customers are held hostage during the crime.
Along with the updated statistics, the FBI Wednesday issued a list of the region's top ten wanted serial bank robbers.
They include the "Explosive Threat Bandit," tied to six L.A. County bank robberies since November -- the first of which took place at a West Covina Bank of America Branch; as well as the "Lift and Show Bandit," linked to three bank robberies in La Puente, West Covina and Pico Rivera since December.
Seven suspected serial bank robbers who have been operating in the Los Angeles area have been arrested this month, including the prolific "Market Duo," "Bubble Wrap" and "Puffy Coat" bandits.
Anyone with information about a bank robber at-large is asked to call the FBI's 24-hour tip line in Los Angeles at 310-477-6565.
PHOTOS of the "Explosive Threat Bandit" (top) and the "Lift and Show Bandit," (below) courtesy of the FBI.
COVINA -- A Covina woman died late Wednesday after being struck by an SUV while crossing the street, authorities said.
Elsa Giron, 68, was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the 6:26 p.m. crash at Cypress Street and Ellen Drive, in an unincorporated county area near Covina, according to Los Angeles County Department of Coroner and California Highway Patrol officials.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation, however nothing criminal was initially suspected, said CHP Sgt. C. Fusco, who declined to give his first name.
The woman was crossing in the intersection when she was struck by a passing Ford SUV. The directions of travel and other circumstances of the crash were not available Thursday.
A 64-year-old Covina man who was driving the SUV was not injured, Fusco added.
CONTRIBUTORS
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| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
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Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
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