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This is what we are reporting this morning:

SAN DIMAS - A woman was found shot to death inside a house Sunday, authorities said.

A witness discovered the body about 5 p.m. inside a house in the 500 block of 3rd Street and called for help, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Gary Lindenmayer.

The woman, whose name was not available, was pronounced dead at the scene, fire officials said.

It was not immediately clear how long before the discovery the woman was shot, Lindenmayer said.

A group of visibly upset teenagers and young adults consoled each other in front of the crime scene tape, which blocked access to the street around the home.

The homicide, which is the first reported in San Dimas since 2005, left the neighborhood uneasy.

Fox 11 reported Monday that there has been a history of calls to police from the home.

The Board of Supervisors doubled the $10,00 reward being offered for information in the slaying of a 90-year-old Altadena woman. This comes from one of our wire services:

The reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction was originally posted a
few days after the body of Evelyn Mosely was found on May 8 in her home, which had
been deliberately set on fire.

Firefighters who quickly extinguished the blaze at 3225 Lincoln Ave. discovered her
body in the kitchen, and investigators found signs of a struggle.

A housekeeper was booked on suspicion of murder hours later but was quickly exonerated and set free.

Anyone with information about Mosely's death was asked to call sheriff's homicide Lt.
Liam Gallagher at (323) 890-5500.

The shooting death of a Montebello man on July 4, has generated some heartfelt interest from his family.

Here's an excerpt from a letter I received this morning from the man's cousin. We're still waiting to confirm some of the details in the letter:

We are all still in shock and disbelief and as well confused of the
whole senario.  I found just a small article in the whittier daily
which stated that police were still investigating . . . but we were
told by police otherwise.  We have been assuming that the
purpretraters two males were arrested.  Please help us figure this
out and find closeure especially for the 3 teenage boys he leaves
behind.  I was wondering if you can continue on investigating this
story we are willing to go public if need be to find who did this.
We thought they were caught because that is what we were told.
Please help my cousin was a great man and father and deserves justice.

An excerpt from our story after the jump

Although we initially reported the unidentified man who was killed in this incident was from an unidentified street gang, officials now say the dead man was a member of the Azusa 13 Gang.

From Brian Day's story:

AZUSA - A man was shot to death early Sunday in a gang-related attack, authorities said.

The shooting occurred about 1:15 a.m. in an alley in the 100 block of Newburgh Street, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Rick Pedroza.

The dead man was initially described only as a 23-year-old Azusa resident pending notification of family members, said Los Angeles County

Department of Coroner Investigator Jerry McKibben.

He is believed to have been a member of a local street gang, Deputy Derrick Thompson said.

The man died at the scene after being shot several times in the "upper torso," said Deputy Derrick Thompson.

 

In light of the seeming lack of progress experienced by Montebello PD investigating the shooting death of 12-year-old Albert Garcia and his father Juan at a graduation party two weeks ago, I've been thinking cities that contract with the Sheriff's Department for their investigations probably have better results.

I have no proof of this. It's just a thought. And clearly the Sheriff's Department has its share of stalled investigations. The Sammantha Salas case from earlier this year in Monrovia comes to mind.

Montebello isn't the only area city that doesn't immediately turn to the vast resources of the Bulldogs. Others include Covina, Pomona, Pasadena and West Covina.

What do you think?

If it's true it's called patricide.

Here's what we know:

WHITTIER - A father collapsed and died Thursday after a fight with his son, and the son has been arrested on suspicion of murder as officials investigate what caused the death, authorities said.

The dead man was preliminarily identified as Joe Anthony Valverde, 56, of Whittier, said Los Angeles County Department Investigator Betsy Magdaleno.

His son, 34-year-old Isaac Gutierrez of Whittier, is being held in connection with the death, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said, however district attorney's officials will review the case and the coroner's findings to determine whether murder charges will ultimately be filed.

The rest of the story is here.

Three teens arrested in the slaying of Bryan Romo, 16, of Colton, have yet to be charged by the District Attorney's office.

The West Covina Police Department annouced the arrests Monday. The DA's office has no record of an arrest in the case. There is word that a fourth person is being sought in the case.

I drove by the crime scene in the 1400 block of East Puente Avenue this morning, I shot this photo of a memorial at the site.

Twelve-year-old Albert Garcia and his father Juan were buried in Riverside Monday at a private ceremony.

Montebello police continue to badger the family about talking to the media, while they are apparently making little progress in their investigation. I received this note from a family member regarding police pressure in the case:

The cops told (the family) to not talk to the press because we were going to ruin the case.

I wonder if this is the sort police communication with citizens that Montebello's new city council approves of?

Brian Day will have a great story in Sunday's paper about how investigators using DNA evidence caught up with a man who killed a Baldwin Park couple 22-years-ago as they slept:

From Brian's story, which we slugged COLDCASE:

Twenty-two years after a Baldwin Park couple was fatally stabbed by intruders as they slept in their bed, DNA left at the scene pointed to one of their killers.

Martin Talavera, 44, was convicted earlier this month of the stabbing deaths of Sylvester Flood, 74, and his fiance, Peggy Johnson, 61, in their home in the 4800 block of Elizabeth Street on Jan. 10, 1986*, said Deputy District Attorney Stefan Mrakich, who prosecuted the case in court.

Flood was pronounced dead at the scene, and Johnson died 14 months after the incident from injuries determined to be related to the attack, Mrakich said. Johnson was also raped her during the ordeal.

"It was just a horrific, brutal crime," Mrakich said, adding that Flood's face was filled with "that horrible gaze of fear" and his hands were still held up in front of him as if to defend himself against his attacker in crime scene photographs."

I'll have some crime scene photos posted up here Sunday.

*As you see I've changed the date from '96 to '86

Brian's story is now online. Here's a link.

I posted the first few paragraphs of the story up here as I was editing it Friday night. So there are some structural changes. See the comparison and the photos on the jump.

CBS 2 KCAL is reporting two homicides overnight. One in West Covina. Victim there remains unidentified.

The other incident was reported in Altadena. I've got some emails about the Altadena incident that I'll post on the jump. Here's the news story:

LOS ANGELES At least two men were gunned down in Los Angeles Friday night, according to officials.

The first homicide, in West Covina, was reported about 11:20, said West Covina police Lt. Tommy Garcia.

Responding to a "shots fired" call, police found the body of a young man in a yard near 1450 W. Puente Ave.

The victim's name was withheld pending notification of his family.

Meanwhile, in Altadena, another man was fatally shot about 1:10 a.m.

The victim in that shooting was declared dead at the hospital.

The shooting occured in the 100 block of Figueroa Drive, according to Deputy Rick Pedroza of the Sheriff's Headquarter's Bureau.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances that led up to the shooting and searching for a suspect.

As for my emails ...

The video speaks for itself. Albert was shot and killed in Montebello by gang bangers trying to crash a graduation party for a blind girl.

Police have remained completely silent regarding progress of their investigation.

Here are some pictures of Albert Garcia, 12. He and his father were shot and killed Saturday while at a party in Montebello. Police have said little about the case, but indicated Tuesday there are seeking at least three men in conenction with the slaying that may have been the end result of an argument.

The pictures were sent by Albert's mother Willena Garcia. A former employee of the Riverside County SHeriff's department who worked for several years in Temecula. Albert and, his mom, and his 10-year-                                                                                old brother were residents of Hemet.

Albert's family believes they could encouter as much as 20 to 30K in burial expenses and have set up a fund at Wells Fargo.

Albert's uncle Job Armenta remembered his nephew Tuesday. "He was an awesome, awesome little dude."

In an addendum to an earlier letter, Albert's mom wrote about her son's favorite skater, and his infectious smile.

"Albert was a caring boy who wanted to make those around him happy."