187: October 2008 Archives

In Thursday's column, I noted that Walter Collins lived in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles. A reader writes to correct that by noting that Walter and Christine Collins actually lived in Lincoln Heights.

A slight correction on the "Changeling" story.  Walter Collins was not from Mt. Washington, he was from Lincoln Heights and lived at 217 N. Ave 23.  He was abducted two blocks away.  The neighborhood where he lived was razed to make way for the transit village at the Ave 26/Lincoln Heights Gold Line Stop.

Old L.A. Times and other media often mistook L.A. neighborhoods.  The borders of where Mt. Washington is, where Highland Park is, etc is far more distinct now.  It wasn't always the case.

I've created a map that shows some of the locations from the story:
View Larger Map

This comes from Jan Williams, whose son and grandsons were killed last summer at their home in Rowland Heights. Manling Williams, wife and mother of the victims, is awaiting trial for slayings, and could face the death penalty. Here's Jan's commentary:

Jan Williams, whose son and grandsons were killed last August at their home in Rowland Heights, will be participating in a rally supporting Marcy's Law, described as a bill of rights for victims of violent crimes. The press conference will take place outside the condo where Neal, Devon and Ian were slain. Here's the top of the press release:

As children prepare to go house to house "trick or treating" on Halloween Friday, a Los Angeles man will be traveling across Los Angeles and Orange County from murder scene to murder scene. He will not be gathering candy, but stories of murder.  The man is a local criminal prosecutor who worked with Broadcom billionaire Henry Nicholas to give victims rights by co-writing  Prop 9, the "Victims Bill of Rights". The prosecutor, a local Deputy District Attorney, "Marsy's Law" in memory of Nicholas's murdered sister, is on the November 4, 2008 ballot.

Press Conferences/ "Yes on Prop. 9" Tour of Murder Scenes  (Oct. 29, 30, 31)
Over the three day period there will be a series of press conferences featuring the prosecutor who wrote Marsy's law and the victims stories that inspired the changes in the law. Family members of murdered victims will tell not only the story of the murder, but the story of how they were re-victimized by the criminal justice system. The pilgrimage will begin on Wednesday October 29, 2008 in Malibu at the scene of 20 year old Marsy's brutal shotgun murder and end in Orange County, with victims right leaders who inspired  the writing of Prop 9.

Photo at right comes from the archives of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner at the Los Angeles City Library. Here's the caption:

Gordon Stewart Northcott the opposing batteries of attorneys, his four guards and some of the witnesses at his trial in Riverside for the murder of the Winslow brothers. Seated at the counsel table are, left to right, Deputy District Attorney Earle Redwine; Loyal C. Kelley, associate prosecution counsel; A. H. DeTremaudan, defense attorney; J. McKinley Cameron, defense attorney; David Sokol, defense attorney; Northcott; Norbert Savay, chief defense attorney. The four guards standing at right are, left to right, Deputy Sheriffs T. J. Burn, Ben deCrevecoeur, Carl Raeburn and Tex Boyles. In the background are witnesses and spectators.

Among those things we struggle with in reporting crimes stories are names -- and correct spellings.

When Manling Williams was arrested in 2007 on suspicion of killing her husband and two young boys, several spellings of her name appeared on the Internet and in various publications: Man-ling. Man Ling, Manling. Originally we went with Man-ling, but in recent stories we've switched to Manling, which is how court papers refer to her.

A similar problem presented itself this summer with Christopher Chichester/Clark Rockefeller/Christian Gerhartsreiter.

Reporters in the 1920s faced similar articles. In Tuesday's blog entry, I transcribed an article referring to Gordon Stewart Northcott as Gordon Stuart Northcott. Years ago it wouldn't have been a problem, with the Internet and specilized search tools.. you get the picture.

Anyway in the months before Northcott came to national prominence for is role in the kidnapping and killing of four young boys, Los Angeles was gripped by the story of Edward Hickman. 

This comes from a Sheriff's Department bulletin issued this afternoon:

On October 21, 2008 (Tuesday) at 1400 hours, Victim Luciano Brash was shot at a home in Alhambra. His body was then dropped off at the Pacific Orthopedic Medical Center, 707 S. Garfield Avenue, Alhambra. The suspects should be considered ARMED AND DANGEROUS. Investigators are seeking the public's assistance, and asking anyone with information to contact Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

Here's the photos:

Sheriff's detectives identify this man as Scott Young Kim. A 37-year-old male Asian. He is wanted in connection with the Brash homicide. It's believed he was the shooter.

 

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Sheriff's detectives identify this man as Samuel Patrick Groft, a 28-year-old male white. He is also wanted in connection with the Brash homicide. he is believed to be one of two men seen in a videotape dropping Brash's body on the floor of an Alhambra medical clinic.

 

 

 

 

Here's a  videotape of two men dumping Brash's body in the reception area of an Alhambra medical clinic. There is also an alleged connection between the men and the Korean Mafia, officials said.

Here's a Wikipedia entry on the Korean mob and gangsters known as kkangpae.

 

 

 

 

America's Most Wanted will devote part of its show Saturday to the tale of the Grim Sleeper. The LA Weekly outlined the story several weeks ago. Here's a link to the show's Web site. This from the AMW press release:

AMW host John Walsh and special guest LAPD Chief William Bratton will share the latest developments in the case of "The Grim Sleeper," a serial killer who earned his nickname after committing at least 11 violent murders in the 1980s, only to resurface and strike again 13 years later.
 
Walsh will also take viewers to the mean streets populated by the city's homeless, and ask them to help solve the brutal and senseless murder of John McGraham. McGraham was a fixture on the streets of L.A.'s Koreatown neighborhood, a man who'd been given a raw deal by life but was making the best of it. The community considered him to be one of their own, and protected him as best they could. In October 2008, someone doused the helpless man with gasoline and set him ablaze, leaving him to die in the streets.

 

This comes from an old newspaper article. It was published on Sept. 16, 1928:

Gordon Stuart Northcott, alleged to have murdered four boys on the chicken ranch of his father Cyrus Northcott, near Wineville, and his mother, Louise Northcott, today are confronted with a first degree murder charge and Canadian police and detectives are close on their trail in Vancouver.

The Murder complaint was issued from the office of District Attorney Albert Ford this morning, with Jim Quinn, district attorney investigator as the complaining witness.

HAVE STRONG CASE

Quinn believes the state has sufficient evidence to convict both Gordon Stuart Northcott and his mother of first degree murder.

He says the statement made by Sanford Clark to the Los Angeles operators, and the statement alleged to have been made by Gordon Stuart Northcott to his father Cyrus Northcott, are sufficient upon which to base a murder charge.

The physical evidence in the hands of Riverside county officers strengthens the case, Quinn statesm and proves that a human life has been taken. This evidence includes a toenail, two  

 

Authorities announced an arrest in connection with a body dump at an Alhambra clinic. The dead man shown in the video below may have been connected to the Korean mafia, authorities said. Here's Nate McIntire's story:

Suspects have been identified in the slaying of a man whose body was dropped off at an Alhambra medical facility last week, authorities said.

The body of Luciano Teadoro Brash, 31, was brought by two men to the Pacific Orthopaedic & Medical Center on South Garfield Avenue last Tuesday. The incident was caught on tape by security cameras.

Brash was pronounced dead at the scene, and coroners determined his cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Scott Kim, 37, whom detectives believe was the shooter. Arrest warrants have also been issued for Samuel Groft and Sam Lock Sui, the two men who allegedly carried Brash's body into the medical facility, according to Sheriff's Sgt. Alec MacArthur. Sui has been arrested and remains in custody, detectives said.

MacArthur said the suspects were "possibly in the Korean Mob." Brash may also be linked to the Korean mafia, according to Sheriff's Lt. Patrick Nelson.

"It appears that the victim himself may have had some connection with that," he said.

Brash has a criminal record and spent time in prison for felony robbery in the late 1990s, according to investigators.

This from the City News Service:

A narcotics unit of the Redondo Beach Police Department announced today the arrest of a suspected drug dealer who turned out to be wanted for two murders in Colorado and was
profiled on "America's Most Wanted."

The Redondo PD's Special Investigations Unit got a tip about an alleged
narcotics dealer who lived in Montebello, said Sgt. Gene Tomatani.

While the suspect was under surveillance Monday, he was allegedly observed
selling methamphetamine to a buyer in a shopping center parking lot in El
Monte, the sergeant said.

Officers arrested 28-year-old Rodolfo "Rudy" Gonzalez, who allegedly had a
small amount of contraband on him, and also took the buyer into custody,
Tomatani said.

When Gonzalez was taken into custody, he casually remarked that he was wanted
for two murders and refused to say more, according to the sergeant, who said
the suspect also gave police a phony name.

Meanwhile, he was jailed in the Redondo Beach lockup, and a search warrant was obtained late last night to search his home in Montebello, where three pounds of methamphetamine and a smaller quantity of cocaine and marijuana were recovered, Tomatani said.

GLENDORA -- A Glendora man turned himself in Tuesday morning in connection with a stabbing that occurred Monday night on the patio of a Starbucks, authorities said.

Jacob Westin, 18, was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a man on the patio of a Starbucks on the 1800 block of East Route 66 last night around 10 p.m., Glendora police Lt. Ernie Didier said.

WHITTIER - Sheriff's deputies are searching for an attempted burglary suspect in Whittier, authorities said.

The deputies responded at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning to a "burglary in process" at the 11500 block of Havenwood Drive, said Sgt. Della Walls of the Pico Rivera sheriff's station.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - Officials have released the name of a 20-year-old La Puente man found dead at the scene of a shooting Sunday.

Paulo Orozco Campos was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m. in the driveway of a house in the 15400 block Los Robles Avenue, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said.

MONROVIA - Hazmat* 720 E Huntington, Monrovia; Battalion 10 Incident Commander, large
amount of toxic cloud from closed up metal commerical structure. Req Hazmat
units. Mutual Aid: Burbank and Glendale. Red 2@10:03PM CABN01 ### 

Looks like it was another busy weekend for law enforcement with violent acts reported throughout the region.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS -- A man's body was discovered in a residential driveway Sunday with apparent gunshot wounds, authorities said.

EL MONTE -- A man stabbed to death in a motel room over the weekend was bound and gagged when a maid found his body, according to a motel employee.

SAN GABRIEL -- A man was hospitalized with serious injuries Saturday after he was stabbed at a shopping center, authorities said.

PICO RIVERA -- Gunfire ended a Halloween party in Pico Rivera Saturday, leaving one person wounded and at least one suspect on the run, a sheriff's sergeant said.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS -- Los Angeles County sheriff's officials examine evidence at the scene of a homicide Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, in the 15400 block of Los Robles Avenue. Here's a link to the Tribune story regarding the apparent shooting death of a young man.

MONTEBELLO -- Two men were arrested Saturday on suspicion of killing another man in what police believe was a gang-related shooting, authorities said.

  Edward Joseph De la Rosa, 22, of Montebello (left) and Andrew Simon Valdez, 20, (right) also of Montebello were booked on suspicion of murder, Montebello police said in a written statement.

The victim's name was not released Saturday as officials had not yet notified a next of kin, coroner's officials said. Police estimated him to be in his 20s.

  The man died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center shortly after the shooting, which occurred about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of N. 6th Street, officials said.

The suspects and victim are believed to be affiliated with street gangs, police said. Authorities would not release the names of those gangs.

A man was found stabbed to death in an El Monte motel room Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The body was found about 1:09 p.m. in the 11600 block of Garvey Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Art Spencer.

"The cause of death was apparently due to multiple stab wounds," Spencer said.

Detectives from the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau were sent to help the El Monte Police Department with the investigation.

The man's name was not released. He was only described as a male, Hispanic adult.

Clint Eastwood's "The Changeling," which was released today has some interesting local connections.

The story is a retelling of the Wineville Chicken Murders committed by Gordan Stewart Northcott and his mother Louise Northcott on a chicken farm in 1928.

The Northcotts kidnapped boys from throughout the Southland, including Walter Collins, the subject of the movie, which stars Angelina Joile as Clark's mother Christine Collins.

Besides Collins, the Northcotts kidnapped Louis and Nelson Winslow of Pomona and an unidentified "Mexican" boy from La Puente. Most of the kidnappings were done along the main route between Riverside and Los Angeles, which is now kown as Valley Boulevard.

At one time, I hoped to write a book on the killings and in the process I collected several old newspaper articles and a copy of the remaining court file from Sacramento.

Mongul author Ruben "Doc" Cavazos, Mongol Little Rubes, Mongol Ogre and Mongol Bouncer attend the Book Expo Celebrity Dinner at Restaurant 208 on May 30, 2008 in Beverly Hills, California.

 

Doc, Little Rubes, and Bouncer are all mentioned in the 177-page federal indictment handed down against the gang Tuesday.

Here's a mention of "Bouncer":

COUNT THIRTY-THREE

[21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B)(viii)]

On or about July 25, 2006, in Los Angeles County, within the

Central District of California, defendant PETER SOTO, also known

as "Bouncer," knowingly and intentionally distributed at least

five grams, that is, approximately 13.5 grams, of actual

methamphetamine, a schedule II controlled substance.

 

Here's a mention of "LIttle Rubes"

COUNT SIXTY-FIVE

[18 U.S.C. § 924(c)]

On or about May 24, 2008, in Los Angeles County, within the

Central District of California, defendants RUBEN CAVAZOS, JR.,

also known as "Lil Rubes," and BRIAN MCCAULEY, knowingly

possessed a firearm, namely, an H&K .45 caliber handgun, bearing

serial number 25-093654, during and in relation to, and in

furtherance of, a crime of violence, namely, the racketeering

conspiracy set forth in Count One of this Indictment, a violation

of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(d).

 

 

This scene comes from season five of The Wire on HBO.

There are some fascinating peeks at the workings of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang in the federal grand jury indictment released Tuesday.

Their brutality is apparent:

"On August 18, 2006, in Los Angeles County, defendant (William `Dago Bill' Shawley) advised an undercover law enforcement officer that he and defendants (David `L.A. Bull' Gil) and (Aaron `Sick Boy' Price) had captured an individual and tortured him for three hours, by breaking the man's knuckles with a pair of pliers, breaking his knee by hitting it with a metal pipe."

Alongside the action, a sub-plot emerges from the pages and pages of court documents.

It lies in the ongoing feuds among individual Mongols and a turf battle between bikers and area street gangs who are loyal to La Eme.

While there's been a push by former Mongols president Ruben "Doc" Cavazos to recruit street gang members, old-time members have been resistant.

Meanwhile, newer members have been reluctant to pay taxes on illicit drug sales to La Eme, because they are already paying the Mongols.

Last year, Cavazos wanted to broker an agreement between the organizations, but instead found himself targeted, according to the indictment.

According to the indictment, an informant told an undercover ATF agent that "Cavazos was attempting to negotiate with La Eme to compensate them for the narcotics-trafficking being conducted by Mongols members.

"Cavazos had met with

La Eme representatives at City Walk in Studio City to offer them a one-time tax payment, but that the offer had been rejected and La Eme had ordered a greenlight on the Mongols."

Although the meeting took place on the other side of town, it's pretty clear the San Gabriel Valley is fertile ground for organized crime.

This is prime turf for credit card scams, dope deals, money laundering, extortion, prostitution, assault and murder.

Stuff that happens here every day. Stuff that often gets reported in the newspaper, but in a disconnected, bullet-points-on-a-blotter sort of way that occasionally fleshes out the big picture.

Think about all the groups that operate in our neighborhoods. There's La Eme. We have the Wah Ching and assorted other Asian gangs. Crips and Bloods rule some neighborhoods, while Armenian and Russian gangsters continue to filter into the SGV from Glendale and Los Angeles.

If anything it's a Balkanization of sorts. And from time to time, each gang has its moment in the spotlight because of a large-scale federal or county prosecution.

Despite turf battles and rivalries, the prosecutions of these gangs highlight plenty of similarities - mainly the desire to make money. Lots of it. By any means necessary - including beatings and murder.

But it also paints a picture of young men who believe they are the last true individualists in America.

In his 1966 book "Hell's Angels," Hunter S. Thompson saw violent motorcycle gangs as part of the bleak and terrible rise of a new form of gangsterism dispensing equal amounts of violence and dope.

"(They are) not some romantic leftover, but the first wave of a future that nothing in our history has prepared us to deal with," Thompson wrote.

This slide show was produced by members of the SGVN team, including Raul Roa and Rod Leveque.

 

The US attorney wanted to own the trademarked logo of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang and a judge granted that request Wednesday, according to an Associated Press reporter who attended an afternoon hearing in federal court:

Here's the top of the story:

LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge in Los Angeles bars the Mongols motorcycle gang from selling or distributing its trademarked logo after authorities arrested dozens of its members in six states.

 

No word yet if Ruben Cavazos has appeared in court or entered a plea. Cavazos, a former president of the group, is targeted as the head of the conspiracy.

The single homicide alleged in the federal indictment against members of the Mongols Motorcycle Club occurred on Valentine's Day last year.

The victim apparently was Leon Huddleston, a homeless man who was beaten to death with a pool cue at a bar in Lancaster.

Here's a recap of the beating from a Web site known as the Antelope Valley War on Gangs and Crime.

Meanwhile, members of the outlaw motorcycle gang are expected to appear in federal court later today.

* Here's what Jill Levoy wrote in the Homicide Report last year following Huddleston's death:

Leon Huddleston, a 25-year-old white man, was beaten with a pool cue at 227 W. Pillsbury St. in Lancaster and died at 7:10 p.m. Feb. 22.

Huddleston, described by police as a local transient, was playing pool at Young's Bar and Grill when two men came in, walked straight up to him, and hit him with a pool cue. Huddleston fell behind the bar. No argument or brawl preceded the attack. Detectives say they don't know the motive. Huddleston "didn't even have a chance to defend himself," said Sgt. Jeff Cochran of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

The suspects fled, and a handful of bar patrons who witnessed the attack also left the scene. Huddleston lived for a week on life support before dying. Los Angeles County supervisors have offered a $10,000 reward for information in this case. Anyone with tips is asked to call detectives at (323) 890-5635.

An outlaw motorcycle gang member is led on a perp walk by officers involved in a RICO bust of members of the Mongols Motorcycle gang.

A person is brought in to the Montebello Police Department after many
arrests overnight during an investigation conducted by the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), L.A. Sheriff Dept.,
Montebello Police and La Vegas Police. Over 160 federal search
warrants and 110 federal arrest warrants were served today on members
and associates of the Mongols Outlaw Motorcycle Gang nationwide.
(SGVN/Staff Photo by Raul Roa/SVCity)

Alhambra police and sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating a body dump near the intersection of Garfield and Mission, officials said.

Apparently a man drove up to a clinic near the intersection, dropped of a man with a bullet hole in his chest and fled. The man with the bullet hole in his chest was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives are reviewing a videotape of the incident.

They are all mentioned in the block buster 177-page federal indictment against members of the outlaw motorcycle gang known as the Mongols. The indictment details drug deals, beatings, a war with La Eme, murder and attempted murder.

Here's a link to the indictment for your reading pleasure.

This comes from a hand-out reporter Emma Gallegos received this morning at the Montebello Police Department:

• The investigation was handled by the ATF the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Montebello PD and the Las Vegas Metro PD.
• ATF agents, deputies and police officers obtained 160 search warrants and 110 arrest warrants for the sweep this morning.
• 1500 cops were involved in the various searches and arrests. Warrants were served in California, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Ohio.
• Mongols members are being charged with murder, attempted murder, assault, firearms violations, and narcotics violations. The prosecution will be a RICO case.
• The Mongols and their associates are a heavily armed and violent cang. There are approximately 600 members in the US and 400 of those memberrs are in California. The gang was recruiting street gang members.
• Among those arrested were former Mongols National President Rueben "Doc" Cavazos.
• The sweep is this second time since 2001 that the gang has been targeted by federal authorities.

 

This from the Associated Press, covering the Phil Spector murder trial downtown. Mr. Spector has a new hair-do for the occaision:

Jury selection for music producer Phil Spector's murder retrial began Monday.

About 80 prospects reported to court Monday and an initial group of 18 has been
chosen for questioning.

Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler asked the nine men and nine women if they can be fair and impartial and follow his instructions.

Spector is charged with second-degree murder in the 2003 death of Lana Clarkson.

 

The 40-year-old actress died of a gunshot through the mouth while sitting in
the foyer of his Alhambra mansion.

Spector's first trial ended a year ago when jurors deadlocked 10-2, with the
majority favoring conviction. Spector's defense suggested Clarkson shot
herself.

Officials are reporting five people killed within 5-hours over the weekend, with three of the homicides reported in the Whittier area.

In addition to the Whittier-area killings, one of which was a double-homicide, a man was stabbed to death in Hawaiian Gardens late Friday and another man was shot to death in Athens early Sunday.

Here's an excerpt from a preliminary version of tommorrow's story regarding the Whittier-area cases:

Three men were shot to death in two separate shootings in the Whittier area within a two-hour period late Saturday and early Sunday, authorities said.
Two men were shot about 10:45 p.m. Saturday in the 3900 block of Aleman Avenue in Pico Rivera, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Art Spencer said.
Another man was fatally shot about 12:20 a.m. Sunday in the 10900 block of Carmenita Road in an unincorporated county area near Whittier, he said.
A teenager and a young father were among the victims, officials and family members said.

Coroner's officials identified the Pico Rivera victims as Manuel Torres, 17 of La Puente and John Schula, 30, of Montebello.

The name of the victim in unincorporated Whittier was not available.

Details regarding the investigation are slow in coming, as detectives handling the the Whittier-area cases could not be reached for comment Sunday.

 

 

Nate McIntire reports:

ALHAMBRA - A suspect in a 25-year-old murder investigation who once told police that his alleged victim fell on a knife is being extradited from Vietnam and is expected to return to the United States today, authorities said.

Members of an FBI task force will escort Vietnamese national Ninh Kim Nguyen, 52, back to the United States to face murder and robbery charges after he allegedly stabbed a woman to death in Alhambra in 1983.

"Soon after the investigation began, he became the prime suspect," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Detective Joe Romero said.

Nguyen, who is also a convicted rapist, fled the country after being charged with murder a week after Khuyen Thi Bui, 38, was found by her son in her North Fifth Street apartment with a kitchen knife sticking out of her throat.

Nguyen was a friend of the victim and was arranging to assist her in the sale of $30,000 worth of jewelry before her death, according to authorities.

"At the time of the murder, Nguyen was allegedly trying to defraud the victim in a scheme involving diamonds, with which he allegedly absconded before he fled the United States," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller wrote in a statement.

 

Less than a week after what may have been a shooting between rival motorcycle gangs on area freeways, thousands of bikers are descending on Palm Springs this morning as part of the American Heat rally. The shooting resulted in the death of Manuel Martin, of Venice.

This comes from City News service, and appears in the Contra Costa Times:

MOORPARK - Authorities today planned to call off the search for the body of a 16-year-old San Fernando Valley boy missing since 1968 who was believed to have been buried next to a Ventura County freeway.

Unless there is "some compelling evidence," the search for the remains of Roger Dale Madison will be called off and a memorial service for the teen will be held at the site starting at 11 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. His sister was expected to be on hand, police said.

The search had been concentrated along the 23 Freeway at the Tierra Rejada Road offramp, where a 12-foot-deep pit was excavated.

Digging began there Monday, as cold-case investigators from a half-dozen jurisdictions, most of them volunteers working on their days off, searched for the remains of the boy, who was last seen just before Christmas 1968.

This is the latest in the strange and terrible saga of Manuel Martin's' death at the intersection of the 2 and the 210 freeways was the result of an ongoing feud between the Hell's Angels and Mongols motorcycle clubs. Here's Nathan McIntire's update:

GLENDALE - Police are searching for a dark-colored car that may have been involved in the shooting death of a motorcyclist on the Glendale (2) Freeway.

An autopsy was performed on the victim Thursday, but the results were not available, authorities said.
Manuel Vincent Martin, 30, suffered a bullet wound in the chest but had no other major visible injuries, according to Los Angeles County Department of Coroner spokesman Craig Harvey.
Police confirmed Thursday that another motorcyclist riding with Martin was wearing a Mongols Motorcycle Club T-shirt. The Mongols, a biker gang that originated in Montebello in the 1970s, has been warring with the Hell's Angels.
Gang involvement is being investigated as a possible motive in the slaying, according to Glendale Police Department Sgt. Tom Lorenz.
Several people showed up to the crime scene following the shooting, Lorenz said.
"The apparel that they were wearing indicated an association with the Mongols," he said. "There was one individual with a Mongol tatoo."
"The Police Department has not ruled out any outlaw biker activity that may have caused this event," he added.

In wake of increased violence between outlaw motorcycle gangs, Palm Desert is prepping for a weekend orgy of motorcyclists to descend on the Riverside County Community, according to the Desert Sun:

Palm Springs Police Chief David Dominguez told merchants this week that while there have been recent incidents around the state between rival motorcycle gangs, he does not expect violence during this weekend's event.

"They (the motorcycle groups) have let us know they are coming and they just want to have fun," Dominguez said.

Earlier this year, Dominguez warned the City Council that he was concerned about rising incidents among the Mongols, Vagos and Hells Angels motorcycle gangs.

He said this week that there is always a chance that something could happen, but his department will be prepared.

There will be a heavy presence of uniformed officers throughout the weekend, as well as volunteer and off-duty law enforcement officers who will be in town showing off their own bikes, Dominguez said. Burke said he will also have security on hand to ensure a family-friendly event.

"I think we will be fine," Dominguez said.

Here's a photo of Manuel Martin supplied by the DMV. Martin was apparently shot and killed at the 210 2 connector on the Glendale La Canada border early Wednesday morning, officials said. He was 30. 

A motorcyclist who was shot to death on a freeway in Glendale may have been a member of the Montebello-based Mongols motorcycle gang, authorities said Wednesday.

From the San Francisco Chronicle: 

Guardado was killed about a mile from the Hells Angels clubhouse on Tennessee Street, where he lived as head of what the group calls the Frisco chapter.

Police say murder charges were filed against Ablett in San Francisco earlier this week. He is considered armed and dangerous, and is being sought on a $5 million arrest warrant.

Homicide Inspector Karen Lynch declined to elaborate on a possible motive for the killing, other than to say Guardado and Ablett apparently argued on the street before the shooting.

Ablett is a freelance electrician who lives with his parents in a suburban neighborhood of Modesto.

* Ablett turned himself in to authorities in Oklahoma yesterday, according to the Associated Press:

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (AP) - The man police think killed the leader of the San Francisco Hells Angels motorcycle gang last month surprised a smalltown police force in Oklahoma by turning himself in.
Bartlesville Police Chief Tom Holland says Christopher Ablett showed up to surrender Sunday.
A check of Ablett's name and fingerprints turned up nothing tying him to any case in Oklahoma. He suggested they might want to expand their search, and that's when a California warrant for his arrest popped onto the screen with a $5 million bond attached. Ablett told the officers, "That would be me."
Holland says Ablett was "as polite as could be," and not someone you'd think killed anyone.
Ablett is said to be part of a rival motorcycle gang fueding with the Hells Angels.

** The official Mongols Web site is here.

I don't know if this is true or not, but a source says there's word that human remains have been found at the excavation site where cops are digging for the body of the Roger Madison. Here's some recent coverage of the case and a related case in Pasadena.

Two missing Azusa children are also linked to the killer.

Todd Ruiz -- Under the Dome

LADN -- Dig for remains

Los Angeles police will dig near two freeway ramps in Ventura County today in a search for the remains of a San Fernando Valley boy killed by a serial murderer 40 years ago.

LAPD officers, aided by dozens of FBI agents and police from other agencies, will excavate where four police dogs have indicated that human bones have been buried, the Ventura County Star reported Sunday.

A ground-penetrating radar unit from Caltrans has indicated a likely burial location, and a particle detector that sniffs out decaying human bones "went off like a Geiger counter in the same place," said Los Angeles Police Detective Vivian Flores.

The interchange of the 23 Freeway at Tierra Rejada Road in Moorpark is about 25 miles west of the Arleta home where Roger Dale Madison was last seen alive on Dec. 14, 1968. A construction crew chief who was building the freeway, Mack Ray Edwards, confessed to kidnapping and murdering the boy, throwing him into a hole and covering him up with rocks and fill dirt as the 23 was being built.

Edwards, known as the most-notorious serial killer of children in California history, confessed to as many as 18 kidnappings and murders dating back to at least 1953. Although he was never charged with killing Roger Madison, he confessed to the crime shortly before he hanged himself with a television cord while on death row at San Quentin.

Flores said Edwards' confession in the Madison case was not followed up in 1970, but the reasons

Police identified a man who was shot sunday as Oscar Torres, 38, of Bassett.

Torres was shot and killed in the 2200 block of Mardel Avenue early Sunday morning, officials said. Coroner's officials said Torres was shot in the head, the torso, the hand and leg.

A man with him was wounded in the shooting.

Reporter Brian Day visited the crime scene Sunday, took this picture and filed this story:

BASSETT - A man was killed and another wounded early Sunday in a shooting in an equestrian neighborhood, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 6:30 a.m. in the 2200 block of Mardel Avenue in an unincorporated county area near Industry, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. James Beamon said.

The dead man was identified only as a Latino man in his 30s, Lt. Dan Rosenberg of the sheriff's Homicide Bureau said.

His name had not been released late Sunday pending notification of family members, coroner's officials said.

No motive or shooter information was known Sunday afternoon, according to Rosenberg.

"At this point, we're talking to witnesses and trying to determine what happened," he said.

Deputies from the sheriff's Industry station were initially sent to investigate a report of a shooting, Rosenberg said.

"They found a male Hispanic adult suffering from gunshot wounds deceased in the front yard," Rosenberg said.

BASSETT -- Homicide investigators visited the 2200 block of Mardel Avenue Sunday to investigate the shooting death of a man and the wounding of another.

Detectives initially said there was little known about the incident, which occurred about 6:30 a.m. in the 2200 block of Mardel Avenue.

The dead man was described only as a Latino man estimated to be in his 30s, and the wounded man, who was hospitalized in critical condition, appeared to be in his 20s, according to sheriff's and fire officials.

The dead man died in the driveway of the home, where his body remained shielded by a green tarp early Sunday afternoon.

The wounded man was found inside the home, however officials believe the attack most likely occurred outside.

No motive or suspect information was available.

Police announced Thursday night they launched an investigation into the case of a man whose death is "imminent."

Here's what the City News Service is reporting:

A man was on the brink of death today following an assault in El Monte, authorities said.

The injured man was found at Valley Boulevard and Gibson Road around 6:30 a.m. Monday, the sheriff's department reported. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was listed as "death- imminent," said Sgt. Rich Pena of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Sheriff's homicide detectives arrived at the crime scene late Thursday to assist El Monte police with the investigation. Details of the assault were not immediately released.

Here's the AP story.

This from Suffolk County DA's spokesman Jake Wark:

BOSTON, Oct. 2, 2008--A Suffolk Superior Court judge today ordered the man formerly known as Clark Rockefeller held without bail, reversing the decision of a clerk magistrate days earlier and citing the defendant's "ingenious capacity to transform himself."

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley hailed Judge D. Lloyd Macdonald's decision to withhold bail from CHRISTIAN KARL GERHARTSREITER (D.O.B. 2/21/61).

"This defendant has eluded authorities before - we'd prefer not to give him another chance," Conley said, citing Gerhartsreiter's 1988 disappearance from a job on Wall Street when he learned that Connecticut investigators were looking for him. "We've maintained, after reviewing decades of deception, that no monetary bail will ensure his appearance before the court."

At a bail review hearing called by the defendant's attorney, Assistant District Attorney David Deakin told Macdonald that he made his "concededly unusual request" to deny Gerhartsreiter bail because of the extraordinary degree of planning and prevarication that went into his 7-year-old daughter's July 27 abduction and the years of phony names and stories that preceded it.

Ruling from the bench, Macdonald rejected defense suggestions to outfit Gerhartsreiter with a GPS monitoring bracelet, saying "there have been numerous instances of persons removing" the devices.

*I got this message from the Suffolk County DA's office this afternoon. Looks like Clark Rockefeller's attorney Stephen Hrones is going to ask that bail be reduced from $50,000,000 for the one time fugitive:

The defense attorney for CHRISTIAN KARL GERHARTSREITER, a.k.a. Clark Rockefeller, is expected to be in the First Session of the Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow at noon for a bail hearing before a judge; Assistant District Attorney David Deakin is representing the Commonwealth.