187: February 2012 Archives
PASADENA -- A jury Friday convicted a Duarte man of the murder of his brother, who was found shot to death in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl nearly a year ago.
Pasadena Superior Court jurors deliberated for not much more than an hour before finding Clifton Ashley Cass, 57, guilty of the first-degree murder of his brother, 57-year-old Victor Cass of Duarte.
The jury of eight women and four men also convicted Clifton Cass of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and found true the special allegation that he personally used a handgun to murder his brother.
Clifton Cass's polite and mild-mannered courtroom demeanor contrasted starkly with the brutal crime which he had just been convicted of.
Wearing a grey shirt and blue jeans, the large-framed killer with a salt-and-pepper mustache reached out to shake the hand of the lead police investigator in the case -- Pasadena police Detective Keith Gomez -- immediately after the verdict was read.
He sat quietly and showed no emotion as the court clerk informed him of his conviction.
He waived his right to a jury trial on the issue of his prior offenses and admitted to the court he had received at least five previous felony convictions, making him eligible for sentencing under California's Three Strikes Law.
The convict said he wanted to get the process, "over with, and get to wherever I'm going."
The body of 57-year-old Victor Cass of Duarte was discovered by a maintenance worker in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl on Feb. 28, 2011.
Clifton Cass, angered by perceived disrespect displayed by Victor Cass toward their mother, lured his brother to the Rose Bowl under the ruse of a cocaine deal before shooting him and trying, unsuccessfully, to decapitate him with a machete, Deputy District Attorney Debra Archuleta argued during the trial.
Clifton Cass was defended by attorney Bill Jacobson.
Judge Janice Croft ordered Clifton Cass back to court March 14 for sentencing.
Friends and family members of the killer and victim did not wish to comment following the verdict.
A key piece of evidence in the case was an audio recording of an interview with a third Cass brother, Gregory Cass, who said on tape that Clifton confessed the killing to him.
Complicating the case, however, Gregory Cass suffers from serious memory problems. When he testified in court, he displayed difficulty even recognizing Clifton Cass, and said he had only a vague recollection that he had lost a brother.
According to Gregory Cass' recorded statement, Clifton was infuriated at Victor Cass because he was bringing home women and using drugs in their mother's home, as well as eating her Meals on Wheels dinners.
Clifton Cass was jailed in April of last year after being found with drugs and weapons during a traffic stop, officials said. A search at his home yielded yet more drugs and guns.
A second suspect in the case, Dwayne Sims, 60, of Duarte pleaded no contest late last year to charges of being an accessory after the fact for helping clean up evidence following the killing and being a felony with five previous convictions in possession of a firearm, Los Angeles, district attorney's officials said.
Sims is due back in Court March 2 for sentencing.
PASADENA -- Jurors have reached a verdict in the murder trial for a Duarte man accused of shooting and trying to decapitate his brother with a machete in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl, court officials said.
Clifton Ashley Cass, 57, is charged with the murder of 57-year-old Victor Cass of Duarte, as well as possession of a firearm by a felon with five prior convictions, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney's Officials.
Authorities announced Friday that after only a few hours of deliberation, the jury had reached a verdict, which was scheduled to be read Friday afternoon in Pasadena Superior Court.
The body of 57-year-old Victor Cass of Duarte was discovered by a maintenance worker in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl on Feb. 28, 2011.
Authorities allege that Clifton Cass, angered by perceived disrespect displayed by Victor Cass toward their mother, lured his brother to the Rose Bowl under the ruse of a cocaine deal before shooting him and trying, unsuccessfully, to decapitate him with a machete.
Clifton Cass was jailed in April of last year after being found with drugs and weapons during a traffic stop, officials said. A search at his home yielded yet more drugs and guns.
A second suspect in the case, Dwayne Sims, 60, of Duarte pleaded no contest late last year to charges of being an accessory after the fact for helping clean up evidence following the killing and being a felony with five previous convictions in possession of a firearm, Los Angeles, district attorney's officials said.
Sims is due back in Court March 2 for sentencing.
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- A fight among inmates led to a prison riot in northern Mexico that killed 44 people Sunday, a security official said.
Nuevo Leon state public security spokesman Jorge Domene Zambrano said the riot broke out at about 2 a.m. in a high-security section of a prison in the city of Apodaca outside the northern industrial city of Monterrey.
Several inmates attacked others, and the fighting then spread and blew up into a riot, Domene said. Forty-four people died before authorities regained control of the prison a couple of hours later, he said.
Families of the prisoners gathered outside the prison pushing at the fences and shouting at police to demand word of the victims. READ MORE.
- From the Associated Press
PHOTO: Police hold back the relatives of inmates outside Apodaca correctional state facility as they try to get past the gates in Apodaca on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico, Sunday Feb. 19, 2012. A fight among inmates at the prison led to a riot that killed dozens on Sunday, according to a security official. (AP Photo/Hand Maximo Musielik)
WEST COVINA -- A man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday for bludgeoning his father to death with a dumbbell in an Irwindale self-storage facility, officials said.
Jonathan Martinez Pedraza, 26, of Hollywood, received his sentence from West Covina Superior Court Judge Douglas Sortino after being convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and other crimes Feb. 3, court officials said.
He killed his 62-year-old father, Miguel Pedraza of Glendora, Sept. 3, 2010 and left his body inside a storage locker at A-1 Mini Storage, 4391 Irwindale Avenue, officials said.
A motive in the killing has not been released.
The sentence was slightly less than the maximum possible sentence of 27 years to life in prison.
After killing his father, Jonathan Pedraza fled the area in a car, crashing through a security gate and becoming involved in a hit-and-run crash in Baldwin Park before being taken into custody.
In addition to murder, he was convicted of felony vandalism and two counts of hit-and-run, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
A hearing in October in which Pedraza was determined to be mentally competent to stand trial.
His trial lasted about a day and a half, and the jury deliberated for about two hours before finding Jonathan Pedraza guilty.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that Pedraza delivered at least five powerful blows to his 62-year-old father's head causing 10 lacerations and a fractured skull.
SANTA FE SPRINGS -- Three parolees arrested on suspicion of carrying out a car-to-car shooting that left one man dead and another seriously wounded last week have not been charged in connection with the slaying, officials said Thursday.
Jason Uzel, 37, of Whittier, Brian Recinos, 22, of Whittier and Frank Ramos, 45, of Eureka were arrested on suspicion of murder in the hours following the Jan. 2 shooting on Sorensen Avenue, just south of Washington Boulevard, Whittier police officials said.
While all three men remained behind bars on suspicion of violating their parole, police had not yet presented the murder case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, Whittier police Officer Bradley White said.
"There's no criminal filing at this time," he said. The investigation is still ongoing."
The shooting claimed the life of 18-year-old Mark Joseph Rodriguez of Whittier, and left a second man who was riding in a car with Rodriguez seriously wounded, according to police and coroner's officials.
The shooting is being investigated by the Whittier Police Department, which provides police services to Santa Fe Springs.
WHITTIER -- A South Whittier man has begun serving a 12-year prison sentence for stabbing wife to death at their home in an unincorporated county area near Whittier.
Andres Zazueta, 47, was sentenced to prison Feb. 3 after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the death of 45-year-old Maria Guzman on March 13, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Originally charged with murder, Zazueta attacked his wife with a kitchen knife at their home in the 10700 block of Carmenita Road, then wounded himself as well before deputies arrived at the scene, officials said.
Guzman died at the scene, while Zazueta was hospitalized for his injuries before being arrested.
Other than domestic violence, a motive in the killing has not been released.
No official cause of death is known for a San Gabriel woman and Tournament of Roses volunteer whose body was found in the trunk of her car in 2004, resulting in the arrest of an Alhambra man on suspicion of murder earlier this week, coroner's officials said.
Richard Allan Munnecke, 71, was jailed Wednesday on suspicion of killing 59-year-old Donna Kelly, whose body was found by her daughter in April of 2004, sheriff's officials said. She went missing about three weeks earlier.
Coroner's medical examiners were unable to determined how Kelly died, largely because of the condition her body was discovered in, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
"(Cause of death) is undetermined after autopsy and toxicology. They don't know why she died," Winter said.
Investigators noted in their report that the cause of death was, "possibly masked by decomposition," he added.
Detective Richard Lopez of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said after meeting with coroner's medical examiners, investigators are convinced that Kelly died as the result of suffocation. He declined to give further details.
DNA linked Munnecke to the killing, leading to his arrest, Lopez said.
As part of the ongoing investigation, detectives obtained a court order to collect a sample of DNA from Munnecke in August of 2010, Lopez said.
While Munnecke had not previously been named as a suspect in Kelly's killing, "We knew of his connection to the victim," the detective said.
When results from the DNA analysis came back in September of last year, "it narrowed the investigation," Lopez said.
Authorities allege the killing took place while Munnecke, who is married, was having an affair with Kelly. Munnecke has denied an affair took place.
Munnecke's arrest shocked many who knew him as a friendly and active community member.
According to county booking records, he was being held in lieu of $1 million bail pending arraignment Friday in Alhambra Superior Court.
MONTEREY PARK -- Homicide detectives arrested a man Sunday on suspicion of killing his pregnant wife in their Monterey Park home.
Hongxin Liu, 41, was booked on suspicion of the murder of 39-year-old Chenyan Bao, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said in a written statement.
"Suspect Liu was involved in a domestic violence altercation with his wife," Parker said. "Bao ultimately died as a result of her injuries."
Bao was pronounced dead shortly after 7:10 a.m. at the couple's house in the 1000 block of South Ynez Avenue, Los Angeles County coroner investigator Jerry McKibben said.
Firefighter-paramedics responded to a report that Bao was unconscious, and ultimately pronounced her dead, Monterey Park police Lt. Scott Wiese said. Rescuers summoned police to investigate.
"When the coroner investigator arrived, she found suspicious marks on the victim," according to the sheriff's statement. "The victim was also believed to be three months pregnant."
Detectives at first detained Liu for questioning, but ultimately arrested him on suspicion of killing his wife shortly before 3 p.m., Parker said.
"The exact cause of death is unknown at this time," Parker added. Coroner's investigators will perform an autopsy to determine how Bao died.
The couple had a 2-year-old daughter who was placed into the custody of the county Department of Children and Family Services, officials said.
As is standard procedure for homicide cases or suspicious death investigation Monterey Park, detectives from the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau are assisting Monterey Park police in the investigation.
According to county booking records, Liu was being held in lieu of of $1 million bail at the Monterey Park Police Department's jail pending an arraignment hearing Wednesday in Alhambra Superior Court.
Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's homicide detectives at 323-890-5500, or tips can be left anonymously by calling L.A. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-88477.
WEST COVINA - A jury on Friday convicted a Hollywood man of beating his 62-year-old father to death with a dumbbell in an Irwindale storage facility.
Jonathan Martinez Pedraza, 26, was found guilty of first-degree murder, felony vandalism and two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run driving, according to Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese.
The jury also found true an allegation that he personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, the dumbbell.
Pedraza faces a maximum sentence of 27 years to life in prison at his Feb. 10 sentencing in West Covina Superior Court.
Miguel Pedraza of Glendora was killed Sept. 3, 2010 and his body was discovered inside a storage locker at A-1 Mini Storage, 4391 Irwindale Avenue.
The younger Pedraza delivered at least five powerful blows to his father's head fracturing the skull and causing 10 lacerations, according to authorities.
He then rammed his car though a security gate at the facility to escape before becoming involved in another collision in Baldwin Park.
He crashed into two other cars at a parking lot in the 14500 block of Ramona Boulevard and fled. Baldwin Park police found him hiding on the roof of a apartment complex in the 14400 block of Pacific Avenue and arrested him.
A judge in October 2011 ruled that Jonathan Pedraza was mentally competent to stand trial.
- Ruby Gonzales
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.
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.
POMONA -- Authorities have identified a man whose body was found inside a burning car along the 10 Freeway in Pomona last week, though how the man died remained under investigation.
Christopher Michael Cercone, 33, of Ontario was pronounced dead after firefighters extinguished a burning Chevrolet Impala along the the South Campus Drive onramp to the westbound 10 Freeway, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
The body was found in the driver's seat of the car, which was reported as a car fire by passers-by about 10 p.m. Jan. 26, according to Pomona police investigators.
Once firefighters extinguished the flames and discovered the body, they determined the fire was suspicious in nature and notified Pomona police, authorities said.
The car displayed no body damage consisted with a major crash.
An autopsy had been carried out on Cercone's body, Winter said, however an officials cause of death was deferred pending further examination.
Pomona police homicide detectives continued investigating.
WEST COVINA -- Trial began Wednesday for a Glendora man accused of murdering his father with a dumbbell in a storage facility in Irwindale in September.
Jonathan Pedraza, 26, is charged with Sept. 3, 2010 killing of his father, 62-year-old Miguel Pedraza of Glendora.
The body of the elder Pedraza was discovered inside of a storage locker at A-1 Mini Storage, 4391 Irwindale Avenue, beaten to death with a free weight, investigators said.
After the killing, Jonathan Pedraza allegedly rammed his car though a gate at the facility to escape before becoming involved in another hit-and-run crash in Baldwin Park.
A judge in October ruled that the son was mentally competent to stand trial. Authorities have not disclosed a motive in the killing.
After completing jury selection Wednesday in Pomona Superior Court, the jury listened to opening statements and the prosecution began laying out its case, court officials said.
According to county booking records, Jonathan Pedraza was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
PHOTO courtesy of the Irwindale Police Department
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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