October 2007 Archives

Roger Hernandez, West Covina councilman, was visited by police at his condo late Friday night after a neighbor reported what appeared to be a domestic disturbance. No charges were filed in the case, and police left. But, they did write up several reports that can be interpreted in a variety of ways.
We've already posted a preliminary story on the incident and a transcript of the phone call that led polcie to Hernandez's condo.
I'll have the police report up later today.
There's an interesting story developing here.

Something happened at Kaiser Hospital in Bolen, what it was though remains something of a mystery. Our reporter and two photographers heard a call on the scanner that there was a gunman (or gunmen) inside the facility late Sunday.
Baldwin Park PD rolled to the scene as did Irwindale and sheriff's deputies. A sergeant at the Industry Station said his deputies responded specifically because there was a report of a gunman in the hospital. Several patients, including a man with a malfunctioning pace maker, were turned away from the emergency room during the crisis.
Yet, when all was said and done, Baldwin Park police Lt. Dave Reynoso would have us believe nothing much happened at the facility. And he claimed no one was turned away, although Brian Day and our photogs saw it happening and even talked to some of the affected patients.
We reported this before, and it bears mentioning again. The BP Policia have been told by the City Council not to report bad news to the Tribune (or any other outlet).
It's my opinion that they come off looking incredibly amateurish when they essentially obscure the truth.
Under the law...

Even this morning there's still some confusion about the tragedy at CJ Morris Elementary. There are two versions of an AP story out there including this one.
Another, perhaps earlier version, has ANdrea making the sacrifice in the lede.
The LA Times has a colder, police proceedural, take on the story, not sure when Zorilla said it, but the quote sure stands out ..."

California Highway Patrol spokesman Edmund Zorrilla said that the woman's actions were "the ultimate sacrifice of a mother."

--from CBS 2 Here's some video

The CHP didn't do such a hot job managing the press out at CJ Morris Elementary School in the aftermath of a fatal school bus accident that claimed the life of Andrea Meza, 30, of Walnut.
Initially investigators told reporters that Andrea had saved the live of her two-year-old daughter by tossing the girl just before Andrea was struck and killed.
Later they retracted that statement, even though witnesses told Ed Meza, Andrea's brother-in-law, that Andrea had saved the little girl.
They also reported two different speeds for how fast the bus was traveling at the time of the accident. One Chippie told reporters the bus was traveling at speeds of 10-25 mph. Another Chippie said the bus was only going about 5 mph.
Finally, they were unable to get the sex of the toddler straight. One Chippie correctly stated the toddler was a girl, but incorrectly stated her age (claiming the little girl was three --she's two)
The other Chippie got the age right, but claimed the tot was a boy.
Sometime around 8:30 p.m. we sorted fact from fiction and put together a complete story that will appear in the paper tomorrow morning. We will be following the aftermath of this tragedy throughout the weekend and on Monday when students return to school.

This is one of four photos from the scene of the fatal school bus accident that occurred this afternoon outside CJ Morris Elementary School in Walnut. We now have a victim name, Andrea Lorena Meza, 31 of Walnut.
Mrs. Meza lived just down the street from the school and was apparently struck from behind by the bus.

We're hearing that the woman who was killed by a school bus at CJ Morris Elementary was holding her toddler and on the way to pick up a fifth grader at the school when the accident occurred.
Apparently the woman saved her toddler by tossing the baby aside just before the fatal accident.
Several people witnessed the accident which occurred just as school was letting out for the weekend. A priest has been called to the scene to administer Last Rites. The coroner arrived about 30 minutes ago, more than two hours after teh accident occurred.

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Here's the story so far...

Whittier police picked up three Mexican nationals in the parking lot of a hot sheet late Thursday.
Interestingly enough a Whittier police sergeant that our Melissa Pamer spoke with said he had never heard of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and said the PD would be turning the case over the the DA for prosecution.

We were pretty busy this week, and as a result this got up on the site a day late. I thought I 'd post it here too. Photographers Mike Mullen and Keith Birmingham were fearless going after the story. They worked hard and brought back some really compelling images. Mike shot the video. Keith has posted several photo galleries including this one.

I've received your mail regarding the trunk body in Pico Rivera and the postponed hearing in the Man-ling (Manling) Williams case.
Since I spent all of Tuesday night and most of Wednesday in San Diego County covering the So Cal wildfires, I haven't had enough time to check into either item. I return to the office Thursday and will try to answer those questions.
Thanks for the emails and comments.
-fcg

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) _ Lightmyfirebaby defeated Short Sentence by 2¼ lengths Wednesday to win the $45,400 Cat's Cradle for fillies and mares at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.
Ridden by Corey Nakatani, Lightmyfirebaby covered 6½ furlongs on the turf in 1:13.60 and paid $8.40, $4 and $2.60.
Short Sentence returned $3.60 and $2.60, while Excessive B and B was another 1¼ lengths back in third and paid $2.20 to show as the 7-5 wagering favorite.
The race was delayed 15 minutes because of an incorrect weight assignment for Short Sentence. The program listed Short Sentence as carrying 117 pounds and Martin Garcia, but she should have been carrying 119.
The stewards chose to have two pounds added to her equipment rather than scratch Short Sentence.
The victory, worth $27,000, increased Lightmyfirebaby's career earnings to $57,788, with two wins in seven starts.

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This photo from space shows a view of the California wildfires from fall 2003. I kept a copy of this on my computer all this time. Its interesting to compare it to the photo below.

Some fire pics on the web:
Nasa
More NASA
Active fire maps
California Incidents
More active maps
Big Map

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A call of a suspicious car led police to a body stuffed in a trunk.
Police found the body of a man Sunday in the 4400 block of Paramount Boulevard, officials told reporter Brian Day.
The body was in a state of decomposition, coroner's investigator Jerry McKibbin said Monday.
'It had been in the car for some time," McKibbin said.
No cause of death has been assigned. An autopsy is pending, McKibbin said.

Wow! what can I say? This video is fun. They took the words from the original story mixed it with the original video in the previous post, Added some photos from the SGVN photo gallery and touch of pot rock.
Viola!

Looks like someone is paying close attention to a certain pot bust in Azusa several months ago.
I especially like how they swiped our video (and yes that is me before I learned to speak in an animated voice)
Oh yeah...looks like someone in this case will be arraigned Friday 10-19 in Pomona... We'll shoot for an update.

This entire entry comes from ace reporter Fred Ortega:

Montclair resident Andrew Padilla was lauded as a hero Thursday by the California Highway Patrol for helping pull an officer away from a burning vehicle during a July 30 traffic accident.
Officer John Tapia was driving eastbound on the Pomona (60) Freeway when his squad car was struck from behind by a Ford Expedition, CHP officials said. Tapia’s vehicle burst into flames and even though the officer was able to push his door open and stumble out, he collapsed next to the burning car.
Padilla, who was driving by at the time, stopped his car and rushed to the wreck, pulling the injured Tapia to safety. Tapia suffered head injuries and numerous burns from the incident, but has since recovered. In recognition of his efforts, Padilla received a certificate of commendation Thursday at the CHP Baldwin Park office. Attending the ceremony were Capt. Bill Siegel, who presented the commendation, and Tapia.

San Marino police released this photo of a man suspected in the robbery of Wells Fargo on Huntington Drive Tuesday. The FBI hasn't given this guy a name yet. So, Crime Scene is sponsoring a naming contest. I'll post your nominations Saturday morning (unless he's caught before then).
Update: Apparently this guy is called the Mickey Mouse Bandit, the FBI told us this afternoon, after earlier telling us he had no name...that's ok though...you can still name him if you want.

This from reporter Jen McLain in the field and Tania Chatila in the newsroom:

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has placed Rosemead High School on lockdown and blocked off part of Rosemead Boulevard as they search for a man with a gun, officials said.
The unidentified man was first seen in an area neighborhood at 10:30 a.m., authorities said.
Officials at nearby Rosemead High were not available for comment, but did confirm the campus was on lockdown.
Rosemead Boulevard between Mission Drive and Lower Azusa Road has been blocked off to traffic.
The suspect is described as a light-skinned Hispanic male, wearing shorts. He was last seen jumping over a fence at the corner of Rosemead Boulevard and Mission Drive, police said.

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Bank robbery in San Marino. Details are on the way, but no one here can remember any recent crime reports out of there (except for the odd traffic ticket)....

At least an unidentified Pasadena police detective had something to do Monday night besides knoshing from the catering truck at a movie shoot near Grand and Madeline Drive.
Brian Day reports:

PASADENA -- Police sought a man Monday who allegedly crashed his car into a parked car in the presence of a police detective, then refused orders to stop and fled the scene, officials said.
The incident was reported shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Grand Avenue at Madeline Drive, said Pasadena police Lt. Randell Taylor.
A uniformed detective was working at the intersection where a camera crew was filming ...

It turns out that Pasadena police characterized a murder as "gang-related" when in fact it may not have been.
You can bet that jumping to an early conclusion about the nature of the murder of Jamal Tims has made it less likely the case will be solved anytime soon.
Most homicide investigators believe tat murders are solved int he 24-hours immediately after they occur.
Here's an excerpt from the story by Molly R. Okeon:

PASADENA - Police now believe that the murder of a 28-year-old Pasadena man late last month was not gang-related but person in nature, though officials could not elaborate due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. Jamal Lewis Tims was shot to death around 6:30 a.m. Sept. 28 in the 500 block of North Mentor Avenue. "It appears to be personal," said Pasadena police spokeswoman Janet Pope Givens. She said while no suspects have been arrested, detectives are "working on active leads." Tims' shooting death was the second of two that occurred in the last week of September in the city's northwest section.

I came across this blog while looking for information about the El Monte street race tragedy that left Dora Groce and her two children dead. It's run by a guy who describes himself as follows:

Bryan Frank, a Broadcast News Photographer working in the LA market. I work for the truth and I love what I do.

A Chinese national got robbed in the parking lot of the Double Tree in Rosemead Thursday a.m., authorities said.
The take? (or "take out" if you prefer) $600,000 in jewelry stored in bags in the victim's car. We've got a copy of the police report and will post it here when it's scanned.
In the meantime, police are on the lookout for two or three men wearing ski masks and driving a white SUV.

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Channel 7 is identifying the victims of the horrifying El Monte street racing crash as Maria Groce and her two children Robert, 8, and Katherine, 4.
Here's what their story says:

Forty-one year Dora Groce and her two children, eight-year-old Robert and four-year-old Katherine, were killed in that car fire. Katherine apparently had a fever Monday night and the family was on its way to their family doctor at Kaiser.

So much for the admonition. Perhaps tonight ...

Look for a new and improved version Tuesday! (maybe it wil even include spell check)

Most fo this came from listening to the scanner tonight in the newsroom. Sounds like a guy holed up with a shotgun that doesn't belong to him in a Motel 6 just off the 605 Freeway.

WHITTIER — Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report that a man armed with a shotgun and under the influence of drugs was holed up in a motel room in the 8200 Block of Pioneer Blvd.
Deputies surrounded the Motel 6 building and set up a command post at nearby Pioneer High School, 10800 Ben Avon Street.
A witness stated that the man was high on methamphetamine and had locked himself in another person’s motel room, which contained a loaded shotgun.
At 6:40, deputies were preparing to evacuate people from the motel.
“We’re still trying to get more information,” sheriff’s Sgt. Tony Romo. “We’re going to make an announcement for him to come out.”

Photographer Raul Roa has an interesting personal blog he shared with me today, so I'm passing along the link. In the blog he tells the stories behind some of the news photos he's taken while on assignment for the Trib, the Star-news and the Whittler Daily News.
I'll put a link to Raul's blog on the roll.

Keith slugged this photo "Asked to leave." Given my history with the Pasadena police, I was more than glad to oblige.

My initial reaction hearing the scanner calls was that this was going to be some sort of replay of the North Hollywood bank robbery. The amount of tension and instant response by police sure gave off that kind of vibe. As Keith and I sat around the neighborhood waiting for something to happen, it struck me how many people seemed completely oblivious of the cops, who had their guns drawn for at least an hour and for all intents and purposes looked like they meant business.
I can't tell you how many people rode their bicycles in front of those drawn guns. I saw a guy walk up top cops with a backpack in his hands, and silently thanked God that none of these cops had likely manned any checkpoints in Baghdad.
I also watched as a woman with a stroller causually approached a deputy, who had his shotgun drawn. Durf got a shot of the deputy telling the woman that it might be safer for her to be out fo the line of fire.

This is the photo we intended to run with the Zippo story in today's paper. You can see, they were taking this whole deal pretty seriously.
Here is the caption written by photog Keith Durflinger:

Sheriff's deputies with their weapons drawn hold down the perimeter around Zapopan Park in Rosemead after Deputies believed they were being fired upon on Wednesday afternoon October 3, 2007. Deputies
later discovered that as they were talking with subjects in the park, a lighter that was set on the patrol car exploded, with pieces striking both patrol cars. (SGVN/STAFF PHOTO BY KEITH
DURFLINGER/SVCITY)

Temple City Sheriff's thought they were under fire Wednesday morning. They called in back up. They called in a SWAT team.
Fire..might have been the operative word...Actually a Bic lighter exploded on the hood of a sheriff's car. It had been left there in the heat and sun, while deputies detained two persons who were loitering in a park near Delta Avenue.
THe lighter exploded and all hell broke loose. After a two-hour standoff in the heart of a busy neighborhood, cooler heads prevailed and a large containment was called off.

Im not going to edit this. I will run it as I received it. I believe it speaks for itself. The note below, left as a comment on another post on this blog purports to come from Deandre Netter's mother Yvonne.
Netter was killed in a drive-by shooting in Temple City on July 25. Two former Temple City High School students are charged in the case.

I MISS MY SON EVERY TIME THESE BOYS BREATH AND OPEN THEIR EYES AND THEIR PARENTS GET TO WRITE THEM ARE SAY HELLO ARE WE LOVE U SONS DO I GET TO SAY HELL NO MY SON IS DEAD THANK TO TEMPLE CITY

Jennifer McLain is set to report on a suicide that followed a gun battle Tuesday in Bolen. Apparently police responding to a domestic dispute instead encountered a gang member with a gun. Shots were exchanged. The gang member missed cops and the cops missed the gang banger, according to officials.
Somehow the gang banger slipped into a back room of the house and committed suicide before cops could reach him.
We'll have more as it develops.

Aaron Proctor says he's going home to sleep after blogging nine times. This guy went home to sleep after being stabbed nine times!
FIXED. OBVIOUSLY I CAN"T SPELL

Brian Day and I were sitting around the office listening to the scanner Monday night, when a report of a man hit over the head with a pipe was broadcast. Apparently the sheriff's dispatcher was a little confused about who was running which way....
This from Brian's notes

Temple sheriff's dispatcher put out 245 call from 9505 Garvey Avenue in South El Monte. She gave the cross street as Lashbrook Avenue. The dispatcher advised officers that witnesses reported the suspects chasing the victim, who had been hit in the head with a pipe, WESTBOUND on Garvey, toward Chico Avenue. Chico Avenue is ACTUALLY EAST of the given location. 2-3 minutes later, the dispatcher corrected herself, and advised the the suspects and victim's were in fact seen EASTBOUND toward Chico Avenue.

Fights among fans spilled out of local prep sports venues and onto the infield at Santa Anita, our Brian Day is reporting in Tuesday's newspaper.
Here's a peek at the story:

ARCADIA — One person was arrested and several people received minor injuries after large fight broke out Saturday at the Santa Anita Park race track, officials said.
The fight was reported about 5 p.m. at the park, 285 W. Huntington Drive, as the race track was hosting the KROQ Microbrew Festival, Arcadia police said.
“By the end of the afternoon, things got out of hand,” said Sgt. Stephen Fallavollita.cq
The cause of the disturbance was not immediately clear.
Officers entered the park and quickly made an arrest, Fallavollita said.
The next KROQ Microbrew Festival event at Santa Anita Park was scheduled for California Cup Day on Nov. 3, however the park announced on its Web site Sunday that the festival would be cancelled.
According to the park’s written statement, the event is being cancelled in order to free up infield space for the California Cup.

After a week of being nailed by vicious spam, I think we've fixed the problem and so....I've turned the ability to comment back on!
Let's see how it works

SPELL CHECKED!!! 4:56 p.m. 10-02-07

A fight broke out at Friday night's game betwen Gladstone and Duarte high schools. This is a short video taken from the stands.
My guess is nothing is going to be done about this sort of behavior, in spite of the fact that this sort of bench clearing brawl is cause for suspension in the NFL, NBA and MLB. I'm pretty sure the NCAA has strict policies on this sort of hooliganism as well. But who cares right?
Friday was a tough night for footbal fans in the valley...