November 2007 Archives

In what is becoming a weekly feature of Crime Scene, I am pleased to present this week's dispatch from ace reporter Tania Chatila.

Tania: I received this e-mail from a reader commenting on the man who died on the side of the 210 Freeway with a gunshot wound Tuesday night. Apparently, this reader drove by the scene and saw everything.

 

"I drove by that 48 year old guy..cant think of his name. It was really disturbing because you see something that looks like a pile of white something...then you see an ARM hanging out the side. If they pulled him outta the car then why didnt they cover his whole body up? I dont need to be driving around seeing dead bodies with partially covered bodies. I know its not your fault but I needed to vent."

Tania: This brings up a good question about how cops in the Valley work. In most places, entire bodies are immediately covered with a white sheet. But around here, things are different. In Baldwin Park, a 19-year-old teen was shot to death Monday night in a driveway on a residential street. For 20 minutes, BP cops stood around their police cars chatting away while the dead body lay uncovered in the middle of the street in plain view. A nearby neighbor filmed the whole thing from his window. Do we really need to see that?

This comes from Arcadia, where officers are hoping they can bargain their way to higher pay and more cops on the beat.

NOVEMBER 24,
A victim came to the station around 2:23 p.m. to file a theft report. She advised that for the past year she has been involved in an on-line relationship with the 21-year-old male Hispanic suspect. They finally decided to meet on November 11 and he asked if she would like to help him save money for their wedding. She agreed to help and gave him her bank debit card with the stipulation that he limit his withdrawals to $200. A few days later the victim discovered that he withdrew $1,000.

No word on whether they've caught this guy. Perhaps he'll claim he used the money to buy an engagement ring.

Arcadia Police Officers ,Family and friends protested for higher pay and more officers at the intersection of Santa Anita Ave and Foothill Blvd in Arcadia November 29. 2007. (SGVN Staff Photo Keith
Birmingham/SXCity)

Hennepin County records indicate the Isaac Campbell, accused of killing his girlfriend, Liya "Jessie" Lu, then stuffing her body in a trashcan and leaving it in his friend's Arcadia backyard, is still in custody there. It appears an extradition hearing is scheduled for December. Here's a link.

This is the latest incarnation of the SGVN Homicide database. I've added a few features and checked out a few bugs. There's still some tweaking to be done. But, again, I ask you to try it out and let me know what I need to fix.

Below is the web update that will appear on SGVN in a few minutes. There's not much more to report. Manling is still dressed int he Yellow and blue garb which indicates she is in protective custody and may be a danger to herself. Upon entering the courtroom she briefly acknowledged her family then turned away. Throughout William's voice was barely audible when answering questions from Judge Robert Martinez.

She was handcuffed to a courtroom chair for the duration of the hearing and  led away as soon as it finished. Williams did not look back at her family or the family of her deceased husband upon leaving.

 

[BODY]POMONA — Prosecutors shared evidence Thursday with attorneys for a woman accused of killing her husband and two children and agreed to hold a preliminary hearing in the case on Jan. 28.
The evidence exchange took place minutes before a brief hearing in the Pomona Court for Man-ling Williams, 28, of Rowland Heights.
“There’s a significant amount of discovery,” defense attorney Tom Althaus told Superior Court Judge Robert Martinez.
When asked by Martinez what materials might be contained in the package, Althaus was interrupted by prosecutor Paik Kouch who gave the judge a generic list of its contents.
“There’s a tremendous amount of material,” Kouch said. “There’s a list of additional witness, field reports from investigators and C.S.I. people as well as supplemental reports.”
Neither Kouch nor Althaus revealed the specific contents of the discovery materials.
Williams is accused of stabbing her husband Neal, 27, to death with a sword and of suffocating the couples’ two young boys, Devon, 7, and Ian, 3.
At her initial hearing in the case, Williams' first defense attorney, Kenneth Wenzl, said Williams detailed her involvement in the killings of her husband and sons.
Sheriff’s officials confirmed there was a confession.
Besides the three counts of murder, Williams faces special circumstance allegations of lying in wait prior to the slaying of the children, and three counts of multiple murder.
In addition to her apparent confession, the case against Williams appears to hinge on her shifting story to neighbors and detectives immediately after the bodies were discovered.
At first, she allegedly told neighbors she couldn’t sleep and took a drive. She said she discovered the bodies upon her return home.
“She provided some statements that proved incriminating,” said Sgt. Bill Marsh, lead homicide detective in the case for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Both sides had hoped they could delay a preliminary hearing in the case, but Martinez would not budge and scheduled a Jan. 28 hearing date, with a Jan. 15 status conference.
[

This was pretty much an experiment to see how much information I could blog from the courtroom where a hearing was held this morning in the Manling Williams case using my Palm. The Treo's browser doesn't like the blog interface, so I posted into the comments, which you can read below. As soon as court opened, the bailiff advised that all cellphones and pagers must be turned completely off -- not just silenced. So, I guess you could say the experiment didn't work completely. In any event, the hearing, which was a prelim to the real prelim, was fairly uneventful....

UPDATED 11-29-07 10:43 a.m.

Homicide victim Jason Wei is show here. Wei was shot to death at his restaurant, Osaka Ya, in Arcadia Sunday night. Police have released video and still images of his suspected killer, but apparently have made no arrests.

Wei was a popular sushi chef at the restaurant and several customers have recalled him fondly.

Police are examining several possibilities in the killing, including the possibility he was killed by some arm of the Chinese Mafia.

As of Tuesday evening, police said they aren't ruling out a botched robbery as the cause of Wei's death.

4:07 p.m. UPDATE

A foundation has been set up in Jason Wei’s name at the Arcadia branch of the TomatoBank, at 1317 S. Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia.
Make checks payable to the Jason Wei Foundation.
Wei was working behind the sushi bar around 9:20 p.m. when the gunman entered the Arcadia restaurant, located in the Vons Pavilion Shopping Center.
“We just want to help the victim’s family. I think that is all we can do,” said branch manager Helen Wu.
For more information, call the bank at (626) 802-6222.

 

Note I changed the address of the bank after receiving a reader comment about the information. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Irwindale police think they've got a drunk driver on their hands, but turns out it's a man whose been shot and about to die.

Here's the story as we know it so far:

AZUSA - A man died on the side of the 210 Freeway on Tuesday night after suffering a gun shot wound, according to authorities.

An off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer spotted the man weaving back and forth between lanes on the northbound 605 Freeway, according to Irwindale Police Sgt. Mario Camacho.

The car exited at Irwindale Avenue, pulled into a business park, turned around, and then reentered the freeway minutes later, according to Camacho. The off-duty officer followed him the whole time, and could not explain why the main left the freeway, he added.

The Irwindale Police Department pulled the car over on the freeway around the Azusa Avenue exit at 11:17 p.m., and found the driver in the car had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper torso. The driver is described by police as a white male in his 50s.

Officers were surprised to find the wounded man when they pulled the car over.

"Based on the way he was driving, the officers just thought he was drunk," said Camacho.

Fire Department personnel and police officers attempted to provide medical aid to the man while awaiting an ambulance, but the man died on the scene, said Camacho.

Sheriff's Homicide detectives are investigating the crime, and the coroner's office is working to identify the man, said Camacho.

This is a screen grab from the video a Baldwin Park man shot Monday night while detectives and coroners investigators look over the body of murder victim Oscar Garcia.

Not sure who everyone in the picture is, but the man in the center appears to be a coroner's investigator. The man with the flashlight is obviously a BPPD officer or tech.

There are other scenes in this video, but most are too graphic to display here.

Here's a screen grab from the Osaka Ya video. It shows the unidentified gunman seconds after the murder of Jason Wei.

The entire tape released by police shows the gunman in four different locations at the restaurant including entering through a back door, storming through the kitchen, threatening employees and customers, and takign about $200 in cash from a register.

There is never a clear shot of the gunman's face. There is no sound on the video, but you can clearly see the reaction of one woman at the moment a shot is fired.

 

This was the scene outside the home where Oscar Garcia was shot Monday nigh tin Baldwin Park. The photo in the foreground depicts Oscar and his four-month-old son Oscar Jr.

Baldwin Park Police have no leads in the case, and say the shooting wasn't gang related.

I've been putting together a database of area homicides in 2007. It's not perfect yet, but I thought a limited rollout in a blog post might reveal any bugs. Give it a test drive and let me know what you think.

A resident of Waco Street in Baldwin Park shot some gruesome video in the aftermath of Monday's murder. We just completed reviewing it. Apparently police, sheriff's detectives and coroner's investigators had no idea they were being filmed. If anything, the video is a real world look into real-life CSI.

The video begins with a shot of the victim's body laying on a driveway.

Later on detectives crowd around, while a coroner's investigator apparently checks the victim's pockets, feels for wounds and takes a liver temperature.

The victim is then lifted onto a gurney and another examination is conducted. Most of this was done in plain view of the camera.

The video concludes with a brief look at the victim's family, who have just learned their loved one was shot.

 

This came in an email. we have zip for details and even less knowledge about the accident.

How come there hasn't been anything in your paper regarding the accident in
Glamis that killed 2 siblings from Glendora and another teenager from Norco?????
This happened on Nov 17 ....they were riding a Yamaha Rhino ATV and were hit by
a train....

Here's a discussion of the accident found via Google

10:57 UPDATE, MAP ADDED

View Larger Map

Reports from Whittier indicate one teen was killed and another wounded in a shooting near the intersection of Orange Drive and Redman Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Whittier PD. is handling the case. A car described as a four-door sedan was apparently associated with the shooters.

Police say there are witnesses. It is unclear if the witnesses are cooperating, Whittier PD said.

Whittier homicide detectives will handle the investigation.

10:48 p.m. UPDATE:

Here's the story filed by correspondent Brian Day:

[BYNAME]By Brian Day
<MC>Correspondent
[BODY]WHITTIER — One person was killed and another wounded in a shooting Monday, officials said.
The victims’ names were not available, however they were both described as appearing to be in their late teens, said Whittier police Lt. Wyatt Powell<NO1>cq<NO>.
The shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m. on Orange Drive at Redman Avenue, said Powell.
The victims were standing near the intersection with at least one additional person when a 4-door sedan approached, Powell said.
The car parked to the west of where the group of victims was gathered, exited the vehicle, and opened fire, said Powell.
One of the two struck by gunfire was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. No further details about the deceased were known.
The other victim, a local resident, was taken to the Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center in unknown condition, Powell said.
Multiple calls reporting the shooting were received, and police interviewed several witnesses, said Powell.
A motive in the shooting remained under investigation late Monday, he added, and a suspect description was not immediately available.
Anyone with information about this crime should contact the Whittier Police Department at (562) 945-8250.

 

View Larger Map

BALDWIN PARK — An unidentified man was shot and killed Monday night in the 13100 block of Waco Street, officials said.
The dead man was a male Hispanic, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Maribel Rizzo, of the sheriff’s Information Bureau.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Baldwin Park police officers set up a brief containment of the area following the shooting but were unable to locate suspects.
The shooting is the third homicide in Baldwin Park in the past 10 days and the 78th in the San Gabriel Valley in 2007.

If you click on the icon it will provide a timeline of the early response as we knew it Monday night.

 

Looks like this one happened about 8 p.m. on the east side. BPPD is deferring calls to the Sheriff's Department, which hasn't even received a dispatch on the case yet (now 9:08 p.m.) Approximate location is Fairgrove and Mangum streets (almost Bassett turf).

This would make three murders in 10 days in Bolen. Things are getting hot....

Ace crime correspondent Brian Day is on his way to the scene...

 

Here's what we're reporting in Tuesday's paper:

[BODYRR]<CF12>WEST COVINA</CF> — A West Covina man was shot and killed in a residential neighborhood Saturday, officials said.
The victim, described as a 23-year-old Latino man, was not identified Monday pending notification of his next-of-kin, said Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Fred Corral<NO1>cq<NO>.
Someone phoned police about 9:45 p.m. to report hearing gunshots in the 1400 block of Larkwood Drive, said West Covina police Lt. Ron Mitchell<NO1>cq<NO>.
Around the same time, another caller reported seeing what appeared to be a dead body out in the street, said Mitchell.
The victim suffered three gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, Mitchell said.
Though police received several conflicting witness accounts, said Mitchell, investigators have no concrete suspect information to work with.
One witness described three suspects in the area at the time of the shooting, Mitchell said, while another reported only seeing one. One witness saw a possible suspect vehicle, while another said there was none, he said.
Mitchell did not immediately know if the shooting was gang related.

The story indicates this is a fairly residential area. I'll get a Google Map up later. Additionally, sources tell me the dead man's identity is Luis Martinez, 23, of West Covina.

 

This comes from the LAT's Homicide report:

Arcadia: Jason Wei, 42, an Asian-American man, was killed by gunfire during a restaurant robbery at 815 W. Naomi St. in Arcadia at about 9:24 p.m. Nov. 25. Arcadia Police Lt. Larry Goodman said a Latino suspect dressed in dark clothing with a dark beanie came into the Osaka Ya sushi restaurant where Wei worked, and took money from the cash register. The restaurant was still open; a few customers and other employees were inside. Goodman said they offered no resistance, and the suspect simply shot Wei for unknown reasons and fled. He was taken to a nearby Methodist hospital where he died. Arcadia police are looking for information on this case. Det. John Bonoma is at (626) 574-5166.

###

An Arcadia police watch commander whom I spoke to this afternoon couldn't help with further details. He referred all questions to the homicide detectives who are not in the office late on Monday nights.

 

From Will Bigham at our sister paper, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

LOS ANGELES - The local water board member charged with falsely claiming to have won the Medal of Honor pleaded not guilty today during an arraignment hearing in a federal court downtown.

Xavier Alvarez, who represents south Pomona on the governing board of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District, was charged by federal authorities in September.

Trial was set for Jan. 22. He was appointed a public defender.

Alvarez was tape recorded making the medal claim during the July 23 meeting of the Walnut Valley Water District, where he spoke to the board after being introduced as a guest.

At the meeting, Alvarez said he was wounded multiple times while serving as a Marine during the Vietnam War.

He later admitted he never served in the military.

Alvarez was censured by the Three Valleys board on Oct. 26 for illegally funnelling spousal health benefits to a woman who divorced him in 2002.

Other claims the 49-year-old Pomona native has made about his past appear to be untrue.

He claims to have earned an engineering degree from Cal Poly Pomona, though the school has no record of him ever attending.

He listed his occupation on last November's ballot as "engineer." He has refused to publicly disclose where he works and whether he is employed.

### 

 

At least two Orange County-based blogs are keeping track of the ongoing U.S. Rep. Gary Miller story.

First there's Red County with this entry.

The OCR Buzz Blog posted this.

Finally, here's the Google News roundup on the story that was posted here first. (of course you already knew that)

 

We get mail every day. Some positive. Some negative. One reader apparently thinks there is a pro-Gary Miller bias here. Here's what she wrote:

I  thougth a good reporter was supposed to present an unbiased opion when reporting a story.  Why are you trying to glorify Gary Miller?  Your articles start out by addressing the issue of the grandchildren and then focus on Gary Miller and his accomplishments.

 Are you not the least bit curious as to why the father of these children is not pursuing finding these children, or on the fact that he has been convicted of spousal and child abuse?  Why would anyone plead guilty of these accusations to just put the relationship behind him?   Gee, does this sound like the Greg Hidel case all over again?  A father with money protects the abuser son, and the one who is actually the victim is the one now in the wrong. 

Seriously, you need to fact find before you continue to report on this story.  Most of your information is obtained by the Gary Miller camp, so actual reporting on your part is less than adequate. 

It is very sad that Elizabeth Miller passed away, but FYI she is the one family member who refused to testify  against Jennifer Lopez.

Truthfully, the only Gary we have any bias toward is Gary the snail.

Here's the text of the press release from Miller's office this afternoon:

Rep. Miller Announces Passing of Daughter

Elizabeth Miller, daughter of Rep. Gary Miller and Cathy Miller, passed away unexpectedly early Saturday morning.  She was 33.

“Elizabeth was full of life—a vibrant and beautiful young woman who embraced everyone she knew,” said Mr. Miller.  “She was the love of my life and will always be missed.  She is in a better place and at peace in God’s arms.”

Elizabeth was born July 17, 1974 and grew up in Diamond Bar, CA with her parents and three brothers.  She attended undergrad at Scripps College in Claremont, CA and earned a Masters of Business Administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  It was there she met her future husband, Donald Miller.

Elizabeth and Donald married in August 2005 and settled in Atlanta, GA where they both accepted executive positions at Home Depot’s corporate headquarters.  

Elizabeth is survived by her husband, Donald; parents, Gary and Cathy; and three brothers Matthew, Brian and Loren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 1 at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar, CA. 

###

Merle Haggard might have said it best when it comes to being an outlaw on the run. It's kind of funny how many recent fugitives from the San Gabriel Valley have gone to Vegas.

Perhaps we can get some clues about where Jennifer Lopez and her children have fled by finding out what they call soft drinks. Here's the map.

The Whittier pet shop that had 20 dogs stolen last month got hit again on Thanksgiving night. We're looking for some video.

Thanks to all who've come here. I appreciate your comments emails and suggestions. Enjoy the day.

Accusations between parties continued to fly on Thanksgiving Eve. With the Millers asking for phone records and banking information, while the Lopez's provided tons of information.

This from the wires:

Thursday, 8:30 a.m. POMONA - A preliminary hearing date is scheduled to be set for Manling Tsang Williams, who is charged with capital murder in the slayings of her husband and the couple’s two young sons at the family’s Rowland Heights home. Dept. S, Pomona

OK so since the last post about the NOT "missing" Lincoln Aviator, updates filled with misinformation continue to make their way into the media. For example, Channel 2/9 is reporting this!

So is City News Service (which is where KCBS/KCAL gets their updates from) ...

Hey TV dudes, check the post below ...it clearly shows the NOT "missing" Aviator.............

The initial search for Jennifer Dejongh focused on a "missing" Lincoln Aviator. Up until this morning the sheriff's department was still teling reporters that they were on the lookout for the car. Our sister paper even ran a story with the information.

Just one problem. The Aviator pictured here is the "missing" Aviator. It's been parked in a Whittier driveway since Sunday. Ace reporter Jen McLain snapped this photo Tuesday morning.

Wenesday morning ace reporter Tania Chatila was chatting with deputies at Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau  and this is her report of the exchange:

Okay, so I called about 7:30 - 7:45 this morning to see if there were any updates on the Miller case. I s/w a Deputy Oscar Butao who at the time told me that there was no new information and that police were still searching for the children, the mother and the car.

I asked him what car? And he said a black Lincoln Aviator license plate 5JAT330.

I got off the phone, wrote up the web update but left out the car information because I remembered the photo. Eddie called, I told him about it and he told me to call back and ask. When I did, Butao said something along the lines of "Oh, they recovered the vehicle?" He said he would check up on it. He called me back and basically said that the information was on an old, initial alert and that it was no longer valid. He said there was no new car information.

Doofs!!!!

All the attention in the search for Jennifer Lopez-DeJohng seems to have focused on Las Vegas. Officials are looking to Sin City for signs of Lopez, her husband George Dejohng and her three children Brian, 8, and twins Evan and Christian, 6.

Meanwhile Congressman Gary Miller has been pretty silent about the whole case. There are some serious allegations out there and they are starting to become known. Jude Lopez, Jennifer's father appeared on John and Ken today and laid out his family's side of the story.

Gary Miller also appeared on the show. And apparently there were fireworks, according to the talk show hosts.

Miller's spokesman Scott Toussaint promised the congressman would call here. We're still waiting.

Jennifer Lopez, former Miss Diamond Bar, is now a missing mom. Police say she took her kids rather than give them over the Congressman Gary MIller and disappeared. No one, not even her father knows where -- yet.

There's some interesting developments. The Lincoln Aviator reportedly taken by Lopez (Dejohng) remains on the driveway of a home in Whittier... Sorry FOX 11...Also no amber alert has been issued in the case...again...soory FOX 11

Lopez was never married to Brian Miller, the son of Gary Miller ... No one in her family know where she's gone.

She was recently married to George Dejohng, of Whittier. The two were wed at St. Denis in Diamond Bar.

Here's a recent photo of the pair.

This is a photo from the FOX 11 Website of Jennifer De Jong or Dejongh or Jennifer Lopez and the three missing grandchildren of U.S. Rep Gary Miller.

The sheriff's department apparently released this photo sometime this morning, but now they are unable to find a copy of it -- so for the time being we've borrowed it from FOX.

There is little update this morning in the case that we broke here last night. Authorities are swamped with media requests.

Sheriff's Deputy Oscar Butao said no Amber Alert has been issued in the case and likely will not happen.

"It looks like a custody dispute," he said.  "Most likely they are not going to be in danger."

Channel 11 is also reporting that De Jong's family is blaming Rep. Miller for some of the problem. They claimed Miller is somehow abusing his office to weigh in on this ongoing custody battle between De Jong and Miller's son Matthew.

Miller's office has declined to comment on the case this morning.

 

This is a photo from the FOX 11 Website of Jennifer De Jong or Dejongh or Jennifer Lopez and the three missing grandchildren of U.S. Rep Gary Miller.

The sheriff's department apparently released this photo sometime this morning, but now they are unable to find a copy of it -- so for the time being we've borrowed it from FOX.

There is little update this morning in the case that we broke here last night. Authorities are swamped with media requests and

DIAMOND BAR - The grandchildren of U.S. Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, were reported missing Monday night, officials said.

"There is an initial investigation going on,' Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokeswoman Dep. Aura Sierra said. "We're waiting for the lead detective to give us more details."

The three children, ages 8, and twin 6 year olds, were reported missing about 1:30 p.m Monday. One of the children is named Brian, officials said. A report indicated it was a parental kidnapping by a "non-custodial mother."

The parents of the children are divorced and there appears to be a custody battle between the two, sheriff's officials said.

Late Monday sheriff's officials had not issued an Amber alert and were unclear if an abduction or violation of a court order had taken place. The mother was identified as Jennifer De Jong also known as Jennifer Lopez, officials said.

Miller, 59, represents the 42nd Congressional District, which includes the communities of Diamond Bar, Brea, Chino and Chino Hills.

James Ocampo, 61, is accused of molesting his grandson at a home in the 400 block of East Rowland Avenue in Covina over the past weekend, officials said.

A transient from Pomona, Ocampo is also accused of failing to register as a sex offender.

He is being held on $1.1 million bail and will be arraigned in Pomona Tuesday morning. he's apparently been convicted of this stuff in the past and can easily be found on the Megan's Law website.