January 2008 Archives

WEST COVINA — Police are warning the public about a suspected team of con artists who they say scammed two local women out of thousands of dollars Wednesday.
Both incidents targeted older Latino women, said West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez<NO1>cq<NO>.
The crimes occurred about 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., he said.
In the first case, a 69-year-old woman was approached by a Spanish-speaking man while shopping inside Longs Drugs store, 727 S. Glendora Ave., said Lopez.
The man told her that his father was dying in Costa Rica, and that he needed to have a document notarized at the law offices of “Martinez and Martinez” in order to have money sent to him, Lopez said.
A second alleged crook, a woman, walked up and said she knew where it was and could drive him, said the alleged victim, who asked her name not be used for fear of retaliation.
The woman convinced the victim to enter her car by telling her she did not want to be alone with the man, she said.
Once inside the suspect’s van, the man and woman convinced the woman to use her credit card to withdraw $8,000 from the bank, promising her they would return her money as soon as they got the document notarized, Lopez said.
“At first I thought they were just friendly,” said the victim. “Once they got me in the car, they changed. I was scared,” she said.
While at the bank, the alleged woman suspect’s picture was caught by surveillance cameras, Lopez added.
Shortly after leaving the bank, the man began coughing and asked the victim to get him some water, said Lopez.
When the woman returned with the water, the man and woman had fled with her money, he said.
The victim described the man as being Latino, about 50 years old, 5-feet tall, about 120 pounds, with short hair, wearing a dark-colored suit, said Lopez.
The other suspect was described as a Spanish-speaking Latino woman, in her 30s, with long brown hair, sunglasses, a brown sweat shirt, brown pants, and a scarf around her ponytail.
They drove a white mini-van, police added.
About half an hour later, a similar con was reported in on the Azusa/Covina border, police said.
A 60-year-old Latino woman was walking in the area of Arrow Highway and Citrus Avenue when she was approached by a Spanish-speaking man who told her he had a winning Lotto ticket worth $1 million and needed to go to the law offices of “Martinez and Martinez,” said Lopez.
As before, a woman posing as a passer-by offered a ride and encouraged the victim to give the man “collateral” money so he could cash the ticket, which she promised would be promptly returned.
After the con artist took the woman to her West Covina home where she retrieved $1,600 and some jewelry, the man said he had a headache and asked the victim to get him some aspirin, Lopez said.
Once the victim went inside the store, the suspects fled, he added.
The second victim gave police a description of the pair that was similar to that of the first victim, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the West Covina Police Department at (626) 939-8557.
[TAG1]brian.day@sgvn.com
<MC>(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2718

"I don't want this to happen to any family. Politicians come on listen to us. This is an election year." Jeanette Chavez, mother of Sammantha Salas.

"The retailiation and violence is impractical and immoral. The violence must stop." Bishop William LaRue Dillard, 2nd Baptist Church Monrovia. "We are in a crisis in Monrovia."

"We should pray for grace and wisdom. We need to promote a culture of life not a culture of death." Father Charles Ramirez, Annunciation Parish, Monrovia.

"Law enforcement from the San Gabriel Valley has come together. Fifteen agencies are sending officers to assist us, but the problem will not be solved with law enforcement alone."
Monrovia Police Chief Roger Johnson. "These are sociopaths they have no fear of their families their chruch -- anybody."

 

 

Willie Lee Jr. of Monrovia Calif. and Jeanette Chavez, of Alhambra, Calif. embrace Thursday behind a memorial for Lee's son Brandon who was shot to death Tuesday night. Chavez's daughter Sammantha Salas was also the victim of gang violence. Salas, 16, was shot to death Jan. 26 outside an apartment building also in Monrvia, Calif. Police said Chavez and Salas are victims of a gang war between black and Latino Gangs in Los Angeles County.

 

I took these pictures this morning outside the home where Brandon Lee was shot to death. The first picture is of the memorial to Lee. The second picture shows the mother of Samantha Salas at the event.

So that woman from El Monte who suspiciously went missing from her home Tuesday has been found.

Joellyn Corsaro, 48 was initially reported missing by her husband Tuesday morning after he returned to their Lambert Road home to find it ransacked and his wife gone.
At that point, police said “things didn’t add up,” because Corsaro should have been home and one of the couple’s cars was missing.
Additionally, the license plates from the missing car had been left behind. And the plates from the couple’s second car were missing.

Was it a kidnapping? Were the plates swapped? Police were scratching their heads.
But about 12:05 p.m. Wednesday, Corsaro got into a car accident on the 10 freeway, and the responding CHP officer recognized her face from pictures in news reports.
She’s OK, and police are now saying nothing criminal happened.
El Monte police Detective Tim Siedentopp told reporter Bethania Palma last night that Corsaro told him she had stayed at a motel the night before, and seemed stressed out.

Hmmm? Is it just me or do their seem to be a lot of unanswered questions here. Why was the house “ransacked?” Why the license plate jumble? Was there something else going on?

Monrovia officials have scheduled a press conference to discuss the situation. Starts at 10 a.m. at City Hall.

I plan to cover the Press Conf via the blog. I will post updates in the comments section of this entry.

Corey Blount, a standout hoop star at Monrovia High School who played in the 1990s for the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, called Wednesday from his home in Cincinnati.
“I think about the city of Monrovia, the situation,” Blount said. “What’s going on is sad, man.
“I lived there, was born there — that’s home,” Blount continued. “But now, I wouldn’t want to raise my family in Monrovia. These gangs took the place of the KKK as far as eliminating the young Mexicans and the young black males. Now that they start taking the innocents, it’s a problem that’s going to continue to escalate.”
Blount’s call came less than 12 hours after the death of another local athlete: Brandon Lee, 19, a one-time standout football player at Duarte High School.
During the 2006 season, he led the Falcons in tackles as a middle linebacker and picked up 86 yards rushing. People who knew him said Brandon was quick, agile and sure.
Just not quick, agile or sure enough to outrun the bullet that killed him Tuesday night in the 500 block of Almond Avenue in Monrovia.
Lee’s killing was the latest shooting in a racially motivated gang war pitting Latino gangs Monrovia Nuevo Barrio and Duarte Eastside against a black gang known as Duroc Crips.
The attacks and counterattacks date back more than a few months and are likely being ordered by shot-callers at Pelican Bay, Folsom and San Quentin.
Detectives believe Lee, a black man, was killed in retaliation for the shooting death Saturday of Sammantha<NO1>cq<NO> Salas, a 16-year-old Latina.
Sammantha was killed in a hail of automatic gunfire as she walked to the neighborhood dairy in the dark. A 16-year-old friend walking with her was also shot and severely wounded.
The teenager’s death came as retaliation for the murder of 64-year-old Sanders Rollins, a black man killed on the steps of his home earlier in the month, police said.
Detectives now believe that Rollins was targeted in retaliation for the shooting death of Hector Acosta, 24, on Dec. 12 in Duarte.
Even in the midst of the escalation, some community leaders turn aside the suggestion there is a racial component to the violence. No one denies the tension in the air, or how it’s tearing Monrovia’s All-American image to shreds.
Elizabeth Roberts, who has lived in Monrovia since coming to California from Great Britain after World War II, said the current state of affairs reminds her of the war.
“It’s like London during the war years,” Roberts said. “It’s very, very disturbing.”
As for Monrovia’s All-American image, Roberts would say it’s tarnished — if not gone outright.
“We’re supposed to be one nation, under God.”
At almost the same time that Lee was shot to death Tuesday evening, police staged a raid on Rollins’ home in search of a gun connected to a Jan.<TH>15 shooting, officials said.
It was a show of force. A surge if you will.
Four blocks away, the police presence didn’t scare the two men who walked up to Lee and fired. Cops acknowledging the proximity of the two events called Lee’s killing “brazen.”
Wednesday morning came bright, cold and breezy to the narrow, oil-stained and well-worn Almond Street just north of Monrovia’s high-tech business corridor on Huntington Drive.
Bullets left pockmarks in the stucco wall of the home and pierced the tailgate of an SUV in the driveway. Yellow police tape tied to a leaky swamp cooler flapped in the breeze.
Squinting in the early morning sun, James Bush, 45, who lives a few doors down from where Lee was slain, surveyed the scene and thought of his two teenage sons.
“With all this going on, I don’t even let them out,” he said. “What’s going on here is ridiculous. Don’t shoot innocent people. Cowards shoot innocent people.”

There's a meeting at the Monrovia Community Center taking place right now. Apparently City Council is in attendance.

Our photographer was thrown out. The bouncer said no pictures. Apparently a reporter has been able to escape detection -- so far...

On the right is the scene where Brandon Lee was shot. On the left is a shot from outside the Peck Road Apartment where Sammantha Salas was shot to death Saturday.

Police now say Brandon Lee, who was shot to death Tuesday night in the 500 block of Almond Street died holding a piece of rock cocaine. Not sure if that meant he was selling it or buying it when he was shot.

Interesting tidbit anyway.

The photo at right is from Tuesday night as police raided the home of Sanders Rollins. lee was shot while all these coppers were in the neighborhood.

 

This comes from the Monrovia City Rumor Control Web page: Except it contains an error or two:

RUMOR CONTROL

 

A 16-year-old was wounded in a driveby shooting in County territory on Sunday, January 13. The shooting was in front of his home on Peck Road, not at a school.

A Canyon High School student was killed and another teen wounded in another shooting incident January 26, also on Peck Road.

A suspect has been arrested in the Jan. 13 shooting. Monrovia Police have also arrested two gang members as suspects in a shooting that took place on Cypress Avenue.

Investigations are continuing and arrests are being made as the recent flare-up of gang violence continues throughout the region.

Crime Scene responds.

When he was shot on Jan. 13, Day Day was bicycling just outside the grounds of Calvary Church and within a block or two of the Catholic School. CLARIFIED 13:25:52 1-30-08

Sammantha Salas, who was killed on Jan. 26,  attended Alhambra High School as was reported here yesterday and confirmed by district officials there. No arrest has been made in the shooting of Salas.

We’re seeing (and hearing about) lots of increased police presence at the high schools and middle schools in Monrovia this morning.
Police units are patrolling the areas as a precautionary measure and in response to increased gang violence over the last several days, according to officials.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department patrol car was also parked in front of neighboring Duarte High School just after 8 a.m. today.

No new information yet on the most recent gang-related slaying.
It happened Tuesday night when a 19-year-old black man was shot while standing on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Almond Avenue just before 8 p.m.
The shooters have been described as Latino males.

I swung by the crime scene before 7 a.m. today, but all remnants of what had happened were gone. No vigils and nothing left behind by police.
It was a little early to be knocking on neighbors’ doors, but one man I spotted standing outside said his sister heard the shots Tuesday night.

Word is this is likely retaliation for 16-year-old Samantha Salas’ shooting death on Saturday night.
We’re still trying to get more information on the 19-year-old. He died after being transported to Huntington Memorial Hospital.
A call to the coroner’s office early this morning found that his body had not yet been picked up from the hospital.
They expected to retrieve him morning by late morning.

A couple of crime-related incidents being investigated right now in the SGV:

First, El Monte police are looking for a woman who went missing Tuesday morning under “suspicious circumstances.”
Apparently, the woman’s husband found their home ransacked and his wife gone about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Read more here.

And in Rowland Heights, LA County Sheriff’s detectives are investigating a man who was found dead in the 18100 block of Los Palacios Drive home about 5:30 a.m.
Authorities are still out at the scene and the body has not been picked up by the coroner’s office so  we don’t have much more information right now.
The man is only described as an adult Hispanic.

 

City News is reporting a new shooting in Monrovia in the 500 block of Almond Avenue occurred at 7:51 p.m. according to Sheriff's deputies. The victim, a man, died in a local hospital. Sheriff's homicide and Monrovia PD are investigating..

Wow

This occurred while the investigation at Mr. Rollins' house was taking place reporter and photog are en route although there may not be much left at the scene.

 

8:33 p.m.

1234 Sherman in Monrovia. Police are inside the house where Mr. Rollins was shot. They have brought along a gun-sniffing dog as part of their investigation. One police spokesman told reporter Brian Day they the investigation is connected to a Jan 14th shooting, in which no one was hurt.

As our photog was taking pictures of the scene, police closed the blinds on the front windows so that no pictures could be taken of the investigation taking place inside.

 

8 p.m. update

Police have surrounded a neighborhood near Huntington and California as part of their effort to stop the violence in Monrovia. A helicopter has been circling the area. We have a reporter and photographer on scene. The neioghborhood is near where Mr. Rollins was shot.

2:51 p.m. Conversation with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca from Hector Gonzales.

He's concerned about this spreading into the innocent population a task force in place.

"This is going way over the line now" Baca said while using words like "savage" to describe the current state of affairs.

Baca also said Day Day was intentionally targeted because he was NOT a gang banger

 

 

UPDATE 2 P.M.

The City Manager has issued a report on gang violence:

Here's an Excerpt: And a link

Over the last several days, I have received a handful of emails and comments from folks who believe that the current rash of gang violence is really a “race war.” In one email, a person sent me a number of news clippings detailing hostilities between Latino and African-American gangs as evidence that this is all about race, as opposed to criminals committing criminal acts. Although the topic of race is always very sensitive, I believe that we must be able to speak rationally, intelligently and carefully about such complex issues; to quote Confucius, “The beginning of Wisdom is to call things by their right names.”
I responded to the email stating that the mere fact that each of the articles that were cited focused on gang violence, trends in gang violence, demographic shifts that can contribute to gang violence, etc., that the sender had actually proved my point – that the issue here is not race; it’s gang violence. The racial/ethnic identity of the gang members gives the story racial overtones, to be sure. And tension is certainly not uncommon when one group supplants another in a given area or neighborhood – this has been witnessed time and again over hundreds of years throughout the history of cities and towns.
But this tension, in 2008 and here in Monrovia, does not extend so far as to cause a spontaneous combustion of hatred and bigotry.

UPDATE: 1:38 P.M.

Caroline An reports that Alhambra High School officials were reluctant to acknowledge Samantha Salas was a student there. What was interesting about the conversation and illuminating about the bureaucracy that runs our schools, the official was willing to discuss the fact that grief conselors were on campus today. He just wouldn't say why they were there and wouldn't discuss Salas.

 

UPDATE: 12:53 P.M.

MAP of Monrovia shooting locations posted below.

Additionally we have a page devoted to coverage of the crime wave at http://www.sgvtribune.com/monroviashootings

UPDATE 11:40 A.M.  This from PSN City Editor Hecttor Gonzalez:

looks like cops are out there in force hunting for evidence, including digging that stray bullet out of the wall of that one apartment (geez!), re-interviewing possible witnesses, ect. -- but how knows why they had to shut down the entire area around the building to do this. could be a show of force

UPDATE ENDS HERE

 

Some interesting notes that we will be developing throughout the day:

1. There some belief that Jose Garcia, the convicted killer of Deputy David March apparently lived in the apartment complex where Sammantha Salas was shot. It makes sense as it is only a short drive between there and the spot on Live Oak where March was murdered.

2. Who owns the apartment complex? What is their relationship with local authorities?

3. According to Rob Hammond, meetings between Monrovia officials, Duarte officials, police and sheriff's department and the school districts took place yesterday. What happened?

4. The condition of Sammantha Salas friend who was also shot Saturday night.

5. Your continued thoughts on the state of affairs and the ongoing racially motivated gang war in Monrovia.

By the Way I plan to keep this at the top of the page today so that commenting here will be easy for new readers

 

 

 

A letter writer informs us that a man was shot in the face at his home in West Covina on Bromley Street. The shooting occurred Jan. 23, the man died yesterday. The shooter is apparently in custody.

West Covina Police Department spokespeople forgot to mention this to us. But we found out anyway.

A lieutenant said he didn't know the details but would have someone get back to me.

update 8:20 p.m. 1/29/08

A police spokesman talked to reporter Brian Day and we'll have complete details on the web and in tomorrow's paper.

 

View Larger Map

ROWLAND HEIGHTS - Detectives are investigating the death of a 9-year-old girl at a local hospital today.
The girl — whose name was not released — was apparently brought to the unidentified hospital from the 18400 block of Vidora Drive early this morning, then died shortly after.

Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau are investigating. Check back for an update.

The lack of street lights along this stretch of Peck Road stands out.
The graffiti on the sidewalk is fresher than the coat of paint on the apartment building in the 2500 block where Sammantha Salas, 16, was shot to death Saturday night.
Inside the 47-unit building, Salas’ father recalled the short life of his daughter, a straight-A student and Dodgers fan, who loved to draw and spend time with her family.
Tears in his eyes, Samuel Salas recalled the endless wait for paramedics and police as he fell to the sidewalk and held Sammantha as she drew her last breath.
“My daughter didn’t deserve this,” he told reporter Molly R. Okeon.
An unidentified friend of Salas’ who was also shot remained in a coma Monday at an undisclosed hospital.
Both Salas and her friend were the latest victims in a gang war that’s taking on racial overtones, police say.
Salas, a Latina, was targeted by two black men or teens. At least one detective told Okeon that the killing was payback for the killing of Sanders “Pete” Rollins, 64, a black man who was killed yards from the front door of his home on Sherman Avenue. The suspects in that case were described as Latinos.
While Monrovia and nearby Duarte are experiencing the latest manifestation of a racially motivated gang war, it’s been going on in California for some time.
Doo Kim, who has worked at a dairy just down the street for 23 years, said he’s heard gunfire in the neighborhood before. But never like the “machine guns” that cut through the still night air Saturday.
“Blam, blam, blam, blam,” Kim said. “I had a customer who was so scared he got out of his car and we ducked down behind the counter until the police came.”
In his book “The Mexican Mafia,” author Tony Rafael said that much of the recent violence is an extension of what’s occurring in California’s prison system. And he claims it has been under-reported.
Civilian casualties like Salas or Rollins are nothing more than collateral damage to the shot-callers in Pelican Bay and San Quentin, according to Rafael.
While police have agreed with that assessment, Monrovia Mayor Rob Hammond wasn’t ready to blame racial violence for the killings.
“That may be an oversimplification,” he said.
He did agree that diligent police work in Monrovia and the county area just south of the city will be needed to stop the violence.
“There is not a good neighborhood for this to happen,” Hammond said Monday. “It affects us all.”
In the run-up to Feb. 5, presidential candidates from both parties will be touring the Golden State in search of delegates who will support them at their respective conventions.
Some will likely stand under statuesque palm trees near beaches and talk about the effects of global warming. Others will probably visit celebrity villas in Bel Air or Malibu to collect campaign cash and discuss the need for health care reform.
Some might stand in the shadows of snow-capped mountains of California’s inland and talk about the mortgage crisis.
Very few — if any — will come to this pock-marked stretch of no man’s land, where telephone poles outnumber the palm trees and innocent teenagers get gunned down on a rainy night.
Welcome to the real California.
There are no endless summers here, just a girl named Sammantha who will be 16 forever.

 

Crime Scene has had several requests for information on this incident. Here's what we are reporting in tomorrow's paper. I'm sorry I don't know much more than these few details.

ARCADIA — A 32-year-old woman was in critical condition Monday after her estranged husband allegedly shot her multiple times Sunday night, officials said.
Peter Chang, 58, reportedly came to the woman’s home on Bonita Street, where they began fighting. Chang reportedly shot the woman several times and fled at around 10:20 p.m., according to Sgt. Tom Cullen of the Arcadia Police Department.
Chang was later arrested by Long Beach police and transferred to Arcadia, where he was being held without bail, Cullen said.
The Arcadia woman was on life support at Huntington Memorial Hospital.
Detectives were investigating what caused the altercation.

View Larger Map

This is the makeshift memorial outside the apartment building where Sammantha Salas, 16, was shot to death Saturday night. The building itself is pockmarked with bullet holes. The owner of a nearby drive-thru dairy told me that Salas was killed in a hail of "machine gun " fire, which he head.

Here's what we're hearing about the latest violence in Monrovia:

Sheriff's homicide detectives who are handling the case say the two teenage victims in Saturday's Peck Road shooting were Hispanic. The suspects are believed to be African-American.

Not that we didn't already have a hunch, but officials confirm they think this is more MNV vs. Duroc violence. And now, detectives say they are on edge because retaliation is likely.

Reporters at the Star-News are handling this one. Look for more in tomorrow's paper.

This from reporter Brian Day on the Trib cop desk: The sheriff's Department isn't saying much about the case. The victim hasn't been identified according to the coroner's office. And LASO hasn't even posted an update on their website.

 

If you spend anytime on the road switching radio channels in LA, you've probably listened to KFI, which brodcasts from a tower in La Mirada. I've listened to the station since at least 1988, and remember the days of Tom Leykis, Joe Crummey,  Phil Hendrie and the attempted Political Human Sacrifice of U.S. Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas..

When Hendrie was replaced with John Ziegler I wasn't going to listen, but I did -- and liked what I heard.

Well if you don't know it by now, let me break the news -- Ziegler is gone. Apparently a pretty nasty divorce.

Zig has put up a page that tells his side of the story.

Here's the intro:

This website is dedicated to telling the totally true story of John Ziegler's experience at KFI in Los Angeles. John realizes that the creation of this website probably ends any chance that he will ever again hit the highest levels of talk radio and may very well end his talk radio career totally. But he is at peace with that potential consequence because he feels there are certain truths that are worth the risk to tell, especially when you are really the only person in the world in a position to do so.

This website is devoted to one of those truths. Specifically, that the talk radio industry (and particularly KFI) is dominated by freaks, fakes, frauds and phonies who tend to make crack whores seem respectable and reputable by comparison ....

There's plenty more packed into a dense four-page read....

Issac Campbell, accused of killing his girlfriend, stuffing her body in a trashcan and dumping the can in a friend's backyard appeared in court in Alhambra Friday ostensibly to enter a plea in the case.

There was no plea. Instead there was some in chambers discussions about the case, before Campbell was removed from court and returned to jail.

Campbell is accused fo killing Liya Jessie Lu, a nursing student who he met at PCC. Lu's family and friends have been following the case closely in both the local Chinese media and through the PCC student newspaper.

The photo is by Star-News staffer Walt Mancini. If you steal it, credit him.

 

According to CBS News. They are also giving out Viagra, and "Pain Medications" according to a spokesman in this video.

None of these stories made it in print...but they're on the blog and here's the photos, courtesy the FBI's LA Field Office and Web site.

Click on the photos to see them up close and personal.

This time its in the North Primrose neighborhood. A total of 47 signs were stolen in the rain.

LAS VEGAS <NO1>(AP)<NO>— A fire has broken out on the roof of the Monte Carlo
hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.<NO1><QL>
AP-WS-01-25-08 1419EST  <NO>

EAST VALINDA — Two men were apparently kidnapped from a house in the 17400 block of Bulay Avenue after a home invasion robbery late Thursday, officials said.

The kidnapping occurred just before 4 p.m. authorities said. Both men were later free. Both were assaulted.

Police are unclear about the extent of injuries. Victims put in two different cars. The vcictim who returned came back in a car that had been reported stolen. He is uncooperative with police.

Officers are seeking a car with Oregon plates.

Police were seeking four male suspects described as “gang types” and three vehicles, one apparently belongs to the reported victims. 

"The Victim is being very evasive at this point," Lt. Al Garcia, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Police crusiers and fire engines raced to the neighborood near Temple and Azusa avenues late Thursday.
http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime

 This entry on Rip Post is so accurate it's scary. I worked there in the late 80s right up until the last day. (that's me in the back row holding a cigarette)

Let us now turn to the departed L.A. Herald-Examiner, in late ‘70’s and early 80’s, where the only stability was instability. This was newsroom as chaos theory. When I was first offered a job there, I looked around the place and turned it down. Picture: rows of ancient metal desks with reporters shouting into phones, shouting at editors, banging on old Royal and Olympia mechanical typewriters, waiting in line to use the dozen-or-so computers available (waiting in line to make deadlines!), smoking (cigarettes, cigars, pipes), cursing, running to move cars so they didn’t get parking tickets. Bus diesel blew in through opened windows, past Venetian blinds not changed since the ‘40’s or ‘50’s. I later came to my senses and took the job.
          The Her-Ex at that time was a Mardis Gras of union disputes, threatened strikes, city editor reshuffling, section redesign, occasional physical confrontation, and extremely hard work. Duly legendary editor-in-chief Jim Bellows stocked the place with free-spirits, top-to-bottom. As I’m fond of saying, even the assholes were talented. There were no weak personalities there. They would not have lasted long. Top reporters’ salary: about five bills a week. Most made four or less. Imported big-gun (highly paid) columnists worked right in the newsroom with the mostly kid reporters.
          I recall an editorial clash being resolved, more or less, by a reporter shot-putting a typewriter into a wall. Then there were the occasional sleepover parties, when cots were rolled in during periods when strikes were feared, so management could live on the premises if necessary. One city editor regularly returned from lunch very hyped up and sniffling a lot. A columnist came to work a few times in drag (he was writing a lot about transvestites at the time.)
          One horrid day in 1980, we all arrived to find that our friend and colleague, Sarai Ribicoff, had been murdered in a robbery. A couple of months later, the newsroom drafted me to write a letter to Rolling Stone criticizing an article about the murder for RS freelanced by a Her-Ex columnist. Being idealistic and stupid (often the same thing), I wrote the letter, and was later attacked in the newsroom by the columnist, who first tried to choke me to death over a dictionary (poetic!), then pummeled me in the face, head, and neck until a copyboy and city editor Larry Burrough pulled him off. 30! (Yes, I threw one punch in retaliation, but, sad to say, it did no harm.) When the supervising editor refused to come to my aid, I called the cops. They came to the newsroom, did their interviews, and were given milk and cookies.
          Then I went back to work.
          There was a rumor that a reporter fired a pistol in the office, but that was before my time. (The late City Hall reporter Mike Qualls was said to have one strapped to his calf.) There were very few neckties at the Her-Ex, and decidedly not-couture apparel among the ladies (fashion editors excepted.) Half the staff was in and out of Corky’s Bar across the street all day and night, some of them puking in the gutter before going back to meet a deadline. Irreverence, irony, sarcasm, and Pepto-Bismol were exalted.
          Small wonder that the paper poked fun at The Times, calling it “The Whale” in its “Page Two” column. Small wonder, also, that the Her-Ex beat the Times in several L.A. Press Club competitions in those years, in total number of awards.
          Point being: that place felt like a newspaper. A roiling, percolating den of ideas and disputes, with news-beats kind of spilling over into each other. We did a great job in spite of---or because of---“instability.” Once again, John Carroll:
          The more worried everyone got, the better the work seemed to get.

 Azusa Police said they arrested the following persons and confiscated the following materials in their series of early morning raids. (I copied this from an email, excuse the font)

 

1. Rafael Miranda Garcia, 33, Azusa resident – Possession of narcotic paraphernalia $250.00 bail

2. Gregory Lynn Sergeant, 50, Azusa resident – Parole violation No Bail

3. Trinidad Martinez Velasquez, 38, Azusa resident – Possession of narcotic paraphernalia $250.00 bail

4. Rosabel Rios, 30, Azusa resident – Warrant $634.00 bail

5. Dennis Robert Ayon, 56, Azusa resident – Possession of large capacity gun magazine, illegal possession of ammunition, parole violation No Bail

6. Delbert Delgado, 24, Pomona resident – Possession of narcotic paraphernalia, Parole violation No Bail

7. Joseph Anthony Alvarez, 34, Azusa resident – Parole violation No Bail

8. David Anthony Padilla Sr., 43, Azusa resident – Possession of narcotics for sale, Parole violation No Bail

9. David Anthony Padilla Jr., 21, Azusa resident – Illegal possession of ammunition, possession of dangerous drugs, probation violation No Bail

10. Derek Williams, 44, Azusa resident – Warrant

11. Frank Martinez, 47, Azusa resident – Parole violation No Bail

12. Marissa Ariaga Godina, 26, Azusa resident – Possession of methamphetamine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale $20,000.00 Bail

13. Adam Manual Alvarez, 24, Azusa resident – Possession of methamphetamine for sale, Parole violation No Bail

14. Roberto Barrios, 23, Azusa resident – Possession of narcotic paraphernalia, Parole violation No bail

15. Timothy Foutch, 33, Azusa resident – Possession of marijuana, possession of hypodermic needles, parole violation No Bail

16. Michael Gabriel Garcia, 23, Azusa resident – Possession of marijuana, Parole violation No Bail

Department of Children and Family Services

16 Families investigated, 11 children taken into protective custody, 18 cases were opened for investigation with conditions

Guns Seized

2 Handguns, 1 rifle

Drugs Seized

41 grams methamphetamine, 23 grams tar heroin, 1 gram cocaine, 3 ounces marijuana

Other Weaponry

Swords, knives, stabbing instruments, boxes of rifle/shotgun/handgun ammunition

Drug paraphernalia

Pipes, syringes, hype kits

Cash

$3,000.00 + in cash proceeds from narcotic sales

Stolen Property

Jewelry, stereos

This from reporter Dan Abendschein:

Parolee raids: the family's view

Picture this: you hear a heavy knocking at 6 a.m. at your door. You wake up and open the door and 10 police officers are standing there, with a team from the humane society to distract your dogs from biting at them, and a child services team in case your entire household gets arrested and they need to take your children into custody.

Meanwhile, the police come in and search your house, and quite likely end up dragging your husband/brother/father off to jail after finding something incriminating in their room. Meanwhile, neighbors begin streaming out their doors to find a dozen police cars blocking double-parked up and down the block.

There are so many police standing around that they have nothing better to do than tell you what a mistake it was that you allowed the husband/brother/father back into your house after his time in prison, and how they are looking forward to putting him back there.

Not a very fun morning.

San Gabriel Police don't want to say much about a bank robbery they are "actively investigating".

Sources outside the police department tell Crime Scene that the robbery, a takeover at Bank of America on Las Tunas, was apparently quite brutal and involved a masked man wearing a hooded sweatshirt.

The man apparently ordered bank customers to the ground and may have physically forced an eldrely woman in a walker to hit the floor, sources said.

Police won't say if anyone was hurt. They said they are working on a report to turn over the the FBI. It's unclear if they've notified the feds that the robbery occurred.

 

Spring is here early according to this morning's newscast...

This from police reporter Robert Hong in the PSN:

PASADENA - Standing at darkened Lincoln Avenue at MacDonald Street, Brother Jaysee watched as the sinister-looking car cruised past slowly, then abruptly wheeled around in a circle.

Driving directly at him, the sedan came to a screeching halt less than a foot away. Inside, the driver leaned out the window and stared hard for a moment at the 49-year-old community activist and the weather-worn sign he was holding.

"Save a life, soldier," Jaysee softly told the man, who paused for a few seconds before pulling away and driving off.

Tense questions mingled in the air with the car's exhaust: Were the driver or his passenger armed? Had they intended to do him harm? Did the message on his tattered sign - "We Must Stop Killing Us!" - just save his own life?

Continue reading here. 

This comes from WDN reporter Airan Scruby:

NORWALK - A man who allegedly stabbed his disabled cousin to death said he did so on orders from the Virgin Mary, according to an expert mental health witness.

Gray Maria, 23, was found incompetent to stand trial after testimony Tuesday from two psychologists. Maria was transferred to Patton State Hospital, where he will undergo treatment and report back to Commissioner Michael Schuur in 90 days.

"I don't think there's any doubt that he suffers from mental illness," Schuur said.

Maria has been jailed since June 2006, when he allegedly stabbed Victor Najera with a screwdriver. Najera, then 17, ran for help to a nearby McDonald's restaurant at 11755 Whittier Blvd. in Whittier, according to Sgt. Mitch Loman of the sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

Maria then allegedly went to his cousin's house in the 7300 block of Ridgeview Lane in the unincorporated area of West Whittier, Loman said.

He watched television with Mara Del Real, 19, who had cerebral palsy and was in a wheelchair, and her older brother.

When the brother left the room, according to Loman, Maria stabbed Del Real with a knife, just hours after the first attack. She died at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital.

This story comes from Sandra Molina in today's Whittier Daily News:

LONG BEACH - A Long Beach man released from custody after being identified as a suspect in the 1996 killing of a Whittier resident has been charged in that case, as well as in a fatal stabbing in Long Beach last month.

Jeffrey Means, 42, is accused of bludgeoning to death Hal Shaw, 48, on June 12, 1996, in the 7900 block of Newlin Avenue in Whittier, police said.

He also is accused in the stabbing death of Ronald Henry, 67, of Long Beach at a home in the 900 block of Dawson Avenue in that city on Dec. 19.

Means is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of special circumstances of multiple murders, two counts of murder in the course of a robbery, and two counts of residential robbery.

He is being held without bail by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Deputy District Attorney Karen Thorpe said Wednesday.

Means did not enter a plea, and his arraignment was continued to Feb. 5.

Because of the alleged special circumstances, he is eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

 

This is the third-day story following the murder of Suzanna Jaramillo by Gustavo Tellez, who later committed suicide.

Tellez was a illegal alien with a criminal record that stretched back to 1991. Among his crimes: Assault with a deadly weapon, spousal abuse, resisting arrest and possession of narcotics. Additionally, Tellez had been deported four times by agents with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Here's the story:

WHITTIER - Whittier police responding to a domestic dispute in 2006 routinely consulted a national criminal database to see whether Gustavo Tellez or Suzanna Jaramillo were subject to arrest warrants or immigration hold.

The checks came back clean, though Tellez - a convicted felon - was in the country illegally after being deported four times by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

And, he presented a valid California driver's license, officials said Wednesday.

Tellez on Monday killed Jaramillo and then fatally shot himself in a Whittier apartment.

"I guarantee if this guy had a warrant or anything from ICE in that file in '06 he would have gone to jail," said Whittier police Chief David Singer.

Information about an ICE hold on Tellez should have been added to a database file maintained by the National Crime Information Center, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said, adding she was uncertain whether a routine background check would have revealed Tellez's history.

"A lot of times there's no hit on first entry," Kice said. "There are tens of thousands of offenders like this in the system and even the more egregious are sometimes overlooked."

Tellez, 35, had a criminal history that stretches back to the early 1990s. He had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, spousal abuse and drug possession among other offenses. He lived with Jaramillo, 32, in an apartment in the 7600 block of Newlin Avenue.

Orange

County CHP officers cited Tellez in July and December 2007 for speeding, according to court records.

Like most agencies, neither the CHP nor Whittier police run extensive criminal background checks until they have arrested someone.

"If we run somebody and they come back as a felon subject to deportation, at the very least we're going to (take a report) and contact ICE. We don't just give them a revolving door," Whittier police spokesman Jason Zuhlke said. "A lot of times on these domestics you see it's a genuine couple that had a verbal argument and that's it."

Anything more than a routine warrant check is unlikely, he said.

In 2001, Tellez was deported for the first time. That same year federal agents arrested Tellez, and he was sentenced to 60 months for "felony re-entry," Kice said.

Kice said Tellez appealed his first deportation order in 2001. He lost the appeal and was deported to Mexico in 2004.

In February 2005, ICE agents found Tellez in the Ventura County jail serving time for drug possession and resisting arrest, according to officials and court records. He was deported, that time, from Los Angeles County Jail.

Days after the deportation, Tellez was caught trying to cross back into the United States at San Ysidro, south of San Diego, Kice said.

"That's the last record we have of him," she said. "This is a man who did not have any regard for our borders or our laws."

The bodies of Tellez and Jaramillo, 32, were found by a friend Monday, police said.

Investigators believe Tellez fatally shot Jaramillo before shooting himself, Zuhlke said.

frank.girardot@ sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2717

http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime

 

Police are looking for the suspects in a possible burglary on Morning Canyon Road this morning.
The incident was reported about 8:15 a.m.

 

Police would not divulge any further details, but there is a lot of chatter on the police scanner about a containment being set up in the area near Pathfinder Road.
Apparently, a male suspect may have been seeing running in that direction.

Could this be yet another home-invasion robbery in Diamond Bar? We’ll find out.

In February of 2005, ICE agents engaged in a “criminal alien program” seeking to deport illegal immigrants in the prison and jail system, said Kice. Tellez was serving time in Ventura County for drug possession and resisting arrest, according to court documents.

Days after the deportation, Tellez was caught trying to cross back into the United States south of San Diego, Kice said.

Tellez’s criminal history stretches back to 1992 when he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest. The same year he pled guilty to being a minor in possession of alcohol.

In 1994, Tellez was arrested by police in Oxnard on weapons charges. He pleaded guilty to felony assault with a deadly weapon. That same year he also pleaded guilty to a charge of spousal abuse and was sentenced to 180 days in the Ventura County Jail, according to official records.

In 1999 Tellez was accused of violating a restraining order in a domestic case. Officials said they did not know if the restraining order involved Suzanne Jaramillo, the victim in Monday's murder-suicide.

 

Here's some John and Ken fodder.

Gustavo Tellez, the man who shot his wife to death in Whittier Monday before turning the gun on himself had been deported three times, ICE officials said today.

Additionally, Whittier police said they were called to victim Suzanne Jaramillo's home several times for domestic altercations between Tellez and Jaramillo. Apparently they never checked Tellez's status.

Reporter BRian Day will have the complete story later this evening.

Associated Press is reporting the Heath Ledger has been found dead in his New York apartment. No further details are available. Page six is reporting overdose as the cause of death.

The suspected killer of a Diamond Bar man was captured last week when the City Council decided to pour extra funds into a homicide investigation.

Not only did detectives end up nabbing Jae Yi, 24, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Pasasouk, 23, both of Rancho Cucamonga, they also put 18 suspected burglars behind bars in connection with 22 burglaries.

Not a bad day's work.

Many of those arrested were part of a ring targeting Indians and Asians, officials said.

Yi and Pasasouk are facing a variety of charges stemming from the murder of Panalal Shah, who died during the burglary of his home Dec. 4

As for the rest of the group, none has been charged with burglary - yet. Most were picked up on violations ranging from outstanding warrants to probation and parole violations.

Even so, state Justice Department Assistant Chief Jerry Hunter's description of the ring was the most telling.

"There are killers and ruthless burglars who terrorized the San Gabriel Valley for months," Hunter said.

Perhaps it's time for Monrovia and Duarte to pull a page from the Diamond Bar playbook.

Monrovia and Duarte have been faced with a form of terrorism themselves - and not just over recent weeks. Commenters on the Crime Scene Blog say racial tension and gang violence have been routine in area neighborhoods for years.

Even Monrovia Chief of Police Roger Johnson recognizes the problem.

"It's not something that's new," Johnson said last week. "It's something that's continuing for the foreseeable future until we're able to bring under control the gang violence that's occurring in this particular neighborhood."

But the bangers aren't targeting each other this time. The gangs have turned on innocents who happen to be the wrong color.

One of those victims was Sanders "Pete" Rollins, 64, who was killed yards from the front door of his home on Sherman Avenue.

To its credit, the Monrovia Police Department coordinates an anti-gang task force with deputies from Duarte. But clearly, there is either no money to run the suppression full time or not enough personnel to staff the project, which is known as DAMAGE - Duarte and Monrovia Anti Gang Enforcement.

And, Johnson said his department has been providing additional patrols to the neighborhood.

But clearly, it was more than patrols and well-established units that solved Shah's murder.

After they secured the overtime money from the Diamond Bar City Council, detectives and patrol deputies worked across jurisdictional lines to crack the case.

They worked their informant network and known fences, and identified most of the known second-story men from Corona to Hacienda Heights.

After that, detectives got warrants and recovered stolen property ranging from passports to savings bonds.

In Monrovia on Monday, no one was available at the police station to talk about the Rollins investigation. It's not clear if they've employed any of the same techniques.

There was also no one on hand to address the ongoing spate of racial violence that claimed the life of one black man, Rollins, and severely wounded a black teen earlier the same weekend.

Why?

"Off for the holiday," according to one

dispatcher.

Here's the lede from Brian Day's story which will appear in tomorrow's editions of the Whittier Daily News.

WHITTIER — A man and woman were found dead in their apartment Monday following an apparent murder suicide, authorities said.
The deceased were identified by neighbors as a 32-year-old woman and her 33-year-old boyfriend. Officials withheld their identities pending notification of next of kin.
The bodies were found by a friend shortly before 12:50 p.m. in a second-floor apartment in the 7600 block of Newlin Avenue, said Whittier police spokesman Jason Zhulke.
The friend called police, and officers responded to the report as a domestic violence call, Whitter police Lt. Wyatt Powell said.
Officers found the bodies in the bedroom of the apartment, officials said.

Brian is also reportoing that a 12-year-old was in the apartmetn at the time of the shooting. it is believed the young man is the son of the dead woman.

Police refused to tell Brian if the man shot the woman before shooting himself or vice-versa. They did find a gun at the scene.

View Larger Map

Still tracking down a lot of the details. But the map above shows the relative locations of Whittier's two murder suicides this year.

We think the dead woman in the most recent case is Suzanna or Suzanne Jaramillo, 33. She apparently once worked for INS, but most recently was employed as a security guard. More details as they come into the newsroom.

 

The fresh face of the Whittier PD has apparently moved onto greener pastures. Officer Diana Salazar, who has been Whittier PD's PIO, is no longer with the department, according to sources in the police station.

We're told she's working "for another agency now." No idea which agency that is... we'll follow this story as warranted.

 

The Whittier Police Department is investigating an apparent murder suicide in the 7600 block of Newlin Avenue. Not many details are available just yet. The bodies were discovered less than an hour ago. The couple apparently lived in an apartment building.

Both are said to have died from gunshot wounds. A gun was found at the scene, officials said.

 

Homicide in El Monte .. Monrovia has some activity ...Arcadia lingerie bandit possibly captured...

At least he wasn't dressed in a clown suit.

An update on this from Pasadena Star-News court reporter Molly R. Okeon:

ALHAMBRA — A 42-year-old Fullerton man accused of inappropriately touching five girls during a San Gabriel elementary school assembly Monday was charged Friday with five felony counts of lewd acts on a child.
Daniel Roy Smith was scheduled to be arraigned in court late Friday afternoon, said Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. Smith is being held on $500,000 bail.
Gibbons said she believes Smith is facing a maximum of 16 years in prison, if convicted.
Smith, an outside vendor hired by Washington Elementary School to give an astronomy presentation, was arrested Wednesday amidst the allegations, which allegedly occurred while teachers and parents were present but went undetected because of the large crowd of students watching the planetarium exhibit, school district officials have said.

Dear Ms. Chatila and Mr. Giardot,
 
As a longtime Monrovia resident with children in the public elementary schools here, I read with interest your recent article "Rival Gangs Blamed In Spree."  Your piece correctly states that these heinous violent crimes are the result of gang rivalry, not some general tension between African-Americans and Latinos.  There is an ongoing need for greater understanding between blacks and Latinos across the greater Los Angeles area, but the deadly shootings that occurred over the last week in Monrovia are not the result of racial tension.  They are the result of tension between groups of our young men who have, tragically, separated themselves from mainstream society and given their loyalty to criminal organizations bent on dominating, terrorizing and dividing our communities. 
 
But one doesn’t have to be a gang-banger to become a victim.  Unfortunately, your article’s lack of detail about the victims could easily lead readers to conclude that they were all gang-affiliated.
 
I first learned of this week’s shootings Tuesday night (Jan. 15) at meeting of the Monroe Elementary School PTA (where I serve as first vice-president).  One of our parents told us that Day-Day, the 16-year-old Monrovia High School student who was shot, is a good kid who's active in his church youth group and even organized a Bible school for neighborhood children during the summer.  
 
Your article would have been so much better if it had included at least one quote from a friend, relative or neighbor of pointing out some of these facts about the young man. Your article also failed to mention that the Day-Day is hospitalized in critical condition and that the family's church is collecting funds and goods to support the family.
 
A follow-up story exploring these angles could be beneficial to the community and to the Star News.  I’d be more than happy to help get you in touch with people to interview for such a story.
 
Sincerely yours,
 
Cameron Turner

This from the Associated Press:

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.—San Bernardino County authorities have arrested two young men for investigation of murdering a teen couple in an abandoned military bunker in the Mojave Desert.

The Sheriff's Department says 18-year-old Collin McGlaughlin of West Covina and 19-year-old David Smith of Covina were arrested Thursday night at their homes.

The bodies of 18-year-old Christopher Cody Thompson of Apple Valley and 16-year-old Bodhisattva "Bodhi" Sherzer-Potter of Helendale were found January 5th.

Investigators initially thought robbery was the motive but now say nothing was taken from the victims.

McGlauglin and Smith will make their first court appearances on January 22nd. A sheriff's spokeswoman says it's not known if they have retained attorneys.

 

UPDATED WITH PHOTO at 3:20 P.M. 1-18-07

Here's the photo caption:

Collin McGlaughlin, 18, of West Covina, has been arrested by the San Bernardino county homicide detectives in connection with the Jan. 5 shooting deaths of Christopher Cody Thompson, 18, of Apple Valley, and Bodhisattva "Bodhi" Sherzer-Potter, 16, of Helendale. 

This comment comes from Berta who added her two cents to More Monrovia Madness

Here we have kids, killing other kids continuing a vicious cycle that more often than not was a normal part of the environment in which they were raised. The values for respect of life was never passed on to them and before maturity could offer some hope the drugs, the money and the need to feel "a part of" got them caught up in the 'gang' mentality of FAMILY...

The LEADERS of the family turned the other way and "THEY" are you and I, the community, our representatives and our Law enforcers.. Those that "represent" our community are only as STRONG or as WEAK as you and I--WE put them in office and WE are the only ones that can DEMAND change. And yet, I have seen when Law enforcement puts a "heavy" hand into the public, there'll always be statements that one group is being WATCHED more than the OTHER. Tell, me, when do we get OFF that crap and stop this cycle? There's a whole generation being wiped out. I just don't get this race war other than the bully mentality when a lost soul is in need of anything to feel better about his or her self...**Just my thoughts

Spot the mistake! (click on the screen capture to enlarge it.)

 First reported here on Crime Scene, Arcadia police have now released video of the attack on a woman Dec. 30 in an Arcadia lingerie store. Here's the video..(Note there is some audio as well)

 

UPDATED AND CORRECTED 1/17/07 7:14 p.m.

Federal authorities indicted Huntington Park police Sgt. Alvaro Murillo on conspiracy charges in connection with a coke and pot distribution scheme he operated.

Murillo, identified in court documents as 'El Padrino" was arrested at his West Covina home Thursday morning and appeared in federal court Thursday afternoon.

Federal documents indicate Murillo was ratted out by an informant. His co-defendant has been identified as Alberto Del Real-Gallardo, aka "Panzon."

Here's how their scheme worked: A target would be identified. Del Real-Gallardo and another informant would allegedly trick the target out of their dope through a series of ruses. Murillo is suspected of turning around and selling the drugs.

Murillo, described by those who knew him as a likeable guy, was suspended by the HPPD in Sept. 2006. If convicted he faces a life prison sentence.

Here's a copy of the indictment.

There's some supplemental information that I'll need to scan. It contains transcripts of some wiretaps and other information. A public records search of information associated with El Padrino indicates he was also employed by a Los Angeles trucking company.

Murillo was placed on paid administrative leave by the HPPD in Sept. 2006, after they were approached by federal authorities.

 

The question: Are authorities in Monrovia doing enough to curb gang violence?

Your answers so far:

Answer	Votes	%
	No	49	79%
	Don't know	9	15%
	Don't care	2	3%
	Yes	2	3%
		62

This from new Tribune reporter Amanda Baumfeld.

We will have video up on Crime Scene later Thursday afternoon:

Police need help catching attacker
By Amanda Baumfeld
Staff Writer
Detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding a man who attacked a woman in December.
The suspect entered an open business and attacked a female employee using pepper spray and striking the victim several times to the face, according to Arcadia Police.
The suspect is described as a male Asian, 25-30 years of age, 6-feet tall, 200 lbs, brown eyes, long shoulder length hair, wearing a navy sweatshirt and dark pants at the time of the attack.
The actual intent of the suspect is unknown.
Anyone with any information is urged to contact Det. Davis at 626-574-5165 or Det. Crowther at 626-574-5149.
amanda.baumfeld@sgvn.com
(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2108

View Larger Map

Forty members of the Whittier Varrio Locos Gang, who live and operate in the outlined area above have been served with a permanent injunction that will pervent them from engaging in certain gang activities. It is the first permanent injunction of its type in Whittier. There is a similar injunction in Montebello. 

Pasadena never followed through on similar action against the Villa Boys gang back in the 90s.

 

The District 6 blogger has some interesting comments about crime in Pasadena's 6th City Council District.

Here's the top of the post:

Crime continues to be a problem in District 6. Several weeks ago a meeting was held to address neighborhood concerns on the rising crime and burglary issues in District 6. Pointed questions were raised with generally defensive responses. (A 1972 study was cited claiming that increased visible police squad cars have no effect on crime?)

Almost daily we hear about a new incident at District 6 city of pasadena.com. The PPD advises all people to report ANYTHING/ANYONE that looks even the LEAST BIT suspicious to the PPD. Be sure and contact your Neighborhood Watch person to report any suspicious persons.

The rest of the post is here.

Answer	Votes	%
	No	41	80%
	Don't know	6	12%
	Don't care	2	4%
	Yes	2	4%
Total votes:		51

This is a little out of the San Gabriel Valley, but Montclair isn't too far off.

MONTCLAIR -Police were looking for a teenager who barked like a dog for about 10 minutes and then grabbed a woman's gray Verizon cell phone when she opened her front door Tuesday.

The robbery occurred about 12:50 a.m. in the 4800 block of San Jose Street, according to a Montclair Police Department news release.

The boy, between 15 and 18 years old, wore a blue baseball hat and dark clothing, according to the release.

 

 

 

I have no idea if this caller was serious, but the person was apparently affected by the news that Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley earned a raise from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors earlier this week.

This from Jan Williams.

Once again, the defense said they are not yet prepared and asked that the matter be postponed.  There will be another "check in" hearing on February 20, and the preliminary has been rescheduled for March 6.

"Nothing going on."

It's what the police tell reporters when they phone the watch commander's desk to get an idea of what sorts of crimes are occurring. We typically call three times a day: Morning, afternoon and evening. So, I ask, how did we miss this report from the Arcadia police blotter?

Simple, a watch commander over there on Dec. 30, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 told our reporters, "Nothing going on."

Here's what their blotter said:

ARCADIA POLICE LOG: Sunday, December 30:

1. Units responded to Glamour Boutique, 1322 South Baldwin, around 3:01 p.m. regarding a 9-1-1 hang-up call. Officers found a female employee at the location who had been sexually assaulted. She advised that a male Asian suspect, 6'0", 200 pounds, came into the store looking for lingerie. He then sprayed her with pepper spray in the face, dragged her into a bathroom, and shoved her to the ground. He struck her in the temple area several times with his fist and demanded that she take off her pants. He then forcibly removed her underwear and fled the scene.

 

The root of the Monrovia gang problem appears to be racial, according to city officials and others we interviewed for a story that will appear in Wednesday's Star-News and Tribune.

Here's the top of the story as it stands:

By Tania Chatila
and Frank C. Girardot
Staff Writers

MONROVIA — A spate of violence that left one man dead and a teenager wounded are acts of retaliation on the part of rival black and Latino gangs, authorities said Tuesday.
The activity in Monrovia continued late Monday when three men were shot at but not hit.
Police announced an arrest in the case Tuesday and acknowledged an increase in gang violence over the past several months.
“This is a particularly bad time,” Monrovia police Chief Roger Johnson said. “There are rival gangs going at each other. It’s a very bad time.”

When I heard the sirens and saw the flashing lights of two Monrovia patrol cars whizzing down Huntington Drive Monday night, first thing I thought of was: "No. Couldn't be another shooting. Or could it?"

Sure enough, seconds later, I watched as police set up a perimeter in the 200 block of West Cypress Street. Turns out there was a drive-by shooting.

It seems the violence in Monrovia is growing, and residents of the area are not surprised. I spoke with more than a dozen residents Monday night - including students of Monrovia High - who knew all about rising tensions between Black and Hispanic gangs.

Turns out last night's shooting - though it may have had been fueled by a domestic dispute - involved two adult Black men who shot an adult Hispanic man.

We're just getting more information about the incident this morning. Attempts to talk a sergeant at the scene last night were unsuccessful. One officer kept saying this: "140 E. Lime. That's the Police Department." Yah, I know.

Look for a story in tomorrow's paper.

On at least a handful of instances, I've heard residents and business owners in Monrovia liken their Foothill city to Mayberry: the fictional small, quaint town from the Andy Griffith Show.

But I don't remember very many murders or drive-by's in Mayberry. In fact, I don't think I remember any at all.

Here's a roundup of violence in Monrovia this past weekend:

Saturday: A 16-year-old boy was injured after being shot in unincorporated Monrovia. The incident happened about 4 p.m. in the 9000 block of Peck Road. The boy was shot in the lower extremities, according to police. No further details are known.

Sunday: A man was killed in a drive-by shooting near Huntington Drive. It happened just before 7:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of Sherman Avenue. The man - believed to be in his 60s - was getting out of his car when he was shot in the back. While the victim is not believed to be affiliated with gangs, the shooters are believed to be gang members, police said.

The man was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

I received the email below from Jude Lopez this a.m. As you might remember Lopez's daughter Jennifer Dejongh  her boyfriend and her three children fled their DIamond Bar home after she was ordered to relinquish custody of the children to U.S. Rep. Gary Miller and his wife Cathy.

The Millers are the paternal grandparents of Lopez's three boys. Their son is the boys' father. Authorities said they believe Dejongh fled to Las Vegas, but if Lopez's letter is accurate, they really have no idea where she might be. MIller has not commented on the case since it was originally reported.

Here's the email.

I came to Boston to visit my nephew and attend a conference on Battered Women in Albany, New York when I discovered that I was in a police state not unlike Nazi Germany.  Upon my arrival at Logan International Airport in Boston Massachusetts, I was picked up by my nephew Anthony Norton. 

The police followed us to his apartment.  My nephew went down the block to get me some coffee.  Five minutes later, two U. S. Marshals and six officers of the Boston Police Department came into his home and began searching the premises and questioning me on the whereabouts of the children and my daughter. 

They detained and searched my nephew (in front of the Dunkin Donuts a block from his home) for weapons and kept him in a police car and questioned him for an hour.  After we showed them proof of our intentions in Boston, they left after apologizing for the intrusion. 

We were followed to the conference which was 173 miles away.  And, we were watched at the hotel where the conference was being held.  We were also followed on the way back to my nephew's apartment on Sunday evening. I don't know what else in in store for me or my nephew.  

I plan to go back to my home in Diamond Bar, CA on Monday but that may be delayed because of inclement weather.  If anyone thinks they have any privacy rights, they better think again.  Congressman Gary Miller will use his money and influence to destroy you if you cross him even if it violates your constitutional rights. 

Jude Lopez

 

The courts won't review what happened to Monica Thomas-Harris, but rest assured they've got plenty of time to talk to reporters about Britney Spears.

Possibly, this proves once again that, in Los Angeles County, celebrity justice trumps anything resembling real justice.

Thomas-Harris, 37, was killed Jan. 5 in a Whittier motel room by her estranged husband, Curtis Bernard Harris.

Two weeks earlier, the husband had been sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading no contest to two felonies stemming from the December kidnaping of Thomas-Harris in West Covina.

Instead of sending Curtis Harris straight to jail for the crimes, prosecutors and Pomona Superior Court Judge Tia Fisher set Harris free for a month to get his affairs in order. They did it against the recommendation of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, which saw Harris as a danger.

They did it even though Thomas-Harris had told her friends her ex was coming to get her.

Domestic violence watchdogs say the release was in complete disregard of standard procedures in such cases.

But, the system allowed Harris to take care of his personal business with a get-out-of-jail free card. And, the system forgot to warn Thomas-Harris that the man who kidnapped her two weeks earlier was back on the streets.

That Thomas-Harris turned up missing and ultimately dead from a single gunshot wound to the head might be viewed as simply a consequence of business as usual for most residents of Los Angeles County. Try telling that to a pair of motherless children.

Thomas-Harris' murder clearly left DA Steve Cooley with egg on his face. He responded with an in-house investigation. But he hasn't appeared publicly and only issued a three-paragraph statement.

"The tragic murder of Monica Thomas-Harris is a matter of great concern to those of us in the District Attorney's Office," Cooley's statement began.

"I ordered an internal analysis of the circumstances leading up to the release of her estranged husband and murderer," the statement reads. "That investigation will continue and will determine whether there were any violations of office policy and/or failure to follow procedures established for these types of cases."

Interestingly, the investigation is being done by the head of the department that probably messed up in the first place.

That's sort of like asking your children to investigate who left the garden hose running in the back yard overnight. The end result will be a lot of finger pointing and no real answers.

But, the DA's Office shouldn't bear the brunt of the blame. The Superior Court has got to take some responsibility as well.

And that's where Britney comes in.

On Friday, court spokesman Alan Parachini said there would be no formal probe of Thomas' release in the courts.

"Sure judges are concerned," he said. "This is by anybody's standard a tragedy. We wish it hadn't occurred. But if you are looking for an exact analogue to what the DA's office is doing, that isn't the way the we work."

Before I spoke to Parachini, the people who shield him from people like me were very intent on determining if I was calling about Britney.

I don't know if that was to make sure I wasn't some stalkerazzi (San Gabriel Valley Tribune just screams celebrity rag doesn't it?) or intended to get Parachini to the phone faster because of the 24-hour, all-Britney, all-the-time news cycle.

I asked Parachini about the screening process, and he said cryptically: "We respond to media calls."

Too bad no one responded to Thomas-Harris' situation as a call - for help.

Sources are telling us that a man suspected in the home invasion robbery on Overlook Ridge Road in Diamond Bar that went arwy in early December has been captured.

The man captured after a police pursuit is a suspect in the killing of Panalal Shah.

Here's what Brian Day has so far:

ROWLAND HEIGHTS — Deputies arrested a possible murder suspect after a pursuit that ended with the suspect’s vehicle flipping over, officials said.

The man is being investigated in the murder of 63-year-old Panalal Himatlal Shah at his Diamond Bar home during an apparent home invasion robbery, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Saleeby.

The chase began shortly before 1:40 p.m. when deputies spotted the suspect’s vehicle, Saleeby said.

After a minute-long chase, the suspect’s vehicle crashed and flipped over in front of 18501 Gale Ave, he said.

The suspect fled on foot, but did not make it far due to his injuries, said Saleeby.

Deputies arrested the man and took him to a hospital for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening, he added.

Saleeby expected the suspect, whose name was not immediately available, would be booked on suspicion of murder Friday.

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We've received multiple calls and e-mails this morning about the faulty headline in today's paper. Here's one example:

 

I just wanted to make a comment on this morning’s paper headlines and I’m sure you already heard…..it says:

Police: Man kills self before shooting wife, daughter

Sad story, but funny to read when you realize that someone shot himself, THEN shot his wife and daughter.

Just thought I’d mention it to you.

 

This is what happens when a bad headline gets in the paper. Our bad.

 

There's been a proliferation of of domestic violence around the country this week and the San Gabriel Valley has not been immune. Here's the latest from Pasadena

PASADENA - A man who jumped from the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena this morning was the prime suspect in the fatal stabbing of his wife and mother-in-law in Tujunga earlier, police said.

The women were stabbed at about 8:45 a.m. at a home in the 6800 block of Quinton Lane, Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman April Harding said.

Police went to the home at about 8:45 a.m. after receiving a report of domestic violence, she said. Officers found the mother-in-law dead and her daughter suffering stab wounds.

The injured woman was taken to a hospital where she later died, she said.

At about 9:07 a.m., the Pasadena Police Department received a 9-1-1 call of a man standing atop the Colorado Street Bridge. An officer arrived about a minute later and found the man standing on the outside railing.

The officer tried to talk to the man, "but he let go," falling about 150 feet to his death, Pasadena police spokeswoman Janet Pope Givens said.

The photo is by Walt Mancini of the Star-News 

Tania Chatila was the first reporter on scene this morning. Here are some photos she shot from uphill. She said the scene reminded her very much of the scene outside a Diamond Bar home in December where a man was killed in what appeared to be a home invasion robbery.

 Tania Chatila is on the scene of the fatal shooting that occurred this a.m. in Rowland Heights. SHeriff's officials say at least three people were shot about 7:20 a.m. this morning.
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10:46 a.m. UPDATE

The shooting was an attempted murder suicide. A man apparently shot his 26-year-old daughter and 50-year-old wife before killing himself in the Rowland Heights incident. We now have a photographer on scene in the apparently gated community.

 

This just in ... Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting in Rowland Heights.
The incident occurred just after 7:30 a.m. today, authorities said.
Deputies would not divulge any further details, though chatter on the scanner mentioned something about a gunshot wound in the upper torso - possibly chest.

More to come once we know it....

This just in ... Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a shooting in Rowland Heights.
The incident occurred just after 7:30 a.m. today, authorities said.
Deputies would not divulge any further details.

More to come once we know it. In the meantime, check out our web brief for updates

Steve Cooley's office put their statement on the Harris case up on the web this afternoon. It's the same statement handed out to reporters Tuesday. Here's the text:

LOS ANGELES – District Attorney Steve Cooley issued the following statement today on the murder of Monica Thomas Harris, victim in a family violence case:

“The tragic murder of Monica Thomas Harris is a matter of great concern to those of us in the District Attorney’s Office. 

“Yesterday I ordered an internal analysis of the circumstances leading up to the release of her estranged husband and murderer.  That investigation will continue and will determine whether there were any violations of office policy and/or failure to follow procedures established for these types of cases.

“The overall assessment will be conducted jointly by Head Deputy Victoria Adams of the Family Violence Division and the Director Pamela Booth who has oversight over the Pomona Branch Office.  They will report their findings directly to me.”

Just a little over a week into 2008 and there's been four homicides in the area, according to a variety of public records.

They've been added to the Homicide database on the right rail, we'll keep it going this year. I hope to finish the map portion of the database later this month.

For those innovative souls out there, feel free to link to the database.

Covina police are seeking the public's help in finding this suspect (black shirt) alleged to have stolen a credit card out of a car in the Sacred Heart church parking lot on Sunday. (Screenshot from video).

The surveillance video from Target captured very clear shots of the suspect and his car, a black foreign compact (probably a Honda).

 

The email below comes from Jan Williams, a Whittier mom and grandmother whose son Neal and two grandsons Devon and Ian, were killed in August at their apartment in Rowland Heights.

Man-ling (or Manling, or Man Ling) WIlliams, Neal's wife, and the children's mother is awaiting a preliminary hearing in the case later this month. Manling is suspected of stabbing her husband to death and smothering the children. Because the case contains special circumstances Manling could face the death penalty if convicted.

Here's Jan's note:

I copied this from the Parents of Murdered Children's website:  

"Big Turn Off-January 9, 2008: This is an annual event asking citizens to turn off their TVs for three hours during the prime-time segment of programming to protest TV violence. The average child, watching the average amount of television will witness 200,000 acts of violence by the age of 18. The goal of the Big Turn-Off is to empower people to object to what they find offensive and send a message that promotes non-violent programming."

As a parent and grandparent of murder victims, I have experienced first hand the way our society has become desensitized to violent crime.  People sometimes forget, when speaking about a recent murder, that this is a real tragedy that has happened to real people.  You wouldn't believe some of the things that complete strangers have felt free to ask me or the theories that they have pontificated.  Murder is not entertaining, and that statement needs to be reiterated over and over again until it is really heard.  Thanks for letting me vent.

Jan Williams

UPDATED: 6:32 P.M.

DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons asks for a correction and gets it. (See comment below.) A group of reporters gathered downtown were apparently handed a statement from DA Steve Cooley.

My bad. I won't go into the whys of why I wrote press conference. It wasn't. That's that.

CORRECTED ENTRY BELOW:

District Attorney Steve Cooley issued a statement Tuesday  to stem the tide of embarassment his office is suffering and announce that an internal investigation into the Curtis Harrris Monica Thomas-Harris murder suicide would begin.

Cooley said his office would investigate why prosecutors agreed to a stipulation in Harris' criminal  case that allowed him to go free, stalk his ex-wife and ultimately kill her and himself in a Whittier Motel Saturday morning.

We'll have more on the story in tomorrow's paper.

This a snippet from Wednesday's follow up story:

Jackie Harris spoke softly through the veil of her screen door in a small, quiet apartment complex in Chino. She said the situation between her son Curtis Harris and his estranged wife Monica Thomas-Harris was a tragedy and said her prayers go out to Monica's family and their grandchildren.

"My son died of a broken heart and handled it badly," she said.

Harris said her son didn't have a history of mental problems, nor was he ever under any kind of mental care.

"He was a good man and he just snapped, that's the only thing it could have been," she said.

Harris' mother said he was working a steady job, trying to buy a home for he and his wife, hoping to reconcile, but Thomas-Harris filed the police report and he couldn't handle it, she said.

"I think this whole situation was more than his heart could bear," Jackie Harris said.

This from reporter Brian Day:

LA PUENTE — A burglary suspect lost his pants while fleeing deputies Tuesday, officials said.
Javier Navarro, 20, and Fernando Pulido, 23, both of Duarte, were booked on suspicion of burglary, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Mark Relyea. Navarro was also booked on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine.
The incident occurred about 11:40 p.m. at the Man to Man clothing store, 13863 Amar Road, Relyea said.
Deputies on patrol noticed a suspicious Chevy vehicle parked in the store’s parking lot with Pulido at the wheel, he said.
While officers were speaking to Pulido, Navarro allegedly emerged from the store carrying stolen clothing, Relyea said.
Navarro allegedly spotted the deputies, dropped the clothes, and fled.
The fleeing suspect jumped over the north wall surrounding the business and became stuck, said Relyea. “In the process, he lost his pants.” Deputies later found methamphetamine inside the pants.
The suspect ran through an apartment complex before hiding in a warehouse of a nearby food store.
Deputies searched the building and, “spotted him easily, because he was the only one not wearing pants, Relyea said.

The Times reports today that the County Probation Department had serious reservations about releasing Curtis Harris on probation to get his affairs in order. The release came after Harris was convicted of several crimes stemming from the kidnapping of his former wife, Monica Thomas Harris.

Thomas-Harris also had a restraining order against Harris, but it had expired, officials told the Times.

From the Times story by Andrew Blankstein, Mitchell Landsberg and Paloma Esquivel:

Court records indicate that Harris had a felony criminal record that stretched back to at least 1993, when he was convicted in San Bernardino County of discharging a firearm in a public place. The San Bernardino County district attorney's office said he was sentenced to 16 months in prison in that case.

In 1999, Harris was charged with three felony counts in San Diego: possession of marijuana, resisting an officer and unlawful possession of a weapon or ammunition. Los Angeles County probation officials said he received a 32-month state prison term on narcotics charges in that case.

"He was not a nice guy, not a nice guy at all. I was afraid of him," said Tamara Cerven, Thomas-Harris' manager at Nutro Products Inc. in the City of Industry.

Harris and Thomas-Harris were married in June 2001 and separated in October 2003, according to divorce papers filed in December 2005.

About the same time as the divorce filing, Thomas-Harris and members of her extended family were granted a temporary restraining order against Harris after an incident at her home in West Covina.

Our story, which gives some official reaction to the unfolding tale, is here.

 

 

The superior court judge who approved a deal that allowed Curtis Bernard Harris to be released from jail after he was convicted on a weapons charge in the kidnapping of his estranged wife Monica Thomas-Harris would not comment on the case Monday.

Harris, 34, of Chino and his wife Monica Thomas-Harris, 37, were found dead Saturday morning from gunshot wounds at a Whittier motel in an apparent murder suicide

Superior Court officials said the judge, appointed to the bench by Gov Arnold, was constrained from discussing cases she has heard.

Even though the victim's family is steaming mad about the whole thing, Harris' attorney said don't blame Judge Tia Fisher for the incident.

This from RL's story:

Arthur Lindars, said Harris asked for the month of freedom because he needed time to sell a couple of cars to raise money for his mortgage, so he wouldn’t lose his house while he was in prison.
Lindars said he did not believe Harris would try to harm his wife during the month he was out of jail.
“I’m sure the District Attorney’s office didn’t feel there was a danger either, or they wouldn’t have agreed to it,” he said.
Lindars, who called the scenario “everybody’s worst nightmare,” said the judge shouldn’t bear responsibility for the tragedy.
Since he and the District Attorney agreed to the release, the judge had no reason to deny it, he said.
“Whenever the DA’s office agrees to it, the judge 99 percent of the time will approve it,” Lindars said.

Meanwhile, Sandi Gibbons in the DAs office is saying don't blame prosecutors.

She said a prosecutor had a lengthy meeting with Thomas-Harris on the day the man was set free.
“We notified the victim that he was being released, as is our duty,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons said she did not know if prosecutors gave the woman any advice or instructions on how to stay safe from her husband during that meeting.

As you can guess, the victim's family is looking for answers.

“It’s unacceptable, it’s negligent,” said Teresa Motley, a cousin of the victim. “The justice system failed us.”

The complete story will appear in tomorrow's newspaper, as reported by Daily Bulletin staffer Rod Leveque.

 

Usually Crime Scene lets the comments stand by themselves below the posts, but I thought that everyone should read this from Local Boy. (I may comment on this myself later, but only after I'm through editing tomorrow's newspaper.)

In the meantime:

After reading the article in todays paper regarding this incident and the spin the author of this blog put on it, I'm solidly on the side of Flores's family on how poorly the paper handled this. The paper was wrong printing it as much as Flores was wrong in being a gangster.

Just because LASD stupidly gave certain information to the reporter doesn't mean that information has to be part of the article. If the info can cause danger to relatives and hospital staff than putting it out in print is dangerous and in my opinion it's unethical to do it.

Gangsters have attacked rivals before in hospitals and will do so in the future. You have to err on the side of caution and the paper did not.

Of course these papers are not always ethical or think these things through, Larry Wilson is a perfect example of that. I just didn't expect it from Frank and instead of covering the papers ass in this incident he needs to rethink his position.

Someone at the paper should have figured this info didn't need to be in the article. What purpose did it serve in printing it anyway? It added nothing to the circumstances of what took place.

The article I read by Frank this morning disturbed me because it gave the appearance of arrogance on the part of the newspaper, something he's kind of accused local law enforcement of recently at least twice.

I spoke to a high ranking official at Monrovia PD after Frank griped about the slow release of the murder/suicide information that took place there and was given a different story. I'm not sure who was right on that but there are two sides to that story.

It seems the reporters at the PSN and SGVT are smarting a little because they feel they should get more info than they do in a more timely manner from some agencies and are now chipping away at them over the Pasadena attack (that sounds like an isolated incident with some nut who's in custody) and want more info sooner.

Arrest logs, by law, are public info and all the reporters have to do is walk into any station, ask for it and do follow-up on anything that interests them. Maybe it's time for a little more work on the papers part and less mud slinging.

Local Boy

The murder suicide in a Whittier motel Saturday morning leaves many questions in its wake about the criminal justice system and the protection of women who are threatened by their spouses or significant others.

The key lines in Jennifer McLain's story are at the bottom:

The couple were divorcing, and Harris, 34, had a history of holding her against her will.

On Nov. 16, Harris took her from a West Covina park to a hotel, where he handcuffed her and held her captive, according to Lt. Pete Mena of the West Covina Police Department. He later released her. The next day, he bound her with duct tape and threatened her with a stun gun, Mena said.

She escaped and reported both incidents to police.

Harris was arrested and pleaded no contest Dec. 21 to a false imprisonment and a weapons charge in exchange for a sentence of 16 months in prison, court records show.

Harris was granted a month of freedom before he began serving his sentence on Jan. 24. Thomas-Harris was not informed that her husband had been freed.

 

View Larger Map We've used this map several times over the past few months. This time it's to illustrate a story by Ruby Gonzales going into the numbers and statistics behind a year of violence in Pico Rivera.

This "tip" came over the fax the other night.I would have posted it sooner if there was cut-out letters forming the message, but oh well.

FYI: The url in the letter takes you to a web site apparently selling a Blair Witch project type video....

 

Just got of the phone with the coroner's office and the human remains found in the Angeles National Forest over the weekend were those of an adult male.

A human skull was found Saturday by a hiker and his son near Mount Wilson Road and Red Box Canyon Road.
An autopsy on the remains — which also include a mandible, or lower jaw, and some other bones — was completed Thursday, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
The bones belonged to an adult male and are possibly a year old, he said.

Winter said that because some teeth were recovered, police may be able to match dental records of missing persons with the remains to identify the John Doe.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau is handling the case.

I found this advertisement in an old community newspaper that was lying around the Whitttier Daily News. This ad ran in late 1987.

I like the AK-47 with folding stock.

Reporter Fred Ortega said the M-11 was his favorite.

I've received another e-mail from someone who appears to be a family member of Jerry Flores, who was shot in Whittier on New Year's Day.

The backlash over this article is slowly growing, with much debate on what information we as reporters should and should not be releasing. Feel free to chime in:

 

I hope you are proud of this insensitive article you wrote because of you and this article his nephews and nieces can't spend the time with them they should be. How inhumane and insensitive of you I am disgusted that you would be so unprofessional as to release all the information you did......I hope you can sleep at night knowing we can't say good bye.

Industry sheriffs deputies and transit police raided a Long Beach apartment early Thursday and arrested what they described as "one of Southern California's most prolific taggers:" Carlos "Krisis" Perez, 23, of Long Beach.

Perez, a suspected member of the East Side Longos sureno gang is being held in a county lockup in lieu of $100,000, sheriff's Deputy Brian Sanford said.

Krisis was targeted for arrest after tagging a soundwall on the 60 Freeway near Wilson High School, Sanford said.

Part of the investigation involved locating Krisis' MySpace page then monitoring the IP address of its owner (probably with MySpace's permission). Then tracking down the IP.

There's no court date set for Krisis yet.

 

As a friend of Jerry Flores, I would first like to say yes he isn’t a saint but what you failed to write is that he is also father, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend…..

Your article was VERY insensitive and I was very offended. Not only did you list what hospital he is at, you also practically listed him as dead. I don’t know what you know about gangs, but I can bet the guys who did this are probably reading your ... article and now know what hospital he’s at, what his full name is, and that his family and friends are there with him. His family is going through enough right now, who’s to say these evil guys don’t show up there and cause problems with his family? I had to sit with his niece last night who is absolutely devastated by this and try to comfort her and pray for her and her brother that they have strength to get through this devastating time for them….I will also pray for you that god gives you sensitivity when you write these articles. Put your self in his families place and think how you would feel if first thing you look at is an article sounding like it was a ... contest “first homicide of the year”.

God bless you and I hope that you have a happy new year….

p.s. I will soon by canceling my subscription after 3 years due to the lack of thought put into the writing in the whittier daily.

This note circulated around the Pasadena news room this afternoon. There are some important clues in it to finding ones way around town:

city blocks are numbered by 100s. so, we are in the 900 block of east colorado boulevard. in old pasadena, the shooting then was not in "the 20 block of east colorado boulevard." no such animal. it was in the 100 block of east colorado boulevard. the east west north south part very important for readers. every difference in the world from 300 south michigan avenue to 300 north. there is no such place as 300 michigan avenue, or not in pasadena. a very few streets that don't cross colorado -- and this includes lincoln -- don't need a north or south on them; they are the exception, thanks. p.s. the easts and wests start at fair oaks; the norths and souths at colorado. most east-westers are boulevards; most north-southers are avenues. again, there are exceptions.

 

The Esotrouic folks will be back in the SGV Jan. 19, for their "Blood and Dumplings" excursion through our Valley.

Among the tour highlights, Alhambra, El Monte and San Gabriel. Interestingly enough the press release points out a Manson family connection to the San Gabriel Valley (Steven Parent). But neglects another Leslie Van Houten.

Maybe that's part of the Pasadena tour later this year.

Police say alleged gang member Jerry Flores, 23, of Whittier, was shot in a drive-by while walking home from his girlfriend’s house on New Year’s Day at the intersection of Greenleaf Avenue and Reis Street.

According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Alec MacArthur, the incident is gang-related.

Because Flores’ condition is listed as “death imminent” — meaning authorities do not expect him to pull through — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives are handling the case as a homicide.

This is department’s first homicide of 2008. Last year, sheriff’s detectives handled 341 cases, officials said.

 

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Ths billboard photo comes courtesy of the Arcadia Police Officers Association.

They are in a vocal dispute with the city and have taken to advertising.

To find out more about the association, here's their website.

One town. One week. Two drive-by's. Monrovia police investigate....

http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_7863078

 

After making this morning's round 'o cop calls to all the law enforcement agencies in the San Gabriel Vally, we've discovered that the first reported shooting of the new year resulting in an injury is in Whittier. 

It happened New Year's Day about 9:40 p.m. near the intersection of Greenleaf Avenue and Reis Street, said Maribel Rizo, a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim — who has not been identified — was transported to a nearby hospital.
As of Tuesday night, he was listed in serious condition, with “death imminent,” Rizo said.
She had no updated information about the man’s medical condition Wednesday morning.

If the man dies, it will be the first reported homicide this year in the Valley.

The Tournament is over, the year has begun.

Whittier and Monrovia reporting shots from a gun.

As for injuries, we're not sure yet.

But we on the cases.

You can bet.