May 2008 Archives
It's nice to see that the Sheriff's homicide bureau and Mike Antonovich's office finally agree that a reward should be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sammantha Salas' killers.
Salas was killed Jan. 26 and by my math that makes five months of investigation without a resolution. Homicide detectives felt that incremental releases of information and ultimately the reward would keep publicity in the case from waning. Based on the story's position Friday in our most viewed stories list, it appears that they were right about sustaining publicity in the case.
The supes will still have to vote on the reward. It's should be on **Wednesday's agenda,** but hasn't been added yet, i'll keep monitoring that.
6:05 p.m. Friday **Antonovich's flack, Tony Bell, tells me that the Supes meet Wednesday instead of Tuesday next week in deference to Tuesday's primary election.**
As for the two being sought, the electronic files containing two composite drawings of men* sought in connection with the Salas case and another shooting are named ...
Whatever happened to the unnamed victim in this story, it sure sounds ugly. Thank God the feds are keeping on eye on suspicious cops in southeast LA County. No one else seems to care.
Here's the top of Ruby Gonzales' story:
LOS ANGELES - A former Bell police officer and Pico Rivera resident was arrested Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman after a 2007 traffic stop.
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Feliciano Sanchez, 33, on one count of depriving the woman of her civil rights under color of law and one count of carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.
FBI agents took Sanchez into custody Thursday and he appeared in the afternoon in federal court. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center without bail and will be arraigned Monday on the charges, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Tammy C. Spertus.
Sanchez's attorney, Ira Salzman, could not be reached for comment.
BALDWIN PARK -- A local man remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition after he was shot during an argument Wednesday, authorities said.
The 31-year-old victim was shot multiple times in the upper torso by an unidentified attacker just after 11 p.m. in the 13200 block of Earl Avenue, near Ramona Boulevard, said Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso.
"It appears the victim was at the house of an acquaintance when he became involved in a verbal dispute," Reynoso said. The victim's name was not released.
The two men went outside to the home's driveway when the shooter pulled a handgun and fired multiple times, Reynoso said.
The gunman, who was only described as a Latino man of about 35 years old, is being sought on suspicion of attempted murder, he said.
The wounded man was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent surgery, Reynoso said. Due to his medical condition, the victim has not yet been able to give police a complete account of the incident.
Police believe the victim and suspect know each other, Reynoso said.
Other than the argument, Reynoso said a motive was not known.
It was not clear of the shooting was gang related, and police declined to say whether the victim is believed to have gang ties.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Baldwin Park Police Department at (626) 960-1955.
Please welcome Brian Day to Crime Scene. He's the newspapers' night cop reporter and as plugged in as anyone I know when it comes to crime in the SGV.
Brian, who is two decades and two years younger than me, will be posting stuff that I can't get to and other stuff he thinks is relevant.
He likes Monday Night Raw, plays the guitar, smokes Marlboro reds, wears boxers, eats at Pizza Hut and In-N--Out almost exclusively, and attends Cal State Fullerton where he's studying Journalism.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects in the Jan. 26 shooting death of Sammantha Salas, Supervisor Mike Antonovich's spokesman Tony Bell told me this morning.
The reward will be voted on this coming Tuesday, Bell said.
Bell had been discussing the case with Lt. Dan Rosenberg of Sheriff's homicide,. it was Rosenbverg who made the decision to offer the reward. The hope is that nearly five months after Salas was shot to death in front of an apartment in an unincorporated portion of Monrovia, that someone will come forward with information in the case, Rosenberg said.
Here's the Star-news Web page, with details of the ongoing violence in Monrovia.
And here's the text from a press release put out by Judy Hammond the county's PIO:
LOS ANGELES COUNTY - Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the death of Samantha Salas, a 16-year old youth.
On Saturday, January 26, 2008, Ms. Salas was fatally shot while walking with a friend, on the 2500 block of Peck Road near Longden Avenue in the unincorporated area of Monrovia, after being approached by two male suspects on foot.
The two suspects are described as African-American in their 20's, wearing dark colored bandanas or hooded sweatshirts, and members of the Du Rock Crips gang.The Los Angeles County Sherriff's Homicide Bureau is seeking information to assist in their investigation. Supervisor Antonovich encourages witnesses of this crime or anyone with information to contact the Lt. Dan Rosenberg at the Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5580.
These blurbs come from the City News Service wire. They are written in an easy-to-read format for radio. I've supplied links to related content:
- A former Bell police officer is due in a federal courtroom in downtown L- A this afternoon on charges of forcing a woman to have sex with him following a traffic stop just over a year ago. 33-year-old Feliciano Sanchez of Pico Rivera is accused of stopping the woman in Bell last May, then driving her to a remote location and forcing her to perform a sex act.
- Meanwhile ... a Bell High School teacher is being accused of having sex with a 17-year-old female student. 37-year-old Alex Diaz was arrested May 21st on suspicion of having sex with a minor. Diaz and the teen were allegedly caught in the back seat of a car in a Carson parking lot. He's out of custody on 20-thousand-dollars bail.
A anonymous neighbor apparently overheard the aftermath of a stabbing that occurred in Rosemead Memorial weekend. He sent a letter to reporter Dan Abendschein, who passed the letter on to me:
Detective,
I don't know if these tips will help. I heard people
indistinctly talking and yelling for about 10 mins.
After that a woman was outside the backyard crying for
quite a while. A man was also at the back yard
telling the crying woman "he is dead." About 5 mins
later the emergency crew came and I saw about several
police officers entering the back door, and I can hear
the man telling the officers "he is not breathing."Earlier that day about 11:30pm to about mid-night, I
got home and saw a hispanic man about 5ft 8-9in,
180-185 lbs walking north on Buron Ave. He was
wearing a t-shirt and jeans, sort of grey or white. I
didn't get a clear look at his face. He was staring
at me while walking by. I thought he was suspicious;
however, he wasn't in a hurry or anything. Also, it
was dark. I hope this will help.
Sincerely,
Anonymous neighbor
Officials haven't reported a break in the case -- or the other weekend homicide, that of Frank Montes in Covina.
I've heard so many different versions of this story today that my head is spinning. City News Service got bad information early from Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau and it spread like a virus through local news outlets.
As an example, KFI had to contend with a deputy at the SHB that was completely unfamiliar with the case. There's a whole story to be told about the decimation of SHB, but I'll save that for another day
In KFI's case the result was that Eric Leonard's story alluded to five men being named suspects in the case. In fact it's two men, one teen boy and two teen girls.
KNBC did a nice job with the wanted part of the story but left out the particulars about the other arrests. (They also used a lot of SGV Tribune copy to round out their tale -- thanks KNBC)
Here's AP's first story as it moved:
Date: 05/28/2008 11:45 PM
BC-CA--911 Killing/160
Eds: APNewsNow.
4 teens arrested, 5th sought for murder during 911 call
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Four teenagers have been arrested and a fifth is being sought in the slaying of a Covina Hills woman who was killed while reporting a burglary to a 911 operator. Los Angeles district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said Wednesday that four teens had been arrested and appeared in court earlier this month. Robinson says they were charged with murder, and as adults. She wasn't able to immediately give more specifics. A charge sheet from the district attorney's office identifies the teens as 19-year-old Christopher Santana, 17-year-old Christopher Stratis, 16-year-old Christine Alegre and 17-year-old Megali Fernandez. A fifth suspect, 19-year-old Victor Maurtua, an alleged member of the El Monte Flores gang, remains at large. Hsiao Hsu (shao shoo) was shot by intruders in her sprawling home in March while she speaking with an emergency dispatcher.
After my encounter in Los Feliz Monday night, I've seen other accounts of Coyotes making their way into urban environments over the past several days. Including this one on LA Now.
Photographer Watchara Phomicinda had an encounter of his own today. Right on the Irwindale, Baldwin Park West Covina border. Here's his caption:
A coyote walks on an empty lot along Azusa Canyon Road near Olive
Street in Irwindale on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. (SGVN/Staff photo by
Watchara Phomicinda/SVCity)
A few months back we had a meeting with police officials from Baldwin Park and they mentioned that the city had a problem with members of the El Monte Flores gang in their city.
There are already two gangs and a tagging crew that lay claim to the city, so having members of a fourth undoubtedly makes for some headaches.
Turns out that EMF may reach all the way into Covina, at least that's what sheriff's deputies are telling us in the wake of arrests in the Michelle Chien murder case.
Here's a little history of gangs in the SGV courtesy of a site that calls itself "Gangland Express."
Regarding EMF:
El Monte is an old barrio and home to the famous El Monte dance hall wich is gone now. That is were alot of the pachucos' idols would sing songs like, Earth Angel, Night Owl, 18 with a bullet, Duke of Earl, and Sitting in the Park. It is also home to El Monte Flores. This is one of the largest gangs from the SGV, and most spread out.
Text below is from the Sheriff's wanted poster:
On March 19, 2008 (Wednesday) at 1140 hours, Victim Michelle Hsu was shot and killed by intruders in her Covina Hills home.
The victim was on the telephone with a 911 operator when the suspects killed her to avoid capture and arrest.
After a lengthy investigation, detectives have identified Suspect Victor Manuel Maurtua as one of five suspects involved in the murder.
Suspect Maurtua is a known El Monte Flores gang member and was last known to frequent the Baldwin Park area.
*Update: City News Service has finally picked up on this (even though they had a copy of our story since Saturday). But what's being reported is wrong. The Sheriff's Information Bureau told CNS that there are no other suspects identified and no arrests have been made. CNS is working to correct their report.
Of the suspected killers, only one is believed to have been a gang member. Christopher Santana, 19, of Covina is believed to have been a member of the El Monte Flores gang, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg.
The girls, Christine Alegre, 16, and Megali Fernandez, 17 are both from West Covina.
" We were very surprised that we were looking at two females, two teenaged girls," Rosenberg said.
Five persons have been charged in the March murder of Michelle Chien, aka Hsia Hong Hsu.
Here's an excerpt of the charge sheet from the DAs office:
BOOKING BAIL CUSTODY
DEFENDANT CII NO. DOB NO. RECOM'D R'TN DATE
SANTANA, CHRISTOPHER KEVIN NO BAIL
MAURTUA, VICTOR MANUEL NO BAIL
STRATIS, CHRISTOPHER NO BAIL
ALEGRE, CHRISTINE NO BAIL
FERNANDEZ, MEGALI NO BAIL
You can see the DAs indictment on the jump
All are looking at potential death sentences. Maurtua remains at large.
*All this information jibes with a story we published Saturday indicating the arrests had ocurred.
This from the U.S. Attorney's office:
A San Gabriel Valley man was indicted today for allegedly using
social networking sites on the Internet to convince high school-age girls to have sex with him and pose for pornographic pictures.Gregory Scott Serrano, 33, of Monrovia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on charges of production of child
pornography, using the Internet to entice minors to produce child
pornography and to meet for sex, receipt of child pornography,
possession of child pornography and attempted destruction of evidence.The indictment lists 10 teenage girls as victims. However, authorities believe there are other girls who may have been victimized by Serrano.
The investigation into Serrano began in March after a 15-year-old girl reported that Serrano had taken pornographic photographs of her. According to court documents, Serrano posed as a 19-year-old and contacted the teenager after reading her profile on netlog.com and MySpace.com. After courting her via emails and cellular telephone conversations, Serrano pressed the teenager to meet him in person.
Some of serrano's usernames included: Greg Scott, Purein10citi, citigreg1116, serranogreg, and latinoload1116.
*Serrano is charged with 23 counts in state court and 22 federal counts. Bail in the case has been set at $820,000. He's residing at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.
*Here's what Serrano listed on his resume at LinkedIn.com
Gregory Serrano's Experience
Owner
Primerica Financial Services
(Public Company; Financial Services industry)
Currently holds this position
- Culinary Delivery Specialist
Chili's Grill and Bar
(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; eat; Restaurants industry)
1994 -- 2001 (7 years)
**Here's an excerpt from the
SAFE_-_Serrano_indictment.pdf:Beginning in or about January 2007, and continuing until in or about March 12, 2008, in Los Angeles County, within the Central District of California, and elsewhere, defendant GREGORY SCOTT SERRANO knowingly used a facility of interstate commerce, namely, the Internet and the telephone, to attempt to persuade, induce, and entice an individual who had not attained the age of 18 years, namely, S.A., a 13 and then 14-year-old girl, to engage in a sexual activity for which a person could be charged with a criminal offense, namely, lewd acts on a child, in violation of California Penal Code Section 288(C)(1), and production of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a).
***Here's some of Greg Serrano's Web sites:
WIndows live here.
MySpace here.
Friendster here.
LinkedIn here.
****Netlog site here.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Tuesday to postpone a preliminary hearing for a woman accused of killing her husband and two children.
The move is one of several delays in the case since Man-ling Williams was arrested in connection with slaying of her husband Neal and children Ian and Devon.
This small note comes from Jan WIlliams, mother of Neal grandmother of Ian and Devon. Jan attends each hearing in the case and reports to Crime Scene readers on the state of the case:
At a hearing today it was determined that they need to set another date in order to set a date for the preliminary. Next check in hearing date is June 26. Jan
My comment: Sounds like something from the court of the Queen of Hearts in Wonderland.
Former Pomona teacher Steven Petralia is set to be sentenced in Superior Court *tomorrow.
A wrong way crash on the Southbound 605 kills a driver. Just minutes before the accident, Anissa Rivera, our "Mom's the word" blogger describes her family's close call.
APU students are causing a parking problem in the neighborhood.
The search for more Manson Family victims at Barker Ranch in Inyo was a big zip.
Sheriff's Department about to release more information in the March slaying of a Covina Hills woman who was on the phone with 9-1-1 when she was shot to death.
This is one fat coyote. Believe it or not he was prowling Los Feliz Monday night at the intersection of North New Hampshire and Finley Avenue.
I pretty sure he had at least one friend, but the other coyote was sneakier and didn't want his picture taken.
Now I know why there's no stray cats in the neighborhood. I'd been wondering recently what happened to this crazy homeless woman that hangs out nearby. She must be smarter than I thought. Who wants to sleep outside with these guys on the prowl?
Apparently this has been reported before on an Atwater Village blog and may be fall out from the Griffith Park fire.
As for other sightings, coyotes make regular appearances in Arcadia. This from a city Web page dealing with animal control:
There are regular sightings of coyotes in the foothill areas of Arcadia, and along the horse trail and wash. Residents should report sightings wherein a coyote seems to be unusually aggressive, sick or injured to the Pasadena Humane Society at 792-7151, extension 110, or to the Arcadia Police Department at 574-5150.
Reporter Caroline An encountered these two dogs on Woodland Avenue Saturday as she was reporting on the Sierra Madre mudslides. An told me she didn't even notice the dogs at first, but was instead "transfixed" by some nearby spring flowers.
Here's her description of the photo:
Two lovely, cuddly dogs kept watch on Woodland Avenue Saturday morning. One of the streets affected by mudsliudes and hail that occurred Thursday.
We call it the "breakfast test."
It's a really simple test and applies to stories that have a certain gore factor.
Here's the rule: If you are writing something for the newspaper that you wouldn't want to read over a bowl of Cheerios, find a way to make it more palatable.
The rule applies to photos too, and ultimately makes for some interesting decisions. I've been thinking about the breakfast test for the better part of the last week, especially after seeing a pair of brutal photographs and reviewing a video of a child molestation.
The photos depicted dead bodies.
One was a picture of Glenn Patrick Rose, who was shot to death on May 13 after a confrontation with Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officers. The shooting occurred in an alleyway off First Avenue in Covina just north of Puente Avenue.
Investigators left Rose's body uncovered for several hours after the shooting. Reporter Amanda Baumfeld and photographer Walt Mancini each took several disturbing pictures of the scene.
Both said later it was nearly impossible to photograph the investigation without getting a picture of Rose's body. Investigators said they left the body uncovered because they didn't think any children would happen across the scene.
Mancini ultimately came up with a photo of several police cars blocking a garage that served as our illustration of the story in the next day's newspaper.
The second series of photos came from reporter Brian Day, who used a point-and-shoot to get photos from a crime scene in the 1100 block of North Stimpson Avenue in La Puente.
Day's photos depicted the body of Gabriel Guzman Martinez, 19, who was dragged to his death on May 18 by a runaway pick-up truck. The next day, Day returned to the scene and grabbed some photos of a memorial to Martinez. Ultimately we used those to illustrate the story.
I did alter one of Day's photos and posted it on the Crime Scene blog. There I asked for reader input. Here's a reader's comment on that post:
"Altered it slightly? It's an entirely different picture without the body. Imagine if photos from every battle since the Civil War were altered, we'd never know what really happened, their history would be in question," wrote someone identified as "Patrick." "A journalistic photo should be shown exactly the way it was taken, unaltered. If you don't want to offend anyone don't show the picture."
As for the videotaped molestation, it occurred inside a bookstore at the Santa Anita mall in Arcadia. A man, identified by police as registered sex offender Jaime Elvis Elizondo, 33, of San Gabriel can be seen in the tape sizing up a young girl several times prior to the molestation.
Again, Brian Day wrote the story; here's how he described the attack:
"Elizondo is suspected of 'touching his exposed genitals up against a young female child' ... , according to Arcadia police Lt. Ron Buckholtz."
Several minutes later, I viewed the videotape and a handful of screen captures that accompanied it on a disc provided by the Arcadia Police Department.
Based on what I read in Day's story, I elected not to put the video on the Internet even though it was not visibly explicit.
I learned later that several local television news outlets chose to air the video. Perhaps they didn't know the details, but it didn't pass my breakfast test.
From Reporter Dan Abendschein:
ROSEMEAD-- A Rosemead man was stabbed to death in his home early Monday morning.
Alfonso Castro, 51, was found by police after someone made a 911 call requesting help at his home, said Sheriff's Deputy Denise Fuchs.
The stabbing occurred around 12:30 a.m. at Castro's home in the 3200 block of Burton Avenue, said Fuchs. Castro was found with multiple stab wounds to the upper torso.
The home showed signs of forced entry, but Fuchs said police do not yet know if killing happened as part of a home-invasion robbery or if the killers had other motives.
I love checking out Google's street view maps especially looking at places I'm familiar with.
Apparently it's an actual craze. According to Fox News, people actually hunt the maps for bizarre images.
Here's their story ... if you've found an interesting image in the SGV or Whittier you'd like to share, post a link in the comments section. I'll put all the links together in a post later today (that is if there are any).
View Larger Map
A 20-year-old man was stabbed to death Saturday night behind a Covina apartment complex. Detectives have little information, no suspects or motives. Here's an excerpt:
COVINA - A local man was found stabbed to death late Saturday behind a Covina Boulevard apartment complex, authorities said. Frank Montes, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene, said Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Cheryl MacWillie.
Sheriff's deputies responded to a call reporting a fight about 9:30 p.m. in the 19500 block of Covina Boulevard in an unincorporated county area near Covina when they found Montes suffering from multiple stab wounds, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Aura Sierra.
Montes was pronounced dead at 9:45 p.m. in a parking lot, MacWillie said.
COVINA - A man and teen were arrested late Saturday on suspicion of tagging 22 different locations on Azusa Avenue, police said.
Adrian Mejia, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released due to his age, were arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and possession of vandalism tools, said Covina police Sgt. Gregg Peterson. Both are from El Monte.
Both admitted to the graffiti, which totalled nearly $2,000 in damage, Peterson said.
The suspected taggers were arrested about 9:30 p.m. in the 900 block of North Azusa Avenue after scrawling graffiti on a business in plain view of a police officer, Peterson said.
Both admitted to the graffiti spree, he added.
Mejia is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail, Peterson said, and the juvenile was cited and released to his parents.
Happy birthday to Dylan, who turned 67 on Saturday. Some of his jokes are even older than that. Personally, I think they're a scream, but even if most of you disagree, I expect Ontario politicos Paul Leon and Gary Ovitt will be repeating them for years.
"I got a friend who's learning to become a ballerina. She's improving by leaps and bounds."
"Getting married's a lot like getting into a tub of hot water. After you get used to it, it ain't so hot."
"I once had a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control his pupils."
"You know, I sleep at the edge of the bed. It doesn't take long for me to drop off."
"Two dogs talking. One says to the other: `You're crazy. You ought to go see a psychiatrist.' The other dog says: `I'd love to, but I'm not allowed on the couch."'
"I was having dinner with our announcer, Pierre Mancini. The only difference between Pierre Mancini and a canoe is that sometimes a canoe will tip."
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Dick Martin, the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!" has died. He was 86.
Martin, who went on to become one of television's busiest directors after splitting with Dan Rowan in the late 1970s, died Saturday night of respiratory complications at a hospital in Santa Monica, family spokesman Barry Greenberg said.
"He had had some pretty severe respiratory problems for many years, and he had pretty much stopped breathing a week ago," Greenberg said.
Martin had lost the use of one of his lungs as a teenager, and needed supplemental oxygen for most of the day in his later years.
He was surrounded by family and friends when he died just after 6 p.m., Greenberg said.
"Laugh-in," which debuted in January 1968, was unlike any comedy-variety show before it. Rather than relying on a series of tightly scripted song-and-dance segments, it offered up a steady, almost stream-of-consciousness run of non-sequitur jokes, political satire and madhouse antics from a cast of talented young actors and comedians that also included Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and announcer Gary Owens.
As for the photo caption:
** FILE ** This Oct. 1968 file photo shows comedians Dan Rowan, left, and Dick Martin, hosts of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" flanking then Republican presidential candidate Richard Nixon during a rally at Burbank Calif. Richard Nixon, running for president in 1968, dropped in on the show to shout a befuddled sounding, "Sock it to me!" His opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, was offered equal time but declined because his handlers thought it would appear undignified. Dick Martin, the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!" has died. He was 86. (AP Photo, File)
Gang investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have arrested a Lynwood city official on suspicion of felonies, including being an accessory to robbery and possessing a stolen handgun, a department spokesman said.
Autra Adams, special assistant to the Lynwood city manager, was arrested at her home Thursday morning, said department spokesman Steve Whitmore.
According to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation, Adams was arrested in connection with a case targeting the East Coast Crips street gang. Several members and associates of the gang were wanted on charges including murder, attempted murder of a police officer, bank robbery and weapons violations.
When sheriff's gang investigators served search warrants, including one on Adams' Long Beach home, they found a loaded 9-millimeter handgun and photographs of Adams with armed gang members, the source said.
Here's a link to the Lynwood City Manager's page. *And here's a link to the Lynwood watch blog, with a screen capture of Adams' inmate page from the sheriff's department.
Watching TV news Friday night after the Laker game and Friday night Smack Down, I caught this police pursuit and tried to to catch some screen caps like the one on left with my telephone.
Apparently someone named derboti was thinking the same thing and uploaded some shots of the chase to Flickr. Not sure if he watched the Laker game or Smackdown.
In any event, his post also discusses the finer points of being an Angelino:
As I opened the window I heard another helicopter. I went to the other side of my room to see another helicopter. While I was getting my camera, I thought that two helicopters above my heads, between an oil refinery and an airport, are.. well,.. a little bit uncomforting. I tried to snap a picture, but didn't have my zoom lens attached. The two helicopters are now standing in the air. Uh-oh.
I keep watching the helicopters. Wait, there's a third one! And there's a fourth! Holy crap, there's five! At this point I'm walking back and forth to the window with a mixed feeling of sensationalism and uncertainty about what to do. I see that one of the five is flying quite low and has a spotlight directed down.
And it was then that I remembered what the Angelinos' most favorite pastime is: watching car chases.
Officials at Sierra Madre City Hall declared a state of emergency and planned to seek state and federal assistance to cope with mudslides flowing through neighborhoods that had been assaulted by wildfires less than a month ago.
"At this point the mud has not flowed into people's homes," said Sierra Madre City Manager Elaine Aguilar, who added voluntary evacuations had been declared for residents along Woodland and Skyland drives.
But many ignored the evacuation requests and chose to stay and weather the torrential rains that fell on the area Thursday and Friday, hoping that the runoff from the denuded hillsides would be contained to the streets.
John Stillman said at one point Thursday the mud had reached up to the hood of his white Honda Accord in front of his Skyland Drive home. Down the street, a neighbor's pool was flooded with the brown, sticky stuff.
"I hardly got it out," said Stillman of his car. He chose to stay put as city crews worked until early Friday using a skip-loader to clear the mud flows in front of his home.
Sources close to the investigation told me earlier this week that three teens have been arrested in connection with the slaying of Michele Chien, a.k.a Hsiao Hsu, at a home in the Covina Hills on March 19 this year.
The motive for the slaying more and more appears to have been a burglary gone bad.
Law enforcement sources said the gunman is still being sought.
Here's most of the story that will appear in tomorrow's newspaper:
Authorities have arrested three teens in connection with the slaying of a Covina Hills woman shot to death while on the phone with a 9-1-1 operator, sources close to the investigation said Friday.
Sheriff's homicide Lt. Dan Rosenberg acknowledged that arrests have been made in the slaying, but declined to provide more specific information.
"We got some arrests," R