Monthly Archives: May 2008

Rosemead homicide reported

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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.

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The Google map craze

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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).

 

 

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Covina scene of stabbing homicide

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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.

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Writing the wrong stuff

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Two suspected taggers were popped by Covina cops leaving their mark on an Azusa Avenue business:

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.

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Robert Zimmerman, XM comedian

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David Allen, columnist for our sister paper and blogger in his own write at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, writes an appreciation of sorts for Bob Dylan’s XM radio show “Theme Time Radio Hour.“

Have to admit, that when I can listen to it, Dylan’s show is absolutely my favorite. It’s introduced me to some cool music (Shorty Long’s original version of Devil with the Blue Dress and the Yayhoos‘ “Bottle and a Bible” for example).
Here’s an excerpt from Allen’s piece:
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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.”


Oh, here’s some great Dylan lyrics.
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Sock it to me … RIP Dick Martin

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Comedian Dick Martin, of Laugh-in fame, has died. This from Associated Press:

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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)

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Gang links suspected in Lynwood City Hall (*updated)

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Lynwood and gangs. Who would have thought? This from Sunday’s Los Angeles Times:

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.

There are some local connections to Lynwood, including former Montebello City Attorney (and Pasadena resident) Arnoldo Beltran and former Baldwin Park City Councilman David Olivas.*

Speaking of deception, lies and other malfeasance, reporters Tania Chatila and Jennifer McLain unveiled their column today going after all that and more.
Dont’ forget to visit their Leftovers at City Hall Blog for all the daily dirt.



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Friday night pursuit

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9548-policechase-thumb-300x300.jpgWatching 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.

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A state of emergency

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Things are still sticky in Sierra Madre. Fred Ortega reports:

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.

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Arrests made in Covina Hills 9-1-1 slaying

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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,” Rosenberg said. “But I have to talk to my detectives about what we put out beyond that. They want to put a flier out, and they are waiting to get everything lined up.”
At least one of the teens is a resident of Azusa, the sources said. Other law enforcement sources said the teens were linked to the crime by a van that was reported leaving the scene.
The suspected gunman remains at large, the sources said.
Hsiao Hong Hsu, 45, also known as Michelle Chien, was shot to death March 19 while on the phone with a dispatcher to report a break in.
Hsu was shot as many as five times, authorities said. Two shots occurred while Hsu was on the phone.
The gunman shot her three more times while chasing her through her home in the 19700 block of Cameron Avenue in an unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County known as the Covina Hills, authorities said.
California law requires police to identify suspects booked into jail except when they are juveniles. The same provisions of public records law allow police to withhold the names of suspects who have been arrested and released without charges being filed.
Rosenberg would not say if either provision of the law applied to the suspects in the case.
A law enforcement source interviewed Thursday said Hsu’s killing apparently stemmed from a burglary gone bad.
“Although (other scenarios) haven’t been ruled out,” the source said.

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