June 2008 Archives

Janette Williams, Star-News star, reminded me of the early days of the online newspaper with this gem:

Hi Frank - do you remember this from the early days of our Website? We had a story with Moe looking soulfully through the bars, or wire mesh, of his cage. The next day the story in that spot was about a (new) police chief, but they didn't change the photo....I remember it so well because Richard Winton called to mock...

Twelve-year-old Albert Garcia and his father Juan were buried in Riverside Monday at a private ceremony.

Montebello police continue to badger the family about talking to the media, while they are apparently making little progress in their investigation. I received this note from a family member regarding police pressure in the case:

The cops told (the family) to not talk to the press because we were going to ruin the case.

I wonder if this is the sort police communication with citizens that Montebello's new city council approves of?

 

 

The escape of Moe the Chimp from his compound in Devore has created somewhat of a stir in the newsroom.

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred will hold a press conference this afternoon with Moe's parent's St. James and LaDonna Davis, at her office on Wilshire in Los Angeles this afternoon.

The search for Moe continues in the dense and brushy mountains near Devore. Three reporters will be covering this story for the paper tomorrow.

Here in the nerve center of the operation we are split into two factions: Those who want Moe coverage and those who want No Moe coverage. What do you think?

Brian Day will have a great story in Sunday's paper about how investigators using DNA evidence caught up with a man who killed a Baldwin Park couple 22-years-ago as they slept:

From Brian's story, which we slugged COLDCASE:

Twenty-two years after a Baldwin Park couple was fatally stabbed by intruders as they slept in their bed, DNA left at the scene pointed to one of their killers.

Martin Talavera, 44, was convicted earlier this month of the stabbing deaths of Sylvester Flood, 74, and his fiance, Peggy Johnson, 61, in their home in the 4800 block of Elizabeth Street on Jan. 10, 1986*, said Deputy District Attorney Stefan Mrakich, who prosecuted the case in court.

Flood was pronounced dead at the scene, and Johnson died 14 months after the incident from injuries determined to be related to the attack, Mrakich said. Johnson was also raped her during the ordeal.

"It was just a horrific, brutal crime," Mrakich said, adding that Flood's face was filled with "that horrible gaze of fear" and his hands were still held up in front of him as if to defend himself against his attacker in crime scene photographs."

I'll have some crime scene photos posted up here Sunday.

*As you see I've changed the date from '96 to '86

Brian's story is now online. Here's a link.

I posted the first few paragraphs of the story up here as I was editing it Friday night. So there are some structural changes. See the comparison and the photos on the jump.

Air quality in the Los Angeles Basin is better than the air quality in the Bay Area this weekend.

This anonymous writer has his own take on urban terrorism and the failure of the presidential campaign to address serious crime issues affecting our neighborhoods. I don't know what to make of it. Clearly the writer wanted to remain anonymous because some of the remarks are controversial.  Letter on the jump:

West Covina's most famous chimp, Moe the Chimp has escaped from Famous Exotics in Devore, according to reports from the San Bernardino Sun. Here's the top of their story:

Moe is making headlines again.

On Friday afternoon the chimp, featured in several news stories over the years, escaped from Jungle Exotics, a commercial business in the Devore area.

By Saturday wildlife volunteers and county animal control had searched for the animal in the heavily-forested area near the business.

A privately-owned helicopter circled over the area on Saturday.

The chimp has never escaped into the wild before, and would not have access to any food or water.

For the most part, the animal which once lived in West Covina and has been housed at different sanctuaries since the late 1990s, is a friendly and social creature.

But anyone who comes across the chimp is urged to contact local authorities instead of approach him.

I've got an email in to Gloria Allred, attorney for Moe's family St. James and LaDonna Davis of West Covina. I plan to update the post when she writes back.

Here's some of Watchara's photos from the Sheriff's mounted patrol Friday night in East Pasadena. As you can see a few people were arrested in the operation. For more photos and details checkout Watchara's photo gallery.

 

 

 

 

CBS 2 KCAL is reporting two homicides overnight. One in West Covina. Victim there remains unidentified.

The other incident was reported in Altadena. I've got some emails about the Altadena incident that I'll post on the jump. Here's the news story:

LOS ANGELES At least two men were gunned down in Los Angeles Friday night, according to officials.

The first homicide, in West Covina, was reported about 11:20, said West Covina police Lt. Tommy Garcia.

Responding to a "shots fired" call, police found the body of a young man in a yard near 1450 W. Puente Ave.

The victim's name was withheld pending notification of his family.

Meanwhile, in Altadena, another man was fatally shot about 1:10 a.m.

The victim in that shooting was declared dead at the hospital.

The shooting occured in the 100 block of Figueroa Drive, according to Deputy Rick Pedroza of the Sheriff's Headquarter's Bureau.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances that led up to the shooting and searching for a suspect.

As for my emails ...

 

 

Photographer Watchara Phomicinda called to say the mounted posse prostitute roundup on Colorado Boulevard made for some great photographs.

A reporter and cameraman from KCBS/KCAL showed up after their assignment editor read about the event here earlier today. Very similar to what happened after we reported on the mythical Pasadena Panty Bandit.

Watchara said it didn't appear that any arrests were made, but some registered sex offenders living in a East Colorado hot sheet were rousted by deputies on horseback.

"It was great," Watchara said.

I'll have some of his photos up here Saturday.

BALDWIN PARK -- A man was shot in the leg during a home invasion robbery Thursday, authorities said.
The incident occurred about 9:15 p.m. at a house in the 4000 block of Hornbrook Avenue, said Baldwin Park police Sgt. Doug Parnell.
A husband and wife in their 30s were in bed when two robbers, described as Latino men in their 40s wearing all black, cut through the screen of a sliding door and forced their way into the home, Parnell said.
One of the men was armed with a handgun, Parnell said, and they walked the victims around the house demanding to know where the money was kept.
The husband told the robbers his money was in the garage, but pressed a panic button on the way, Parnell said.
When the robbers ordered the man to shut it down, he told them he could only do so from the keypad in front of the home.
When the robbers escorted the man outside, he saw a neighbor and yelled to call 9-1-1, Parnell said.
One of the robbers shot the man in the leg and they both fled on foot, Parnell said.
The wounded man was treated at an area hospital and has since been released, he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Baldwin Park Police Department at (626) 960-1955.

There's a mounted Sheriff's posse patroling Colorado Boulevard in east Pasadena they're on the lookout (and perhaps out to) prevent prostitution along the corridor according to Crime Scene sources.

The posse's been at work since 3 p.m. and may stay out and visible until sundown officials said.

The controversial Charter Oak High School yearbook, that substituted racially charged monikers for kids in the Black Student Union, may be reprinted, according to reporter Amanda Baumfeld. She's filed a brief story this afternoon:

COVINA - Charter Oak High School is considering reprinting and replacing pages of its yearbook that have offensive and incorrect names, officials said Friday.

School Principal Kathleen Wiard said she is working with the book's publisher to replace index pages of the school's 2008 Chronicle.

"Students put incorrect names throughout the index and did not go back and correct them," Wiard said Friday. "Most are not as offensive as the Black Student Union names but none the less they are incorrect."

The possible reprint comes after a yearbook staff student replaced nine BSU student names with fake names - such as "Tay Tay Shaniqua," "Crisphy Nanos" and "Laquan White" - next to their club photo in the yearbook.

*Drudge has linked to the story giving it national attention. It will be interesting to see if school administrators are going to take the incident seriously now. How long until we see this on O'Reilly or Hannity? 

*It never ceases to amaze me how a story like this yearbook snafu gets national coverage and the senseless murder of an innocent 12-year-old by urban terrorists gets ignored... 

 

A La Puente woman, accused of running day-to-day activities for the Mexican Mafia while her husband was in Pelican Bay, pleaded not guilty today to charges stemming from an alleged gang murder plot.

Maria Llantada, 44, and nine associates entered pleas in the case today. They were named in a grand jury indictment handed up June 13. All ten defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The conspiracy charges involve two men who were "targeted," according to the
indictment.

Those indicted include Maria Llantada, 44, of La Puente, whom authorities said last year ran the gang's street activities in parts of La Puente, Norwalk and some surrounding areas.

Also named in the indictment are: Doreen Padilla, 25; David Sahagun, 26; Yvonne
Montes, 31; George Bravo, 40; Renee Lopez, 21; Ernesto Roacho Jr., 20; Angelita
Martinez, 37; Danna Stover, 33; and Antonio Palacios, 66.

The video speaks for itself. Albert was shot and killed in Montebello by gang bangers trying to crash a graduation party for a blind girl.

Police have remained completely silent regarding progress of their investigation.

Aaron Proctor, the most electrifying man in blog entertainment, mailed his nearly famous ham and egg award to our very own prep professor Fred Robledo. Here's Fred holding the award aloft at his cubicle!

Fred's going to make up for the win, covering the annual high school Hall of Fame game at Bassett High School tonight. Oh, why did he get it? For watching a sports event on tv in the newsroom....hmm isn't that what sportswriters are paid to do?

Can't tell you how many Monday Night Football games and episodes of RAW I've watched here...quite a few to be sure. 

BTW I think Aaron might want to consider branching out to Monrovia for the next installment.. apparently Mayor Rob Hammond is recycling material for his letters to the editor.

There's word on the street that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to take away safe and sane fireworks this year.

That's right. A few days before the Fourth of July, he decides that legal fireworks are bad and might cause fires.

Hmmm so how does that explain the 6,000 lightning strike fires in Northern California earlier this week? ....Is he going to ban lightning next?

What about hobo campfires?

How about cigarettes?

The truth is,  a ban on these sales only hurts the little people; little leagues, Knights of Columbus, Girl Scouts --- civic organizations that do good in the community without taking taxpayer dollars.

Tell me how many fires were started by legal fireworks this year?

 

  

ARCADIA -- Two men wearing Halloween masks bound an employee as they robbed a Radio Shack Thursday, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. at the store, located at 1435 S. Baldwin Ave., said Arcadia police Lt. Bob Anderson.
Two men entered the store wearing "presidential-style" masks and ordered the lone employee into the bathroom at gunpoint, Anderson said.
After binding the employees eyes and mouth with tape, they ordered him to stay in the bathroom, Anderson said.
The robbers stole money from the employee, and unknown merchandise from the store before fleeing, he said.
The employee was discovered by a Fed-Ex delivery man about 15 minutes after the robbery, Anderson said.
The robbers were described only as Latino men of average height and weight, said Anderson.
The employee was not injured, he said.

The Department of Justice sent out a press release Thursday afternoon indicating they had arrested an attorney working for the agency and his wife for taking bribes from immigrants at least one of the bribes was $20,000. Nice.

Here's the top of the release:

A senior attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was arrested today after allegedly taking a $20,000 bribe from an immigrant seeking documentation to remain in the United States.

ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Peter Kallas, 38, and his wife, Maria Kallas, 39, both of Alta Loma, were arrested this afternoon by special agents with ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They
were arrested at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino in Highland, where they allegedly accepted a bribe payment from an immigrant.

The couple is expected to make their initial court appearance tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.

Looks like another cop has filed a discrimination suit against the Monrovia PD.

This time the cop is saying he's being discriminated against for testifying in a previous case. I wonder how the Monrovia media machine is going to spin the latest story. Here's what Nate McIntire will report in tomorrow's paper:

MONROVIA - A Monrovia police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city alleging he was harassed and retaliated against for cooperating in a previous racial discrimination case against the Monrovia Police Department.

Matthew Donald Thompson said he provided statements supporting the claims of racial discrimination and harassment filed by Glenn Cobb, a former Monrovia police officer who sued the department in 2006.

Cobb settled with the city, which admitted no liability, in November 2007.

The "shirtless and sweaty" Baldwin Park School Board member who was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and driving under the influence won't face charges -- just yet, according to a story by Tania Chatila.

Interestingly enough someone familiar with the case predicted this outcome about two weeks ago. That person told me that the family who originally called Baldwin Park's 911 won't testify that Corona was on their doorstep or that Corona broke their window. That person also said that the DAs office would have very little interest in prosecuting the case period.

Interestingly enough, police found Corona's School District issued cell phone on the doorstep of the vandalized home. I've been told that he admitted doing the vandalism but later recanted and said he didn't know where he was or how he got to the police station after his arrest. It seems like that would be enmough to prosecute...

There are also rumors about Corona's absence from several school board meetings and talk of other run-ins with local law enforcement.

Here's a snippet:

BALDWIN PARK - The District Attorney's office has declined to file criminal charges against school board member Sergio Corona, officials said.

Police say they intend to follow-up of the results of a toxicology report before resubmitting the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney, Baldwin Park police Lt. Jospeh Cowan said.

The case stems from a May 22 arrest in which Corona was Tased by police after allegedly breaking the windows of a home. According to a police report, Corona admitted to having smoked methamphetamine and marijuana earlier in the night.

*The Leftovers blog details their conversation with Lt. Cowan of the Baldwin park PD, who doesn't want us to get a mug shot of Corona -- despite the fact we get mugs all the time... 

The decision:

Held:

1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.Pp. 2-53.

(a) The Amendment's prefatory clause announces a purpose, butdoes not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operativeclause. The operative clause's text and history demonstrate that itconnotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2-22

Every home has that closet.

You know, the one where you put stuff that really doesn't fit anywhere else.

In my parent's house, that closet had a box full of old newspapers and magazines. The headlines were bold and historical:

JFK ASSASSINATED

RFK ASSASSINATED

MOON WALK

NIXON RESIGNS

We have a place for old stuff at the newspaper, too. It's not really a closet, just a large room full of file cabinets that we call "the morgue."

The other day, I decided to paw through old crime files. One of the oldest told of a West Covina bank robbery from November 1955, about eight months after the San Gabriel Valley Tribune became a daily newspaper.

A huge screaming headline stretched across the front page:

ROB W. COVINA BANK

Machinegun-Carrying Pair

Flee With Over $5,000

Beyond that there wasn't much else notable.

The decaying folders in our morgue contain stories about vandalism, assaults, molestations, theft and murder.

A four-paragraph La Puente brief from November 1960, headlined "Valley Man Tells Fear for Family," had this second paragraph:

"Victor E. Chandler, 45-year-old Negro, and his wife Joyce, 31, white, told deputies also that a three-foot high cross was burned in the driveway of their residence."

Over time, colorful stories about hobos, drifters and delinquents morphed into stories about hippies, drugs and mental patients.

By the time the 1970s rolled around, the headlines and stories got smaller and the language more restrained.

During the disco decade a "Nice Old Man" got killed in a Rosemead liquor store hold-up. In 1979, a Valinda Thanksgiving dinner went awry: "Youth Killed After Spilling Beer on Turkey."

Reporters in the 1980s went for the "round-up" stories. "Detectives Blame Weather: Weekend Violence Keeps Police Busy" from 1981 is one example. My colleague, Jim McConnell, reminded me that in the 1990s we had an editor here who liked to distinguish between murder and misdemeanor murder. As a result, crime coverage was at best uneven.

Over the past couple of years, the files have petered out. We rely on computer storage of our archives so there's really no need to keep those yellowed clips anymore.

Upon reflection, I think what amazes me most is the consistency of random violence. There's also something dispassionate about reading history. I don't get the same gut feeling of sadness that came from writing about Manling Williams, suspected of suffocating her two small children and slicing her husband to death with a samurai sword last August.

There's none of the anger that comes with having to think about the senseless death of 12-year-old Albert Garcia, gunned down Saturday in a Montebello back yard by gang bangers who remained free Wednesday.

Avenues gang members rounded up.

Man shot twice confronting Hollywood taggers.

Black Student Union at Charter Oak High School targeted by yearbook vandal.

Suspicious packages create stir at ELA College.

City begins overhaul of former strip club site at Corky's Corner.

Unlike the mythical panty story, this actually happened in the San Gabriel Valley.  Whittier Daily News reporter Ruby Gonzales has the scoop on a guy who died around April 15. Apparently the county tax collector was looking for him but the grim reaper got there first:

A man apparently died three months ago but his body was discovered Tuesday afternoon after a county worker came knocking.

Guy King, 65, was found on his couch next to a paper bag with a carton of milk and some yogurt that expired on April 18, said Whittier Police spokesman Jason Zuhlke.

He said King apparently kept to himself and his family lives out of state. A neighbor last saw King two months ago.

The grisly discovery was made Tuesday afternoon in the 10800 block of Kibbee Avenue by a county employee and a neighbor.

Zuhlke didn't know what county department the worker was from and why he was at King's home.

However, records show the bank had a lien on the house.

 

Turns out we may have been pursuing an urban myth.

Reporter Serene Branson, of KCBS/KCAL, told me that she was assigned to look into the case of the Pasadena "Panty Bandit" after a producer at the station read a blog entry here earlier today.

So Serene calls the Pasadena cops and they tell her the story is a rumor. A detective there said he polled all the detectives in the department and none are looking into reports of a "Panty Bandit" raiding dressers and closets in upper-class neighborhoods.

"An urban myth," she said. "They said a similar story circulated around town about a month ago."

Maybe it's a good thing we only considered the story a brief. Here's the "Gridiron Girls" blog, which has a page devoted to Serene and an interview. 

 

I don't know the full details of this story, but it's among several proposed to run in the Star-News Thursday morning. Here's what we will report:

A local burglar has been rummaging through some upper class Pasadena homes, but he is not after jewels or gold. This thief has been stealing women's underwear and fleeing the scene, police and residents say.

From NBC 7 in San Diego:

ALPINE -- City and county authorities are investigating the death of a San Diego police dog whose body was found in the back seat of a patrol car at his handler's home.

According to the San Diego Police Department, the dog was a 5-year-old Belgian Malinois named Forrest. Forrest stayed with his handler at this house in Alpine, about 20 miles east of downtown San Diego.

Sources familiar with the investigation identified the dog's handler as Paul Hubka, a 22-year veteran who's a director of the San Diego Police Officers Association. Sources told NBC 7/39 Hubka returned from an overnight shift, went into his house, and came out a few hours later to discover Forrest's body in the back seat of his patrol car.

Police, sheriff's deputies and animal control officers converged on the neighborhood and began an investigation that's still awaiting necropsy results.

Here are some pictures of Albert Garcia, 12. He and his father were shot and killed Saturday while at a party in Montebello. Police have said little about the case, but indicated Tuesday there are seeking at least three men in conenction with the slaying that may have been the end result of an argument.

The pictures were sent by Albert's mother Willena Garcia. A former employee of the Riverside County SHeriff's department who worked for several years in Temecula. Albert and, his mom, and his 10-year-                                                                                old brother were residents of Hemet.

Albert's family believes they could encouter as much as 20 to 30K in burial expenses and have set up a fund at Wells Fargo.

Albert's uncle Job Armenta remembered his nephew Tuesday. "He was an awesome, awesome little dude."

In an addendum to an earlier letter, Albert's mom wrote about her son's favorite skater, and his infectious smile.

"Albert was a caring boy who wanted to make those around him happy."

 

From the Associated Press:

KANSAS CITY, MO -- Shaquille O'Neal will lose his special deputy's badge in Maricopa County, Arizona. Because of language he used in a rap video that mocks former teammate Kobe Bryant.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the Phoenix Suns center's use of a racially derogatory word and other foul language left him no choice. Arpaio made Shaq a special deputy in January and promoted him to colonel of his largely ceremonial posse earlier this month.

On June 21, 2008 at 11:45 pm the Montebello Police Department received numerous calls of shots fired in the 100 block of East Madison Ave.  The incident took place at a residence that was hosting a graduation party.

During the party several individuals were involved in an argument that resulted in gun shots.  One group was invited guests and the other was not.  The preliminary investigation reveals that this crime appears to be gang related, however it is important to note that neither of the victims were involved in the confrontation nor members of the groups that were at odds. 

Juan Garcia 44 years old from Riverside County and Albert Garcia 12 years old also from Riverside County (father and son), succumbed to injuries that they received as a result of being shot.  Both received gunshots to their upper torsos.  A male adult was treated at the scene for a gunshot wound in the lower torso; a female adult was taken to Monterey Park Hospital for a gunshot wound to her arm.  The names of the adult victims are being withheld at this time.   

The preliminary suspect information is 2 to 3 male Hispanics, wearing light colored shirts and dark colored pants.  They were said to be between 15 and 20 years of age.  After the shots were fired, the suspect (s) fled on foot southbound on Poplar Avenue and out of sight.  Further information to follow when it becomes available. 

Montebello Police Detectives have worked this case around the clock and have interviewed many witnesses and are actively pursuing leads.  Montebello Police Chief Daniel Weast has met with the City Administrator and Members of the City Council, all of whom have pledged all available resources to identify, locate and apprehend the individuals responsible for this tragic incident.   

Montebello Police Crimes Against Persons Detectives are investigating this case.  Anyone with information regarding this incident can contact Detective Ray Sulcer at (323) 887-1253 or Detective Kelly Gordon at (323) 887-1256

Here's the face of the boy who was shot to death at a backyard party in Montebello this weekend.

Albert Garcia, 12, and his father Juan were gunned down at a home on the corner of Madison and Poplar Saturday evening about 11:45 p.m., according to police.

In this picture Albert is third from left. He leaves behind a grieving mother and a 10-year-old brother.

 

 From the San Gabriel Valley Daily Tribune June 23, 1958:

Blonde Suspect Sought

DIVORCEE MURDERED

Woman Strangled by Cord and Stocking

EL MONTE -- A blonde woman with a pony tail is sought today as the suspect in the murder of an El Monte woman.

The body of the victim, strangled with a cotton cord and one of her stockings, was found yesterday in a lane leading to the Arroyo High School here.

She was identified as Mrs. Jean Ellroy, 756 Maple Ave., a 37-year-old divorcee and the mother of a 10-year-old boy. The blonde woman being hunted by police was seen with her Saturday night in a cocktail bar at 11721 E. Valley Boulevard., where Mrs. Ellroy's car was discovered yesterday.

Driven to Lane

Sheriff's Inspector R.T. Paronsonm said the woman was apparently strangled elsewhere and driven to the lane, which is known as Kings Row.

Pearls from a broken necklace led to the body, which was sprawled in an acacia thicket across from the high school athletic field.

She was dressed in a torn blue-print dress, but wore no undergarments, A navy blue coat covered the nude lower half of her body. The stocking on her left leg was pulled down to her ankle and her brassiere lay in ivy next to her body.

News Report

The victim was identified by her landlady, Mrs. George Krycki, 36, of 700 E. Bryant Road, who heard a news report of the finding of the body.

Mrs. Krycki described the divorcee as a "very fine person ...a quiet woman who neither drank nor dated men .. a good mother to her boy."

Detectived said there was an asphalt mark on the victims left hip, indicating she was dragged along pavement at some other spot. There were no marks on the pavement or in the ivy where the body was found.

With Husband

Her son was with her divorced husband, Armand Lee Ellroy, 60, an accountant of 4980 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, during the weekend. Ellroy was unable to give police a clue to the murder. He said he had been divorced from her about four years.

The slaim woman's body was found by three Babe Ruth baseball league coaches who were walking to the schools' baseball diamond with a group of ball players yesterday.

The coaches were identified as Herman C. Warner, 52, of El Monte; Richard Grinnold, 44,  abd Kendall E. Nungesser, 46, of San Gabriel.

Mrs. Ellroy, a redhead, was employed as a nurse by the Aero Dynamics Corp. in Los Angeles. 

This comes from the mailbag: (Sent by Chrisa Christy an aunt of Albert Garcia)

"Wait! Take a picture of my good side..."  

These were excited words from a vivacious, adventurous, 12 year old boy named Albert Garcia.  He loved his brother, Dominic, 10, and taught him all his best skateboarding tricks much to the weariness of his resilient mother, Willene Garcia.   

Albert, Dominic, and Willene have learned a lot about resilience in the past 8 years.  A single mother, Willene put herself through school to learn computers and eventually obtained a position with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. 

 
Trying to give her boys a better chance she moved away from the harsh reality of life in the city for a single mom and two young boys all the way to the East Coast.   

"You have to take a chance sometimes.  You never know."  Willene watched her two boys play in the ocean that day, happy and content.  They didn't seem to have a care in the world.  Two weeks after the sun filled day in the Atlantic Ocean, the Garcia family once again faced the smog and congestion of the city.   

The following weekend brought a reconnection with Albert and Dominic's father, Juan Garcia, 44.  The boys had not seen their father in over a year.  With most of Juan's family in Puerto Rico, Albert and Dominic were happy to spend the weekend with their father getting to know his life.   

Albert and Juan Garcia were shot Saturday night, June 21^st 2008, while attending a Quinceañera in the 100 block of East Madison Street in Montebello, California. 

Sunday afternoon Willene Garcia was taken into a small room and shown a "picture" of young Albert Garcia for identification purposes.  He and his father, Juan were pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. on June 22, 2008 at Beverly Hospital.  

Funeral arrangements are currently scheduled for Albert Garcia to be buried on Friday, June 26 2008 in Riverside. 

The California Highway Patrol reported a man broke his back after falling from a freeway overpass about 9:45 p.m. Saturday. The man reportedly had a can of spray paint clutched in his hand as he lay on the freeway near the Main Street off-ramp from the Northbound 5 near downtown Los Angeles.

Here's a story about the extremes some taggers will employ for art's sake.

Terrorism claimed the life of a 12-year-old and his father visiting Montebello this past weekend.

Yes. I said it. Terrorism.
How else do you describe an attack on a party of 70 or so people gathered in a back yard to celebrate a graduation.

Killed were Albert Garcia, 12, of Hemet, and his father Juan "Jay" Garcia, 44, of Perris. Two others were wounded in the attack including a 23-year-old woman and an unidentified man.
The 9:50 p.m. ambush occurred Saturday while friends of Maria Soto gathered at her home in the 100 block of East Madison.

Partygoers feasted on chicken wings, barbecued ribs, pasta salad, meatballs and chips and salsa.

There was a D.J. There was dancing. There was Bud Light. There was a cake acknowledging the high school graduation of Soto's 20-year-old blind daughter, Rosemary.

It could have been any party anywhere in the San Gabriel Valley on a sweltering summer night.

"We were happy one minute and then it turned into a nightmare," Soto said. "It was horrible."

Soto pointed to a dark blood stain in the dirt next to a small rose bush in her back yard.

"You don't know when it's going to hit you," she continued. "Please. When are they going to stop devastating our families and our children?"

Every day we send young men and young women off to foreign countries because we're told they are keeping terrorism at bay.

Maybe we're keeping Islamic extremists out of the United States. But what is our government doing about terrorism in our own back yard?

There are no daily briefings, no green zones, no troop surges. I haven't heard presidential candidates Barack Obama or John McCain say a word about fighting local terrorist gangs.
Yet young men and women like Albert Garcia are being shot at -- sometimes wounded and sometimes killed -- by remorseless killers.

I strolled around the neighborhood where Garcia and his dad were gunned down. Graffiti marred the sidewalks.

"Free Clumsey," read one.

Graffiti also marred street signs, garden walls and even the whitewashed wooden siding of Soto's raised foundation house.

Just a few miles north, where San Gabriel Boulevard leads to the Montebello mall, taggers from Pico Viejo, White Fence and El Monte Flores have clearly marked their turf.

I asked Montebello police Chief Dan Weist if his community could stomach the slaying of an innocent 12-year-old. I asked if he thought there was a gang problem in his town.

"It's not as bad as you say it is," came the reply.

Mayor Bill Molinari said he was "sickened by an event that's never happened in our history."
As I watched heat waves rise from the asphalt on Madison Monday, I heard the chimes of an ice cream truck in the distance.

I listened as the driver turned onto Madison and passed me. A sign above the dash said "Caution. Children."

The song continued.

"It's a small world after all. It's a small world after all."

Over the weekend there were five homicides and one suicide recorded in local cities. The first incident involved a man who shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself on the 605 near Telegraph Road Saturday afternoon.

Later on, four San Gabriel Valley homicides occurred within a six-hour window.

Here's a timeline and brief description of each:

VIOLENCE TIMELINE:

1. Saturday, 9:11 p.m.: ROWLAND HEIGHTS -- Harrison Alexander Smith II, 33, of Rowland Heights was fatally shot while standing in front of a friend's house. Smith, who was at the home to celebrate a 1-year-old boy's birthday party, was pronounced dead at the scene in the 1400 block of Calcarlos Avenue. Witnesses said Smith was beckoned from the home by a woman he'd been dating, then shot by the woman's ex-husband.

2. Saturday, 11:45 p.m.: MONTEBELLO -- Juan Alberto Garcia, 44, of Perris, and his son, Albert Anthony Garcia, 12, of Hemet died at a local hospital shortly after they were shot while attending a high school graduation party for a blind girl. As about 70 revelers danced in a backyard in the 100 block of East Madison Avenue, someone openened fire on the group, killing the Garcias and wounding two others.

3. Sunday, 3:00 a.m.: AZUSA -- Willie Flores, 22, of Baldwin Park was shot with a shotgun in the 5600 block of Fenimore Avenue. The shooting occurred near where a party had been held earlier in the evening, but detective were not certain Monday whether the shooting and party were related.

 

 

A 12-year-old boy visiting from New Jersey and his father were gunned down in a Montebello backyard Saturday night.

The attack outside a home in the 100 block of East Madison in Montebello occurred at a graduation party for the resident's blind daughter. In all four people were shot. The father and son were killed and two others suffered gunshot wounds.

A resident of the home, Maria Soto, said the attack occurred about 9:50 P.m. Saturday night as 70 people gathered in the backyard to celebrate her daughter Rosemary's graduation from High School.

"I heard somebody shout, they shot him," Soto said. "And when I walked out in the backyard there was my nephew with the child in his arms."

Party goers took the mortally wounded boy, identified as "Albert" from New Jersey and his father "Jay" of Ontario to nearby Beverly Hospital where both were pronounced dead.

Monday morning, Albert's blood still stained the dirt surrounding a small rose bush in Soto's backyard.

 

This just in:

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Another blast from the Tribune crime archives. This story was published Dec. 6, 1968.

TORCH DEATH

Youth Faces Murder Trial

A 19-year-old West Covina youth will go on trial for murder Feb 17. accused  of throwing a lighted match on the gasoline-soaked clothing of a customer last Aug. 25 at the filling station where he worked.

Presiding Judge Carlos N. Teran of Pomona Superior Court set the trial date this week for Frederick A. Steiner of 3526 Holt Ave.

Steiner is charged with murdering Kenneth Kinsley, 20 of 4702 N. Harlan Ave,

Prosecutors charge that Steiner squirted gasoline on Kinsley during an argument at the station at 3202 Baldwin Park Blvd., after Kinsley  refused to pay for two of three cans of transmission fluid. The first two leaked out of the car.

When Kinsley returned from washing in the station rest room and grabbed a tire iron, more argument erupted. About this point, Steiner allegedly threw the match on Kinsley, igniting his clothing.

The victim died five days later in County General Hospital of third and second degree burns on 60 percent of his body. He was married and the father of two children.

 

 

This might be the hottest day of the heat wave as it's expected to begin cooling off tomorrow.

Arcadia police reported a trio of bears, probably a momma and her cubs, took a dip in a pool at a home located at 317 Whispering Pines drive around 11:30 a.m.

The three bears were gone by the time cops arrived. No word on Golidlocks...

Reminded me of Sampson (memorialized at left)

 

 

Going through old clip files today, I decided to pull two ratty envelopes. The first was labeled Crime, Murder, 1967. The second was Crime, Murder, 1967.

Here's a short crime story from May 2, 1968:

'HIPPIE HOUSE'

Monrovian Fatally Shot in Scuffle

A Monrovia youth was shot to death Wednesdat during a fight at a Sierra Madre "hippie" house and police have arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of murder.

Fatally wounded in the shooting was George D. Corbin, 19, of 1315 S. Mountain Avenue. He was shot in the upper chest with a .22 caliber pistol.

Booked by Sierra Madre police on charges of murder and assault with intest to commit murder was Bruce Allan Lewis, 535 Brookside Lane, Sierra Madre.

Police said Corbin was pronounced dead at St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena shortly after the shooting.

Another youth -- Michael Fulsom, 19, of 735 E. Beckville St., Duarte -- was shot in the right hand during the scuffle at the Brookside Lane house. He was transported to the County  Hospital prison ward in serious condition.

Detectives said Corbin and four friends, including one girl, were at the Brookside Land house when a fight erupted.

Corbin and Duncan J. Demming Jr., 21, also of 535 Brookside Lane apparently started fighting and Lewis joined in the scuffle.

Fulsom was later booked on several outstanding traffic warrants and Demming was charged with possessing marijuana.

Police said the "hippie" house was in the Sierra Madre Canyon area, whoch used to be an artists colony."

 

Maybe we jumped the gun on the heat wave equaling a crime wave up in the SGV.

The scanner's been pretty quiet this morning...maybe its too hot to be stupid.

Anyway, the National Weather Service is predicting record temperatures. They've extended the red flag fire warning through Saturday night and issued an excessive heat warning.

Here's what the Associated Press is saying about the weather:

Firefighters worked in extreme heat to corral small brush fires as a strong high-pressure system cooked the air from the central coast south to Los Angeles and San Diego.

At Ice Station Valencia, a rink in the broiling Santa Clarita Valley, hockey director Larry Bruyere, 55, said: "You don't mind working here on days like this."

Los Angeles County opened 42 daytime cooling centers for seniors and suggested people visit air-conditioned malls and libraries in the evenings. The National Weather Service warned people to take precautions for heat that could quickly kill children or animals left in cars, even if the windows were cracked open.

As people cranked up air conditioners, energy use in Los Angeles peaked at 5,854 megawatts Thursday, breaking records for the month of June, according to the city Department of Water and Power.

Some links to monitor through the day:

CAL ISO -- Power usage in California.

NWS -- Warnings, forecasts, observations

INCIWEB -- Keeping track of fires for the Feds.

 

  

 

 

 

We just typed up this brief from information from the Upland Police Department...

SAN DIEGO -- A man and woman believed to be two-thirds of a violent bank-robbing crew dubbed the "Boricuas Bandits" were captured Wednesday, police said.

Authorities arrested Michael Caldera, 21, of Rialto, and Elizabeth Lugo, 20, of Ontario, in the San Diego area, according to Upland police.

The third suspect remains at large.

The pair is suspected of robbing at least six area banks and two check-cashing stores, including a Walnut bank, in recent months, in what the FBI has called "violent takeover-style" robberies.

"Boricuas" is a vernacular term used to describe a Puerto Rican. The FBI chose that moniker because it is what the robbers call each other on surveillance footage.

Several police agencies -- including Upland, Ontario, Rialto, Chino and San Diego police departments -- helped identify Lugo and Caldera.

Police said Caldera assaulted an officer while being arrested Wednesday and tried to escape, but was finally taken into custody.

Two down, one to go.

In Baldwin Park at least.

The gunfire continued Wednesday night when a car-to-car shooting was reported near the intersection of Nubia and Bleeker streets.

*Baldwin Park police officers sometimes forget to mention these crimes when we call, but that's why we have a scanner.

Oh, and the City Council? Well, Anthony Bejarano told me at a recent lunch meeting that the shootings, killings and other violent crimes occurring in Baldwin Park are a function of the socio-economic status of its residents...

In other words, poor people are more likely to commit crimes.

That of course doesnt' explain Phil Spector, OJ Simpson or the Kennedy and Skakel families ...

There's word on the street that two of the three Armed Boricua bandits have been caught in San Diego.

The trio is responsible for robberies in Upland and Walnut according to the FBI's LA Bank Robbers Web site.

Wachovia bank had offered a reward.

 

 

ARMED BORICUAS BANDITS
2 Hispanic Male and 1 Hispanic Female, 5 feet 5 to 5 feet 9, 145, 25 to 35
Robbed in Upland and Walnut

This from the Bank Terrorists blog:

Appears one male suspect wearing a stupid hat ran in Bank of America, Agoura Hills, CA about 3:00pm today,6-16-08, screaming "I've got a bomb and will blow the whole place up if you don't fill the briefcase up with 100 dollar bills", the terrified tellers did so because he was waving what appeared to be a explosive device in his hand. He ran out with the loot and the thingy with him so nobody knows if was real or not.
No clue what, if any, security measures the bank had to protect customers and employees, except a great set of photos of the Terrorist.

Several weeks ago I wrote about a group of French journalists who contacted me regarding a documentary about crime in Los Angeles.

Initially they suggested following me around for a couple of days and asked that I give them the names of people familiar with LA area crime. I coughed up the names. And, it sounds like the project is coming along fine.

The next time I heard from these folks it was to see if I could arrange an interview with James Ellroy. He's loved like Jerry Lewis over there apparently.

I declined and told them to arrange the interview themselves. Don't know if that happened or not. Somehow I doubt it did.

Anyway, here's the latest email exchange between me and the Frenchies:

Here's a plan to keep at-risk kids off drugs, away from gangs and out of trouble.

Invite a tattooed, baggy pants "gangsta" rapper to meet a classroom full of impressionable high schoolers.

Make sure his biography includes jail time. Make sure he's been hit by gunfire. Make sure he brags about having pulled drive-bys.

Make it clear that his conviction for carrying a loaded firearm in a school zone is no big deal. Make sure he brings a posse known for packing their gats.

Guns belong in schools right?

Believe it or not, at Muir High School in Pasadena Tuesday, Amer-I-Can brought rapper Jayceon Terrell Taylor, a.k.a "The Game" , a.k.a. "Chuck Taylor" to speak to 50 kids who are part of Mustangs on the Move.

The program, which also consists of Mentoring Partnership for Youth Development, targets students at risk of dropping out, according to its organizers.

Organizers of the Muir event claim "The Game" was all about mentoring.

Take Game's advice, "I just want you to stay alive," for example.

Of course his music is full of instruction. Like the rap on "Real Gangstaz"

"The kid roll with a greasy nine/come through and blast/I return shots like Arthur Ashe/You do the math/ ten shots ten dead bodies/(expletive) bein' sorry/it ain't nuttin' but a gangsta party."

A few years back, I remember talking to Colin Powell before a speech at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

The former U.S. Secretary of State and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff talked about the importance of volunteerism and mentoring. His examples didn't include role models like "The Game."

He talked about real adults helping real kids learn to tackle real problems.

In an interview, the retired 4-star Army general said his ultimate goal was "to surround our children with responsible caring adults and let our children grow up in safe places where they are protected from some of the dangers out there on the streets."

I hoped to ask Pasadena school Superintendent Edwin Diaz if "The Game" held similarly lofty goals for the children and teens of Pasadena.

I wanted to ask, "Why 'The Game?'

"Why not City Councilwoman Jacque Robinson? Why not potential First Lady Michelle Obama? Why not Powell? Why not U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas? Why not former Deputy District Attorney Chris Darden? Why not former Pasadena police Lt. Rick Law?

"Why not one of the thousands of successful black men and women who live or work in Pasadena every day?"

Unfortunately I didn't get a call back. It was graduation day for about 60 percent of the kids who started there as freshmen four years ago.

The other 40 percent?

Probably off somewhere listening to "The Game."

Gotta love those small town police blotters. Check out this entry from South Pasadena:

6-16-08, 6 PM, 1300 block of Fair Oaks (dry cleaners). Suspect (customer) complains to victim (employee) about a stain that wasn't removed from a shirt. Suspect demands a refund and argues with victim. Suspect grabs cell phone from victim's hand and hits victim in his chest. Suspect then exits store and throws cell phone on sidewalk. LOSS: None. SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: Female, White, 56 years.

 

Robert Hong took this really touching photo near the intersection of Lincoln and Washington in Pasadena following a car accident Monday night that killed two men and critically injured a third.

Here's an excerpt from Hong's story:

PASADENA - Vyleece Goudeau and her 11-month-old son walked slowly Tuesday morning through shattered glass strewn along the north side of West Washington Boulevard, near Lincoln Avenue.

At that spot hours earlier, a car crash claimed the life of Goudeau's boyfriend, James Valentine, 21, and another man.

With tears flowing down her cheeks, Goudeau took a piece of chalk and wrote out the words, "We love you dad" on the pavement.

"I will always love him," Goudeau said. "He was a good dad. I'm going to miss him, and I will never forget him."

Her boyfriend, known to his friends as "Kenny," and another man, whose name was not released on Tuesday by police, were killed in the 9:45 p.m. crash Monday night.

A third man, Delenor Griffin, 27, of Pasadena remained in critical condition.

"It was such a short life," said Valentine's aunt, Karen McPheeters, one of many relatives and friends who showed up to place memorials and pay their respects.

This note comes from Jude Lopez regarding the America's Most Wanted Web site and its description of his missing daughter Jennifer Lopez DeJongh and her three children.

Here's what Jude wrote:

I was looking at the America's Most Wanted website and it occurred to me that my daughter and her kids were listed as "white."  While I realize that is the correct race for Hispanics, the website does classify Hispanic and white as different. And, they considered children from White/Hispanic parents as "biracial". So why is my daughter considered as white when she is 100% Hispanic?  I trace my family from 1622 when they came from Spain and settled in Northern Mexico which later became part of the U.S.  My wife's mother was born in Mexico and is still a citizen of that country.  Her father was born in Colorado but both his parents were born in Mexico.

Maybe, someone is ashamed that the children are "biracial."  Or, maybe they just want to be racially correct?

 

This from the Associated Press:

Nearly 30 firefighters have extinguished a restaurant fire in South El Monte.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department told KTLA-TV that the fire at Cafe Azteca on Rush Street was reported shortly before 5 a.m. Wednesday

Early commuters on the Pomona (60) Freeway to the south and the San Bernardino (10) Freeway to the north could see smoke and flames from the blaze.

Firefighters appeared to have the fire extinguished by 5:30 a.m.

Certain events retain a power that stays with you for life. Clearly the Kennedy assassinations or that of Martin Luther King have that sort of effect on people.

I would argue that June 18, 1994 might be one of those moments -- certainly in my life.

The title of this post should give away the content (if the picture doesn't). I spent that Friday from about 6:30 a.m. until at least 11 p.m. outside Parker Center, O.J. Simpson's Brentwood home and back outside Parker Center as part of one of the most surreal events I'll ever cover.

Here's some of what we ran the following day:

 

 

Simpson's arrest ends day of drama

'Fallen American hero' faces murder charges in death of former wife, her friend

By Tom Scanlon, Tori Richards and Frank Girardot Staff Writers

O.J. SImpson took off on the longest, most dangerous run of his life before being arrested on murder charges last night.

"O.J. Simpson is in custody," said LAPD Cmdr. David Gascon at a 10 p.m. news conference. "He is being booked and processed."

The double murder defendant -- called a "fallen American hero" by the man in charge of prosecuting him was arrested at his Brentwood home after a 60-mile 90-minute police chase. The chase began in Orange County and crossed much of Los Angeles with Simpson, 46, keeping police away by pointing a gun to his head.

The 8:50 p.m. arrest of Simpson, accused of killing his ex-wife and her male friend capped a bizarre day that included a bomb scare, fears that Simpson would kill himself, a mysterious 911 call to the home of murdered Nicole Brown Simpson, pleas by officials to have Simpson turn himself in, a police force on the defensive and a public reading of an emotional note from Simpson.

The former USC and National Football League star running back had eluded police since 11 a.m. when he was suppossed to turn himself in.

The question of the day was "Where's O.J.?" For most of the day the Los Angeles Police Department had no answer.

He was considered armed and dangerous, and after he was finally arrested, a gun was recovered from the cat that led police on a chase watched by much of the country.

Simpson was carrying photos of Nicole Simpson and their daughter when he was arrested. Gascon said SImpson would be taken to the Men's Central Jail. He probably will be held there -- perhaps under a suicide watch -- until Monday, when he is likely to ... 

 

 

The accident on Glendora Mountain Road Monday claimed the life of  an 18-year-old who was apparently not wearing a safety belt, according to early reports. This from reporter Amanda Baumfeld, who is working the story this morning:

Mary E. Lange, 18, has died after a car she was a passenger in went over an embankment on Glendora Mountain Road Monday around 6 p.m., according to Officer Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh of the California Highway Patrol.

It is likely that Lang was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car, Van Valkenburgh added.

Lange was riding in a Toyota Tercel apparently driven by *Stephanie Bergner, 18, * officials said. The driver lost control and the car careened over an embankment at mile marker 5*, authorities said. Berger and a third girl, identified as Esther Cota, were severely injured.

Here's the AP story. I'll update with a map and photos later.

*The girls apparently lived in the David and Margaret Youth and Family Services home in La Verne.

*We've found MySpace pages apparently associated with the girls. 

Here's a MySpace apparently belonging to Mary.

This may be the MySpace for Stephanie.

**CHP sources tell us that the girls may have been in the mountains to go fishing. There is no evidence that alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash, officials said.

 

 

.

This from Brian Day:

It begins like a joke.,..two guys walk into a bank ...and hilarity ensues... Sadly ending in a high speed crash on a residential street.

Police responded to a report of a robbery in the parking lot of B of A on Azusa Avenue in Hacienda Heights.

No one knows what happened next or at least between the two men, but both men claimed the other tried to rob him. When cops arrived one of the men fled across the street into a neighborhood and hid on a rooftop. He was found and arrested pretty quick.

The other guy jumped into a '80s Oldsmobile and sped off from the bank parking lot at high speed. Cops called for a helicopter and chased the old Olds on Wedgeworth Drive where it crashed into a parked Toyota.... (BTW this is pretty close to Monday's copper theft from the Little League) and pursuit went near Wilson High and an elementary school.... 

"A collision with a couple of deaths," according to Lt. John Dewar of the Pasadena Police Department.

Apparently the accident occurred at the intersection of Lincoln and Washington about 9:45 p.m.

No further details were immediately available.

The collision followed reports of a "vehicle over the side" on Glendora Mountain Road. That incident apparently also ended with at least one fatality, officials said.

 

A few weeks ago, I had a surprise late-night encounter with three coyotes roaming the streets of Los Feliz.

It seemed like feral dogs were everywhere that week. Photographer Watchara Phomicinda snapped a picture of a skinny one rooting about an empty field in Irwindale. I can't remember where else they turned up, but they were around.

Last year at this time it was black bears. Bears in Monrovia; bears in Duarte; bears in Bradbury; bears in Azusa.

Old-timers probably know this already, but I was fascinated to find out that predators are nothing new in the San Gabriel Valley or Whittier for that matter.

Grizzlies, wolves, cougars and coyotes roamed pretty freely in these parts right up until the turn of the 20th century.
They're pretty much gone. If only we could say the same about their human counterparts.

***
Whoops.
In my haste to write a brilliant column each week, I've been making grammatical errors. To all you English teachers out there, my deepest apologies.

I had this pointed out to me via a marked-up column sent in the mail by Ms. Beryl Collins of Arcadia.

The mark-up, done nicely in red ink, actually contains just three sentences.
It begins with, "What school did you attend?"

To answer that I guess I have to tell you a little about myself. For the most part I am a product of the California public school system.

After my parents moved to California, I attended Laura M. Hansen Elementary in Saratoga and Joaquin Miller Junior High in San Jose.

The Jesuits took over from there, and although there were some summer school classes at Lynbrook High, I graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

Since then, I've attended UCSD, San Jose State, Pasadena City College and Mt. San Antonio College.

That seems like a lot of education. Even after all that, I still don't know how to construct a proper sentence.

The sentence below was one example pointed out by Ms. Collins. It appeared in a column that ran in this newspaper on June 3:

"I'm sure there's countless similar stories."

She suggests I should have constructed the sentence as: "I'm sure there are countless similar stories."

All I can say is that I'm really glad she hasn't been reading my text messages.

U no wot i mean?

Thanks for the tip, Ms. Collins, I'm sure there are countless similar examples.

***

Are the copper thieves getting bold or what?

Whomever hit an Edison substation in Whittier knew exactly what to take, and absconded with copper grounding wire. It could fetch a tidy sum at the recycling center.

What's probably most irritating about the theft is that Edison had to turn off the power in most of Pico Rivera and portions of Whittier on a hot afternoon.

One can only hope the thief's refrigerator was affected and his (or her) beer got warm.

Detectives from the Pico Rivera substation sought a man who flashed three young girls Monday afternoon in Pico Rivera.

The girls, described as 11 and 12 said the flasher was a male hispanic in his 40s with dark hair, a mustache.

"He was dark skinned, heavy set and short," Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Maria Gutierrez said.

The man was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and black pants, Gutierrez said. There is no composite drawing available.

A teenager was stabbed to death Sunday night in Pasadena, police said Monday.

The teen, identified as Osman Villalobos, 18,  was attacked about 9:40 p.m. Sunday in the 1300 block of Iowa Avenue and died at a hospital about an hour later, Lt. John Dewar of the
Pasadena PD told reporters.

A suspect in the case, Pasqual Diaz, 22, was arrested early Monday morning when he was foud hiding at a friends house, officials said.

The stabbing stemmed from an argument that turned into a fistfight before it turned deadly, Dewar said.

Villalobos was stabbed several times in the chest and in the side of the rib cage, authorities said.

I took a small break from blogging here over the past couple of days. I must say it was refreshing. I haven' t even used a computer since Thursday.

AND, I stayed away from newspapers, television news, conversations about politics and ...you get the picture.

Unfortunately there was little time to relax. I went to a father's day party in my son's kindergarden class; got a cracked molar crowned (temporarily); attended a niece's graduation party; dropped my Mother-in-law off at the Mission for a jubilee Mass; took my boys to Urban Outfitters in Old Pas; played gigs with my band Saturday night and Sunday morning; barbecued Sunday night; watched the Lakers; Watched the US Open playoff today...Whew

It's nice to be back.....

 

 

A 3-year-old boy was rushed into surgery at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center Sunday after he was struck by a car while crossing the street in El Monte.

The child's condition at the hospital was not immediately clear, however fire officials initially described the injuries as life-threatening.

The boy was apparently riding across Potrero Avenue at Giovane Street on a bicycle when the crash occurred.

He was accompanied by a family friend, a 14-year-old girl, at the time, who was also hospitalized with a minor leg injury.

The boy's parents were at the scene shortly after the crash, fire officials said, however it was not clear if they were present at the time of the incident.

The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

El Monte police are investigating the cause of the crash.

This one from someone named GiraDORK:

Girardot, The lack of respect you show to the Police Department is in direct correlation to the lack of respect you get as a so-called journalist. You are a hack. Stop trying to be the Truman F*&king Capote of the ghetto and just report the facts. Leave your issues at the door before you start typing.

 

There was a rally of sorts at Pasadena's Memorial Park Wednesday. KFI's John and Ken brought about 75 listeners out to express their anger about state Sen. Jack Scott's proposal to ban Mylar balloons.

I thought the event would be fun, as these two guys are pretty good as expressing the welled up angst and anger of their demographic (which I fall into) ...But honestly I was kind of bored.

The KFI crew seemed pretty bored too.

For what its worth, Ken looked downright angry at times, especially during a couple of very minor technical snafus.

That said, I thought the latex balloon effigy of Jack Scott was pretty cool

In the end, I heard more "facts" and "figures" about Mylar balloons in an hour yesterday than I've heard about the Lakers/Celtics series on Sports talk radio this week. I think it would have been more fun if Kobylt and Chiampou camped outside Staples Center to protest fixed NBA officiating, or perhaps they could have set up shop in front of LA City Hall to find out why Mayor Villaraigosa's transportation deputy drives a Hummer.

OK. By way of full disclosure, I've seen these guys do two other remote shows.

One was outside OJ's Brentwood house in the days after Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death -- but before OJ was arrested. They were pretty entertaining that day ...there's even a YouTube video of the event ---where I've seen a much younger version of me interviewing somebody.

The other was in the protest pit outside the 1996 Rebuplican Convention in San Diego. That was pretty funny, because as I remember it John and Ken picked a slow day and seemed desperate to talk to somebody who was mad about Bob Dole (as if he had a chance).

Those shows were a lot more fun, even without Pasadena dignitary Aaron Proctor on hand to provide some comic relief.

BTW, former KFI Talkshow host John Ziegler thinks these shows are completely phony. Here's his Web site recalling his stint at the station.

Here's John and Ken defending their antics.

Here's my pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A balloon effigy of state Sen. Jack Scott.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see the "rally" turnout was pretty low.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pasadena gadfly and politician and wrestling promoter Aaron Proctor providing the laughs.

In an editorial published in today's LA Times (h/t LA Observed), Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca says what many other politicans and cops have refused ot say:

So let me be very clear about one thing: We have a serious interracial violence problem in this county involving blacks and Latinos.

Some people deny it. They say that race is not a factor in L.A.'s gang crisis; the problem, they say, is not one of blacks versus Latinos and Latinos versus blacks but merely one of gang members killing other gang members (and yes, they acknowledge, sometimes the gangs are race-based).

But they're wrong. The truth is that, in many cases, race is at the heart of the problem. Latino gang members shoot blacks not because they're members of a rival gang but because of their skin color. Likewise, black gang members shoot Latinos because they are brown.

Mayor's son questioned in car theft case.

An unidentified person was detained at Mayor Ron Beilke's home Wednesday as part of an auto theft investigation, authorities said.

<snip>

Beilke said deputies questioned his 17-year-old son, who visited the same house as Sonny Costello, a 19-year-old transient, who is accused of stealing a 2002 Chevy Suburban on Tuesday night.

Monrovia plans outside investigation of claims against PD.

MONROVIA - Police Chief Roger Johnson said Wednesday that an outside agency would investigate sexual harassment allegations contained in a lawsuit filed against a Monrovia police officer.

Rudy Ramirez, 25, a former Monrovia jailer and member of the Monrovia police Explorer program, filed the lawsuit last month. He claims Sgt. Dan Verna sexually abused and harassed him beginning in 2000 while he was a minor until November 2006 when Ramirez was terminated by the department.

"Any of these allegations are going to be reviewed by a law enforcement agency independent of the Police Department to determine if there's been any wrong-doing," Johnson said.

<snip>

To bolster claims in his lawsuit, Ramirez states that Verna helped a suspected gang member, Salvador Parra, get released from Monrovia city jail on two occasions in 2006.

Sheriff's officials on Wednesday said a deputy saw Verna and Parra in 2006 inside of a parked car in Fish Canyon.

On patrol May 2, 2006, Deputy Mike Silva spotted the pair, authorities said. When he saw a gun in the car, the deputy detained Verna and called for backup, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Capt. Richard Shaw. 

Man shot and killed in Hacienda Heights.

Police responded to the 1100 block of Finegrove Avenue to reports of shots fired around 9:50 p.m., according to Deputy Aura Sierra of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

They found a Latino man, 30, with multiple gun shots wounds in his torso, Sierra said.

CHiPs OIS follow up; woman identified.

Two CHP officers patrolling the eastbound 10 Freeway just after 11 p.m. initially noticed the woman as she passed them in her car, driving at a high rate of speed, Dolson said.

The officers thought she might have been under the influence, so they pulled her over at Hellman and Garfield avenues, just off the freeway, Dolson said.

When one of the officers approached the vehicle, the woman pulled out the replica handgun, prompting the officer to fire one round, he said.

The fake handgun was later recovered at the scene, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Oscar Butao.

"It looked exactly like a righteous firing gun," Dolson said. "You would probably have to handle it and examine it for a short time to realize it wasn't real."

 

The sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the Monrovia Police Department by former jailer Rudy Ramirez adds fuel to a fire that seems to be consuming the All-America city.

At the beginning of the year, Monrovia found itself at the center of a gang crime spree that included 13 shootings which resulted in three deaths.

Then, a contract dispute between the city's police officers' association and the City Council turned ugly as rhetoric and accusations spilled out into blogs and TV newscasts. As part of its campaign, the POA wanted it known Monrovia was a very dangerous place to live and work. A town that lacks adequate policing.

Then came Ramirez's suit.

The case, filed at the end of May, claims Sgt. Dan Verna molested Ramirez when he was an underage Explorer in 2000. It alleges Verna harassed Ramirez up until 2006 - after the kid got a job as the city's jailer. Perhaps more explosively, it details the alleged release of a member of the Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gang from the city jail at Verna's request.

"Defendant Verna ... proceeded to release the prisoner, personally escorting him out the back door without charges being brought," the lawsuit, filed by former jailer Rudy Ramirez, claims. "The prisoner was a local gang member."

The suit also outlines a second event involving the gang member: "Verna (gave) advice to him about how to beat or get the charges lowered."

What?

Although few arrests have been made, police implicated Monrovia Nuevo Varrio in several of the assaults that occurred earlier this year. All the crimes had racial overtones that detectives believe stemmed from an ongoing prison dispute between black and Latino gangs.

Killed were:

Sanders Rollins, 63, in a drive-by shooting at 1234 Sherman Ave. in Monrovia on Jan. 13. Rollins, a black man, was getting out of his vehicle when a light colored Honda Civic drove by. The gunmen were described as Latino males.

Sammantha Salas, 16, a Latina, was shot to death outside an apartment building in the 2500 block of Peck Road in an unincorporated county area near Monrovia. Salas was killed on Jan. 26. The suspects have been described as two black males. A $10,000 reward has been issued in the case.

Brandon Lee, a 19-year-old black man, was shot while standing on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Almond Avenue on Jan. 29. The shooters were described as two Latino males.

Although things have quieted down, the gang warfare caught the attention of Attorney General Jerry Brown. As a result, he plans to hold a gang summit in San Gabriel on Friday. On the agenda: "Debriefing on Monrovia's recent gang violence."

Among those scheduled to speak is Monrovia police Chief Roger Johnson, named as a defendant in Ramirez's lawsuit.

For now, Johnson has only said an independent agency will examine Ramirez's allegations.

Perhaps Friday he'll explain why a Monrovia police officer allegedly released a gang member from jail and provided some sort of legal counsel to the young man. Perhaps he will also be asked about the billboards, that up until a couple of weeks ago greeted motorists entering the city.

You know, the ones that said: "Caution: You are approaching Monrovia. Higher violent crime. Fewer officers patrolling."

We're following this story as it develops. Officers told reporter Tania Chatila that the woman is still not identified. But somehow they know she was 52-years-old:

ALHAMBRA - Authorities are investigating the shooting death of a woman by a California Highway Patrol officer Tuesday night after the woman allegedly brandished a fake handgun.

The incident occurred about 11 p.m. off the 10 Freeway near Hellman and Garfield avenues.

Authorities believe the woman - who has not been identified - pulled out a replica handgun prompting the officer to fire back.

The woman died at the scene, according to reports.

No further details were immediately available.

 

This from the Associated Press:

ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) _ A California Highway Patrol officer has shot and killed a woman during an Alhambra traffic stop after she pulled what turned out to be a replica handgun.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Aura Sierra says the shooting just off Interstate 10 east of downtown Los Angeles occurred shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Sheriff's investigators remained on the scene Wednesday morning at Hellman and Garfield avenues.

KTLA television says the CHP officer spotted the woman's red BMW speeding on the freeway and made a traffic stop just off the interstate.

Investigators say the woman pulled out what appeared to be a handgun and the CHP officer, fearing for his life, shot her. Sierra says the woman was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

The woman's name hasn't been released.

 

Nate McIntire, our new reporter for Monrovia, got a baptism of fire Tuesday stepping into a hornets nest of allegations swirling around the Monrovia police department.

The Foothill Cities broke a story on its Web site from court documents alleging a police sergeant carried on a sexual relationship with an underage Explorer.

The Explorer, Rudy Ramirez, ultimately became the city's jailer, until he was terminated in 2006.

The police sergeant, according to the suit?

Dan Verna, a cop shot on duty just a few months ago.

We'll have the complete story in tomorrow's newspaper.

The allegations are unseemly and most of it repulsive. I have little doubt that the release of this information will severely undermine the MPOA's ability to negotiate a new contract with the city.

That said, police officials and Dick Singer refused to take calls from McIntire or reporter Fred Ortega Tuesday.

We did get comment from Scott Ochoa who said:

"We are aware of the lawsuit and are looking into it," said City Manager Scott Ochoa, adding, "Anybody can sue anybody for anything at any time, and this may or may not be one of those incidents."

 

 

This comes from reporter Amanda Baumfeld:

Didn't know if you'd like to post some juicy details about the El Monte barricade but it got kinda crazy.

So Watchara had the brilliant idea of having us walk around to a side street. We got a front seat view of everything. It broke down like a movie. As were walking towards the house we heard the SWAT team get on a loud speaker, "This is the U.S. Marshall and El Monte Police Department. We know you're in there. Come out with your hands up."

Then all of a sudden we see them just bust out the front windows and then pop two things of tear gas in the home. But the noise was so loud it definitely sounded like gunshots. A group of people claiming to be related to German Palacios, a person of interest in the April 12th murder of Jack Edward Hicks, stood right by us crying and waiting to see what was happening.

One more shot of tear gas before officers emerged from the home with Palacios in custody.

Police are reporting that the barricade situation in El Monte has come to an end and the suspect is in custody.

This comes from reporter Amanda Baumfeld at the scene:

   EL MONTE - A man sought in connection with a homicide in El Monte in April has barricaded himself in a house believed to be his own on the 11100 block of Mulhall St., according to officials. 
 
   L.A. County Sheriff Lt. Gil Carrillo said the El Monte Police Department and Sheriff's Homicide had been keeping surveillance on German Palacios when they observed him enter a home believed to be his own. 
 
   They attempted to coax him out with no luck and have sent in S.W.A.T. team members to get him out. Officials believe he is alone in the house and don't know if he is armed, according to Carrillo. 
 
   A couple of streets have been blocked off in the surrounding area while curious neighbors stand outside their homes to watch. 
 
   Palacios is described as a parolee at large and a person of interest in the death of Jack Edwards Hicks. 
 
   Hicks, 35, died after being found inside his home on Cogswell Road from a gunshot wound on April 12.
 
 

Gregory Scott Serrano, 33, of Monrovia, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment Friday in his child molestation and child pornograhpy case, according to officials from the district attorney's office:

PASADENA -- A Monrovia man suspected of luring 10 teenage girls via the Internet to molest them and take pornographic pictures of them appeared in court last week, officials said.
Gregory Scott Serrano, 33, entered a not guilty plea Friday at the Pasadena Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office officials said.
Serrano is charged with 20 counts of child molestation stemming from the alleged molestations, which are believed to date back to June of 2006, said United Stated Attorney Joey Blanch, who is prosecuting the case.
The alleged victims are between 13 and 17 years old, Blanch said.
Serrano allegedly used social networking Web site such as MySpace.com and Netlog.com to meet the underage girls, Blanch said.
He was arrested March 12 after a 15-year-old girl told her parents that Serrano had molested her, officials said.
In addition to the local charges, Serrano has also been indicted federally on suspicion of 23 crimes including using the Internet to entice minors, producing and possessing child pornography and destroying evidence.
If convicted on the federal charges, Serrano could face life in prison, Blanch said.
Serrano is due back in court June 30 for a pre-trial conference, officials said.

Details are slowly emerging about the ongoing barricaded suspect situation in El Monte.

Neighbors in the 11100 block of Mulhall Street are being evacuated as the U.S. Marshals and the Los Angeles County Homicide Bureau deal with a parolee holed up inside a home.

Police do not believe there are any hostages inside the home, and it was not immediately clear of the parolee is armed.

The United States Marshals have set up a search perimeter in residential neighborhood in the 11100 block of Mulhall Street in El Monte, police said.

It's not immediately clear who they're searching for or how the incident began.

Reporter Amanda Baumfeld is en route to the scene.

A homicide epidemic claimed the lives of three Baldwin Park High School students in the 2007-08 school year.

Yes, epidemic.

Consider the numbers. There are about 5,100 high school students attending various secondary schools in Baldwin Park.

Between September and June, bullets claimed the lives of three of those students. That translates to a homicide rate which is slightly less than Colombia's.

So what's going on?

"I really wish I knew," said Baldwin Park Unified School District Superintendent Mark Skvarna. "Factions are feuding with factions inside and outside the city. Somebody gets upset and this is the result."

Skvarna agreed the killing of Baldwin Park high schoolers is out of control.

"I would have considered one (homicide) an epidemic," Skvarna said. "I don't want to see our community go through that. The frustration level is off the scale."

Family members and friends identified the most recent victim as 16-year-old Ruben Chavera, a student at the Opportunities for Learning Charter School in Baldwin Park. He had previously attended Sierra Vista High School.

This school-year gun violence also claimed the life of Jose Perez, a 16-year-old Baldwin Park High School student who was shot to death outside a home in the 5000 block of Maine Avenue on May 3.

And, in November, Baldwin Park High student Luis Estrada, 14, and his father, Pedro, were gunned down by four attackers in front

of their home in the 4000 block of Downing Avenue.

Three teens, all former Baldwin Park students, have been arrested in the Estrada case, officials said. A fourth remains at large.

Gang rivalry apparently motivated all the slayings, authorities said.

Baldwin Park recently hired a new police chief - ostensibly to deal with problems like this. New police Chief Lili Hadsell sent phone calls seeking comment for this story to a spokesman.

Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso, Hadsell's flack, said the city's doing everything it can to cut into the gangs that seemingly rule the night these days.

"We've had extra enforcement, the gang units have doubled," Reynoso said. "There's more officers on the street working toward identifying the people behind these crimes; specifically the murders. But we can't be everywhere."

If Hadsell returned my call, she might say that crime stats are a difficult thing to get a handle on anyway, especially when it comes to homicide.

Look at Pasadena this year. No homicides.

By contrast in 2007, the city counted four homicides between January and June.

Community activists and city officials described the downturn in 2008 as a hopeful sign. Pasadena's acting police Chief Christopher Vicino claimed solid police work was largely responsible.

But what if it was something else?

Consider this: On March 25, three men were shot at on North Fair Oaks Avenue near Washington Boulevard in Pasadena. The men were apparently targeted for "no reason at all."

What if they had been hit? What if they had been killed?

Thankfully they weren't. For now, Pasadena smells like roses.

Baldwin Park on the other hand ...

Detective said Sunday that the 16-year-old Baldwin Park boy killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon was related to a man and woman targeted in a fatal car-to-car shooting last month.

Ruben Chavera, who died at the scene of Saturday's shooting on Illinois Street near Idaho Street, is the cousin of 22-year-old Richard Pope, who died as the result of a May 20 shooting only a block away at the intersection of Ramona Boulevard and Merced Avenue, a homicide detective said.

Chavera's sister was also inside the car when Pope was fatally shot, but was not seriously injured, officials said.

Investigators believe there's a good chance the two shootings are related.

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This from reporter Fred Ortega's story in Sunday's newspaper:

BALDWIN PARK - A spree of violence culminated in the drive-by shooting death of a Baldwin Park teenager in broad daylight Saturday.
The shooting victim, described as a 16-year-old Latino boy, was walking eastbound on Illinois Street between Kenmore Avenue and Idaho Street about 3:47 p.m. when a black, 1980s model sedan drove up and its occupants opened fire, said Los Angeles sheriff's Homicide Detective Jonas Shipe.
"He was struck multiple times and died at the scene," said Shipe, who refused to identify the victim until detectives spoke to his next of kin.
"It was a straight-up gang thing," said Shipe, adding the dead teen was affiliated with a gang.
The victim, who was identified by residents as Ruben Chavira, had been on his way to visit his girlfriend at her home in the 3800 block of Idaho Street when he was shot, said the girlfriend's sister, Veronica Martinez.
"He was a nice guy - I don't think he was involved with gangs," said Martinez, 27. "My sister knew him since fifth grade (at Kenmore Elementary School)."

Two shots to the chest killed a teenager this afternoon on Ohio Street in Baldwin Park. Few details are available. The killing follows night of violence that saw a robbery and two assaults throughout the town.

It's unclear if the shooting is related to a stabbing that occurred early Saturday morning at the Circle K.

Two males with shaved head in a dark sedan were reported leaving the scene.

*Regarding the first comment below: In case you didn't know 187 is the California Penal Code section defining the crime of homicide. In the categories section of the blog I list several such penal code sections like 187, including 211 for armed robbery and 245 for assault with a deadly weapon.

Hope that clears the confusion.

 

I had such high hopes. But another Belmont is over and there's no Triple Crown winner.

You have to wonder about the crack on Big Brown's hoof and how it affected his performance on the 1 1/2 mile track.

Kent Desormeaux had some excuses ..the heat a stumble "long before we went into the last turn. I had no horse."

Desormeaux said there's no relationship between the heel and the sorry finish.

Maybe next year. There's a reason why the Triple Crown is the hardest accomplishment in sports -- three races in four weeks -- a grueling pace...for the equine athletes

 

To: News Room
From: Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna, Verdugo Fire Academy Glendale, Ca.

 

At approximately 9:45 a.m. on Saturday June 7th, I was traveling on the West Bound 210 freeway approximately 1/4 mile before the 605 interchange. I noticed a light bit of smoke developing.

 

I pulled to the right and noticed a semi-truck overturned becoming well involved with fire. I stopped to attempt what appeared to be an obvious trapped person in the burning truck. Never in my 28 year career did I witness the occupant stumbling around in shock with
multiple cuts, abrasions and burns with possible broken bones.

I got the victim to a safe location and started administering first aid. The truck was becoming more involved with fire. I called Los Angeles County Fire Dispatch Center who advised me units were en route.

Apparently the victim kicked out the windshield and jumped approximately 20 feet into a storm drain (the truck flew off the high interchange (approximately 30 feet) of the 210/605 freeway and landed on the Mount Olive Drive exit. Had he missed the Mount Olive Drive he
would have fallen another 30 feet into the storm drains on both sides.

This gentlemen is certainly lucky to be alive!

Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna

Big Brown's shot for glory in the Belmont got me thinking about a horse named Charismatic, a horse that truly had an opportunity for greatness only to break down in the stretch of the Belmont in 1999 and finish third.

That after winning both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness....

Charsimatic got me thinking about jockey Patrick Valenzuela, one of the most troubled, yet charismatic, jocks ever to ride at Santa Anita or Hollywood Park.

Valenzuela's struggles with substance abuse, suspension, and a robbery accusation, only highlight the demons some riders face.

If anyone had his share of demons, it was Charismatic's rider Chris Antley, "the Ant Man."

It was Chris Antley's heroic move jumping from Charismatic's back in the Belmont stretch that saved the injured horse's life. Sadly Antley's own life was cut short when he died in Pasadena in 2000.

The case was initially treated as a homicide, but for some reason Pasadena police dropped their investigation after learning Antley had ingested a toxic cocktail of illegal substances that may have contributed to his death.

 

Two guys used a handgun to rob a Pizza delivery man, One neighbor bashed another neighbor's head with a baseball bat, and a teen was stabbed in a parking lot. We're working on putting the details together.

It all happened in Baldwin Park late Friday and early Saturday .... we'll have it all rounded up in Sunday's paper.

I stumbled across a Web site this morning called "Vice Tube" its a round up of criminal activities chronicled on YouTube. Interesting blog. Check it out here.

It's one of several crime-themed blogs put up by our friend Trench Reynolds with the Crime News Network.

This comes from reporter Amanda Baumfeld. It's the details of a shooting that occurred Wednesday afternoon in South El Monte:

SOUTH EL MONTE - Detectives are searching for a suspect who gunned down and killed a businessman in his office Wednesday, officials said.

Lam Michael, 39, was shot several times when a male suspect walked into his office at Fashion Icon Inc., a garment business at 2459 Merced Ave., said Lt. David Coleman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The shooting occurred around 2:30 p.m. and Michael was pronounced dead at the scene about 20 minutes later, officials said.

"We don't know the cause or reason for the shooting," said Coleman. "It could be a myriad of reasons."

The suspect is described as an Asian male, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, between the age of 20 and 25, according to Coleman. Police believe he ran from the scene.

There were about 20 workers inside Fashion Icon at the time of the killing, Coleman said. No one else was injured.

Repeated calls to the business for comment went unanswered Thursday.

It does not appear to be a gang-related shooting, Coleman said.

"He was just a businessman who was shot," Coleman said. "It is probably safe to assume it was related to some specific incident."

Some evidence has been recovered from the scene, as well as surveillance video, Coleman said.

It was business as usual Thursday afternoon on Merced Avenue where the garment manufacturer is among a variety of companies. The only remnant of a crime scene was tattered yellow police tape behind.

Many workers at surrounding businesses were unaware of the crime.

Oscar Serrano, owner of Art & Design Installations Inc. located down the block, said he heard there was shooting but knew no details.

"It's not a good neighborhood but it's not a real bad neighborhood," Serrano said. "It's strange that the shooting happened during the day, you normally hear about them at night."

In the course of researching a column for Friday's paper, I ended up interviewing Munir Sirhan, brother of Sirhan Sirhan, the accused assassin of Robert F. Kennedy who died 40 years ago Friday.

Munir had some interesting things to say and introduced me to some people who believe there's more to his brother's story than the lone gunman narrative.

Among those taking up Munir's cause are Summer Reese, who is affiliated with KPFK radio, and Dr. William Pepper, who has a pretty interesting history of his own, and knew both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.

Pepper and several other researchers interested in the Kennedy assassination are getting together tonight near LAX to discuss new theories and information that's become available in recent months.

Here's a YouTube video about the organization known as COPA.  

 

Thursday was Pasadena Star-News education reporter Caroline An's birthday.

She celebrated in style apparently with a cake and a Tiara.

Notice the absence of foil balloons

An attorney has filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of a West Covina man who claims police used excessive force while arresting him in March of last year. The lawsuit names the City of Covina, several Covina police officers, and the police chief as defendants.

The attorney, Nick Pacheco, alleges an officer kicked and punched his client, 24-year-old Eduardo Jaime, without provocation when they took him into custody in March of 2007 at the Covina Well bar in Covina.

Nine months after his arrest, Jaime was acquitted of the two counts he was charged with: resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer and assault on a peace officer.

The attorney is seeking unspecified damages.

Police and City officials have not commented on the suit.

 

The Montebello Police Officer's Association is razzing one of its own on their Web site, with a news item headlined, "Officer Chris Tyni's First TV Commercial." The Web site links to a YouTube video of a GoPhone commerical featuring singers Meat Loaf and Tiffany, along with an actor who apparently bears a stiking resemblence to a Montebello police officer.

No, the Montebello Police Department does not appear to have a TV star in their midst, as a dispatcher explained. Fellow police officials just decided to have a little fun with one of their own.

This is a reader comment from earlier today. I posting it here for those who don't read comments:

I have worked for the city of Pasadena for many years  helping the cities youth get clean from drugs, alcohol and gang life. With so much poverty, death, drugs and gangs in the North side of Pasadena (Above the 210 Fwy) why are you covering a bill for foil balloons? Who cares?

Why aren't you investigating the constant gang and drug deaths and crime in Pasadena? Why aren't you writing about the amazing discrepancy between the wealth of southern half of Pasadena (below the 210 Fwy) and the Northern half of Pasadena.

A drive down Orange Grove or Washington Blvds at night feels like your driving through skid row. I thought You were "The Crime Scene" not the foil balloon patrol.. Or have you given up the dream and drive you may have once had to provide information and assistance on crime in Pasadena?

'casue the way I see it , it seems as though you've been phoning it in for quite some time. Sorry if that's harsh but ist seems that you only report crime that "makes" the news and has already been announced.

Instead of going out there and getting the story and "making" the news. Email me if you want to know about the Mexican Mafia activity in Pasadena or why mothers are selling their children to grown men, or a story on why at least six children from our program ended up dead last year, why black and hispanic gangs were at war in Monrovia, how our youth programs in Pasadena are helping and failing the kids in Pasdena etc. etc. etc.

KFI's John and Ken are headed to Pasadena to protest a state Sen. Jack Scott bill that would eliminate balloons made of foil.

This little note is at the bottom of their announcement:

*Please be responsible balloon holders. The release of balloons is NOT encouraged.

 

El Monte police are investigation allegations that a custodian at a local elementaty school inappropriately touched a young girl in late April.

The unidientified custodian is now on paid administrative leave as police continue to investigate, according to school district officials.

Here's an excerpt from a story running in tommorrow's paper:

 

 EL MONTE -- A custodian at a local elementary school is currently on paid administrative leave as police investigate allegations that he inappropriately touched a student earlier this year, police and school district officials said.
The alleged incident occurred April 25 at La Primaria Elementary School, 4220 Gilman Road, said El Monte police Detective Ernie Cramer.
The name of the custodian, a man in his 60s, was not released, he said. He has not been arrested.
The investigation involves "inappropriate touching above the clothes," said Cramer.
A girl in the 3rd grade came forward and told school officials that the custodian had touched her inappropriately earlier in the day, Cramer said.
School officials immediately contacted the girl's parents and the El Monte Police Department, he said.
Mountain View School District Director of Special Projects Alan Morier said it's district procedure to place any employee being investigated by police on paid administrative leave.

The DA's office released their report Wednesday into the snafu surrounding the slaying of Monica Thomas-Harris, by her estranged husband. The report hit newsrooms one day after Cooley cruised to reelection.

Thomas-Harris, 37, was shot to death by "Keno" Curtis Jan. 5 in a low budget Whittier motel room. Their bodies were found by a maid doing a routine cleaning inspection.

Here's the report.

 

 

LOS ANGELES -- The Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward offering Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men suspected of killing a teen girl in Monrovia Jan 26.
Sammantha Salas was killed in a hail of gunfire outside an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Peck Road in an unincorporated county section near Monrovia called "No Man's Land."
An unidentified friend of Salas was seriously wounded in the assault that also left a stucco apartment building riddled with bullet holes.
Along with the reward offering, more information about the shooting came to light. A press release issued by Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office indicates that Salas and the other teen were approached by two men on foot.
"The two suspects are described as African-American in their 20s, wearing dark colored bandannas or hooded sweatshirts and members of the Du Rock Crips gang," the press release said.

This press release comes from the El Monte Police Department:

El Monte PD is investigating a petty theft turned robbery that occurred at 4203 Tyler, Eddy's Liquor.  The robbery occurred 6-1-08, Sunday, at 3:15 pm when the two suspects entered the store and stole beer. 

The first suspect made it out the store, but the cashier confronted the second suspect at the door.  The second suspect then shoved the cashier to the floor and got into a possible 1992 white Acura. The store obtained still photos of the suspects.  

If you recognize the suspects, call Detective Ralph Batres at 626 580-2189 or the Watch Commander at 626 580-2109.

Many cases are solved by annonymous parties.

Cops are looking for a woman who stole almost 800 lottery tickets from a La Crescenta gas station and tried to cash a few of 'em at a Pasadena store a few hours later.

The tickets were reported stolen on May 30 about 5 a.m., officials said.  Apparently the theft was the result of a smash and grab that netted about 4 Grand in food and the lottery tickets.

A security video making the rounds this morning, shows the same woman in both locations.

Detectives described the suspect as Hispanic, about 25- 30, 5 feet 3 inches tall and 160 pounds, with long dark hair.

El Monte resident Candace Aikin testified before a grand jury in Joliet, Illinois last week regarding the disappearance of her niece.

Her niece happens to be Stacy Peterson, a 23-year-old woman who went missing in October and has become the missing woman case that the cable news networks love to cover, mostly because of her husband Drew.

For good reason perhaps. According to Wikipedia:

Drew Walter Peterson (born January 6, 1954), is a former Bolingbrook, Illinois police sergeant and alleged double-murderer who has received nationwide attention in the United States for becoming a suspect in a police investigation following the death of his third wife and subsequent disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy.^[1][2] Peterson has repeatedly denied involvement in both cases.

Here's part of what Aiken said, according to thekansan.com:

"At the end they asked me what kind of a mother (Stacy) is, what kind of a person she is and would she ever leave her family. That was really hard," Aikin said, still visibly shaken from her testimony. "I'm glad I was able to talk to the jurors and tell them my love for Stacy and what a great person she is, and to be able to help the case in any way that I can."

<snip>

Aikin, of El Monte, Calif., last saw her niece in August. Although Peterson had told her aunt of marital problems for more than two years, Aikin said Peterson was seriously considering leaving the relationship by the time she visited in August.

"She wanted out," Aikin said. "There was so much pressure. Fear too."

 

 

David Gunderson, a former Baldwin Park patrol cop who moved on to Adelanto then Blue Lake, where he became chief, is the subject of an LA Times story that paints an interesting picture of his ongoing legal troubles:

The Blue Lake police force was armed on a par with a big-city SWAT team. And no Blue Lakers knew until Police Chief David Gundersen's life began to very publicly unravel.

In February, Humboldt County sheriff's deputies arrested Gundersen on suspicion of crimes in his own bedroom.

Prosecutors have charged him with 33 counts, alleging that the chief repeatedly drugged his wife, a Blue Lake police sergeant, and forced her to have sex.

As investigators dug deeper into his private life, they discovered Gundersen's guns.

At home, he had a weapons cache that included a machine gun and a James Bond-style pistol with a silencer, both unregistered.

At police headquarters, he had enough weaponry to arm a small platoon.

Gundersen, 53, advertised his love of guns on a MySpace page for "Gundy Bros," with a photo of a machine gun, the words "LIVE, LAUGH . . . LOVE" and the offer of "Weapon Systems/Sales and Services." In all, investigators seized 111 weapons -- nearly a quarter of them from his home.

Crime Scene made a short mention of Gundersen back in March. Up in Eureka, the Times-Standard (where this picture originally appeared) has kept on top of the story. meanwhile, I'm still trying to find Baldwin Park officers who remember Gundersen...

 

There's a couple of things I covered in Tuesday's column that were vague and thought I pass the information on after doing some more "research."

First of all, the bookstore was City Lights on Vermont in Los Feliz. Great bookstore -- very tiny -- but an ecclectic selection of interesting titles. I've seen several interesting authors stop by to do readings and signings. It reminds me of the old Vroman's.

As for the magazines, the graffiti mag was titled UP. I just looked at it again and after reading the article with the LA graffiti photos, I realized the photos were all shot in the 1970s by a guy named Gribble (not Dale Gribble from King of the Hill).

Several of the photos are posted on Flikr here. There's also an interview with Gribble on Handselect.

One night last week, I found myself in a bookstore in a nice Los Angeles neighborhood.

It was one of those neighborhoods whose residents probably "don't get" the San Gabriel Valley -- or Whittier for that matter.

Anyway, I was perusing the magazines looking for something to take and read. There were no copies of MAD and my second choice, Pro Football Weekly, was also suspiciously missing in action.

Then I noticed a magazine that stood out among the art and fashion magazines on another rack. I can't remember the name, but it was devoted entirely to the "art" of graffiti and tagging.

I had to look.

The usual suspects stood out among the photos: New York subway scenes, Amsterdam murals, boxcars on the nation's rails. I turned to the index and found "Drive-by Shootings." (I'm sure you get the double entendre). The story devoted itself to decoding the gang graffiti of Los Angeles; marvelling along the way about the artistry of the whole endeavor.

In recent days there's been tales in the news about these virtuosos.

Like the story of a tagger who uses the moniker "Buket. Police busted "Bucket", a San Jose State art school grad and Las Vegas convention planner, after several videos cropped up on YouTube featuring the "artist" at work on freeway overpasses and in concrete riverbeds.

One of the most viewed stories on the newspaper's Web site last week told the story of a man and a teen arrested in Covina on suspicion of taking part in a spree that tagged 22 locations along Azusa Avenue.

A few weeks ago we ran a story about a Baldwin Park tagging crew suspected of involvement in the November slayings of a teen-ager and his father in front of their Downing Avenue home.

Where's the romanticism in these stories?

Long before I worked in the newspaper business, I sold patio covers and awnings for my then father-in-law. He had (and has) an office on Mission Boulevard in Pomona. I can remember getting mad at the taggers who would occasionally graffiti the building. I thought about ways to intervene, but never really did anything -- and never thought of the indecipherable scribbling as art.

That wasn't the case with Robert Whitehead, of Bassett, or Maria Hicks, of Pico Rivera. They intervened and got dead for the trouble. I'm sure there's countless similar stories. I know a guy who paints over graffiti for a living and he's told me that he's been intimidated by taggers --and even shot at -- trying to make one San Gabriel Valley neighborhood a little better.

In Whitehead's case, he was killed March 6, 2006 trying to stop two gang members from tagging up a neighbor's wall. During the investigation into the slaying, detectives with the Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide bureau uncovered a suspected connection between the Mexican Mafia prison gang, La Eme, and Whitehead's alleged killers.

As for Hicks, a 58-year-old grandmother, she was shot to death on a warm Friday night last August after confronting a group of taggers in the neighborhood where she lived her entire life.

That was going through my mind as I flipped through pages deciphering the clever, angular strokes of some guy named "Sneaky" or "Sapo" or "Spooky" or "Snoopy" or "Lil Shooter." It occurred to me that this might as well be some ivory tower sociologist's look at a foreign country or the take of a preening self-important East Coast artiste.

Then I got it.

They don't live here.

Kevin Roderick over at LA Observed points out that NPR just completed a four-part series on Los Angeles gangs. Here's what NPR has to say:

Crime in America has been on the decline, but gang violence is increasing. Los Angeles has the most gang members per capita than any city in the world. This series zeroes in on the changing nature of Los Angeles gangs and the innovative tactics law enforcement is using to combat them.

Among the parts:

Targeting 18th Street

Using federal charges

Cops target shot callers

Crack down at MacArthur Park

LAPD chased this guy into Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera and Whittier before he was caught. Apprently the suspect was wanted for a DUI.

The World Wrestling Entertainment's Get R.E.A.L. program brought WWE Diva Eve Torres, (pictured here) and superstar Elijah Burke to Santa Fe School in Baldwin Park on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Raul Roa/SVCity).

But, it was really WWE owner Vincent Kennedy McMahon making all the news Tuesday, announcing a $1 million giveaway to fans of Monday Night RAW.

From the Associated Press:

"People can view this as my own version of an economic stimulus plan to benefit our viewers," McMahon told the AP.

 

 

The saga of Jennifer Lopez Dejongh and her three missing children made America's Most Wanted Saturday night. Here's the story:                                                                      Police tell AMW that Dejongh was supposed to drop Brian, Christian, and Evan off at Miller's home on November 17, 2007, for an extended visit, but she never showed.  When it seemed apparent that Dejongh and the children weren't going to appear at the agreed-upon location, investigators were called in.

Cops say the children are believed to be safe with Dejongh, so an AMBER Alert was never issued for the kidnapped children. Police tell us Dejongh and the missing Miller children may be hiding out on the East Coast, or may have fled to Mexico.  The boys may now have dyed their hair black, or could have shaved heads or crew cuts.

I saw this on the History Channel the other night and realized that much of the story was built around the history of the Pasadena Denver Lanes Blood gang and their role in the Halloween Homicides.

Herbert McClain, Jr. Lorenzo Newborn and Karl Holmes were convicted for their roles in the shooting deaths of three innocent teens on Halloween night 1993. All were members of the P9 set of of PDL. They set out to avenge a shooting earlier Halloween night and throught the trick-or-treaters were members of the Altadena Block Crip gang.

I covered the original shooting and subsequently attended the entire criminal trial and both penalty phases. The History Channel treatment of the case is as good as any treatment. This is part one of five parts.

Fire officials at the scene reported 100 percent containment of the brush fire near Encanto Park about 5:30 p.m.

The fire was held to about 4 acres.

Firefighters are fighting a 2-alarm brush fire in a riverbed next to Encanto Park in Duarte, officials said.

The blaze was reported about at 4:05 p.m. near the park, located at 800 Encanto Parkway, and was reported to be at 1 acre just prior to 5 p.m., Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatchers said.

About 100 personnel were battling the fire, which officials said was burning in "medium brush."

No structured were immediately threatened, however firefighters were placed in between the fire and nearby homes as a precaution.

Steep terrain, high winds and the fire's proximity to buildings promted the heavy response to the fire, officials said.

A cause was not known.

I guess it should come as no surprise that taggers are turning to YouTube to show off their daring.

What is a surprise though is that police actually watch the videos and recently caught a suspected tagger who pulled off a pretty stupid stunt in broad daylight high above the Hollywood Freeway.

Here's the stunt that got Buket sent to the bucket.

 

Not sure of the validity of this, but I just received a forwarded email that claims the Monrovia Police Officer Association billboards, warning motorists to exercise caution when entering Monrovia, have been removed. Here's the email:

I don't know if you've heard, but those obnoxious MPOA billboards have
been removed. My family and I are very relieved and glad that the
police union heard the voices of this strong community.

Thank you so much for covering this important issue.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Ranger
The Dollmakers' Kattywompus
www.SoKattywompus.com
Kattywompus Internet Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/kattywompus

When Pasadena blogger Aaron Proctor recently attacked activist Virginia Hoge, she noticed. 

When former candidate for mayor, Aaron Proctor, (whose site is linked
to on this blog) posted this defamatory post about me - which included
ugly graphic sexual slander - the Pasadena blogging community was
completely silent.

http://www.proctorformayor.com/2008/05/22/step-by-step-heart-to-heart-left-right-left-we-all-fall-down/

I think we have lost the ability to see "hate". I mean, if this post
isn't hate, what is? Does the right to "Free Speech" cover...this?
No, I do not think it does.

The weird thing was, what made Proctor so angry was my writing about my
research on Rene Amy. I hadn't even mentioned Proctor, yet he reacted
to it like he himself had been "stung".

Why?

The federal government wants to sell off a portion of the broadband spectrum to anyone willing to provide free Internet service. 

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters ) - U.S. communications regulators are considering auctioning a piece of the airwaves to buyers willing to provide freebroadband Internet service without pornography.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is proposing to auction an unused piece of 25 megahertz wireless spectrum, with the condition that the winning bidder offer free Internet access and filter out obscene content on part of those airwaves, a spokesman for the FCC said on Thursday.
"We're hoping there will be increased interest in the proposal; and because this will provide wireless broadband services to more Americans, it is certainly something we want to see," said FCC spokesman Rob Kenny.
Under Martin's proposal, the winner would be allowed to use the rest of the airwaves for commercial services.
The plan would address criticism from some consumer advocates, who say the government has not done enough to get broadband service into more U.S. households. It also could win praise from anti-obscenity watchdog groups.
"I think there are a number of features of the plan that would be attractive to various constituencies," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin.
But the plan got a lukewarm response from existing wireless carriers. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, a 15-year-old accused of making threats against other kids at Wilson High School via Wikipedia, pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to probation. Here's what the Times wrote:

A 15-year-old boy Friday admitted that he posted criminal threats on the website Wikipedia last month that targeted fellow students at Glen A. Wilson High School, officials said. 

The teen admitted to six counts of making criminal threats, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. A seventh charge was dismissed, Robison said. 

The teenager was charged in connection with the posting of two threatening messages on the Wikipedia entry for Wilson High on April 16 and 17. In the messages, he threatened to shoot six students and "a good majority" of the school badminton team.

The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District closed the school April 18 after the threats appeared, and the boy was arrested later that day.