Meth bust nets El Monte man featured on America’s Most Wanted

This from the City News Service:

A narcotics unit of the Redondo Beach Police Department announced today the arrest of a suspected drug dealer who turned out to be wanted for two murders in Colorado and was
profiled on “America’s Most Wanted.”

The Redondo PD’s Special Investigations Unit got a tip about an alleged
narcotics dealer who lived in Montebello, said Sgt. Gene Tomatani.

While the suspect was under surveillance Monday, he was allegedly observed
selling methamphetamine to a buyer in a shopping center parking lot in El
Monte, the sergeant said.

Officers arrested 28-year-old Rodolfo “Rudy” Gonzalez, who allegedly had a
small amount of contraband on him, and also took the buyer into custody,
Tomatani said.

When Gonzalez was taken into custody, he casually remarked that he was wanted
for two murders and refused to say more, according to the sergeant, who said
the suspect also gave police a phony name.

Meanwhile, he was jailed in the Redondo Beach lockup, and a search warrant was obtained late last night to search his home in Montebello, where three pounds of methamphetamine and a smaller quantity of cocaine and marijuana were recovered, Tomatani said.

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A sweet and sour surprise in Buffalo, NY

This from the “Only in Buffalo” file:

HAMBURG, N.Y. (AP) – Health officials shut down a suburban Buffalo restaurant after an inspector found employees butchering a dead deer inside the business. Erie County Health Department officials said they got a tip Friday about a dead deer in the China King restaurant in the town of Hamburg, just south of Buffalo.

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Questions about Doc

This comes from Aging Rebel:

Maybe the Feds have the Mongols by the huevos. Maybe after, numerous attempts over the last 30 years, the Department of Justice is finally, actually going to deconstruct a major outlaw motorcycle club. Maybe not. But, don’t dismiss the possibility. “The future right now,” former Mongol Tony Vodnik rhetorically asked the Associated Press yesterday. […]

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Mongols in the spotlight in Tuesday’s Column

About the time Ruben “Doc” Cavazos published his autobiography, “Honor Few, Fear None,” his life as an outlaw motorcycle gang member began to come apart.

The book, published in June, tells Cavazos’ story and includes re-tellings of violent episodes between members of the gang and outsiders.

To hear “Doc” tell it, the Mongols were taking on an assortment of gangs in an international turf battle that stretched beyond the San Gabriel Valley.

Last week a federal grand jury handed down an 84-count racketeering indictment against Cavazos and dozens of other Mongols. It detailed allegations including murder, attempted murder, gun possessions, racial attacks, maimings and drug offenses.

As part of the criminal case, the government barred members of the gang from wearing clothing displaying the Mongols’ logo.

Here’s how the book jacket pitches Cavazos’ story:

“In reality, the Mongols are a tightly knit band of brothers devoted in equal measure to the club, their fellow Mongols, and their freedom. They live to enjoy life, party and travel the open road. Above all, they demand respect. When pushed too far, Mongols join together to push back. Just ask the Hells Angels, the Ukrainian mafia, the Mexican mafia and the U.S. government. All have tested the Mongols’ resolve.

“Doc takes you to the streets and into the bars, the secret meetings, the brawls, and the shoot-outs, all proof that if you live like a Mongol does, you must honor few, fear none.”

But why buy the book when the indictment lays out some of the same excitement without the hyperbole?

For example, on the day the book was published by HarperCollins, Cavazos awarded patches to two members accused of stabbing two innocent by-standers at a Mobil gas station in Pasadena on April 6.

They were among the last patches Cavazos awarded.

As Cavazos embarked on a high-profile tour of swanky bookstores in upscale neighborhoods like Beverly Hills, other members of the gang began to grumble about his leadership.

Principle among their complaints was Cavazos’ penchant for recruiting street gang members and a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars of Mongol money.

Cavazos frequently hit up his buddies for contributions to a Mongols legal fund. The money began to go missing.

Finally on Aug. 30, at the “House Lounge” in Vernon, Hector “Largo” Gonzalez and William Munz told the rest of the gang that “Doc” was stealing from them.

They also pointed to tensions between the gang and La Eme and voted Cavazos “out bad” from the organization.

“Out Bad” – sounds like a good title for the sequel.

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A busy morning for the daily fishwrap

GLENDORA — A Glendora man turned himself in Tuesday morning in connection with a stabbing that occurred Monday night on the patio of a Starbucks, authorities said.

Jacob Westin, 18, was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a man on the patio of a Starbucks on the 1800 block of East Route 66 last night around 10 p.m., Glendora police Lt. Ernie Didier said.

WHITTIER – Sheriff’s deputies are searching for an attempted burglary suspect in Whittier, authorities said.

The deputies responded at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning to a “burglary in process” at the 11500 block of Havenwood Drive, said Sgt. Della Walls of the Pico Rivera sheriff’s station.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS – Officials have released the name of a 20-year-old La Puente man found dead at the scene of a shooting Sunday.

Paulo Orozco Campos was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m. in the driveway of a house in the 15400 block Los Robles Avenue, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said.

MONROVIA – Hazmat* 720 E Huntington, Monrovia; Battalion 10 Incident Commander, large
amount of toxic cloud from closed up metal commerical structure. Req Hazmat
units. Mutual Aid: Burbank and Glendale. Red 2@10:03PM CABN01 ### 

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Weekend violence

Looks like it was another busy weekend for law enforcement with violent acts reported throughout the region.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS — A man’s body was discovered in a residential driveway Sunday with apparent gunshot wounds, authorities said.

EL MONTE — A man stabbed to death in a motel room over the weekend was bound and gagged when a maid found his body, according to a motel employee.

SAN GABRIEL — A man was hospitalized with serious injuries Saturday after he was stabbed at a shopping center, authorities said.

PICO RIVERA — Gunfire ended a Halloween party in Pico Rivera Saturday, leaving one person wounded and at least one suspect on the run, a sheriff’s sergeant said.

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Arrests made in Montebello killing

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18346-VALDEZ,ANDREW-thumb-300x351.jpgMONTEBELLO — Two men were arrested Saturday on suspicion of killing another man in what police believe was a gang-related shooting, authorities said.

 
Edward Joseph De la Rosa, 22, of Montebello (left) and Andrew Simon Valdez, 20, (right) also of Montebello were booked on suspicion of murder, Montebello police said in a written statement.

The victim’s name was not released Saturday as officials had not yet notified a next of kin, coroner’s officials said. Police estimated him to be in his 20s.

 
The man died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center shortly after the shooting, which occurred about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 200 block of N. 6th Street, officials said.

The suspects and victim are believed to be affiliated with street gangs, police said. Authorities would not release the names of those gangs.

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Man dead in El Monte motel room

A man was found stabbed to death in an El Monte motel room Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The body was found about 1:09 p.m. in the 11600 block of Garvey Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Art Spencer.

“The cause of death was apparently due to multiple stab wounds,” Spencer said.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau were sent to help the El Monte Police Department with the investigation.

The man’s name was not released. He was only described as a male, Hispanic adult.

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The Wineville Chicken Murders (* updated on jump)

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Clint Eastwood’s “The Changeling,” which was released today has some interesting local connections.

The story is a retelling of the Wineville Chicken Murders committed by Gordan Stewart Northcott and his mother Louise Northcott on a chicken farm in 1928.

The Northcotts kidnapped boys from throughout the Southland, including Walter Collins, the subject of the movie, which stars Angelina Joile as Clark’s mother Christine Collins.

Besides Collins, the Northcotts kidnapped Louis and Nelson Winslow of Pomona and an unidentified “Mexican” boy from La Puente. Most of the kidnappings were done along the main route between Riverside and Los Angeles, which is now kown as Valley Boulevard.

At one time, I hoped to write a book on the killings and in the process I collected several old newspaper articles and a copy of the remaining court file from Sacramento.

Continue reading “The Wineville Chicken Murders (* updated on jump)” »

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