February 2009 Archives

POMONA -- A person was shot to death in a motel early Saturday in what police believe may have been a narcotics- and gang-related killing.
The incident was reported about 1:30 a.m. at Motel 6, 2470 S. Garvey Ave., Pomona police said in a written statement.
The victim's name was not released pending notification of her family members, coroner's officials said.
Citizens reported hearing gunshots, and arriving officers found a victim, described only as a Latina female, suffering from several gunshot wounds, police said.
She died from her injuries at the scene.
Witnesses reported seeing three Latino men estimated to be in their 20s running from the scene, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives Mark McCann or Andy Bebon at the Pomona police tip line at (909) 620-2085.

COVINA -- A man was shot and wounded Saturday afternoon on a residential street in an unincorporated county area near Covina, authorities said.
The incident was reported about 1:40 p.m. in the 4000 block of Yaleton Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Joe Bolanos said.
The victim, a 39-year-old local man, suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Craig Boyett said.
A neighbor reported hearing a gunshot and finding a wounded man in a nearby garage, Bolanos said.
The victim was taken to an area hospital by a private vehicle, the sergeant said.
Witnesses gave conflicting accounts of the attacker's description, Boyett said.
Officials searched the area with the help of a helicopter and canvassed the area for witnesses, Bolanos said, but the shooter was not found.
A motive in the shooting was not immediately clear, Boyett said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's San Dimas station.

 

As can be seen in this YouTube video of a Wednesday press conference, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced an end to federal raids of medical marijuana clinics in the 11 states where they are legal, such as California, where pot has been legal for medical use since Proposition 215 passed in 1996.

What are your thoughts on medical marijuana?

ALHAMBRA - A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for an Alhambra man accused of killing his girlfriend and dumping her body in a trash can in Arcadia, officials said Friday.

Isaac Campbell is charged with murder for the 2007 slaying of Liya "Jessie" Lu.

He is due at Alhambra Superior Court March 18 for a preliminary hearing, in which a judge will determine whether there is enough evidence to order Campbell to stand trial, court officials said.

The preliminary hearing has already been postponed twice.

Campbell disappeared after detectives called him in for questioning in the case, officials said. He who was extradited last year from Minnesota.

Lu's body was found inside a trash can he'd allegedly left at a friends house, sealed in a plastic garbage bag and covered with kitty litter, according to authorities.

Looks like at least one defendant inthe federal case against the Mongols motorcycle gang want to enter a plea in the case. In turn the government is offering to seal any agreements that have been made.

"The defendants who wish to plead guilty to the charges against them and/or enter their pleas as part of a cooperation plea agreement may be subject to violent retaliation," federal court documents indicate. "the retaliation would be directed at the defendant and/or the defendant's family and would be executed either within the detention facilities or by members of the Mongols Gans or gang members or associates that remain on the streets."

Here's a link to our news story.

 

The Pasadena Police Department has told the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner to withhold investigative and autopsy information in the Leroy Barnes shooting for "security reasons." Apparently there's a real need for something to remain secret in the case..

This from Coroner's Chief Ed Winter:

"The law enforcement agency asked for more time to do further investigation in the case.

We're not allowed to release any information until the hold is released. Most of the time it's for follow up on more information. They are probably still seeking witnesses and this so (anyone interested) isn't alerted to the facts by reading the newspaper."

The hold could last for as long as 90 days, Winter said.

"After 90 days we send them a note and make a call, 'It's been 90 days, what the heck? At that point they are going to have to justify why or what's taking so long to finish up this investigation," Winter added.

 

 

Here's an excerpt from a story we're working on for tommorrow regarding a Mexican drug cartel investigation with a local tie. Below are pictures and a link to a DEA page with video from the July, 2008, methamphetamine bust in Industry:

 

For video, click here, then click, "watch video."

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Wednesday the conclusion of a 21-month investigation targeting a Mexican drug cartel, which included one of the largest methamphetamine finds in the United States in Industry.
"Operation Xcellerator" was a multi-agency investigations intended to deal a blow to one of Mexico's powerful drug trafficking organizations known as the Sinaloa Cartel, DEA officials said in a written statement.
The effort netted 755 arrests, more than 23 tons of drugs and more than $59 million in alleged drug money, officials said.
"We successfully concluded the largest and hardest hitting operation to ever target the very violent and dangerously powerful Sinaloa drug cartel," DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart said.
As part of the operation, nearly 300 pounds of potent methamphetamine were discovered in a storage locker in the city of Industry, DEA spokeswoman Sarah Pullen said.
"It was one of the largest meth busts in the United States," she said of the July, 2008 seizure.
"It was just based on a lead.. that led them to a storage unit in the City of Industry they believed contained drugs," Pullen said.
Officials found 297 pounds of highly pure methamphetamine, known as "ice," at the facility, she said.
"In order to be classified as 'ice,' the meth has to be more than 90 percent pure," Pullen explained.
Several suspects were later arrested and charged in connection with the find, Pullen said, however further details of the Industry bust were not available Thursday.
Pullen said she was not aware of any other significant busts carried out in the San Gabriel Valley as part of the operation.
"The criminal organizations targeted in Operation Xcellerator were smuggling thousands of pounds of dangerous drugs into the U.S., many of which wound up in the neighborhoods throughout Southern California," said Timothy J. Landrum, of the DEA.
"The DEA will continue the collaborative effort between federal, international, state and local law enforcement agencies that has led to more than 150 arrests in the Southern California area, sweeping these violent drug organizations off our streets and ultimately making our communities safer," Landrum said.

Certainties exist in life.

Pasadena officials would have us believe one of those certainties played out at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Mentone Avenue last week: Pull a gun on a cop, expect to be shot.

If that's what Leroy Barnes did, he deserved to pay with his life.

If that's what happened.

In public life certainties exist as well. Misrepresentations will cost agencies their reputations.

The Pasadena police department's reputation is on the line because of misrepresentations.

Did Pasadena police officers involved in the shooting mislead police spokeswoman Janet Pope-Givens and subsequently Chief Barney Melekian?

Or, did Pope-Givens and Melekian mislead the public with their initial statements at the scene?

After the shooting of

Barnes, 37, a parolee with a state prison record that included a conviction for firing at an officer in 1993, Pope-Givens and Melekian both spoke to the media.

Pope-Givens said Barnes was in a car that had been pulled over. She said Barnes got out of the car. She said Barnes fired on officers who shot back and killed him.

A few hours later Melekian said, "It appears from all accounts the officers' version is correct." He said the department would release a video of the incident within days.

The next day, the stories changed.

It turns out Barnes did not get out of the car. And he did not fire on officers. As for the video, Melekian said there is a legal challenge that prevents its release.

Which raises other questions:

What should we believe now?

Why hasn't the Sheriff's Department been called in to independently investigate?

Certainly the Bulldogs in the Homicide Bureau have the trust of many other communities.

Instead, the Pasadena will handle the investigation on its own and turn over those results to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the FBI.

Adding insult to injury, the Police Department ordered a streetside memorial to Barnes dismantled, because it was blocking the sidewalk.

The Pasadena Police Department has lost some of its stature and much of its credibility.

Lacking credibility, what leadership can Melekian offer that would bridge the gap between Pasadena's hard-working police officers and the community they serve?

What's to say he won't be misled again?

It's time to bring in competent and experienced detectives from the Sheriff's Department to repair any credibility gap that may have formed.

*PASADENA -- A man escaped injury after someone opened fire on his car Wednesday, police said.
The apparent intended shooting victim was arrested, however, on suspicion of misdemeanor vandalism because officials believe he threw a chair through the window of a home near the shooting scene the previous day, Pasadena police Lt. Randell Taylor said.
He refused to cooperate with police or give them his name, so his identity was unknown pending identification through fingerprints, Taylor said. He was described as a Latino man in his 20s from Los Angeles.
The shooting took place about 6 p.m. on Washington Boulevard, just west of Fair Oaks Avenue, Taylor said.
The victim, described as a Los Angeles man in his 20s, had stopped his car in traffic lanes in the 100 block of W. Washington Avenue when his vehicle came under fire, Taylor said.
Nearby officers heard about four gunshots and rushed to the scene as the apparent victim, whose car had been shot once, fled the area, the lieutenant said.
Witnesses initially believed the fleeing car to be the suspect, Taylor said, however officers soon determined that the man, who had a bullet hole in his car, was an intended target in the attack.
The shooter was not found, and witnesses at the scene did not report seeing the attacker, Taylor said.
Officials believe the shots were fired from the north side of the residential street, he added. It was not known if the shots came from the sidewalk, a residence or a yard.
It was not clear why the man allegedly vandalized the home on Washington Boulevard Tuesday, Taylor said.
The incidents remain under investigation.

A bomb squad has been dispatched near the intersection of Palm and Santa Anita in Arcadia. A unified command has been established at the scene.

Live scanner report from the scene can be found here.

Police Link, a blog that serves as a round-up of law enforcement news from around the country has some interesting comments posted regarding last Thursday's OIS in Pasadena.

Leroy Barnes, Jr. a 37-year-old parolee with a history of run-ins with the law, was shot and killed by officers after a traffic stop. Here's a link and the photo caption:

Pasadena Police handed out this photograph of the carried by Leroy Barnes. (Photo: Pasadena Police)

 

DA's officials say search warrants were served at City Hall this morning and at 2 other locations. Three council members are under investigation for allegedly taking bribes from developer Randy Wang in exchange for providing smooth sailing to Wang's proposed mixed-use development on Las Tunas.

*UPDATE 1:42 p.m. from reporter Alfred Lee:

Investigators searched City Hall and five (not two) residences: Mayor Cathe Wilson, council members Judy Wong and David Capra, former City Council candidate Scott Carwile (whom Randy Wang has accused of taking cash bribes for his campaign) and Jay Liyanage, the former project manager of Wang's Piazza mall project.

Authorities have charged two men in connection with last year's slaying of 19-year-old Brandon Lee, officials said Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, police announced they have arrested a suspect in the Jan. 13, 2008, shooting of 64-year-old Sanders Rollins.

The slayings were part of a string of gang-related shootings in the Monrovia/Duarte area that left four people dead in late 2007 and early 2008.

On Tuesday, authorities announced that Monrovia resident Uriel Garcia, 24, has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of Lee, who was fatally wounded by gunfire as he emerged from a friend's car on Almond Avenue in January 2008.

A second man, Valentin Valenzuela, 20, was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Lee, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

Carlos Torres Jr., 16, has been charged with murder in the Rollins slaying, Gibbons said. Rollins was shot in the back outside his Sherman Avenue home as he walked to the front door.

A second suspect has been identified but had not been arrested Tuesday, Gibbons said. Garcia, Valenzuela and Torres are all due in court for arraignment March 11, according to Gibbons.

THe shooter or shooters of 16-year-old Sammantha Salas outside a Monrovia apartment building last Jan. 26 remain at large. A reward has been offered and extended in the case.

There's a growing amount of anti-police sentiment brewing in Northwest Pasadena following the officer involved shooting that claimed the life of Leroy Barnes.

Much of the anger and outrage has been directed at Pasadena police Chief Barney Melekian, who stumbled in his initial statements to the press and subsequent appearance at City Hall Monday night.

Doubtless, Melekian was looking to exit the police department when he accepted a role as the citys acting city manager. In light of the recent shooting and brewing community unrest, is it time for Melekian to resign?

 

A neighbor of Octomom Nayda Suleman used a shotgun to threaten paparazzi outside Suleman's Whittier home, officials said Tuesday.

WHITTIER - A neighbor of Nadya Suleman, who gave birth to octuplets last month, brandished a shotgun and yelled threats last night, prompting Whittier Police to come to the cul de sac. 

<snip>

Sally Ramirez said she lives next door to the man, who she said is usually a quiet neighbor.

"He's a nice man," she said. "Maybe he was just trying to scare them off."

Ramirez said the usually sleepy neighborhood has been busier and louder since the announcement that Suleman, who lives in her mother's house at the end of the street, was adding octuplets to her brood of six children younger than 7. The family's home on Sunrise Drive is headed toward foreclosure, according to documents.

Ramirez said Suleman told her she would soon be moving to a large house owned by a friend. She said she hopes that when her neighbor leaves, the street will be quiet again.

"Ever since she had the babies, there's been a lot of commotion," Ramirez said.

I spent a good part of Sunday trying to figure out what to do with an extra $13 a week.

That's what we'll all get for six months beginning in June as part of President Obama's ecomomic stimulus package. Thirteen bucks.

When I was a teenager, my dad used to scold me because (in his words): "Money burns a hole in your pocket."

Heck, I don't even have my first paycheck with a stimulus bump and already its spent. It didn't even get a chance to burn a hole in my pocket.

Maybe I should have been a politician, they definitely know how to burn money.

Take that 13 bucks.

In truth none of us will ever get to see it, because our state government is going to get their hands on the money faster than an Indian casino can get rich opening it doors to bus loads of foreign students.

They will get it in increased sales taxes, vehicle license fees, and smaller income tax credits for children and married couples. We are going to get nailed.

I pushed that out of my mind, so that there was nothing to stop me from dreaming about economic stimulus, rather than worry about any economic ruin the state is attempting to hasten.

At first I thought about taking my $13 and spending it on iTunes. Certainly that will stimulate the economy. After all rock and rap artists need our money so that they can buy drugs, guns, and outrageous clothing.

Take pop singer Chris Brown. He's certainly going to need a cash infusion to pay his lawyers.

Since that sickens me almost as much as paying for Octomom's brood of 14, I decided to think about turning the money to a more productive use.

Where better than a 99-Cents Only store? I hit one on Hacienda Boulevard somewhere between West Covina and La Puente.

The place was so crowded, I almost left.

But after walking in, I gravitated toward the food. Who knew there are so many staples available for just 99 cents?

A loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly - three bucks total - added up to lunch for a week.

A head of lettuce, some salad dressing and a six-pack of tomatoes? Salad with dinner for five or six nights.

And I still had $7 to spend, I went for three tins of spaghetti sauce, a package of noodles, two ham steaks and a box of off-brand cornflakes. Mmm mmm good - NOT.

Which is why I put everything back and decided to invest my $13 instead.

A package of tomato seeds, a package of onion seeds, some jalapeno seeds and carrot seeds cost less than $2. I took the rest of the money and spend it on compact fluorescent light bulbs.

We'll be having salsa and carrots all summer. And saving money on the Edison bill to boot.

After all we're going to need it. Someone's going to have to pay for all this stimulus and bailout stuff that's burning big holes in our economy's pockets.

The sad part is, it's going to be you and me.

Pasadena police Chief Barney Melekian last week promised he would release a video of the OIS that occurred at Washington and Mentone.

Monday he refused to release the video, citing vague legal ramifications. Melekian also said the video didn't capture the entire incident:

A video recorder from a police patrol car's dashboard captured parts of the shooting, Melekian said, but the camera angle does not show the struggle inside Barnes' car, he added.

He said police were withholding release of the videotape due to unspecified "legal issues."

Melekian also refused to release the names of the two officers involved, saying the department was protecting their safety.

 

The cops are on adminsitrative leave. Don't know if that's a paid or unpaid leave.

Melekian also gave a third version of events. Here's what the police are now saying about the shooting of Leroy Barnes:

On Monday, Melekian said Barnes was armed with a gun, but he never fired it during the confrontation with officers.

"A struggle ensued in the back seat of that car and Mr. Barnes displayed a handgun and pointed it at one of the officers as they fought," the chief said. "(An) officer fired one gunshot. The other officer believed that Mr. Barnes had in fact shot his partner."

The second officer then began firing, Melekian said.

"That accounts for the statement on Thursday night that Mr. Barnes fired at the officer. He did not. However, it appears, at least preliminarily, that he was certainly attempting to do so."

While 11 shots were fired, investigators won't know how many times Barnes was hit until the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office issues a final autopsy report, he said.

 

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca warned he would close two jails and potentially release 4,000 inmates thanks to a $72 million budget gap in the department.  Baca also predicted a rise in crimes throughout the county as a result. Here's a portion of the AP story that ran this morning:

"There's no way around me cutting $71 million out of the budget that won't affect having to close a jail or two," Baca said. "To turn this battleship ... I have to start cutting."

Baca hasn't finalized plans, but said he was looking at closing two of the county's 10 jail facilities: the old central jail, which houses about 2,300 inmates; and part of another facility in Castaic in the north of the county that houses about 1,500 inmates. Violent offenders from the closed jails would be housed in other facilities.

Closing those facilities would eliminate positions for about 400 of the department's 10,000 deputies and another 200 or so civilian jobs would be lost too. The job cuts would come primarily through a hiring freeze.

A likely consequence would be an increase in crime, especially property crimes.

First Police Chief Barney Melekian promised to hold a press conference Monday where he would discuss the officer involved shooting of Leroy Barnes.

Then he rescinded the promise.

Then he rescinded his decision not to speak and talked to reporters after all. Here's some of what was said:

Apparently 11 shots were fired in the incident. Barnes did not fire his weapon. I'll have more when it becomes known 

Crime out of control in Pasadena:

PASADENA - Three 14-year-old girls appear to have been sexually assaulted at a home in Northwest Pasadena after going home with two adult men on Monday, police said.

Police received a call from a neighbor at 2:30 p.m. after she heard one of the girls screaming and attempting to leave the home, according to Pasadena Police Lt. Randall Taylor.

The home, at 255 Idaho Street, off Lincoln Avenue and not far from the Rose Bowl, appears to not be inhabited, said Taylor. The two men who brought the girls there were not present when police showed up to the address, he added.

"It looks like this house was not lived in," said Taylor. He said, however, that police are using property records to attempt to track down the assault offenders.

At 4:00 Monday afternoon, over 10 officers were present at the address. The home looked empty, with newspapers in the window, and debris piled up in a driveway on the side of the house.

The girls met the men at the Pacific Paseo mall at Colorado Boulevard, and invited them back to their place, said Taylor. The girls had skipped school Monday, he added.

The men brought out alcohol and marijuana when they brought the girls back to the house, Taylor said.

Amanda Baumfeld reports:

WEST COVINA - Authorities said Monday police are not certain the firebombings of two homes in the South Hills are linked, despite the fact that both incidents took place within weeks of each other on the same tiny street.

Early Saturday morning, the home of Robert Ho, 51, in the 3200 block of Hampton Drive was practically gutted after several incendiary devices were hurled through windows. Six weeks ago, Ho said he stopped a similar attack on a neighbor's home.

"We are not 100 percent sure they are related," West Covina police Lt. Ron Mitchell said. "It's quite a great deal of stuff to happen in one area. There might be a connection."

Neither the police nor Ho could provide a damage estimate following the fire. The West Covina Police department has neither contacted federal officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms nor the FBI, agencies typically charged with investigating firebombings and arsons, Mitchell said.

During a 2007 remodeling of the presbyterian Church in Covina, workers uncovered several disturbing images of child pornography,

A subsequent FBI investigation led to a registered sex offender who was living at working at an auto repair shop in town.

The sex offender, Richard Welton, 47, is now behind bars in federal custody.

Here's the FBI docs from the case:

SAFE_-_Welton_arrest_warrant.pdf

SAFE_-_Welton_indictment.pdf

Welton has a long criminal history that includes making obscene phone calls from churches claiming to have abducted a young girl.

PASADENA -- Coroner's officials said Sunday evening that autopsy results were not yet available for Leroy Barnes, the man who was fatally shot by Pasadena police on Thursday.

The autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, however coroner's officials reported that the results of the autopsy had not been entered into their computer system.

This could mean either that the autopsy had been done, but the doctor hasn't updated the system, or that the autopsy has been posponed until Monday, officials said.

 

COMPTON -- In what investigators are calling a "domestic violence-related incident," an off-duty CHP officer shot and killer her husband late Saturday.

Few details of the shooting were released Sunday.

The incident occurred just after 11 p.m. in the 400 block of Amantha Avenue in Compton, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said in a written statement.

Neither the dead man nor the officer were identified.

"The suspect became verbally and physically combative toward the off-duty officer and the victim was able to retreive a firearm and shoot the suspect once in the upper torso," Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Rick Pedroza said in a written release.

"The investigation is ongoing, and there is no further information available at this time," he said.

WHITTIER -- A man was flown to a trauma center by helicopter Sunday after being struck by a vehicle, authorities said.
The incident was reported about 3:10 p.m. on Leffingwell Road at Kibbee Avenue, California Highway Patrol officer Jose Nunez said.
The injured pedestrian was described as a 35-year-old local man, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Kevin Tobia said.
His name was not available.
The man briefly lost consciousness and suffered a 12- to 16-inch gash on his arm down to the bone, however he had stable vital signs when flown by helicopter to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Tobia said.
The crash apparently occurred as the pedestrian was crossing Leffingwell Road as a compact car was driving eastbound, the captain said.
The cause of the crash, which is being investigated by the CHP, was not available.

PASADENA -- Police received complaints Saturday evening from residents that some of the 100 or so people congregating near the scene of Thursday's officer-involved shooting were tresspassing on private property in the surrounding neighborhoods, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.

Police units and a helicopter showed a presence in the area, and that was all that was needed, the lieutenant said. The people moved themselves from other people's yards and driveways once police began cruising through the area.

WEST COVINA -- A West Covina home was firebombed with Molotov cocktail-like incendiary devices early Saturday, police said.

Three people -- a man, an elderly man and a woman -- who were inside the home in the 3200 block of Hapton Drive during the 3 a.m. attack managed to escape uninjured, police and fire officials said.

Police declined to go into more specifics about what type of incendiary devices were used, and did not release any information regarding a possible motive or suspect.

The house sustained major damage, fire officials said.

Apparently, this isn't the first time such an incident has occurred on this street.

About a month ago, the home next door was targeted in a similar attack, police said, however only a door was scorched.

 For more on the story, click here.

A good Samaritan armed with a cell phone camera helped police track down a pair of alleged burglars after they reportedly ransacked a Pasadena home. Here's the story:

PASADENA -- A good Samaritan with a cell phone camera helped police track down and arrest two men suspected of burglarizing a home Saturday, police said.
Carlos Saldivar, 28, of Pasadena and Christian de Los Santos, 23, of Pasadena were booked on suspicion of burglary, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.
The incident began about 11:20 a.m. in the 2900 block of East Colorado Boulevard, the lieutenant said.
A person who just happened to be in the neighborhood waiting for someone noticed a man wearing latex gloves exit a home carrying a suitcase and get into a waiting van, which quickly sped away, Ibarra said.
The witness thought the man looked suspicious and snapped a picture of the van with a cell phone camera before calling the police, she said.
Police confirmed that the home had been burglarized, then went to the address the van was registered to based on the license plate from the witnesses photo, Ibarra said.
The van was located near the address in the 600 block of North Los Robles Avenue, with Saldivar and de Los Santos inside, the lieutenant said.
Property allegedly stolen from the home on Colorado Boulevard was recovered from the men, she added.

A group of about 150 community members marched from a Monrovia church to one in Duarte Saturday in a demonstration of solidarity between the Latino and black communities, church officials said.
The march went from the Immaculate Conception Church in Monrovia, 740 S. Shamrock Ave., to the New Hope Church of God In Christ in Duarte, 742 Euclid Ave., New Hope Church Pastor George Salter said.
Speakers addressed the crowd at the end of the march, he added.
"It was very uplifting," the pastor said.
The march came on the heels of the shooting death of 18-year-old Citrus College student Miguel Sanchez of Duarte, who was gunned down Monday while walking with a friend in the 2500 block of Milbrae Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
Sanchez was not believed to have gang ties, authorities said, however his assailants are believed to be gang members.
In late 2007 and early 2008, a feud between black and Latino gangs in the area claimed the lives of four people.
On Tuesday, a forum was held for area residents to discuss their concerns about violence with city and sheriff's officials.
Monrovia police officials said there were no reports of incidents related to the march.

Police Chief Barney Melekian is now softening the official version of events that led to the death of 38-year-old Leroy Barnes in Northwest Pasadena.

While police originally claimed Barnes got out of his car and began firing at officers, Melekian now says that Barnes was shot while in the car after a struggle with officers. He would not back up his earlier claim that Barnes shot at officers saying only that his original statement came at a time when the incident was still under investigation.

Interesting that Melekian consults the Sheriff's Department. Perhaps he should take some lessons from Sheriff's Homicide officials who are very careful about what they release in the early minutes following a shooting....

There's more to report as well...

Photographer Keith Birmingham says tensions in the neighborhood are high. He witnessed several men carrying firearms in the open. Several people in the community have advised our reporters to stay away until tension subsides....

Leroy Barnes, the man shot and killed after apparently firing on Pasadena police officers had been in a shootout with Pasadena police in the early 1990s, according to authorities.

Barnes apparently had a long criminal history that includes convictions for tresspassing, spousal battery and assaulting an officer. A story is coming and we'll continue to flesh out the details of the shooting throughout the day.

*UPDATE from Nate McIntire:

We don't have the shootout confirmed and the charge against him for assaulting an officer (w/o a weapon) was dismissed. Convictions for assault with a deadly weapon, battery, driving without a license and littering are all confirmed. The web update has all the right info

Crime Scene poll du jour: Is Angelina Jolie a winner at the Academy Awards on Sunday night for her portrayal of Christine Collins?

Officials captured a man suspected of robbing or attempting to rob 17 Southern California banks in four weeks , inlcuding one in Covina, Wednesday, authorities said.
Brian Keith Robinson, 49, was arrested without incident at his Los Angeles home, FBI officials said in a written statement.
Robinson has been given the moniker, "the Salt and Pepper Bandit," because of his graying hair.
Robinson is suspected in a series of bank heists dating back to Jan. 5 in Covina, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Encino, Seal Beach, Beverly Hills, Glendale and Manhattan Beach, officials said.
Robinson allegedly passed a demand note to tellers and threatened to start shooting if his demands for cash were not met, officials said.
Robinson was first identified as a suspect in the Salt and Pepper Bandit robberies on Jan. 10, the FBI statement said, however he allegedly continued robbing banks, officials said.
He was located and arrested after photographs and the suspect's name were released to the public, officials added.
Robinson, who officials said is being charged federally, is due to make his first appearance before a United States magistrate in the United States District Court in Downtown Los Angeles Friday.

*Photo courtesy of the FBI

A police officer shot and killed a young Pasadena man near the intersection of Washington and Mentone, officials said Thursday. Police said they shot the man after he opened fire on them. A young woman is in custody.

An unruly crowd and several television crews are making crowd control difficult for the Pasadena Police Department, according to reports from the scene. The shooting is the second OIS in Pasadena in the last several months.

Not sure if this is a training issue or a matter of bad timing. Perhaps Chief Barney Melekian will address some of the issues raised at the scene.

Police are responding en masse to Mentone Avenue, just south of Washington Boulevard. Not  a lot is clear at this point except that there is a "person down," there are possible reports of "shots fired," and police were asking for major backup in a hurry.

A command post was being set up, and officials were heard over the radio inquiring about the condition of a patient.

Radio traffic also indicated police may have been in foot pursuit of suspects.

*Here's what the California Fire Page has to say about the incident:

*Shooting* Mentone@Washington, Pasadena; Single vict down w/ gun shot wound, Large crime scene area, Violent crowd, PD command require arrest team setup and slug gun to scene; Live Scanner Traffic: tinyurl.com/LAFEED ; Red 2 and PPD Ch4 ###

Reporter Robert Hong is en route to the scene.

**4:51 p.m.: News wire reports are now indicating that this incident is an officer-involved shooting.

 

After his 1929 conviction for killing young boys on his Wineville Chicken Ranch, Gordon Northcott was put to death within months, as Wikipedia notes:

On February 8, 1929, a 27-day trial before Judge George R. Freeman in Riverside County, California, ended. Gordon Northcott was convicted of the murders of an unidentified Mexican boy^[5] and brothers Lewis and Nelson Winslow (aged 12 and 10, respectively).^[11] The brothers had been reported missing from Pomona on May 16, 1928.^[12] However, it was believed Northcott may have had as many as 20 victims.^[13] The jury heard that he kidnapped, molested, tortured, killed, and dismembered these and other boys throughout 1928. On February 13, 1929, Judge Freeman sentenced Northcott to be hanged.^[14] The sentence was carried out on October 2, 1930.

While death sentences are still handed out in California, the average time from conviction to execution is about 16 years. Thus today's Crime Scene poll, Do you think Northcott would be executed for similar crimes today?

 

 

The lobby of a newspaper can be a powerful attractant to people who believe their story should be told.

Over the years I've heard tales of lost gold mines, crooked probate courts, scheming landlords, high-level CIA/FBI conspiracies and heart-wrenching stories detailing the cost of drug abuse, rape and murder.

It's the stuff that used to make talk radio appealing.

That was back in the time before hosts stopped taking calls and simply turned to using their three hours of radio time to rant and spew ala Limbaugh, Hannity, Kobylt and Chiampou.

That said, very few of the tales I have heard ever made their way into print.

I could probably list a dozen reasons for that: lack of space; lack of time; lack of verifiable sourcing. But it doesn't stop the tide of storytellers who believe that newspapers are their last resort.

In recent weeks, I've been visited several times by a woman who thinks she has one of those stories. She brought me a ream of paperwork that includes bank statements, court records and handwritten notes. She asked that I hold onto them because she feared possessing the documents would cause her harm.

I'm not sure why she feels that way, the documents that aren't public record are indecipherable.

The woman, who identified herself as Marilyn Ross, has been back two or three times, and little-by-little more of her story has emerged.

In the mid-1990s Ross turned her son in for murder. She said the act brought her scorn and ridicule in the community. Nonetheless she said she appeared on the "Rolonda Show" and discussed the case.

"He was a Crip, and I did the right thing," Ross recalled.

Since then, she's bounced from home to home, primarily in Los Angeles, but now she's living on the streets of West Covina.

I asked where.

"There's a church with grove behind it, so I stay there," she said. "Or I go to the Starbucks at Eastland."

That's probably the whole story. I'll never know. And doubtless there are many men and women living through similar tough times on streets throughout the San Gabriel Valley.

Sometimes they just need someone to listen.

The first time I encountered this was when I worked at The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in the late 1980s.

One gloomy Saturday morning in June a security guard at the back door called up to the city room. He asked Chuck Hubbs, the editor, if someone could come downstairs to speak to a guy with a story idea.

As the copy boy, I was low man on the totem pole.

I made my way down, and standing in the alleyway was a 6-foot, 7-inch bald monster of a man clutching a ream of ledger paper stuffed into a binder with a bunch of other stuff piled on top.

His gripe was the government conspiracy out to ruin his life.

The CIA had planted a bug in his brain back in the 1960s. Every move was monitored.

After about 20 minutes, I excused myself and called upstairs.

"Chuck, what should I do?"

"Is he wearing a foil hat?" Chuck responded.

"Nope."

"Tell him we're part of the same conspiracy and get back to work."

I've never seen a big man move so fast.

Verne Gagne, the man who brought the nation Hulk Hogan and Jesse "The Body" Ventura, is suspected of fatally injuring his roomate at a board and care facility for Alzheimer's patients in Minnesota.

Here's the story:

Minnesota wrestling legend Verne Gagne is under investigation in the death of a fellow resident at a Bloomington care facility, a local television station is reporting.

Police said Gagne, 82, threw his roommate, Helmut R. Gutmann, 97, to the floor on Jan. 26, breaking his leg and injuring his head, according to KMSP-TV. Gutmann was treated for his injuries, but was later rehospitalized, the station said. He died Saturday.

The men lived at Friendship Village, a care facility for people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Both had Alzheimer's-related dementia, KMSP-TV said.

Speaking of professional wrestling, Ray Renati, a Northern California blogger suggests that Mickey Rourke should get the best actor nod for his role in the Wrestler. Here's a portion of his take:

Once every ten years or so a movie comes along that seems to transcend the art form. From the first moments we realize that we are not just watching a film but that we have been given the rare gift of peering into a person's soul. In "The Wrestler" you quickly realize that for the next two hours you're going to be given a raw, unprotected, and brutally honest performance from a man who has suffered and has chosen, as a true artist, to reveal that suffering to the world. I can think of few other examples of this in film. Al Pacino in the first two "Godfather" movies comes to mind. Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" perhaps is another example, all be it a strange and surprising one.

 

ALHAMBRA - As jurors visit the home of Phil Spector, streets around his home will be affected, police said.

The street Spector's home is on in the 1700 block of Grand View Drive will be blocked off to keep crowds at bay, police said.

Also, no parking signs will be posted from on Grand View Drive from Norwood Place to Parkview Drive, police said.

This is the second time a jury has visited the Alhambra mansion where Lana Clarkson died. Spector is on trial, for the second time, for the murder of Clarkson.

Ruby Gonzales spun a pretty funny tale about a hapless bank robbery suspect who was captured after a dye pack exploded. Here's the top:

WHITTIER - A man with a tan purse robbed a bank this morning but failed to make a clean getaway.

He left the loot and his getaway cab when a dye pack exploded, staining the cash, the taxi and him. He got rid of his red-stained jacket and tried to blend in by waiting at a bus stop.

But the bus was on a layover, Whittier Police said. And the man had been at the stop 20 minutes when he was caught by an officer who spotted him and the purse.

Robert Michael Varela, 22, of Los Angeles was arrested on suspicion of bank robbery.

Whittier Police spokesman Officer Mike Dekowski said the stolen money was recovered as well as the jacket the suspect discarded. He said officers found a BB gun that resembles a handgun in the purse.

 

BALDWIN PARK -- Police will be cracking down on traffic safety this month, with planned operations targeting drunken driving as well seat belt enforcement, officials said.
The Baldwin Park Police Department will hold a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint Saturday at an undisclosed time and location within the city, Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso said in a written statement.
Police will also participate in a Click It or Ticket campaign between Friday and Feb. 28, in which officers will focus extra enforcement on making sure everyone inside a vehicle is wearing a seat belt, police said.
Though 95.7 percent of Californians use their seat belts, the remaining percentage who don't amounts to more than a million people, California Office of Traffic Safety Director Christopher J. Murphy said.
The Baldwin Park Police Department is one of 280 law enforcement statewide participating in the Click It or Ticket campaign, officials said.
Both the sobriety checkpoint and seat belt enforcement efforts are being paid for by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

With so much interest in the DVD release of Clint Eastwood's movie The Changling, perhaps those of you who have seen the film have some thoughts on the fate of Walter Collins.

It's an open question. Was he killed by Gordon Northcott at the Wineville Chicken Ranch as Northcott and his mother claimed? Or did Young Walter somehow escape the farm and go on to lead a productive life, justifying Christine Collins' hope that her son would return home some day?

What do you think?

 

El Monte cops say longer response times, less cops on the street and higher crime will be the end result of proposed budget cuts. They took their message to City Hall Tuesday night in hopes of impressing the City Council that no matter how cash poor the city might be it still needs its police force.

Here's Bethania Palma's story:

City officials have warned the police department that 14 to 17 officers could be laid off in an effort to manage a ballooning budget deficit. POA officials said Tuesday they hoped President Barack Obama's signing of the stimulus bill and the possible pending resolution of the state budget could help resolve the need for such lay-offs.

"It's going to kill the police department and it's a slap in the face to the people that live and work here," said El Monte police Detective Eric Walterscheid, the association's vice president. "It's going to disrupt the department's ability to protect the city."

Some said losing more than a dozen officers could jeopardize public safety and result in a longer wait before help arrives in some types of calls

Here's our database. And here's a sample of what you will find:

Full Name	Sex	Race	Wanted For
Aghajanyan, Ana	Female	White	Grand theft
Akopyan, Vahagan	Male	White	Murder
Alvarado, Jeronimo	Male	Hispanic	Murder
Alvarez, Jaime	Male	Hispanic	Murder
Araiza, Gustavo	Male	Hispanic	Murder
Araujo, Fernando	Male	Hispanic	Attempted murder

 Esquire ran the definitive Moe story on its Web site today. The tale, by Richard Shapiro, tells the story of Moe through the words of St. James and LaDonna Davis. It's a touching tale much of it familiar to residents of West Covina and the San Gabriel Valley.

Here's the final paragraph of the piece titled "St. James, LaDonna and Little Moe: The Worst Story I Ever Heard."

After all the years St. James and LaDonna shared with Moe and everything they've endured, how could he be gone forever? How could they not someday see their boy again?

This from Capitol Weekly:

"Thank goodness we weren't in lockdown last night."

Those were the words of freshman Assemblyman Curt Hagman, who pulled two people from a burning car in downtown Sacramento at 8:30 p.m. Monday evening. Moments later, the vehicle exploded.

Hagman, R-Chino Hills, said he was in his apartment near 5th and N when he heard a crash outside.

He went downstairs to investigate and saw that a car had struck a parked pickup truck The car's doors were jammed shut, and two people were trapped inside.

Hagman helped the male driver and his female passenger from the car. The driver immediately ran off, and the woman was found later to have a blood-alcohol level of .33, Hagman said, about four times the legal limit for a driver in California

Octomom.

You have to love the New York Post-style name that's come to represent Whittier resident and mother of 14 Nayda Suleman.

It sums up the grotesqueness and the truly bizarre nature of something none of us can understand on so many levels.

It also sounds like the handle of a lame comic book villian. The kind writers come up with when the Joker or Magneto have challenged Batman or the X-Men one too many times.

"The Amazing Octomom!"

"Watch as she and her innocent brood take over the state welfare system."

"Is Batman powerless to stop her?"

"Octomom" might make a great movie title too.

As others have pointed out there is a striking similarity between Suleman and actress Angelina Jolie. You can see Hollywood types jumping all over this one, praying for the opportunity to cast Jolie as the overwhelmed mother of 14 (count `em 14!) very active babies.

There's other possible titles.

Comedy? "Cheaper by the Dozen, plus 2"

Tragedy? "Oceans 14"

The tragedy of course being that the franchise didn't end at "Oceans 12."

That said, Suleman denies she's made any conscious effort to look like Jolie.

Jolie, on the other hand, reportedly said she's "totally creeped out" by Suleman and the whole, sad tale.

I guess reality television might find a way to profit off this. But on the other hand, who wants to watch eight screaming babies for an hour? Or witness the endless diaper changes?

As the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons might say: "Worst villian ever."

Back in the real world, the true villian may not be Suleman.

But, the thing is, there is villany here.

I think we all have to wonder what role Beverly Hills fertility specialist Dr. Michael Kamrava plays in this story.

Is he the mad scientist, whose experiments have gone horribly wrong?

Or is he an opportunist seeking his 15 minutes in the hopes of bolstering his questionable practice?

Fortunately Kamrava is under investigation by at least two state boards for what appear to be questionable ethics.

He has so far declined to comment on the whole sordid mess.

There are estimates that Octomom's hospital stay and providing the necessary care for her children will cost California taxpayers upward of $1 million.

Who knows how much health care for the children will cost after they arrive home in Whittier?

Food stamps?

Social workers?

Foster care?

Numerous state investigations and hearings?

And we, each and every one of us taxpayers, are on the hook for each and every dime.

That said, the real tragedy is that these 14 innocent children are pawns in some larger game that has yet to make itself apparent.

There's nothing that we can do but sit back and watch the story unfold and hope the children are somehow saved from the craziness.

A couple of Whittier teens are in hot water after being picked up by the police and charged felony vandalism after tagging around town. Damage estimates for the pair's handiwork top $50,000. That's a lot of tagging. Here's the scoop:

WHITTIER - A 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl face felony vandalism charges after allegedly tagging all over the city causing a combined $51,000 in damages.
Police said the teens worked on their own. The boy is believed to be responsible for 66 tagging incidents that led to $23,000 in damages. The girl allegedly tagged 126 times causing more than $28,000 in damages.
Whittier police spokesman Mike Dekowski said the District Attorney's Office hasn't yet filed charges against the teens, who were arrested Feb. 2 and 3.
Both were cited out after their arrests. They will return to juvenile court at a later date.
Dekowski said the girl, who lives in the unincorporated Whittier area, tagged also in Pico Rivera and La Habra. Officers are working with other agencies to determine how much the damages were in these communities.
He said the boy, who lives in Whittier, scribbled and scrawled on signs, curbs, walls and sidewalks in the east end of town.

For the first time since starting this blog back in 2007, I stepped away from the yellow tape for a few days -- Nine to be exact.

Took a nice trip to Santa Barbara. Hung out on State Street. Played 21 at the Chumash Casino and tried to stay away from the news -- even though for a junkie like me that's nearly impossible.

Seems like there was plenty of action here on our streets.

Certainly the off-and-on rain has also caused its share of havoc too. 

Nine days wasn't enough apparently to get a state budget deal done though! Guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I probably won't have to much to post today, while I get caught up. You can expect the updates to start flowing again tomorrow.

Thanks for all your nice letters, comments etc.

Ciao,

Frank  

The Pasadena Police Department graciously provided these photos of a rescue they handled Sunday. After a two-car crash, one of the car's was sent crashing into a flower shop at the corner of Lake Avenue and Villa Street in Pasadena. Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries. Here's the full story.

After several months on hiatus, the Los Angeles Times' Homicide Report blog is back.  This Web site, which seeks to catalogue every homicide reported in Los Angeles County, was inundated with posters demanding it's return after the Times stopped updating it in November of last year.

They have posted cases retroactively for the time the blog was down.

POMONA -- A woman escaped from a department of corrections parenting program with her 12-day-old child Saturday, and authorities are seeking the public's help in finding her and the child.
Daphne Delorah Miner, also known as Tanesha Burell, does not legal custody of her son, Sean Garner, Pomona police Officer Paul Monforte said in a written statement.
The 35-year-old woman escaped from a California Department of Corrections parenting program facility located at 831 E. Arrow Highway shortly before 5 p.m., the officer said.
She is believed to have taken the child with her, he said, and is possibly on her way to Los Angeles or Long Beach.
Miner is described as a black woman, about 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 230 pounds, police said.
She has black hair, brown eyes and a scar on her nose, and was last seen wearing yellow, long-sleeve blouse and blue jeans, Monforte said.
Garner is black with brown curly hair and weighs 10 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to call their local law enforcement agency or the Pomona Police Department Detective Bureau at (909) 620-2124.

*Photo of Daphne Miner courtesy of the Pomona Police Department

 

Today is the 80th anniversarry of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, in which Al Capone's gang famously lined up seven members of a rival street gang and murdered them with Thompson sub-machine guns.

Below is a line taken directly from the CHP's computer dispatching system related to a crash on the 710 Freeway at Clara Street in Bell Gardens about 1 p.m. Saturday.  Why on earth am I showing you a log entry from a Bell Gardens car crash? Look closely:

82-S6 REQ SIGALERT FOR UNK DURATION - #4 LN AND FLORENCE OFR CLOSED DUE TO FUEL SPILL AND TRYING TO LOCATE A NON-FURLOUGHED CALTRANS CREW

Apparently, state employee furloughs are taking their toll on freeway traffic.

PICO RIVERA -- Three cars were stolen from the parking lot of a night club early Saturday during a Valentine's Day celebration, authorities said.
Car thieves apparently saw a crowded Valentine's Day celebration at the El Rodeo Nightclub, 8825 Washington Blvd., as an opportunity, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Jaime Baltazar said.
Three revelers exited the club to find their cars stolen, he said. The thefts are believed to have occurred after midnight.
The thieves likely worked together as a team, the lieutenant said.
"For something like that occurring, I don't think that's a coincidence."

 

PASADENA - The trial for a Monrovia man accused of luring underage girls via the Internet and molesting them has been postponed until next month, court officials said. 
 
Gregory Scott Serrano, 34, was initially scheduled to go on trial Feb. 9, officials said, however it has been rescheduled for March 2.
 
Serrano has been charged with 20 counts of child molestation in the alleged crimes, which officials allege date back to June of 2006. 
 
In addition to the local charges, Serrano has been indicted on 23 federal charges, United States Attorney's officials said. 
 
Serrano was jailed in March of last year after a 15-year-old girl reported the alleged molestation to her parents, officials said. 
 
Serrano's alleged victims range in age from 13 to 17 years old, officials said.
 

From City News Service:

LONG BEACH -- Two Whittier men were charged Friday with capital murder in the shooting death of a woman in San Pedro last month.
Michael Lee Bonfiglio, 31, and Raul Tiscareno, 26, are being held without bail in connection with the slaying of Ginie Samayoa, whose body was found Jan. 30 in the driver's seat of her car two blocks from her home.
She had been shot once in the back of the head, and died the next day at a hospital.
Along with murder, the two are charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit a crime and second-degree robbery. Arraignment is set for Feb. 26 in Long Beach Superior Court.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, which could make the two eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors are expected to decide later whether to seek a death sentence against either of the two.
The criminal complaint alleges that Bonfiglio has three prior felony convictions, including two for possession of a controlled substance, and that Tiscareno has two prior felony convictions, including carjacking.
Bonfiglio was arrested Tuesday and Tiscareno was arrested Wednesday.

LA MIRADA -- An elderly local man died at the hospital Thursday after reportedly shooting himself on a street corner, authorities said.
The dead man was described as an Asian man in his early 80s, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Mark Wilkins said.
His name was not available.
The incident occurred about 5:45 p.m. on Santa Gertrudes Avenue at Alicante Road, Wilkins said.
Witnesses reported the man shot himself in the head, Wilkins said. A handgun remained near the man when officials arrived.
The man was taken to an area hospital where he died from his wound a short time later, the lieutenant said.
There was no suicide note, he said.

The city that has topped the list of safest large cities in the U.S. for four years running has a homicide investigation on it's hands. City News Service Reports:

IRVINE - A man in a white Lexus parked behind a pizza parlor in an Irvine shopping center
was fatally shot today, a police lieutenant said.
Irvine police responded at 4:40 p.m. to a possible shots fired call at the Trabuco Grove Shopping Center at Jeffrey and Trabuco roads, Irvine police Lt. John Hare said.
There were several reports that the victim had been sleeping in his car, and that the passenger side rear window had been blown out.
Police, interviewing witnesses, got a "vague" description of a suspect wearing a black hooded
sweatshirt and leaving the area by walking north through a nearby alley, Hare said.
The suspect was believed to be in his mid 20s, 5 feet 6 inches tall, and of unknown weight.
The victim was believed to work in a restaurant in the shopping center, but police were trying to confirm which one as well as the man's name, Hare said.
Orange County Sheriff's Department bloodhounds were called to the scene, Hare said.
Detectives interviewed people who had been in the area, but it was unclear if the actual shooting was witnessed.
Irvine has been named as the nation's safest city with a population of more than 100,000 for four consecutive years, based on FBI statistics.
Anyone with information was asked to call Detective Noelle Smiley at (949) 724-7168.

As City News Service reports below, officials have identified a man killed in an East LA shooting Wednesday as a 27-year-old Whittier man:

EAST LOS ANGELES -- Authorities today identified the 27-year-old man who was shot and
killed while sitting in the passenger's seat of a vehicle in unincorporated East Los Angeles.
Victor Tellez of Whittier died in the shooting, an investigator at the coroner's office said.
The violence occurred in the 600 block of South Fraser Avenue about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, when a gunman walked up to a vehicle occupied by Tellez and another man and opened fire, striking Tellez multiple times in the upper body, said Deputy Richard Li of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
The driver, who was also hurt, drove away from the site of the shooting in an effort to get help,
Li said.
Arriving police and firefighters declared Tellez dead at the scene, Li said. The second victim was hospitalized in stable condition, he added.
Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call homicide detectives at (323)
890-5500.

Reporters Daniel Tedford and Ben Baeder report today that someone has tried for a fourth time this year to set fire to a strip mall in La Puente.

The Durango Plaza strip mall in the 15700 block of Amar Road was struck by small fires three times between Jan. 13 and Jan. 18 causing about $20,000 in damage.

The facility's landlord hired a security guard to prevent future attacks, but during the guard's break combustible materials were set up for a potential fire Thursday morning, said Los Angeles County Sheriff Sgt. Jeff McBride.

Story here

The FBI is seeking a man suspected of robbing and attempting to rob 17 Southland banks in four weeks, including one in Covina, authorities said.
Brian Keith Robinson, 49, is being sought in connection with the robberies and is suspected of being the prolific "Salt & Pepper Bandit," who earned his moniker because of his white and gray hair, FBI officials said in a written statement.
"During the robberies, the bandit threatens to start shooting if the victim tellers do not comply with his demands for cash," the statement said.
In addition to verbal demands, the robber also uses a a note to demand money, officials said.
The robber has struck banks in Covina, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Encino, Seal Beach, Beverly Hills, Glendale, West Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach and Beverlywood since Jan. 5, officials said.
On Tuesday in Los Angeles, the robber entered the bank but quickly fled after he was recognized by a bank employee, Eimiller said.
In some of the robberies, the suspect escaped with cash, while in others, such as the Covina crime, he left empty-handed.
In Covina, the robber showed up at the Citibank, 200 N. Citrus Avenue, on Jan. 16, Covina police Lt. John Curley said.
During the failed heist, the robber apparently became alarmed by something and fled without receiving any loot, Curley said.
Hours later, he carried out a successful robbery at a Los Angeles Bank, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
The Salt & Pepper Bandit is described as a black man, between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing about 170 pounds, FBI officials said.
He's been seen driving a gold-colored, mid-1990s-model, 4-door Toyota Corolla, officials added.
A reward is being offered in exchange for information leading to the arrest of the Salt & Pepper Bandit, authorities said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office at (888) 226-8443.
*Photo courtesy of the FBI.

This comes today from the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles. Those convicted used a combination of threats -- deception, rape, physical violence and witchcraft -- to compel young Central American women to become prostitutes.

    LOS ANGELES - Five defendants, all members or associates of an extended family, face potential life prison sentences after being found guilty today of international sex trafficking for participating in a scheme that lured young Central American women and girls into the Los Angeles area and forced them into prostitution, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien for the Central District of California.

        The defendants, four Guatemalan nationals and one Mexican national, were convicted of conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; and importation of aliens for purposes of prostitution. The jury in the case was unable to reach unanimous verdicts on additional charges.

        During a six-week trial, the government presented evidence that the defendants targeted young, uneducated, impoverished undocumented women and girls from Guatemala, and conspired to lure and smuggle them into the United States, where they were put to work as prostitutes. All but one of the victims were enticed with bogus promises of legitimate jobs.  But after arranging for the victims to be smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, the defendants used a combination of threats - deception, rape, physical violence and witchcraft - to compel the victims to perform acts of prostitution.

        The defendants intimidated and controlled their victims by threatening to beat them and kill their loved ones in Guatemala if they tried to escape. Some defendants also used witch doctors to threaten the girls that a curse would be placed on them and their families if they tried to escape. At least two of the defendants further restrained the victims by locking them in at night and blocking windows and doors to prevent their escape. The defendants also used  manipulation of debts, verbal abuse and psychological manipulation and control to reinforce their control over the victims. The scheme also included strict controls over the victims' work schedules and ominous comments about consequences that befell the families of other victims who attempted to escape.

        The defendants collected the profits generated by the acts of prostitution the victims were compelled to perform, and maintained control over the prostitution proceeds, earning tens of thousands of dollars while the victims received next to nothing.

        The defendants found guilty today are Gladys Vasquez Valenzuela; Mirna Jeanneth Vasquez Valenzuela, aka Miriam, 27; Gabriel Mendez, the Mexican national, 34; Maria de los Angeles Vicente, aka Angela, 29; and Maribel Rodriquez Vasquez, 29. All of the defendants face statutory maximum penalties of life in federal prison. Everyone with the exception of Maribel Rodriguez Vasquez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

        United States District Judge Margaret M. Morrow, who presided over the trial, will sentence the defendants later this year.

        Four additional defendants - Flor Morales Sanchez, Pablo Bonifacio, Luis Vicente Vasquez and Albertina Vasquez Valenzeula - previously pleaded guilty to various offenses in connection with the defendants' scheme.

        "The defendants in this case trafficked in human beings, using these victims' desire for a better life to lure them into a situation where they were deprived of their basic human rights," said United States Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien. "No one should be victimized in this way."

        Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King stated: "Human traffickers like these defendants target vulnerable victims, including minors, and subject them to vicious conditions that will not be tolerated in this country. Today's convictions demonstrate the Department's commitment to exposing and vigorously prosecuting those who engage in such depraved exploitation of their fellow human beings."

        Human Trafficking Prosecutions are a top priority of the Justice Department. In Fiscal Year 2008, the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys' Offices filed a record number of criminal civil rights cases, including record numbers of both sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases.

        In Los Angeles, the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE), the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of the Inspector General, the United States Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles Police Department, along with several community groups, comprise the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Task Force on Human Trafficking, whose mission is to improve tactics for identifying and rescuing trafficking victims, provide assistance to victims and prosecute those responsible for human trafficking.

        "The investigation of this sex trafficking ring, the largest of its kind in Los Angeles to date, was initiated thanks to the courage of a witness who reported the abuse, which included the prostitution of women and children against their will," said Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director In Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. "The FBI and our partners on the Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Human Trafficking are hopeful that this case will bring awareness to the growing crisis involving the trafficking of people, so that more citizens provide information that leads to the rescue of victims and the prosecution of traffickers."

        Robert Schoch, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of Investigation in Los Angeles, stated: "This verdict is particularly gratifying given the appalling abuse and fear the unwitting victims in this case were forced to endure. While we can't erase the pain and suffering these young women experienced, by aggressively investigating and prosecuting these cases, ICE and the other members of the Los Angeles Human Trafficking Task Force are sending a powerful warning about the consequences facing those responsible for such schemes."

        The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General.

        The Human Trafficking Task Force in Los Angeles has established a toll-free hotline - (800) 655-4095 - which victims and individuals with information about victims are encouraged to call. Information may be provided anonymously and will be kept confidential.

Our partner CBS is reporting a fetus has been discovered in Baldwin Park, possibly at a recycling plant.

The fetus was found in the 14600 block of Arrow Highway near Bleecker Street just after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Deputy Byron Ward of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

The circumstances surrounding the discovery of the fetus were not immediately released.

The fetus was pronounced dead on the scene.

Baldwin Park police and sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating the matter, Ward said.

EL MONTE - A third-grader brought a gun to school and shot it into the ground before it was confiscated Tuesday afternoon, school officials said.

The child has been arrested, school officials said.

The student was on a field at Baker Elementary School during physical education class when he pulled the gun from his backpack, said Mountain View School District spokesperson Michele Earle. The student then pointed the .22 caliber gun toward the ground and fired, she said.

"The P.E. coach saw it, confiscated it, and the police were called," Earle said.

School ended five minutes after the incident and students were released per regular procedure, officials said.

Police responded to the call and are investigating. 

Awful crash video here. WARNING: Graphic content.
Lusk's Web page

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Jeremy Lusk, an American freestyle motocross racer, died of head injuries two days after crashing while trying to land a backflip in competition. He was 24.

From the Associated Press

The Los Angeles County Coroner is asking for the public's help identifying a body found in Sylmar last year.

The man's corpse was discovered on Oct. 13 on a hillside at Foothill Boulevard and Paxton Street near the overpass of the east-bound SR-118 freeway and the south-bound I-210 interchange, after a fire had been extinguished.  The fire was an extension of the Marek wildfire.  

He was white or Hispanic and 45 to 60 years old.  He stood about 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighed approximately 100 pounds.

He may have lived in a makeshift shelter in the area. A dog was found with him. The dog had a blue collar with "WOOF" in clear stones.  

Anyone with information can contact Investigator Daniel Machian at (323) 343-0754 or the Coroner Investigations Division at (323) 343-0714.

Dirty, rotten thieves have been crawling underneath cars in broad daylight on the parking lots of Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut and stealing expensive parts from the exhaust systems.

Toyota trucks have been the primary target.

School officials say it takes the thieves only 2 or 3 minutes to unbolt the catalytic converters and run. The parts are desired by thieves because of the valuable metal they contain.

Anyone who sees anything funny is asked to call the college's Public Safety office at (909) 594-5611, ext. 4555.

 

Television station KTLA found this file video of the mother of the Whittier octuplets receiving treatment at a Los Angeles fertility clinic in 2006. It appears the clinic may be now be under investigation by the Medical Board of California to see if there was a "violation of the standard of care" for implanting so many embryos in the mother.

With the addition of the octuplets, Suleman, a single mother, now has 14 children. All of them -- according to interviews given by the woman -- were conceived via in vitro fertilization.

The California Fire Page is reporting a "mass casualty" incident in San Gabriel this morning in the 700 block of East Valley.

As many as six people were shot according to a Twitter alert sent out by the organization. The site of the incident is near the intersection of Valley Boulevard and San Gabriel Boulevard, according to the early report.

Sheriff's homicide detectives have been dispatched to the scene, according to Sheriffs Sgt. Barry Hall.

Here's the updated story as we know it:

 

SAN GABRIEL - At least one person is dead after a shooting at a coffee house in the 700 block of East Valley Boulevard late Thursday, authorities said.

The shooting, which occurred about 11:20 p.m., injured as many as six people, authorities said. Two masked men reportedly opened fire in the crowded restaurant, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide officials have been dispatched, Sheriff's Sgt. Barry Hall said.

"We're rolling," Hall said.

San Gabriel Fire Batallion Chief Bryan Frieders said there were multiple gunshot victims at the location. Of those three were listed in critical condition and two were listed in stable condition, he said.

The shooting took place inside a coffee house, Freiders said.

"It's a little cafe right there at the corner," he said.

In all engine companies from ALhambra, Monterey Park and San Marino responded to the shooting, Freiders said.

"We had four engine companies, four paramedic ambulances and two basic life support units on the scene,' he said. It sepaks to the effectiveness of mutual response."

No victim or suspect descriptions were available. The shooters fled the scene in an unknown direction.

No further details are available.

 

The California Supreme Court Thursday upheld the death sentence of a Valinda man who was high on PCP when he murdered a West Covina police officer in 1983.

In 1984 a jury convicted Michael Anthony Jackson of Valinda and sentenced him to death for killing West Covina police officer Kenneth Wrede. A memorial to Wrede stands

"I'll give you my upfront opinion," West Covina police Chief Frank Wills said. "It was a good decision, but franklu it's way too late. I'm disgusted by the whole criminal justice system. This was a police officer who died face down in the gutter in a pool of his own blood."

Here's a link to the opinion.

And a link to a Web site where Jackson is seeking some female companionship:

Here's a quote from his advertisement:

My name is Michael Jackson, I'm interested in females only.  All human shade of color...Age from 25-50.  A real female that was born one, not act like one.  Someone who is not shy in front of the camera.  I enjoy meditation, poetry, playing all sports and reading about history.  All this give me power, intelligence, awareness, creativity.   Mental stimulation is all I have to offer and if you have an open mind then that will be provide to you.  Straightforward and honesty is a must.  Let refresh in ourselves the faith that all are equal and deserve the love and sympathy of others, irrespective of their position.  Don't you think its time for you to pick up your pen and let start the process of being each others friend.  

 

Octomom update: She's out of the hospital and news crews are fleeing toward her home in Whittier. State wants to know how she got so pregnant..

Landlord wants rent from massacre victim. Local media picked this one up...interesting take on Fox 11 this a.m. -- reporter led with "This story, if accurate, ..."

Another teen attacked in Baldwin Park..

Jerry Brown speaks at the Quiet Canon. He thinks federal bailout money should be applied to criminal justice programs in California.

Suspect hits deputy with vehicle in Rosemead after dispute over iPOD.

Woman has her purse taken as she stands in front of home.

Esotouric has its Blood and Dumplings tour of SGV crime scenes, so I guess it should come as no surprise that Sheriff Lee Baca wants to work dumplings into his discussion of SGV crime stats Friday. This from an invitation sent to reporter Rebecca Kimitch:

On Friday, February 6, 2008, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Sheriff Lee Baca will be meeting with various media sources to talk about crime stats
in the San Gabriel Valley and would like to invite you to this important event.  Local Sheriff's Stations Captain, Cities Mayors, Managers and
Los Angeles Chinese American Sheriff's Advisory Council will be at the event as well.  A press advisory will follow.

The press conference will be held at: 888 Seafood Restaurant, 8450 Valley Blvd., Rosemead, CA 91770. 

It wasn't on the runway at Paris, Milan or New York, but the earpieces worn by a pair of suspected Covina burglars seem to be the must have fasion accessory of the season.

Here's what we know:

COVINA - A man and a woman were arrested for suspicion of burglary Wednesday morning after  they were caught with burglary tools and looking into cars with flashlights, police said.

The couple appeared to be communicating with each other using a two-way magnifying ear piece, which allowed them to hear each other just by whispering, officials said.

Steven Phillips, 24, of Covina, and Leicia Wright, 29, of West Covina, were arrested in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 1100 block of Conwell in Covina at 3:30 a.m. Police initially received a call of suspicious persons, and continued to do some surveillance of the area.

Police then saw somebody using a flashlight to look into cars in the parking lot and upon contacting Phillips, found burglary tools in his possession, said Lt. John Curley.

"We had, in the past couple months, some vehicles broken into over there," Curley said.

"It might be something purchased at a radio communication store," Curley said. "I don't think it was anything hi-tech."

The pair are being held on investigation of burglary, Curley said.

 

That's what execs at Wells Fargo want to do.

Here's a take from USA Today's On Deadline Blog:

Last fall, Wells Fargo bank received $25 billion from the federal bailout fund.

Last week, the bank reported losing $2.83 billion in the final three months of 2008.

Yesterday the bank reported it would pay a $371.5 million dividend to U.S. Treasury for the 25,000 preferred shares of stock purchased with the $25 billion.

Today it's reported that WF is planning corporate junkets to Las Vegas casinos this month.

From the Associated Press:

Wells Fargo, once among the top U.S. writers of subprime mortgages, has booked 12 nights at the Wynn Las Vegas and its sister hotel, the Encore Las Vegas beginning Friday, said Wynn spokeswoman Michelle Loosbrock. The hotels will host the annual conference for company's top mortgage officers.

The conference is a Wells Fargo tradition. Previous years have included all-expense-paid helicopter rides, wine tasting, horseback riding in Puerto Rico and a private Jimmy Buffett concert in the Bahamas for more than 1,000 employees and guests.

Now the whole thing is being reconsidered, according to Bloomberg:

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Wells Fargo & Co. said it has reconsidered holding an event in Las Vegas after reports earlier that the company had planned functions for its mortgage and insurance units.

Spokesman Kevin Waetke said in an e-mail the company has reconsidered holding the event. A follow up statement is "forthcoming," he wrote.

 

Police attempting to stop a robbery get involved in a shootout that left one man dead. The suspected robbers have San Gabriel Valley ties according to this story, which ran in Tuesday's Daily Bulletin:

CHINO - An innocent bystander on Sunday was killed during a shootout involving police and two men who had attempted to rob a restaurant.

A Chino police officer and two suspects in the robbery were also hospitalized following the incident.

Police said Daniel Baledran, 21, of Rubidoux was shot to death by a police officer during the shootout near the Papa John's restaurant on 12615 Central Avenue.

Baledran was in the immediate area of the restaurant when the shots were fired and was considered an "innocent victim," said Michelle Van Der Linden, Chino public information officer.

Police officers initially thought Baledran was part of the robbery, but investigators later determined he was not.

<snip>

On Monday evening, the suspects - Edward Cisneros of La Mirada and Joel Anthony Jaquez of Hacienda Heights, both about 28 years old - were in critical condition and awaiting surgery, Van Der Linden said.  

Reporter Dan Tedford put together an interesting look at some local Little Leagues that have been experiencing funding crisis. Its unclear how much of this mess is related to the global financial crisis. Here's the top of Dan's story:

Money is missing from some local youth baseball leagues, and officials are trying to find out why.

Sometimes, as in the case of West Covina American Little League, its a matter of overspending. League officials reported a $15,000 debt last season, but plan to start 2009 on the right foot.

Other leagues are experiencing problems they believe may be more sinister.

This month, a La Verne girls' softball league official was accused of embezzling $20,000.

And officials from other leagues also are reporting unexplained deficits.

Covina American Little League will open the 2009 season $6,000 in the red.

In West Covina, Pacific Coast Little League officials believe $6,000 to $10,000 is missing from their books

I've come up with a solution to the state budget crisis.

It's simple really and it's a practice that's been in place for centuries.

Make the state Legislature do what the Jesuits do, take three vows in addition to the oath of office.

Here they are:

A vow of chastity.

A vow of poverty.

A vow of obedience.

Three simple rules. Of course that would take courage, and, quite honestly, that's been gone from Sacramento for some time.

As of Sunday, our state ran out of money, out of credit and out of options. Our income tax refunds will be nothing more than dishonorable IOUs. Some state workers will be forced to go without pay for two days a month as a way of helping California save dinero.

Meanwhile our legislators will fly back and forth to Sacramento on your dime and drive around in taxpayer-funded automobiles. Some will cheat on their wives and husbands, while others will strap on the feed bag and feast on the finest foods lobbyists and fundraisers can put together.

Their bloated and ineffectual staffs will continue to draw a paycheck, while their constituents and the businesses they "represent" continue to lose jobs and hemorrhage dollars.

That's where the vows come in to play.

We need a legislature that is obedient to the people of this state. We need a legislature that is chaste when it comes to dealing with the lobbyists and special interests that run Sacramento.

We need a legislature that understands poverty and how tax-and-fee-and-spend scams only hurt the poor and those of us still fortunate enough to have a job.

Unfortunately we have none of that. Instead we have a crisis. Our state is paralyzed by a Sacramento lifestyle that has imposed too many regulations, too many taxes, and too many false promises.

Fortunately there seems to be more and more anger with Sacramento among the voters. At the newspaper we're seeing it in e-mails from readers who've recently lost their jobs.

One of those readers, Mike Serrano, who lives in state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino's district, wrote about losing his job, getting no help from the state's Employment Development Department and nothing but attitude from the staff working for his elected representatives.

"I wanted some information about training benefits. After trying to reach someone for nearly two weeks, I contacted the offices of my two elected state officials, Anthony Portantino and (state Sen.) Carol Liu," Serrano wrote.

"To say their response was disappointing would be an understatement ... these people simply don't understand, they work for us and their job performance is lousy."

Portantino's spokesman Eduardo Martinez was unfamiliar with Serrano's case, but said staff in the office is trained to deal with constituent problems.

I didn't get a response from Liu's office, and checking the senator's Web site it becomes pretty clear her staff is not too interested in hearing from any of us.

I say don't re-elect any of them until they vow to start approaching their vocation like Jesuits.

This from ABC News:

Despite a near collapse that required $45 billion in federal taxpayer bailout funds, Bank of America sponsored a five day carnival-like affair just outside the Super Bowl stadium this past week as President Obama decried wasteful spending on Wall St.

 

This from the Boston Herald, via the Associated Press:

BOSTON -- A lawyer for the man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller says the German native could face deportation.

Jeffrey Denner, the attorney for the man authorities say is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, told the Boston Globe Friday that federal immigration officials have filed legal papers seeking to turn him over for possible deportation if he is convicted of kidnapping. Removal would take place after any possible sentence.

Prosecutors are considering a prison term of four-and-a-half to five years if Gerhartsreiter agrees to plead guilty to kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter.

*Rockefeller is due back in court tomorrow, accordign to Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. Here's a copy of his press release:

The defendant formerly known as CLARK ROCKEFELLER will return to Suffolk Superior Court tomorrow in connection with his pending parental kidnapping case. CHRISTIAN KARL GERHARTSTREITER (D.O.B. 2/21/61) is charged with that offense as well as counts of providing a false name to police, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  The proceedings are expected tomorrow at 3:00 on the ninth floor of the courthouse.

 

 

Here's some stories we've been following over the weekend:

ARCADIA -- An unknown attacker shot and wounded a man Saturday, authorities said.
Police responded to a call reporting a gunshot victim about 2 a.m. in front of the Coccoon Gentleman's Club, 1580 Clark Street, when they found the victim lying in the street suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, Arcadia police Lt. Roy Nakamura said.

WHITTIER -- Two men stabbed another man to death Saturday in what authorities believe may have been a gang-related attack.
Joseph Magdaleno, 21, of Whittier died shortly after the attack, said Cheryl MacWillie, a lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
The incident occurred about 5:45 p.m. as Magdaleno was walking in the 12700 block of Wardman Avenue with his 16-year-old girlfriend, Whittier police Officer Jason Zuhlke said in a written statement.

LA HABRA -- A Fullerton woman was killed early Sunday in a crash officials blamed on an impaired driver.
April Junhee Whang, 26, died at the scene of the crash, which occurred about 1:30 a.m. on Imperial Highway at Beach Boulevard, La Habra police said in a written statement.
Brittany Deanne Schuetz, 20, of Irvine was hospitalized for treatment of injuries and was being held on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, officials said.

INDUSTRY -- A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed Sunday at a gas station in an unincorporated county area near Industry, officials said.
Jason Ledesma died at the scene of the shooting, which occurred about 3 p.m. on Valley Boulevard near Alderton Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
Ledesma was shot several times in the chest and back and was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. James Lile said.

INDUSTRY -- A passenger was killed and another man was arrested Sunday when a car went off the side of the roadway, officials said.
The victim, initially described only as a Asian man in his early 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene, California Highway Patrol Officer Jose Nuñez said.
Another man, whose name was not immediately available, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, Nunez said.
The incident occurred about 6 p.m. on Shepherd Street, just south of Rose Hills Road, he said.

EL MONTE -- Deputies arrested a man Sunday after he allegedly carried out a home invasion robbery of an elderly couple, carjacked a truck, robbed a person in El Monte and then led officials on a chase, authorities said.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately available, was shot with a Taser gun and arrested at the end of the chase, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Abel Moreno said.