Man suspected of drawing gang tattoo on 7-year-old boy

From the Associated Press:

FRESNO — A Fresno man charged with tattooing a gang insignia on a 7-year-boy while the father held him has pleaded not guilty.
Travis Gorman entered his plea Friday in Fresno County Superior Court. He faces felony charges of aggravated mayhem and street terrorism.
Fresno police say the 20-year-old tattooed the boy’s belly with a dog paw. It is the insignia of the Bulldogs, who are Fresno’s largest criminal street gang.
A warrant has been issued for the father, identified as 26-year-old Enrique Gonzalez.
Investigators learned of the crime Tuesday when the boy’s mother brought the child to the offices of a multi-agency gang task force.

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1 killed, 3 injured in solo-car crash in Walnut

UPDATED:

WALNUT — A 21-year-old West Covina woman was killed and three other people were rushed to the hospital following a solo-car crash early Saturday, officials said.
Jennifer Marie Garcia was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Lydia Granado-Mata said.
The crash occurred about 4:30 a.m. on Amar Road near Braes River Drive, according to sheriff’s and fire officials.
The three injured people were described only as men in their early 20s, Estrada said.
They were flown by helicopter to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with serious injuries, he said.
At least one of the survivors was listed in critical condition when hospitalized, Los Angeles County Fire Department Supervising Dispatcher Clyde Taylor said.
Estrada described the four occupants of the car as friends.
A 2-door sedan was westbound on Amar Road when it struck a tree in the center median, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ernie Vanderpoorten said.
Garcia was a passenger in the car, he added.
The cause remained under investigation.

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Detectives prevent alleged rape, arrest suspect

SAN GABRIEL — Sheriff’s detectives staking out a robbery suspect Thursday stopped an alleged rape in progress and captured the suspect, authorities said.
Kenneth Parker, 18, of San Gabriel was booked on suspicion of kidnapping to commit rape, attempted rape, burglary and assault with a deadly weapon, police and sheriff’s officials said.
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau were conducting surveillance looking for a serial robbery suspect when they saw the crime and jumped into action, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
“They did a great piece of police work,” San Gabriel police Lt. John Tuosto said of the deputies. “My personal opinion is, not only did they save her from being raped, it could have been a lot worse.”
The incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of Palm Avenue when the sheriff’s detectives saw Parker grab and attempt to rape a woman, the sheriff’s statement said.
The woman escaped before the detectives could intervene, but Parker grabbed a second woman moments later and dragged her into a business in the 100 block of East Valley Boulevard, sheriff’s officials said.
Detectives followed Parker as he took the woman into a rear bathroom of the business and locked the door, San Gabriel police Sgt. Brian Kott said.
They then entered the room, rescued the woman and detained the suspect who was booked at the San Gabriel Police Department, according to the sheriff’s statement.
In addition to punching and hitting the woman during the rape attempt, Kott said Parker may have grabbed an object inside the business and struck her with that.
According to court records, Parker is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and is due for arraignment at Alhambra Superior Court Monday.

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Prolific “Ski Mask Bandit” suspect arrested

SAN GABRIEL — Sheriff’s deputies arrested a local man Thursday suspected in 30 armed robberies in San Gabriel and Rosemead in the past 60 days, authorities said.
Mark Henry Cons, 47, of San Gabriel was booked on suspicion of robbery, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
Known as the “Ski Mask Bandit,” Cons carried out his alleged robberies primarily at area businesses, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Allan Smith said.
The arrest came at the end of a surveillance operation that was being conducted by detectives from the sheriff’s Temple Station, sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau and the San Gabriel police department, the statement said.
Cons was taken into custody without incident at his San Gabriel home at 1702 S. Palm Avenue, officials added.
A search warrant was also carried out at the home, officials said.
No further information about the investigation or the robberies was available late Friday.
According to court records, Cons is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and is due for arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court Monday.

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Hearing delayed for Twins accused in mother’s death

27084-Justine Rosales-thumb-300x374.jpgThe arraignment for twins charged with the abuse death of their invalid mother was continued until May 20, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office officials said Today.

Justine Rosales and Jasmine Nicole were arrested by Covina police Wednesday for the death of the pair’s mother Feb. 27, 2007. They were intitially scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

At the time of her death, Naomi Mendez, 43, weighed 78 pounds, suffered from diabetes and other medical problems, police said.
The District Attorney’s office filed charges of one count elder abuse or dependent adult abuse resulting in death.

If convicted, the women could face up to 11 years in prison.

Here’s the original story.

 

27086-Jasmine Rosales-thumb-300x374.jpgPictured: Top – Justine Rosales, Bottom – Jasmine Rosales

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This is scary — swine flu sweeps across Mexico and into US*

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There’s a meeting between the CDC and public safety officials in Los Angeles taking place right now. Essentially an outbreak of deadly swine flu has claimed as many as 61 lives in Mexico and may be sweeping into Texas and California, officials said.

Homeland security site.

The CDC’s investigation.

Case studies.

Swine Flu FAQ

*Twitter updates from Breaking News Online

*World Health Organization release on Swine Flu outbreak

*CDC Flu map

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52-year-old woman arrested in connection with lewd acts with students

Police have arrested an booked a 52-year-old woman on suspicion of commiting lewd acts with a 14-year-old student at Monterey Highlands Elementary School in Monterey Park.

Apparently the woman wasn’t a teacher, but a staff member at the school. The act apparently occurred off campus.

Mildred Luna is a staff member at the school, police said. The allegations, stemming from an incident that reportedly occurred after school Feb. 6 at a location away from the school, was not reported until mid-April, police said.
Luna was arrested April 14, officials said.

I’ll try to post more details later in the day if they come in.

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Celebrity justice — a different set of standards for Sharon Stone

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Bill Hetherman, a former SGV Tribune court reporter, stumbled across a civil case involving actress Sharon Stone. There was just one problem, court records make it appear as if the case doesn’t exist.

Clearly this is anothe rexample of how celebrity in Los Angeles trumps the rights of the public and legal protocol. Alan Parachini, the court spokesman, and former ACLU flack, doesn’t outright defend the secrecy, but he refused to say if other such cases were buried in court files somewhere.

Here’s the story from this morning’s Los Angeles Times.

And a snippet:

The case probably would have gone unnoticed into the archives had a reporter for City News Service not had a slow February day in the civil court. Bill Hetherman said that because his schedule was free, he decided to attend a relatively small-potatoes hearing — the matter of attorneys’ fees in a sex discrimination case against Costco — in Duffy-Lewis’ court. While he was waiting, the judge called another case.

“All of a sudden I heard the name Sharon Stone and paid closer attention,” he said.

Hetherman said that after a whispered conversation with Jacobson’s attorney at the bench, the judge set a date a month later for the hearing.

Hetherman said he tried to find information about the case in the court database and later from the attorneys and court officials, but repeatedly was told it was sealed. The reporter said the next hearing included a hushed discussion between the judge and a lawyer for the actress and then a statement on the record that suggested the case was over.

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Joe’s Crab Shack’s liquor license suspended following fatal crash

INDUSTRY — The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control suspended the liquor license Thursday of a local restaurant where a 19-year-old boy was allegedly served alcohol before being involved in a fatal car crash last year, authorities said.
A notice indicating the suspension has been posted at Joe’s Crab Shack, 1420 S. Azusa Avenue, ABC spokesman John Carr said in a written statement.
The restaurant allegedly served then-20-year-old Elias Munoz of La Mirada on March 2, 2008, before he became involved in an alleged street-racing crash that killed his passenger, 20-year-old Ondrea Alvarez of Bellflower on Pathfinder Road in Rowland Heights.
“The suspension means the restaurant cannot sell alcohol for the next 35 days,” Carr said in the statement. “In addition, the alcohol beverage license could face a possibly revocation anytime in the next two years if a similar violation occurs.”
Munoz has been charged with drunken driving and murder in connection with March 2, 2007 crash along with co-defendant Brian Galvez, 22, of Rowland Heights, whom Munoz was allegedly racing.
Galvez is also accused of drunken driving and leaving the scene of a crash, officials said.
A waiter at the restaurant, 22-year-old Theron Miles, has been accused of serving alcohol to minors, ABC officials said.

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