Large tree falls on house in Glendora

GLENDORA — A family was displaced from their home Wednesday after an 80-foot-tall pine tree fell on the roof of their house, police said.
No one was inside the house when the large tree toppled over about 3:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of Pinehurst Avenue, Glendora police Lt. Brian Summers said.
A significant portion of the roof collapsed, the lieutenant said, and the home was red-tagged by officials. The displaced residents made arrangements to stay with family members.
The tree apparently fell because of high winds, he added.
Some roots from the tree broke an underground gas line, Summers said, and five nearby homes were evacuated for more than three hours while officials worked to repair the leak.

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City bus involved in crash in Montebello

MONTEBELLO — A Montebello Transit bus collided with a car Wednesday, officials said, injuring five people on the bus and the driver of the other car.
The crash occurred about 4 p.m. at Whittier Boulevard and Bluff Road, Montebello police Lt. Greg Sells said.
Five people on the bus apparently suffered minor injuries, while the driver of the car suffered minor-to-moderate injuries, the lieutenant said.
Officials said the circumstances and cause of the crash were being investigated late Wednesday by traffic investigators from the Montebello Police Department.

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West Covina shooting leaves young woman dead another injured

A shooting in West Covina Tuesday night left one woman dead and an unidentified person injured, according to news reports this morning The homicide is the sixth in West Covina this year and 77th in the San Gabriel Valley since January.

Here’s what KTLA is reporting this morning:

WEST COVINA — Police are searching for the gunman who killed a woman in her 20s and wounded another person inside a home in West Covina.


The shooting was reported just before 7 p.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of East Workman Avenue, near North Lark Ellen Avenue, said West Covina Police Cpl. Rudy Lopez. .


Several neighbors heard gunshots and called police.

Police arrived within one minute and found two gunshot victims, he said.

A woman in her 20s was dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County 

coroner.

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Maywood cops seek help from Baldwin Park to catch rapist

But, the Baldwin Park cops haven’t called back. 

Here’s the composites and Ben Baeder’s story:

Police said a man who tried to snatch a 13-year-old girl in Maywood on Tuesday may be the same man who kidnapped and raped a girl in Baldwin Park two weeks ago.

A Latino man with acne scars tried to kidnap a 13-year-old girl at 6:45 a.m. as she was walking to school in Maywood, police said.

The man’s description was similar to one given by a 15-year-old Baldwin Park girl who said she was kidnapped and raped Oct. 12 while she was cutting school.

“This guy kind of matches the guy up there,” said Maywood Police Detective Dale Walker.

The man in the Maywood case was reported as in his mid-30s, 5-feet-11 inches tall and about 170 pounds. The man had dark hair, brown eyes, acne scars and a mole on his right cheek, according to police.

The man in the Baldwin Park case was described as a 5-foot-8 male Latino in his 30s, weighing about 210 pounds with with acne scars, short brown hair and brown eyes.

<snip>

Attempts Tuesday to reach the Baldwin Park detectives handling the case were unsuccessful. Maywood detectives so far have been unable to reach Baldwin Park detectives to discuss the case, Walker said.

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Masked gunman robs Altadena gas station

ALTADENA — A masked gunman held two gas station employees at gunpoint during a robbery Sunday, authorities said.
The crime was reported about 7:40 p.m. at an Arco station at Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Cisneros said.
The robber threatened two cashiers at the store with a black handgun and demanded money before fleeing southbound on Fair Oaks Avenue on foot, the lieutenant said.
He was described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 165 pound, wearing a black hooded sweat shirt and black pants, Cisneros said. Because he wore a mask, the robbers race was unknown.
Officials were reviewing surveillance footage from the store late Sunday in hopes of developing leads, he said.

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Man found shot to death near Whittier

WHITTIER — A 45-year-old man was shot to death in broad daylight Sunday in an unincorporated county area near Whittier, officials said.
Authorities responded to a report of “shots fired, person down,” about 2:30 p.m. in the 11200 block of Rivera Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Gordon said in a written statement.
“They arrived to find the male victim lying in a driveway apron suffering from an apparent gunshot wound,” the statement said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Gordon said. A motive in the attack was not known.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives handling the case could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Coroner’s officials did not release the dead man’s name Sunday, however Eddie Cabrera, 50, of unincorporated Whittier said the victim was his brother, 45-year-old Kenny Cabrera, and lived in the neighborhood where he was killed.
“He had just come back from church with (our) mom,” Eddie Cabrera said.
He was waiting for friends to pick him up and give him a ride to a Los Angeles homeless shelter where he volunteered when he was shot, Eddie Cabrera said.
People in the neighborhood heard about four gunshots, he said.
Eddie Cabrera said his brother was not involved in gangs, and he didn’t know of any enemies his brother had.
“He had no problems with anybody,” he said. “He had a good heart. If anybody needed help, he was there. He was always looking after my mom.”
A crowd of friends and family members gathered at the scene of the shooting late Sunday to light candles and lay flowers in his honor.
Kenny Cabrera was a lifelong Whittier-area resident who attended Pioneer High school, his brother said. He was single and had no children.
Eddie Cabrera said his brother had always been “mechanically inclined,” and could work on anything from cars to lawn mowers.
“He liked to work on the computer,” he said, and was often fixing broken computers for friends.
“He was very loving of animals too,” the brother said, and had a Chihuahua mix.
Eddie Cabrera said his brother is survived by his mother, a twin brother, three older brothers and an older sister.

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Pico Rivera robbery suspects lead deputies to marijuana grow in Whittier

Three robbery suspects barricaded themselves inside a Whittier home Saturday, authorities said, leading deputies to a small marijuana grow and additional arrests.
The three suspected robbers were arrested, along with five other adults who were at the home, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Aura Sierra said in a written statement.
A 6-year-old boy was inside the home during the incident, Sierra said.
“The child was removed from the home unharmed and placed in protective custody with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services,” according to the written statement.
Phillip Patron, 22, of Whittier, Raymond Sanchez, 27, of Whittier and Angela Delgado, 25, of Pasadena were booked on suspicion of robbery, sheriff’s Lt. Margarito Robles said.
Five others at the home — two men and three women — were arrested on suspicion of various charges, however sheriff’s officials refused Saturday to release their names or say what those charges were.
The incident began about 12:45 a.m. when a man was robbed of his wallet at gunpoint by two men near Amistad and Harold streets in Pico Rivera, sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Van Damme said.
Patron and Sanchez are believed to have carried out the robbery, officials said, while Delgado is accused of acting as a getaway driver.
The arrests were made at a home in the 12500 block of Pasadena Street in Whittier as the result of some good information from a witness, Sierra said.
“Witnesses of the armed robbery provided deputies with a license plate number of the suspect vehicle,” Sierra said in the statement. “Pico Rivera station deputies responded to the registered owner’s address in the City of Whittier.”
Several adults obeyed the orders of deputies to come out of the house, Van Damme said, and one of them told authorities her sleeping 6-year-old child was still inside.
Deputies sent in a police dog, which found the remaining suspects and bit one of them, Van Damme said.
The suspect who was bitten was hospitalized for treatment of his injury, he added.
The remaining suspects and the child were then removed from the house, Van Damme said. The child’s mother was among those arrested at the home.
While inside the house, deputies discovered a small marijuana growing operation of about three plants, he said.
According to court records, the three robbery suspects are due for arraignment in Whittier Superior Court Tuesday.

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Norwalk city councilman suspected of threatening wife

NORWALK — Norwalk city councilman Rick Ramirez was arrested late Friday on suspicion of making criminal threats against his wife, authorities said.
Ramirez, 41, was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats and released after posting $50,000 bail, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Gannon said.
He was arrested about 11:30 p.m. at a home in the 11000 block of Pluton Street, he said.
Ramirez’s wife made the initial call to the sheriff’s department, Gannon said.
Few details were available about the incident Saturday afternoon, the lieutenant said, however the crime Ramirez was booked on suspicion of involves making a threat involving “death or great bodily injury.”
Gannon added he is due in Bellflower Superior Court for arraignment on Nov. 20.
In addition to being a teacher, Ramirez has a long background in law enforcement, according to the City’s Web site.
“Rick Ramirez has been in the law enforcement profession for over 15 years, serving with the City of Norwalk Office of Public Safety and Orange County Marshal’s Department,” according to the Web site. “He has also served as a supervisor and trainer with the Santa Ana Police Department’s Jail Bureau, and is also a peace officer with the City of Long Beach under the Park Ranger Program.”

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Alleged burglar arrested in Pasadena

PASADENA — Police arrested a burglary suspect Tuesday after a Pasadena man reported he was acting suspiciously in front of his home, police said.
Randal Ruiz, a 44-year-old transient, was booked on suspicion of burglary and a parole violation, Pasadena police Lt. Keith Jones said.
A resident of the 2300 block of Woodlyn Road noticed his doorknob was jiggling about 9:40 a.m., the lieutenant said.
The resident looked through a glass partition in his door and saw Ruiz standing there, he said. When the resident asked what he was doing, Ruiz jumped onto a bicycle on rode away.
Thinking the behavior suspicious, Jones said, the resident called police and have them a description of the man.
After finding Ruiz riding a bike in the area, he added, officials discovered he was carrying a laptop computer officials believe may have been stolen in an Altadena burglary earlier that day, as well as a backpack full of burglary tools such as bolt cutters, screwdrivers and a flashlight.
Ruiz was then arrested, officials said.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Ruiz was being held in the Pasadena Police Department jail. No information was available regarding his initial court appearance.

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Alleged counterfeit gift card operation found in Bassett home

BASSETT — Police jailed four people Friday who allegedly had an operation in their Bassett home to counterfeit Toys-R-Us store gift cards, authorities said.
Rudy Garcia, 33, Rudy Garcia, 57, Sylvia Garcia, 56, and Natalie Gonsalez, 26, were booked on suspicion of burglary and making fraudulent gift cards, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Steven Katz said in a written statement.

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The older Garcia was not charged with the counterfeiting operation, but was arrested for an outstanding drunken driving warrant.
All four live in the same house in the 1300 block of Duryea Avenue, however the relationships between them were not clear Friday.
After an “extensive” investigation, officials arrested the four Friday about 7 a.m., officials said.
“Detectives discovered a complete operation for printing and embossing fraudulent Toys-R-Us gift cards,” the statement said.
Officials found computers, printers and about $5,000 worth of Toys-R-Us merchandise allegedly bought with the fake cards, Katz said.
Authorities were tipped of by Toys-R-Us personnel, who reported many customers with valid gift cards were finding their balances had been drained, the lieutenant said.
Detective became suspicious of the suspects after a single phone number that was ultimately tracked to the their house was found to be responsible for 4,600 calls to the Toys-R-Us automatic gift card balance phone line, Katz said.
The suspects were allegedly transferring balanced from valid cards to the ones they made at home, officials said.
According to sheriff’s booking records, the younger Rudy Garcia, who was on probation, was being held without bail, the older Garcia was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail, Sylvia Garcia was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail and Natalie Gonsalez was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

PHOTO of equipment allegedly used to make the fake gift cards courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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