June 2010 Archives

SAN GABRIEL -- Police raided a warehouse marijuana-growing operation Wednesday for the second time in two days, authorities said.
About 300 pot plants in all stages of maturity were found in a warehouse in the 700 block of South San Anita Street, San Gabriel police Sgt. Brian Kott said.
"This follows a raid previously conducted Tuesday on a similar warehouse facility where over 300 marijuana plants were found," Kott said.
Tuesday's bust took place just around the corner in the 300 block of South Mission Drive, police said.
"We believe they're linked," Kott said. "The warehouse is similar to yesterday's cultivation site."
He added that evidence gathered at the warehouse bust Tuesday helped lead police to Wednesday's discovery.
Both warehouses were fitted with equipment such as growing lights, irrigation systems and devices to cover the incriminating smell of the growing marijuana, police said.
No arrests resulted from Wednesday's raid, Kott said.
Tuesday's raid resulted in three arrests, according to police officials and sheriff's booking records.
Alan De La Fuente, 36, of Los Angeles and Arvin Rodpotong, 31, of Winnetka were booked on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana during Tuesday's raid, and Cole Dixon, 31, of Studio City was booked on suspicion of the same charge early Wednesday morning in connection with the warehouse on Mission Drive, authorities said.
San Gabriel Police declined to release further details regarding the ongoing investigation.
All three men were released from jail the day of their arrests after posting $30,000 bail, according to booking records. They are due in Alhambra Superior Court Friday for arraignment.

SOUTH EL MONTE -- Two men used a gun to rob a woman of her purse Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Deputies responded to a report of a robbery about 12:10 p.m. at Klingerman Street and Portrero Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Tom McNeal said.
A woman was standing near a lunch truck when she was approached by to robbers described as Latino men in their 20s, the lieutenant said. One of the was armed with a gun.
After robbing the woman of her purse, the men were last seen driving east on Garvey Avenue in a black Honda, he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's Temple Station.

PASADENA -- Two men in a car robbed another man of his cell phone at gunpoint Tuesday, authorities said.
The crime was reported about 10 p.m. at Carlton and Manzanita avenues, Pasadena police Lt. Rodney Wallace said.
A man of about 18 came out of his home to retrieve his cell phone from his car when a 1995-1996, black, two-door Honda Civic pulled up alongside him, the lieutenant said. There were two men inside the Honda, described only as Latino men of about 18 to 20 years old.
The robbers brandished a revolver and demanded the victim's cell phone, Wallace said. The victim tossed the robbers his phone and ran back inside his home.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Pasadena Police Department.

ALHAMBRA -- Authorities arrested an Alhambra man Wednesday on suspicion of scrawling graffiti images of cats throughout the Los Angeles area.
Rick Ordonez, 33, was booked on suspicion of felony vandalism, Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Marlon Johnson said.
He is suspected of causing about $15,000 worth of damage to freeways, buildings and private property this year, the detective said.
His drawings were mainly of cartoon cats, officials said.
Through informants and tips, officials identified Ordonez as a suspect in the vandalisms and arrested him without incident Wednesday at his home in the 200 block of Elm Street in Alhambra, Johnson said. Detectives first noticed the appearance of the cats at the beginning of the year.
Ordonez, a graphic designer and former skateboard shop owner who goes by the nickname "Atlas", is believed to belong to a Los Angeles-area tagging crew, though the investigation focused solely on him as an individual, Johnson said.
The detective said Ordonez kept cats as pets and described him as a "cat-lover."
Officials said Ordonez was due in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday for arraignment.
According to sheriff's booking records, Ordonez was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

PHOTO: This image, provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, shows cats allegedly drawn by Ordonez at the 10 Freeway and Ceasar Chaves Avenue. (Photographed in mid-April)

MONTEBELLO -- Good Samaritans, police officers and paramedics helped save the life of an elderly man who collapsed and stopped breathing at church Sunday morning, police said.
Officers responded to St. Benedict Catholic Church, 1022 Cleveland Avenue, and found two good Samaritans performing CPR on a church member in his 80s, Montebello police said in a written statement.
The officers saw that the man was not breathing and had no pulse, officials said, so they used a portable defibrillator to shock his heart back to life.
Police continued CPR until paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital, where he was listed in good condition Sunday afternoon, police said.

ALHAMBRA -- A woman suspected of striking and killing a pedestrian while driving drunk on the freeway in Alhambra has been released from jail as family members of the dead man seek answers about what happened.
Jamie Mulford, 27, of Monterey Park was booked on suspicion of drunken driving following the June 17 incident on the eastbound 10 Freeway near New Avenue, CHP officer Luis Mendoza said.
Jerome Anderson, 60, of Monterey Park died at the scene of the 2:25 a.m crash from "multiple blunt force injuries," Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said. Coroner's officials ruled out suicide and determined the death to be accidental.
He is survived by a daughter and 11 grandchildren, said his sister, Sharon Anderson. He also had a son, who died about a decade ago.
"He was a kind person," she said. "He turned his life over to Christ."
Sharon Anderson added that her brother grew up in the Pasadena area and attended Pasadena high School.
"Ironically," she said, Jerome Anderson worked as an instructor with people convicted of drunken driving.
CHP officials have not determined what Anderson was doing on the freeway, Mendoza said. Since there was no disabled car found nearby, authorities suspect he may have simply tried to take a shortcut across the freeway.
Sharon Anderson said she finds that hard to believe.
"There's something suspicious about the accident, because he would never walk on the freeway in the fast lane," she said. "He would never take a shortcut across a freeway."
Though initially held in lieu of $1 million bail on suspicion of vehicular homicide, Mulford was released from jail on her own recognizance Tuesday after investigators determined she was not a flight risk, Mendoza said.
She could not be reached for comment.
Mendoza said Mulford will likely be re-arrested and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide upon the completion of the investigation, which could take up to a month.
The investigation will be in-depth, Mendoza said, and will include profiles of what both Mulford and Anderson were doing in the 48 hours prior to the incident.
Authorities are investigating Mulford on suspicion of vehicular homicide because she has previous convictions for drunken driving, authorities said.
According to Los Angeles County Superior Court records, she was convicted of drunken driving twice in 2005.

MONTEBELLO -- Authorities continued their investigation Sunday into the death of a man who was found stabbed to death near Beverly Hospital.
David Cota, 23, of Montebello was pronounced dead about 1 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of a medical building across the street from Beverly Hospital in the 400 block of N. Fourth Street, just south of Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said.
Montebello police said his cause of death was not initially clear, however a coroner's medical examiner determined Cota died of a stab wound to the chest and ruled the death a homicide, she said.
"We are looking into reports that the victim was involved in an altercation the night before," Montebello police Lt. Brad Keller said.
The fight may have taken place about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the area of 5th Street and Harding Avenue, Keller said, about a block away from where the body was found more than 12 hours later.
The homicide was listed as possibly gang-related, police said, and Cota was believed to have gang ties.
Keller urged anyone who may have witnessed a fight in the area to call Montebello police at 323-887-1313.

MONTEBELLO -- Three men were wounded in a drive-by shooting early Sunday as they changed a flat tire along Beverly Boulevard, authorities said.
The attack took place shortly before 1:30 a.m. in the 3300 block of West Beverly Boulevard, Montebello police Lt. Brad Keller said.
Three Montebello men, ages 20, 26, and 45, were changing a flat tire when a silver, 4-door vehicle passed by and someone inside opened fire, the lieutenant said.
Two of the victims were hospitalized with gunshot wounds to the back and buttocks, Keller said, and the third was treated at the scene for a grazing wound to the back. None of the wounds were believed to be life threatening.
The victims are not believed to have gang ties, Keller said.
Police said there were at least two men inside the passing vehicle.
They were both Latino men who were "described as gang members," Keller said. One appeared to be in his 20s, and another appeared to be in his 20s or 30s.
No further details were available.

MONTEBELLO -- Authorities are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a parking lot Saturday as a possible homicide, police said.
The dead man's name was not released Saturday pending positive identification and notification of family members, coroner's officials said.
Police responded to call regarding a "hysterical woman" shortly before 1 p.m. in the 400 block of N. 4th Street, Montebello police Lt. Andy Vuncanon said.
Officers found the body of a Latino man who appeared to be in his mid- to late-20s in a parking lot, though the cause of death was not immediately clear, the lieutenant said.
"It's currently being investigated as a homicide," Vuncanon said, but added that other possibilities had not been ruled out.
The death was initially reported to coroner's officials as a stabbing, however authorities had not yet had a chance to examine the body, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Jim Blacklock said.

ROSEMEAD -- An 18-year-old driver died and her 17-year-old passenger was seriously injured in a solo-car crash on the 10 Freeway in Rosemead early Saturday, authorities said.
Jessica Lopez Rojas died in the crash, which took place about 5 a.m. on the eastbound 10 Freeway, just west of Del Mar Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol  and coroner's officials.
Her passenger, a 17-year-old Azusa boy, suffered "deep lacerations" to his left forearm, CHP officials said in a written statement.
Lopez Rojas was driving a 1999 Honda Civic at unknown speed when the car drifted toward the right side of the road, officials said. The car then struck a steel barrier.
Lopez Rojas was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said, while the passenger was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with major injuries.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation.
Any witnesses are asked to call the East Los Angeles office of the CHP at (323) 980-4600.

PASADENA -- Coroner's officials released the name Saturday of an Altadena man who died after being struck by a Gold Line train.
Michael Flowers, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision on the Gold Line tracks at Del Mar Avenue, between Raymond Avenue and Arroyo Parkway, about 5:40 a.m. Friday, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Investigator Jim Blacklock said.
Officials had not yet determined if the incident was intentional or an accident, he added.
The southbound train had just left the Del Mar Station when Flowers, who was walking on the sidewalk, stepped in front of the train, Gold Line officials said.
No one on the train was hurt, officials added.
According to Gold Line officials, all of the safety devices at the crossing were operating correctly.

ALHAMBRA -- Three robbers escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash following a takeover-style robbery Friday at an Alhambra bank, police said.
The crime occurred about 10:10 a.m. at the East West Bank, 1211 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra police Lt. Jennifer Wiese said.
The robbers were described as three black men in their late 20s or early 30s, police said. They were between 5 feet 10 inches tall and 6 feet tall and wore ski masks.
At least two of the robbers were armed, Sgt. Joe Flannagan said. One had a shotgun and another had a handgun.
"The suspects entered the bank, approached the teller and demanded currency," Wiese said.
The robbers were "very rude" and pushed customers and pushed people around inside the bank, he added.
In addition to at least one teller, the robbers also helped themselves to an unknown amount of cash in the bank's vault, Flannagan said.
No getaway car was seen, police said, and no one at the bank was injured in the robbery.
Police were looking into the possibility that Friday's robbery was the work of a group of violent serial bank robbers dubbed "The 20 Questions Bandits" by the FBI, Flannagan said, but it was too early in the investigation to know for certain.
The team of bandits is believed to be responsible for at least 10 bank robberies throughout Southern California. The FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for his arrest.

PASADENA -- A man was struck and killed by a Gold Line train early Friday in Pasadena, authorities said.
The dead man was initially described by sheriff's and Metropolitan Transit Authorities as a black man who appeared to be between 30 and 35 years old.
The incident was took place just before 5:40 a.m. on the Gold Line tracks at Del Mar Boulevard, between Arroyo Parkway and Raymond Avenue, Sgt. Dan Gardner of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Transit Service Bureau said. A local employee identified him as a transient, he added.
While it was not clear why the man was in the path of the train, he said, however investigators did not suspect foul play.
"We don't know if he was intoxicated, under the influence, suicidal, or if it was an accident," Gardner said.
All of the safety devices at the crossing, which included guard arms for both the street and sidewalk, were working properly, MTA spokesman Jose Ubaldo said.
Ubaldo added that the southbound train had just left the Del Mar Station en route for Union Station in Los Angeles. The exact speed was not available, but he estimated it to be under 20 mph.
"A pedestrian who was walking on the north sidewalk of Del Mar stepped in front of the train on the southbound track," he said.
He was found lying on Del Mar Avenue, just west of the train tracks, where paramedics pronounced him dead, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
None of the 40 or so passenger on the train were injured, Ubaldo said. They were taken by bus to the next train station and placed on another train to their destination.
A second track that runs parallel to the first was able to continue servicing trains during the investigation, though the track where the man was struck remained closed until just after 9 a.m., Gardner said.
No passengers reported seeing the incident, he added.
Ubaldo said the MTA has ample measures in place to help prevent fatalities on the Gold Line tracks, and Friday's death was only the second to occur on the Gold Line route since it opened in 2003.
The other fatality was a suicide which took place in December of 2007 in Los Angeles, he said.
"We've been doing very good in implementing all of our security devices, measures, engineering, education and enforcement," Ubaldo said.

From NBC 4 Los Angeles:

Two people were shot and killed in two separate medical marijuana clinic robberies Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police Robbery-Homicide detectives early Friday were at  Hollywood Holistic in the 1600 block of North El Centro Avenue, where someone  was killed shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday.

At Higher Path Holistic in the 1300 block of Sunset Boulevard, near  Dodger Stadium, another person was fatally shot about 4:10 p.m. Thursday. A  second person was critically wounded.

The names of the victims were being withheld. No arrests were  made in either killing. Los Angeles police Robbery-Homicide Division  detectives were handling the investigations.

On North El Centro, "the sole employee in the store was found dead by  the owner of the store," Sgt. Don Lawrence of the Hollywood Station said.

East LA Insider has more about the Echo Park homicide here.

If the tales of drinking and sleeping on duty, sex in county cars (while on duty), visiting a whorehouse (and pretending the purpose of your visit is entirely legitimate) weren't enough to indicate there are some problem deputies in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, here's more grist for the mill from the County's Office of Independent Review's report issued earlier this week.

This past year, a sergeant was relieved of duty surrounding a criminal indictment arising out of on duty sexual misconduct allegations. There are three female victims listed in the criminal case. The victims allege the sergeant held them against their will and/or threatened them with a citation if they refused to do as the sergeant requested. One woman also alleges that the sergeant followed her to another location and digitally penetrated her against her will.

This same sergeant, while a deputy, had three administrative cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct. Two of the three cases involved allegations that the deputy was seen "flashing" a woman and young girl and then masturbated while he was home in his garage. The incidents occurred months apart from each other and it does not appear the woman and young girl knew each other.

In the case involving the young girl, her parents, once learning that the man was a deputy, did not wish to seek criminal action. The Department did, however, conduct an internal investigation but concluded the case was a "he-said-she-said" and thus, closed the case as "unresolved." The woman's case was pursued criminally but no charges were filed. Again, the Department investigated the matter internally, including undercover surveillance of the deputy, but after unsuccessful attempts to gather new information, the case was inactivated.

Michael Gennaco, who authored the report, offered this analysis:

While all sexual misconduct is problematic, when the acts involve law enforcement officers on duty, it is an egregious misuse of the awesome power and authority given to them. Further, it potentially stigmatizes all the other officers who zealously and honorably do their job.

WHITTIER -- A man was carjacked Thursday afternoon as he gassed up his truck at a Whittier gas station, police said.
The crime took place about 3 p.m. at an Arco station at the corner of Lambert Road and Calmada Avenue, Whittier police Lt. Carlos Solorza said.
A man approached the victim and asked for a ride to Los Angeles, the lieutenant said.
After the victim refused, the carjacker snatched the man's keys, which were hanging from his belt loop, Solorza said.
The crook got into the victim's red 2008 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, he said, despite the victim's efforts to pull him from the vehicle.
Police described the carjacker as a heavy set Latino man, about 6 feet tall, with black hair and brown eyes.

COVINA -- A armed robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash Thursday after holding up a Walgreens store, police said.
The robbery was reported just after 2 p.m. at the store at Azusa Avenue and San Bernardino Road, Covina police Sgt. Jim McDonough said.
Police described the robber as a black man in his 30s wearing a black shirt and blue jeans and armed with a handgun.
He entered the store, pointed a handgun at a male clerk and helped himself to cash from the register, the sergeant said. The robber was last seen fleeing west on San Bernardino Road on foot.
Police recovered good quality surveillance footage believed to show the robber, McDonough said.
Police declined to release the video publicly Thursday pending review by detectives.

Guess what? Besides boozing, brutality, boorishness and belligerence, there's a fair amount of bimbo chasing going on in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department too.

This little snippet comes from the Office of Independent Review's Report on misconduct in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department...

Case

Based on an anonymous tip, a local law enforcement agency sent its Vice Team to an apartment complex alleged to be the location of an illegal massage parlor and prostitution ring. While conducting surveillance, the undercover officers saw a man knock on the apartment door and enter the residence. Unbeknownst to the Team, the man was a prominent high level professional Department employee.

When the Team entered the apartment, they found two women dressed in provocative lingerie. The employee was found in a bedroom with one of the women and he was partially undressed -- he had removed his shoes and outer shirt, but was still wearing pants, a t-shirt and socks.

The employee was immediately ordered to raise his hands, was patted down then handcuffed and moved to another room while a search of the apartment was conducted.

In the course of the search, the officers found several thousand dollars in cash inside the apartment and a large stash of condoms. The officers interviewed the women and both admitted to exchanging sexual acts for money.

The employee told the Vice Team that he had been referred to the location by "a friend" from the Department and was only there to receive a massage. During the LASD internal investigation, the employee claimed to not remember which friend had told him of the "massage parlor."

Although he disavowed any knowledge of the illegal prostitution business, he admitted that he may have learned of the apartment address from a website--which was sexually provocative. Because the employee was not observed violating any law, the Vice Team ultimately released him. The local agency then immediately reported the incident to LASD.

When bank security expert Mike Alerich likes a video, he wants to share it with the world. His comments:

Most outstanding bank robbery video footage I've ever seen, three police videos and interviews with bankers ... A must see!

ARCADIA - Police raided a motel in Arcadia on Wednesday and arrested seven people suspected in a string of burglaries in Glendora last week, officials said.
The suspects, whose names were not immediately available, were arrested in the 200 block of Colorado Place and booked on suspicion of residential burglary, Glendora police Lt. Jamie Caldwell said.
The break-ins occurred in the daytime, within a two-hour time span, on June 17 at five residences in southeastern Glendora. Thieves took flat screen televisions and computers.
Witnesses gave authorities a description of a rented U-Haul truck involved in the burglaries, and detectives were able to link the truck to the suspects, Caldwell said.

GLENDORA -- Ten dishonest shoppers who tried to take advantage of a glitch involving gift cards cards Wednesday were arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary, police said.
The eight women and two men from throughout Southern California were arrested at the Glendora Walmart store, Glendora police Detective Shelly Schaiterer said. There names were not immediately available, official said.
A glitch caused $25 gift cards sold in Southern California to allow charges far beyond their value, the detective said.
"(The suspects) were buying high-dollar items, as well as miscellaneous things," she said.
Schaiterer declined to name the gift card company involved until she could be certain the glitch had been fixed.
Though the gift cards are accepted at many retailers, all of Glendora's known incidents occurred at Walmart, she said.
Wednesday's arrests took place throughout the day, officials said.
Those arrested Wednesday were booked on suspicion of commercial burglary, Schaiterer said, and in at least eight of the cases, grand theft.
It was not clear Wednesday how widespread the gift card glitch was.

ARCADIA -- A woman escaped Wednesday after fleeing sheriff's deputies during a traffic stop, authorities said.
The incident began just before noon in the area of Baldwin and Naomi avenues, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Tom McNeal said.
Deputies pulled over a dark green Honda Civic with a license plate number of 5CBF181 because the driver, described only as a woman, appeared to be swerving, McNeal said.
After running the license plate number, officials found the license plate had been reported "lost or stolen," the lieutenant said. Such plates on a car often indicate the vehicle is stolen.
After initially pulling over, the woman accelerated away from deputies and a brief chase began, McNeal said.
After pursuing the Honda southbound on Baldwin Avenue for just over a minute and a half, he said, officials ordered an end to the chase out of concern for public safety.
In addition to the female driver, two male passengers were also inside the car, McNeal said.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The city of Maywood will lay off all city employees and begin contracting police services with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department effective July 1, officials said.

In addition to contracting with the Sheriff's Department, the Maywood City Council voted unanimously Monday night to lay off an estimated 100 employees and contract with neighboring Bell, which will handle other city services such as finance, records management, parks and recreation, street maintenance and others. Maywood will be billed about $50,833 monthly, which officials said will save $164,375 annually.

"We will become 100% a contracted city," said Angela Spaccia, Maywood's interim city manager. Deputies from the East Los Angeles Sheriff's Station will begin patrolling the 1.2-square-mile city by the end of the month, said Capt. Bruce Fogarty of the Sheriff's Contract Law Enforcement Bureau. The annual cost of providing those services for the small city is estimated at $3.6 million, Fogarty said.

GLENDORA -- A man died early Saturday in a two-car crash on the 210 Freeway in Glendora, authorities said.
Miguel Montes, 66, of Los Angeles was pronounced dead at the scene, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Kurt Stormes said in a written statement.
The crash was reported at 12:53 a.m. on the westbound 210 Freeway, just west of Grand Avenue, the sergeant said.
Traffic was moving slowly on the freeway because right two lanes had been shut down for Caltrans work, officials said.
Montes was driving a 1995 Buick at about 5 mph in the fast lane, as a 17-year-old Monrovia boy in a 1995 Honda was approaching from behind in the carpool lane at about 45 mph, Stormes said.
The Buick made an unsafe lane change into the carpool lane, he said, and was rear-ended by the Honda.
The teenage driver of the Honda was treated for minor injuries, officials added.
Montes suffered major head trauma and succumbed to his injuries, Stormes said.

NORWALK -- A man and woman were wounded Saturday in a car-to-car shooting in Norwalk, officials said.
The attack was reported about 12:30 p.m. in the 13000 block of Shoemaker Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Mark Wilkins said.
A woman in her 20s and a man in his 50s suffered minor wounds in the attack, Wilkins said.
The woman was a passenger inside an SUV that was believed to be the intended target of the shooting, he said.
The male victim was walking along the street when he was shot, he added. "It appears that he was probably an innocent bystander."
The attackers were described only as four male Latinos in a gray Toyota Tundra pickup truck, Wilkins said.
A motive was not immediately clear, Wilkins said, and the shooting remained under investigation.

INDUSTRY -- A solo-car crash on the 605 Freeway in Industry Saturday left a 30-year-old Whittier man dead, authorities said.
Jose Luis Linares-Campa died in the 2:17 a.m. crash on the southbound 605 Freeway, just north of Peck Road, California Highway Patrol and coroner's officials said.
He was driving a 2003 Focus when, for reasons that remained under investigation, his car veered to the right and struck a guardrail and light pole, according to the CHP.
Linares-Campa was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
The crash remained under investigation, and any witnesses are asked to call CHP Officer P. Coffey at 562-868-0503.

BALDWIN PARK -- Coroner's officials released the name of a child counselor who died Friday when his car was struck by an SUV being driven by a man who was allegedly fleeing police.
Walter Bernard Williams, 37, of Carson died at the scene of the crash shortly after 9:35 p.m. at Ramona Boulevard and Francisquito Avenue, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Lt. Brian Elias said.
Luis Miguel Noriega, 28, of Temple City was arrested on suspicion of murder, evading police and grand theft auto, Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso said.
The crash occurred outside Eggleston Youth Homes and Foster Care, where co-workers said the man worked as a youth counselor.
Co-workers added that he was on his way to pick up his paycheck when the crash occurred.

Here's the original story from reporter Maritza Velazquez.

IRWINDALE -- A man was hospitalized with serious injuries Friday after crashing his pickup truck into a telephone pole, police said.
The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m. at Foothill Boulevard and Irwindale Avenue, Irwindale police Cpl. Armando Lopez said.
A 31-year-old Hesperia man suffered broken bones, head injuries and possible internal injuries, the corporal said. He was flown to a trauma center by helicopter un unknown condition.
He was driving his pickup truck west on Foothill Boulevard when he tried to make a left turn onto Irwindale Avenue and lost control, Lopez said.
The truck struck a telephone pole, nearly wrapping around it, he said. There were no signs of skid marks in the street.
The driver was unable to remember the crash, Lopez said.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation, Lopez said, however there were no initial indications of anything criminal.

Can't find him on megan's law registry, but looks like he was arrested in April and then again this week. Not sure if he was teaching between then and now.

This from KCBS/KCAL:

Duarte elementary school teacher faces charges of sexually abusing seven female students over more than a decade.

Wade Bughman, 41, is a sixth-grade teacher at Beardslee Elementary School. Bughman was charged last week in a felony complaint for an arrest warrant, according to the District Attorney's Office. He is expected to be arraigned Friday afternoon in Pasadena, where prosecutors will recommend that bail be set at $2.1 million.

Bughman was arrested Thursday morning.

Bughman was charged with four counts each of continuous sexual abuse and lewd act upon a child, along with one count each of oral copulation of a person under 14, forcible rape and sexual penetration using a foreign object. The alleged abuse took place between August 1997 and April of this year.

According to prosecutors, all of the victims were under age 14 at the time, and the youngest was a second-grader. All were students at Beardslee Elementary, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Metblogs has put together a by-the-numbers look at the post-game riot/celebration downtown last night.

Among the stats, the attack of a taco truck. Here's more:

Number of rubbish fires: 15

Number of vehicle fires: 3

Number of shopping cart fires: At least 1.

Number of fatalities: 0

Number of people "beaten unconscious": At least 1. Think it was a Celtics fan, the poor guy.

Number of arrests: 38

This from CNN. Radar Online had the story first:

Actor Jeremy London escaped from armed carjackers who kidnapped him along a Palm Springs, California, roadside last week, police said.

London said the kidnappers forced him to "use illegal drugs," according to a Palm Springs Police statement.

London, 37, is known for his television work, including five seasons as Griffin Holbrook on the hit series "Party of Five."

The actor told police that "several men" approached him as he was changing a flat tire on Friday, according to the the police statement. After they helped change the tire, London offered them a ride home, police said.

Death Row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner died in a barrage of bullets early Friday as Utah carried out its first firing squad execution in 14 years. Shortly before the shooting, Gardner was strapped into a chair and a team of five marksmen aimed their guns at a white target pinned to his chest. He was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m. Here's what reporter Nate Carlisler witnessed

ALHAMBRA -- A Monterey Park man died early Thursday after being struck by an allegedly intoxicated driver while he was walking on the 10 Freeway, authorities said.
Jerome Anderson, 60, died at the scene, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner's Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said.
Jamie Mulford, 27, of Monterey park was booked on suspicion of vehicular homicide, California Highway Patrol officials said.
Her 2008 Toyota coupe struck the man about 2:25 a.m. on the eastbound 10 Freeway, just west of New Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer Paul Martinez said in a written statement.
"(Anderson) was walking northbound in the No. 4 lane, directly in front of (the Toyota)," the statement said.
The woman was hospitalized after complaining of pain and booked at a hospital jail ward, authorities said.
The woman is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and another substance, though it was unclear Thursday what that substance was believed to be, CHP Sgt. Connie Guzman said.
Authorities booked the woman on suspicion of vehicular homicide because she had prior convictions for driving under the influence, Guzman said.
Mulford was convicted of drunken driving on April 1, 2005 in Compton Superior Court, according to court records June 20, 2005 in Long Beach Superior Court.
It was unclear why the man was on the freeway, though family members said it was not uncommon for the man to take short cuts while walking, Guzman added.
According to sheriff's booking records, Mulford was being held in lieu of $1 million bail. No information was available regarding her initial court appearance.

Former Whittier cop Paul Ayala, 42, was sentenced to 24 years in state prison on four counts of continual sexual abuse of a child and one count of lewd act upon a child, according to court documents.

"We loved you," said the aunt of one of the children. "We trusted you not just with our hearts but with our most prized possessions - our children."

Ayala wept and said in a statement he was sorry.

"I was a victim, too," he said. "I know the hurt."

From The Los Angeles County DA's Office:

WHITTIER - A former Pop Warner football coach pleaded no contest today to sexually molesting four young boys who played on his teams and to molesting a fifth victim, a teenaged girl, the District Attorney's office announced.

Paul Anthony Ayala, 42, entered the plea before Superior Court Commissioner Loren Di Frank, said Deputy District Attorney Frank Dunnick. He was immediately sentenced to 24 years in state prison as part of a negotiated plea. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Ayala pleaded no contest to four counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child and one count of lewd act on a child involving all five victims, Dunnick.

The victims' families were consulted and approved of the plea agreement and sentence, Dunnick said. Several families made emotional impact statements at today's sentencing.

"Several of the victims and their families expressed concern over testifying in court, and this resolution spares them any additional stress and anxiety brought on by the court process," Dunnick said.

Police were notified in February after one victim told a family member. The Sheriff's Department launched an investigation. Ayala was initially charged with one felony count of oral copulation of a child under 10 and eight felony counts of sexual molestation of a child under 14 involving two boys, who were each 10 at the time of the incidents.

Three additional victims - two boys ages 10 and one girl who was 15 when she was fondled - came forward and charges were added. Ayala was charged with sexually molesting the victims between 2008 to February, 2010.

A federal civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday alleges the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department encourages deputies to seek out intimate relationships with alleged victims of crimes.

The lawsuit also alleges the Sheriff's Department routinely covers up inappropriate relationships and conflicts-of-interests and conducts internal investigations aimed at exonerating accused deputies.

The lawsuit, filed by Arnoldo Casillas on behalf of Alberto Gutierrez of Rosemead, seeks unspecified damages.

"There's this problem and practice of sweeping this behavior under the rug," said Casillas at a press conference Wednesday in Montebello.

Sheriff's officials denied the allegations leveled at the department and Detective Phil Solano, a 29-year-veteran who works at the Industry substation.

Solano did not return three calls seeking comment.

Read more: http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_15312967#ixzz0r5NSPvVI

PASADENA -- Five people were hurt Tuesday in a four-vehicle crash in Pasadena, authorities said.
The crash took place about 2:30 p.m. at Fair Oaks Avenue and Mountain Street, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
Five people -- all adults -- were hospitalized as a result of the collision, she said. Two people suffered serious injuries, two people suffered moderate injuries and one person was hospitalized with minor injuries.
One vehicle overturned in the crash, and one person had to be freed from a wrecked car by firefighters.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation Wednesday, Pasadena police Lt. Tom Delgado said, though there were no preliminary indications of a crime.

PHOTO courtesy of the Pasadena Fire Department

A sheriff's spokesman said officials reassigned an Industry detective to administrative duty after allegations surfaced that he had a Rosemead man arrested to further a relationship with the man's wife.

Detective Phil Solano remains at the Industry Station pending the outcome of the investigation, said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca.

The probe began in April shortly after the Sheriff's Department received a complaint, Whitmore said.

"That's news to me," Solano said of the investigation. He declined to comment further.

According to court documents, Alberto Gutierrez, 36, was arrested in June 2008 on suspicion of making death threats and violating a domestic restraining order, Solano investigated the case.

In September 2008 Solano arrested Gutierrez on suspicion of violating a restraining order and stalking.

Gutierrez said at the time of his arrests he didn't know Solano and his wife Mayela Gutierrez knew each other. But, during his April trial, Gutierrez learned that his wife and Solano were Facebook friends. Solano testified under oath that he had "one communication" with Mayela, according to court documents.

Despite the Internet relationship with the suspect's wife, Solano, a 29-year veteran of the Sheriff's Department, investigated the case and testified against Gutierrez, according to court documents.

BURBANK - More than two years after 16-year-old Sammantha Salas was gunned during a string of racially charged gang shootings in Monrovia, jury selection began Wednesday in the trial of two men charged with her murder.

"Well, it's finally happening," said Janette Chavez, Salas' mother.

The teenager was shot to death by two masked gunman in January 2008 as part of what investigators believe was a string of retaliatory shootings between a black and Latino gangs in Monrovia.

Two cousins, 28-year-old Nickelis Blackwell and 24-year-old Rayshawn Blackwell, are accused of shooting Salas to death as she was walking with a friend near her father's home in unincorporated Monrovia.

Chavez spent Monday waiting for a jury to be picked, and she said that based on the evidence she heard in the preliminary hearing, she hopes that jury convicts both Blackwells of murder.

"I want them in prison for the rest of their lives so another family doesn't have to suffer the loss that we did," Chavez said.

The trial was moved to Burbank last week because no courtrooms in Pasadena were prepared to handle a case that attorneys believe could last three weeks, prosecutors said.

A witness in the preliminary hearing for the Blackwells said the cousins confessed to the crime the night of the shooting.

PASADENA - Media outlets swarmed Huntington Hospital on Tuesday waiting for confirmation that Randy Jackson, brother of the late Michael Jackson, was being treated for chest pains.

A source close to the Jackson family who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly said Jackson, 48, experienced chest pains around noon and was taken to Huntington, where he is awaiting the outcome of tests. The source said doctors think it was a mild heart attack, but this has not yet been confirmed.

The announcement sparked a media frenzy. CBS, ABC and the Star-News were on scene, but unable to confirm whether the member of the Jackson 5 was being treated at Huntington.

SAN DIMAS -- A motorcycle crash that killed a man and injured an 11-year-old boy last week was not a solo crash, as initially reported by investigators, but was caused by a hit-and-run driver who was behind bars Sunday, authorities said.
Ryan Ferreira, 39, of West Covina was arrested Saturday on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run, CHP Sgt. Kurt Stormes said.
He is suspected of performing an unsafe lane change near a motorcycle that was being driven by Michael Smith, 36, of Upland about noon on June 6 on a transition road between the southbound 57 Freeway and the eastbound 10 Freeway, officials said. Nathan Ryan, an 11-year-old Upland boy who was riding on the back of the motorcycle, was hospitalized with serious injuries.
The injured boy's mother, Karen Ryan, said her son maintained from the beginning that the motorcycle was struck by a truck.
"My son knew from day one," she said. "That's what he told everybody."
Despite the fact that CHP investigators initially said there was no physical evidence or witness statements to support the boy's account, "There was never a doubt in my mind that it wasn't a solo accident," she said.
Smith, Karen Ryan's boyfriend, "was an experienced rider," Ryan added.
"Mike was a hero, that's all there is too it," she said. "He was my best friend, my love, my everything."
Nathan Ryan was recovering from his injuries at a hospital Sunday, family members said, but was expected to be discharged soon.
In the days following the fatal crash, CHP officials said they suspected the crash involved only the motorcycle and no other vehicles, and that excessive speed on the part of the 2007 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle likely played a role in the crash.
Recently discovered physical evidence, along with an anonymous tipster, helped lead investigators to change their theory and arrest Ferreira Saturday morning, Stormes said. Details of the arrest were not available Sunday.
Karen Ryan said the initial CHP and news reports suggesting the motorcycle crash involved only one vehicle, as well as public reaction to them in online postings, were very hurtful to her family during an already difficult time.
According to sheriff's booking records, Ferreira was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and was due for arraignment Monday in Pomona Superior Court.

AZUSA -- A fire caused about $60,000 worth of damage to an Azusa home Sunday, authorities said.
The blaze was first reported about 7:15 a.m. at 427 S. Enid Ave., Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Tom Sullivan said.
Firefighters doused the fire, which was contained to the kitchen and laundry room of the single-story home, in about 10 minutes, he said.
A mother and several children who were inside were alerted to the fire by the smell of smoke and got out of the home before firefighters arrived, Sullivan said.
The blaze caused an estimated $40,000 worth of damage to the building, he added, and $20,000 worth of damage to items inside the home.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
The Red Cross was summoned to help find lodging for the family until the home can be repaired.

PASADENA -- Police arrested four people Sunday, including a man with an outstanding warrant for assault with a deadly weapon, on suspicion of auto theft, police said.
The incident began about 4:40 p.m. when a police officer spotted a car that had been reported stolen out of Los Angeles driving on Marengo Avenue, Pasadena police Lt. Keith Jones said.
As the officer was following the car, it suddenly came to a stop on Arroyo Parkway near Green Street and the driver abandoned the car and ran, the lieutenant said.
After searching the area for about 25 minutes with the help of a police helicopter, Jones said, officials found a man later identified as Ramon Ramos, 19, of Sun Valley hiding inside an electrical box.
In addition to being booked on suspicion of auto theft, Jones said, Ramos was being held without bail due to an outstanding warrant on an assault with a deadly weapon charge out of Hollywood.
The three people who remained inside the car were also booked on suspicion of auto theft, Jones said.
They were identified as brothers Luis Vargas, 23, and Leonardo Vargas, 20, both of Pasadena, he added, and a 17-year-old Pasadena girl whose name was withheld due to her age.

PICO RIVERA -- A Whittier man was expected to survive after he was stabbed several times during a house party in Pico Rivera early Sunday, authorities said.
Deputies responded to reports of the attack about 12:30 a.m. at a home on Walnut Avenue, just east of Durfee Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Gerardo Lucio said.
"This person came in uninvited," the sergeant said. "(Party guests and the victim) didn't know who he was."
The assailant, described only as a Latino man, walked directly to the 45-year-old Whittier man and stabbed him several times in the back in an unprovoked attack before fleeing, Lucio said.
The knife-wielding man seemed to have targeted the victim specifically. "It was very deliberate," Lucio said.
No further details were available.

An autopsy was pending Saturday on the body of a man who was killed when he apparently jumped in front of a car on the westbound 91 Freeway in Bellflower, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The fatal crash occurred about 7:30 p.m. Friday, east of Bellflower Boulevard, according to the CHP.
Quinn Luckett, 20, died at the scene, coroner's officials said. He was listed as a Bellflower resident at the coroner's office, though CHP officials said he was from Whittier.
He was reported by a motorist to be running north across eastbound lanes of the 91, then jumped over the center divider to the westbound side of the freeway and "hesitated" as a westbound silver Honda Accord approached, a CHP investigator said in a statement.
"The pedestrian intentionally jumped into the path of the Honda, and as a result sustained fatal injuries," the investigator's statement said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene by county fire paramedics.
The driver of the Honda, a 22-year-old Long Beach woman, was not injured or arrested. An investigation was continuing, according to the CHP.

INDUSTRY -- A fire caused an estimated $100,000 worth of damage to an Industry food manufacturing business Friday, a fire captain said.
The blaze was reported about 6:15 p.m. at the Sincere Orient Food Co., 15222 E. Valley Blvd., Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Willie Sanchez said.
The captain said it looked like one of four large, brand new commercial boilers in the business caused the roof of the structure to catch fire.
About 25 firefighters extinguished the flames in about 20 minutes, he said. Firefighters were forced to use ladder trucks to attack the flames from the 30-foot-tall roof.
No injuries were reported, Sanchez added, and the employees all self-evacuated prior to the arrival of firefighters. A fire sprinkler system helped keep the fire from spreading.
The fire caused about $80,000 worth of damage to the building, and about $20,000 in damage to the contents, he said.

WHITTIER -- Two teenagers were wounded in a shooting Friday in an unincorporated county area near Whittier, authorities said.
The attack was reported just before 7:40 p.m. in a residential neighborhood in the 8300 block of Norwalk Boulevard, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Gerardo Lucio said. Their exact ages were not available late Friday.
No motive or suspect information was available in the shooting, which remained under investigation.
One of the boys was shot in the leg, and the other was shot in the leg and shoulder, fire officials said.
Both were expected to survive, Lucio said.

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- A man robbed a bank Friday, but left the cash behind after a dye pack exploded, authorities said.
The crime occurred just after noon at the Citizens Business Bank, 858 Foothill Blvd., Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Robert Blume said.
The robber entered the bank and presented a note to a teller, he said. The note demanded cash and claimed the man had a weapon.
After receiving some cash from a teller, the robber left the bank. A dye pack concealed in the money exploded as the robber exited the bank, and he abandoned the stolen cash.
He was last seen getting into an unknown getaway car, Blume added.
Officials described the robber as a white man in his 50s or 60s with a white mustache and bushy hair. He wore a blue striped shirt and a white baseball cap.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's Crescenta Valley Station at 818-248-3464.

A legendary community activist, whose success in combating crime in Northern California inspired police in Pasadena to implement his approach, was shot and killed in a mall parking lot in San Mateo, authorities said.
David Lewis of Palo Alto was shot in the stomach at around 5:40 p.m. Wednesday in a parking structure just steps from Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo. The 54-year-old was the co-founder of Free At Last, a nonprofit substance-abuse treatment and outreach group that Pasadena police are seeking to emulate locally.
People in both Northern California and Pasadena suffered a great loss in Lewis' slaying, Pasadena police Cmdr. Darryl Qualls said.
"He's changed lives," said Qualls, who worked with Lewis in trying to bring his ideas to Pasadena to help mitigate the state's earlier prison release program and its less stringent supervision of some low-risk parolees.
Despite Lewis' death, Pasadena police will continue studying and implementing his ideas, Qualls said. "We will continue to move forward in his legacy and memory," he said.
East Palo Alto police Chief Ron Davis said Lewis' legacy is a program that gives parolees job training, education and drug counseling -- all with the goal of keeping them outside prison walls. With a roughly $1.1 million annual budget, the program he designed works with 100 to 120 parolees a year.
Davis said East Palo Alto's recidivism rate is about one third the statewide average.
"I'm trying to make sense out of senselessness," Davis said of Lewis' killing.
Lewis is credited with helping turn around a trend of violence in East Palo alto in the early 1990s, when it was known as the murder capital of the United States.
Qualls said Lewis was always looking for a way to help.
"Anytime that he saw that there could be a benefit to a community, he would always say, 'I'm there. I can help,'" Qualls said.
When Pasadena police officials approached Lewis about helping them create a program similar to Free At Last in Pasadena, "he jumped at the chance," Qualls said.
Lewis was one of several speakers at a May 13 community conference in Pasadena that discussed dealing with changes in the parole system.
At the meeting, Lewis encouraged officials and community members to "stop getting tough on crime and start getting smart on crime."
Pasadena Interim Police Chief Christopher Vicino called Lewis' plan Pasadena's "best bet" to keep crime levels from rising as state parole officials continue releasing parolees and placing them on weakened supervision under a program that began earlier this year.
Lewis' shooting was "targeted" and not random, San Mateo police officials said in a written statement, though it wasn't clear if the gunman met Lewis at the mall, happened across him or followed him there.
Witnesses saw Lewis exchange words with another person shortly before the shooting, police said. No arrests have been made, and San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer wouldn't speculate on the motive for the homicide.
She appealed to the public for information on the killing.
"It is through the community's help that we can break this case," Manheimer said.
Investigators from San Mateo and East Palo Alto have hit the streets in force looking for the shooter. Investigators' business cards were slipped under the windshield wipers of a row of cars near the Free at Last office on Bay Road.
The life Lewis spent helping others was actually his second incarnation.
Before getting sober, Lewis had been addicted to heroin. He was in and out of prison, spending about 17 years behind bars, said Paul Loeb, author of "Soul of a Citizen," which includes a profile of Lewis.
As a community leader, Lewis spent much of his time pushing drug users into treatment. He also worked on AIDS prevention in San Mateo County, including an effort to stop the spread of HIV among intravenous drugs users, said Stanford University infectious diseases Professor David Katzenstein.
Mourners packed Free at Last's East Palo Alto headquarters Thursday evening to honor Lewis, a man who made a remarkable journey from his days as "Funky Rat" to become a global leader in the recovery movement. The gathering reflected a tangle of emotions -- laughter and sobs alternately rocked the crowd of approximately 200 people.
"I hope in all my years of public service I can touch a fraction of the people David touched," said East Palo Alto Mayor David Woods. "I don't want to use David's name in the past tense, because David will always be David and all the work he's done must continue -- and will continue."

PHOTO of David Lewis courtesy of the San Mateo Police Department

From City News Service:

LOS ANGELES -- A reward of up to $500,000 was in effect Thursday for information leading to the capture of the "Grim Sleeper," who is believed responsible for 11 killings in South Los Angeles over the past 25 years.
The serial killer has been linked by DNA evidence to eight murders between 1985 and 1988 and three murders between 2001 and 2007, Los Angeles police Detective Dennis Kilcoyne said.
The killer was dubbed the "Grim Sleeper" because of the 13-year break between killing sprees.
The reward was reinstated Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council in an effort to re-publicize the case and encourage tipsters to call police. The reward will be in effect for six months.
All but one victim was a woman and most were prostitutes, Kilcoyne said. Some were raped before being fatally shot. Their bodies were dumped in alleys and trash bins in South Los Angeles, Inglewood and unincorporated areas.
A woman who survived an attack in 1988 described the suspect as a black man in his 20s, driving an orange Ford Pinto. She said he picked her up, raped her, shot her in the chest, then pushed her out of his car.
Anyone with information was asked to call homicide detectives at (213) 486-6830 during normal office hours, or at (877) LAPD 24-7 around the clock.

From City News Service:

LOS ANGELES -- A woman appeared to have been kidnapped, tied up and forced into a car trunk today in South Los Angeles, police said.
Witnesses reported seeing a woman screaming for help while tied up in the trunk of a white, four-door Honda traveling south on Halldale Avenue near 91st Street just before 11 a.m., said Officer April Harding of the Los Angeles Police Department. The vehicle did not have a license plate.
"As the car was driving down the street the trunk was unlocked and was flapping open," Harding said.
The woman was described only as black, Harding said.
The driver of the vehicle was a heavy set black woman with a light complexion. She is in her 40s and was last seen wearing a brown shirt with yellow stripes.
There was also a passenger in the vehicle, but no information was available on that individual.
Police urged anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the 77th Crimes Against Person Unit detectives at (213) 485-4175 or (877) LAPD- 24-7.

From City News Service:

LOS ANGELES -- Jurors reached a verdict Thursday in the trial of a 17- year-old Montebello boy accused of fatally shooting a man and his 12-year-old son during a high school graduation party.
The verdict was expected to be read at 10:30 a.m. Friday.
Angel Sosa is charged as an adult in the June 21, 2008, shooting deaths of Juan Garcia, 44, and his son Albert.
In closing arguments last week, Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee told the seven-man, five-woman jury that Sosa was identified "by numerous people as the shooter."
But Sosa's attorney Jeri Polen said more witnesses "didn't pick anybody."
Both sides agreed that the fatal shootings at a Montebello high school graduation party stemmed from an earlier confrontation just beyond the backyard fence of the house in the 100 block of East Madison Avenue, where the party took place.
"Somebody got (punched) ... a bottle might have been thrown and someone might have said, 'I'll be back,'" Polen said of the argument that led to gunfire.
"An hour later, someone did come back," Hanisee said. "He came back for revenge."
The prosecutor said the conflict took place between members of two Montebello graffiti-writing crews -- WID and Southside Montebello.
"This wasn't a fight they were planning to lose," Hanisee said of WID, with which Sosa was allegedly affiliated.
At least one witness said she saw someone who looked like Sosa appear from behind a parked van and begin firing a 9 mm Beretta pistol into a crowd gathered near the backyard.
Garcia, of Perris, and his son, who lived in Hemet, died at Beverly Hospital in Montebello.
The victims "who had nothing to do with any of this, wind up dead," the prosecutor said.
In her closing argument, Polen said her client was never positively identified as the shooter.
A dozen witnesses couldn't identify Sosa as the gunman, or picked someone other than Sosa when shown a photo lineup by Montebello police detectives, the attorney said.
"The district attorney would like you to ignore those," Polen told the jury.
"In this case there's certainly, based upon the evidence, lots of reasonable doubt," she said in asking the jury to find Sosa not guilty.
The murder charges against Sosa include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
The teen is not eligible for the death penalty because of his age, but could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
The criminal complaint alleges that the murders were committed "for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association with a criminal street gang," and that Sosa personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.
Sosa, who is about 5 foot 3, sat hunched for much of the day staring down at the defense table, wearing a tan sports jacket that looked about a size too big. He did not testify in his own defense.
Hanisee, in her final argument, told the panel that of the three or four people who returned to the party "to get revenge" for the earlier argument, two have been identified, "and one of them is sitting right here in front of you."
Motioning to Sosa, she concluded by asking "that you hold him responsible for the deaths."

MONTEREY PARK -- A 21-year-old Monterey Park man remained hospitalized in critical condition Thursday after being wounded in a shooting at a park, authorities said.
The shooting took place about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday at Sierra Vista Park.
The victim apparently had words with a man described only as Asian and of average build about the time of the shooting, Monterey Park police Lt. Carrie Mazelin said.
What happened next remained under investigation, she said, however shots were fired and the victim was struck.
A yellow motorcycle was seen leaving the area afterward and may have been involved, Mazelin said.
Investigating officers found no victim at the park, but did discover a blood trail leading away from it, Lt. Jess Alvarado said.
Shortly after the shooting, a hospital called police to report a gunshot wound victim had arrived in the emergency room, he added.
A motive in the shooting remained unknown Thursday, Mazelin said, however authorities were looking into the possibility it was gang-related.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. Tips can be left anonymously.

The Wire goes network? And moves west... My hometown gets a fall TV show. And a soundtrack.

 

This from CBS, which has compiled an extensive library of stories on the case:

A private investigator who was inside the attempted FBI sting of murder suspect Joran van der Sloot says the Dutchman is a "homicidal maniac." Van der Sloot, 22, is being held in Peru in the death of 21-year-old business student Stephany Flores.

MONTEREY PARK -- A young man was wounded late Wednesday in a shooting at Sierra Vist Park, police said.
The incident was reported about 8:45 p.m. at the park, at Sierra Vista Street and Emerson Avenue, Monterey Park police Lt. Jess Alvarado said.
Officers responded to reports of "shots fired" at the park, he said.
No victims were found at the park, however a trail of blood was spotted leading away from the park toward Orange Avenue, the lieutenant said.
As police were investigating, he said, officials at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center called police to report that a gunshot wound victim had been dropped off at the emergency room.
The wounded young man, whose exact age was not clear, was undergoing surgery late Wednesday, Alvarado said.
The investigation was ongoing, and there was no information available regarding a suspect description or motive in the shooting.

SAN DIMAS -- A man apparently attempted to kidnap a 9-year-old boy Wednesday in San Dimas, sheriff's officials said.
The crime occurred about 8:15 p.m. as the young victim was riding his bicycle at Juanita Avenue and Kennedy Road, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Richard Ramirez said.
He was approached on foot by a white man estimated to be between 20 and 30 years old, who was about 5 feet tall and about 150 pounds, the sergeant said.
The man grabbed the boy's arm, but the boy kicked at the man and was able to get free and continue riding home, Ramirez said. The man was seen driving away in a white SUV.
The boy told his parents, who then called the sheriff's department, he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's San Dimas Station at (626) 450-2700.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS -- Deputies arrested a 78-year-old man Wednesday on suspicion of brandishing a fake rifle at two children, authorities said.
Frank Chambers was booked on suspicion of brandishing an imitation firearm, which is a misdemeanor, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Steve Katz said.
The incident was reported about 3 p.m. near Stimson Avenue and La Monde Street, Lt. Hiroshi Yokoyama said.
Two 12-year-old boys were walking when Chambers apparently thought the kids were trespassing or getting to close, he said.
He brandished a rifle, which was later determined to be a replica, as he told the children to get away from his property, Yokoyama said.
"It wasn't pointed at the children," he added, "It was just displayed in a rude and threatening manner."
Police took caution as they surrounded the home, Yokoyama said, but the man came out and surrendered to deputies without incident.
Because the crime the man is suspected of is a misdemeanor, he said, deputies had the parents of the alleged victims place the man under private person's arrest. Deputies are not authorized to arrest people on suspicion of misdemeanors not committed in their presence.
Chambers was expected to be released with a citation late Wednesday.

From the Associated Press:

HEMET -- Firefighters investigating a blaze in downtown Hemet have discovered a rocket-propelled grenade launcher on the roof of a market that appeared to be pointed at a nearby police station.
In a release Tuesday, Lt. Duane Wisehart says firefighters found the vintage military rocket after a June 3 blaze at Los Altos Market.
Wisehart says the rocket could have been propelled and done damage, but it wasn't clear if it could explode.
Booby trap attacks have plagued the small Hemet Police Department this year, and homes of dozens of white supremacists have been raided as part of a probe into the attacks.

Statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office:

LOS ANGELES - District Attorney Steve Cooley announced today that Internet sales and home delivery of medical marijuana are illegal and those in violation face felony prosecution.

The District Attorney made the announcement in response to news stories that medical marijuana providers found a "loophole" to state law banning sale of medical marijuana for profit and in the new City of Los Angeles ordinance that has resulted in closure of dispensaries.

"There is no loophole," said Cooley, "Selling medical marijuana for profit continues to be a felony crime under California law."

Cooley said that limited transportation is allowed only if incidental to the procurement of the medical marijuana by a primary caregiver or a qualified patient.

"There is no immunity or affirmative defense for a collective member, a dispensary owner or a cultivator to transport to other members of the collective, cooperative or dispensary," the District Attorney said.

Cooley said the California Supreme Court already has ruled these types of operators are not primary caregivers under California law.

PASADENA -- The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has improved communication with law enforcement agencies regarding the release of prisoners on weakened parole supervision, authorities said.
California parole officials began releasing inmates designated as "low-risk" on a new parole status called, "non-revocable parole." Under the new status, parolees are not monitored as closely as under traditional parole, and cannot be returned to jail for parole violations.
Following a phone conference with other police and parole officials Wednesday organized by state Sen. Carol Liu, D-Glendale, Pasadena police Interim Police Chief Christopher Vicino said in a written statement that parole officials have improved information-sharing with law enforcement agencies.
"The CDCR had previously restricted the name, address and release date of these prisoners," Vicino said. "Without this information, our efforts to provide social services and/or conduct home checks with law enforcement officers would be nearly impossible."
"We were told much of this has changed. The CDCR is making the information available via an enhanced and secure Web site."
Officers were scheduled to receive training on the new system so it can be implemented in Pasadena in the "Very near future," Vicino said.
He added that police are working with many religious, community and nonprofit organizations to help prepare parolees for a successful transition back into society.

This comes from reporter Maritza Velazquez:

AZUSA - An off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man outside an Azusa condominium complex early Wednesday morning, investigators said.
Relatives identified the dead man as 25-year-old Anthony Aguilar of Pomona.
Investigators say the deputy, who worked out of the West Hollywood Station, drove into a condominium complex near San Gabriel Canyon Road and Daybreak Drive at about 2 a.m.
He saw a man and woman acting suspiciously, investigators said. He approached and identified himself as a law enforcement officer, prompting Aguilar to reach for his waistband, Deputy Aura Sierra said.
The deputy fired one shot at the man, she said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It was not immediately known if the suspect was armed. A weapon was not immediately found, Sierra said.
A woman who was with Aguilar was in police custody.
Aguilar's mother, Maria Lopez, stood at the scene of the shooting late Wednesday morning. She said her son was released from jail last month after a drug possession charge, but he had no history of violent behavior.
"As old as he was, he was like an overgrown baby," Lopez said. "He would come to me and say 'hug me mom, love me mom.'"

The last chief Barney Melekian erned his striped in Santa Monica. Now Pasadena City Manager Michael Beck has reached out to the westside to choose Phil Sanchez as Pasadena's next chief, sources close to the process said Wednesday,

What probably got the federal RICO case against La Eme and Puente 13 off the ground likely boils down to one paragraph in the federal indictment:

On or about July 3, 2006, in Los Angeles County, within the Central District of California, defendants GONZALEZ, BLANCO, S. NUNEZ, and A. TORRES willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation, unlawfully killed with malice aforethought D.D., in violation of California Penal Code, Sections 21a, 31, 187, and 189.

The read the complete indictment click here.

The big question: Did inestigators rely on snitches, undercover agents, wiretaps or all three?

Eight suspected members of the Puente 13 street gang were arrested Tuesday morning by federal authorities in a racketeering and drug case.

The feds allege that the group was involved in violent crimes and selling meth to help fund La Eme -- the Mexican Mafia.

The 22-count indictment names 17 defendants. Sixteen are charged with taking part in a RICO conspiracy.

"Puente-13, a street gang that was formed in the City of La Puente approximately 60 years ago. Puente-13 claims as its turf a large portion of La Puente, as well as unincorporated parts of the San Gabriel Valley and portions of nearby cities such as Hacienda Heights, Walnut and West Covina," according to U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek. "The gang is comprised of approximately 600 members and includes at least 14 subsets or 'cliques.'"

Among those arrested was Rafael Munoz "Cisco" Gonzalez, the group's alleged kingpin.

"Violent drug gangs continue to wreak havoc within our communities," said Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. "Today's arrests send the message that law enforcement will continue to work together to take back our neighborhoods and get violent drug traffickers and gangs off our streets."

Four of the defendants in the federal racketeering case are eligible for the death penalty because of their involvement in the 2006 murder of the rival gang member identified as David Dragna, 44, who was collecting taxes without authorization. Arrested were Cesar Munoz "Blanco" Gonzalez, 36, of Rowland Heights, Steven "Flaco" Nunez, 30, in state prison, Angel Frank "Smiley" Torres, 34, also in state prison.

"Authorities are continuing to search for two defendants named in the RICO indictment - Adrian Rodriguez, also known as "Trips", 25, of Huntington Park; and Henry Rick Zabala, 40, of La Puente."

ALTADENA -- Two men were wounded late Saturday in an apparently gang-related shooting in Altadena, officials said.
The attack was reported about 10:45 p.m. in the 700 block of West Harriet Street, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Angela Shepherd said.
Two men were standing in the area when a green, 4-door sedan approached, she said.
Shots came from inside the car, wounding both pedestrians, the lieutenant said.
Following the shooting, the car continued down the street and crashed into another vehicle, Shepherd said.
Two occupants described only as male blacks were seen running from the crashed car, she said.
The wounded men were treated at a hospital and released the next day, she added.
No further details were available Sunday.

AZUSA -- Police and coroner's officials are investigating the death of a transient man whose body was found Sunday morning, authorities said.
The body of a 56-year-old man who was known to frequent the Azusa area was found and reported to police about 10 a.m. in the 300 block of South Azusa Avenue, Azusa police Sgt. Sam Fleming said. The body was found behind a business.
His name was not released Sunday pending positive identification and notification of family members, coroner's officials said.
It was not immediately clear if the death was natural or the result of foul play, the sergeant said. The Los Angeles County Department of Coroner will examine the body and determine the cause of death.
"They'll render their opinion, and that will pretty much drive things from there," Fleming said.
While there were signs of trauma to the man's head, he said, it was too soon to tell if it was related to his cause of death.

SAN DIMAS -- A man died and an 11-year-old boy suffered severe injuries Sunday in a freeway motorcycle crash, authorities said.
Michael Smith, 36, of Upland died at the scene of the 12:05 p.m. crash on the transition road between the southbound 57 Freeway and the eastbound 10 Freeway, California Highway Patrol officials said in a written statement.
Eleven-year-old Nathan Ryan* of Upland, who was a passenger riding on the back of the 2007 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle, was taken to Los Angeles County-USC medical center where he was listed in stable condition, officials said.
The investigation into the solo-motorcycle crash was ongoing, though it initially appeared the motorcyclist was travelling too fast for the conditions, CHP Sgt. Steve Licon said.
"It looks like he went into the curve too fast," he said.
"The motorcyclist (tilted over) onto its left side and slid into the west guardrail, where Mr. Smith was fully ejected from the motorcycle," according to the CHP statement.
The boy remained on the motorcycle as it ricochetted across traffic lanes and crashed into the east guardrail, Licon said.
The young passenger suffered abrasions and possible broken bones but was expected to survive.
The boy was not related to the motorcycle driver, Licon said. The motorcyclist was believed to be a friend of the boy's mother.
Both the man and boy were wearing helmets, he said.
Officials shut down the transition road between the southbound 57 Freeway and the eastbound 10 Freeway for about three hours as they investigated the scene and collected evidence.

EL MONTE -- An El Monte man suspected of robbing at least eight people in El Monte and Rosemead while posing as an immigration agent was behind bars Sunday, authorities said.
Noel Gutierrez, 33, was initially booked on suspicion of robbery and kidnapping, El Monte police Detective Ralph Batres said. More charges, including impersonating a federal officer, are likely to be added later, Batres said.
Gutierrez allegedly robbed six people in El Monte and two in Rosemead, El Monte police and Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
"He was wearing a United States Immigration baseball cap and vest," Batres said. "He was contacting people in our Valley Mall shopping area who were of Hispanic descent."
The El Monte crimes occurred between 4 and 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
Similar incidents were reported in Rosemead about 1 p.m. at Rosemead Park, 4343 Encinita Ave., and about 6 p.m. at a home nearby in the 8900 block of Mission Drive, sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Walker said.
The first incident occurred at Rosemead Park, 4343 Encinita Ave., where the suspect allegedly approached a man and claimed to be an immigration agent, Walker said.
The impersonator then convinced the man to withdraw money from the bank in order to "post bail," the sergeant said.
Investigators suspect Gutierrez then headed to the Valley Mall in El Monte, in the 10800 block of Valley Boulevard, where he he used a similar ruse to rob at least six victims, Batres said.
Gutierrez is suspected of telling people at the mall he was an immigration agent as he searched their wallets and purses and helped himself to cash and valuables, the detective said.
Two victims, a man and a woman, had been contacted by police Sunday afternoon, he said. Witnesses reported seeing four other people robbed by the same suspect, though police have not yet been able to locate them.
One of the alleged victims in one of the El Monte incidents was located only after she called her cell phone, which was in police custody, in an attempt to locate it, Batres said. She had not reported the crime to police.
"She was worried if she called the police she would be deported," he said, adding that he explained to her that she was the victim of a crime and the police were not concerned with her immigration status.
The woman had money and her cell phone stolen at Valley Mall, where she was with her two children, Batres said. She reported seeing a handgun on Gutierrez's hip.
Another man apparently had his wallet stolen by the suspect at the mall, Batres said.
Police continue seeking four other suspected victims of Gutierrez.
Authorities said they believe Gutierrez returned to Rosemead late Saturday afternoon to continue his alleged robbery spree.
He contacted a woman at her home and demanded to see her immigration papers, Walker said.
He then followed her into her home and began searching as if he was a police officer, he added. When the suspect left, the woman noticed items missing from her home.
El Monte police tracked Gutierrez to a commercial area in the 11600 block of Garvey Avenue about 10 p.m. and arrested him without incident, according to Batres and sheriff's booking records.
The detective declined to discuss exactly how investigators found Gutierrez, but said it involved "old-fashioned police work with updated technology."
Gutierrez was standing near a pearl white Toyota Previa van when he was arrested, Batres said. The vehicle resembled descriptions given by victims in both the El Monte and Rosemead crimes.
Clothing emblazoned with U.S. immigration logos were found in a nearby motel room, he added. Gutierrez denied any knowledge of the crimes, Batres said.
In addition to robbery, he said, Gutierrez is suspected of ordering people to move around during the robberies, meeting the legal definition of kidnapping.
Gutierrez was being held in lieu of $150,000 bail Sunday, officials said, and was due for arraignment Tuesday in El Monte Superior Court. The bail amount is likely to increase as additional charges are added.
Additional victims, or anyone with information, is asked to call Detective Batres at 626-580-2189.

PHOTO of Noel Gutierrez courtesy of the El Monte Police Department.

WEST COVINA -- A motorcyclist nearly had his hand nearly severed in a crash in West Covina Friday, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 5:55 p.m. in the 500 block of South Glendora Avenue, West Covina Fire Department Assistant Chief Bart Brewer said.
A 41-year-old man was riding a motorcycle when he collided with another vehicle, officials said.
He suffered major injuries to one of his arms, Brewer said. One of the man's hands was nearly severed.
He also suffered a possibly broken hip and other injuries, he added.
Rescuers took the man to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center via helicopter, Brewer said, where he was expected to undergo surgery late Friday.
Though the injuries appeared serious, Brewer said, the man was conscious and had stable vital signs.
The cause and circumstances of the crash, which were being investigated by the West Covina Police Department, were not available late Friday.

PASADENA -- A man used a note to rob a bank branch Friday, police said.
The crime occurred about 4:30 p.m. at the Bank of America at the corner of Lake Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena police Lt. Keith Jones said.
The robber entered the bank and handed a note to a teller demanding money, Jones said.
He obtained an undisclosed amount of cash without incident and was last seen exiting the rear door of the bank and getting into a pickup truck, the lieutenant said. No description of the truck was available.
Police described the robber as a black man in his 30s, about 6 feet tall and of medium build. No weapon was seen.

WEST COVINA -- Two gunmen pistol-whipped a man in his house Thursday during a home-invasion robbery, police said.
Police responded to a panic alarm just before 5:20 p.m. in the 200 block of South Mockingbird Lane, West Covina police Lt. Marty Sevilla said.
Officers discovered that a father and two children -- a 9-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy -- had been robbed in their home by two men with guns, the lieutenant said.
The father answered a knock at his door and was greeted by the two armed robbers, Sevilla said.
One robber held a gun to the father's stomach while the other proceeded into the home and encountered the man's teenage son, he said.
The father struggled with one of the suspects and was able to activate a panic alarm, Sevilla said.
The robbers snatched a cell phone from the teenage boy, he said, beat the father in the head with a pistol several times and fled in a van with a waiting driver.
The robbers were described as two Latino men, Sevilla said. One appeared to be between 30 and 34 years old, while the other appeared to be 26 or 27.
They fled in a white 1990s-model Chevrolet van conversion with red or maroon pinstripes and darkly tinted windows, he added.
The father declined to be hospitalized for his injuries, Sevilla said
Officials detained a similar vehicle shortly after the robbery, but determined those inside were not the robbers.
Anyone with information is asked to call the West Covina Police Department.

An El Monte man who was allegedly shot by a pawn shop worker during a failed robbery Wednesday is also suspected in violent crimes in El Monte and Los Angeles, authorities said.
Following the arrest of Rudy Barbosa, 24, of El Monte, investigators linked him to the West Covina robbery attempt, as well as other crimes including carjacking, robberies and a stabbing, El Monte police Detective Ralph Batres said.
"He was involved in a several-city crime spree," he said. All but one of the crimes took place Wednesday.
Investigators believe Barbosa began his day about 5 a.m. by robbing a 7--Eleven store at 3243 Santa Anita Ave. in El Monte, the detective said. Using a knife, Barbosa allegedly stole Lottery tickets and cartons of cigarettes. Police believe he also robbed the same store of music CDs at knifepoint Monday.
About 9 a.m., Batres said, Barbosa showed up in Downtown Los Angeles where he allegedly carjacked someone at knifepoint in the 3200 block of South San Pedro Street.
Shortly before 11 a.m., Barbosa allegedly donned a mask and attempted to rob Alamo Jewelry and Loan, 544 N. Azusa Avenue, in West Covina, West Covina police Lt. Rudy Lopez said.
Two employees saw a masked carrying what they believed to be a rifle trying to enter the front door while shouting out orders, police said.
One of the store employees fired a single shot from a handgun, and the masked intruder fled, Lopez said.
Batres said Barbosa, who was wounded in the shoulder from the pawn shop employees gunshot, then headed to The El Monte Valley Mall where he allegedly stabbed a man in an unprovoked attack at a jewelry store.
"He went to look at some jewelry and ended up stabbing someone at the counter," Batres said.
The wounded man was stabbed in the back and hospitalized in stable condition. A motive in the attack wasn't clear.
Immediately afterward, Batres said, police believe Barbosa drove to the 4600 block of Santa Anita Avenue in El Monte, where he's suspected of breaking into a garage and taking items while the resident was present.
El Monte police found Barbosa driving nearby and chased him several blocks until he crashed into another car at Santa Anita Avenue and Bodger Street, Lopez said.
Two men inside the car Barbosa allegedly crashed into suffered minor injuries but declined to be hospitalized, Batres said.
Officers then arrested Barbosa without further incident and booked him in the jail ward at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Batres said, where he was being treated for his gunshot wound.
"The vehicle that he was driving was (the) vehicle that was taken in a carjacking in Los Angeles earlier in the day," Batres added.
Barbosa remained hospitalized in stable condition Thursday, officials said, and was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail at a hospital jail ward.
Barbosa was initially booked only on suspicion of attempting to evade police and an El Monte burglary, officials said, though West Covina and El Monte police planned to seek additional charges against him shortly.

PICTURED: Rudy Barbosa, above; Oscar Barbosa, below. (Courtesy of the El Monte Police Department)

UPDATE: Rudy Barbosa's brother, Oscar Barbosa, 25, of El Monte was arrested at his home Thursday on suspicion of pariticpating in Monday's 7-Eleven robbery in El Monte, according to El Monte police.

WEST COVINA -- A pawn shop worker shot and wounded a suspected would-be robber Wednesday, authorities said.
The injured attempted robbery suspect was arrested by El Monte police following a chase and crash, West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said.
The name of the suspect, who appeared to be in his mid-20s, was not released Wednesday because he remained hospitalized, and because of an ongoing investigation, police said.
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at Alamo Jewelry and Loan, 544 N. Azusa Avenue, Lopez said.
"Two (employees) saw him coming to the door wearing a mask and carrying what looked like a rifle," he said.
The masked man tried to enter the front door while yelling out demands, police said in a written statement.
"They had a gun in the store and they fired one shot at him," Lopez said.
Witnesses provided police with a description of the suspect and his car, a dark-colored, late-1990s model Honda Civic, along with a partial license plate number, police said.
As West Covina officers were investigating the incident, El Monte police officers spotted the car and arrested the suspect after a brief chase and crash, Lopez said.
El Monte police spotted a car matching the description near Santa Anita Avenue and the 10 Freeway, Lopez said.
He allegedly fled from officers and led them on a pursuit for several blocks before crashing and being taken into custody at Santa Anita Avenue and Bodger Street, the corporal added. The driver was suffering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
Further details on the arrest in El Monte were not available late Wednesday.

EL MONTE -- Police arrested a parolee who was recently released from prison under the state's new early release program following a chase that resulted in several crashes Tuesday, authorities said.
Angel Estrada, 25, of La Puente was booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, felony evading police, possession of a stolen gun, possession of a loaded firearm and being a felon in possession of a loaded firearm, El Monte police Lt. Ken Alva said.
A witness called police shortly after 6 p.m. to report seeing Estrada with a handgun tucked into his waistband as he sat in a white Ford Expedition near at Klingerman Street and Mountain View Road, the lieutenant said. The sport utility vehicle had driven off when police arrived.
"Ground units caught up with it near the area of Garvey and Durfee (avenues)," Alva said.
Estrada allegedly made a sharp right turn onto Durfee Avenue before colliding with a Foothill Transit Bus, the lieutenant said. The collision resulted in minor damage to the bus. None of the 12 passengers on board were injured, he said.
The SUV continued southbound on Durfee Avenue at high speed and crashed into traffic at Valley Boulevard, Alva said.
The SUV struck one car, forcing it to rear-end the car in front of it, he said. The SUV then flipped onto its side and slid into another vehicle.
Five people in the involved cars reported minor injuries, Alva said.
Estrada got out of the damaged SUV and tried to flee on foot before police caught up with him, shocked him with a Taser and took him into custody, Alva said. An allegedly stolen handgun was found in the SUV.
Estrada was treated for minor injuries and booked into jail at the El Monte Police Department.
Estrada was released from prison under the state's new "non-revocable parole" status, officials said, meaning he did not have the traditional oversight given to parolees in the past. The program began in January as a way to reduce the state's over-crowded prison population.
Parolees released under this status cannot be returned to prison for simple parole violations, but must commit a new crime to be re-arrested, according to parole officials. The program is limited to convicts considered non-violent and "low-risk."
Estrada had no convictions for violent crimes, court records show.
Estrada was most recently convicted in Pomona Superior Court in February 2007 of transporting drugs into the state, according to court records.
He was also convicted of drug possession in May 2006, as well as possession of marijuana in August of the same year.
According to sheriff's booking records, Estrada was being held without bail. No information on his initial court appearance was available.

WALNUT -- A young man was hospitalized with major injuries Wednesday following a two-car crash on Grand Avenue.
The crash occurred about 1 p.m. at Snow Creek Drive.
A 19-year-old man was initially hospitalized in critical condition, but upgraded to "guarded" condition later Wednesday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, sheriff's and fire officials said.
Another woman who was injured in the crash, estimated to be in her 40s or 50s, was hospitalized with apparently minor injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Richard Brambila.
The investigation into the crash remained ongoing, however it appeared Wednesday that the badly injured young man may have been driving too fast, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Ernie Vanderporten said.
"It looks like there was excessive speed involved," he said.
The young man was southbound on Grand in an Acura coupe prior to the crash, Vanderporten said.
"He lost control, struck a (pickup) truck and then continued somewhat southbound and struck a light (pole," the sergeant said.
The Chevrolet pickup being driven by the woman had been in the left turn lane on Grand, waiting to make a turn onto Snow Creek, according to sheriff's and fire officials.
The Acura driver apparently slammed on his brakes prior to the impact, Vanderporten said, causing his car to skid sideways and slam driver-side first into the rear of the truck.
Firefighters had to cut the young man free from his wrecked Acura, Brambila said.
The Acura had a Mt. San Antonio College sticker on it, and the crash occurred about half a mile away from the school, however officials could not say Wednesday if the injured man was a student at Mt. SAC.

A young man was wounded in both his legs Tuesday an apparently unprovoked drive-by shooting in an unincorporated county area between Monrovia and Duarte, authorities said.
The shooting took place just before 8 p.m. p.m. in the 2200 block of California Boulevard, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Julio Salcido said.
The victim, described as a 23-year-old Latino man and local resident, was walking down the street when a white sedan containing two attackers described only as male blacks passed by, he said.
"There was no yelling, no questions," Salcido said. "(They) just shot him."
The victim was struck in both legs and was hospitalized Wednesday in stable condition, officials said.
While the motive in the attack remained under investigation, Salcido said, the nature of the crime made it appear gang-related, and gang detectives were assigned to investigate.