Man suspected of severely beating sister in Altadena

ALTADENA — A man allegedly severely beat his sister in Altadena and then slashed his own neck before being arrested Thursday in Pasadena, authorities said.
Rodney Poole, 52, if Altadena was being treated for self-inflicted wounds to his neck at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena and was expected to be booked on suspicion of attempted murder, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Sisneros said.
The attack occurred about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of West Crosby Street, sheriff’s officials said.
“The suspect attacked his sister with his hands, fists and shod feet,” Sisneros said. She suffered numerous cuts and broken bones.
The sister, described only as an Altadena woman, was hospitalized Thursday in stable condition, he added.
Poole called his brother about 11 a.m. Thursday, Sisneros said.
“He was despondent and wanted to end his life over what he had done to his sister,” the lieutenant said.
Sheriff’s deputies found the man sitting in a parked car at Arroyo Boulevard and Windsor Avenue in Pasadena, he said, with self-inflicted stab wounds to both sides of his neck.
He was hospitalized in unknown condition.

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Monrovia woman dies in solo-car crash in Azusa

AZUSA – A woman died and her passenger was hospitalized early Thursday after a solo-car crash on the 210 Freeway in Azusa, authorities said.
Lidia Kopach, 24, of Monrovia died at the scene of the 2 a.m. crash on the eastbound 210 Freeway, just west of Azusa Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Frausto said in a written statement.
Her passenger, a 24-year-old Glendora man, was hospitalized with minor injuries, officials said. The relationship between Kopach and the man was not clear.
“(Kopach) was travelling eastbound on the 210 Freeway between the number two and number three lanes at a high rate of speed, just west of Azusa avenue, when for unknown reasons, she lost control of her vehicle,” Frausto said.
The 2000 Volvo sedan veered to the right shoulder before Kopach over-corrected and flipped the car, the officer said.
The Volvo made a complete rotation and ended up back on its wheels before slamming into a steel guard rail, he said.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation by the Baldwin Park office of the CHP.

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Man killed in freeway crash in South El Monte

SOUTH EL MONTE — A 41-year-old La Puente man died early Thursday in a four-car freeway crash in South El Monte, authorities said.
Miguel Angel Martinez died at the scene of the crash on the eastbound 60 Freeway at the 605 Freeway, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said.
“(Martinez) was driving (a 200 Honda) at a high rate of speed, losing control of (the Honda) for unknown reasons,” California Highway Patrol Officer H.J. Arroyo said in a written statement.
Martinez’s Honda “began to roll over multiple times, coming to a rest on its wheels,” Arroyo said.
A 2008 Lexus being driven by a 46-year-old Walnut man, a 2000 Toyota being driven by a 29-year-old Rowland Heights man and a 2005 Dodge being driven by a 27-year-old Corona woman all struck the wrecked Honda, the officer said.
All three drivers suffered minor injuries, and two of them were hospitalized for treatment, he added.
The cause of the crash was being investigated by the East Los Angeles office of the CHP.

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Alleged Monrovia gang members jailed after chase, crash in Arcadia

A man and woman allegedly led Monrovia police on a lengthy pursuit through the foothill cities of the San Gabriel Valley and tried to ram officials late Wednesday and early Thursday before being arrested in Arcadia, authorities said.
Guadalupe Camacho, 18, of Monrovia and Jonathan Cabrera, 18, a transient frequenting the Monrovia area, were booked on suspicion of a host of charges early Wednesday, Monrovia police Lt. Zeke Cerecerez said.
Among the charges are violations of Monrovia’s gang injunction, officials said. Both are believed to be members of the Monrovia Nuevo Varrio street gang.
The incident began about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday when someone reported people in a Jeep causing a disturbance in the area of Myrtle Avenue and Montana Street in Monrovia, Cerecerez said.
About half an hour later, officers spotted a similar vehicle in the area, police said.
“The Jeep didn’t stop,” Cerecerez said. “It took off at high rate of speed onto the 210 freeway.”
Officers gave chase and noticed the Jeep matched the description of one wanted in connection with felony vandalism incidents in Monrovia and Duarte, he said.
Camacho allegedly drove recklessly during the chase, which went through Pasadena and Sierra Madre before coming to and end with a crash in Arcadia.
The suspects allegedly thew objects from the vehicle during the pursuit, Cerecerez said.
The chase ended in the 300 block of West Magna Vista Avenue in Arcadia, Arcadia police officials said.
Camacho allegedly tried to run over a Monrovia police officer who was on foot, but missed, before ramming an undercover police car, Cerecerez said. She and Cabrera were than taken into custody.
Camacho was booked on suspicion of felony vandalism, participating in a criminal street gang, evading a peace officer, conspiracy, hit-and-run, driving under the influence and five counts of violating Monrovia’s gang injunction, officials said.
Cabrera was booked on suspicion of assault on a peace officer, participating in a criminal street gang, resisting or obstructing a peace officer, conspiracy, being under influence of controlled substance and five counts of disobeying Monrovia’s gang injunction.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Camacho was being held in lieu of $205,000 bail and Cabrera was being held in lieu of $80,000 bail. Both were due for arraignment Monday in Pasadena Superior Court.

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Officials seek “Bubble Wrap” Bandit for bank robberies in La Mirada, Bell Gardens, South Gate

45625-BUBBLEWRAP_BANDIT-thumb-300x391-45624.jpgLA MIRADA — Authorities Thursday linked a heist at a La Mirada bank this week to a serial robber the FBI has dubbed, “The Bubble Wrap Bandit.”
In addition to the most recent robbery attributed to the heavy-set, sunglass-sporting bandit Tuesday afternoon at a Bank of the West branch, 12709 Valley View Ave., the suspect has been linked to at least three other bank heists in Bell Gardens and South Gate, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
“In one of the robberies (in Bell Gardens), the envelope that was given to the teller with a demand note had bubble wrap on the inside — hence the moniker,” Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Sheriff’s Headquarter’s Bureau said.
In Tuesday’s robbery, “He presented a note demanding money and said he had a gun,” according to the sheriff’s statement. “He left the bank with an unspecified amount of U.S. currency, and was last seen driving away in a red sedan.”
The other robberies occurred at a Bank of the West Branch in South Gate on July 22, a Bank of the West branch in Bell Gardens on June 15 and a Citibank branch in Bell Gardens on Nov. 25 of last year, officials said.
“The Bubble Wrap Bandit,” generally displays a demand note to a teller while threatening to have a gun, authorities said.
In the South Gate robbery, he was seen getting into a newer model, dark-colored, 4-door sedan — possibly a BMW — with a waiting driver, South Gate police Lt. Darren Arakawa said. The note in that case was given to a teller written in a business card.
Sheriff’s and FBI officials described the bandit as a Latino or Samoan man of about 35 or 40 years old. He stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 220 pounds. He has worn sunglasses during all of his robberies and has a mustache and goatee.
During the La Mirada robbery and the June 15 crime in Bell Gardens, surveillance images show the bandit appears to have worn the same gray polo shirt with a rhinoceros logo over the heart.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI or 9-1-1.
Tuesday’s bank heist in La Mirada came on the heels of the arrest of another suspected serial bank robber accused of holding up three La Mirada banks since May.
Steven Gary Platis, 44, of Whittier, who the FBI calls “The Balding Bandit,” due to his receding hairline, was arrested Monday in Hesperia on suspicion of robberies at the Chase bank branch, 15128 Rosecrans Ave., on May 14 and July 23, as well as a Sept. 7 robbery at Banco Popular, 12333 La Mirada Blvd.
Platis pleaded not guilty to the robberies Wednesday in Downey Superior Court, court officials said. He’s due back Sept. 22 for a preliminary hearing.

*SURVEILLANCE image of “The Bubble Wrap Bandit” comes courtesy of the FBI.

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South Pasadena police, firefighters to hold open house and car show

SOUTH PASADENA — Police and fire officials are hosting an open house, safety fair and car show Sunday.
The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the South Pasadena Police Department, 1422 Mission Street, South Pasadena police officials said in a written statement.
The open house will include safety tips, demonstrations of police dogs and other equipment and tactics, several helicopter landings and takeoffs, free child fingerprinting, games, station tours and more, organizers said.
It will also include a hot rod and classic car show, as well as a display of famous vehicles such as the “Batmobile” from the 1960’s television series, Magnum P.I.’s Ferrari, “Starsky and Hutch’s” Grand Torino, the DeLorean from “Back to the Future” and others.
Helicopters will land at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m., officials said.
Police K-9s will perform a demonstration at 11 a.m. Another police demonstration will take place at 12:30 p.m., and a fire department demonstration will be held at 1 p.m.
For more information, visit www.ci.south-pasadena.ca.us, or call (626) 403-7285.

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Man suspected of lying about son’s death to solicit donations in Azusa

AZUSA — Police arrested an Azusa man Tuesday who falsely claimed to have recently had a son die in order to solicit donations from strangers, police said.
Raymond Johnston, 54, was booked on suspicion of soliciting for a false charitable cause and released with a citation, Azusa police Sgt. Jerry Arnold said in a written statement.
An officer spotted Johnston just after 8 a.m. on Citrus Avenue near the 210 Freeway, the sergeant said.
Johnston held a sign that read, “My son just died. Please help me raise money for his funeral,” Arnold said.
When police asked Johnston about the sign, he first told them his 11-year-old son had died a week before from a heart condition, police said.
“After further questioning, Johnston’s story changed and he eventually admitted he didn’t have an 11-year-old son and he’d made the story up to get money donations from strangers,” Arnold said.
Johnson also admitted using the same sign a week prior in the City of Industry, he added, where he received about $30 in donations.

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2007 Whittier murder conviction overturned

From City News Service:

LOS ANGELES — A state appeals court panel Wednesday reversed a man’s first-degree murder conviction in the February 2007 shooting death of a doorman during a run-in near a Whittier sports bar.
The three-justice panel from the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled there was “no evidence supporting or suggesting any motive for the first-degree murder” of Reyes Garcia by Jose Javier Nunez.
“The record lacks substantial evidence of factors that demonstrate premeditation and deliberation,” Associate Justice Victoria Gerrard Chaney wrote on behalf of the panel. “… There is substantial evidence in the record supporting an imperfect self-defense theory of voluntary manslaughter.”
The Feb. 9, 2007, confrontation occurred when Garcia and four other doormen who worked at Oceans Sports Bar approached a truck in which Nunez and a group of his friends were drinking beer. They had been denied admission to the bar because they didn’t meet the business’ dress code, according to the 22-page ruling.
Nunez testified that he wanted to scare the doormen away after a physical altercation between Garcia and
one of Nunez’s friends in the nearby parking lot, and that he did not have control of the gun when he picked it up and fired it four times with his left hand despite being right-handed.
“The trial court should have allowed the jury to decide whether Nunez was faced with imminent great bodily injury and, if so, whether Nunez’s use of deadly force was reasonable under the circumstances,” Chaney wrote, with Presiding Justice Robert M. Mallano and Associate Justice Frances Rothschild concurring in the ruling.

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Suspicious package, bomb threat reported in Whittier

WHITTIER — In two apparently unrelated incidents, an abandoned bag at a clothing store and a a bomb threat at a bank prompted a police response Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Both incidents were reported about 3:15 p.m., Whittier police Lt. Steve Dean said.
Employees of Burlington Coat Factory at the Quad, 13550 Whittier Blvd., called police to report suspicious bags left by transients, the lieutenant said.
Store workers had allowed local transients to store their bags there for several days, but began to get suspicious when the transients returned to the store Wednesday but left without their bags, Dean said.
A manager looked inside and saw a box, which he thought was suspicious, and called police, Dean said. The box was ultimately found to contain makeup.
The Burlington Coat Factory and neighboring Staples were briefly evacuated during the incident, he added.
About the same time, a woman called Whittier police to and reported that her boyfriend was walking to U.S. Bank, 13525 Whittier Blvd., with a bomb, the lieutenant said.
Officers checked the bank and found nothing abnormal.

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Police plan checkpoint in Azusa

AZUSA — Azusa police are planning a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint Saturday, authorities said.
The checkpoint will be held at an undisclosed time and place within the city, Cpl. Dean Brewer said in a written statement.
“The primary purpose of the checkpoint will be to detect and arrest intoxicated drivers, but license violations will also be enforced,” he said.

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