Monthly Archives: January 2011

Two men stabbed in West Covina, suspects arrested

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WEST COVINA — Three suspects were in custody Saturday on suspicion of a double stabbing, along with the brother of one of the suspects, who is accused of trying to intimidate a witness, authorities said.
Guillermo Rangel, 21, of West Covina, John Cerda, 19, of Covina and a 14-year-old Covina boy were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, West Covina police Lt. Marty Sevilla said. Cerda was hospitalized due to bite wounds he received from a police dog during his arrest.
The stabbing took place shortly after 9 p.m. Friday in a commercial area in the 300 block of South Glendora Avenue, the lieutenant said.
Rangel, Cerda and the teenage suspect confronted two young men in their late teens and asked them what gang they were affiliated with, Sevilla said.
A fight ensued, and one of the victims suffered, “multiple stab wounds on various parts of the body,” he said. He was hospitalized in guarded condition but expected to survive.
The other victim was stabbed in the arm, police said, and the wound was not believed to be life-threatening.
Due to “excellent teamwork and cooperation” on the part of responding officers, all three suspects were captured shortly after the stabbing, the lieutenant said.
Officers spotted a white van speeding away from the area and pulled it over when the three suspects allegedly jumped from the van and ran, Sevilla said.
Rangel surrendered quickly after he was spotted by a police helicopter, officials said.
Cerda was found hiding under a car and was arrested with the help of a police K-9.
He suffered significant bites to his ankle and was expected to undergo surgery at a hospital, police added.
During the investigation, Rangel’s brother, Michael Rangel, 24, of West Covina, showed up at the scene and tried to discourage witnesses from cooperating with investigators by making threats, Sevilla said. He was arrested on suspicion of witness intimidation.
A 16-year-old boy who matched the description of one of the suspects was detained following the stabbing, Sevilla said, though police released him after determining he was not involved.
According to sheriff’s booking records, the Rangel brothers — both parolees — were being held without bail. Cerda had not been booked into police custody late Saturday due to his medical condition.
The teenage suspect was sent to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, police said.

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Investigation into fight at deputies’ holiday party in Montebello could be finished next month

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MONTEBELLO — A massive investigation into a fight between sheriff’s deputies during a holiday party at a Montebello country club may be completed next month, sheriff’s officials said Saturday.
Seven deputies were suspended from duty following the Dec. 10 fight at the Quiet Cannon, 901 Via San Clemente, Montebello police and Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.
“Due to the complexity and critical nature of this case it is imperative for the department to utilize all investigative options to ensure a complete, thorough, factually unbiased investigation is presented,” Parker said.
The probe was expected to be completed in February, he added.
About 100 people attended the gathering, which was a holiday party for deputies assigned to Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles, sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said shortly after the incident.
Two deputies reported to police the following day that they were victims of assaults at the party, officials said. They were treated for minor to moderate injuries but were not hospitalized.
“(The sheriff’s Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau) has dedicated five investigative teams which includes eight investigator sergeants, one deputy and one crime analyst to the investigation,” sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker said in a written statement. “To date over 150 interviews have been conducted.”
Additionally, Parker said, a team of six sergeants from the sheriff’s Internal Affairs Bureau is also investigating the fight, as well as the county Office of Independent Review.

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Women suspected of vandalism after road rage incident at Alhambra gas station

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ALHAMBRA — Police arrested an Alhambra woman Saturday on suspicion of keying another woman’s car during an argument at a gas station, authorities said.
Laura Knowles, 26, was booked on suspicion of felony vandalism, according to Alhambra police and sheriff’s booking records.
The alleged vandalism took place about 2 p.m. Friday at a Chevron station at Valley Boulevard and Fremont Avenue, Lt. Jennifer Wiese said.
Knowles asked another woman at the gas station to move her car, and the two became involved in an argument, Wiese said.
Knowles then used her keys to scrape the paint on the other woman’s 2009 Mazda sedan before driving off in her own 1999 Hyundai sedan, police said. The alleged victim wrote down the suspect’s license plate number, and the vandalism itself was captured on tape by a surveillance camera.
Police arrested Knowles at her home in Alhambra just after 9 a.m. Saturday, officials said.
The damage to the car was estimated at $1,300, police added.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Knowles was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail and was due for arraignment Wednesday in Alhambra Superior Court.

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Detectives: 2nd victim in disabled sexual assaults probe identified

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From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES — A second alleged victim has come forward in the investigation into videotaped sexual assaults of severely disabled women, authorities said.
The 27-year-old woman recognized one of the suspects, Ernie Lloyd, in news coverage, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Friday.
The woman said another suspect, Bert Hicks, sexually assaulted her multiple times between 2007 and 2009 when she lived in a housing facility he operated.
Sheriff’s officials also said Friday that they served search warrants at three residences as part of the ongoing investigation, it was reported.
Details of the warrants were not released.
Another woman came forward Monday and said she was assaulted by Lloyd a few years ago at a residential care facility in Los Angeles where they both previously lived.
Sheriff’s officials say she has physical disabilities that leave her defenseless.
Lloyd was arrested Jan. 8 after surrendering to police.
At least 10 victims appeared in more than 100 hours of video that a man anonymously delivered to sheriff’s headquarters in Monterey Park last March.
But prosecutors said the videos alone are not sufficient evidence, telling Sheriff’s Department detectives that they need to provide more facts about the women’s medical histories, level of disabilities and other information.
“In order to effect a filing, we would either have to prove that the victim did not consent to the sexual acts or she was unable to consent to the sexual acts,” the district attorney’s office reportedly wrote in a memo. “There is insufficient evidence to prove either of these theories beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The woman who came forward Monday also claimed that Hicks married her and took her back to a care facility where she was sexually assaulted by him and Lloyd, investigators said. Hicks, 42, is serving a sentence at Tehachapi State Prison on two felony sex counts and two abuse counts. He is scheduled to be released next year.
The videos, received in the mail, show men sexually assaulting physically and mentally disabled women, some of them in diapers. Officials said it took months for investigators to digitally enhance the grainy footage and produce pictures and artist sketches of the suspects.
Authorities are still seeking two other men seen on the tapes.

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Man arrested on explosives charge in Arcadia after bombs scare

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49273-JOSHUA PARRADAVIS-thumb-300x375-49272.jpg
ARCADIA – A 23-year-old man was in custody Friday after he entered Foothills Middle School, was asked to leave by school officials and then left what appeared to be a “homemade explosive device” near a Foothill Boulevard bank, school district and police officials said.
Joshua Parradavis, 23, of Arcadia was booked on suspicion of possession of an explosive device, Arcadia police Lt. Paul Foley said.
The Bank of America, the McDonald’s and a strip mall parking lot on Foothill Avenue were among the areas evacuated for a few hours until the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Squad successfully detonated the device in the early afternoon. Traffic was also blocked with police cars between First and Second Avenues during this time.
“We were checking the backpack, found a suspicious item and called the bomb squad on it,” Police Sgt. Vaughn Whalen said at the scene. “They have since done whatever the bomb squad does back there.”
The suspect, later identified as Parradavis, was at the middle school’s campus trying to open up classroom doors before he was asked to leave and school officials called the police about 10 a.m.
He told someone at the school he was a former student, though it was not clear late Friday if that was true.
The suspect left the school and was seen dropping a backpack in bushes near the Bank of America and then ran through the parking lot where officers detained him, police officials said.
After the police found the suspicious device, the school was directed to go into lockdown while officers searched the school for anything out of the ordinary, said Arcadia Unified School District Superintendent Joel Shawn.
The suspicious device was described by police as having the appearance of a metal pipe bomb.
Nothing was found and the school was released from lockdown at about 1:30 p.m. after the object was detonated, he said.
“We have no idea why (the suspect) was on campus,” Shawn said. “He was not supposed to be on campus.”
There was no immediate danger to students or staff and procedures were implemented “flawlessly,” he said, adding that he was thankful for Arcadia police, fire and county sheriff’s departments that cooperated to resolve the incident.
About 16 McDonald’s employees were sitting outside a nearby KFC restaurant eating their lunch, waiting to be allowed back inside early Friday afternoon.
“They just told us to get outside and here we are,” said one employee, who declined to give his name, shortly before he and other employees were allowed back inside around 1:15 p.m.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Parradavis was being held in lieu of $500,521 bail and was due for arraignment Tuesday in Pasadena Superior Court.
The incident is being investigated by Arcadia police, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Arson-Explosives Detail and the FBI.
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Whittier woman arrested in connection with auto insurance fraud ring

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WHITTIER — A Whittier woman is among more than 20 people accused of staging car crashes throughout the greater Los Angeles area in order to commit insurance fraud, officials announced Friday.
Nancy Carrera, 33, was arrested Jan. 6 on suspicion of insurance fraud and conspiracy and released the following day after posting $25,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s booking records.
She is suspected of taking part in an auto insurance ring that staged, and in many cases fabricated, car crashed to bilk insurers out of money, California Department of Insurance officials said in a written statement.
The alleged ring, which officials said was led by Norberto De Jesus Rivas, 38, of Stevenson Ranch, is estimated to have defrauded insurance companies out of more than $1 million, official said.
Rivas, who is already jailed on an unrelated charge, is accused of conspiring with Albert Lee Ingram, 62, of Valencia, who owns two Los Angeles-area clinics.
Ingram is accused of providing false medical reports to bolster false insurance claims.
In addition to the 22 people already in custody in connection with the alleged fraud ring, three others are being sought, officials said.
“Fake collision claims or claims that have been inflated drives up the cost of insurance for all consumers,” CDI Commissioner Dave Jones said. “Individuals who collaborate in conspiracies to commit fraud and other criminal offenses will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
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Pedestrian struck by car in Industry

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INDUSTRY — A man was rushed to a hospital with severe injuries Thursday after he was struck by a car while crossing the street, authorities said.
The crash was reported about 4 p.m. at  Fullerton Road and San Jose Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Raymond Enriquez said.
The pedestrian, a 55-year-old Hacienda Heights man, was crossing eastbound across Fullerton Road when he was struck, the lieutenant said.
A Toyota Prius being driven by a woman in her 30s was making a left turn from San Jose Avenue onto Fullerton Road when it struck the man, Enriquez said.
The injuries were severe, he said, though the man’s condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center was not clear late Thursday.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation, though deputies initially found “no signs of any criminal activity,” Enriquez said.
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SGV parole sweep nets 7 arrests, mainly in Baldwin Park

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BALDWIN PARK — Law enforcement officials arrested seven parolees Thursday during an early-morning parole sweep in Baldwin Park and La Puente, authorities said.
Law enforcement agencies from throughout the San Gabriel Valley joined Baldwin Park police, who spearheaded the effort, Baldwin Park police Lt. Joseph Bartolotti said.
Six of the men were arrested at their homes in Baldwin Park, while the seventh was arrested at his home in La Puente, the lieutenant said. The operation targeted 30 locations in San Gabriel Valley, primarily in the areas in and around Baldwin Park.
At the request of parole officials, he said, police declined to release the names of those arrested Thursday.
Three of the men were arrested due to open weapons and narcotics charges, police said, while four were jailed on suspicion of violating parole.
The sweep targeted parolees in general, and not any specific gang, group or crime trend, Bartolotti said.
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Victims of fatal crashed in Pico Rivera, Norwalk identified

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From staff and wire reports — 
Officials have released the names of two men who died in unrelated car crashes in Pico Rivera and Norwalk over the past week:
PICO RIVERA — A man who was killed in a three-crash on Paramount Boulevard last week has been identified as a 34-year-old El Monte resident, officials said Thursday.
ary Paul Gomez died at a hospital after the crash, which occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Friday at Paramount Boulevard and Dunlap Crossing Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s and coroner’s officials said.
omez was driving a Mitsubishi Montero SUV when, according to prelminary investigation, he tried to make a left turn without yielding to oncoming traffic, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Robert Smith said the day of the crash.
he driver of one of the two other cars involved in the crash was hospitalized with minor injuries, Smith said, and a man and woman inside the third car were unhurt.
NORWALK — Authorities have identified a man who was killed in a collision between the car he was driving and a big rig in Norwalk.
harles Ford, 60, of Whittier was killed, Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the coroner’s office said.
he crash occurred about 8 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Carmenita Road and Excelsior Drive, Sgt. Joseph Fleischmann of the sheriff’s Norwalk Station said.
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