Fatal deputy-involved shooting in Altadena

ALTADENA — A sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man late Friday who authorities said pulled a gun after fleeing from a traffic stop.
Stephen Bullock, 33, of Pomona died in the 11:26 p.m. shooting in the 900 block of East New York Drive, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said.
Deputies pulled over a car for a traffic violation about 11:25 p.m. in the 900 block of East New York Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.
“(Bullock) exited from the passenger side of the vehicle and ran away,” Deputy Mark Pope said in a written statement.
A deputy chased Bullock briefly before he turned around and confronted the pursuing deputy, he said.
Bullock fought with the deputy for about two minutes before the altercation turned fatal, Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said.
“During the fight, the suspect reached into his waistband and pulled out a handgun. The deputy, fearing for his life, shot one time, killing the suspect,” Pope said.
Bullocks handgun, which was recovered at the scene, was loaded, Corina added, and the deputy’s quick response may have saved his life.
“The deputy shot first,” he said.
Bullock was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The deputy was not injured.
Sheriff’s officials did not release the name of the involved deputy Saturday, however Sgt. Debra Herman described him as a “seasoned deputy” with more than 10 years on the force.
The 44-year-old man that was driving the car that Bullock fled from was questioned by homicide detectives, Corina said. It was unclear Saturday if he would face charges.
According to Los Angeles County Superior Court records, Bullock has had numerous run-ins with the law since 1997, though only one conviction for a violent crime.
In addition to more than a dozen conviction for offenses such as drunken driving, driving without a license, obstructing police, giving a false name to police and damaging a jail cell over the past 13 years, Bullock was convicted of battery in January of 2001 in Pasadena Superior Court.
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South Pasadena police arrest check forgery suspects

SOUTH PASADENA — Police arrested two men Friday on suspicion of trying to cash a bogus check, authorities said.
Nathan Huston, 34, of Alhambra and Donald Stratton, 50, of Los Angeles were booked on suspicion of forgery, conspiracy and false personation, South Pasadena police Sgt. Robert Bartl said.
Stratton entered the Chase bank, 1305 Fair Oaks Ave., about 11:30 a.m. and tried to cash a stolen check that had been washed of ink and re-written in the amount of $460, the sergeant said.
He presented a fake California ID card with the photo of an unidentified black man on it and the driver’s license and date of birth of someone else, later determined to be Huston, Bartl said.
When the teller took too long to cash the check, he said, Stratton fled from the bank and got into a car with Huston at the wheel.
Bartl said officers stopped the car nearby and arrested both men.
He added that investigators believed that if the men had been successful in cashing the check, Huston would have then reported the transaction as fraud and sought reimbursement from the bank.
Huston, who was found to have an outstanding forgery warrant out of Pasadena, was being held in lieu of $85,000 bail, according to sheriff’s booking records. Stratton was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
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Two men convicted, woman acquitted, in West Covina double-murder case

From City News Service:
POMONA — Two men were convicted Friday of killing a teenager and a young man in a van at a West Covina intersection.
Juan Martin Anda, 24, and Gerardo Fonseca Jr., 22, were each convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Jurors also found true a special circumstance of multiple murders.
Both men face up to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2009 shootings of Isaac Parra, 17, and Jason C. Guijarro, 19, both of Baldwin Park.
A sentencing date was expected to be set Tuesday.
Anda, who fired the fatal shots, and Fonseca were acquitted of two counts of attempted murder and one count of making a criminal threat. A third defendant, 20-year-old Melissa Ann Goree, was acquitted of all charges.
Parra and Guijarro were fatally wounded around 10:30 p.m. March 31, 2009, while they sat inside a van. Police and prosecutors said the shooting apparently stemmed from a dispute between an ex-boyfriend and girlfriend.
Fonseca and Goree, also both from Baldwin Park, were arrested shortly after the shooting. Anda was arrested after charges were filed April 3, 2009.
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Authorities release name of elderly man killed on 605 Freeway

IRWINDALE — Authorities Friday identified a 76-year-old man who was fatally struck by a car while walking across the 605 Freeway.
Eduardo Cantos Crus died at the scene of Thursday’s 6:20 p.m. accident on the southbound 605 Freeway, just south of Lower Azusa Road, California Highway Patrol officials said in a written statement.
He was listed as a resident of Rancho Cucamonga, however he was believed to be staying at a nearby senior citizens home, Sgt. Kurt Stormes said.
Crus had gone out for dinner on foot when he apparently became disoriented and ended up walking on the freeway, the sergeant said.
A 46-year-old Azusa man was unable to keep from hitting Crus as he walked in the No. 2 lane of traffic, officials said.
After Crus was struck, the car that hit him then struck another unknown vehicle, investigators added.
The southbound 605 Freeway was completely shut down for about an hour after the crash as authorities investigated, and two lanes remained closed well into Thursday evening.
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Suspect in custody in South Pasadena slaying

SOUTH PASADENA — A man accused of shooting his friend in the head as the two sat in a car in South Pasadena more than a year ago is in custody and awaiting trial, authorities said Friday, though the motive in the slaying remained a mystery.
By all accounts, Juan Carlos Perez, 34, and Noe Martinez-Quinone, 35, were good friends who were last seen attending a baby shower, then visiting a Los Angeles bar about 2 a.m. on Nov. 22, 2009, Detective Karen Shonka of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said. Slightly more than two hours later, a South Pasadena police officer discovered Martinez-Quinone’s body inside his friend’s car parked in the 1000 block of Arroyo Drive, and Perez became a fugitive.
Despite Perez’s arrest on suspicion of the killing, what happened between to the two men remains unclear, Shonka said.
“We have no idea. It’s an unknown motive. When we spoke to (Perez), he denied any involvement.”
Perez was arrested on suspicion of murdering Martinez-Quinone Feb. 5 after he was found to be serving time in an Orange County jail for an unrelated assault and drug possession conviction under the alias of Aron Montalvo, the detective said.
Jailed in Orange County in July of last year, homicide detectives allowed him to serve out his sentence before arresting him on suspicion of the South Pasadena slaying.
He’s due to be arraigned March 10 in Alhambra Superior Court, court officials said.
The officer approached a car about 4:20 a.m. on Nov. 22, 2009, in the 1000 block of Arroyo Drive when Perez, sitting in the driver’s seat, uttered something unintelligible at the him and ran away, investigators said. Martinez-Quionone’s body was then found in the passenger seat of the car Perez was not found after a lengthy search.
Nothing found in the car shed any light on a possible motive in the killing, Shonka said, and the murder weapons has not been found.
Coroner’s officials reported there were no drugs in Martinez-Quinones body other than alcohol, she added.
Martinez-Quinone was a Guatemalan national who moved to the U.S. about a year before his slaying, investigators said, and Perez is a Mexican national believed to be involved in human smuggling.
Both were living in Los Angeles at the time of the shooting.
Perez was being held without bail because of a hold from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to sheriff’s booking records.
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Man fatally struck by car on 605 Freeway in Irwindale

IRWINDALE — An elderly man was struck and killed while walking on the 605 Freeway Thursday, officials said.
The incident was reported just after 6:20 p.m. on the southbound 605 Freeway near Live Oak Avenue, California Highway Patrol Officer Monica Posada said.
The man was struck in the center of the freeway, and at least one witness reported seeing him walking across the roadway, Posada said.
It was not clear why the man was on the freeway.
The accident caused the closure of all four lanes of the southbound freeway for about an hour, according to CHP logs. The two right lanes were reopened about an hour after the crash, though the two left lanes remained shut down Thursday evening as officials investigated.
No further details were available.
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Pasadena police to target red light violators

PASADENA — Police will be targeting red light violators Friday during a traffic enforcement campaign, police said.
The campaign will take place between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m., Pasadena police officials said in a written statement.
“The Pasadena Police Department is committed to reducing the number of traffic collisions resulting from drivers running red lights or driving aggressively through intersections,” Police Chief Phillip Sanchez said.
Funding for the operation is being provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Artillery shell at Mt. SAC determined to be inert

WALNUT — The sheriff’s bomb squad went to Mt. San Antonio College Thursday and determined an artillery shell brought to the campus was an inert display piece, authorities said.
Deputies were alerted about 4:37 p.m. that someone had brought what appeared to be a 40mm artillery shell to Mt. SAC, 1100 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Saleeby said.
Deputies evacuated the building and called for the bomb squad, the lieutenant said.
The bomb squad arrived at building 60 — listen on the campus website as a science building — and determined that the shell contained no explosives and was merely a display piece, the lieutenant said.
Officials sounded the all-clear about 6 p.m.
The reason the shell was brought to the school and who brought were not available, Saleeby said, however it appeared no crime had been committed.
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Body found in Lennox backyard identified as missing homeowner: wife still missing

From City News Service:
LOS ANGELES – A man whose body was found buried in the backyard of an alleged “drug house” in Lennox was identified today by the coroner’s office, while the man’s wife remained missing and a suspect in the case was in custody.
The body of James Daniel Stein, 53, was unearthed Tuesday in the backyard of the home he owned on 112th Street near Inglewood Avenue, according to the coroner’s office.
Marcos Lomeli, 26, was taken into custody about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Lancer Motel in the 4300 block of Rosemead Boulevard, said sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker.
Investigators began digging up the yard after the suspect’s former girlfriend told detectives at least one body was buried at the reputed “drug house,” said sheriff’s Lt. Don Slawson.
Stein’s mother reported him missing Dec. 17, and his wife, Gabriela, went missing the next month. Investigators suspect she also could be buried on the property.
The search for her body was suspended early yesterday because of the rainy weather, said sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Thomas.
In addition to being a suspect in Stein’s apparent murder, “the suspect was … also wanted for the alleged false imprisonment, robbery, carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon of an adult victim on Saturday in Lennox,” Parker said.
Lomeli called 911, falsely claiming to be held hostage at the Pico Rivera motel, and “over the ensuing 10 or so minutes, deputies worked to convince the suspect to surrender,” said Parker.
The former girlfriend, Jenny Salazar, was reportedly also arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment.
Slawson told a newspaper he was told that several people who had lived at the house suddenly disappeared from the home about a week ago.
He said Salazar and Lomeli went to the house on Jan. 12 and asked another resident if they could borrow a truck, and when the truck owner asked why, Lomeli said he needed to move a couple of bodies.
He said that when the truck owner said no, they tied him up, but that the man escaped and told authorities what happened.
A neighbor told a TV crew he had been calling the sheriff’s department about problems at the house for years. He said there had been numerous overdose deaths there, but “nothing ever seemed to turn up.”
Lomeli had at least one previous arrest. He was jailed by Culver City police on an unnamed felony charge on Dec. 3, according to Los Angeles County jail records. Lomeli apparently posted the $20,000 bail, but no court information was immediately available. He is currently being held without bail.
In another twist to the case, a fire broke out at the house last night. Neighbors reported seeing smoke and flames coming from the house around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, it was reported.
Sheriff’s deputies reportedly described packrat conditions in the home.
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Sentencing delay will allow World Series ring thief from Azusa to avoid state prison

POMONA — The sentencing for an Azusa man who stole a 1988 World Series ring, along with other jewelry, from former Dodger Jimmy Campanis last year was postponed Thursday until late this year.
Frank Jose Carrillo, 40, pleaded guilty in early January to stealing the items from Campanis’ golf bag as he participated in a charity golf tournament in Chino Hills on Nov. 15 of last year.
He was expected to be sentenced to two years in state prison Thursday, but the sentencing was continued until Dec. 13, court officials said.
The delay will allow Carrillo to serve his sentence in county jail instead of state prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Pomona Superior Court Commissioner Wade Olson granted Carrillo’s request to avoid state prison over the objections of the prosecution, Robison said.
Carrillo will remain in county jail until he returns to court on Dec. 13, she said, when he’s still expected to be sentenced to two years behind bars.
With credit for the time he will have already served in county jail, officials said, he will be able to serve the remainder of his sentence in a county facility after his sentencing.
Carrillo pleaded guilty Dec. 13 of last year to three counts of grand theft of personal property, two counts of second-degree commercial burglary and one count of receiving stolen property, the district attorney’s office said in a written statement.
Carrillo was arrested two days after the theft by by La Verne police, authorities said. Investigators recovered the World Series ring, as well as several Rolex watches, wallets and other items while executing a search warrant at Carrillo’s home.
Carrillo admitted stealing the items from golf bags and golf carts between June 2009 and November 2010.
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