Man beaten and carjacked outside West Covina VFW

WEST COVINA – Officers are looking for a man clad in blue who beat and carjacked a 63-year-old driver after he left a Veterans of Foreign Wars post Thursday.
West Covina police Lt. Marty Sevilla said the victim, a Temple City resident, ended up with lacerations to his face and a swollen left eye.
He also had difficulty breathing and was taken to Citrus Valley Medical Center, Queen of the Valley campus, but was expected to be okay, police said.
The man had left the VFW, 2328 West Merced Avenue, about 4:30 p.m. and was sitting in his 1991 Toyota Camry when a man walked up to the car and demanded money, Sgt. David Lee said.
The driver told the suspect he didn’t have money.
The attacker pulled open the driver’s side door, punched the driver in the face and yanked him out of the car, Sevilla said. The suspect continued to punch and also kicked the 63-year-old.
He then drove off with the car.
On Friday morning, “We recovered that car over off of (the 200 block of South) Bandy Avenue,” Lee said. It was taken back to the police station for forensic examination.
Police Friday continued their investigation, talking to residents near where the car was found and checking for any potentially useful surveillance camera footage.
The carjacker was described as a Latino, about 30, between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing between 160 to 180 pounds. He wore sunglasses, a blue shirt, blue pants and a blue hat.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call West Covina police at 626-939-8500.

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El Monte woman jailed in connection with school break-in

EL MONTE — Police jailed an El Monte woman late Thursday after finding computers and other items in her home that were stolen in a , authorities said.
Guadalupe Cabrera, 18, was booked on suspicion of possession of stolen property, El Monte police Lt. Dan Burlingham said.
The break-in was reported July 14 at Cogswell Elementary School, 11050 Fineview Street, the lieutenant said.
Detectives received information that items belonging to the school may be at a home not far from the school on Cogswell Road, Burlingham said.
Police were able to find a computer belonging to the school at the home, before obtaining a search warrant and finding additional items taken from the campus, he said.
Specific details about what was stolen in the school burglary and what items were recovered were not available Friday.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Cabrera was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail pending an initial court appearance.

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Bicyclist fatally struck by car in Pasadena

PASADENA – A bicyclist was killed Thursday night when his bicycle and a car collided.
The 61-year-old man died of his injuries at Huntington Memorial Hospital, said Pasadena Lt. Pete Hettema. He said the bicyclist wasn’t wearing a helmet.
The man’s name wasn’t released because his family hadn’t been notified yet.
Hettema said the crash happened at 6:13 p.m. at Colorado Boulevard and Terrace Drive.
The bicyclist was riding eastbound on the sidewalk of Colorado Boulevard. He collided in the crosswalk with an Audi making a left turn from westbound Colorado Boulevard.
Hettema said the driver, a 29-year-old Pasadena man, stayed at the scene.
The driver wasn’t injured, police said, and no crime was initially suspected.

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Report released on sheriff’s department shootings

From the Associated Press:

LOS ANGELES — In most shootings in which Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies fired at suspects who appeared to be holding or reaching for a weapon, the suspect turned out to be unarmed, according to a report released Thursday.
The report by the Police Assessment Resource Center analyzed six years of shooting data, including from so-called “state-of-mind” incidents where a deputy opened fire after seeing a suspect clasp an object or reach for his waist area.
In 61 percent of the 53 cases reported, the suspect turned out to be unarmed; in most cases, it turned out the suspect was holding something like a cellphone or sunglasses, the report found.
According to the report, the number of state-of-mind shootings increased from nine in 2009 to 15 in 2010. In 96 percent of similar cases since 2005, the suspect who deputies shot at was black or Latino.
The sheriff’s department said the figure was not surprising because deputies patrol areas in south and east Los Angeles County that are home to a plethora of black and Latino gangs.
The report’s author, Merrick Bobb, noted that the sheriff’s jurisdiction spanned far more than just gang turf but he stressed it would be wrong to infer deputies harbor intentional bias.
Instead, he called into question the effectiveness of deputy training, noting that in almost a third of shootings, deputies had received no relevant training in the past two years.
“Knowing that black and Latino men are more likely to be shot or shot at … the sheriff’s department should be doing a better job to reduce as far as possible mistaken shootings,” Bobb said in his report.
Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said the department had not had time to fully digest the report, but it took issue with some of the report’s methodology, including that it only drew on a small amount of data.
Whitmore noted that while state-of-mind shootings have increased slightly, deputies have also dramatically increased the numbers of arrests they make.
Bobb carries out audits of the sheriff’s department twice a year under a contract he has held with county officials since 1992.

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Man struck by car while crossing street in Whittier

WHITTIER – A 25-year-old man suffered significant injuries but was expected to survive after he was struck by a car while crossing the street Thursday, authorities said.
The accident was reported about 5:40 p.m. on Mar Vista Street near Valley View Avenue at 5:38 p.m., Whittier police officials said.
According to the initial investigation, “He appeared from between two parked cars,” Lt. Carlos Solorza said. “The driver didn’t have time to react.”
Hamilton said the man sustained a deep cut to his head and possibly a broken leg.
He was flown by helicopter to Los Angeles County–USC Medical Center with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
The driver of the car remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Solorza said. Nothing criminal was initially suspected.

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UPDATED: Family of man killed in West Covina officer-involved shooting accepts $1.5 million settlement

WEST COVINA — The family of a 24-year-old man shot to death by West Covina police in late 2008 has accepted a $1.5 million settlement from the city to dismiss a lawsuit alleging excessive force and reckless intent, their attorney said Thursday.
Omar Garcia of West Covina died Nov. 27, 2008, after being shot 15 times by two police officers in the parking lot behind a Target store.
The West Covina City Council authorized a $1.5 million settlement in the case earlier this month, city officials said. Two-thirds of the money will be paid by the city, while the remaining $500,000 will be covered by insurance.
Officers Stephen Delgadillo and Enrique Macias encountered Garcia in the parking lot of the Target store at 2370 S. Azusa Ave. during a manhunt for a suspect who had been involved in a shooting in the area earlier in the day, Owen said.
<NO1><NO><NO1><NO>”When the actual facts of this incident came to light… we found out that this boy was doing nothing wrong. And, in a case of mistaken identity, was killed by officer Macias, who shot him in the back approximately 10 times,” said attorney Greg Owen — who represents Garcia’s mother, Irma Herrera, and sisters Michelle Celeste Garcia and Jazmin Ortega.
The lawyer said it appeared that Garcia was shot after being mistaken for the man involved in the earlier shooting.
“This shooting violated every procedure, all of the training that an officer in West Covina, or any other country receives, but more importantly, it violates the basic moral rule, which is, in America, we respect and cherish human life,” Owen said.
The West Covina Police Department has maintained that Garcia was shot by the officers in self-defense after Garcia picked up Delgadillo’s baton and tried to strike the officer with it during a scuffle.
Los Angeles County District Attorney’s investigators have concluded the shooting was justified.
In the District Attorney’s report on the shooting, Deputy District Attorney Christina Buckley wrote, “Under these circumstances, we conclude the officers acted lawfully in self-defense and the defense of others. Therefore, we are closing our file and will take no further action on this matter.”
Owen disputes the claim that Garcia, who weighs 150 pounds, attacked an officer with a baton, citing testimony gathered during videotaped depositions of Macias and Delgadillo.
“Officer Macias defended his action by stating to his supervisors, and while under oath in the civil case, that the reason he shot Omar Garcia was because Omar Garcia picked up his partner’s baton off of the ground, raised it over his head and was about to crush that police officer’s skull,” Owen said.
“Officer Delgadillo, under oath, testified that Omar Garcia never picked up his baton, never held it over his head, and never made a motion to strike him with the baton,” Owen said.
West Covina Police Chief Frank Wills said Owen’s account of events was incorrect.
Garcia was not shot in the back, he said.
“The deceased did have a baton in his possession. Ballistics show both officers were on the ground at the time they were shooting,” he said.
“I continue to the support the action of my police officers 100 percent,” Wills said.
The District Attorney’s report indicates that Delgadillo was trying to speak with an uncooperative Garcia and had pulled his baton in response to perceived strange behavior on Garcia’s part, such as refusing to obey orders or make eye contact.
Macias then arrived on scene and the situation quickly escalated, according to the District Attorney’s report. Seeing Delgadillo with a drawn baton, and Garcia standing in a “fighting stance,” Macias rushed to help and attempted to grab a hold of Garcia.
Garcia then lunged at Macias, the report states, and a fight ensued between Garcia and the two officers.
Garcia punched Delgadillo in the face several times during the struggle, Buckley wrote.
Macias told investigators that he saw Delgadillo and Garcia fighting over the baton when Delgadillo fell backward, leaving Garcia with the weapon, according to the report.
When Garcia raised the baton over his head as if to deliver a blow to Delgadillo, “Fearing for his partner’s life, Macias drew his gun and started firing at Garcia,” the report states. Macias told officials he saw Delgadillo raise his arm in a defensive motion, as if to block an oncoming blow.
In Delgadillo’s account to investigators, according to the report, he looked up after falling backward, “He did not see anything in Garcia’s hand,” Buckley wrote. “While on the ground, he heard three gunshots.”
“(Delgadillo) then saw Garcia on the ground pushing up as he reached for and grabbed the baton which was on the ground,” the District Attorney’s report states. “He feared Garcia was going to use the baton to beat him ‘to death.’ In fear for his life, Delgadillo drew his weapon and fired at Garcia.”
Differing stories from the officers are not unexpected in stressful situations like officer-involved shootings, officials said.
“The discrepancy between Delgadillo and Macias’ recall of the moments leading up to the shooting is not surprising,” Buckley wrote. “It is not unusual for people to see the same event yet see or hear it differently. This phenomenon occurs even under calm conditions.”
In all, investigators found Macias had fired 11 shots and Delgadillo fired four.
Macias attempted to use a Taser to control Garcia three times, but the device did not work, officials said.
Delgadillo suffered bumps on his head, a bruised right eye and cheek, a cut to his lip, abrasions, a sprained left ankle and an injured left wrist in the incident, officials said. Macias was treated for abrasions on his left elbow.
City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. The city believes the officers acted justly, and the settlement was offered to avoid the possibility of an even larger judgement being awarded by a jury.
Owen said he was especially concerned about the behavior of Macias, who has already a $1 million judgement against him in an unrelated excessive force case.
“It’s currently being appealed,” Wills said of the litigation.
Details of the previous excessive force case were not available Thursday.
A portion of the events leading up to the shooting were captured by a nearby surveillance camera, officials said.
Police have thus far refused to release the tape, citing the pending litigation. The shooting itself is not captured on the tape, Wills said. “Not even muzzle flash,” he said.
Owen said Garcia’s mother has been devastated by the death of her son, who she lived with.
“She spent more time with him than any other human being,” Owen said.
A student at California State University Los Angeles, “(Garcia) seemed like a very well-adjusted young man who was attending college and had a very bright future ahead of him,” Owen said.
While Garcia’s mother is satisfied with the outcome of the litigation, Owen said, “It goes without saying that $10 million, $100 million would not bring back her son and that part of her life.”

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Rowland Heights home scorched in blaze

ROWLAND HEIGHTS — A fire damaged a Rowland Heights home but caused no injuries early Thursday.
The blaze was first reported about 12:40 a.m. in the 300 block of Hallridge Drive, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Quvondo Johnson said.
Firefighters arrived to find the garage of the home “well-involved” with fire, he said.
Firefighters extinguished the flames in under 20 minutes, officials said.
The cause was suspected to be an electrical appliance in the garage.
A family living at the home was displaced by the damage, Johnson said.
A dollar-value estimate of the damage was not available.

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Gunman robs Montebello Jack-in-the-Box

MONTEBELLO — A gunman corralled employees in an office as he robbed a fast-food restaurant Wednesday, police said.
The crime was reported shortly before 3 a.m. at Jack-in-the-Box, 892 N. Garfield Ave., Montebello police Lt. Rich Meadows said.
The robber was described as a Latino man in his late 20s, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and 200 pounds, clean-shaven, with short brown hair and brown eyes, officials said. He wore a gray sweater, blue pants and carried a semi-automatic handgun.
After ordering employees into an office and stealing an unknown amount of cash, the robber possibly fled in a white, newer-model Toyota Camry, Meadows said.
No injuries were reported.

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Whittier man injured in head-on motorcycle crash

WHITTIER — A motorcyclist is expected to survive after colliding head-on with a car on Pickering Avenue late Wednesday, authorities said.
The 58-year-old Whittier man was taken to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood with a mild concussion, but his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Whittier police Lt. Carlos Solorza said.
The crash took place about 8:45 p.m. in the 7200 block of Pickering Avenue, officials said.
The motorcyclist was southbound on Pickering Avenue when, “for unknown reasons, he drifted into northbound traffic and hit a car head-on,” Solorza said. The driver of the car was not hurt.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation. Nothing criminal was initially suspected.

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Sheriff’s officials plan community meeting in La Mirada

LA MIRADA — Community members are invited to a neighborhood watch and crime prevention meeting Saturday.
The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. at Garden Hill Elementary School, 14607 Gardenhill Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Patrick Valdez said.
Neighborhood watch programs, local crime trends and crime prevention will be discussed.
For more information, call the sheriff’s La Mirada Substation at 562-902-2960.

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