Man shot in head during robbery in Pasadena

PASADENA — A 30-year-old Pasadena man was shot in the head during a robbery Wednesday night.

Pasadena Police Lt. Pete Hettema said the man was in stable condition at a hospital.
The incident happened at 10:20 p.m. on Eloise Street near Colorado Boulevard.
Hettema said the Pasadena man was shot a couple of times. He didn’t know what was taken from the victim by three suspects who were only described as black men.
There were no further details.
– Ruby Gonzales
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UPDATED: Woman accused of hospice theft, hit-and-run, assault, police chase, ramming cop cars

A woman stole purses from the parking lot of a West Covina hospice, attacked another woman during a freeway hit-and-run, led police on a pursuit and rammed patrol cars before being arrested in La Puente early Friday, police said.
Teresa Vaimaona, 53, of West Covina was expected to be booked on suspicion of crimes including grand theft, hit-and-run, assault, assault with a deadly weapon and evading police, West Covina police Lt. Jerry Pearman said.
A West Covina police officer first encountered Vaimaona driving an SUV erratically in the area of Fairgrove and Willow avenues in West Valinda just after 7 a.m., West Covina police Lt. Jerry Pearman said.
At the time, the officer was unaware that the woman had just stolen several purses from the office of a West Covina hospice and choked another woman before fleeing the scene of a crash on the 10 Freeway, the lieutenant said.
“The person failed to yield and a pursuit ensued,” he said.
Police chase the woman east on Fairgrove Avenue to Hacienda Boulevard, according to Pearman. When the chase reached Amar Road in La Puente, the driver made a U-turn and began driving north on Hacienda Boulevard on the wrong side of the road.
A West Covina officer was driving south on Hacienda Boulevard to join the pursuit when he spotted the SUV heading directly toward him and pulled to the right side of the road.
To avoid other oncoming traffic, Pearman said, the SUV also pulled over along the right side of the road and collided with the stopped patrol car at slow speed.
Two more West Covina officers arrived and parked behind the SUV to block the woman in, police said.
As they exited their vehicles and tried to detain her, she gunned the engine in reverse and rammed both patrol cars, Pearman said. Officers had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
Officers smashed out one of the SUV’s windows with a baton and arrested her, he said.
Once in custody, authorities began connecting the woman to the alleged thefts, as well as the freeway assault and hit-and-run.
The suspect stole several purses earlier in the morning from the office of a hospice on Phillips Avenue, just south of Badillo Street in West Covina, where Vaimaona had gone to visit a relative who works there, Pearman said.
After getting into an argument with the relative, Vaimaona allegedly snatched several employees’ purses from an office and left.
She then became involved in a minor collision on the 10 Freeway near Vincent Avenue, police said.
Vaimaona choked the other driver, another woman in her 30s, before fleeing the scene, Pearman said. The assault victim was not seriously injured.
It was minutes later that West Covina police Officer Robert Nyquist spotted the suspect and initiated the chase. The hit-and-run and assault on the freeway had not been reported to police at that point.
The suspect was taken to a hospital to be examined before booking, officials said. She was believed to be mentally ill and off of her prescribed medication for several days.
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Glendora police arrest three on suspicion of meth possession, ID theft

GLENDORA — Police arrested to men and woman Wednesday after discovering methamphetamine and equipment used for identity theft inside a motel room, officials said.
Brian Joanis, 32, and Thomas Jensen, 43, were booked on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sales and other charges related to identity theft, officials said. Mary Carlson, 43, was arrested on suspicion of possessing methamphetamine.
An officer approached the three after they were spotted jaywalking shortly after 6 a.m. near a motel in the 300 block of West Route 66, Glendora police Lt. Rob Lamborghini said.
The officer discovered Jensen, who was registered at the nearby motel, was on probation, and therefore subject to police searches of his residence, the lieutenant said.
Upon entering the motel room Jensen had rented, police found a small amount methamphetamine, along with packaging supplies such as a scale, a machine used to create false drivers’ licenses and other materials related to identity theft, Lamborghini said.
According to county booking records, Jensen was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the Glendora Police Department’s jail, while Joanis was being held in lieu of $90,000 bail and Carlson was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail. All three were scheduled for arraignment Friday in West Covina Superior Court.
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Nude woman rescued from wash in Covina, taken for psychiatric evaluation

Firefighters rescued a naked 51-year-old woman from a flood control wash over the weekend, officials said Tuesday.
Covina police offiicals said the Covina woman was flown by helicopter to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, however her injuries were ultimately not believed to be major, officials said. She was also taken to undergo pschiatric evaliation.
Authorities received a call shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday of a naked woman running around in the area of Hollenbeck Avenue and San Bernardino Road, Covina police Lt. Tim Doonan said.
Officers went to the area but could not find the woman, he said.
A short time later, police received a report of a nude woman being carried along in the shallow waters of a flood control wash, and officers spotted her in the wash near the Azusa Avenue overcrossing, Doonan said.
The wash is lined with slippery algae and the water within it, though not more than a foot deep, travels at about 15 mph, making it extremely difficult to get out of, police said.
Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters managed to get a rope down to the woman near Vincent Avenue and pulled her to safety.
She appeared bruised and scraped due to her trip down the wash, but was not believed to have suffered any life-threatening injuries.
Officials also placed the woman on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, Doonan said.
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UPDATED: Truck crashes into sign, prompting Sig Alert on 605 Freeway in Whittier

WHITTIER — The right lane of the northbound 605 Freeway was closed Wednesday morning after a dump truck crashed into an overhead sign near the Whittier Boulevard offramp, authorities said.
The crash was reported about 6:30 a.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Francisco Villalobos said.
“Fortunately, there was no injuries involved in that collision,” the officer said.
An overhead “Whittier Boulevard” sign was badly damaged, however, and Caltrans officials determined immediate repairs were necessary to prevent a traffic hazard, Villalobos said.
Officials kept the right lane of the northbound freeway just shut down until just before 11 a.m. to accommodate repairs, he added.
Initial reports indicated the bed of a dump truck suddenly rose up while the truck was moving, striking the Whittier Boulevard offramp sign.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation.
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Man carjacked along Whittier Boulevard in Pico Rivera

PICO RIVERA — A man was carjacked at gunpoint Tuesday in the parking lot of a Whittier Boulevard business complex, officials said.
The crime took place just after noon in the 8200 block of Whittier Boulevard, near Van Norman Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Robert Smith said.
A 38-year-old man dropped off his brother at a business and went to find a shady parking space, Smith said.
While sitting in his car with the engine running, a group of four men approached in a gray van, possibly a GMC Safari or Chevrolet Astro, approached, the lieutenant said.
Several of the men, described only as Latino, exited the van and confronted the victim, Smith said. one of them brandished a handgun, while another held another unknown-type weapon as they made “threatening statement” to the car owner.
The victim fled from his car and ran to a nearby business, Smith said. He realized he left the engine of his car running just in time to look outside and see it speeding away.
Deputies described the carjacked vehicle as a black, 4-door, 2012 Honda Accord with a California license plate number of 6WTU012.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Pico Rivera Station, or 9-1-1.
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Downed power line blocks traffic in Santa Fe Springs

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Traffic slowed in Santa Fe Springs early Wednesday after a power line fell across Excelsior Drive, police said.
The downed wire was first reported about 5:15 a.m. in the 13500 block of Excelsior Drive, between Carmenita Road and Marquardt Avenue, Whittier police Lt. Steve Dean said.
No injuries were reported, however police blocked traffic in nearly both directions as utility workers made repairs, the lieutenant said. Traffic lanes were re-opened about 6:40 a.m.
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UPDATED: Detectives investigate man’s death in Angeles National Forest

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST — The body of a man was discovered early Wednesday near the wreckage of a car that had gone over the side of Angeles Crest Highway in the forest north of La Canada Flintridge, authorities said.
The body, initially described as that of a 41-year-old man from Los Angeles, was found after passers-by spotted the crash scene near mile marker 31 of Angeles Crest Highway about 6 a.m., Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Angela Shepherd said.
The man had been thrown from the car in the crash, she said. He appeared to have been the only person inside the car.
Though the crash scene was first spotted Wednesday morning, the crash likely occurred sometime earlier, Shepherd said. It was unclear when.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department fire engine responding to the incident collided with a sheriff’s search and rescue vehicle just north of the fatal crash scene, according to sheriff’s officials and California Highway Patrol logs. A firefighter was treated for injuries, the extent of which were not available.
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