Police: Man shoots self in leg, goes on crime spree in La Verne

A man accidentally shot himself in the leg, carjacked a resident, led police on a pursuit, tried to carjack more people and fought a pedestrian during a robbery attempt Friday.
The one-man crime spree began in La Verne and ended in the unincorporated county area near Covina.
The suspect was arrested but authorities hadn’t released a name late Friday. La Verne police said his identity has not been confirmed.
It started with a solo crash in the 1900 block of 5th Street in La Verne around 7:30 p.m. Officers were told that subjects were fleeing from the area.
Police said the driver accidentally shot himself after getting out of the vehicle with a handgun. He tried to carjack a Good Samaritan who saw the crash and stopped to help.
According to authorities, the man tried to break into a home in the 1800 block of 5th Street and attempted a carjacking a block away.
He later got inside a home and took the resident’s vehicle. He also led police on a chase.
At 8:05 p.m., La Verne police called Glendora police and said the suspect was westbound on Arrow Highway to northbound Valley Center Avenue. La Verne lost the vehicle shortly after that, Glendora Police Lt. Jamie Caldwell said.
Within minutes, he said Glendora police received calls about an erratic driver and possibly a crash around Barranca Avenue and Arrow Highway.
Officers found the carjacked vehicle sans driver.
Two people by a minivan told police a man tried to carjack the minivan which wasn’t working. They pointed out the direction where he ran.
A man who had just cashed a check walked out of a mini mart and was confronted by the suspect who demanded his money and punched him in the face, according to Caldwell.
The man fought back.
The suspect ran off then tried to carjack another car.
Officers caught up with the alleged culprit on Barranca Avenue, just south of Arrow Highway.
Caldwell said the man’s head was bleeding which could be due to the broken windshield of the stolen vehicle. He found out about the gunshot wound to the leg when he saw a two to three-inch pool of blood under the suspect.
The suspect was treated at the scene and later taken to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center.
Covina police also assisted La Verne police.
– Ruby Gonzales
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12-year-old boy accused of El Monte shooting

EL MONTE — A 12-year-old El Monte boy was arrested for allegedly shooting at a house and vehicle Friday night.
His name wasn’t released because he is a minor.
No one was injured in the shooting, according to El Monte Police Sgt. Ben Lowry.
Police got a call at 7:15 p.m. about a shooting on Dodson Street.
Lowry said bullet holes were found in the house and a car. He thinks no one was home when the shooting happened.
A tip led police to the boy. Lowry said a small caliber rifle and casings were recovered.
“We had no information he was trying to shoot anyone,” Lowry said.
He said the boy was arrested on suspicion of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and taken to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.
– Ruby Gonzales
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Alleged DUI driver crashes into Glendora home

GLENDORA – A suspected drunken driver suffered cuts, bruises and a possible head injury after his pickup truck crashed into a house early Saturday.
Glendora Police Lt. Jamie Caldwell said the driver, 19-year-old Joseph Garibaldi of Covina, was cited on suspicion of driving under the influence.
He said the residents, who were in the back of the house, weren’t injured.
The crash was reported at 12:30 a.m. Saturday on Gladstone Street and Concord Lane.
Caldwell said a Dodge pickup truck was seen speeding westbound on Gladstone Street.
The pickup truck jumped the curb, went through a block wall, flipped and ended up in the living room of a house, he said.
The driver was taken to Foothill Presbyterian Hospital.
– Ruby Gonzales
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La Puente couple killed in 60 Freeway crash identified

INDUSTRY — Authorities have released the names of a La Puente couple who died Thursday in a crash on the 60 Freeway in Industry.
Chi Duc Hoang, 63, and Lily My Hoang Tu, 57, were pronounced dead at the scene of the 1:15 p.m. crash on the transition road connecting the southbound 605 Freeway to the eastbound 60 Freeway, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said. They were believed to be married.
Chi Hoang was driving a 2001 Nissan Sentra on the transition road at an unknown speed prior to the crash, with Lily Hoang as a passenger, according to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Doris Peniche.
For reasons that remained under investigation, Chi Hoang lost control of the car, which veered to the left and into the number four lane of traffic on the eastbound 60, the officer said.
The car ended up directly in the path of a big rig, which struck the side of Nissan, officials said. The Nissan continued out of control into the path of another vehicle, a pickup truck, which also struck the car before it slammed into the right shoulder wall, Peniche said.
The big rig driver, a 47-year-old Hesperia man, and the driver of the pickup truck, a 72-year-old Los Angeles man, were unhurt.
The investigation is being carried out by the East Los Angeles office of the CHP.
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1,800 pot plants pulled from canyon near Pathfinder Park in Rowland Heights

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ROWLAND HEIGHTS — Sheriff’s deputies removed more than 1,800 marijuana plants, valued at about $2.7 million, from a densely wooded county area near Pathfinder Community Regional Park Friday.
In addition to the marijuana plants, about 10 members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Marijuana Eradication Team also hoisted more than 1,000 pounds of fertilizers, chemicals, trash and other items from the illicit garden at the bottom of a steep canyon between the park and Vantage Pointe Drive, Lt. Nick Tippings said.
Though hidden by a canopy of trees and difficult to access due to steep terrain, the large-scale growing operation was found little more than 1,000 feet away from both Pathfinder Park and homes.
“One of the things that bothers me about this one is how close it is to a residential neighborhood and a park,” Tippings said.
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A sheriff’s helicopter pilot first spotted the site in recent weeks, he said. After investigating and obtaining a search warrant, the MET deputies arrived about 7 a.m. Friday and set up along Vantage Pointe Drive before hiking their way down to the marijuana garden, which was divided into several plots, each containing several hundred marijuana plants.
No suspects were found during the operation, however several campsites were dismantled. One contained a stove range and food such as Spam, canned sausages, tortillas and beans, along with laundry detergent and clothing hanging in a tree.
Other campsites stored fertilizers and other supplies used by the growers. Because of the relatively short hike involved in accessing the grow site, detectives said it appeared they visited during the day but did not spend the night.
Detectives gathered any items they believed might be useful in identifying those responsible for the grow.
No weapons were found, however a BB gun was recovered among the pot plants.
The entry point used by the growers appeared to have been along Fullerton Road, Wagner said.
Some of the camouflage-wearing deputies carried AR-15 rifles in case of an encounter with an armed pot farmer.
Possibly tipped off by increased sheriff’s helicopter traffic over the area in the days leading up to the bust, it appeared the growers had hurriedly harvested as much of the crop as they could, investigators said, but still left behind a significant amount of pot.
“They were here yesterday or the day before at the latest, based on the condition of the cut plants,” Detective Robert Wagner said.
To irrigate the crops, the growers laid miles of plastic tubing and dug plastic-lined reservoirs. They appeared to be stealing their water by tapping into the plumbing of the nearby residential community.
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And this was not the first time the same area has been used as a marijuana garden, Wagner said. The MET deputies visited the same area last summer, where they found an already-abandoned grow operation.
It’s likely the same people are responsible for both gardens, Wagner added.
Residents of Vantage Pointe Drive took photos as deputies used a helicopter to hoist bundles of marijuana and garbage out of the canyon and laid down along the side of the road before being loaded into a truck. Many said they were shocked to learn a marijuana grow, and particularly such a large one, was being tended so close to their homes.
Neighbor Stacey Wong, 53, said she had noticed that sheriff’s helicopters appeared to be spending a lot of time in the area over past week but did not know why.
A grassy area in the neighborhood often attracts loitering teenagers at night, she said, but she’d never seen any suspicious people entering or exiting the wooded area.
Wong added that she was especially angered to learn the growers had apparently been stealing their water from her community.
“I hope they catch who did this,” she said.
PHOTOS by Watchara Phomicinda
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LA Weekly takes a look at SGV’s case of Linsanity

It’s something we’ve been talking about in the newsroom, but seems more and more apparent — GOP Assembly candidate Dr. Matthew Lin has a really good chance of taking out Dem Ed Chau of Montebello in the 49th Assembly District.

Why?

As Simone Wilson points out in a piece published in Thursday’s LA Weekly it could be as simple as Lin’s track record as an open mind on the San Marino City Council. Then again, it could be something else entirely:

Lin isn’t exactly demure about his nearly 40 years as an orthopedic
surgeon, or the praise he gets. “People tell me, ‘We don’t need more
personal-injury lawyers in Sacramento. … We need a healer, we need a
doctor,'” he says.

Weina Xiong, a young Chinese immigrant who recently began
volunteering for Lin’s campaign, agrees: “Doctor is much better than
lawyer.”

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Covina police use cell phone to track down suicidal woman

Covina police tracked down a suicidal woman who took a large dose of painkillers Thursday, then parked her car in Glendora to allow the drugs take effect.
A man called police about 10 a.m. to report his wife had told him she had taken a large number of painkillers and was planning to go park her car and die, Covina police Lt. Tim Doonan said.
“We basically devoted all our resources to it,” the lieutenant said. Officers searched via car and helicopter.
“We were actually able to, through the phone company, do a GPS track of her cell phone,” he said.
Officers found her sitting in her parked car, in a parking lot Glendora Avenue and Route 66 in Glendora, Doonan said. She appeared to be suffering from a drug overdose.
“She was semi-conscious, very lethargic,” Doonan said.
Officials rushed her to a hospital for treatment. An update on her condition was not available.
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Covina sex offender arrested for second time in two days

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COVINA — A registered sex offender arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually battering a woman inside a Glendora store was arrested again Thursday on suspicion of child annoyance, police said.
Lance Glock, 51, of Covina, was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail at the Covina Police Department’s jail pending a scheduled arraignment Monday in West Covina Superior Court.
Police were summoned about 1:45 p.m. to a business in the 100 block of West Badillo Street after a 17-year-old girl and business owner “described some really unusual behavior,” Doonan said.
Glock had apparently walked up very close to the girl, making her uncomfortable, while asking for her name and other personal information, the lieutenant said.
Officers found him inside a nearby business and arrested him on suspicion of child annoyance, he said.
Glock had been released from jail in Glendora on his own recognizance the previous day after police in that city arrested him on suspicion of sexually battering a woman inside a HomeGoods store, officials said.
In that incident, he allegedly grabbed the woman from behind and sexually battered her, according to Glendora police.
Glock is a registered sex offender, however his image and address information are not featured on the statewide Megan’s Law database of sex registrants.
Details in his prior conviction were not available.
BOOKING PHOTO of Lance Glock courtesy of the Covina Police Department
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Two killed in crash on 60 Freeway in Industry

INDUSTRY — Two people died Thursday following a multi-car crash involving a big rig and three other vehicles, authorities said.
The crash was first reported at 1:18 p.m. on the eastbound 60 Freeway at the 605 Freeway, California Highway Patrol Officer Tatiana Sauquillo said.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, she said.
The circumstances of the crash were unavailable Thursday afternoon, and it was unclear if additional injuries were involved.
Officials issued a Sig Alert for the right three lanes of the eastbound 60 Freeway that was expected to last for several hours.
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UPDATED: Fleeing suspect carjacks vehicle, rams patrol car in La Mirada

LA MIRADA — A wanted man escaped sheriff’s deputies Thursdaty after carjacking a vehicle and ramming a patrol car, authorities said.
The incident began about 8:20 a.m. when someone flagged down a deputy to report a suspicious man and woman sitting in a car in the parking lot in the 15200 block of Rosecrans Avenue, east of La Mirada Boulevard, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Bill Evans said.
When deputies approached, the man ran and carjacked a nearby motorist of his Acura by force the lieutenant said. No weapon was used in the carjacking.
As a deputy tried to detain the man at gunpoint, he rammed a patrol car with the stolen Acura and possibly tried to strike the deputy before speeding away, Evans said.
Officials later learned the man had an outstanding $15,000 arrest warrant. The crime he was wanted for was not clear.
Authorities found the carjacked Acura abandoned just across the city limit in the 6400 block of Dodds Avenue in Buena Park, Evans said.
Deputies searched the area for more than two hours with the help of K-9s but were unable to find the wanted man, officials said. The name of the man, who was described as being in his 30s, was not released.
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