Monthly Archives: February 2013

Spontaneous combustion of oily rags blamed for Pasadena house fire

Posted on by

PASADENA — A fire attributed to the spontaneous combustion of oily rags scorched a house and displaced a couple Saturday, authorities said.
No injuries were reported in the fire, which was first reported just after 10:50 p.m. at a single-story home in the 2000 block of Brigden Road, according to Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian.
“Neighbors saw flames and called 9-1-1,” she said. The residents were not initially aware their home was on fire.
A man and wife living in the home got out unhurt, Derderian said.
Twenty-eight firefighters extinguished the fire in about 25 minutes.
An investigator determined the fire ignited due to oil-soaked rags left in a trash container next to the home earlier in the day, Derderian said. It was ruled accidental.
In a chemical reaction well-known to woodworkers and auto mechanics, the drying oily rags generated enough heat to spontaneously burst into flames, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what type of oil was being used.
“The fire went right up the side of the house,” Derderian said.
It then made its way into the home’s attic, where the fire did the most damage.
Officials estimated the fire caused about $140,000 worth of damage to the house and its contents.

PHOTOS courtesy of Jaime Nichols/Pasadena Fire Department

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

Toddler struck by SUV in East San Gabriel

Posted on by

EAST SAN GABRIEL — Paramedics rushed a 2-year-old girl to the hospital in unknown condition Saturday after she was struck by an SUV on a residential street in the unincorporated county area of East San Gabriel, authorities said.
The incident was reported just after 5:10 p.m. in the 8900 block of Naomi Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol logs.
The child was conscious and alert when transported to the hospital, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Tim Bushrow said.
“The extent of the injuries won’t be known until she gets a full examination at the emergency room,” the captain said.
The driver of the SUV, a woman estimated to be in her 50s or 60s, remained at the scene and appeared to be cooperating with investigators, Bushrow added.
Both sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers responded to the scene of the collision, however the investigation was being handled by the Altadena office of the CHP.
The cause and circumstances of the collision remained under investigation, officials said, however reduced visibility due to sun glare was initially believed to be a factor.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

Mom and baby doing well after sudden delivery on Montebello sidewalk

Posted on by

MONTEBELLO — Rescuers rushed to help after receiving a call of a woman going into labor on a sidewalk Saturday, but the impatient baby girl was already waiting to greet them when they arrived, officials said.
Officials received a 9-1-1 call shortly before 9 a.m. reporting a Pico Rivera woman in her late-30s had gone into labor on sidewalk at Beverly Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, Montebello police Capt. Brad Keller said.
Police arrived first, however the baby did not wait for their arrival, according to the captain. She had already been born.
Officers stood by until paramedics arrived and took the new mother and infant to a hospital, Keller said. Both were believed to being doing well.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

San Dimas men convicted of Glendora man’s beating

Posted on by

POMONA — Two 19-year-old San Dimas men have been convicted for beating and seriously injuring a Glendora man late last year, officials said.
A Pomona Superior Court jury Thursday convicted Gabriel Andrew Ojeda and Mark Antoine Hachem of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Ojeda was additionally convicted of a count of misdemeanor assault, and Hachem was convicted of a count of intimidating a witness, Robison said. The jury acquitted Ojeda of a witness intimidation charge.
Glendora police suspected the attack was carried out because the victim, a 22-year-old man, was a potential witness in an unrelated assault case, officials said in the days following the arrest.
Ojeda immediately received a sentence of four years and six months in state prison, officials said. Hachem was ordered to return to court for sentencing Feb. 21.
The beating took place Dec. 26 at Gladstone Street and Willow Avenue in Glendora.
The assailants continued punching and kicking the victim even after he was knocked to the ground, resulting in serious inju

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

Arcadia couple sentenced for stabbing at Pasadena’s Central Park

Posted on by

PASADENA — An Arcadia couple has been sentenced to jail for a knife attack on a man at Central Park, officials said.
Anthony Freeman, 30, and his girlfriend Ashton Elizabeth Bond, 25, pleaded no contest Thursday to charges of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the Sept. 30 stabbing at the park at 275 S. Raymond Avenue, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Freeman was immediately sentenced to a year in county jail and three years of formal probation, Robison said. Bond received a sentenced of 244 days in jail, as well as three years of formal probation.
The couple was initially arrested and charged with attempted murder. A conviction of the charge could carry a prison sentencing ranging from five years to life behind bars.
The stabbing victim, described by investigators as a transient in his mid-30s, had been involved in a dispute with a friend of the suspects prior to the attack, according to Pasadena police.
Freeman and Bond were looking for the victim when they showed up at the park around 3:30 a.m, Pasadena police Lt. Tracey Ibarra said.
They found him, and stabbed him several times in the upper body, police said. He was expected to recover from his injuries.
Police arrested Freeman about an hour after the stabbing, while Bond was arrested two days later when she arrived at Freeman’s Pasadena Superior Court arraignment two days later.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

Man found fatally shot on Altadena horse trail

Posted on by

ALTADENA — Homicide detectived are investigating after the body of a man was found apparently shot in the head on a horse trail at the northern edge of Altadena, authorities said.
A passer-by discovered the body about 8:10 a.m. on the trail near the 3800 block of Canon Boulevard, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Cynthia Gonzales said.
The body was initially described as that of a man in his mid-20s.
The investigation was in its early stages, Gonzales said.
Detectives from the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau were investigating the death as a homicide.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

Covina woman accused of ax attack on boyfriend

Posted on by

Covina police arrested a woman for allegedly hitting her boyfriend with an ax during an argument Friday night.
Lt. Tim Doonan said the ax didn’t cut through the skin but paramedics treated the boyfriend for a 4-inch contusion to his left bicep.
The woman was also treated for a cut over her eye.
The alleged assault in the 1500 block of East Wanamaker Drive was reported to police at 11:48 p.m.
Police didn’t know what sparked the dispute.
Doonan said the couple were arguing when the woman allegedly took an ax and swung it at her boyfriend. He was hit on the bicep.
“He punches her once over her right eye to disarm her,” Doonan said.
According to the lieutenant, the man then locked himself in a bedroom and called police.
Sharon Yendunian, 43, of Covina was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence.
She will be booked at Covina jail. Doonan said the bail will be $50,000.

– Ruby Gonzales

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

SUV knocks down utility pole near Azusa, Citrus Avenue closed to traffic between Gladstone Street and Arrow Highway

Posted on by

AZUSA — An SUV slammed into a utility police Friday in an unincorporated county area near Azusa, blocking Citrus Avenue for several hours and knocking power to homes and businesses near the crash scene, authorities said.
Citrus Avenue between Gladstone Street and Arrow Highway was expected to remain closed through the afternoon as Southern California Edison officials worked to repair the damage, California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Maehr said.
The driver, an Azusa man in his early-20s, suffered injuries that were believed to be minor in crash, which took place just before 9 a.m. on Citrus Avenue, just south of Gladstone Street, Maehr said.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation, however it initially appeared to be an accident, Maehr said, and nothing criminal was suspected.
After the Chevrolet Suburban struck the power pole, “It was sheared off at the base, but the wires were holding it,” Maehr said.
The hanging utility pull pulled on the wires, damaging equipment attached to two or three other poles, according to the officer.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

Anti-LAPD graffiti found in El Monte believed to be the work of a ‘Dorner supporter’

Posted on by

EL MONTE — Officials found and removed a large graffiti message cursing the Los Angeles Police Department was believed to have been inspired by the recent manhunt for former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner, authorities said.
The spray-painted graffiti was first reported about 10:30 a.m. on a wall surrounding a home in the 4800 block of Dyson Street, at Lower Azusa Road, El Monte police Cpl. Aram Choe said.
“The graffiti was approximately three feet tall, and it was critical of the Los Angeles Police Department,” the corporal said. He estimated the message was about 6 feet wide.
It read, “(expletive) LAPD,” officials said.
Investigators suspected the graffiti was scrawled by a “Dorner supporter” in response to the recent manhunt, and ultimate killing, of quadruple-murder suspect and ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner, Choe said.
Dorner wrote in an online manifesto that he was engaging in a war against his former colleagues in law enforcement in retaliation for his termination from the LAPD in early 2009.
Before he was ultimately tracked to a cabin near Big Bear, where his body was found following a lengthy gun battle and massive fire, Dorner killed Cal State University Fullerton assistant basketball coach Monica Quan, 28, and her 27-year-old fiancee, Keith Lawrence, near their Irvine home, authorities said.
In the 10 days that followed, he went on to fatally shoot a Riverside police officer and a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy as law enforcement agencies throughout Southern California mobilized to hunt for Dorner, officials said. Another Riverside police officer and another San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy were seriously wounded by Dorner’s gunfire.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email

UPDATED: Police fatally shoot armed man in Monterey Park

Posted on by

MONTEREY PARK — Police investigating a Valentine’s Day disturbance between a boyfriend and girlfriend shot and killed an Ontario man early Friday after he allegedly brandished a gun, authorities said.
Emmanuel Franco, 25, died at the scene of the officer-involved shooting, which took place just after midnight in the 400 block of South Atlantic Avenue, Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said.
Monterey Park police officers responded to a report of a disturbance between a boyfriend and girlfriend at a motel, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
On arrival, the officers were directed to a vehicle that was leaving the motel, officials said. Two patrol cars pulled the vehicle over at Atlantic Boulevard and Harding Avenue.
“The suspect vehicle stopped and a male passenger exited the vehicle,” according to the sheriff’s department statement. “After the suspect brandished a handgun, an officer involved shooting occurred.”
The man — later identified as Franco — died at the scene, officials said, and a handgun was recovered, officials said.
It was not clear how many officers fired, how many shots were fired or how many times the suspect was struck. Also not released was whether the driver of the vehicle the suspect had been riding in was the girlfriend mentioned in the initial call to police.
No officers were injured in the incident, officials added.
A phone number listed in public records as belonging to Franco was disconnected Friday.
A search of San Bernardino and Los Angeles County booking records turned up numerous prior convictions for Franco, all of them traffic cases primarily involving driving on a suspended license.
Franco’s license was suspended following an August, 2006 drunken driving conviction, according to court documents.
A domestic violence case Franco was dismissed in November of last year, and he had no conviction for violent crimes in Los Angeles or San Bernardino counties.
Monterey Park police officials deferred all comments to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, which is assisting in the investigation. Handling detectives could not be reached for comment.
Officials shut down the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Harding Avenue as they investigated the scene until about 9:30 a.m.
No further details were available.

Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Linkedin Email