Norwalk man found shot to death at La Mirada bus stop identified

LA MIRADA  — Coroner’s officials Wednesday released the name of a Norwalk man found shot to death near a La Mirada bus stop Sunday evening.
Frank Mario Sainz, 46, was pronounced dead shortly after he was found lying in a pool of blood about 6:10 p.m. Sunday in the 14300 block of Alondra Boulevard, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Capt. John Kades said.
An autopsy determined he died from “multiple gunshot wounds,” Kades said. The death was ruled a homicide.
He was believed to have been seated on a bus stop bench when he was shot, according to Lot. Dave Coleman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. He was first spotted early Sunday by a bus driver.
No information regarding a shooter or a motive was available.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

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Elderly Monterey Park man fatally struck by city work truck identified

MONTEREY PARK — Authorities have released the name of an elderly Monterey Park man was fatally struck by a city work truck over the weekend in his hometown of Monterey Park.
Wen Shao Ruan, 89, died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center shorty after he was struck by the pickup truck shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday at Newmark and Ynez avenues, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Capt. John Kades said. An autopsy found he died from blunt head trauma, and the death was ruled an accident.
Ruan was crossing south across Newmark Avenue within a marked crosswalk when he was struck by a Ford F-350 pickup truck being driven by a city employee in his 20s, California Highway Patrol Officer Timothy Kinyon said. The truck had been making a left turn from northbound Ynez Avenue onto westbound Newmark Avenue when it struck the pedestrian.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation by officers from the East Los Angeles office of the CHP, though nothing criminal was initially suspected.
Monterey Park police asked the CHP to handle the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest, officials said.

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Man found dead in pool of blood in La Mirada; circumstances unclear

LA MIRADA — Homicide detectives are investigating the mysterious death of a man who was discovered lying in a pool of blood along Alondra Boulevard in La Mirada Sunday afternoon.
A bus driver first came across the man and called authorities about 6:10 p.m. in and industrial area in the 14300 block of Alondra Boulevard, Deputy Kim Manatt of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau said in a written statement.
“A driver of a Metro bus was traveling westbound on Alondra Boulevard before slowing at a bus stop,” she said. “The driver noticed a man laying in a pool of blood in the gutter of the roadway near the bus stop.”
The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Manatt said. His cause of death was unclear, and no information was released regarding what sort of injuries he may have suffered. An autopsy was to be carried out by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

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Police officer pulls potential jumper down from 210 Freeway overpass in Pasadena

PASADENA — A police officer grabbed an apparently suicidal woman by the feet and pulled her back to safety as the scaled a fence along a freeway overpass Sunday, officials said.
Police received a call about 11:15 a.m. from a person reporting a family member was possibly suicidal and considering killing herself by jumping from a bridge, Pasadena police Lt. Jason Clawson said.
The family member provided police with the 38-year-old woman’s name and description, and informed them she had last been seen in the area of Orange Grove Boulevard and Fair Oaks Avenue, the lieutenant said.
Officers began searching area bridges and overpasses when Officer Elgin Lee of the Homeless Outreach-Psychiatric Evaltion Team spotted the woman on the Orange Grove Boulevard overpass above the 210 Freeway, Clawson said.
“As the officer approached, she immediately began to climb the fencing,” he said. She had already gotten her upper body over the top of the fence when Lee grabbed her by the feet and pulled her down.
Officials took the woman to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, Clawson said.

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Series of small fires near Azusa deemed ‘very suspicious’

AZUSA — Police and arson investigators suspected “very suspicious” series of fires reported in a brush area near Fish Canyon Sunday may have been the work of an arsonist, authorities said.The first in a series of three fires was reported about 12:40 p.m. along Encanto Parkway, near the Vulcan Materials Company on Fish Canyon Road, Azusa police and Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.
Firefighters made quick work of the spot fires, which were under control in matter of minutes, fire Dispatch Supervisor Bernard Peters said. Water dropping aircraft were on stand-by, but ultimately were not needed.
The three small fires scorched less than an acre in total, but caught the eye of arson investigators.
“They’re suspected to be deliberately set,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Gerald Gonzales said. He added that investigators were, “leaning toward arson.”
It appeared homeless people camp in the area, however it was not immediately clear if that played a role in the fires, he said.
Officials noted several suspicious factors in connection with the fire.
“When our officers went on-scene, it appeared to them that there were flare-ups that were occurring in what almost looked like measured intervals,” Schmidt said.
Additionally, “They did find a motorcycle that appeared to have been concealed nearby,” the sergeant said. The registered owner could not be found.
“At the very least, it’s very suspicious,” Schmidt said.
Another small fire was reported in the same general area and quickly extinguished by 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Gonzales added. The cause of that fire was not determined.
The fire burned very close to the scene of the Madre Fire, which scorched 268 acres in late-September.
That fire was determined to be human caused, though investigators stopped short of labeling it arson, Schmidt said.

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Updated: Early-morning fire damages Pasadena business

PASASDENA  — A fire damaged a Walnut street business early Sunday, officials said.
The fire was reported about 1 a.m. at a home that had been subdivided into two businesses in the 1100 block of East Walnut Street, Pasadena police and fire officials said.
The lone resident was not home at the time, Pasadena police Lt. Jason Clawson said.
Firefighters extinguished the flames, and determined the cause of the fire was electrical in nature, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. A failing electrical wire inside a lamp was ultimately blamed.
No injuries were reported, and the fire was confined to a single room, officials said.

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89-year-old pedestrian struck and seriously injured by city work truck in Monterey Park

MONTEREY PARK — An elderly man suffered major injuries early Saturday when he was struck by a city work truck while crossing Newmark Avenue, officials said.
The collision took place just before 10 a.m. at Newmark and Ynez avenues, Monterey Park police Lt. Eric Kim said.
The 89-year-old man was walking south across Newmark Avenue within a marked crosswalk when he was struck by Ford F-350 pickup truck being operated by the Monterey Park Recreation and Community Services Department, California Highway Patrol Officer Timothy Kinyon said.
The driver of the truck, a city employee in his early-20s, was making a left turn from northbound Ynez Avenue to westbound Newmark Avenue when the truck struck the pedestrian, Kinyon said.
The elderly man was rushed to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for treatment of “major injuries,” Kinyon said. An update on his condition was not available Saturday afternoon.
The intersection is regulated by four-way stop signs, he added.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation by officers from the Altadena office of the CHP, however nothing criminal was initially suspected, the officer said.
Because the crash involved a city-owned vehicle, officials said, Monterey Park police requested that the CHP handle the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest.

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Officials identify Arroyo Grande man killed in Pasadena freeway crash

PASADENA — Coroner’s officials Saturday released the name of a man who died in one of two fatal crashes that occurred early Thursday morning on the rain-slickened 210 Freeway.
Gerald Hall, 58, of Arroyo Grande was driving a big rig that struck a concrete pillar just after midnight Thursday on the eastbound 210 Freeway connector road to the continued eastbound 210 Freeway, near the 134 interchange in Pasadena, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Larry Dietz said.
The cause of the crash was being investigated by officers fro the Altadena office of the California Highway Patrol.
After the truck left the roadway and struck the pillar, the trailer jack-knifed, CHP officials said. Five other vehicles subsequently struck the disabled big rig, but none of those drivers were seriously injured.
Hall was the second truck driver to die in a crash on the eastbound 210 Freeway during the early-morning hours Thursday.
A man previously identified by coroner’s officials as Oscar Eduardo Avila Reyes, 33, of Moreno Valley died at the scene of a second crash about 2:30 a.m. on the 210 Freeway near Madre Street, according to CHP and coroner’s officials.
He was thrown from his truck after it overturned and struck a concrete center divider, investigators said.
The second crash was also being investigated by the CHP’s Altadena office.

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Four accused of DUI following Santa Fe Springs checkpoint

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Police jailed four people on suspicion of drunken driving, and two others on other charges, during a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint late Friday, police said.
More than 900 cars were screened at the Whittier Police Department’s checkpoint, which was held from 8:30 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday on Slauson Avenue, just east of Sorenson Avenue, in Santa Fe Springs, Whittier police officials said in a written statement.
Four suspected drunken drivers were arrested, along with two other people who were jailed due to outstanding criminal warrant, police said.
A total of 22 drivers were cited during the checkpoint, Officer Brad White said.
The Whittier Police Department was planning another checkpoint on Dec. 14, according to the police statement. Such checkpoints have been shown to reduce the numbers of alcohol related injuries or deaths on the road.
“A major component of these checkpoints are the deterrent effects it has on those who might drive drunk or drugged impaired, bringing about more awareness and encouraging everyone to use sober designated drivers,” the statement said.
Funding for the checkpoints is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
As always, anyone who sees an impaired driver on the road is asked to report it by calling 9-1-1.

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