Monthly Archives: March 2016

Armed robbery reported in Monrovia

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MONROVIA >> Police are seeking four men who robbed another man of his wallet and skateboard in Monrovia late Saturday, officials said.
The crime was reported about 10:50 p.m. at Colorado and Canyon boulevards, Monrovia police Lt. Patty Newton said.
Four suspects, described only as male, approached the man as he stood near his car, she said. One of them pulled a handgun and robbed him of his wallet.
The robbers also ransacked the victim’s car and stole a skateboard, the lieutenant said.
They were last seen fleeing the area on foot.
Anyone with information can reach Monrovia police at 626-256-8000. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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No arrests made at Whittier DUI checkpoint, 17 cited

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WHITTIER >> Police screened 1,394 drivers, but made no arrests during an overnight checkpoint late Friday and early Saturday, officials said.
The checkpoint was held from 7:30 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. on Washington Boulevard, just west of Lambert Road, Whittier police Lt. Bryan Ellis said.
Three drivers were given sobriety tests, but none were ultimately arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving, the lieutenant said.
Officers issued 13 tickets to unlicensed drivers, and another four to people driving on suspended licenses, Ellis said.

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Nebraska woman sought in alleged parental abduction arrested in Azusa, child recovered

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AZUSA >> Police in Azusa arrested a Nebraska woman earlier this week and recovered her 4-year-old daughter, who she had allegedly abducted from her home state, authorities said.
Monique Marie Ramos, 28, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was arrested about 7 p.m. Thursday when detectives conducting a surveillance operation spotted her walking with the child in the area of San Gabriel Avenue and 2nd Street, according to Azusa police Sgt. John Madaloni and Los Angeles County booking records.
The department was notified by the Lincoln Police Department on March 10 that Ramos has abducted her 4-year-old daughter and was believed to have traveled to Azusa, Azusa police Officer Mike Bires said in a written statement.
“Detectives from the Azusa Police Department immediately began working with the Lincoln PD in an attempt to locate the abducted child,” he said. “Azusa PD detectives were conducting a surveillance related to the investigation when they saw Ramos and the abducted child. They were contacted and detained without incident.”
The child appeared unharmed and well cared for, Bires said.
Police turned the girl over to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to be reunited with her legal guardians, the officer said.
Ramos was being held without bail on Nebraska warrants at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Los Angeles, records show. She was scheduled to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday.

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Arcadia burglary suspect with police radio scanner arrested in Westmont following chase

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ARCADIA >> An alleged burglar with a police radio scanner in his car led police and CHP officers on a high-speed chase that ended with his arrest in Westmont following a residential break-in in Arcadia late Friday, authorities said.
Arcadia police had received a report shortly before 9 p.m. of a suspicious person and vehicle in the driveway of a home in the 200 block of Monte Place, Arcadia police officials said in a written statement. The car drove away, and it was later determined a the home had been burglarized, and items stolen.
Police spotted the Nissan Altima as it got onto the 210 Freeway and tried to pull it over, but the driver sped away instead, officials said.
Arcadia officers gave chase as the Nissan sped down the southbound 605 and westbound 105 freeways at speeds reaching 100 mph.
0327_NWS_PSN-L-CHASE2Arcadia officers eventually turned the pursuit over to California Highway Patrol officers, who ultimately took the driver into custody when he came to a stop along 102nd Street in Westmont.
Officials recovered items taken during the Arcadia break-in inside the suspect’s car, along with a radio scanner programmed with the frequency of the Arcadia Police Department, allowing him to monitor police radio traffic, Arcadia police Sgt. Dan Crowther said.
Steve Gainer, 32, of Paramount was booked on suspicion of residential burglary and evading police, both felonies, police said.
0327_NWS_PSN-L-CHASE3According to Los Angeles County booking records, Gainer was being held in lieu of $125,000 bail pending a scheduled arraignment Tuesday in Pasadena Superior Court.

 

PHOTOS: Steve Gainer, 32, of Paramount [TOP], police scanner recovered from car [BELOW], courtesy of the Arcadia Police Department.

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Monterey Park doctor sentenced for diet pill distribution, insurance fraud

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LOS ANGELES >> A Monterey Park doctor received a four-year jail sentence Friday for prescribing diet pills without a legitimate medical purpose and insurance fraud, authorities said.
Dr. Thomas Lin, 46, was scheduled to surrender Friday evening after pleading “no contest” in December to two felony counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials said in a written statement.
“Lin provided diet pills known as phentermine, a controlled substance, through his pediatrics clinic known as “Kid’s M.D.” on Atlantic Boulevard in Monterey Park,” according to the statement.
He also fraudulently billed Medi-Cal and other insurers for services never rendered, prosecutors said.
“Over the course of several months in 2012, investigators from the California Medical Board posed as new patients and were able to secure phentermine with little or no physical examination by Dr. Lin,” according to the district attorney’s office statement. “Investigators received the drug either by paying his front office staff or receiving the drug for free.”
After serving two years in custody, Lin is to remain on mandatory supervision for another two years, officials said.
Prior to pleading “no contest” to the two felony charges, Lin was initially named in a 55-count indictment. If convicted on all original charges, he could have faced up to 34 years in state prison.

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Covina doctor agrees to plead guilty to federal drug distribution, money laundering charges

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LOS ANGELES >> A Covina doctor accused of prescribing a powerful painkiller to an undercover investigator, then laundering the proceeds, agreed to plead guilty Thursday to two federal charges, officials said.
Dr. Daniel Cham, 48, of Covina — who operated medical offices in La Puente and Artesia — agreed to enter guilty pleas to one count of distribution of oxycodone and one count of money laundering, US Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a written statement.
“Painkillers like oxycodone can be life-threatening to those who abuse them,” US Attorney Eileen M. Decker said. “Many of the prescription drugs that find their way to the street come from doctors who prescribe them without medical justification. This defendant put lives at risk for money, making him no different than street-level drug dealer.”
Cham admitted that he wrote prescriptions for oxycodone for an undercover agent at his La Puente office three times in 2014, Mrozek said.
Each time, he accepted $200 to $300 in money orders in exchange, officials said. On at least one occasion, Cham then deposited the funds into a bank account in the name of another business.
The deposits were made in order to “conceal and disguise the nature and source of the money order,” according to the plea agreement.
Cham wrote prescriptions for oxycodone for an undercover agent at his La Puente office three times in 2014, Mrozek said. Each time, he accepted $200 to $300 in money orders in exchange.
“As discussed in the affidavit, Cham issued a prescription for oxycodone even though the undercover operative said he ‘had been high and drunk while receiving controlled substance prescriptions’ previously from Cham.” Mrozek said. “On another occasion, Cham prescribed oxycodone even though the undercover law enforcement officer presented, in lieu of photo identification, a written notice that his license had been suspended for driving under the influence.”
Cham often saw patients between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. on weekends, but post-dated prescriptions to they would appear to have been issued on weekdays, officials said.
The doctor wrote more than 5,500 prescriptions for powerful drugs such as oxycodone and hydrocodone over a one-year period ending in March of 2014, Mrozek said. “And he issued more than 42,000 such prescriptions since July 2010.”
Cham is expected to formally enter his guilty plea April 4 in federal court in Los Angeles.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each of the two felony counts he had admitted to, according to Mrozek. He also agreed to forfeit more than $60,000 in admitted proceeds from his crimes.
A federal grand jury returned a 31-count indictment against Cham in October of 2014. If convicted as originally charged, he could have faced more than 300 years in federal prison.

Dr. Daniel Cham Plea Agreement

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Pasadena man killed in 210 motorcycle crash identified

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PASADENA >> Authorities Friday identified a 22-year-old Pasadena man who died in motorcycle crash on the 210 Freeway Thursday afternoon.
Isaias Vargas Jr. died in the collision, which took place about 4:35 p.m. on the westbound 210 Freeway at Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operation Ed Winter said.
Vargas was riding a 2014 Yamaha R6, between the carpool and fast lanes, and had just passed another car, prior to the crash, California Highway Patrol officials said in a written statement.
“(Vargas) centered in the HOV lane and drove into the rear of a 2003 Dodge pickup that was slowing (and) stopping int he HOV lane due to traffic ahead,” according to the statement.
He succumbed to his injuries at the scene, Winter said.
A man, woman and three children from Lancaster riding inside the Dodge pickup truck suffered no injuries, according to CHP and Pasadena Fire Department officials.

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Police: Pasadena ID theft orders Uber car with stolen cell phone, gets ride to jail

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PASADENA >> Police in Pasadena jailed an identity theft suspect from San Bernardino Thursday after the woman tried to order an Uber ride with a stolen cell phone, authorities said.
The series of event began about 10:30 a.m. when the woman tried to rent a car using a fraudulent credit card and ID at Hertz rentals, 2070 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena police Lt. John Luna said.
The woman ran from the business after being confronted about the attempted fraud by an employee and another customer, the lieutenant said.
She was accompanied by two men as she fled, Luna said. Hertz employees notified police.
Responding officers soon found the two male suspects walking in the area and arrested them, Luna said. The female suspect eluded police, but not for long.
Representatives from the ride-sharing mobile app Uber notified police later in the afternoon that someone was trying to order a ride using a smartphone that had been reported stolen, Luna said.
“Officers responded to the pickup location,” he said. There, at Colorado and San Gabriel boulevards, police encountered the same woman who had fled following the earlier incident less than a mile away at Hertz.
Vanessa Wilson, 23, of San Bernardino was booked on suspicion of identity theft, along with Justin Ryan Kimbro, 25, and Anthony Vincent Flores, 22, both of Loma Linda, according to Pasadena police officials and Los Angeles County booking records.
Wilson and Kimbro were being held in lieu of $50,000 bail each pending their initial court appearances, records show. Flores was being held in lieu of $80,000 bail, records show.

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GPS “bait package” leads to arrest of two women in Arcadia

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ARCADIA >> A GPS-laden “bait package” helped Arcadia police arrested two Canoga Park women driving through town in a stolen car filled with suspected stolen property early Thursday, officials said.
Devon Ricco Mendendez, 21, and Unique Rios, 19, were arrested when police stopped the stolen car they were riding in shortly after 5:15 a.m., according to Arcadia police officials and Los Angeles County booking records.
Just before the arrest, an alarm notified police that a GPS-equipped decoy package left out in the southeast portion of the city had been taken and was on the move, according to Arcadia police Sgt. Dan Crowther.
Officers tracked the GPS package to a moving car and pulled it over, the sergeant said. The car was found to have been reported stolen.
Police found the GPS bait package inside the car, along with other items and pieces of mail believed to have been stolen in the area, Crowther said.
“Included in the suspected stolen property was an array of credit cards, checks, identifications, social security cards and other personal identifying information,” he said
Police also recovered drugs and drug paraphernalia from the car, Crowther added.
Mendendez — who is already on probation for auto theft — was booked on suspicion of grand theft, receiving stolen property, false impersonation and unlawful taking of a car, police said. Rios was booked on suspicion of grand theft, receiving stolen property and an outstanding warrant.
Mendendez was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending her initial court appearance, while Rios was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

PHOTOS: Unique Rios, 19, of Canoga Park [left] and Devon Ricco Mendendez, 21, of Canoga Park [right]. (Courtesy, Arcadia Police Department)

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Motorcyclist killed in crash on 210 Freeway in Pasadena

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PASADENA >> A motorcyclist died in a crash on the 210 Freeway in Pasadena amid rush-hour traffic Thursday afternoon, officials said.
The motorcyclist, described as a Pasadena man in his early-20s, died at the scene, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
The crash was first reported at 4:41 p.m. in the westbound lanes of the 210 Freeway near Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, California Highway Patrol officer Peter Bishop said.
The crash involved the motorcycle and a truck, Derderian said. Five people inside the truck were unhurt.
Further details were not immediately available.
The CHP issued a Sig Alert for the carpool and left-hand lanes of the westbound 210 Freeway that was expected to remain in effect past 8 p.m.

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