Monthly Archives: August 2017

Sheriff’s department psychologist from La Canada Flintridge guilty of child molestation

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A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s Department psychologist from La Canada Flintridge could face life in prison after a jury convicted him Friday of sexually abusing two young relatives over more than two years, authorities said.
A Los Angeles County jury convicted Michael Dane Ward, 45, of four counts of committing lewd acts on a child, two counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under 14, three counts of oral copulation of a child under 10 and one count of sodomy of a child under 10, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials announced in a written statement.
“Sentencing is set for Oct. 19, when Ward faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison,” according to the statement. The jury deliberated for three days before finding Ward guilty.
Should Ward ever be released from prison, he is expected to be required to register as a sex offender, district attorney’s office spokesman Greg Risling said.
Ward’s crimes took place between October of 2014 and March of 2016, prosecutors said at the time. His victims were both family members: a then-9-year-old boy and a then-10-year-old girl. Both victims testified against him at trial.
He was employed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as a psychologist at the time of his arrest. His specific duties within the department were not available, but sheriff’s officials said he was not a sworn deputy.
In a statement issued in the days following Ward’s arrest, the sheriff’s department described the allegations as “deeply troubling.”
“These allegations were not as a result of contacts he made within the scope of his work with the Sheriff’s Department,” according to the statement.
Ward was relieved of duty the same day he was arrested on May 5, 2016, sheriff’s officials added.
Ward posted $2 million bail 12 days after his May 5, 2016 arrest and had remained free pending the trial process, Los Angeles County booking records show.
Following the jury’s verdict on Friday, he was immediately remanded into custody without bail pending his sentencing in October in the Los Angeles branch of Los Angeles County Superior Court.

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West Covina man badly hurt in Irwindale motorcycle crash

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A crash between a motorcycle and an SUV on Arrow Highway in Irwindale sent the 19-year-old motorcyclist to a hospital with major injuries, authorities said.
The collision took place about 1:20 p.m. at Arrow Highway and Maine Avenue, on the border between Irwindale and Baldwin Park, Irwindale police Sgt. Rudy Gatto said.
The motorcyclist, a West Covina man, was riding east on Arrow Highway just prior to the crash, the sergeant said. A Mitsubishi SUV being driven by a 21-year-old Covina man was making a left turn from westbound Arrow Highway onto southbound Maine Avenue.
“They collided in the intersection,” Gatto said.
Paramedics rushed the badly injured motorcyclist to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for treatment, according to Gatto. He was unresponsive, but had a pulse, when transported.
Gatto said the driver of the SUV remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. There were no initial signs of impaired driving.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation.
All eastbound lanes of Arrow Highway and Live Oak Avenue, as well as the northbound lanes of Maine Avenue, remained closed well into Friday afternoon, causing a significant traffic backup,
Anyone with information can reach Irwindale police at 626-962-3601.

PHOTO courtesy of the Irwindale Police Department

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Body found in Angeles National Forest identified; death remains a mystery

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ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST >> Coroner’s investigators have identified the remains of a Los Angeles man found with possible stab wounds deep in the Angeles National Forest nearly four months ago, but the circumstances of his death remain a mystery.
The body of German De Jesus Ochoa Berrios, 20, was first discovered by hikers about 12:30 p.m. on April 30 in some bushes near mile marker 21.08 of Angeles Forest Highway, near Big Tujunga Canyon Road north of La Canada Flintridge, Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
He remained unidentified in the months following the discovery to do the advanced stage of decomposition in which the remains were found, officials said. The man was initially believed to be of Asian descent, though he was ultimately found to be Latino.
The hikers noticed a bad odor, which led them to find the remains, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Darrin Walker said at the time. They weren’t sure if the remains were human or animal, but notified the authorities.
Their suspicions proved correct, as investigators soon determined the remains belonged to a man.
It appeared the man may have suffered stab wounds to his chest, according to sheriff’s and coroner’s officials.
But his official cause of death remained under investigation as coroner’s investigators awaited the results of forensic tests, Winter said. It was not clear how long the body had been there before it was found.
No further details regarding the circumstances of the death have been released. Handling detectives could not be reached for comment Friday.
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Whittier man again accused of identity theft, impersonating pharmacist

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A Whittier man accused of stealing a pharmacist’s identity and working as an unlicensed pharmacist in the Los Angeles area for more than a decade, for the second time, appeared in court on Thursday.
Benito Plascencia, 58, faces six felony charges and one misdemeanor charge in the case, California Department of Consumer Affairs spokeswoman Joyia Emard said in a written statement.
“Investigators found that since 2001, Plascencia has worked at numerous pharmacies using the name and license number of a licensed pharmacist without the licensed pharmacist’s knowledge,” Emard said. “To gain employment, Plascencia used a falsified driver license, pharmacist license and social security card that were issued in the name of the licensed pharmacist.”
He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an Aug. 7 arraignment in the Van Nuys branch of Los Angeles County Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said in an email.
During an appearance in court on Thursday, a preliminary hearing in the case was set for Sept. 7, she said.
Plascencia had previously been busted in 2007 for a similar scheme, authorities said.
“Plascencia was alleged to have impersonated three doctors and was also alleged to have impersonated the same licensed pharmacist he is currently charged with impersonating,” according to Emard.
He pleaded “no contest” to a single count of identity theft and was sentenced to jail time, as well as ordered to pay restitution, DCA officials said.
“He was also ordered not to be involved in any manner with the selling of prescribed medications in a pharmaceutical-like business or other business involving prescribed medicines,” Emard said.
But Plascencia allegedly did not heed the warning and continued impersonating the pharmacist to get jobs and prescribe drugs he was not licensed to distribute.
“To gain employment, Plascencia used a falsified driver license, pharmacist license and social security card that were issued in the name of the licensed pharmacist,” Emard added.
After an investigation concluded Plascencia was up to his old tricks, the DCA’s Chatword Field Office Investigation and Enforcement Unit issued a warrant for his arrest in May, officials said.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents arrested Plascencia on July 31 as he was crossing from Mexico into California at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
He’s been charged with felony counts of false personation, identity theft, counterfeiting a seal, theft of identifying information with a prior conviction for identity theft and two counts of forgery related to identity theft, as well as a misdemeanor charge of false representation as a pharmacist.
Plascencia held a pharmacy technician license since 1994, but it was revoked following his 2007 conviction, according to DCA officials. He has never applied for or received a pharmacist license.
DCA officials declined to say which Los Angeles-area pharmacies Plascencia worked at, “because they are victims in this case,” Emard said in an email.
According to county booking records, Plascencia was being held on $70,000 bail at the North County Correction Facility in Castaic pending trial.
Investigators suspect there may be additional victims of Plascencia’s alleged fraud who have yet to be identified. Anyone with information, or who may have employed Plascencia, is asked to contact DCA Investigator Scott Vredenburg at the DCA’s Chatsworth Office at 818-885-2000.

PHOTO of Benito Plascencia courtesy of the California Department of Consumer Affairs

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Police plan Friday night checkpoint in Whittier

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WHITTIER >> Police in Whittier will hold a sobriety and driver license checkpoint on Friday night, officials said.
The checkpoint will take place from 7 p.m. Friday to 2:30 a.nm. Saturday at an undisclosed location within the city, Whittier police officials said in a written statement.
Whittier police have investigated 295 DUI-related crashes that left four people dead and another 158 people injured over the past three years, according to the statement.
Funding for the checkpoint is being provided by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, through the California Office of Traffic Safety.

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6 guns seized, suspect jailed during Whittier SWAT raid

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A sheriff’s SWAT team arrested a gang member and seized six guns, including an AK-47-style rifle equipped with high-capacity magazine, during an overnight raid at a Whittier home, authorities said Wednesday.
The bust took place about 10 p.m. at a home in the 12000 block of Howard Street, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Richardson said.
It was the result of an ongoing illegal weapons investigation by detectives assigned to the Operation Safe Streets task force, the sergeant said.
Knowing the suspect may be well-armed, investigators elected to have the risky search warrant conducted by specially trained SWAT deputies from the sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau, according to Richardson.
But the man did not put up a struggle, he said. After deputies cordoned off the home and ordered the man out of the home, he surrendered without a struggle shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
Deputies recovered six guns from the home, including an AK-47-style rifle with high-capacity magazines, another rifle and four handguns, Richardson said. Deputies also found rifle scopes and ammunition.
The man targeted in the warrant was arrested for weapons violations, he said. Several other people at the home were briefly detained, but not arrested.
Detectives withheld the suspect’s identity as they continued their investigation, Richardson said. He was described as a man in his late-30s.

PHOTO courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

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Elderly woman struck by vehicle, killed in Alhambra

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An elderly woman died after she was struck by a vehicle in an Alhambra crosswalk late Tuesday, police said.
The fatal collision took place about 10:10 p.m. at the T-intersection of Valley Boulevard and Granada Avenue, Alhambra police officials said in a written statement.
The woman’s identity was not released Wednesday pending positive identification by coroner’s investigators and notification of family, police said. She was estimated to be in her 70s.
But items in the woman’s possession indicated she may have lived at a nearby senior-care facility, Alhambra police Sgt. Steven Carr said.
She was walking north within a marked crosswalk, traversing Valley Boulevard, when she was struck by an eastbound vehicle, according to Carr.
Paramedics took the badly injured woman to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, we she was soon pronounce dead, officials said.
The driver, described only as a man, remained at the scene and cooperated with police, Carr said. Impaired driving was not initially suspected.
Carr said.
The cause and circumstances of the collision, including the status of the signal lights at the intersection, remained under investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Alhambra Police Department’s Traffic Section at 626-570-5119.

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Whittier man killed by hit-and-run driver; information sought

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WHITTIER >> Police are seeking a driver who fatally struck a 69-year-old Whittier man who was out for a morning walk on Wednesday, then fled the scene, officials said.
Kenneth Rawlings died after he was struck by a vehicle about 7:30 a.m. in the 16800 block of Janine Drive, just west of Macy Street, Whittier police Officer John Scoggins said.
“The victim had been walking down Janine (Drive) when he was struck by the vehicle,” Scoggins said.
Paramedics took the injured man to Whittier Hospital, where Scoggins said he succumbed to his injuries hours later.
“We don’t have any direct witnesses at this point,” Scoggins said.
A black Toyota Prius, “or similar-type vehicle,” was seen driving west along Janine Drive at high speed around the time of the deadly crash, according to Scoggins. Police had yet to determine whether that vehicle was involved in the collision, but wanted to speak with the driver to find out what information he or she may have.
The victim lives near the crash scene and was out for a morning walk when he was struck, Scoggins said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Whittier police Officer Richard Jensen at 562-567-9261. The Whittier Police Department’s 24-hour tip line can be reached at 562-567-9299.

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Man shot while driving in Baldwin Park

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BALDWIN PARK >> A man suffered a wound to his shoulder in a shooting when was driving through Baldwin Park on Sunday evening, police said.
The shooting took place about 7:30 p.m. as the victim, a man in his mid-20s, was driving an SUV at Ramona Boulevard and Harlan Avenue, according to Baldwin Park police Sgt. Joe Meister.
A bullet flew through an open window and struck the victim in the shoulder, the sergeant said. He did not see his attacker.
“He thought he heard a “pop,” then he felt the pain,” Meister said.
The victim was not believed to have gang ties, and the motive was unknown, he said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Baldwin Park police at 626-960-1955. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Cops launch summer DUI crackdown

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Police throughout the Whittier area and beyond are cracking down on impaired drivers during their summer time “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.
The extra enforcement period began Friday and continued through Labor Day, Sept. 4.
While the end of summer is dominated by picnics, barbecues and beach trips, “Sadly, the Labor Day weekend is also one of the deadliest, with alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers endangering themselves and others on America’s roadways,” La Habra police officials said in a written statement.
Police in Whittier, as well as law enforcement agencies throughout the country, are also taking part in the campaign, officials said. Whittier officers plan to place an extra emphasis on motorcycle safety during the operation.
“During this period, local law enforcement will show zero tolerance for alcohol- or drug-impaired riding,” Whittier police Sgt. David Elizarraras said in a written statement.
La Habra police have announced upcoming sobriety checkpoints to be held on Friday night, as well as on Sept. 1.
In Whittier, police have been conducting “DUI saturation patrols” to hunt for intoxicated motorists, with a special focus on areas with a history of DUI collisions or arrests, according to Elizarraras.
Funding for the program is being provided by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, through the California Office of Traffic Safety.

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