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PICO RIVERA -- Authorities are looking for a West Covina man who allegedly kidnapped his former girlfriend at gunpoint Wednesday.
The victim, 20-year-old Adriana Lopez of Pico Rivera, was later found. She was being interviewed at the sheriff's Industry station Wednesday night.
Sheriff's Lt. Joe Mendoza said 42-year-old Joe Martinez is still being sought.
Martinez allegedly went to his ex-girlfriend's home in the 9400 block of Burke Street in Pico Rivera around 6 a.m.
He showed the residents a gun and directed Lopez to come with him, sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker said in a statement,
"He grabbed her by the arm and took her out to a car. The suspect and victim were seen leaving the area in a small white car," Parker said.
Deputies went to Martinez' West Covina home Wednesday night but didn't find him or Lopez, according to Mendoza.
They did recover the small white car the pair used earlier, he added.
Martinez is known to frequent West Covina and Bassett.
He is Latino, five feet 8 inches tall and weighing 240 pounds. He is an alleged gang member.
Parker said Martinez has a criminal history and should be considered armed and dangerous.
- Ruby Gonzalez
PHOTO of Joe Chavez courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
ALHAMBRA -- An Monterey Park man will spend the rest of his life in prison following his sentencing Thursday for kidnapping a San Gabriel Valley woman, slitting her throat, leaving her for dead in the desert and then attempting to extort a ransom from her father, authorities said.
Alhambra Superior Court Judge Candace Beason sentenced Deqiang Song, 26, to life in prison without the possibility of parol for the crime of kidnapping for ransom, as well as life in prison plus four years for the attempted murder of his then-21-year-old victim, Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman Shiara Davila Morales said.
Beason further ordered that the sentences be served consecutively.
"We're very pleased that he'll be behind bars for the rest of his life. It's appropriate for this heinous crime," district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.
Song met his victim through a mutual friend and took her to the Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall in Arcadia on Sept. 8, 2010.
But the outing took a horrific turn when Song took a detour, driving the woman out to a remote area of desert in San Bernardino County, investigators said.
Song tied the woman up and used her cell phone to call the victims' father and demand a ransom, district attorney's officials said.
While haggling over the price, Song strangled the young woman, slit her throat and left her to die in the desert, investigators said.
Despite her severe injuries, the woman managed to walk about half a mile to the nearest home to seek help, according to Detective Michael Soop of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau.
Not knowing that his victim has been found alive, Song continued making arrangements with the woman's father to pay a ransom, ultimately settling on the figure of $10,000.
Song was also unaware that the victim's father was working with sheriff's detectives, who arrested him when he arrived to collect the money at an undisclosed meeting place in San Gabriel.
Song moved to Chicago in 2008 from the Shen-Yang Province of China on a student visa, officials said. He moved to Monterey Park in July of 2010.
PHOTO of Deqiang Song courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
BALDWIN PARK -- A search for a kidnapper was called off Thursday after a group of elementary school students admitted making up a story of seeing a girl abducted, officials said.
The incident began about 10:40 a.m. when three 5- to 6-year-old students at Margaret Heath Elementary School, 14321 School Street, told officials they saw a man grab a young girl from the campus, put a bag over her head and run away with her, Baldwin Park police Capt. Michael Taylor said.
Police responded to the school in force, ordering a campus lockdown and setting up a search perimeter in the neighborhood around the school, the captain said.
As the investigation continued, "We took a head count of all students and found everyone was accounted for," Taylor said.
Police then re-interviewed the students who reported the kidnapping, and they admitted making up the story, he said. The motive for the false kidnapping story was unclear.
The lockdown was lifted about an hour after it began.
LOS ANGELES -- A jury was deliberating Wednesday in the case of a a woman accused of fatally shooting a man in Altadena while kidnapping his young nephew four years ago.
Mesha Arshaz Dean, 27, is charged with with murder with special circumstances, kidnapping and child abuse in connection with the March 18, 2007 death of 32-year-old Monroe Miles at his home in the 4000 block of Canyon Dell Drive in Altadena, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
The special allegation of murder during the commission of a kidnapping could have made Dean eligible for the death penalty.
"This is a special circumstances case, however (prosecutors) are not seeking the death penalty," Robison said. If convicted as charged, "she faces life without the possibility of parole."
The jury began deliberating on Dean's fate Tuesday following her trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, officials said.
Dean is accused of shooting Miles while she and friend Vanessa Ochoa, 27, kidnapped Ochoa's then-4-year-old son, who was staying with Miles and other relatives at his grandparents at and his grandparents that day. The boy's father had left Miles, the child's uncle, in charge of his son.
Both women arrived at the home, and Ochoa went inside and retrieved the boy, officials said.
The shooting took place outside the home when Miles tried to stop the women from taking the boy, officials said. Dean allegedly pulled a gun during the confrontation and fatally shot Miles in the chest before she and Ochoa fled to Las Vegas with the child.
Dean has reportedly maintained that the shooting was done in self-defense.
Authorities found the women and boy in Las Vegas after issuing an Amber Alert.
Ochoa pleaded guilty last year to charges of voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping and child abuse, Robison said. She was expected to be sentenced to 14 years and 4 months in prison when sentenced April 9.
PHOTOS of Mesha Dean, above, and Vanessa Ochoa, below, courtesy of America's Most Wanted.
LOS ANGELES -- A jury was deliberating Wednesday in the case of a a woman accused of fatally shooting a man in Altadena while kidnapping his young nephew four years ago.
Mesha Arshaz Dean, 27, is charged with with murder with special circumstances, kidnapping and child abuse in connection with the March 18, 2007 death of 32-year-old Monroe Miles at his home in the 4000 block of Canyon Dell Drive in Altadena, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
The special allegation of murder during the commission of a kidnapping could have made Dean eligible for the death penalty.
"This is a special circumstances case, however (prosecutors) are not seeking the death penalty," Robison said. If convicted as charged, "she faces life without the possibility of parole."
The jury began deliberating on Dean's fate Tuesday following her trial in Los Angeles Superior Court, officials said.
Dean is accused of shooting Miles while she and friend Vanessa Ochoa, 27, kidnapped Ochoa's then-4-year-old son, who was staying with Miles and other relatives at his grandparents at and his grandparents that day. The boy's father had left Miles, the child's uncle, in charge of his son.
Both women arrived at the home, and Ochoa went inside and retrieved the boy, officials said.
The shooting took place outside the home when Miles tried to stop the women from taking the boy, officials said. Dean allegedly pulled a gun during the confrontation and fatally shot Miles in the chest before she and Ochoa fled to Las Vegas with the child.
Dean has reportedly maintained that the shooting was done in self-defense.
Authorities found the women and boy in Las Vegas after issuing an Amber Alert.
Ochoa pleaded guilty last year to charges of voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping and child abuse, Robison said. She was expected to be sentenced to 14 years and 4 months in prison when sentenced April 9.
ALHAMBRA - A jury convicted a Monterey Park man Thursday of kidnapping a San Gabriel Valley woman, slitting her throat, leaving her for dead and attempting to collect a ransom from her father, officials said.
The Alhambra Superior Court jury deliberated for one day before finding DeQiang Song, 24, guilty of attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping for ransom, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. Additionally, the jury found true the special allegation that Song used a knife in the crime and inflicted great bodily injury.
Song kidnapped the then-21-year-old woman, whom he knew through a mutual friend, after taking her on a trip to the Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall in Arcadia on Sept. 8, 2010, investigators said.
Song then took the woman to a remote area of desert in San Bernardino County and bound her, detectives said.
"(Song) then called the victim's father and demanded a ransom," Gibbons said. "While haggling over the amount, the defendant strangled the young woman, sliced her throat with a knife and left her for dead."
The badly injured woman managed to walk about a half-mile to the nearest home for help, Detective Michael Soop of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Major Crimes Bureau said shortly after Song's arrest.
The victim survived, "because she had the determination and will to live," he Soop said.
The victim's father worked with detectives to arrange a meeting place in San Gabriel where $10,000 in ransom money was to be exchanged the day after the kidnapping, investigators said. Instead, Song was met and arrested by detectives.
Song was not aware at the time that his victim had survived and been in contact with authorities.
The handling prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Stacie Mayoras, declined to comment Friday.
Song emigrated to Chicago from the Shen-Yang Province of China under a student visa in 2008, officials said.
He moved to Monterey Park in July of 2010, sheriff's officials said, about two months prior to the kidnapping and attempted murder.
He moved to an apartment in Monterey Park in late July, Soop said, where he has been staying since.
Song is being held without bail pending his sentencing, which is to be held April 26 in Alhambra Superior Court.
PHOTO of DeQiang Song courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
PASADENA -- A man is behind bars on suspicion of kidnapping and robbing another man late Thursday, polcie said.
Rasheed Mack, 24, of Las Vegas was booked on suspicion of robbery, with a charge of kidnapping expected to be added, Pasadena police Lt. Diego Torres said.
A man in his 30s was waiting at a bus stop at 160 N. Lake Ave. when another man demanded money, Torres said. No weapon was seen.
The victim handed over a small amount of cash, and the suspect forced him to walk to an ATM machine at a nearby grocery store and withdraw more money, the lieutenant said.
While at the store, the victim alerted security guards that he was being robbed, police said.
Store security called the police, who found and arrested Mack as he was walking in the area, Torres said.
According to county booking records, Mack was being held in lieu of $1 million bail pending his initial court appearance.
SANTA ANA -- A Baldwin Park man has been arrested on suspicion of a violent Orange County rape and kidnapping as officials investigate the possibility he's responsible for other similar attacks.
Jose Luis Capacete, 39, was arrested Jan. 20 on suspicion of rape and kidnapping with intent to commit rape in connection with an alleged vicious attack on a prostitute in Santa Ana on Christmas Eve of last year, Santa Ana police officials said in a written statement.
Capacete, who works as an armored car driver in Orange County, picked the woman up in a van along Harbor Boulevard, officials said.
"Once the victim was inside Capacete's vehicle, Capacete produced a handgun and a Taser," according to the police statement. "The victim's hands were tied behind her back and she was sexually assaulted in the van."
Evidence found at the scene ultimately led police to identify Capacete as a suspect in the kidnapping and rape, and authorities carried out a search warrant at his Baldwin Park home, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
"We collected evidence that belonged to six different females that have no relation to him," Bertagna said. "That's what leads us to believe there are other victims."
Capacete was arrested Jan. 20 and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to police and Orange County booking records.
Since his arrest, Santa Ana detectives have learned of other strikingly similar kidnappings and rapes and are investigating the possibility Capacete was also involved in those cases.
Another woman, also a prostitute, reported she was kidnapped and raped with the use of a handgun and Taser on Jan. 7 in Garden Grove, Bertagna said.
Additionally, detectives learned following Capacete's arrest that U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials investigating an unrelated case had interviewed another prostitute in August who told them she had been the victim of a similar attack in Santa Ana, the corporal said.
Federal officials did not notify Santa Ana police of the report until after Capacete's arrest.
"This woman that they're working with brought this incident to their attention and told them what happened, but the documentation never made it here, so we never had a case," Bertagna said.
"Unfortunately, that's one of those things that slipped through the cracks," he said.
The investigation into the DHS report and the Garden Grove case remained in their early stages, Bertagna said. The only case in which a charge has been filed is the Christmas Eve assault.
"(The other two) cases are ongoing and being looked into, as well as the six additional pieces of evidence (from Capacete's home)," Bertagna said.
All of the three possible victims identified so far were prostitutes, immigrants and in their 20s, officials said.
Police sought the public's help Thursday in connecting Capacete to any additional crimes.
Though Capacete lived in Baldwin Park, investigators had not linked him to any assaults in the San Gabriel Valley, police said.
The brutality and sophistication displayed in the alleged Dec. 24 assault indicates an experienced attacker," Bertagna said. "With this level of violence, our concern is, how long has he been doing this?"
Capacete appeared in court for arraignment Jan. 24, however it was continued and he did not enter a plea, Orange County District Attorney's officials said. He was scheduled to return to the Central Jail Court Feb. 9.
PHOTO of Jose Capacete courtesy of the Santa Ana Police Department
HACIENDA HEIGHTS -- A 60-year-old man who interrupted two burglars breaking into his vehicle was kidnapped then later abandoned by his captors Friday night, deputies said.
The incident happened at 6:40 p.m. in the 16300 block of Rochlen Street.
Sheriff's Lt. Victor Sotelo said it looks like the resident walked out of the house and saw the car burglary.
"He started fighting, yelling," Sotelo said.
The yelling drew the attention of a neighbor who came out of his house. Sotelo said the suspects then shoved the 60-year-old into their van and took off.
"They dropped him off at Garfield Avenue and the 60 Freeway in Monterey Park," Sotelo said.
He added the victim used a payphone to call his family. Deputies were still at the Rochlen Street house when the man called relatives.
The only description given so far for the suspects are two Latinos in a tan van.
- Ruby Gonzales
NORWALK -- Deputies are looking for the armed man who a witness reported carjacked and kidnapped a woman Tuesday night, authorities said.
The carjacking was reported at 10:36 p.m. at Studebaker Road and the 105 Freeway.
Sheriff's Lt. Frank Rivera said a witness saw a man with a gun jump into a silver Nissan that was stopped at Studebaker Road. He said the woman driving the Nissan was getting ready to enter the freeway when she was carjacked.
The woman rolled down her car window and yelled, "Help, he's got a gun," Lt. Bill Evans said.
The car was last seen heading westbound on the freeway followed by a black BMW. Rivera said the witness thinks the gunman came from the BMW.
Sheriff's officials had received no reports of a woman going missing Wednesday morning, Evans said.
NORWALK -- Deputies jailed a man and woman late Tuesday after they carjacked, bound, robbed and kidnapped a man, officials said.
Benny Rios, 22, of Norwalk was being held in lieu of $1 million bail in connection with the incident, and Jacqueline Alvarez, 22, of Norwalk, was being held without bail, according to county booking records.
Los Angeles County sheriff's gang investigators are handling the investigation, Lt. Bill Evans said.
The alleged victim, a man in his 30s, was approached by the Rios, Alvarez and two other unidentified suspects about 8:30 p.m. in the 15100 block of Lefloss Avenue, the lieutenant said.
The suspects tied the victim up, forced him into his Honda Accord, robbed him and drove him a short distance before kicking him out of the car a short distance away, officials said.
The man freed himself from his bindings and went home, Evans said.
A deputy spotted Rios and Alvarez in the carjacked Honda later that night and arrested them without a struggle, authorities said.
Two other suspects in the incident remained at large, Evans said. They were described only as Latino men, one in his early 30s and the other in his early- to mid-40s.
The apparently gang-related crime remained under investigation, Evans said.
According to county records, Rios and Alvarez were due for arraignment Friday in Bellflower Superior Court.
MONROVIA -- A man arrested in connection with a reported child kidnapping in an unincorporated county area near Monrovia has been released after further investigation revealed the purported victim was "not truthful" about the incident, authorities said.
A 6-year-old boy reported that he had been grabbed and carried off by a man from his backyard in the 2500 block of Graydon Avenue shortly after 4 p.m Friday, sheriff's officials said in a written statement.
"An extensive investigation was conducted by Temple Station detectives and as a result of their findings, a suspect was arrested Sunday evening," Lt. Denise Harshman said.
As the investigation continued Monday, detectives learned new information, she said.
"This information did not corroborate the facts as related by the victim and it became evident the child was not truthful with the investigators about the kidnapping," the lieutenant said.
Officials then released the 32-year-old man who had been held in connection with the alleged incident without charges.
The investigation is ongoing, Harshman added, and no further details were available Tuesday.
A 6-year-old boy reported that he had been grabbed and carried off by a man from his backyard in the 2500 block of Graydon Avenue shortly after 4 p.m Friday, sheriff's officials said in a written statement.
"An extensive investigation was conducted by Temple Station detectives and as a result of their findings, a suspect was arrested Sunday evening," Lt. Denise Harshman said.
As the investigation continued Monday, detectives learned new information, she said.
"This information did not corroborate the facts as related by the victim and it became evident the child was not truthful with the investigators about the kidnapping," the lieutenant said.
Officials then released the 32-year-old man who had been held in connection with the alleged incident without charges.
The investigation is ongoing, Harshman added, and no further details were available Tuesday.
MONROVIA - A 6-year-old boy was taken from his backyard Friday but got away by biting his kidnapper, deputies said.The kidnapping was reported at 4:10 p.m. in the 2500 block of Graydon Avenue which is in the unincorporated county area near Monrovia.
The boy was in the backyard when a man appeared and grabbed him, according to Sheriff's Lt. Michael White.
As the man was taking the child down the street to a nearby apartment, he had his hand over the boy's mouth. The boy bit the culprit who dropped him.
The kidnapper fled.
White said the boy ran back home and someone in the house called police.
The suspect was described as a Latino man, 25 to 40 years old, wearing a T-shirt and blue jeans.
*Composite sketch courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
From sheriff's press release:
Temple Station deputies are investigating the report of a child kidnaping (in the 500 block of Graydon Avenue) in the unincorporated area of Monrovia.
The ten year old victim was in his backyard, when the suspect appeared and picked him up in his arms. The suspect ran with the victim to a nearby apartment complex. The suspect was covering the victim's mouth with his hand, when the victim bit the suspect. The suspect dropped the victim and ran from the scene. The victim ran home where he was reunited with his mother.
Temple Station detectives responded to the scene and are working with patrol personnel to identify the suspect, (described as a black or Latino man between 18 and 40, with black hair, wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans).
CONTRIBUTORS
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| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
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Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
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