Recently in 415 Family Category

Detectives suspect Lorenzo Latimer stabbed his girlfriend several times in the throat and body before escaping to Riverside where he was captured.

Latimere is suspected of causing a freeway accident on the 57 freeway as he fled the crime scene. Additionally, detectives said he tried to burn his get away car.

Latimer is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. He's due to appear in Rio Hondo Court Thursday morning, according to official records.

Marcelino Corniel lost his life in the Iraq war. IndyMac then lost between $71,000 and $36,000 of the $370,000 life insurance policy Corniel purchased to ensure the livelihood of his family.

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I can't say that I was shocked so much as I was disappointed when I viewed reader responses on our website. Some comments blamed Corniel's mother, Elaine Lopez, for investing poorly, while others seemed to equate losing a son in war with winning the lottery.

I don't dispute that Lopez could have invested her money more wisely, but at the same time it's not like she went out and bought a Cadillac. Lopez placed $70,000 in a money market checking account and the remaining $300,000 in a CD, from which she used the $1450 a month interest yield to sustain her family.

I believe Lopez, when she says that IndyMac Bank managers persuaded her not to withdraw the money by claiming the addition of a third beneficiary would insure the entire sum.

The Monday after the news of Indy Mac's financial trouble broke, I went to Indy Mac and spoke with patrons. My questions were met by belligerent customers who informed me that bank representatives warned them against speaking with the press, and cited the media as a cause for Indy Mac's problems. Funny, I don't remember receiving a check from Indy Mac for managing their stocks to 23 cents a share, what they were prior to any article running.

Despite my Ivy League education, the hours I spent reading regulations, the two interviews I conducted with securities lawyers, and numerous calls to the Federal Deposit Insurance Company, I still fail to understand how the FDIC is not returning somewhere between $36,000 and $71,000 of Lopez's money.

Sure, Lopez was naïve for taking the word of a bank manager. But I bet she wasn't the only one to lose money because of promises made by IndyMac representatives. It's possible that IndyMac's employee's weren't intentionally deceiving Lopez. Maybe bank officials just didn't comprehend the same regulations that two securities lawyers, and a financial adviser failed to understand well enough to answers my questions.  But should incompetence excuse so-called officials from accountability?

When did regulations start to cloud our understanding of right and wrong? After all regulations are created by men, frequently flawed, and certainly subject to change.

Some have argued that Lopez should feel lucky to still have $300,000. Why? Because her son went to great lengths to protect his family? The $370,000 wasn't a gift from the government or a death benefit, but something that Corniel payed for with both his money and life.

Despite promises that he would be a recruiter, and by the spring of 2005 Corniel was back in Iraq, stationed with the 184^th Infantry out of Fullerton, CA..The 184^th was sustaining heavy causalities when Corniel decided to purchase the additional $170,000 in life insurance.

As an Iraq veteran, I knew a lot of servicemen who declined to pay the $40 a month for the  $250,000 in Serviceman's Group Life Insurance. At the same time I was never aware of anyone who sought additional life insurance. But Corniel, who was the patriarch of his family, wanted to ensure that his two younger sisters and mother were taken care of in the event of his death.

On New Years Eve  of 2005, most 23-year-old-Americans were drinking themselves into stupors while Corniel was defending their freedom to do so. As a former Marine attached to "Killer" company, Corniel had already seen a good deal of combat. But unlike some men, he didn't try to get a family hardship discharge and avoid his second tour. Corniel sacrificed his life for our freedom, with the knowledge his family would be able survive in his absence.

Corniel's legacy was intended to send his sisters to college, and support his illmother, not pad the bank accounts of rich men, as some would argue his service did. I urge Americans to remember Corniel as they drive their yellow ribbon adorned sport utility vehicles. And think about the regulations that qualify the loss of his legacy, while justifying the outlandish incomes of IndyMac's executives.  In the end you can blame Lopez for mismanaging the money, but don't think it couldn't happen to you.

In Baldwin Park at least.

The gunfire continued Wednesday night when a car-to-car shooting was reported near the intersection of Nubia and Bleeker streets.

*Baldwin Park police officers sometimes forget to mention these crimes when we call, but that's why we have a scanner.

Oh, and the City Council? Well, Anthony Bejarano told me at a recent lunch meeting that the shootings, killings and other violent crimes occurring in Baldwin Park are a function of the socio-economic status of its residents...

In other words, poor people are more likely to commit crimes.

That of course doesnt' explain Phil Spector, OJ Simpson or the Kennedy and Skakel families ...

Two guys used a handgun to rob a Pizza delivery man, One neighbor bashed another neighbor's head with a baseball bat, and a teen was stabbed in a parking lot. We're working on putting the details together.

It all happened in Baldwin Park late Friday and early Saturday .... we'll have it all rounded up in Sunday's paper.

Brian Miller pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of telephone harassment. A poster here the other day claimed Miller pleaded guilty in the case. The poster was wrong.

Here's a portion of Dan Abendschein's story:

POMONA - The ex-boyfriend of a woman who has disappeared with their three children was pleaded not guilty on Thursday to making annoying telephone calls to the fugitive's father.

Brian Miller , the son of Rep. Gary Miller , R-Brea, allegedly made harassing calls to Jude Lopez of Diamond Bar, the father of Jennifer Dejongh, who had three kids with Miller .

The charge is for making repeated calls with "intent to annoy another person at his or her residence."

Dejongh has been a fugitive for several months after disobeying a custody order and disappearing with the kids in November.

This from AP (Associated Press -- sorry Aaron Proctor)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A smackdown among presidential candidates?

Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain will appear on World Wrestling Entertainment's live "Monday Night Raw" (8-11 p.m. EST on cable's USA network) but instead of smacking each other down, they separately will deliver some wrestling-themed stumping in taped messages before Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.

"Tonight, in honor of the WWE, you can call me Hillrod," Clinton says in her message. "This election is starting to feel a lot like `King of the Ring.' The only difference? The last man standing may just be a woman."

Obama borrows The Rock's famous catchphrase during his appearance.

"To the special interests who've been setting the agenda in Washington for too long and to all the forces of division and distraction that has stopped us from making progress, for the American people, I've got one question: Do you smell what Barack is cooking?" Obama says before flashing a smile.

McCain, meanwhile, looked to Hulkamania for inspiration for his message.

"Looks like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to celebrate their differences in the ring," McCain says. "Well, that's fine with me, but let me tell you: If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man. Come November, it'll be game over. And whatcha gonna do when John McCain and all his McCainiacs run wild on you?"

The candidate appearances will be used to promote "Smackdown Your Vote!" — the WWE's voter registration drive.

On the Net:

• World Wrestling Entertainment: http://www.wwe.com
• Smackdown Your Vote!: http://smackdownyourvote.com

 

This from AP (Aaron Proctor -- sorry Associated Press):

The six police officers who responded to a report of a domestic dispute at the home of City Councilman Roger Hernandez have been cleared of any wrongdoing after a probe by the LASD' s Internal Affairs Bureau.

We did several stories on this in October and November leading up to the City Council election in West Covina.

Here's a link to the Crime Scene archive on the case.