Recently in Arcadia Category

ARCADIA -- Police are investigating a report that the manager of an Arcadia day spa raped a female co-worker Wednesday, authorities said.
A woman went to the Arcadia Police Department and reported that her manager at the Agawa Day Spa, 1013 S. Baldwin Ave., had raped her about 1 a.m. at the end of her shift after all the other employees had left for the evening, Arcadia police Sgt. Tom Le Veque said in a written statement.
The victim said she was able to push the suspect off of her and flee, the sergeant said.
Police were unable to find the day spa manager to interview him, he added.
The investigation is ongoing.

ARCADIA -- Police are investigating a report of a rape in or near an Arcadia day spa, however no information was available about the investigation Thursday.
A woman informed police late Wednesday that she had been the victim of a rape at or near the Agawa Day Spa, 1013 S. Baldwin Ave., according to police radio traffic.
Arcadia police officials confirmed there was an ongoing investigation Thursday, but said no further details were available.
All questions were referred to the handling detective, who could not be reached for comment Thursday.

ARCADIA -- Police jailed three men and a teenager early Thursday on suspicion of stabbing an Arcadia High School student last week, authorities said.
Danny Lieu, 19, Daniel Chong, 20, Kevin Choi, 20 and a 17-year-old boy, all of Arcadia, were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Arcadia police Lt. Larry Goodman said.
"Shortly after 7:00 a.m., officers served simultaneous arrest warrants at four different locations within the City of Arcadia," police said in a written statement.
All four suspects were jailed without further incident, police added.
Chong had been released from jail the day before after appearing in court on suspicion of carring out a Monrovia robbery the same day as the alleged stabbing in Arcadia, Monrovia police officials and court records.
Three of the suspects allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old boy Friday afternoon near Santa Anita Avenue and Duarte Road, possibly with a pair of scissors, police said.
A fourth is accused of acting as a getway driver, however it was not clear Thursday which suspect was the driver, Goodman said.
All four suspects are believed to have ties to an Asian street gang, officials added.
The victim did not appear to have gang ties, Goodman said.
The teen victim was hospitalized for his injuries and released a short time later, police said.
The stabbing apparently errupted because the juvenile suspect had had previous issues with the teen victim, Goodman said.
Chong was also jailed Friday afternoon, only hours after the Arcadia stabbing, on suspicion of robbing a Kohl's department store in Monrovia, Monrovia police Lt. Michael Lee said.
He, along with three accomplices who were not arrested, were allegedly shoplifiting from the store when Chong pulled a knife on a store employee who caught them, Lee said.
He was found hiding under a tarp and bitten by a police dog after refusing to come out, he added. His arm remained bandaged from the incident when he was arrested Thursday.
Monrovia police are continuing to investigate the Friday robbery at Kohl's, Lee said.
All four suspects were being held in lieu of $70,000 bail.

ARCADIA -- An elderly Duarte woman had her car stolen as she attended Sunday morning services at an Arcadia church, police said.
The woman came out of morning services at Holy Angels Church, 370 Campus Drive, about 10:20 a.m. and discovered her car had been stolen from the parking lot, Arcadia police Lt. Roy Nakamura said.
Police believe the 4-door, silver, 2007 Cadillac STS sedan was taken from the parking lot between 8 a.m. and 10:20 a.m.

ARCADIA -- A motorcyclist struck two cars and was pinned underneath a parked vehicle Thursday, authorities said.
The collisions occurred about 1 p.m. on Baldwin and Woodruff avenues, Arcadia police Sgt. Mike Castro said.
After colliding with a Honda Accord and an Acura sedan, the motorcyclist fell off his older-model Harley Davidson motorcycle and slid under a parked car, where he became trapped, the sergeant said. The man had severe injuries but was expected to survive.
"They had to lift the car to get him out," Castro said.
The injured motorcyclist was described only as a man.
He appeared to suffer injuries to his head, leg and arms, police said.
He was taken to the hospital in stable condition, said Arcadia Fire Department Battalion Chief Barry Spriggs.
The Honda and Acura were headed north on Baldwin Avenue when, for unknown reasons, the motorcycle crashed into the driver's side of both cars, Castro said.
The drivers remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, he added.
No one in the Honda or Acura was injured, officials said.
The circumstances of the crash remained under investigation by members of the department's Major Accident Investigation Team, officials said. Investigators made chalk markings and took measurements at the scene.
Northbound traffic on Baldwin Avenue was blocked during the investigation.
A small pool of blood and a motorcycle helmet remained Thursday near the parked car.

ARCADIA -- An eight-car pile-up on the 210 Freeway Thursday sent three people to the hospital and prompted officials to issue a brief Sig Alert, authorities said.
The crash was reported about 6:50 p.m. on the eastbound freeway at Santa Anita Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol logs.
Two adults and one teenager were hospitalized with minor injuries following the crash, Arcadia Fire Department Battalion Chief Rick Braun said. They were all riding in different vehicles.
The crashed cars were spread out over about 150 yard on the freeway and blocked the carpool and two left lanes, Braun and CHP officials said.
The cause of the crash was being investigated by the Altadena office of the CHP.

This comes from the Arcadia Police Officers Association Blog:

The Arcadia City Council voted last night (Tuesday) to add an additional $20,000 reward in the robbery/murder case of Jason Wei. Jason was killed in November 2007 during a robbery at the Osaka Ya restaurant in Arcadia. This reward offer brings the total reward offer to $40,000. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted last week to offer a reward in the case.

Any information can be directed to APD Detectives at (626) 574-5160.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich plans to offer a $20,000 reward in the 2007 slaying of Jason Wei, owner of an Arcadia Sushi restaurant, who was slain execution-style by an armed gunmen.

Here's some of Antonovich's press release:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY--Supervisor Antonovich will hold a joint press conference with detectives from the City of Arcadia Police Department, offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the death of Mr. Jason Wei, owner of the Osaka Ya Sushi Restaurant .

On November 25, 2007, at approximately 9:24 p.m., Mr. Jason Wei (Way), owner of the Osaka Ya Sushi Restaurant, located at 815 W. Naomi Ave in Arcadia, was shot and killed by an armed robber who entered through the rear door of the restaurant.

The incident was captured on surveillance video; however, none of the leads has produced a suspect.

ARCADIA -- A man apparently hung himself from a tree Saturday at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, authorities said.
The dead man was initially described as a 54-year-old Baldwin Park resident, Arcadia police Lt. Larry Goodman said.
His name was not released pending notification of his family members, coroner's officials said.
Arboretum visitors reported finding the body of a man in the south parking lot of the arboretum, off of North Baldwin Avenue, just before 9:40 a.m., Goodman said.
Officials pronounced the man dead at the scene, he said.
There were no signs of foul play, and the death is believed to be a suicide, police and coroner's officials said.

ARCADIA -- A robber escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash Tuesday after robbing a Bank of the West branch, police said.
The heist was reported about 2:20 p.m. at the bank located at 1155 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia police officials said.
The robber used a demand note to rob a teller of cash and was last seen fleeing the area on foot, he said.
No further details were available late Wednesday.

PASADENA -- A La Puente woman was sentenced to 22-years to life in prison on Monday for causing a car crash that killed a 3-year-old boy.

Sara Olivia Bravo was in a stolen car with police chasing her on Dec. 11, 2005 when she ran a red light in Arcadia and smashed into the boy's car.

The collision occurred at Del Mar Boulevard and Altadena Drive.

A jury convicted her in January of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, evading police and auto theft, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The jury also found true enhancements for causing the death of a child under 5.

ARCADIA -- A local man was jailed Saturday after allegedly stealing a man's cell phone, then punching him when he tried to get it back, police said.
Kenny Chen, 18, was booked on suspicion of robbery and was released after promptly posting $50,000 bail, Arcadia police Lt. Larry Goodman said.
The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. at the basketball courts of First Avenue School, 301 S. First Ave., the lieutenant said.
A 21-year-old Rosemead man placed his cell phone on a bench and watched as Chen allegedly took it, Goodman said.
The Rosemead resident chased after Chen and grabbed in an an effort to retrieve his phone when Chen allegedly punched him in the head, he said.
Based on a partial license plate number the victim remembered from the suspect's car, police tracked the Chen to his Arcadia home using an automated license plate scanning system.
He was arrested after the Rosemead man identified him as the thief.
According to court records, Chen is due to be arraigned in Pasadena Superior Court Wednesday.

WEST COVINA -- A man and woman were each charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder Friday in connection with a shooting that left two teenagers dead, authorities said.
Gerardo Fonseca Jr., 20, of Arcadia and Melissa Ann Goree, 18, of Baldwin Park are due back at Pomona Superior Court May 6 for arraignment, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Shiara Dávila-Morales said.
The two are also charged with making criminal threats and the special circumstances of multiple murder in Tuesday's shooting, she said.
Prosecutors will not determine whether to seek the death penalty against the two until a the case gets closer to trial, Dávila-Morales said.
Jason Guijarro, 19, of Baldwin Park and Isaac Alexis Parra, 17, also of Baldwin Park were killed in the attack.
Parra died immediately following the shooting, while Guijarro died late Wednesday at an area hospital.
The shooting occurred about 10:20 p.m. at Leland and Merced avenues, officials said.
Guijarro, Parra and two others who were not injured were sitting in a stopped van when the suspects allegedly sprayed the van with bullets.
Officials said the shooting was believed to have been motivated by a dispute between an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend.