Azusa: September 2008 Archives

Here's the top of a story on a Monrovia man who terrorized the San Gabriel Valley for a few hours last week before spending his last moments of freedom at Disneyland.

An earlier version is here.

A Monrovia man's wild ride through the San Gabriel Valley, which authorities suspect included carjackings, home invasions and an attempted murder, ended at "The Happiest Place on Earth," authorities said Tuesday.
Anthony Hislar, 27, of Monrovia, was booked on suspicion of dozens of crimes including two carjackings and one attempted murder after spending the day at Disneyland with two acquaintances he met on MySpace, officials said.
"This man was just a one-man crime spree," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Randy Rue-Las said. "Just out of control."

A one-man crime wave threatened the lives of several San Gabriel Valley residents early Friday morning. Here's the top of our updated story:

A string of violent crimes including one shooting, five carjackings and two home-invasion robberies reported early Thursday in the northeastern San Gabriel Valley may have been the work of the same criminal, authorities said.

Crimes were reported in Arcadia, Azusa, El Monte and Rosemead, police and sheriff's officials said.

Similar suspect descriptions and a trail of abandoned stolen vehicles seemingly connect the crimes, though the cases all remain under investigation, authorities said.

Additionally Brian Day put together a Google map that details the suspected spree:

Here's the top of the story we've just posted on the web. These two knuckleheads are suspected of causing about $15,000 in damage:

AZUSA - Two teens were arrested earlier this week on suspicion of tagging more than 30 windows at a shopping center during the course of a week, according to police officials.

Azusa Police first received reports of etchings in several plate glass windows at the Citrus Crossing Shopping Center, at the corner of Citrus Avenue and Foothill Boulevard, on Sept. 4, according to Azusa police Lt. Frank Chavez.

Further investigation led merchants and police to discover more than 30 windows had been vandalized, he said. Damage of the windows is estimated to be $15,300, Chavez said.

Detectives determined the etchings to be connected to a local tagging crew and proceeded to interview members of the crew at an Azusa area school. Chavez would not disclose the name of the school.

While at the school Thursday one juvenile, 16, was identified as one of the taggers at the shopping center. The other teen was turned in by his parents at the Azusa Police Department Jail.

It's official.

Ralph Steven Flores, 26, was sentenced Monday to the death penalty three times over as well as life without the possibility of parole by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy.

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Sentencing is scheduled Monday for convicted quadruple-murderer Ralph Steven Flores.

The 26-year-old member of the "Azusa 13" street gang who has the word "Azusa" tattoed above his lip like a mustache was convicted of the murders in March.

The jury recommended the death penalty in three of the murders. Flores was 17 at the time of his first murder, so he was not eligible for the death penalty for that crime.

All the slayings were carried out in the Azusa area between 1999 and 2004.
Flores victims include:

- Christopher Lynch, 16, of Valinda, who was shot to death while attending a party on May 14, 1999. The jury found shooting was racially motivated because Lynch was black.
- Claudia Chenet, 23, of Azusa, who was shot to death on Nov. 19, 2003, because Flores mistakenly believed she had helped the police in a narcotics investigation.
- Miguel Reyes, 20, of Covina, who was shot after being assked his gang affiliation at a Christmas party on Dec. 26, 2004.
- Fenise Luna, 28, of Azusa, who was strangled and beaten to death on Dec. 28, 2004 because of a financial dispute. Jurors also convicted Flores of the special allegation torture in her death.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy is expected to sentence Flores to death... then come the appeals.

The sentencing has already been delayed several times, we'll see if this time around it sticks.

An arrest has been made in connection with the stabbing death of a woman whose family found her body in her minivan after police released it to them.

Joseph Orta, 35, of Azusa, who at least one family member has said he suspected from the outset, was charged with the murder of Eileen Ponce-Orta, 22, of Covina Friday.

According to an uncle of Ponce-Orta, Orta had a romantic interest in Ponce-Orta.

Orta is a relative of of Ponce-Orta's husband, Nicholas Orta.

Nicholas Orta reported his wife missing on Valentine's Day, and her minivan was found the following day abandoned at Pomona Superior Court.

Without performing a thorough search, police released the van to relatives, who then discovered Ponce-Orta's body inside.

Joseph Orta has been in jail since Feb. 16 when he was arrested on a parole violation stemming from a conviction for attacking his step-father with a deadly weapon in 2002.

After six months worth of investigating, detectives presented their case to the district attorney's office.