Hacienda Heights high school teacher admits to student molestations

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A Hacienda Heights high school chemistry teacher admitted molesting two of his students during a court hearing Wednesday, authorities said.
David Park of Chino Hills pleaded guilty in Pomona Superior Court to charges of committing lewd acts on a child and oral copulation of a person under 16, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said. He admitted to molesting one former student in 2014, and another in 2011, Ardalani said. Both girls were 15 years old when the abuse started.
Park taught at Los Altos High School at the time of the crimes, and previous worked as a “walk-on” football coach at Ruben. S. Ayala High School in Chino Hills, and taught at Western Christian School in Upland.
Park is expected to receive three years in state prison when he returns to court for sentencing Dec. 3, officials said. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Under a negotiated plea deal, four additional charges related to child-molestation are to be dismissed at the sentencing hearing, Ardalani said.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies first arrested Park in February after Hacienda La Puente Unified School District officials first learned of a sexual relationship between Park and a 15-year-old student, investigators said.
As the investigation into the 2014 allegations was ongoing, “A former student came forward and revealed Park had sexually abused her in 2011,” Ardalani said.

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Two killed, two injured in crash on 60 Freeway offramp in Hacienda Heights


HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> Two people died and two suffered injuries Sunday in a crash involving a pickup truck and a sedan on a freeway offramp in Hacienda Heights, officials said.
The crash took place about 7 p.m. on the 7th Avenue offramp of the eastbound 60 Freeway, California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball said.
Two victims, initially described only as male and female, were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
Paramedics took to more people to a hospital in unknown condition, Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Bernard Peters said.
The sedan ended up overturned in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant, according to CHP logs.
The pickup truck came to a rest on the roadway with much of the passenger compartment sheared off.
Officials shut down the offramp for nearly four hours as they investigated the scene and cleared the wreckage.
Officers from the CHP’s Santa Fe Springs office are handling the investigation.

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Coroner: Elderly woman, man found dead in Hacienda Heights home were stabbed


HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> Coroner’s officials have identified an elderly woman who was found stabbed to death inside her Hacienda Heights home along with a yet-unidentified man.
JUNE COLLINSJune Collins, 84, and the unidentified male victim were discovered dead on the afternoon of Oct. 7 inside Collins’ home in the 16600 block of Carriage Place in Hacienda Heights.
An autopsy determined both victims had been stabbed to death, and both deaths have been ruled homicides, Ed Winter, assistant chief of operations at the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Wednesday.
The second victim, described only as a man, remained listed at the coroner’s office as John Doe.
When found by deputies asked to check on the elderly resident, both bodies were already well into the stages of decomposition, slowing the investigation, sheriff’s and coroner’s officials said.
Lt. John Corina of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said investigators the slayings occurred about a week before the victims were discovered.
No suspects had been identified Wednesday in connection with the mysterious double-homicide, and the motive remained unclear. But detectives continued gathering clues.
“It’s moving forward. Slowly, but it’s moving forward,” Corina said.
There were no signs of forced entry at the home, the lieutenant said. But inside, “There were signs of struggle.”
It was unclear what type of sharp weapon was used in the killings, Corina said.
Robbery was not believed to the motive, investigators said.
Collin’s Toyota Corolla was discovered missing from her home. It was found the following afternoon, abandoned in the 12100 block of Magnolia Street in El Monte, according to Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
Detectives continue looking into how the car ended up in El Monte, Corina said, and the car was being examined by crime lab investigators.
The identity of the man found dead along with Collins remains a mystery.
Detectives had not yet linked any missing persons’ cases to the double-homicide investigation, Corina said.
Many people would often come and go from the home, he said.
Collins had a son who was in jail at the time of the killings in connection with an elder abuse case, officials said. Collins had a restraining order against him.
Officials and neighbors said deputies had responded to the home several times in the past to deal with her the son when he lived there,.
Associates of the son, including drug addicts, continued to show up even after the son was jailed, sometimes staying there, authorities said.
Capt. Tim Murakami of the sheriff’s Industry Station said the elderly woman had dementia, which the frequent visitors appeared to be taking advantage of.
Because of the ongoing issues at the home, deputies would regularly checked on Collins, the captain said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 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.

PHOTO of June Collins, 84, of Hacienda Heights courtesy of the California DMV.

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UPDATED: Man and woman found slain in Hacienda Heights


HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> Homicide detectives are investigating the apparent slayings of an elderly woman and a man who were found dead inside a Hacienda Heights home Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Deputies found the bodies about 4:15 p.m. in the 16600 block Carriage Place, according to Deputy Ryan Rouzan of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
They had been asked to “check the welfare” of the resident of the home, sheriff’s Lt. David Infante said. The 84-year-old woman had not been seen in about a week, officials added.
Deputies smelled a “strong odor of decomposition” and forced their way into the home, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
“The victims were found in separate rooms and were in advance stages of decomposition,” according to the statement. “Both victims appeared to have been assaulted.”
The identities of the victims were yet to be confirmed, however investigators believed the woman to be the elderly homeowner, sheriff’s officials said. The identity of the man was unknown.
“The victim lives with her adult son, but he is currently in custody and was not home at the time of the incident,” the sheriff’s department statement said.
“The cause of death is unknown at this time,” Rouzan said.
Detectives discovered the homeowner’s car was missing. The beige, 2001, four-door Toyota Camry, with a California license plate of 7LXV190, was being treated as a stolen vehicle.
Anyone with information was asked to contact 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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Big rig crash snarls eastbound 60 Freeway in Hacienda Heights


HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> An overturned big rig prompted the closure of all but one lane of the eastbound 60 Freeway Wednesday evening, officials said.
The 9:08 p.m. crash on the eastbound 60 Freeway, just west of Azusa Avenue, involved only one big rig and resulted in no injuries, but snarled traffic as the overturned truck blocked the three right-hand lanes, according to California Highway Patrol logs.
A Sig Alert was issued for an unknown duration.

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Deputies dismantle hash oil lab in Hacienda Heights


HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> Deputies dismantled a “honey oil” lab in a Hacienda Heights home and detained a possible suspect Wednesday, officials said.
The bust took place about 4 p.m. at a house in the 16800 block of Twin Hill Drive, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Robert Tubbs said.
Deputies found an operation in which concentrated cannabis oil, also known as “honey oil,” was being extracted from marijuana, the lieutenant said.
One person was being detained as the investigation continued Wednesday night.
A Los Angeles County Fire Department hazardous materials crew stood by as a precaution due to butane and other chemicals used in the illicit process, Tubbs said.

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Rowland Heights woman, former Hacienda Heights couple among five accused of running $30 million pyramid scheme

LOS ANGELES >> A federal grand jury Thursday indicted a Rowland Heights woman, a former Hacienda Heights couple and two other defendants who are accused of running a $30 million pyramid scheme targeting Chinese communities on both coasts, authorities said Friday.
Wen Chen “Wendy” Lee, 53, of Rowland Heights; Cheong Wha “Heywood” Chang, 47, of Taiwan and a former resident of Hacienda Heights; Chang’s wife Toni Chen, 46; Dalian “David” Guo, 53, of Hyde Park, New York; and Chih Hsuan “Kiki” Lin, 50, of Los Angeles and La Vegas are each charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy, U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a written statement.
The five operated a Hong Kong-based company known as CKB, WIN169 Biz Solutions Ltd., CKB168 Ltd. and Cyber Kid Best Education Limited, officials said.
The company purported to run a profitable business selling online educational courses for children, “but in reality was a pyramid scheme designed to generate new revenue by adding new investors,” Mrozek said.
Prosecutors allege the defendants collected about $30 million from investors, primarily in Chinese-American communities in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City between 2011 and 2014. They kept about $6.5 million of the money for themselves and transferred the rest to others involved in the scheme, according to the indictment.
“We believe that over 1,000 people invested in CKB, though it is unclear how many of those people invested directly through the defendants charged in this case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Goorvich said.
To lure investors into the scam, the defendants made numerous false promises and statements about CKB, which was not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, authorities said.
All five defendants are expected to appear in court to enter pleas next month, Mrozek said. They were arrested earlier this month following the filing of a sealed criminal complaint, Mrozek said.
Lin, who is also accused in the indictment of threatening victims in order to collect funds and dissuade them from talking to authorities, is being held without bond, while the others have been freed on bonds ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. If convicted as charged, each defendant faces up to 265 years in federal prison.

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Owner of nightclubs in Pico Rivera, Moreno Valley agrees to plead guilty to laundering drug money

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LOS ANGELES >> A Hacienda Heights man accused of laundering drug money through nightclubs he owns in Pico Rivera and Moreno Valley has agreed to plead guilty to a charge that could send him to prison for 25 years, according to authorities and court documents.

"The Pico Rivera nightclub owner Edgar Fragoso, right,  38, leaving Edward Roybal Federal Building after his arraignment  where he pleaded not guilty  to eight counts federal indictments in downtown Los Angeles Friday, March 13, 2015. The Pico Rivera nightclub owner is accused of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars as part of a drug trafficking ring operating in the U.S. and Mexico (Photo by Walt Mancini/Pasadena Star-News)"

Edgar De Dios Fragoso, 38, has agreed to enter a guilty to a single federal charge of money laundering, according to a plea agreement filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Under the plea arrangement, six additional counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy are to be dismissed, according to the document.
Fragoso pleaded not guilty to the eight-count federal indictment in March.
A hearing at which Fragoso will formally change his plea was yet to be scheduled, U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said.
Fragoso is expected to receive a sentence of 25 years in federal prison, court records show.
He also agreed to forfeit his liquor license, Mrozek said.
“This brings some amount of closure to the case,” he said.
Prosecutors allege Fragoso laundered more than $35,000 in U.S. proceeds from methamphetamine sales on behalf of a drug dealer operating out of Mexico, and also collected $200,000 in payments from undercover federal agents posing as representatives of a drug-trafficking organization, according to the indictment.
Fragoso, who was arrested Feb. 23, is free on a $100,000 bond.

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West Covina man sentenced for San Gabriel Valley arson spree

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POMONA >> A West Covina man received an eight-year prison sentenced Friday after admitting an arson spree targeting six San Gabriel Valley businesses late last year and early this year, officials said.
During what was scheduled to be a pretrial hearing in Pomona Superior Court, David Lin, 43, pleaded “no contest” Friday to five counts of arson of property and one count of arson of an inhabited structure, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani. The outcome was the result of a negotiated plea arrangement.
Judge Salvatore Sirna sentenced Lin to eight years in state prison and ordered him to register as an arson offender for life, officials said.
Lin was arrested Feb. 3 after investigators linked him to a series of seven arson fires that ignited primarily inside the bathrooms of San Gabriel Valley businesses since December, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. John Hanson said at the time. No one was injured in the fires, at least one of which caused thousands of dollars worth of damage.
The fires were reported in December at the Guppy House restaurant in Hacienda Heights, as well as the Rolling Wok restaurant in Rowland Heights.
Two more similar fires broke out in January at L & L Hawaiian Barbecue in Walnut and at Office Depot in Rowland Heights, investigators said. The final three fires were reported the day of Lin’s arrest at a McDonalds, a Del Taco and Ten Ren’s Tea Time, all in Rowland Heights.
A motive for the bizarre crime spree was not clear, prosecutors said. Officials described Lin as a former West Covina resident who had been living in his car at the time of the arsons.

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

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Pomona mother and daughter accused of Hacienda Heights burglary

HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> Officials arrested a mother and daughter from Pomona on Saturday in connection with a Hacienda Heights residential burglary earlier in the day.
Deana Stanley, 48, and daughter Maria Tucker, 30, were booked on suspicion of burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy to commit burglary, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Gannon said. Ticker was additionally accused of possession of counterfeit credit or access cards.
A witness called deputies about 8:35 p.m. to report seeing intruders inside a neighbor’s home in the 1500 block of Flamstead Drive, Gannon said. The burglars were gone when deputies arrived, but the tipster was able to provide them with a description of the burglars’ car, the lieutenant said.
Pomona police found the car Saturday afternoon parked outside a home on Gordon Street in Pomona, Gannon said.
Deputies arrested the two women and served a search warrant at their home, he said. Officials recovered all of the jewelry and other items stolen in the Hacienda Heights break-in, and also seized a handgun.

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