ALHAMBRA — Prosecutors Thursday filed new charges of possession of child pornography against a Walnut man awaiting trial on accusations that he bound and attempted to rape and kill a female employee of his at a Monterey Park yogurt shop he owned, authorities said.

Robert Yachen Lee, 37, was free on bond as he awaited trial for on suspicion of kidnapping for the purpose of rape and attempted murder in connection with the alleged attack, which took place Aug. 24.

But Lee was re-arrested Thursday when he appeared in Alhambra Superior Court for a pretrial hearing after officials amended the felony complaint against him to include a count of felony possession of child pornography.

“They were on his personal computer,” Monterey Park police Lt. Carrie Mazelin said. “It was in his possession when we arrested him (in August).”

The images were discovered in recent weeks during a forensic search of Lee’s computer with the help of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators, officials added.

Though the computer was seized following Lee’s initial arrest, the lieutenant said, it can take months to complete a forensic search of a computer.

After the complaint was amended to include the new charge, Lee was taken back into custody by sheriff’s deputies and bail was set at $5 million, Mazelin said.

The identity of the children depicted in the pornographic images found on Lee’s computer was not known, Mazelin said. Detectives were looking into whether they were images that had been sent to Lee from someone else, or if he may have been involved in creating them.

In the initial assault at O My Yogurt, in the 2200 block of South Altantic Boulevard in Monterey Park, the young woman escaped captivity and sought help from a nearby business, officials said.

“Lee attacked the woman from behind (Aug. 24) after luring her to an upstairs storage room,” Los Angeles County District Attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said in a written statement.

Lee overpowered the woman and bound her with tape and placed her into, “what appeared to be a soundproofed box and placed into a recently padded and soundproofed room that was part of the storage suite,” Gibbons said.

Police and district attorney’s officials said the woman managed to free herself from the box she had been locked in, fled to a nearby optometry office and asked someone to call the police.

“She definitely saved her own life,” Mazelin said.

Police arrested Lee about two hours later.

Lee was ordered to return to court June 21 for a preliminary hearing setting, court officials said.

If convicted as charged, Lee could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.

PHOTO of Robert Yachen Lee, 37, of Walnut courtesy of the Monterey Park Police Department

ALHAMBRA — A registered sex offender was sent to prison Wednesday for exposing himself to a teenage boy at a Monterey Park gym last month, officials said.

Javier DeLeon Magdaleno, a 54-year-old transient, pleaded “no contest” to a count of felony indecent exposure with a prior conviction for a sex crime involving a juvenile, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

Felony charges of lewd acts with a child and child molestation were dismissed Wednesday in Alhambra Superior Court, she said.

Magdeleno was arrested April 16 in Rosemead after he exposed himself to a 15-year-old boy at an L.A. Fitness gym, 416 S. Atlantic Boulevard in Monterey Park, Monterey Park police officials said.

The boy immediately reported the incident to police, officials added.

After entering his plea, Magdaleno was immediately sentenced to 16 months in state prison, with 90 days credit for time already served.

MONTEREY PARK — The city has a new permanent fire chief in 29-year department veteran Jim Birrell, officials announced Thursday.

Birrell, who has been serving as interim chief, began his career with the Monterey Park Fire Department in 1983, city officials said in a written statement.

He worked his way through the ranks to battalion chief, and began serving as interim fire chief in 2010, officials said.

Raised in Downey, Birrell earned his bachelor’s degree in professional studies from Cal State Long Beach, and is working toward a master’s degree in Emergency Services Administration.

Chief Birrell has been married for 34 years and has three sons and five grandchildren.

MONTEREY PARK — Police placed a middle school on lockdown Friday as they searched a neighborhood from some burglary suspect, officials said.

The incident began about 9:40 a.m. when a neighbor called police to report a break-in at a home in the 400 block of East Riggin Street, Monterey Park police Lt. Tina Montoya said.

Two men were spotted waiting in front of the home in a white Mitsubishi Diamante with chrome rims, while a third man was seen walking into the home’s backyard, the lieutenant said.

The burglars had fled the home by the time officers arrived, she said. One of the suspects was believed to have driven off in the car, while two others were spotted making their way through nearby backyards on foot.

As a precaution, police asked that nearby Macy Intermediate School be placed on lockdown, Montoya said.

Montebello police and a Los Angeles County sheriff’s helicopter were helping in the search.

MONTEREY PARK — A 14-year-old bicyclist riding downhill was critically injured Thursday when his bike, which police said didn’t have brakes, crashed.

Monterey Park police received a 9-1-1 call ar 4:34 p.m. about an injured bicyclist in the 1200 block of Crest Vista Drive.

Monterey Park police Lt. Eric Kim said the bicycle gained speed as it went downhill.

The teen was unable to stop and lost control of the bicycle. Kim said the bike hit a curb, the boy was thrown off and landed head first on concrete. He added that the teen wasn’t wearing a helmet.

The 14-year-old was taken a hospital and listed in critical condition, Kim said.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call the Monterey Park police Traffic Bureau at 626-307-1481.

- Ruby Gonzales

MONTEREY PARK — A burglar eluded police and managed to flee with two handguns he stole from a house Thursday.

Two elementary schools were placed on lockdown during the search for the suspect, Monterey Park police Lt. Eric Kim said.

The burglar broke into a home in the 200 block of North Elizabeth Avenue at 2:42 p.m.

Kim said the suspect was last seen running in the area of Emerson and New avenues.

Police and a helicopter searched for the suspect but he got away.

The burglar was described as an Asian man, about 30, 5 feet 7 inches tall, of medium build and weighing between 145 to 150 pounds. He wore a dark blue knit cap and dark clothing.

- Ruby Gonzales

MONTEREY PARK — A transient and registered sex offender pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of exposing himself and molesting a teenage boy at gym, officials said.

Javier DeLeon Madgaleno, 54, was arrested Monday in Rosemead on suspicion of lewd acts with a child, indecent exposure and child annoyance, Monterey Park police officials said in a written statement.

After pleading not guilty, Magdaleno was ordered to return to Alhambra Superior Court May 11 for a preliminary hearing setting, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials said.

The incident took place at L.A. Fitness, 416 S. Atlantic Blvd., according to Lt. Carrie Mazelin.

“Madgaleno was identified after the victim, a 15-year-old male, reported the incident to the police,” the lieutenant said.

Magdaleno is known to frequent L.A. Fitness gyms in Alhambra and Arcadia, as well as a Bally’s Fitness in Rosemead, officials said. His primary purpose for the visits is to shower.

According to the state registry of sex offenders, Magdaleno has previous convictions for indecent exposure and child annoyance, though the dates of his convictions were not available.

Gym staff members were “very cooperative” with the police investigation, Mazelin added.

Because of Magdaleno’s frequent gym visits, police said they were concerned there may be additional victims. Anyone with information was asked to contact Monterey Park police detectives at 626-307-1236.

PHOTO of Javier Magdaleno courtesy of the Monterey Park Police Department.

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

MONTEREY PARK — Police jailed a Monterey Park man early Friday on suspicion of lighting a tree on fire in an arson similar to about a dozen others reported in the city over recent years, authorities said.

Hai Liang Qiao, 39, was arrested on suspicion of arson as he sat in a parked car and watched a tree burning shortly after midnight in the 100 block of North Lincoln Avenue, just north of Garvey Avenue, according to Monterey Park police officials.

The car Qiao was in matched the description of a car reportedly involved in a previous tree fire in the city several years ago, Sgt. Paul Villalobos said.

About a dozen similar fires have been reported in Monterey Park over the past several years, officials added.

Authorities were continuing to investigate whether Qiao was responsible for any of the others.

In the string of Monterey Park arson fires, only trees have been damaged, officials added. No structure damage or injuries have been reported.

According to county booking records, Qiao was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail pending arraignment Tuesday in Alhambra Superior Court.