AZUSA – A 26-year-old Covina man who was fatally shot by an Azusa police officer early Monday after an aborted robbery attempt at an adult store was unarmed, sheriff’s investigators said Tuesday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau is investigating the shooting death of Jovan Rivera, who was suspected of an attempted robbery at the Red Panty’s Lingerie in the 500 block of South Citrus Avenue.

Rivera, who was shot in the upper torso, was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center and died shortly after, Lt. Dave Dolson of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said.

“We captured some surveillance video that showed (Rivera) walking into the store and coming back out,” Dolson said. “We’ll be looking to determine if there is video surveillance that captures the actual shooting” as well.

Rivera went into the 24-hour store at about 12:30 a.m. Monday, simulated a weapon by putting his hand in his jacket and demanded money from the store clerk, Dolson said.

His robbery attempt was foiled when the Azusa police officer drove into the parking lot on a routine patrol check. When the suspect saw the officer, he walked out of the store without any money, Dolson said.

The store’s clerk and a customer who witnessed the attempted robbery flagged down the officer and directed him to the suspect. When the officer tried to detain him at gunpoint, the suspect sat down on a stairway that leads to Citrus Avenue for a while, thenstood up and ran away, Dolson said.

The officer followed the suspect across Citrus Avenue. When the suspect made a move toward his waistband, the officer – having been told he was a robbery suspect and thinking he had a weapon – fired and the suspect went down, Dolson said.

Sheriff’s investigators have interviewed another witnessing police officer, the store clerk, a customer that had been in the store and some who witnessed all or part of the shooting incident, he said.

“If there are any more we’re not aware of, we’d be asking them to give us a call,” Dolson said.

Investigators will also be examining physical evidence, he said.

Dolson declined to release the name of the Azusa police officer but said he has worked in law enforcement for 19 years.

Dolson said he was told at the scene that Rivera was once on probation for a narcotics-related offense but the investigator did not know whether he was still on probation when he was shot.

The Azusa Police Department declined to comment on the case Tuesday, referring all inquiries to the Sheriff’s Department. The police department generally forwards its officer-involved shooting cases to the Sheriff’s Department, an officer said.

- Brenda Gazzar

AZUSA — A police officer shot and killed a man authorities said reached for his waistband while fleeing following a failed robber at a 24-hour adult business early Sunday.
The name of the dead man was not released Monday pending positive identification and notification of his family, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Joe Bale said. He was initially described as a Latino man in his early 20s.
An Azusa police officer was on patrol shortly after 12:30 a.m. when he was flagged down by an employee and a customer of Red Panty’s Lingerie on Citrus Avenue, just south of Gladstone Street, who told him the business had just been robbed and pointed out the suspect, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.
The Azusa officer tried to attempt the suspect at gunpoint, but he fled across Citrus Avenue, the sheriff’s department said in a written statement issued Monday afternoon.
“The officer followed the suspect and saw the suspect reached into his waistband,” according to the sheriff’s department statement. “The officer fired, striking the suspect once in the upper torso.”
The wounded suspect died at an area hospital, investigators said. The officer was not injured.
During the robbery attempt, the suspect allegedly motioned as if he had a weapon and demanded cash, but fled empty-handed when he spotted the approaching patrol car.
Authorities did not say whether a weapon was found at the scene, and the involved officer was not identified.
Azusa police declined to comment, deferring all comments to the sheriff’s department, which is assisting in the investigation. Handling detectives at the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau could not be reached for comment.

A Pomona Superior Court judge threw the book Tuesday at a West Covina man, sentencing him to 148 years plus nine life terms for trying to kill three El Monte officers and two civilians during a 2010 shootout with police.

Investigators said two officers, a civilian and the defendant, German Jimenez, were wounded in the May 28, 2010 shootout on Valley Boulevard and Durfee Avenue.

Judge Robert Martinez also ordered the 45-year-old Jimenez to pay $151,148.82 in restitution.

Jimenez was convicted on March 15 of three counts of attempted murder of a peace officer, three counts of assault on a peace officer with a firearm; two counts of attempted murder of the civilians, two counts of assault with a firearm on the civilians and one count of attempted carjacking, according to Shiara Davila-Morales, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office.

She said jurors also found true the special allegations of personal use of a firearm, discharge of a firearm with great bodily injury, discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle and infliction of great bodily injury.

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