Diamond Bar gas station robbed by masked gunman; similar crime reported in San Dimas


DIAMOND BAR >> A gunman wearing a surgical mask robbed a Diamond Bar gas station Monday, one day after a strikingly similar crime was reported at a gas station in San Dimas, authorities said.
The Diamond Bar robbery took place about 11:20 a.m. at a Shell station at Diamond Bar Boulevard and Brea Canyon Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Brian Mitchell said.
Officials said the suspect brandished a small, silver revolver and demanded cash from the clerk. The gunman fled with a little more than $400.
He was last seen driving away in a gray, four-door, early-2000s model Acura, Mitchell said.
Deputies described the robber as a white man of about 5 feet 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, with short black or gray hair.
He wore a white disposable surgical mask, sunglasses, blue denim shorts, black shoes, a black hat and a blue surgical scrub shirt over a blue, long-sleeve shirt.
Detectives were looking into the possibility the crime was related to another gas station robbery reported late Sunday morning at a Mobile Station, 845 W. Arrow Highway in San Dimas, Mitchell said.
In that case, witnesses described the robber as having a similar physical appearance, Sgt. Terrence Smith said. He also wore a surgical mask, carried a small, silver handgun and fled the scene in a gray imported car with 7 as the first digit in the license plate.
The gunman fled with about $500 in Sunday’s robbery, Smith said.
Investigators were also working with other area law enforcement agencies to see if any other similar robberies have been reported lately.
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s Walnut-Diamond Bar Station at 626-913-1715, or the sheriff’s San Dimas Station at 909-450-2709. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Masked gunman robs San Dimas gas station


SAN DIMAS >> A masked gunman carried out a robbery at a San Dimas gas station late Sunday morning, officials said.
The crime took place about 11:45 a.m. at a Mobile station, 845 W. Arrow Highway, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Terrence Smith said.
The robber pulled a small-caliber revolver on the attendant and demanded cash before fleeing with about $500, the sergeant said. No injuries were reported.
Deputies described the robber as a white or Latino man between 30 and 35 years old, 5 feet 7 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 160 to 180 pounds. He wore eyeglasses, a white surgical mask, a black cap with white lettering, a blue long-sleeve shirt and dark-colored cargo shorts.
He was last seen driving west on Arrow Highway in a gray, four-door sedan, possibly a Hyundai, with a license plate beginning with the number “7.”
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s San Dimas Station at 909-450-2700. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Two men sought in San Dimas gas station robbery


SAN DIMAS >> Two robbers, one wearing a security guard jacket, fled with cash and cigarettes after holding up a San Dimas gas station early Tuesday, officials said.
The robbery unfolded just after midnight at ARCO, at Arrow Highway and Lone Hill Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Thomas Reed said.
Both robbers entered the store before one of them pointed a handgun at the clerk and told him to hand over money, the lieutenant said.
The clerk complied, and the robbers escaped with about $300, two packs of Marlboro cigarettes and two packs of Camel cigarettes.
Officials said the robbers were last seen fleeing the area in a black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.
One was described as a Latino man, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, 210 pounds, wearing a black security jacket and a black hat. He brandished a semi-automatic handgun.
The second robber was described as a Latino man in his 30s with a shaved head and tattoos on both hands.
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s San Dimas Station at 909-450-2700. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Man wounded in stabbing at house party near Covina


COVINA >> A man showed up at a hospital with stab wounds after a fight broke out at a house party in an unincorporated county area near Covina during the early-morning hours Sunday, authorities said.
The stabbing was first reported about 4:25 a.m. after the victim, a man in his early-20s, arrived at a local emergency room with two stab wounds, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Omar Carbajal said.
Deputies determined the victim had been stabbed when fight broke out at a house party in the 16100 block of Elgenia Street, the sergeant said. The man thought he had merely been punched during the incident, but realized shortly after that he had been stabbed, Carbajal said.
His condition was described as stable.
No further details, including a suspect description, were available.
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s San Dimas Station at 909-0450-2709. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Ex-Ontario tool company exec from San Dimas gets 5 years for bank fraud

LOS ANGELES >> A San Dimas mad who formerly served as vice president of an Ontario-based tool company received a sentence of more than 5 years in federal prison Wednesday for a $9.6 million bank fraud scheme, authorities said.
Chung Yu Yeung, 39, pleaded guilty in late-March to four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
At his sentencing hearing Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder sentenced Yeung to 63 months in prison and ordered him to pay $9,618,908 in restitution to his victim, East West Bank, U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Thom Mrozek said in a written statement.
He was also ordered to forfeit a property in San Dimas that he purchased “with proceeds of the scheme,” Mrozek said.
Yeung previously admitted that while working at Eastern Tools and Equipment Inc., Yeung admitted that he and his co-conspirators defrauded East West Bank by misrepresenting the company’s accounts receivable and financial statements in order to obtain loans the company otherwise would not have been able to get, Mrozek explained.
“The conspirators created numerous shell corporations to act as purported suppliers and retailers doing business with Eastern Tools, when, in reality, these shell corporations were entirely under the control of Yeung and existed for the sole purpose of creating the illusion of such business,” Mrozek said. “Yeung also admitted that the fictitious companies allowed Yeung and other conspirators to falsely inflate Eastern Tools’ accounts receivable and financial statements in representations to East West Bank.”
“Yeung created companies and profits that were nothing but illusions, tricking a bank into loaning him millions of dollars,” U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California Eileen M. Decker said. “This was a sophisticated crime that caused substantial losses, warranting the punishment imposed by the Court today.”
Yeung’s co-defendant in the case, former Eastern Tools president Guo Xiang Fan, remains a fugitive, Mrozek said.
IRS Criminal Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Orlando described the scene as “truly astounding.”
“(It) illustrates the lengths to which fraudsters will go to game the financial system for personal gain. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work with our law enforcement partners by lending our financial expertise in these complex investigations,” he said.

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Pomona woman killed in freeway crash identified

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POMONA >> Coroner’s officials have identified a Pomona woman who died in a solo-car crash on a freeway connector road early Friday.
Chelsea Tarin, 23, died at the scene of the 6:30 a.m. crash on the transition road from the southbound 57 Freeway to the eastbound 10 Freeway, on the border between San Dimas and Pomona, Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner Lt. David Smith said.
POMmapShe was at the wheel of a 1993 Toyota Camry when it went of the left side of the roadway, struck a lamp post, then struck a cement support pillar beneath the 57 Freeway along the right side of the connector road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Rodrigo Jimenez.
Paramedics pronounced Tarin dead at the scene.
An autopsy determined Tarin died as a result of “traumatic injuries,” and the death was ruled accidental, Smith said.
A fund to benefit Tarin’s family has been set up online at www.gofundme.com/2jjhcak.
Friday’s fatal crash was the second fatality reported on the same transition road in just over a week.
Juan Manuel Machuca Jr., 22, of San Bernardino died on Aug. 4 when his Ford Explorer veered off the side of the road and overturned, according to the CHP.

PHOTO by Beatriz Valenzuela

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UPDATED: Pomona woman killed in crash on freeway transition road

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POMONA >> A 23-year-old Pomona woman died Friday morning in a solo-vehicle crash on a connector road between the 10 and 57 Freeways in San Dimas, officials said.
The fatal crash took place just after 6:30 a.m. on the transition road connecting the southbound 57 Freeway to the eastbound 10 Freeway, according to California Highway Patrol logs.
The woman’s name was not released pending positive identification and notification of family, coroner’s officials said.
“(The woman) allowed her Toyota to drift to the left off the roadway and enter into the dirt embankment on the east side of the connector road,” CHP Officer Rodrigo Jimenez said in a written statement.
The Toyota continues along the dirt embankment before striking a lamp post and a concrete pillar supporting the 57 Freeway overpass, the officer said.
Paramedics pronoucned the driver dead at the scene, he said.
A Sig Alert on the transition road remained in effect until shortly before 11 a.m.
The crash is being investigated by the CHP’s Baldwin Park area office. Anyone with information can reach the office at 626-338-1164.

PHOTO by Beatriz Valenzuela

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Deputies team up to replace bike stolen from man with Down Syndrome in San Dimas

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SAN DIMAS >> Joel “Joey” Gutierrez has been riding the same bicycle through the streets of San Dimas every day for 20 years.
Each morning, he dons his headphones, sings his favorite songs and goes for a ride around the neighborhood, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Andy Berg said.
“Riding his bike and singing is his daily routine and it brings him great joy,” Berg said of Gutierrez, 41, who has Down Syndrome. “The victim is well liked by everyone in the neighborhood.
So when two opportunistic thieves stole Gutierrez’s black and white BMX-style bicycle from his garage in the 1000 block of Sherwood Court about 10 a.m. Saturday following his daily ride, that didn’t sit well with the deputy who took the report, or his colleagues.
“Once the handling deputy realized the significance of the stolen bike, he and his
patrol partners from San Dimas Station jumped into action,” Berg said. “Within two hours deputies pooled their money, contacted Incycle (Bicycles), San Dimas, and purchased a new bike.”
Deputies cheerfully presented the new bike to Gutierrez and his father Saturday afternoon in the lobby of the sheriff’s station.
Neighbors reported seeing two male thieves leave Gutierrez garage with his bike and flee the neighborhood in a newer-model, white car.
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s San Dimas Station at 909-450-2700.

PHOTOS courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

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Man killed in freeway crash in San Dimas


SAN DIMAS >> A man died Thursday afternoon after losing control of his SUV and crashing on a San Dimas freeway transition road, authorities said.
The man killed in the 4:04 p.m. crash on the southbound 57 Freeway connector road to the eastbound 10 Freeway had not been identified Thursday night, Officer Hammond of the California Highway Patrol’s Baldwin Park area office said in a written statement.
He was driving a 2004 Ford Explorer “at an unsafe speed for roadway conditions” when he veered off the road at as it curved to the left, Hammond said.
“The Ford Explorer then traversed a dirt embankment on the east side of the connector road before striking a concrete jersey wall and overturning back onto the roadway,” he said.
Paramedics pronounced the driver dead at the scene.
Authorities issued a Sig Alert on the connector road through 8 p.m.. Hammond said.
Any witnesses are asked to contact Officer K. Croxford of the CHP’s Baldwin Park office at 626-338-1164.

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2 sought in takeover robbery at San Dimas cell phone store


SAN DIMAS >> Two gunmen fled with more than $30,000 worth of cell phones following a takeover robbery at a San Dimas cell phone store Friday afternoon, authorities said.
The crime unfolded just after 1 p.m. at a Sprint store, 875 W. Arrow Highway, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Omar Carbajal said.
Two robbers both brandished handguns when they entered the store and confronted two employees in the front of the business, the sergeant said.
The robbers ordered the two employees to the back of the store, where two other employees were working, he said.
Carbajal said the robbers ordered an employee to open up a locked case containing cell phones. They helped grabbed 47 Samsung and Apple phones, values at $32,600.
The robbers locked the four employees in a bathroom at the store and fled, Carbajal said. No injuries were reported.
The gunman were last seen fleeing west along Arrow Highway in a black pickup truck, he added.
Detailed descriptions of the robbers were not available.
No injuries were reported as a result of the robbery.
Anyone with information can reach the sheriff’s San Dimas Station at 909-450-2700. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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