Category Archives: Valinda

Man killed in Christmas Day house fire in Valinda identified

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VALINDA – Officials have released the name of a 73-year-old man who died in a house fire on Christmas Day.
Jim Dan Clark, 73, was pronounced dead at the scene of Sunday’s 7:55 p.m. fire at his home in the 1800 block of Aileron Avenue, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said.
An autopsy was planned to determine Clark’s cause of death, Harvey said.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Tuesday, Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Douglass said.
Firefighters led by LACFD Station 26 arrived to find “smoke and fire showing from a single-family residence,” Douglass said. They used “offensive” tactics to beat back the flames.
When they entered the home through the front door, they found the living room “fully involved” with fire, he said.
After extinguishing the flames, “the victim was found in the kitchen during a primary search,” the battalion chief said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
The single-story house was destroyed by the blaze, according to sheriff’s officials.
The West Covina Fire Department’s Engine 4 assisted with the fire, Douglass added.
Because the fire involved a death, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau are taking part in the investigation, authorities said.
The handling detective could not be reached for comment early Tuesday.

Body found in burning van in East Valinda

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EAST VALINDA – Firefighters put out a van on fire Thursday night and made a grisly discovery.

Inside the vehicle was a body.

Sheriff’s homicide detectives were heading to the 300 block of Hambledon Avenue late Thursday night.

Lt. Joe Chavez of the sheriff’s Industry station said the van was parked in the the driveway of a residence but he didn’t know if the dead person lived there.

He said the station received a call about a structure fire in the 300 block of Backton Avenue at 10:06 p.m.

Deputies didn’t see a fire on that street. They spotted a burning van on nearby Hambledon Avenue, Chavez said.

Firefighters were also at the scene and extinguished the blaze.

The body was so badly burned coroner’s investigators could not immediately determine if it was that of a male or a female, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, however, “They believe it was accidental,” Lt. Victor Sotelo said.

The person’s cause of death remained under investigation as well.

- Staff report

Construction crew ruptures gas line at East Valinda elementary school

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EAST VALINDA — A construction crew ruptured a gas line at an Elementary School early Saturday, however no evacuations were needed, authorities said.
The crew was working at Northam Elementary School, in the 17800 block of Renault Street, about 7:45 a.m. when they damaged the gas line, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Victor Sotelo said.
No evacuations were necessary, and Southern California Gas Company officials were called to the scene to shut off the gas flow to the line, officials said. Repairs will continue Monday.

Valinda school locked down due to search for burglary suspect

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VALINDA — Authorities placed an elementary school on lockdown Thursday as they hunted for a burglary suspect.
The sheriff’s Industry Station received a call reporting a burglary in progress about 1:40 p.m. in the 15600 block of Doublegrove Street, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Victor Sotelo said.
Responding deputies spotted an intruder, described only as a Latino man, exiting the garage of a home, the lieutenant said. He ran from the deputies, initiating a search of the neighborhood.
As a precaution, officials placed nearby Baldwin Academy on lockdown as they conducted their search, Sotelo said.
Ultimately, the fleeing man was not found, he said. It was unclear if anything had been stolen from the home where the man was seen running from.

Two stabbed in East Valinda, suspect jailed

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EAST VALINDA — A Rowland Heights resident was arrested Friday for allegedly stabbing one man in the neck and body during a fight then slashing another man who tried to intervene.
One of the victims was critically injured, said Lt. Joe Chavez. He didn’t know what started the fight.
Jose Garcia, 50, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon at the sheriff’s Industry station. A knife was recovered.
At 7:46 p.m., deputies headed to Giordano Street and Valley Boulevard on a call about two men fighting and a third man getting stabbed in the hand.
Chavez said the suspect and a 28-year-old man were fighting when a 37-year-old man tried to stop it. But the suspect allegedly slashed his hand instead.
The 37-year-old backed off. His assailant fled the scene.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. Chavez said the man was in critical but stable condition. The other victim, the 37-year-old, was treated at the scene by paramedics and later released.
Chavez said a sergeant saw the suspect in the 17800 block of Valley Boulevard and arrested him.
- From Staff Writer Ruby Gonzales

Father and son badly burned in East Valinda cooking accident

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EAST VALINDA — Two men suffered serious burns Wednesday when they lit a barbecue next to the gas tank of a car they were repairing, officials said.
The accident was reported about 10:50 a.m. in the 17400 block of Salais Street, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Raymond Enriquez said.
A 28-year-old man and his 56-year-old father, both local residents, were working on the gas tank of a 1992 Honda Accord prior to the accident, the lieutenant said.
“While they were working on the gas tank, they decided to grill some carne asada,” Enriquez said.
The flame from the barbecue in close proximity to the gas caused a “flash burn,” he said, which was reported by passersy-by.
Deputies initially found nothing when they checked the area, Enriquez said. About 20 minutes later, a woman called from a nearby home asking for help.
Officials found the father and son sitting on the sofa in the home, both badly burned.
The son suffered burns over about 70 percent of his body, Enriquez said. He was initially taken to Citrus Valley Medical Center — Queen of the Valley Campus, but then flown by helicopter to a burn center.
The father suffered burns over 30 to 40 percent of his body and was hospitalized at Queen of the Valley. 

Deputies search for man accused of lighting fire in family home

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WEST VALINDA — Deputies searched a neighborhood late Wednesday for a young man who set a small fire in his family’s home during a dispute, then fled the scene, authorities said.
Deputies received reports just before 6 p.m. that a 21-year-old man had become involved in a dispute with his family at a home in the 13600 block of Las Vecinas Drive, in the unincorporated county area of West Valinda, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Wilson said.
The young man set a small fire at the home, which firefighters quickly extinguished, he said.
Deputies continued searching the surrounding neighborhood for the suspect late Wednesday.

Young man wounded in East Valinda shooting

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EAST VALINDA — A young man was expected to survive after he was shot and wounded Thursday, authorities said.
The attack took place about 6:30 p.m. at La Seda Road and Villa Parke Street, in the unincorporated county area of East Valinda, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Russell Boucher said.
The shooter was a passenger in a 1990s-model, 4-door, Honda Accord with tinted windows who got out of the vehicle before opening fire on the victim, the sergeant said.
The shooter, described only as a Latino man, then got back into the car, which sped away, Boucher said.
The victim, an 18-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks that was not believed to be life-threatening, officials said.
A motive in the attack was not immediately clear.

Cockfight busted in West Valinda

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WEST VALINDA — Three men were cited for spectating when police broke up a cockfight in a residential neighborhood Saturday, authorities said.
Deputies responded to reports of a possible cockfight going on in a backyard in the 15000 block of Fairgrove Avenue in the unincorporated county area of West Valinda about 10:20 a.m., Lt. Mark Stevens of the the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Industry Station said.
By the time officers arrived, there were only three men on-hand who were cited for being spectators to a cockfight, the lieutenant said. 
More than 50 birds, several of them dead from apparent cockfights, were collected by animal control officials, Stevens said.
Other evidence of cockfighting, such as metal spurs cockfighters attack to their birds’ feet, was also found at the scene, officials said.
The organizers of the cockfight were not identified.
Stevens reminded the public that not only is cockfighting illegal and inhumane, but even attending such an event is a crime.
“It’s actually against the law to attend and watch,” he said. “Just to be a spectator is illegal. You can be arrested for it.”

Valinda man suspected of ongoing indecent exposure

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VALINDA — Deputies jailed a Valinda man Thursday on suspicion of repeatedly exposing himself to both school age children and adults in recent months, authorities said.
Jesse Martin Aragon, 22, was booked on suspicion of six misdemeanor counts of indecent exposure stemming from incidents in Valinda, La Puente and West Covina dating back to January, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John McBride said.
Several of the incidents centered around Rimgrove Park in Valinda, the lieutenant added.
“The cases are similar in that the suspect was usually seen inside a white SUV-type vehicle with his penis exposed and masturbating as he drove alongside the victims,” sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
Victims in the incidents were able to identify Aragon as the person who exposed himself during follow-up investigation, officials said.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Aragon was being held in lieu of $35,000 bail.
In addition to notifying the community that an arrest has been made in regard to recent reports of indecent exposure, McBride asked that if anyone else had had encounters with Aragon that have not been reported to step forward.