Recently in cop calls Category

Two days after Maurice Clemons killed four Lakewood Washington police officers at a local coffee shop, Clemons was found in South Seattle.

Seattle police officers checking out a stolen car encountered Clemons and shot him to death when he approached.

Now a photo that could show the aftermath of that shooting is making its way around the Internet with the headline: "This is what happens when you decide to shoot cops."

Needless to say the photo is pretty graphic.

The question here is should we post the crime scene photo?

Two people were kidnapped at gunpoint from Union Station in Los Angeles and taken to Baldwin Park where they were robbed, officials said. *

Interestingly enough, even though we knew the kidnapping had taken place when we called Baldwin Park's watch commander this a.m. he said there was nothing going on and the night was quiet.

If this is what passes for a quiet night in Baldwin Park, I'd hate to find out what a busy night is really like:

BALDWIN PARK - Two people who were kidnapped at Union Station were allegedly brought to the 3300 block of Big Dalton Road, where they were beaten and robbed, according to Sgt. Kevin Gauthier of the Baldwin Park Police Department.

Baldwin Park police responded to the overnight incident, but officials had little information this morning.

 

Here's some stories we've been following Saturday:

* SOUTH EL MONTE -- A 26-year-old woman was killed in a two-car crash on Halloween officials believe may have been alcohol-related.
* BALDWIN PARK -- A young man was pronounced dead at the scene of a shooting early Saturday.
* POMONA - A local man was shot and killed early Saturday when he confronted two two carjackers who had just stolen his girlfriend's car at gunpoint.
* ALHAMBRA -- A man was arrested Saturday morning after allegedly firing a gun indoors and barricading himself in a house for more than four hours.
* COVINA -- Thirty to 40 residents of an assisted living home were evacuated and three were hospitalized Saturday after a gas pipe broke.

This letter was sent to parents of kids attending CJ Morris Elementary in Walnut. About the time we made a round of calls to both Walnut and West Covina and were told "Nothing going on."

Good afternoon. This is Mrs. Arzola, Principal of C.J. Morris. As some
of you may know, this morning there was police activity in a home a few
blocks from our school. Helicopters and patrol cars were dispatched. As
a precautionalry measure, we implemented a lock-down and brought our
students in from recess. Throughout the incident, we were in contact
with both the Walnut Valley Sherriff's Station and the West Covina
Police Department. At approximately 11:00a.m., 30 minutes later, Watch
Commander, Tolich, of the West Covina Police Department informed us
that the incident was contained and we isssued an all-clear.

I just wanted to reassure you that throughout the incident, our
students were safe and secure and the lock-down was merly a
precautionary measure. The staff at C.J. Morris is well-trained in
safety proceedures. We take great pride in ensuring our school is a
safe place.

Thank you for helping us to make it happen. If you have any questions
or concerns, please feel free to give me a call.

 

PASADENA - A naked woman fleeing a parking lot where she was allegedly breaking windows led police on a 28-mile chase last night before she lost control of her car and was apprehended.

The chase began on the 2400 block of Mohawk Street where police responded to calls of a disturbance in a parking lot. The woman fled immediately and led police west on the 210 to the  134 west to the 170 north, before crashing her car on the side of the highway near the intersection of highway 170 and highway 5, Sgt. Vasken Gourdikian said.

I got a call this morning from a man who identified himself as Albert Lee of San Francisco.

Lee said he is the boyfriend of an Alhambra woman who was shot in the face Sunday night at a home in the 800 block of Garfield Avenue.

He told me he was attempting to contact the Alhambra police department after reading about his girlfriend on the Internet.

"I always call her, she wanted me to call her," Lee said. "I wanted to tell her that I found a house for us in El Monte."

Lee said the woman had been beaten outside the Staples store in Alhambra about 30 days ago by four men. That case remains open, Lee said.

He did not know whay the woman was targeted.

Here's a section of the Pasadena Star-News story that appears online:

The woman was shot once in the face and once in leg, and she is currently recovering at a hospital, according to Det. Kevin Laing.

"She was shot somewhere near her front porch area of her residence," Sgt. Kean Oda said. "That's the only other information that we know."

There are currently no suspects, and Laing said he expects the woman to survive.

"We're waiting for her to wake up," said Laing.

The woman is in stable condition and detectives hope to interview her tomorrow, Oda said. Police will not release the woman's name until she is interviewed, he said.

 

Here's the top of a story on a Monrovia man who terrorized the San Gabriel Valley for a few hours last week before spending his last moments of freedom at Disneyland.

An earlier version is here.

A Monrovia man's wild ride through the San Gabriel Valley, which authorities suspect included carjackings, home invasions and an attempted murder, ended at "The Happiest Place on Earth," authorities said Tuesday.
Anthony Hislar, 27, of Monrovia, was booked on suspicion of dozens of crimes including two carjackings and one attempted murder after spending the day at Disneyland with two acquaintances he met on MySpace, officials said.
"This man was just a one-man crime spree," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Randy Rue-Las said. "Just out of control."

Pasadena PD may have an embarassing scandal on its hands in the wake of an article that appeared in Thursday's Pasadena Weekly.

Andre Coleman reexamines the investigation into the death of former police Lt. David Richter and turns up some interesting tidbits.

Here's the lede:

Homicide investigators with the LA County Sheriff's Department are taking a second look into the death of retired Pasadena police Officer David Richter -- a case that, although initially thought to be suicide, has already been at the center of an internal affairs investigation in Pasadena and caused at least one person to lash out anonymously against Pasadena police leadership.

<snip>

 

Police discovered 1600 doses of ecstasy, 1.5 pounds of coke and 1.5 pounds of pot from a home int he 300 block of East Harrison just after midnight, officials said.

They also found a firearm and $1,500 at the location.

Arrested were Francisco Soto, 22, of Pomona; and Michael Bravo, 29, of Pomona.

Brian Wunk, 21, remains at large.

Photographer Watchara Phomicinda called to say the mounted posse prostitute roundup on Colorado Boulevard made for some great photographs.

A reporter and cameraman from KCBS/KCAL showed up after their assignment editor read about the event here earlier today. Very similar to what happened after we reported on the mythical Pasadena Panty Bandit.

Watchara said it didn't appear that any arrests were made, but some registered sex offenders living in a East Colorado hot sheet were rousted by deputies on horseback.

"It was great," Watchara said.

I'll have some of his photos up here Saturday.

Maybe we jumped the gun on the heat wave equaling a crime wave up in the SGV.

The scanner's been pretty quiet this morning...maybe its too hot to be stupid.

Anyway, the National Weather Service is predicting record temperatures. They've extended the red flag fire warning through Saturday night and issued an excessive heat warning.

Here's what the Associated Press is saying about the weather:

Firefighters worked in extreme heat to corral small brush fires as a strong high-pressure system cooked the air from the central coast south to Los Angeles and San Diego.

At Ice Station Valencia, a rink in the broiling Santa Clarita Valley, hockey director Larry Bruyere, 55, said: "You don't mind working here on days like this."

Los Angeles County opened 42 daytime cooling centers for seniors and suggested people visit air-conditioned malls and libraries in the evenings. The National Weather Service warned people to take precautions for heat that could quickly kill children or animals left in cars, even if the windows were cracked open.

As people cranked up air conditioners, energy use in Los Angeles peaked at 5,854 megawatts Thursday, breaking records for the month of June, according to the city Department of Water and Power.

Some links to monitor through the day:

CAL ISO -- Power usage in California.

NWS -- Warnings, forecasts, observations

INCIWEB -- Keeping track of fires for the Feds.

In Baldwin Park at least.

The gunfire continued Wednesday night when a car-to-car shooting was reported near the intersection of Nubia and Bleeker streets.

*Baldwin Park police officers sometimes forget to mention these crimes when we call, but that's why we have a scanner.

Oh, and the City Council? Well, Anthony Bejarano told me at a recent lunch meeting that the shootings, killings and other violent crimes occurring in Baldwin Park are a function of the socio-economic status of its residents...

In other words, poor people are more likely to commit crimes.

That of course doesnt' explain Phil Spector, OJ Simpson or the Kennedy and Skakel families ...

This from Brian Day:

It begins like a joke.,..two guys walk into a bank ...and hilarity ensues... Sadly ending in a high speed crash on a residential street.

Police responded to a report of a robbery in the parking lot of B of A on Azusa Avenue in Hacienda Heights.

No one knows what happened next or at least between the two men, but both men claimed the other tried to rob him. When cops arrived one of the men fled across the street into a neighborhood and hid on a rooftop. He was found and arrested pretty quick.

The other guy jumped into a '80s Oldsmobile and sped off from the bank parking lot at high speed. Cops called for a helicopter and chased the old Olds on Wedgeworth Drive where it crashed into a parked Toyota.... (BTW this is pretty close to Monday's copper theft from the Little League) and pursuit went near Wilson High and an elementary school....