Recently in Covina Category

POMONA -- A judge sentenced a man to prison Wednesday for molesting a 14-year-old Covina boy he met on the Internet, authorities said.
Achilles Corelleone, 47, of Salton City pleaded no contest to four counts of child molestation in Pomona Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Shiara Dávila-Morales said in a written statement.
"Pomona Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho immediately sentenced the defendant to five years state prison," she said. "Corelleone, also known as Arlan Gene Reynoldson, additionally will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life."
Covina police Sgt. Dave Foster said the department was pleased to see the case come to a conclusion and justice served.
Foster added that there did not appear to be additional victims, as police initially feared.
"Based on the investigation, it looks like there were no other victims that the suspect targeted," Foster said.
Officials searched Corelleone's cell phone and computer during the investigation, he said, as well his online accounts.
"MySpace was very cooperative with us," Foster said.
Authorities alleged that Corelleone met a 14-year-old Covina boy through the Internet Web site MySpace in March of 2009 and began meeting the boy in person within days, Covina police and District Attorney's officials said.
The molestations occurred between July and October of last year, according to a criminal complaint.
Corelleone gave the boy gifts to build his trust before molesting him, police said.
The boy's father, who had begun to suspect something inappropriate was going on between his son and Corelleone, spotted Corelleone at Kahler Russell Park in Covina on Oct. 19 of last year and called police, Foster said shortly after the arrest.
Corelleone had no history of sex crimes when he was arrested, police said, though burglary convictions in Texas and Wyoming.

*Booking photo courtesy of the Covina Police Department

DIAMOND BAR -- Authorities Sunday released the name of a 57-year-old Covina man who died following a freeway car crash in Diamond Bar
Douglas Dailey died at a hospital shortly after Friday's 7 a.m. crash on a transition road between the Orange (57) Freeway and the Pomona (60) Freeway in Diamond Bar, California Highway Patrol Officer Krystal Carter said.
CHP officials said it initially appeared Dailey may have suffered a medical problem before crashing his pickup truck into the rear of another pickup truck and big rig. He died at Pomona Valley Medical Center within an hour of the collision.
It was not clear Sunday whether Dailey died as a result of the crash, or from a medical issue, Carter said.

DIAMOND BAR -- A 57-year-old Covina man died Friday after crashing his car into another car and a big rig, authorities said.
The dead man's name was not available pending notification of his family members, officials said. The death had not been reported to the coroner's office Friday afternoon.
The investigation remains ongoing, however it initially appeared the man may have suffered some sort of medical problem prior to the crash, California Highway Patrol Officer Randy Barge said.
He was driving his 2006 Chevy pickup truck behind a 2006 Toyota pickup truck and a slow-moving big rig just before the crash, CHP officials said in a written statement.
The driver of the Chevy lost control and struck the rear of the Toyota and the big rig, officials said.
The Chevy driver was unconscious when rescuers arrived, according to the CHP statement, and CHP officers and firefighters performed life-saving measures on the man as they took him to Pomona Valley Medical Center.
He died at the hospital at 7:48 a.m.
The damage to the Chevy did not appear consistent with a fatal crash, Barge said, and officials were looking into the possibility the man suffered a medical problem while behind the wheel.
The driver of the Toyota suffered a cut to his forehead but declined hospitalization, officials said, and the big rig driver was unhurt.
The crash is being investigated by the Santa Fe Springs office of the CHP.

COVINA -- Someone called in a bomb threat to a Walmart store Sunday, but officials found no evidence of an explosive.
The incident began about 6:20 p.m. at Walmart, 1275 N. Azusa Ave., Covina police Lt. Dave Povero said.
Someone called the store and and said there was a bomb at the business that would detonate in 25 minutes, the lieutenant said.
The store voluntarily evacuated customers and employees as police searched the store for about an hour, he said.
Povero said officials determined there was no suspicious device at the store, which reopened for business once police left.

COVINA -- A man got away with about $500 in cash after robbing a local bank Wednesday afternoon.
A Latino man wearing all black and carrying a black briefcase entered the Bank of the West in the 700 block of South Citrus Avenue about 3:20 p.m. and demanded money, according to Covina police Officer Keith Sutherland.
"After the customers left, he approached one of the tellers, opened the briefcase and provided a demand note," Sutherland said.
Police said the man was wearing a black baseball cap with no mask and appeared to be about 40 years old. He did show a gun, Sutherland said.
The suspect had been in the bank earlier Wednesday to inquire about opening an account, Sutherland said.
A witness told police the suspect fled to a nearby office building in the 700 block of South Terrado Plaza. Police searched the building but did not find the suspect, Sutherland said.

*Surveillance photo of suspect courtesy of the FBI.

Authorities identified a man Sunday who apparently killed himself during a standoff with police after shooting his wife.
Stephen Coulter, 50, was pronounced dead inside a townhome in the 20800 block of Calora Street, just west of Sunflower Avenue in an unincorporated county area near Covina, coroner's officials said.
According to public records, Coulter lived at the home.
The name of his wife, 47, was not released.
She was hospitalized in stable condition following the 9:15 a.m. shooting, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Robert Boese said.
She was shot in the head and arm, fire officials said.
Officials said the wife initially told them her husband shot her during an argument after she threatened to divorce him.
SWAT deputies surrounded the home for four hours Saturday and tried to make contact with the man with no success, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Richard Ramirez said.
The ultimately threw tear gas grenades into the home and forced their way in, officials said, where they found Coulter dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Neighbors said they did not know the couple well but often heard them argue loudly.
Los Angeles County Superior Court records show Coulter was convicted of drunken driving in 2003 and 2006, as well as driving on a suspended license in 2004 and 2006. The records showed no indications of previous violent crimes.

A man who officials said shot his wife before barricading himself inside a house was found dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound after a 4-hour standoff.
The woman, 47, was shot several times and flown by helicopter to a hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, sheriff's and fire officials said.
The dead man's name was not available Saturday afternoon, coroner's officials said.
Neighbors and firefighters said the man and woman were husband and wife, though sheriff's officials said they did not know the relationship between the people Saturday afternoon.
Deputies responded about 9:15 a.m. to a report that a woman had been shot in the 20800 block of Calora Street, just west of Sunflower Avenue in an unincorporated county area near Covina, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Roxanne Hart said.
"She told deputies the man who shot her might still be inside the location," the lieutenant said.
A sheriff's SWAT team surrounded the house and tried to coax the suspect out.
After four hours without being able to establish communication with the man, SWAT deputies used tear gas to force their way inside.
They discovered the man inside the home, dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sgt. Richard Ramirez said.
Neighbor Amna Jara, 34, said she called 9-1-1 after the wounded woman came to her for help. The woman was bleeding from her head and arm.
"She told me her husband shot her," Jara said, adding that she did now know the couple.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Joe Rivera said the woman was shot in the left side of her temple, as well as in the left arm.
"She was conscious and coherent," the captain said.
Several neighbors in the townhome complex said the man and woman had been living there for about a year.
Officials said the woman initially reported to rescuers that she had been arguing with her husband about his drinking and threatened to divorce him when he retrieved a gun and shot her.
Mark Lawler, 53, lives across the way from the home and was awakened by the woman's screams for help.
He said he did not know the couple, but often heard them arguing loudly.
"They argued an awful lot," he said. "And the arguments were really severe." He added he did not know the couple personally.
Officials at the sheriff's San Dimas station refused to say Saturday whether deputies have been called out to the home in the past.
Residents of nearby townhomes were evacuated during the incident and watched the standoff from the street.
Many covered their mouths and rubbed their eyes as traces of tear gas wafted toward the street.
Firefighters ventilated the home following the incident so that investigators could go inside.
Once it was determined the suspect was dead, the investigation was turned over to detectives from the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

COVINA -- A man being arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness Sunday led police to some allegedly stolen alcohol, authorities said.
Sean Haley, 33, of West Covina was booked on suspicion of being drunk in public, receiving stolen property and violating parole, Covina police Lt. John Curley said.
The incident began about 3:15 p.m. when people called police to report a man acting suspiciously in front of a 7-Eleven store at 1275 W. San Bernardino Road, the lieutenant said.
Officers found Haley and determined he was drunk, Curley said.
Before being brought back to the station, Haley told officers to make sure to bring the jacket, hat and bottled vodka he's left near the convenience store, Curley said.
The bottles of vodka still had anti-theft caps from a West Covina Vons supermarket, he said, and security officers at the store confirmed the alcohol was stolen.
According to sheriff's booking records, Haley was being held in lieu of $20,000, though Curley said he was expected to be held without bail because of his status as a parolee. It was not clear late Sunday what Haley was on parole for.

COVINA -- Authorities Thursday announced the arrest of a Covina man suspected of stealing a former employee's identity in order to sell life insurance policies and collect the commissions.
James Morris, 66, was arrested about 9 a.m. Wednesday at his Covina home and booked on suspicion of eight counts of identity theft and six counts of grand theft, according to California Department of Insurance officials and sheriff's booking records.
Morris is suspected of stealing a former employee's identity and using it to submit 15 applications for life insurance policies between April and November of 2007, CDI officials said in a written statement.
He lost his own insurance license in 2003 after similar fraud violations similar to those he's now accused of, officials said.
Morris allegedly collected nearly $8,500 in commissions from the sales, according to the statement.
The commission payments were made in the former employee's name, but sent to a bank account controlled by Morris, officials said.
Authorities said they learned of the alleged scheme after the insurance company notified the former employee that he owed them money for commissions paid on fraudulent policies.
According to court records, Morris was released on his own recognizance the day after his arrest.

COVINA -- Police hope the arrest of three burglary suspects in a Walmart parking lot Sunday will help curb a trend of auto burglaries in the area, authorities said.
William Gilbert, 23, of Covina, Rene Vasquez, 38, of Baldwin Park and Cynthia Esquivel, 36, of Covina were booked for investigation of burglary and suspicion of possessing stolen property, Covina police Lt. John Curley said. Esquivel is also suspected of possession of a methamphetamine pipe.
The arrest was made about 6 p.m. outside Walmart, 1275 N. Azusa Avenue, Curley said.
Covina police officers Ryan Davis and Ulrich Ramirez were patrolling the area in response to a recent increase in car break-ins when they spotted a suspicious older-model Mercury Cougar and pulled it over, the lieutenant said.
Inside the car, he said, the officers discovered a key ring with keys on it that had allegedly been stolen about a week earlier in a car burglary near Clearman's North Woods Inn.
Officials are now investigating to see if the suspects may be tied to other Covina burglaries, Curley added.
In the past month, police have seen nearly 15 auto break-ins in the commercial areas surrounding Azusa Avenue and San Bernardino Road, Curley said.
Car thefts also appear to have increased in the area, he added.
During the holiday season, Curley said it's extra important for people to lock their cars and not leave valuables inside in order to avoid becoming victims of opportunistic thieves.

COVINA -- Four teenage passengers were badly hurt and a 19-year-old man is suspected of drunken driving following a solo-car crash early Saturday, police said.
Police believe Francisco Javier Ramirez Jr. of West Covina was drunk while he was at the wheel of the 1994 Toyota Camry involved in the wreck.
Two girls and two boys from Baldwin Park, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were hospitalized with serious injuries following the violent crash, which occurred about 1 a.m. on San Bernardino Road at Grand Avenue, Covina police Lt. John Curley said.
Three of the passengers were thrown through the back windshield of the car and onto the street, and another had to be freed from the wreckage by firefighters, the lieutenant said. One passengers was flown to a hospital by helicopter.
"This car was completely demolished," he said.
Ramirez, who was the least badly hurt, was also hospitalized with serious injuries, Curley said.
Ramirez was driving with his passengers eastbound on San Bernardino Road when, according to witness statements, he ran a red light at Grand Avenue, Curley said.
"The vehicle spun out of control and struck two large palm trees before coming to rest on the curb line," he said.
The relationship between the five occupants of the car was not clear late Saturday.

COVINA -- A gunman robbed a beauty salon and stole a purse containing thousands of dollars Wednesday, police said.
The crime was reported about 6:45 p.m. at Hair by J, 983 W. San Bernardino Road, Covina police Sgt. Trevor Gaumer said.
The robber entered the store, brandished a handgun in his waistband and demanded cash from an employee, Gaumer said.
On his way out, he grabbed a purse and cell phone from inside the store, the sergeant said. The purse contained about $4,000 in cash.
The robber fled out the back door of the salon, Gaumer added, and was not found despite a lengthy police search.
Police described the robber as a Latino man in his late 20s, bald, about 5 feet 11 inches tall and of thin build. He wore a black hooded sweat shirt shirt.

COVINA -- A motorcyclist fled the scene Thursday after striking and injuring a teenage pedestrian in an unincorporated county area near Covina, authorities said.
The incident was reported about 5:50 p.m. on Glendora Avenue, just south of Arrow Highway, California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.
A 14-year-old boy was apparently walking with his siblings when he was struck by a motorcycle, Los Angeles County Fire Department Firefighter Jerry Tarango said.
He suffered an injury to his ankle and was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center for treatment, the firefighter said.
The siblings were not injured, he added.
The motorcycle was initially described only as black, CHP Sgt. Mario Lucio said. Witnesses said the motorcyclist fled the scene at 50 to 70 mph.
No description of the rider was available.

COVINA -- Two robbers stole a man's cell phone and iPod at knifepoint Wednesday afternoon in an unincorporated county area near Covina, authorities said.
The robbery was reported just before 1 p.m. at a Via Verde off-ramp of the 10 Freeway, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Richard Ramirez said.
The victim was approached by two men described as Latino men between 20 and 25 years old, the sergeant said.
One of them was about 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 140 pounds, wore a black shirt and jeans and carried a switchblade-style knife, Ramirez said. The other robber was about 6 feet 1 inch tall, about 150 pounds, wearing a blue t-shirt.
A gray vehicle may have been used as a getaway car, he added.