Recently in Diamond Bar Category

I didn't understand where the LA Times was going with it's earthquake story this morning. Even though the story had A1 placement, the lede was long and convoluted. The photos were beautiful though. Especially the image of a worker cleaning glass from a broken window at Pomona City Hall.

The story didn't even crack A1 in the New York Times, instead it led with the indictment of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. The quake (and another nice photo of Pomona City Hall) story is on A11.

Interestingly, the NY Times quake story cites Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. John Saleeby, of the Walnut Diamond Bar substation as a source.

They should have called him months ago. -- He's known among reporters in this newsroom for famously saying: "Nothing's going on. But I'm waiting for the big one. It's coming any day now. I'm sure you've read about it in Bible."

Well Lt. Saleeby, nice call. But there are those who still claim the temblor wasn't a "Big One" just moderate. 

This from City News Service:

GARDEN GROVE -- A man suspected in a fatal hit-and-run collision in that killed a Diamond Bar resident was arrested over the weekend on suspicion drunken driving and other crimes, the California Highway Patrol said.
Eduardo Aguilera Orozco, 25, of Anaheim, was allegedly driving a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu east on the 22 Freeway in Garden Grove about 2:50 a.m. Saturday when he rear-ended a 2004 Toyota Sequoia near Harbor Boulevard, causing the SUV to roll several times, a CHP dispatcher said.
Mukhtar Bagum, 64, of Diamond Bar, who was in the SUV, died at the scene, said Larry Esslinger of the coroner's office.
A 1-year-old girl, 12-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy in the Sequoia suffered minor injuries, the CHP dispatcher said.
Bagum's 28-year-old son, who had been driving the SUV, and two other passengers were unhurt.
Orozco, who had minor injuries, allegedly fled on foot, the dispatcher said.
The dispatcher said Orozco was arrested about 1:50 p.m. Saturday and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit and run and drunken driving -- all felonies.

The saga of Jennifer Lopez Dejongh and her three missing children made America's Most Wanted Saturday night. Here's the story:                                                                      Police tell AMW that Dejongh was supposed to drop Brian, Christian, and Evan off at Miller's home on November 17, 2007, for an extended visit, but she never showed.  When it seemed apparent that Dejongh and the children weren't going to appear at the agreed-upon location, investigators were called in.

Cops say the children are believed to be safe with Dejongh, so an AMBER Alert was never issued for the kidnapped children. Police tell us Dejongh and the missing Miller children may be hiding out on the East Coast, or may have fled to Mexico.  The boys may now have dyed their hair black, or could have shaved heads or crew cuts.

Brian Miller pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of telephone harassment. A poster here the other day claimed Miller pleaded guilty in the case. The poster was wrong.

Here's a portion of Dan Abendschein's story:

POMONA - The ex-boyfriend of a woman who has disappeared with their three children was pleaded not guilty on Thursday to making annoying telephone calls to the fugitive's father.

Brian Miller , the son of Rep. Gary Miller , R-Brea, allegedly made harassing calls to Jude Lopez of Diamond Bar, the father of Jennifer Dejongh, who had three kids with Miller .

The charge is for making repeated calls with "intent to annoy another person at his or her residence."

Dejongh has been a fugitive for several months after disobeying a custody order and disappearing with the kids in November.

Jude Lopez tipped me off to this case last night. Here's a copy of an email he sent:

Do you remember me telling you about the annoying phone calls that our family had been receiving for the last few months?  The numbers were restricted but Verizon traced them at our request and sent them to the police.  Some of the calls were threatening but I am not sure if they were traced to him.  Here is the information we received from court.

The email came with this .pdf file from the court.

Brian Miller Phone Calls.pdf

Finally there's this story we've posted on line as of noon:

The ex-boyfriend of a woman, who has disappeared with their three kids, was arrested last month for a making annoying telephone calls to the fugitive's father, records show.

Brian Miller, the son of Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, allegedly made harassing calls to Jude Lopez, the father of Jennifer DeJongh, who had three kids with Miller.

The charge, for making repeated calls to "intent to annoy another person at his or her residence," is a misdemeanor.

Dejongh has been a fugitive for several months after disobeying a custody order and disappearing with the kids in November.

Lopez said that he received about 30 calls in the months following Dejongh's disappearance, including three threatening calls.

He said he used a Verizon phone company service to set up the calls to be traced.

Sherrie Davidson, who works in the law offices of Antonio Bestard, who is representing Miller, said that police used the Verizon data as the basis for the charges.

Lopez said he was not sure if Miller was involved in the threatening calls or just calling in and hanging up.

"The threats sounded like they were coming from a disguised voice," said Lopez. "I don't know if it was him, or maybe someone else he knew, or someone else entirely."

The Save Jenny's Kids Web site has been shut down by Yahoo!, according to Jude Lopez.

"They said it violated their terms of service," Lopez said. "Show me where I did wrong. I'll correct what I did wrong."

But, thanks to the magic of Google you can still view it right here.

The site, devoted to the case of Jennifer Dejongh, from the perspective of her parents had been in operation for about a month. Their MySpace is still active.

Dejongh and her three children disappeared in November after she was ordered to turn the children over to U.S. Rep. Gary Miller, the children's grandfather. Miller's son Brian is the boy's father and he has filed suit against Lopez for libel, slander and defamation of character.

Some of the slanderous comments were apparently made on the John and Ken Show. The libelous statements were attributed to postings Lopez made on a site devoted to missing and exploited children.

*I did a whois look up for the site and it shows that Yahoo put a security lock on the domain.

*UPDATED

Looks like family and friends of Jennifer Lopez Dejongh have put together a MySpace site for the "Save Jenny's Kids" campaign.

The site features a picture of Lopez Dejongh and her three sons as well as several links to 206 friends. Here's the site if you're interested. Among the friends, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain. (Thanks Esther Chou for pointing this out).*

Lopez Dejongh, her husband George Dejongh and her three children, who happen to be the grandchildren of U.S. Rep. Gary Miller, have been missing since mid-November.  The disappearance came right after Dejongh was ordered to turn the children over to the congressman and his wife Cathy.

Lopez's dad, Jude Lopez, has been named in a lawsuit filed by the boy's father Brian. The suit alleges that Jude engaged in slander, libel and defamation during two appearances on the John and Ken Show in November.

Wonder if the MySpace link will lead to bad blood between Miller, who earlier supported Duncan Hunter, and McCain? (Doubt it)

DIAMOND BAR - A man whose three boys disappeared with their mother in October has filed suit against the children's grandfather, accusing him of libel, slander and invasion of privacy.
According to court documents, Brian Miller alleges Jude Lopez defamed him during appearances on KFI's "John and Ken Show" in November. The lawsuit also alleges that in December, Lopez posted private information about Miller on a Web site devoted to searching for missing children.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 24.
Lopez claims all of his statements to the talk show hosts were true and denies trying to humiliate Miller.
"If you listen to John and Ken, I never said his name one time," Lopez said Friday. "This suit is a money maker for those attorneys. I have proof of everything."
Lopez's daughter, Jennifer Lopez Dejongh, 30, and her children, Brian, 8, and twins Christian and Evan, 6, disappeared Nov. 19 in defiance of a court order to turn over the children to Miller's parents, Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea.

The Lopez family has put together a website giving their side of the story in the ongoing custody battle between Jennifer Lopez Dejongh and Brian Miller.

Miller, the son of congressman Gary Miller, R-Brea, and Lopez Dejongh have three children together.

The children, their mother and her husband, George Dejongh have been missing since November.

Jennifer sent a letter to me from New Hampshire about a month ago, beyond that nothing's been heard from her.

I haven't had much of a chance to look at the website, but no doubt it tells the story from Jude Lopez's POV as he has told to us many times.

The letter was postmarked Feb. 2 in Manchester, New Hampshire and received about seven days later, D.A. Spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said Wednesday.

"It was a one-page typed letter," Gibbons said. "It was given to an investigator in the criminal division." Gibbons did not say what information the letter contains.

Jennifer Lopez Dejongh, 30, of Diamond Bar, has been missing with Miller's three grandchildren since November. In a 16-page handwritten letter sent to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Dejongh defended her actions. She said the three boys were safe and that she took them from what she called an abusive father.

That letter was postmarked February 2 from New Hampshire without a return address.

Investigators have searched for the family throughout the United States, initially believing they were in Las Vegas or Ogden, Utah, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Mark Martinovich. They have also explored possibilities in Mexico and Canada, authorities said.

Also investigating the disappearance are the FBI and the U.S. Marshal's office.

The letter to the Tribune outlines Dejongh's side of a bitter custody dispute with Miller's son, Brian, who is the father of her children.

U.S. Rep. Miller said his son "is in misery over his kids."

Brian Miller has not commented on the case.

http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime

KFI's John and Ken discussed the whole Jennifer Lopez Dejongh saga on their show yesterday. Whittier Daily News reporter Airan Scruby heard some of the show.

I haven't listened yet, but here's a link in case you are interested.

The letter has garnered interest from both the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the West Covina FIeld Office of the FBI. Officials say the case against Lopez is still a state matter, but the Feds are involved because of their belief that Lopez Dejongh and her husband George Dejongh have crossed state lines with U.S. Rep Gary Miller's three grandchildren.

Anyway onto the column. Here it is:

It’s always exciting to get mail at work.

For one thing, you can almost always be sure that something with your name on it isn’t going to contain a bill.

On the other hand, there’s lots of junk that ultimately finds its way into the round file.

Last Thursday, I received a small, somewhat crumpled, white envelope addressed to me. The handwriting on the outside was block-printed. The smeared postmark over a pink 58-cent stamp appeared to say Manchester, New Hampshire.

“Oh great,” I thought, “Another nut who reads the Crime Scene Blog on the Internet with a tip about the murder of James Ellroy’s mother.”

Back in early 1990s, I wrote a story about unsolved mysteries in the San Gabriel Valley. One of the mysteries involved Jean Ellroy, the mother of a young boy who would grow up to be author James Ellroy.

Jean Ellroy was last seen at the Desert Inn at Five Points in El Monte. Her partially nude body turned up the next morning dumped in an alleyway behind Arroyo High School. She had been strangled with her bra. The killing remains unsolved.

The article turned out to be inspiration for James, already respected for his L.A. Quartet, which included the “Black Dahlia” and “L.A. Confidential.”

Ellroy convinced the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to reopen its investigation into the case. He turned the investigation into one of the most powerful pieces of nonfiction ever written, “My Dark Places.”

Anyway, that was on my mind as I turned to my boss, Ed Barrera, and showed him the envelope.
“What do you think it is?” I asked rhetorically, as I ripped the envelope open.

I pulled out a mass of folded papers, unfurled them and read the first lines:

“Dear Frank, My name is Jennifer Lopez Dejongh. Mother of Brian Christopher, Christian and Evan Miller.”
Then and there I realized I was holding a piece of news.

Dejongh’s three children happen to be the grandchildren of U.S. Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea. They’ve been missing since November. In the letter, Dejongh admits taking the kids after losing a round in a bitter custody dispute between her and Brian Miller, the congressman’s son.

The letter indicates the kids are “safe and happy.” It also lists some of the unseemly details at the heart of the dispute.

“I didn’t leave to be selfish. I left to protect the boys,” Dejongh writes. “I’m not trying to get even with anyone.”

After I got Jennifer’s letter, I spoke with her father, Jude Lopez. He seemed to be shaking as he read the letter, and confirmed it was written by his daughter.

Lopez said he warned his daughter that if she ran, he wouldn’t shield her from authorities.

I also spoke to the congressman. He said his son has been in agony over the disappearance of the children.

The children’s pictures are all over the Internet thanks to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau, the U.S. Marshal’s Office and the FBI are all involved in the investigation.

Also following the case is the National Organization for Women’s California chapter. Their spokeswoman sent an e-mail Sunday evening after reading about Jennifer’s letter.

“There is so much to this story that has not been reported,” wrote NOW spokeswoman Rachel Allen. “I’m sure there is more in the 16 pages Jennifer wrote that is deserving of verifying and reporting.”

For now, Detective Mark Martinovich, with the Major Crimes Bureau, said he believes the children are safe with their mother.

“We’ve never felt the children were in physical danger,” he said last week.

He also said he wanted to read the letter.

Which is exactly how I felt when I opened my mail Thursday.

Going through my mail Thursday morning I came across a small envelope, with a smeared postmark that appeared to have been stuffed with a large letter. I opened it, read the first line and knew that we a story on our hands.

The 16-page hand-written letter was signed Jennifer Lopez Dejongh. It detailed her side of a bitter custody feud with Brian Miller, the son of U.S. Rep. Gary Miller. When the court decided in November to hand Dejongh's three boys over to the Miller family for 90 days, Dejongh fled.

Her letter said there was no choice.

The story appears in today's newspaper. Here's an excerpt:

In a letter postmarked from New Hampshire, the mother of three missing grandsons of a local congressman says the boys are safe and justifies her actions as necessary to save the boys from an abusive father.

"I am a mother trying to protect her children," Jennifer Lopez Dejongh wrote toward the end of the 16-page letter, written in longhand and postmarked Feb. 2 in Manchester, N.H., without a return address. "If you speak to my father, tell him we're safe and happy."

Dejongh, 30, and her children, Brian, 8, and twins Christian and Evan, 6, disappeared Nov. 19 in defiance of a court order to turn over the children to Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, and his wife Cathy. Her husband George Dejongh is also missing. The couple wed in July.

On Friday, Jude Lopez, Jennifer's father, reviewed the letter and confirmed the writing as that of his daughter. Lopez said he has had no contact with her since the disappearance.

"I told her, `If you go away, you can't call me,"' Lopez said. "I'm not going to get involved. I'm going to call the police."

The letter outlines Jennifer Dejongh's side of a bitter custody dispute with Brian Miller, the congressman's son, and ...

The rest is here.

The suspected killer of a Diamond Bar man was captured last week when the City Council decided to pour extra funds into a homicide investigation.

Not only did detectives end up nabbing Jae Yi, 24, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Pasasouk, 23, both of Rancho Cucamonga, they also put 18 suspected burglars behind bars in connection with 22 burglaries.

Not a bad day's work.

Many of those arrested were part of a ring targeting Indians and Asians, officials said.

Yi and Pasasouk are facing a variety of charges stemming from the murder of Panalal Shah, who died during the burglary of his home Dec. 4

As for the rest of the group, none has been charged with burglary - yet. Most were picked up on violations ranging from outstanding warrants to probation and parole violations.

Even so, state Justice Department Assistant Chief Jerry Hunter's description of the ring was the most telling.

"There are killers and ruthless burglars who terrorized the San Gabriel Valley for months," Hunter said.

Perhaps it's time for Monrovia and Duarte to pull a page from the Diamond Bar playbook.

Monrovia and Duarte have been faced with a form of terrorism themselves - and not just over recent weeks. Commenters on the Crime Scene Blog say racial tension and gang violence have been routine in area neighborhoods for years.

Even Monrovia Chief of Police Roger Johnson recognizes the problem.

"It's not something that's new," Johnson said last week. "It's something that's continuing for the foreseeable future until we're able to bring under control the gang violence that's occurring in this particular neighborhood."

But the bangers aren't targeting each other this time. The gangs have turned on innocents who happen to be the wrong color.

One of those victims was Sanders "Pete" Rollins, 64, who was killed yards from the front door of his home on Sherman Avenue.

To its credit, the Monrovia Police Department coordinates an anti-gang task force with deputies from Duarte. But clearly, there is either no money to run the suppression full time or not enough personnel to staff the project, which is known as DAMAGE - Duarte and Monrovia Anti Gang Enforcement.

And, Johnson said his department has been providing additional patrols to the neighborhood.

But clearly, it was more than patrols and well-established units that solved Shah's murder.

After they secured the overtime money from the Diamond Bar City Council, detectives and patrol deputies worked across jurisdictional lines to crack the case.

They worked their informant network and known fences, and identified most of the known second-story men from Corona to Hacienda Heights.

After that, detectives got warrants and recovered stolen property ranging from passports to savings bonds.

In Monrovia on Monday, no one was available at the police station to talk about the Rollins investigation. It's not clear if they've employed any of the same techniques.

There was also no one on hand to address the ongoing spate of racial violence that claimed the life of one black man, Rollins, and severely wounded a black teen earlier the same weekend.

Why?

"Off for the holiday," according to one

dispatcher.

I received the email below from Jude Lopez this a.m. As you might remember Lopez's daughter Jennifer Dejongh  her boyfriend and her three children fled their DIamond Bar home after she was ordered to relinquish custody of the children to U.S. Rep. Gary Miller and his wife Cathy.

The Millers are the paternal grandparents of Lopez's three boys. Their son is the boys' father. Authorities said they believe Dejongh fled to Las Vegas, but if Lopez's letter is accurate, they really have no idea where she might be. MIller has not commented on the case since it was originally reported.

Here's the email.

I came to Boston to visit my nephew and attend a conference on Battered Women in Albany, New York when I discovered that I was in a police state not unlike Nazi Germany.  Upon my arrival at Logan International Airport in Boston Massachusetts, I was picked up by my nephew Anthony Norton. 

The police followed us to his apartment.  My nephew went down the block to get me some coffee.  Five minutes later, two U. S. Marshals and six officers of the Boston Police Department came into his home and began searching the premises and questioning me on the whereabouts of the children and my daughter. 

They detained and searched my nephew (in front of the Dunkin Donuts a block from his home) for weapons and kept him in a police car and questioned him for an hour.  After we showed them proof of our intentions in Boston, they left after apologizing for the intrusion. 

We were followed to the conference which was 173 miles away.  And, we were watched at the hotel where the conference was being held.  We were also followed on the way back to my nephew's apartment on Sunday evening. I don't know what else in in store for me or my nephew.  

I plan to go back to my home in Diamond Bar, CA on Monday but that may be delayed because of inclement weather.  If anyone thinks they have any privacy rights, they better think again.  Congressman Gary Miller will use his money and influence to destroy you if you cross him even if it violates your constitutional rights. 

Jude Lopez