Diamond Bar: January 2008 Archives

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

 

Sources are telling us that a man suspected in the home invasion robbery on Overlook Ridge Road in Diamond Bar that went arwy in early December has been captured.

The man captured after a police pursuit is a suspect in the killing of Panalal Shah.

Here's what Brian Day has so far:

ROWLAND HEIGHTS — Deputies arrested a possible murder suspect after a pursuit that ended with the suspect’s vehicle flipping over, officials said.

The man is being investigated in the murder of 63-year-old Panalal Himatlal Shah at his Diamond Bar home during an apparent home invasion robbery, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Saleeby.

The chase began shortly before 1:40 p.m. when deputies spotted the suspect’s vehicle, Saleeby said.

After a minute-long chase, the suspect’s vehicle crashed and flipped over in front of 18501 Gale Ave, he said.

The suspect fled on foot, but did not make it far due to his injuries, said Saleeby.

Deputies arrested the man and took him to a hospital for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening, he added.

Saleeby expected the suspect, whose name was not immediately available, would be booked on suspicion of murder Friday.

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