Recently in El Monte Category

Cop shoots dog in Whittier.

Clark Rockefeller back in the news (twice over Thanksgiving weekend).

Woman shot in El Monte.

Deputy back on duty after gun incident.

ARCADIA -- For the second time in just under a year, a body has been found floating in the waters of the Peck Road Water Conservation Park.

The grisly discovery was made about 7 a.m. Saturday at the park, located at 5401 N. Peck Road. The body was that of a man. No further details were immediately available.

On Dec. 6 of last year, the body of Lanie Cole, 38, of El Monte was found floating in the very same waters.

After a lengthy coroner's examination, officials determined Cole drowned while intoxicated.

Local law enforcement officials are reporting property crimes are on the rise, as is common for the holiday season. The trend was evidenced by a series of car burglar arrests made in the San Gabriel Valley on Thursday and Friday alone.  Here's an excerpt from a story running in Saturday's Tribune on the issue:

Not only are the holidays a busy time for shopping and travel, but it's also a busy season for burglars and thieves, authorities warn.
Law enforcement agencies found themselves just as busy Thursday and Friday, as they made a series of burglary arrests around the San Gabriel Valley.
It's Christmas for criminals, too, officials explained, and thieves seem to prefer to do their shopping from out of someone else's car.
Car break-ins are especially common this time of year, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Walk said.
Significant burglary arrests were made Thursday and Friday in Industry, Covina and Alhambra, officials said.
To car burglars, the rush of holiday shopping presents an opportunity, Walk said.
"(Thieves) watch cars in the parking lot. People drop their presents in the car and shop," he said.
During the holiday shopping season, he added, when lines at retailers are long, "they know people are going to be inside for a while."
Walk said a good way to avoid being a victim this holiday season is to be aware of your surroundings. He also said not to leave items in your vehicle as you shop.
"If you're at a mall or something like that, maybe have the store hold your items until you're ready to leave," the sergeant said.
He also advises dropping items off at home in between shopping trips, and said to never leave valuables in the car in plain sight. Purse snatchings are also common around the holidays, Walk said.

Sounds like a mash-up between Crime Scene and Leftovers.

Mayor Ernie Gutierrez of El Monte found himself in a bit of trouble Wednesday. He was arrested and held by cops in his own city on suspicion of spousal abuse.

The story has angered several residents of El Monte, who believe Gutierrez received some sort of special treatment when the DAs office decided not to prosecute after a day long investigation.

Here's the bulk of the story. We report. You decide:

EL MONTE - Ernie Gutierrez, the mayor of El Monte, was arrested early Tuesday on suspicion of domestic violence and detained for most of the day, police said.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office refused to bring charges against Gutierrez, whose term expires in 2009, El Monte police Chief Ken Weldon said.

Gutierrez did not comment on the incident.

Police did not identify the victim, or indicate how they received the complaint.

Gutierrez was held by police while the District Attorney's Office reviewed the case. He was released when officials determined there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

Gutierrez was arrested about 2:15a.m. and was booked at L.A. County Jail, according to El Monte police Lt. Robert Roach.

"There was not enough evidence to move forward," Weldon said. "We continue to fully support our mayor."

EL MONTE - Two local men were arrested Saturday on suspicion after allegedly slitting a female taxi driver's throat, robbing her and stealing her cab, authorities said.
David Herrera Siguenza, 19, and Carlos Carillo Ramirez, 25, both of El Monte, were booked on suspicion of attempted murder, carjacking and robbery, El Monte police Detective Ralph Batres said.
The incident occurred about 10:30 p.m. Friday when the woman, a 35-year-old El Monte resident, picked up the two men in the 11700 block of Emery Street in El Monte, Batres said.
After driving about a mile with Siguenza and Ramirez in the cab, Ramirez allegedly grabbed the woman by the neck from behind and slit her throat with a utility knife while Siguenza told him to stop, Batres said.
The wounded woman got out of the cab and the two men fled in it, the detective said. They also stole money from the woman.

This from the City News Service:

A narcotics unit of the Redondo Beach Police Department announced today the arrest of a suspected drug dealer who turned out to be wanted for two murders in Colorado and was
profiled on "America's Most Wanted."

The Redondo PD's Special Investigations Unit got a tip about an alleged
narcotics dealer who lived in Montebello, said Sgt. Gene Tomatani.

While the suspect was under surveillance Monday, he was allegedly observed
selling methamphetamine to a buyer in a shopping center parking lot in El
Monte, the sergeant said.

Officers arrested 28-year-old Rodolfo "Rudy" Gonzalez, who allegedly had a
small amount of contraband on him, and also took the buyer into custody,
Tomatani said.

When Gonzalez was taken into custody, he casually remarked that he was wanted
for two murders and refused to say more, according to the sergeant, who said
the suspect also gave police a phony name.

Meanwhile, he was jailed in the Redondo Beach lockup, and a search warrant was obtained late last night to search his home in Montebello, where three pounds of methamphetamine and a smaller quantity of cocaine and marijuana were recovered, Tomatani said.

Looks like it was another busy weekend for law enforcement with violent acts reported throughout the region.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS -- A man's body was discovered in a residential driveway Sunday with apparent gunshot wounds, authorities said.

EL MONTE -- A man stabbed to death in a motel room over the weekend was bound and gagged when a maid found his body, according to a motel employee.

SAN GABRIEL -- A man was hospitalized with serious injuries Saturday after he was stabbed at a shopping center, authorities said.

PICO RIVERA -- Gunfire ended a Halloween party in Pico Rivera Saturday, leaving one person wounded and at least one suspect on the run, a sheriff's sergeant said.

A man was found stabbed to death in an El Monte motel room Saturday afternoon, authorities said.

The body was found about 1:09 p.m. in the 11600 block of Garvey Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Art Spencer.

"The cause of death was apparently due to multiple stab wounds," Spencer said.

Detectives from the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau were sent to help the El Monte Police Department with the investigation.

The man's name was not released. He was only described as a male, Hispanic adult.

Possible gang ties:

EL MONTE -- Police are seeking an attacker who stabbed a 17-year-old girl and a 19-year-old man late Tuesday, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 9:15 p.m. near the intersection of Magnolia Street and Mountain View Road, El Monte police Sgt. David Vautrin said.

Both victims were taken to an area hospital where they were listed in stable condition.

A motive in the attack was not known late Tuesday, and the suspect was described only as Latino man, Vautrin said.

The victims, who were believed to be walking together when the stabbing occurred, gave conflicting accounts of the incidents, he added.

The male victim was believed to have gang ties, however it was not clear Tuesday if the attack was gang-related, Vautrin said.

Police announced Thursday night they launched an investigation into the case of a man whose death is "imminent."

Here's what the City News Service is reporting:

A man was on the brink of death today following an assault in El Monte, authorities said.

The injured man was found at Valley Boulevard and Gibson Road around 6:30 a.m. Monday, the sheriff's department reported. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was listed as "death- imminent," said Sgt. Rich Pena of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Sheriff's homicide detectives arrived at the crime scene late Thursday to assist El Monte police with the investigation. Details of the assault were not immediately released.

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."

A one-man crime wave threatened the lives of several San Gabriel Valley residents early Friday morning. Here's the top of our updated story:

A string of violent crimes including one shooting, five carjackings and two home-invasion robberies reported early Thursday in the northeastern San Gabriel Valley may have been the work of the same criminal, authorities said.

Crimes were reported in Arcadia, Azusa, El Monte and Rosemead, police and sheriff's officials said.

Similar suspect descriptions and a trail of abandoned stolen vehicles seemingly connect the crimes, though the cases all remain under investigation, authorities said.

Additionally Brian Day put together a Google map that details the suspected spree:

We sort of missed this one during vacation, but it's relevant to note that Michael Gargiulo, 32, arrested in connection with the death of Ashton Kutcher's former girlfriend is also charged in a 2005 El Monte cold case involving the death of Maria Bruno at her apartment, according to the Chicago Tribune. Here's a portion of their Sept. 5 story:

On Thursday Michael T. Gargiulo, 32, was charged with capital murder in the 2001 death of Ashley Ellerin, Kutcher's former girlfriend, whose body was found in her Hollywood Hills home.

Gargiulo also was charged Thursday with the 2005 stabbing death of Maria Bruno in her El Monte, Calif., apartment.

This year, Gargiulo, an air conditioner repairman living in Santa Monica, Calif., was arrested at home in June on suspicion of attempted murder after he allegedly broke into a woman's home in April and stabbed her. She fought him off and DNA from blood at the scene was linked to Gargiulo, officials said.