FRANK GIRARDOT

Frank Girardot
Crime Scene puts you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail me.

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May 26, 2008

Writing the wrong stuff

Two suspected taggers were popped by Covina cops leaving their mark on an Azusa Avenue business:

COVINA - A man and teen were arrested late Saturday on suspicion of tagging 22 different locations on Azusa Avenue, police said.
Adrian Mejia, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released due to his age, were arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and possession of vandalism tools, said Covina police Sgt. Gregg Peterson. Both are from El Monte.
Both admitted to the graffiti, which totalled nearly $2,000 in damage, Peterson said.
The suspected taggers were arrested about 9:30 p.m. in the 900 block of North Azusa Avenue after scrawling graffiti on a business in plain view of a police officer, Peterson said.
Both admitted to the graffiti spree, he added.
Mejia is being held in lieu of $5,000 bail, Peterson said, and the juvenile was cited and released to his parents. 

May 19, 2008

Round up

Busy couple of days in the SGV and surrounding neighborhoods:

  • In La Puente a man was killed following a dispute near Stimpson and Fairgrove.

LA PUENTE - Deputies responding to a 9-1-1 call reporting a fight in a residential neighborhood Sunday discovered the body of a man lying in the street, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 4:30 p.m. on Stimson Avenue, just south of Fairgrove Avenue, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Dan Jackson.

Two men believed to be participants in the fight were stopped leaving the area in a pickup truck and taken to the sheriff's Industry station for questioning, Jackson said, however it was not known if they were suspects in the attack.

It was not clear how the man died, Jackson said, though witnesses who reported the fight told officials there was a knife involved.

A sheriff's press release put out Monday morning indicates the man died as the result of blunt force trauma and may have been run over.

  • An officer involved shooting in El Monte left a suspect wounded and in custody:

EL MONTE - Police shot and wounded a parolee Friday who allegedly tried to run down officers in a stolen van, authorities said.

A police officer suffered minor injuries in the incident, sheriff's officials said.

The suspect, a San Bernardino County man in his 20s whose name was not released, was reported to be in stable condition at an area hospital, said Sgt. Bill Marsh of the sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

He was wounded in both arms, said El Monte police Lt. Dan Burlingham.

The suspect was later determined to be a parolee with a felony warrant for his arrest, Marsh said. The specific nature of the warrant was not known Sunday.

  • A suspected copper thief is believed responsible for a small brush fire in Industry.

The blaze was reported about noon near the freeway's Valley Boulevard off-ramp, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Supervising Dispatcher Bryan Webb.

No structures were damaged or threatened by the flames, and no injuries were reported, said Firefighter Jayson Mendoza.

The fire was sparked by Edison electrical equipment after someone apparently tampered with it earlier, Mendoza said.

  • Pomona people protest police checkpoints:

POMONA - A weekend checkpoint caused residents to express concern and accusations to fly at a City Council meeting on Monday.

Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa said residents were frightened and that the behavior of officers reminded her of movie scenes depicting the Gestapo.

Several people spoke at the meeting about Saturday afternoon's DUI checkpoint at Mission Boulevard and San Antonio Avenue.

Police Chief Joe Romero said the remarks about the Gestapo were offensive to the officers at the checkpoint and that they were owed an apology.

Pomona businessman Francisco Espinoza said the checkpoints targeted Latinos and urged the council to "take control of the city."

"Take it back. You control the Police Department, and you work for us," he said.

 

 

 

April 25, 2008

48 hours in the SGV

El Monte police found themselves in the middle of a bona-fide crime wave earlier this week. Bethania Palma pieced it all together for an article that ran in today's Tribune. Crime Scene gotta give a shout out to Detective Ralph Batres, who rolled to all the incidents described below and found time to answer his telephone in the process. 
Here's an excerpt from Bethania's report:
EL MONTE - A stabbing, a shooting, three search warrants leading to a major pot bust and a bomb scare involving 30 pounds of TNT.
It's a roll call of major crime that sounds like it could fit neatly into a busy month for any police department.
But in El Monte, those calls made up part of a frantic 48 hours that saw police handle two homicides - making arrests in both cases; bust up a $2 million pot operation 15 miles away in Rowland Heights; and swiftly clear a neighborhood endangered by 30 pounds of TNT.
"We have a very active city," said police Chief Ken Weldon. "It's a challenge to stay on top of it." 

April 23, 2008

Arrest in Five Points 187 (*Updated) (**Updated)

sanchez.JPGSheriff's officials said Peter Sanchez, 38, of El Monte, has been arrested in connection with the slaying of Elaine Garza, 41.

Garza was shot to death in the parking lot of Five Points Plaza in El Monte Tuesday.

Her mother identifed Garza as an informant and said family members knew it was coming.

Sanchez doesn't appear in the sheriff's inmate locator as of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. It is unclear if he has been booked.

*Turns out suspect's name is actually Joseph Sanchez, DOB 10-03-1969. He's being held on a parole violation at the El Monte city jail, according to El Monte police LT. Santos Hernandez.

 ** Sources close to the investigation said Garza and Sanchez had been involved in some sort of altercation previous to the shooting. The altercation allegedly took place at the Victory Motel where Sanchez was later arrested.

** Sources close to the investigation also said Sanchez fled the scene on a "Razor"-type scooter. He went back to the Victory Motel and was arrested with a handgun still in his waistband.

 

Pot Luck

One day after an informant for the El Monte PD was killed, detectives continued their string of pot busts with a roust in Rowland Heights. A home at 2040 Bing Court, yielded more pot than a bust at the gated El Monte community on Maxon Road last Friday.

 

 

April 22, 2008

Possible 2nd El Monte homicide (*UPDATED)(**UPDATED)(***UPDATED)(****UPDATED)

victorymotel.JPGWe're getting reports of a woman being shot to death in a Valley Boulevard parking lot this afternoon. Witnesses say the woman was shot by a young man on a skateboard. He may have been using a large caliber handgun.

One witness said the shooting resulted from a purse snatching gone wrong. We'll update as soon as more info is available.

If true, the shooting would be El Monte's second homicide today and *eighth this year.

*LA County Sheriff's homicide detectives are rolling to the scene of the shooting at 12030 Valley Boulevard (near Five-Points)

*A man has apparently been arrested in connection with the case at the Victory Motel on Garvey Avenue, according to reporter Claudia Palma who is at the scene.

**The victim may have been a well known El Monte police informant, according to several sources. There is a rumor that the victim had informed in a recent case that lead to a large scale bust (possibly the pot house?)

**** A person of interest has been detained in connection with the shooting, sheriff's officials said. The man was apparently in possession of a handgun similar to that used in the killing.

**** The dead woman was identified by authorities and her mother as Elaine "Baby" Garza, 41, a resident of El Monte and mother of four kids.

****Here's my notes from conversation with reporter Claudia Palma who is at the scene:

" her mom thinks she was an informer and the people who might have done this were upset about several raids pulled off by the El Monte PD. Mom not surprised said she expected it. said her daughter lived a bad life..."
 

 

***The location where the woman was shot is about 1.5 miles from where a man was stabbed to death earlier in the day. *** Google Map


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El Monte homicide rate soars

scenicmotel.JPGThe stabbing of a man outside the Scenic Bar and Hotel on Garvey Avenue in El Monte Monday night was the city's seventh this year, according to authorities.

By comparison, at this time last year there were just three homicides in El Monte. What a difference a year makes.

Here's the Tribune's 2007 homicide database that I put together last year. You can search El Monte for the 2007 totals. 

Tuesday fish wrap

There's a lot of action on the crime beat today. Here's some examples:

Teen to be arraigned in Columbine-style threats posted on Wikipedia.

An El Monte man was stabbed to death outside a Garvey Avenue bar.

A decomposed body was found late Monday off San Gabriel Canyon Road between Azusa and Glendora. (not many details on this yet)

And, there's this video of an ATM robbery in Norwalk:

 

 

April 19, 2008

El Monte murder remains a mystery

Brian Day interviewed family and friends of Jack Hicks, killed last week in El Monte. Many of his acquaintances recalled Hicks as a good guy who made some bad choices ...

Here's the opening from Brian's piece:

EL MONTE - The fatal shooting of 33-year-old Jack "Eddie" Hicks last week remains a mystery, authorities said.

His body was discovered inside a trailer April 12 with a single gunshot wound about two hours after he left his girlfriend's house, according to officials and family members.

No witnesses have come forward and no motive or suspect description is known, said Lt. Gil Carrillo of the Los Angeles County sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

"I hope we find out what really happened," said Hicks' cousin, who requested his name not be published for fear of retaliation.

"He's not just a man found dead in a trailer," said the cousin. "My cousin was a good guy."

"He'd give you the shirt off his back if you're cold," said Hicks' girlfriend, who also asked her name be withheld. "Everywhere he went he was loved," she said.

Hicks had two daughters, 7 and 8 years old, with previous girlfriends and another on the way with his girlfriend, who said she's currently four months' pregnant.

Hicks, who had been in and out of prison over the years and battled a drug problem, "wasn't an angel," said his cousin, but he was a friendly man who didn't have any enemies.

April 18, 2008

Pot found at house in El Monte gated community

Who knew there were gated communities in El Monte? Apparently they exist. The last time I remember running into one it was a front for a slave-labor sweat shop.

In any event, today's gated community involves the discovery of a grow home, $1 million in plants and three arrests. Here's the lowdown:

EL MONTE - Police arrested three San Gabriel residents Thursday and raided three homes in connection with a nearly $1 million pot operation.

Authorities believe Henry Kwong, 22, Yue Huan Mai, 25, and Denise Guan, 32, were all involved in a "sophisticated " operation that netted about 700 marijuana plants.

Officers found the plants in three second-floor bedrooms at a home in the 2800 block of North Maxson Road -- an El Monte gated community called Maxson Villas, El Monte police Det. Peter Lopez said.

Police have linked the suspects to a second Walnut home allegedly being converted to support marijuana cultivation and a third San Gabriel home, where tools for a pot grow, thousands of dollars in cash and a pound of marijuana were found, Lopez said.

Story here

April 15, 2008

Updates

Yesterday I created a mirror site, in case of problems during our move to larger and better servers. It requires posting to both sites and hoping there's some kind of synchronization. I must admit I haven't done a complete job of it.

There are posts on the mirror site that aren't here and vice versa.

Here's a link to the mirror site.

As for the missing posts from this site, there are two. The first is titled "Girl pleads guilty to manslaughter, evading and street racing."

Here's an outtake:

A 17-year-old girl pled guilty Monday to several charges stemming from a collision that killed Angela Chung, 19, of Temple City.
Here's an excerpt from Dan Abendschein's online piece:

PASADENA - A 17-year-old girl pleaded guilty on Monday to four felony counts in a street racing case that killed a 19-year-old student from Temple City.
The girl, whose name was not released because of her age, was convicted in juvenile court. She will serve three months in a county probation department camp, and will have to pay restitution to the victim's family.

The second is a follow to the El Monte Homicide from the weekend. Again an excerpt:

The victim lived in a trailer (not apparently visible on Google Earth). Left no fingerprint of his existence as far as public records and was apparently arrested three times in recent months by El Monte and Baldwin Park police, according to the Los Angeles County's Sheriff's Inmate Locator.

The guy also has a lengthy rap sheet for drug possession, car thievery and spousal abuse. Motive anyone?

Here's our story for (Tuesday's) paper:

EL MONTE — Detectives are continuing to investigate the death of a 33-year-old man found shot inside a trailer late Saturday.

Jack Edward Hicks’ body was discovered shortly before midnight in the 5200 block of Cogswell Road, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Denise Fuchs.

The body was found inside a trailer next to a back house where Hicks had been staying, said Detective Gil Carrillo of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.



April 14, 2008

Man shot to death in El Monte


View Larger Map

Not much information available on this one. Appears to have happened late Saturday night. Sheriff's and El Monte PD just got around to reporting it Monday. Here's the details from our website:

EL MONTE - Authorities today identified a man found shot to death in an El Monte home during the weekend.

Jack Edward Hicks, 35, was found dead about 11:50 p.m. Saturday in the 5200 block of Cogswell road, said Deputy Ed Hernandez of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Sheriff's homicide detectives were assisting El Monte police in the investigation

February 26, 2008

Street racers bound over for trial in triple murder

The two guys who held a street race in El Monte that ended in a fiery crash and killed a woman and her two children will be tried on murder charges, officials said.

Pomona Superior Court Judge Charles Horan found sufficient evidence to require Martin Morones, 21, and Robert Canizalez, 19, to proceed to trial on three counts of murder.

Canizalez also is charged with a felony count of witness intimidation.

Both men, who remain jailed, are due back in court for arraignment March 11.

The charges stem from a crash last Oct. 8 that killed 41-year-old Dora Groce and her children, Robert, 8, and Catherine, 4.

February 25, 2008

Man accused in shotgun slaying writes letter to paper

This comes from crack crime reporter Brian Day in the SGV newsroom:

Cuauhtemoc Ortiz, 58, of Temple City, plead not guilty Monday to the slaying of an El Monte man in his home early this year, officials said.

Lester Lear, 47, was shot multiple times with a shotgun inside his house, said Detective Richard Ramirez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.

Investigators believe the motive in the shooting was that Ortiz viewed Lear as a rival for the affections of a woman, described as a local woman in her 40s.

Ortiz allegedly also tried to shoot Lear but missed on Jan. 1, officials said, at the same house where Lear was ultimately killed.

Lear is also being investigated by the El Monte Police Department in several other violent incidents that occurred prior to Lear's slaying, said Ramirez. Details on those incidents were not available.

A letter sent to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newsroom claiming to be from Ortiz expressed concern that an "informant" in his case is not being adequately protected by the police and is in danger of "eminent murder."

"I've never heard of anything of this nature," Ramirez said after being told of the letter.

Ortiz was arrested Jan. 16 several blocks from his Temple City home as he was walking to his car, Ramirez said.

Lear was fatally shot Jan. 4 at his house in the 10000 block of Rose Avenue, said Deputy Rick Pedroza of the Sheriff's Headquarter's Bureau. He was pronounced dead at the scene, he added.

January 28, 2008

El Monte homicides 2008


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January 3, 2008

More blood (and dumplings)

The Esotrouic folks will be back in the SGV Jan. 19, for their "Blood and Dumplings" excursion through our Valley.

Among the tour highlights, Alhambra, El Monte and San Gabriel. Interestingly enough the press release points out a Manson family connection to the San Gabriel Valley (Steven Parent). But neglects another Leslie Van Houten.

Maybe that's part of the Pasadena tour later this year.

December 20, 2007

...

Crime scene readers might recognize the address in the post below as the mobile home park where three members of a family killed by street racers lived. The copy comes from an email sent by Lt. Ralph Batres of the El Monte PD. As for the long faces in the shot....Maybe Santa's fatigued. He's been to a lot of places in the past few days.

santacop.JPG

On 12-19-07, Wed., at 5:30 p.m., due to the efforts of Agent Eric Sanchez of the El Monte Police Department and Manager Diana Doo of the Brookside Country Club located at 12700 Elliott in El Monte, approximately 200 children were able to receive gifts with Santa Claus.  As you can see, the children wore their “happy faces” to welcome Santa.

 

 

December 17, 2007

Crime Scene Maps

I'll add this as a module later, but for now here's a link to all the Crime Scene maps.

December 14, 2007

Along the Rio Hondo

TAGS.jpg

Reporter Fred Ortega shot this picture of Christmas in a homeless camp beneath Rosemead Boulevard, along the Rio Hondo.

Residents of the camp said it was raided by El Monte police Thursday night after they were sent to a cold weather shelter across town.

The El Monte Police Department has begun an Internal Affairs investigation into the incident.

 

July 24, 2007

Illusions strip club update

A former employee of the Illusions strip club sent an email regarding the 1996 murder of Mohamed Sarekhani. I'm stripping anything identifying. There is some interesting new information on the case, that hasn't been made public.
Sarehkhani was shot to death outside his club on a bright, sunny mid-November day. The case remains unsolved.


Here's most of the (edited) email:

I noticed the article on the fatal shooting of Mohamed "Mo" Sarehkhani in November 1996 and wanted to share some information. I was (an employee) of Illusions at the time Mo was killed and I cant believe after 11 years the police have no leads. The word around town after the shooting was that a local gang was trying to extort money from some of the local businesses in which Illusions was one.

Continue reading "Illusions strip club update" »

July 23, 2007

Gun crime tally

Weekend violence left one man dead and three teens wounded around the east San Gabriel Valley. We'll follow up on these throughout the day. Two of the incidents, including the murder, have West Covina datelines. One of the injured teens was identified by police as a girl.


In East Los Angeles, two brothers are suspected of beating their brother to death following an argument Sunday.

July 22, 2007

Former stripper hopes police will take second look at 1996 cold case

What do a stripper, a bar owner shot to death in broad daylight, and cold case detectives have in common?


They are all part of a story running in tomorrow's paper. The story concerns the 1996 shooting death of Mohamed "Mo" Sarehkhani.


"Mo" owned the Illusions topless bar on Valley Boulevard. A week or so before Thanksgiving 1996, Mo took a bullet that killed him.


Ever since, the stripper has been trying to piece the case together, while cold case detectives from the county Sheriff's department and the El Monte P.D. admit they've been stumped since day one.


There's a lot of interesting characters in the story, including a bouncer who claimed he once wrestled "Andre" the Giant.

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