Recently in Industry Category

INDUSTRY - Police attempted Thursday to sort out the details of a custody dispute that mamy have resulted in the disappearance of an 8-year-old boy and his mother.

Jesus Puerta, of El Monte, was reported missing about a week ago. His father made the report to El Monte police. The case was turned over the the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department when it was determined the boy went missing from a day care center in Bassett, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Gerard Velona said.

Detectives are also seeking Jessee Pheifer, 27, the boy's mother. "Everything is very preliminary," Velona said. "There is nothing to indicate this young man is in any kind of danger."

N0 amber alert has been issued, Velona said.

"We don't even have a car description," he said.

Reporter Brian Day is near the scene of a chemical plant explosion in the 700 block of South 7th Street in Industry  evacuations are possibly planned police are being to told to wear gas masks..

*The explosion and fire was at the Quemetco battery plant, according to Brian who now has a visual on the fire.

*Quemetco has a long history of run ins with neighbors and the AQMD over emmissions. We will be updating our online story as soon as we get more information.

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.

 

This comes in a letter from Industry station deputy Brian Sanford:

Frank, This morning around 0930Hrs, Industry Station received a call of two male hispanics walking near Stimson Av/Halliburton av, in Hacienda Heights.

One had a back pack carrying a spray can that had just tagged a wall near that area. Our patrol units managed to detain both individuals at Hacienda and Newton. The citizen that called identifed both and placed both under private person's arrest being they were adults.

We recovered two spray cans of paint on the one male. The suspects names are: Michael Villalobos age 26 from El Monte (booking number 1251330) and the other is Cesar Morales age 28 from East LA, an admitted "Indiana St." gang member (booking number 1251351)

Both males are on parole for weapons violations. A parole hold was placed on Villalobos. Morales will probably be cited out. I know its not a "major" arrest, but we were fortunate that a citizen got involved, thats what I would like to convey to the readers if possible.

A trio of men suspected of being the WWF bandits have been captured by police in Orange County following a bank robbery, officials said.

Here's a snippet from Brian Day's story on the arrests:

The suspects are Gary Edward Caruthers, 50, of Los Angeles, Jay Chandler Flott, 51, of Los Angeles, and Andre Williamson, 50, of Inglewood, police said.

All of the alleged crimes were takeover-style robberies in which the masked suspects brandished shotguns, officials said.

When the crime spree began at banks in Rowland Heights and Industry, we took to calling these guys the Lucha Libre Bandits. The FBI, not realizing the WWF is now the WWE stuck with their moniker.

The arrests come just in time for this weekend's Wrestlemania festivities.where apparently there will be a "Money in the Bank Ladder Match"  No masked wrestlers have entered the event this year though there's still time.

INDUSTRY -- Sheriff's officials are in the process of "relocating" several homeless people encamped near San Angelo Park in La Puente.

The operation began about 7 a.m. and will continue through the day. As many as 60 homeless are encamped near the park in the San Mateo Creek, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Mike Smith.

"There's a lot of underbrush and thickets there," he said. "It's not hygenic. Another problem is that it's still winter and we're due for rainstorms. A rising river poses a threat to them and public safety personel."

Smith said the homeless will be hooked up with mental and social services and beds will be found. The folks will be innoculated.

Oh, and the sheriff's department will run a criminal background check on al lthey come into contact with, Smith said.

"There are criminals that use homeless encampments for cover to go out and commit burglaries and robberies," he said. "Everyone will be run for warrants and their criminal wanted history."

Attention Aaron Proctor:

The tag team duo hitting area banks wearing luchador masks reminescent of Rey Mysterio have now been named by the FBI (they liked our suggestion, but chose to stick with something a little more English sounding).

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the WWF Shotgun Bandits, whom the FBI describes as Black Males, Mid 20s to Late 30s, Robbed in City of Industry and Rowland Heights:

We're not sure why the FBI chose WWF as opposed to WWE, WCW or ECW, but they did.

BTW we're only 23 days away from Wrestlemania. This year it's in Vega$. I've got the Undertaker beating Edge.

 I also like Floyd Mayweather over the Big Show...

Cops and FBI haven't named this guy yet, they dont' even say these two robberies are related...BUT they sure look alike (and there's a pump action shot gun in both pics)

Anyway the consensus in the newsroom is that this guy should be called the Lucha Libre Bandit...we'll stick with it.

5) MAN DOWN: PASADENA - A 27-year-old man stabbed an unincorporatd Pasadena resident several times early Monday morning, police said.

4) TRAIN DOWN: INDUSTRY - A train narrowly missed striking a pedestrian Monday morning after the man jumped out of the way, officials said.

3) WOMAN DOWN: ROWLAND HEIGHTS - A 20-year-old woman was killed and a man was seriously injured in a car accident Sunday night.

2) TEEN DOWN: WHITTIER - A 17-year-old was shot and wounded Sunday in what was described as a gang-related shooting. The teen was riding a scooter near Norwalk Avenue and Balfour street at the time of the incident, officials said.

1) CRANK DOWN: MONROVIA - Three arrested Saturday in a car loaded with more that 6 ounces of crank. Two men and a woman were taken in to custody by the Monrovia police.

Well, my mother told my father, just before hmmm, I was born, "I got a boy child's comin, He's gonna be, he's gonna be a rollin stone, Sure 'nough, he's a rollin stone Sure 'nough, he's a rollin stone"

I was thinking about this Muddy Waters song as photog Raul Roa and I rolled from an accident in Baldwin Park to a bomb scare in Industry this a.m.