Monrovia: May 2008 Archives

There was a story this morning on KABC about a group of parents banding together against "Urban Terrorism" in hopes of creating a reward fund and solving the murders of their children.

It got me thinking about the Sammantha Salas murder investigation in Monrovia and whether or not a possible reward offering will bring her killers to justice. Its something to think about -- thus the poll. Any thoughts?

It's nice to see that the Sheriff's homicide bureau and Mike Antonovich's office finally agree that a reward should be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sammantha Salas' killers.

Salas was killed Jan. 26 and by my math that makes five months of investigation without a resolution. Homicide detectives felt that incremental releases of information and ultimately the reward would keep publicity in the case from waning. Based on the story's position Friday in our most viewed stories list, it appears that they were right about sustaining publicity in the case.

The supes will still have to vote on the reward. It's should be on **Wednesday's agenda,** but hasn't been added yet, i'll keep monitoring that.

6:05 p.m. Friday **Antonovich's flack, Tony Bell, tells me that the Supes meet Wednesday instead of Tuesday next week in deference to Tuesday's primary election.**

As for the two being sought, the electronic files containing two composite drawings of men* sought in connection with the Salas case and another shooting are named ... 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will vote to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects in the Jan. 26 shooting death of Sammantha Salas, Supervisor Mike Antonovich's spokesman Tony Bell told me this morning.

The reward will be voted on this coming Tuesday, Bell said.

Bell had been discussing the case with Lt. Dan Rosenberg of Sheriff's homicide,. it was Rosenbverg who made the decision to offer the reward. The hope is that nearly five months after Salas was shot to death in front of an apartment in an unincorporated portion of Monrovia, that someone will come forward with information in the case, Rosenberg said.

Here's the Star-news Web page, with details of the ongoing violence in Monrovia.

And here's the text from a press release put out by Judy Hammond the county's PIO:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY - Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the death of Samantha Salas, a 16-year old youth.
 
On Saturday, January 26, 2008, Ms. Salas was fatally shot while walking with a friend, on the 2500 block of Peck Road near Longden Avenue in the unincorporated area of Monrovia, after being approached by two male suspects on foot. 
 
The two suspects are described as African-American in their 20's, wearing dark colored bandanas or hooded sweatshirts, and members of the Du Rock Crips gang.

The Los Angeles County Sherriff's Homicide Bureau is seeking information to assist in their investigation.  Supervisor Antonovich encourages witnesses of this crime or anyone with information to contact the Lt. Dan Rosenberg at the Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5580.

 

This from the U.S. Attorney's office:

A San Gabriel Valley man was indicted today for allegedly using
social networking sites on the Internet to convince high school-age girls to have sex with him and pose for pornographic pictures.

Gregory Scott Serrano, 33, of Monrovia, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on charges of production of child
pornography, using the Internet to entice minors to produce child
pornography and to meet for sex, receipt of child pornography,
possession of child pornography and attempted destruction of evidence.

The indictment lists 10 teenage girls as victims. However, authorities believe there are other girls who may have been victimized by Serrano.

The investigation into Serrano began in March after a 15-year-old girl reported that Serrano had taken pornographic photographs of her. According to court documents, Serrano posed as a 19-year-old and contacted the teenager after reading her profile on netlog.com and MySpace.com. After courting her via emails and cellular telephone conversations, Serrano pressed the teenager to meet him in person.

Some of serrano's usernames included: Greg Scott, Purein10citi, citigreg1116, serranogreg, and latinoload1116.

*Serrano is charged with 23 counts in state court and 22 federal counts. Bail in the case has been set at $820,000. He's residing at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

*Here's what Serrano listed on his resume at LinkedIn.com

Gregory Serrano's Experience

• Owner

  Primerica Financial Services

  (Public Company; Financial Services industry)

  Currently holds this position

• Culinary Delivery Specialist

Chili's Grill and Bar

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; eat; Restaurants industry)

1994 -- 2001 (7 years)

**Here's an excerpt from the 

SAFE_-_Serrano_indictment.pdf: 

Beginning in or about January 2007, and continuing until in or about March 12, 2008, in Los Angeles County, within the Central District of California, and elsewhere, defendant GREGORY SCOTT SERRANO knowingly used a facility of interstate commerce, namely, the Internet and the telephone, to attempt to persuade, induce, and entice an individual who had not attained the age of 18 years, namely, S.A., a 13 and then 14-year-old girl, to engage in a sexual activity for which a person could be charged with a criminal offense, namely, lewd acts on a child, in violation of California Penal Code Section 288(C)(1), and production of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a). 

***Here's some of Greg Serrano's Web sites:

WIndows live here.

MySpace here.

Friendster here.

LinkedIn here. 

****Netlog site here.

A Monrovia police agent broke his hand early Thursday morning after a scuffle with an inmate in the city's lockup, authorities said.

"There was a fight at the station. An officer broke his hand," Monrovia police Lt. Mike Lee said.

The officer was identified as Agent Nick Manfredi. The inmate, who was not identified, was taken to an area hospital suffering from lacerations. He had been arrested on suspicionof being in possession of a homemade dagger, Lee said.

No further details were available.

The Monrovia city manager claims tactics used by the city's police officer's union add "insult to injury," according to a blog post published Sunday by Miss Havisham.

After a humorous introduction, Havisham and City Manager Scott Ochoa get down to the heart of the matter:

Miss H:

How difficult has it been negotiating with the Monrovia Police Officer's Association?

<snip>

Mr Ochoa: If the City had extra cash for billboards (estimated at $20K per month) or phone banks, I think the public would demand that it be used for officer salaries - and rightly so. I believe these tactics by the MPOA have only hurt their cause. Their pay demands - while tone deaf to the realities of today's economy and thus, the taxpayers who pay our salaries - could probably be understood by folks as part of the contract negotiation process; but the billboards' impact, whether real or perceived, on business and/or property values appears to be too much to be overlooked. The MPOA's donation/solicitation letter that hit mailboxes late last week seemed to add insult to injury.

All this said, I still believe (indeed, I have to believe) that we can find a reasonable accommodation. I am confident that we can check all of the baggage and bad blood at the door; but lasting and viable resolution will take compromise from both parties.

Perhaps there's hope

The debate has taken on prominence since the union more than two weeks ago put up two dramatic billboards that portray Monrovia as a crime-plagued city with reduced police patrols.
"It's more the talk of the town than anything," said Clarence Shaw, a Monrovia Unified School District board member. "I was in support of (the union). But this last tactic that they've used, I can't go along with that. The tide has turned."
About 25 protestors turned out Friday evening for a rally in front of the police station, urging the Monrovia Police Officers' Association to take down the billboards. A larger turnout had been hoped for, said organizer Debbie Elliott-Penzer, who added that she supports the police but not their tactics.
"Everybody needs a raise, but don't go about it this way," she said. "We don't do business like that in the city of Monrovia."

The MPOA has found especially fierce backers on local political blogs, where discussion recently has focused on Ochoa's compensation package and accusations that someone in Councilman Tom Adam's real estate office posted crude, anonymous comments critical of police officers and the union.
Both Ochoa and Adams have spoken out against the MPOA's tactics.

To reiterate, HBB (associated with a City Councilman's office) has asserted the MPD officers..
- Are lazy
- Harass people
- Write bogus tickets
- Steal money using their guns
- Lack manners from years of carrying guns
- and, of course, the last one to be injured ate too many donuts (need I remind you, he was nearly murdered).

KABC ran a hokey (but informative) piece on Thursday's newscast about the ongoing dispute between the Monrovia POA and City Hall (of course THE BILLBOARD was prominently featured).

Reporter Rob Hayes told the story Thursday night outside City Hall

It's the kind of place where you see a city worker putting up an American Flag and if you whistle a few bars you feel as if you are in Mayberry.

(snip)

As for the noise these billboards are making, its certainly harder to hear the whistle... (Mayberry theme in the background)

Hayes' report also makes reference to a planned rally at the police station Friday night...

*UPDATE: The rally, which starts at 5:30 p.m outside the police station is the work of residents and shop owners who dont' care for the billboard. Melissa Pamer reports:

Some residents and local business owners have condemned the billboards, saying they paint an unfair picture of Monrovia and will drive away customers.

The rally is intended to ask officers to take the billboards down, said Debbie Elliott-Penzer, one of the chief organizers of the rally.

"Everybody needs a raise, but don't go about it this way," Elliott-Penzer said. "We don't do business like that in the city of Monrovia."

Robert CJ Parry responds in an email:

Really?  Are you sure the shop owners are even mostly resident of Monrovia?

Melissa Pamer reports that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau has released the sketches of two men wanted in connection with a Jan. 14 drive-by shooting in Monrovia in which two men might have been slightly injured.

Here's the sketches at left.

I imagine folks in Monrovia have some questions for officials about certain elements of the story.

Here are my questions and observations:

1. Why is homicide releasing sketches of figures wanted in what is likely to be charged as an assault at best? It's my understanding that homicide detectives only investigate actual homicides.

2. When it comes to the Sammantha Salas slaying, why does homicide Lt. Dan Rosenberg say he's not ready ask for a reward from Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office? Antonovich's flack Tony Bell has said repeatedly that he's talked to detectives about that. Can we infer that these two might be wanted in the Salas case as well? What's the story here?

3. Officials that Pamer talked to said crime tips have decreased as media attention has waned in Monrovia.  It almost sounds as if the media is being blamed for a lack of interest in the community. Truth be told, Monrovia seems to have several pretty active community forums among them FCBLOG, City Hall, North Primrose and Frazgo on MetBlogs. Additionally we've had a section of our Web site exclusively devoted to the shootings.

4. Early on in the investigation, authorities blamed the rising tensions in the community on recently released parolees. Do these composite drawings match the mug shots of actual parolees reportedly released into the community?

As with the last month's Sierra Madre/Santa Anita/Chantry Flats fire, there are several bloggers watching what's going on at Mt. Baldy. And today's apparent flare up 

The Fire, officially dubbed the "Bighorn Wildland Fire"  has burned 310 acres and is about 10 percent contained, according to Inciweb.

From the Blogs:

"Ashes in the sky"

US Forest Service updates from My Murrieta (?)

Still "out of control"

Less than a week after the slaying of 90-year-old Evelyn Mosley at her home on Lincoln Avenue in Altadena, the Board of Supervisors is ready to authorize a reward.

Mosley was found lying in a pool of blood inside her home by firefighters who had responded to reports of smoke. The initial investigation in the case labeled Mosley's death as suspicious.

Later it was determined that she had been slain, and for a few brief hours Friday, the Sheriff's Department thought Mosley's housekeeper might be responsible. They booked the unidentified woman, but cut her loose several hours later, saying she had been "exonerated."

So, from the reward offering we can assume detectives are back at square one with nothing to go on.

I'm interested, though, in the swiftness of the reward offering. It's not clear what is motivating the supervisors, since I couldn't get Michael Antonovich's flack Tony Bell on the phone Monday.

Perhaps this is a good sign for those hoping the supes will also offer a reward in the Sammantha Salas slaying.

You'll remember Salas, 16, was shot to death in a hail of automatic gunfire outside her father's apartment in unincorporated Monrovia in late January. No one has been caught in the case.

Last time I talked to Bell, he blamed the lack of a reward on the detectives investigating Salas' death.

"They know what they are doing," he scolded me. "Who are you to say what is the right investigative technique?"

Since then, I was able to ask Supervisor Gloria Molina about the possibility of offering a reward in the Salas case.

She said she would look into it and hoped Salas' family would contact her office. I haven't heard back.

What's the disparity between the Salas and Mosley cases?

As one of my colleagues asked Monday, "Wouldn't you think that detectives and the supes want to do something about the killing of a 16-year-old who had her whole life in front of her?"

Not yet, apparently.

X X X

Watching television news and reading the paper over the weekend, I suddenly got the feeling that we are all living in Grand Theft Auto IV.

As the title implies, players go around stealing cars. Sticking to the story line can lead to shootouts with cops and drug dealers and police pursuits.

Taking a look at headlines of the past week, all of the violent stuff reads like it came straight from the video game.

Example: In Azusa, Jose Luis Medina, 33, was shot and killed in a street robbery that occurred about 2a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of West Gladstone Street.

Medina was walking with a friend east on Gladstone when a car approached and Medina was shot and killed.

The car and its occupant fled. Like many of the scenarios in GTA, there were no arrests.

Across the county in Inglewood Sunday morning, a couple of officers, believing they were under fire, opened up on a passing car, killing a 19-year-old and injuring the driver. Again there have been no arrests.

In South El Monte on Sunday night, four men apparently affiliated with a local gang were targeted by a gunman for unknown reasons. All four were wounded and taken to an undisclosed hospital. There were no arrests.

Taking such a clinical approach to reading and watching the news removes the fact that in each of these stories, real three-dimensional people were involved.

They had real families, real friends and real hopes and dreams. And no restarts.

Take a look at the jump for an update.... 

Star-News reporter Melissa Pamer asked Monrovia Councilman Tom Adams about allegations *someone in his office* has been posting attacks against the Monrovia Police Officers Association on the Foothill Cities Blog. Blogger Robert Parry claims that *the poster* has assumed the name Hay, Bad Boy and Tom Edwards in those posts.

Here's what Adams wrote about the controversy in an email this afternoon:

"there are approximately 120 people who work for the Adams & Barnes Companies, anyone who may go to the internet, either on one of the company owned computers or one of their own attached to our network. We also have run press releases informing the public that our wifi is open to the public as a service, for free. Anyone of them can go to the internet through our network. Although I am not surprised that Mr. Parry has gone to this much trouble to find out basically nothing other than he thinks someone blogged from our internet connection. The real issue has not changed. The Monrovia Police Union through some of their supporters have done all they can to attempt to embarrass the council or city manager. Telling the world that Mr. Parry thinks someone from my office blogged will not get the Police Union any more money. One part that was a little sad is that Mr. Parry's attack came at a meeting when anyone who reads agendas knew I would not be there to respond. Baseless attacks always work better when no one can `respond. Perhaps if Mr. Parry wants transparency on his blog he should post all of the bloggers IP addresses and locations, but then that is not his goal."

 

Robert Parry goes on the attack over at Foothill Cities, focusing on a series of emails to him and comments on blog entries directed at the Monrovia POA.

It's a lengthy dissertation, but the gist of his post (and apparently comments before the Monrovia City Council Tuesday night) is that someone who works in Monrovia City Councilman Tom Adams' Real Estate office doesn't like cops.

Here's a picture of Adams and an excerpt from Parry's post:

Is Councilman Thomas E. Adams, in fact, Tom Edwards, Hay and Bad Boy? If not, who in his office would say such vile, nasty things, and why would he associate with them?

Does he believe that the police officers of this City are no better than thieves, taking money from people with their guns?

Does he believe our police officers are lazy, worth no more than $15 an hour, and no different from criminals, except for their badges?

Does he really believe that sergeant Verna was hurt by a donut, not the bullet of a felon who was trying to kill him?

And, finally, how long has Mr. Adams harbored these anti-cop sentiments, and how have they impacted his judgment when these officers have asked to be paid at the average of their counterparts in other cities?