Monrovia: June 2008 Archives

Looks like another cop has filed a discrimination suit against the Monrovia PD.

This time the cop is saying he's being discriminated against for testifying in a previous case. I wonder how the Monrovia media machine is going to spin the latest story. Here's what Nate McIntire will report in tomorrow's paper:

MONROVIA - A Monrovia police officer has filed a lawsuit against the city alleging he was harassed and retaliated against for cooperating in a previous racial discrimination case against the Monrovia Police Department.

Matthew Donald Thompson said he provided statements supporting the claims of racial discrimination and harassment filed by Glenn Cobb, a former Monrovia police officer who sued the department in 2006.

Cobb settled with the city, which admitted no liability, in November 2007.

Going through old clip files today, I decided to pull two ratty envelopes. The first was labeled Crime, Murder, 1967. The second was Crime, Murder, 1967.

Here's a short crime story from May 2, 1968:

'HIPPIE HOUSE'

Monrovian Fatally Shot in Scuffle

A Monrovia youth was shot to death Wednesdat during a fight at a Sierra Madre "hippie" house and police have arrested a 23-year-old man on suspicion of murder.

Fatally wounded in the shooting was George D. Corbin, 19, of 1315 S. Mountain Avenue. He was shot in the upper chest with a .22 caliber pistol.

Booked by Sierra Madre police on charges of murder and assault with intest to commit murder was Bruce Allan Lewis, 535 Brookside Lane, Sierra Madre.

Police said Corbin was pronounced dead at St. Luke Hospital in Pasadena shortly after the shooting.

Another youth -- Michael Fulsom, 19, of 735 E. Beckville St., Duarte -- was shot in the right hand during the scuffle at the Brookside Lane house. He was transported to the County  Hospital prison ward in serious condition.

Detectives said Corbin and four friends, including one girl, were at the Brookside Land house when a fight erupted.

Corbin and Duncan J. Demming Jr., 21, also of 535 Brookside Lane apparently started fighting and Lewis joined in the scuffle.

Fulsom was later booked on several outstanding traffic warrants and Demming was charged with possessing marijuana.

Police said the "hippie" house was in the Sierra Madre Canyon area, whoch used to be an artists colony."

 

A few weeks ago, I had a surprise late-night encounter with three coyotes roaming the streets of Los Feliz.

It seemed like feral dogs were everywhere that week. Photographer Watchara Phomicinda snapped a picture of a skinny one rooting about an empty field in Irwindale. I can't remember where else they turned up, but they were around.

Last year at this time it was black bears. Bears in Monrovia; bears in Duarte; bears in Bradbury; bears in Azusa.

Old-timers probably know this already, but I was fascinated to find out that predators are nothing new in the San Gabriel Valley or Whittier for that matter.

Grizzlies, wolves, cougars and coyotes roamed pretty freely in these parts right up until the turn of the 20th century.
They're pretty much gone. If only we could say the same about their human counterparts.

***
Whoops.
In my haste to write a brilliant column each week, I've been making grammatical errors. To all you English teachers out there, my deepest apologies.

I had this pointed out to me via a marked-up column sent in the mail by Ms. Beryl Collins of Arcadia.

The mark-up, done nicely in red ink, actually contains just three sentences.
It begins with, "What school did you attend?"

To answer that I guess I have to tell you a little about myself. For the most part I am a product of the California public school system.

After my parents moved to California, I attended Laura M. Hansen Elementary in Saratoga and Joaquin Miller Junior High in San Jose.

The Jesuits took over from there, and although there were some summer school classes at Lynbrook High, I graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

Since then, I've attended UCSD, San Jose State, Pasadena City College and Mt. San Antonio College.

That seems like a lot of education. Even after all that, I still don't know how to construct a proper sentence.

The sentence below was one example pointed out by Ms. Collins. It appeared in a column that ran in this newspaper on June 3:

"I'm sure there's countless similar stories."

She suggests I should have constructed the sentence as: "I'm sure there are countless similar stories."

All I can say is that I'm really glad she hasn't been reading my text messages.

U no wot i mean?

Thanks for the tip, Ms. Collins, I'm sure there are countless similar examples.

***

Are the copper thieves getting bold or what?

Whomever hit an Edison substation in Whittier knew exactly what to take, and absconded with copper grounding wire. It could fetch a tidy sum at the recycling center.

What's probably most irritating about the theft is that Edison had to turn off the power in most of Pico Rivera and portions of Whittier on a hot afternoon.

One can only hope the thief's refrigerator was affected and his (or her) beer got warm.

Mayor's son questioned in car theft case.

An unidentified person was detained at Mayor Ron Beilke's home Wednesday as part of an auto theft investigation, authorities said.

<snip>

Beilke said deputies questioned his 17-year-old son, who visited the same house as Sonny Costello, a 19-year-old transient, who is accused of stealing a 2002 Chevy Suburban on Tuesday night.

Monrovia plans outside investigation of claims against PD.

MONROVIA - Police Chief Roger Johnson said Wednesday that an outside agency would investigate sexual harassment allegations contained in a lawsuit filed against a Monrovia police officer.

Rudy Ramirez, 25, a former Monrovia jailer and member of the Monrovia police Explorer program, filed the lawsuit last month. He claims Sgt. Dan Verna sexually abused and harassed him beginning in 2000 while he was a minor until November 2006 when Ramirez was terminated by the department.

"Any of these allegations are going to be reviewed by a law enforcement agency independent of the Police Department to determine if there's been any wrong-doing," Johnson said.

<snip>

To bolster claims in his lawsuit, Ramirez states that Verna helped a suspected gang member, Salvador Parra, get released from Monrovia city jail on two occasions in 2006.

Sheriff's officials on Wednesday said a deputy saw Verna and Parra in 2006 inside of a parked car in Fish Canyon.

On patrol May 2, 2006, Deputy Mike Silva spotted the pair, authorities said. When he saw a gun in the car, the deputy detained Verna and called for backup, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Capt. Richard Shaw. 

Man shot and killed in Hacienda Heights.

Police responded to the 1100 block of Finegrove Avenue to reports of shots fired around 9:50 p.m., according to Deputy Aura Sierra of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

They found a Latino man, 30, with multiple gun shots wounds in his torso, Sierra said.

CHiPs OIS follow up; woman identified.

Two CHP officers patrolling the eastbound 10 Freeway just after 11 p.m. initially noticed the woman as she passed them in her car, driving at a high rate of speed, Dolson said.

The officers thought she might have been under the influence, so they pulled her over at Hellman and Garfield avenues, just off the freeway, Dolson said.

When one of the officers approached the vehicle, the woman pulled out the replica handgun, prompting the officer to fire one round, he said.

The fake handgun was later recovered at the scene, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Oscar Butao.

"It looked exactly like a righteous firing gun," Dolson said. "You would probably have to handle it and examine it for a short time to realize it wasn't real."

 

The sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the Monrovia Police Department by former jailer Rudy Ramirez adds fuel to a fire that seems to be consuming the All-America city.

At the beginning of the year, Monrovia found itself at the center of a gang crime spree that included 13 shootings which resulted in three deaths.

Then, a contract dispute between the city's police officers' association and the City Council turned ugly as rhetoric and accusations spilled out into blogs and TV newscasts. As part of its campaign, the POA wanted it known Monrovia was a very dangerous place to live and work. A town that lacks adequate policing.

Then came Ramirez's suit.

The case, filed at the end of May, claims Sgt. Dan Verna molested Ramirez when he was an underage Explorer in 2000. It alleges Verna harassed Ramirez up until 2006 - after the kid got a job as the city's jailer. Perhaps more explosively, it details the alleged release of a member of the Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gang from the city jail at Verna's request.

"Defendant Verna ... proceeded to release the prisoner, personally escorting him out the back door without charges being brought," the lawsuit, filed by former jailer Rudy Ramirez, claims. "The prisoner was a local gang member."

The suit also outlines a second event involving the gang member: "Verna (gave) advice to him about how to beat or get the charges lowered."

What?

Although few arrests have been made, police implicated Monrovia Nuevo Varrio in several of the assaults that occurred earlier this year. All the crimes had racial overtones that detectives believe stemmed from an ongoing prison dispute between black and Latino gangs.

Killed were:

Sanders Rollins, 63, in a drive-by shooting at 1234 Sherman Ave. in Monrovia on Jan. 13. Rollins, a black man, was getting out of his vehicle when a light colored Honda Civic drove by. The gunmen were described as Latino males.

Sammantha Salas, 16, a Latina, was shot to death outside an apartment building in the 2500 block of Peck Road in an unincorporated county area near Monrovia. Salas was killed on Jan. 26. The suspects have been described as two black males. A $10,000 reward has been issued in the case.

Brandon Lee, a 19-year-old black man, was shot while standing on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Almond Avenue on Jan. 29. The shooters were described as two Latino males.

Although things have quieted down, the gang warfare caught the attention of Attorney General Jerry Brown. As a result, he plans to hold a gang summit in San Gabriel on Friday. On the agenda: "Debriefing on Monrovia's recent gang violence."

Among those scheduled to speak is Monrovia police Chief Roger Johnson, named as a defendant in Ramirez's lawsuit.

For now, Johnson has only said an independent agency will examine Ramirez's allegations.

Perhaps Friday he'll explain why a Monrovia police officer allegedly released a gang member from jail and provided some sort of legal counsel to the young man. Perhaps he will also be asked about the billboards, that up until a couple of weeks ago greeted motorists entering the city.

You know, the ones that said: "Caution: You are approaching Monrovia. Higher violent crime. Fewer officers patrolling."

Gregory Scott Serrano, 33, of Monrovia, entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment Friday in his child molestation and child pornograhpy case, according to officials from the district attorney's office:

PASADENA -- A Monrovia man suspected of luring 10 teenage girls via the Internet to molest them and take pornographic pictures of them appeared in court last week, officials said.
Gregory Scott Serrano, 33, entered a not guilty plea Friday at the Pasadena Superior Court, Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office officials said.
Serrano is charged with 20 counts of child molestation stemming from the alleged molestations, which are believed to date back to June of 2006, said United Stated Attorney Joey Blanch, who is prosecuting the case.
The alleged victims are between 13 and 17 years old, Blanch said.
Serrano allegedly used social networking Web site such as MySpace.com and Netlog.com to meet the underage girls, Blanch said.
He was arrested March 12 after a 15-year-old girl told her parents that Serrano had molested her, officials said.
In addition to the local charges, Serrano has also been indicted federally on suspicion of 23 crimes including using the Internet to entice minors, producing and possessing child pornography and destroying evidence.
If convicted on the federal charges, Serrano could face life in prison, Blanch said.
Serrano is due back in court June 30 for a pre-trial conference, officials said.

LOS ANGELES -- The Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward offering Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men suspected of killing a teen girl in Monrovia Jan 26.
Sammantha Salas was killed in a hail of gunfire outside an apartment complex in the 2500 block of Peck Road in an unincorporated county section near Monrovia called "No Man's Land."
An unidentified friend of Salas was seriously wounded in the assault that also left a stucco apartment building riddled with bullet holes.
Along with the reward offering, more information about the shooting came to light. A press release issued by Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office indicates that Salas and the other teen were approached by two men on foot.
"The two suspects are described as African-American in their 20s, wearing dark colored bandannas or hooded sweatshirts and members of the Du Rock Crips gang," the press release said.

Not sure of the validity of this, but I just received a forwarded email that claims the Monrovia Police Officer Association billboards, warning motorists to exercise caution when entering Monrovia, have been removed. Here's the email:

I don't know if you've heard, but those obnoxious MPOA billboards have
been removed. My family and I are very relieved and glad that the
police union heard the voices of this strong community.

Thank you so much for covering this important issue.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Ranger
The Dollmakers' Kattywompus
www.SoKattywompus.com
Kattywompus Internet Radio
http://www.live365.com/stations/kattywompus

The federal government wants to sell off a portion of the broadband spectrum to anyone willing to provide free Internet service. 

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters ) - U.S. communications regulators are considering auctioning a piece of the airwaves to buyers willing to provide freebroadband Internet service without pornography.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is proposing to auction an unused piece of 25 megahertz wireless spectrum, with the condition that the winning bidder offer free Internet access and filter out obscene content on part of those airwaves, a spokesman for the FCC said on Thursday.
"We're hoping there will be increased interest in the proposal; and because this will provide wireless broadband services to more Americans, it is certainly something we want to see," said FCC spokesman Rob Kenny.
Under Martin's proposal, the winner would be allowed to use the rest of the airwaves for commercial services.
The plan would address criticism from some consumer advocates, who say the government has not done enough to get broadband service into more U.S. households. It also could win praise from anti-obscenity watchdog groups.
"I think there are a number of features of the plan that would be attractive to various constituencies," said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin.
But the plan got a lukewarm response from existing wireless carriers.