shooting: February 2008 Archives

This from Dan Abendschein, working the cop shift this morning:

MONTEREY PARK - A man suspected of killing his estranged wife was arrested in Yucca Valley on Thursday evening, authorities said.

Aaron Raigoza, 34, allegedly shot his wife, Ana Maria Acosta, 32, to death outside her parents' home in the 500 block of South Russell Avenue in Monterey Park earlier this month.

Court documents show that Acosta had three restraining orders against Raigoza dating back to last spring, because of threats on her life.

"I'm going to kill you," Raigoza told Acosta on May 28, 2007 according to court documents. "I'm going to die and you will come with me. You will shed a lot of blood."

Acosta and Raigoza - both employees of the Los Angeles Unified School District - were embroiled in a divorce, which was set for trial on March 8.

Records show that Raigoza was contesting the $1,880 in child support payments he had to pay Acosta each month for their 6- and 7-year-old children.

Raigoza was arrested around 9 p.m., according to Lt. Carrie Mazelin of the Monterey Park police department.

He is scheduled to be arraigned in Alhambra Superior Court on Friday morning, she added.

Dan is headed to court for the arraignment this a.m.

Somehow sheriff's deputies were able to determine that a man who said he was shot in Duarte was actually shot in Altadena.

Last night we reported another Duarte shooting. The victim had taken himself to an area hospital and we were going to fill in the gaps.

TUrns out it didn't happen in Duarte at all or Arcadia or Monrovia. The shooting took place several miles away in Altadena.

Injured was a Latino man. Sheriff's detectives said the shooting was gang related.

Reports of shots fired and several persons (including a 9-year-old) are down. A suspect is in custody and Baldwin Park and Irwindale units are on scene. The BPPD has requested assistance from the Sheriff's Department.

The shootings were reported in the 14500 block of Rockinbach near Maine Street.

Fred Ortega's piece on the history and influence of La Eme is now online. Here's an excerpt from the bottom of the story:  The SGVN's online look at gangs is here.

The (Lola) Llantada case is only the latest example of the influence that the Eme wields in the San Gabriel Valley.

In April 2006, four men were arrested in Pomona in connection with an attempted Mexican Mafia contract killing. Their trial is scheduled for this year.

Last November, reputed Emero Frank "Frankie B" Buelna, 61, was shot to death in a Pomona sports bar. Buelna was reputed to have broad power within the Mexican Mafia, and officials are still investigating the motive behind his killing. The perpetrators are still at large.

And in December, reputed Eme member Eulalio "Lalo" Martinez, 46, was charged with ordering the killing of former gang member Donald "Pato" Schubert in Rosemead in 1998. In that case, prosecutors allege that Martinez runs the Lomas Rosemead street gang from Pelican Bay State Prison, where he has been incarcerated for the past 15 years.

La Eme's deep roots in the San Gabriel Valley became clearly evident to Steinwand, the sheriff's homicide investigator, when he moved to the Industry Station from the South Central Los Angeles area early in his career.

"Over there in South Central when there were orders from the Eme to stop drive-bys, guys would go out and do five of them in one night just to spite them," said Steinwand, who has been a detective for 18 years. "But they have a lot more control on this side of the 710 (Freeway).

"When I came to work at the Industry Station, it was amazing," he added. "When the Eme said something, (the gangs) listened."

 

Some of this information surfaced during the investigation of Robert Whitehead's killing. Whitehead was killed after confronting taggers near his parents home. Among those suspected in the case was Paul "Malo" Salazar, a graduate of Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, who was also a suspected member of Puente Trece.

Salazar was killed at his home during a get-together in July.

Interesting side note, Whitehead's brother is a Monrovia police officer. 

This is basically what our story will say tomorrow:

A woman who was shot and killed near her parent’s home Monday night had just left the police station where she had filed a complaint about her estranged husband, officials said.

Police were searching Tuesday for the man identified as Aaron Leonel Raigoza, 34, a teacher at Henry T. Gage Middle School in Huntington Park. He was identified as a person of interest in the shooting death of Ana Maria Raigoza, 32, police said.

The couple were embroiled in a divorce case in Los Angeles, according to court records. There was at least one hearing on a temporary restraining order in the case. The couple most recently appeared in court on Jan. 22 and were due to return on March 8, court records indicate.

Both of these come from reporter Brian Day, SGVN's crack night cop reporter:

BASSETT — Officials have released the identity of a man found shot and killed inside a trailer Sunday.
Richard Casillas, Jr., a 43-year-old La Puente resident, was pronounced dead shortly before 9 a.m. in the 13800 block of Proctor Avenue, said Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Fred Corral.
The shooting is being investigated as a homicide, Corral said.
No further details were available.

ROWLAND HEIGHTS — A man found shot to death last week remained unidentified Monday, officials said.
The body was discovered about 5:30 a.m. in the 18100 block of Los Palacios Drive, sheriff’s officials said.
The dead man, only described as Latino, is believed to have been shot elsewhere and dropped off on Los Palacios Drive, said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Maribel Rizo.
Investigators are still investigating the man’s identity through methods such as finger prints and dental records, however he is currently designated John Doe No. 24, said Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Fred Corral.
No further details were released.

This from reporter Brian Day, who worked on Super Bowl Sunday:

BASSETT - A man was shot and killed in a residential neighborhood Sunday, officials said.

The incident was reported about 8:40 a.m. in the 13800 block of Proctor Avenue, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Luis Castro.

The man was described as a Latino in his mid-30s, and was pronounced dead at the scene, said Los Angeles County Fire Department officials.

The man was found inside a trailer behind a home, officials added.

Detectives from the sheriff's homicide bureau are handling the investigation.

No further details were available.

Not much else was known. We'll keep an eye on it.

LA Opinion, the Spanish language newspaper has been covering the recent events in Monrovia. I found and translated two articles that may be of interest.

They are here and here.

Additionally, I uncovered a report from Monrovia City Manager Scott Ochoa outlining some history and again giving the city's take on the ongoing situation.

A funeral Mass for Sammantha Salas is underway in Alhambra this morning. Salas mother and father are in attendence as are several hundred mourners who've come to pay their respects. The church is surrounded by Alhambra police and Sheriff's deputies as well as detectives.

One week ago today Salas was gunned down outside an apartment on Peck Road in a section of Monrovia that has seen an uptick in gang violence targeting innocent teens.

Following the service Sammantha will be buried in East Los Angeles.