A couple of stories from my hometown #Detroit

Dude Detroit got two years time for stealing a girl’s car on their first date:

PONTIAC, Mich. — A Detroit man has been sentenced to at least two years in prison for stealing a woman’s car after skipping out on the check during their first date.

Twenty-four-year-old Terrance McCoy was sentenced Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court to two to 10 years in prison.

McCoy pleaded no contest Sept. 18 to unlawfully driving away a vehicle. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as a conviction at sentencing

Police say McCoy dined with the 27-year-old Southfield woman on April 24 at a restaurant in Ferndale. The woman told investigators McCoy said he forgot his wallet in her car and asked for the keys. Police say McCoy then took off in the car.

Preachers in Detroit packing serious heat:

DETROIT — The Rev. Lawrence Adams teaches his flock at the Westside Bible Church to turn the other cheek. Just in case, though, the 54-year-old retired police lieutenant also wears a handgun under his robe.

Adams is one of several Detroit clergymen who have taken to packing heat in the pulpit. They have committed their lives to a man who preached nonviolence and told followers to love their enemies. But they also say it’s up to them to protect their parishioners in church.

“As a pastor, I’m referred to as a shepherd,” Adams said. “Shepherds have the responsibility of watching over their flock. Do I want to hurt somebody? Absolutely not!”

Responding to a break-in at his church Sunday evening, Adams surprised a burglar carrying out a bag of loot and shot the man in the abdomen after the man swung the bag at him.

The burglar survived — for which Adams is grateful — but the reverend said he could have been hurt or killed if he had not been armed.

Detroit had the nation’s highest homicide rate last year among cities of at least 500,000 residents. The city has been losing manufacturing jobs for decades, and these days about one in four working-age residents is without a job.

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Busy day in the SGV

Deputies shoot a burg suspect in Azusa;

Shooting in Rosemead leaves six injured; one gravely;
Dead woman turns up in Morris Dam; Sheriff’s dive team headed up Highway 39 to search for second car
Housekeeper accused of burg string that extends over a decade;
Monrovia man arrested in connection with San Bernardino County homicide;
Suspected “Baby Boomer” Bandit caught in Pasadena.
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Thursday’s column (a happy ending)

I never really bargained for so many readers taking Kathleen Rangel’s story to heart.

But they did. She has her car back, and perhaps a little dignity as well.

Last week I wrote about Rangel’s encounter with Alhambra’s version of The Tin Man, a motorcycle cop with no heart.

The tin man pulled over Rangel, 46, of Beaumont, and her family when they were on their way to church to pray for a sick pastor.

Because Rangel’s tags were expired, the tin man decided to have her car towed and impounded. That came after Rangel explained that she lost her home and job and was struggling to make ends meet.

Several of you wrote me, a few others called.

Everyone wanted to lend a helping hand to a woman and her family who had fallen on desperate circumstances in the hardest of times since the Great Depression.

Eventually an anonymous angel came forward and took care of Rangel’s fines, impound fees, DMV registration and city processing charges.

“The Lord worked out some amazing things,” Rangel said Wednesday. “It was the right timing. It encouraged me to know there are so many people out there who care.”

Rangel said the DMV also found a way to lower her registration fee. Instead of $400, the DMV only required a payment of $266 to update the license on her 2004 Chrysler Sebring.

“That was just amazing,” Rangel said.

As for the tin man, his bosses, and the politicians in Alhambra, none have contacted Rangel.

Of course, as Alhambra Police Lt. Elliot Kase noted last week, the ticket was a matter of officer discretion. And the brass stands behind the black-and-white decision of its tin man.

That’s OK with Rangel, her husband and 9-year-old son.

“We’re just really touched especially with everything that’s happening in the world, with the economy so bad and so many people hurting,” she said. “People need to hear good news.”

Since I’m following up on things today, I should thank all of you who offered to take me to a shooting range.

Several weeks ago, I wrote about going to a gun range in La Puente with the hopes of popping off a couple of caps at lunch.

I was turned away because I was alone. Apparently it’s a gun range policy designed to discourage suicidal nuts.

I have yet to return, but in the meantime I picked up a Remington Model 700 SPS rifle that I plan to take out sometime in the near future.

It’s a really beautiful firearm and according to Remington’s Web site, “the Model 700 SPS offers the unrivaled out-of-the-box accuracy and high-end performance you’ve come to expect from America’s most popular bolt-action centerfire rifle.”

See you at the range.

 

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Monday fish wrap

Here’s some items we’ve been following Monday that haven’t already been mentioned on this blog:

* DIAMOND BAR — A man was flown to a trauma center in critical condition Monday after a rollover crash on the 57 Freeway.
* PICO RIVERA — Two robbers used a handgun Monday to hold up a local bank branch.
* HACIENDA HEIGHTS — A woman escaped with more than $3,000 Monday after robbing a Bank of America branch.
* COVINA – A woman was pushed to the ground and robbed of her purse in the parking lot of a supermarket Monday, authorities said.
* WEST COVINA — Two robbers escaped with an unknown amount of cash after robbing a restaurant Monday, police said.
* POMONA — A 46-year-old man who was killed in a Pomona apartment was identified Monday, and police asked for the public’s help to find the man who shot him.

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Saturday roundup:

Saturday in the SGV:

*MONROVIA – A man died early Saturday when he crashed his car over the side of the 210 Freeway, authorities said.
Carlos Almanza, 22, of Commerce was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Larry Dietz said.

*BALDWIN PARK — An apartment fire Saturday displaced a woman and three young children, however the blaze was controlled before it spread to other apartments, officials said.
The fire was reported about 5:15 p.m. at an apartment building in the 13800 block of Ramona Boulevard, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Frank Reynoso said.

*A 23-year-old La Verne man died early Saturday in a single vehicle rollover in the area of westbound State Highway 18, west of Orchard Drive in Lucerne Valley.
When officers and paramedics arrived on the scene, they found Timothy Richard Dewhurstcq, the passenger of the 2003 Subaru station wagon ejected from the vehicle with severe injuries.

*LA PUENTE — A woman was hospitalized Saturday after she was accidentally exposed to pesticides in her home, officials said.
The incident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. at a home on Glenhope Drive in an unincorporated county area near La Puente, however it was not reported until about four hours later, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Art Lopez said.

*ROWLAND HEIGHTS — Two men escaped with about $60 after robbing a pedestrian at knifepoint Saturday, authorities said.
The crime occurred about 8:15 p.m. near the intersection of Jellick Avenue and Colima Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Leonard Williams said.

*MONROVIA — A bear paid a visit to local residents Saturday before being driven back into the woods, authorities said.
The bear was first reported about 5:40 p.m. in the 900 block of Royal Oaks Drive, Monrovia police Sgt. Glen Coleman said.

*SAN DIMAS — An 81-year-old woman reported missing by her family Tuesday has been found safe.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies received a call Saturday at 10:30 a.m. from officials at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood that Aida Paucarcaja was at their facility, officials said.

 

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That’ll teach me

I take a day off, and the crime scene exploded in the San Gabriel Valley.

Officer involved shootings in West Covina, a rash of violence in northwest Pasadena, Jan Williams’ opportunity to hear what happened to her son and grandchildren passes in a couple of hours.

Firefighters are still mopping up in Diamond Bar and another truck tipped over on the overpass from the northbound 605 to the eastbound 10.

Whew. Did I leave anything out?

Oh yeah.

There’s this story about Temple City High School football coach, who was relieved from duty. (Don’t forget he had a connection to the Deandre Netter case)

And another domestic, where the wife stabs her husband.

 

 

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Saturday fish wrap

Here’s some stories we’ve been following Saturday:

* SOUTH EL MONTE — A 26-year-old woman was killed in a two-car crash on Halloween officials believe may have been alcohol-related.
* BALDWIN PARK — A young man was pronounced dead at the scene of a shooting early Saturday.
* POMONA – A local man was shot and killed early Saturday when he confronted two two carjackers who had just stolen his girlfriend’s car at gunpoint.
* ALHAMBRA — A man was arrested Saturday morning after allegedly firing a gun indoors and barricading himself in a house for more than four hours.
* COVINA — Thirty to 40 residents of an assisted living home were evacuated and three were hospitalized Saturday after a gas pipe broke.

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Cutting and pasting from the overnight notes

PASADENA — Officials had to treat about 800 people who were watching college football at the Rose Bowl on Saturday for heat-related illnesses, authorities said.

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COVINA — A woman was arrested Saturday after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase while drunk, then trying to ram patrol cars, authorities said.

WEST COVINA — A parolee-at-large was arrested Saturday after allegedly leading police on a chase and then eating methamphetamine in an apparent attempt to get rid of evidence, authorities said.

LA PUENTE — Two men escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash Saturday after robbing an El Pollo Loco restaurant, authorities said.

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Whit:

A Pico Rivera father was killed by a hit-and-run driver Saturday night after watching a high school football game at his alma mater.

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