Recently in Wanted Category

According to the West Covina PD, James Westly Essix, 18, of La Puente is wanted in connection with as many as five local residential burglaries.

A juvenile crime partner in West Covina custody apparently gave up Essix during interogation.

 

This from the City News Service:

A narcotics unit of the Redondo Beach Police Department announced today the arrest of a suspected drug dealer who turned out to be wanted for two murders in Colorado and was
profiled on "America's Most Wanted."

The Redondo PD's Special Investigations Unit got a tip about an alleged
narcotics dealer who lived in Montebello, said Sgt. Gene Tomatani.

While the suspect was under surveillance Monday, he was allegedly observed
selling methamphetamine to a buyer in a shopping center parking lot in El
Monte, the sergeant said.

Officers arrested 28-year-old Rodolfo "Rudy" Gonzalez, who allegedly had a
small amount of contraband on him, and also took the buyer into custody,
Tomatani said.

When Gonzalez was taken into custody, he casually remarked that he was wanted
for two murders and refused to say more, according to the sergeant, who said
the suspect also gave police a phony name.

Meanwhile, he was jailed in the Redondo Beach lockup, and a search warrant was obtained late last night to search his home in Montebello, where three pounds of methamphetamine and a smaller quantity of cocaine and marijuana were recovered, Tomatani said.

The FBI hopes to catch a man suspected of opening fire on two cops in Whittier by erecting a billboard at the border. Here's the top portion of their press release:

The FBI has purchased a billboard, visible to vehicles traveling across the Tijuana/San Diego border, as part of its ongoing publicity campaign to find and capture Emigdio Preciado, a fugitive on the FBI's national list of "Ten Most Wanted," announced Salvador Hernandez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles . The billboard, which will be posted for approximately three months, displays three photographs of Preciado and contact numbers for the FBI in Los Angeles, the United States Consulate General in Guadalajara, Mexico, and a special number established by the FBI's Fugitive Task Force to directly respond to tips, (888) CANT-HIDE

A similar billboard that was errected in Whittier last year has been defaced several times by thugs hoping to hide the face of Preciado.

That's his mugshot and here's a link to the wanted information from the FBI.

Other's on the FBI's 10 most wanted list include Osama Bin Laden and "Whitey" Bulger. 

 

 

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.

Cops are looking for a woman who stole almost 800 lottery tickets from a La Crescenta gas station and tried to cash a few of 'em at a Pasadena store a few hours later.

The tickets were reported stolen on May 30 about 5 a.m., officials said.  Apparently the theft was the result of a smash and grab that netted about 4 Grand in food and the lottery tickets.

A security video making the rounds this morning, shows the same woman in both locations.

Detectives described the suspect as Hispanic, about 25- 30, 5 feet 3 inches tall and 160 pounds, with long dark hair.

The saga of Jennifer Lopez Dejongh and her three missing children made America's Most Wanted Saturday night. Here's the story:                                                                      Police tell AMW that Dejongh was supposed to drop Brian, Christian, and Evan off at Miller's home on November 17, 2007, for an extended visit, but she never showed.  When it seemed apparent that Dejongh and the children weren't going to appear at the agreed-upon location, investigators were called in.

Cops say the children are believed to be safe with Dejongh, so an AMBER Alert was never issued for the kidnapped children. Police tell us Dejongh and the missing Miller children may be hiding out on the East Coast, or may have fled to Mexico.  The boys may now have dyed their hair black, or could have shaved heads or crew cuts.

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 ... 

This is a photo of Pardeep Singh wanted for his role in a Craigslist scam gone bad.

Amanda Baumfeld has been all over this story and plans on filing an update this afternoon. In the meantime here's a snippet of what she wrote for Friday's newspaper:

This is a very well put together scam," said Capt. Joe Hartshorne of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "The families are truly victims. They could not have seen this coming."

A hold has been placed on Singh's passport and a silver Volvo left in the driveway has been impounded, officials said.

Renters began learning of the apparent fraud Monday night.

 

 

 

The Los Angeles Times didn't touch the story in its print version, but did post a blog entry at LA Now.  The story is accurate, but we're wondering where they got the picture of a "For Rent " sign.

None of the photographers or reporters who actually visited the scene at 5441 Calera Avenue saw a sign quite like that.

This from MyFOX LA:

A man suspected of killing his estranged wife and stepson more than nine years ago was returned to Southern California Tuesday, according to a broadcast report.

Fu Lin Wang reportedly arrived on a flight to Los Angeles International Airport.

Wang was arrested by Chicago police last Monday after his picture and description were publicized on the Web site of the Fox Broadcasting series  "America's Most Wanted"  and in Chinese newspapers throughout the United States and Canada, Alhambra police Sgt. George Flannagan said.

So much for FOX.

Here's what my new favorite Chinese language newspaper, the World Journal is saying about the flight from Chicago to LA and the paper's role in Wang's capture (notice they refer to Wang as Wong):

Mr Wong hand and the shackles on the freedom of movement so that he can not only its own activities room for the diet drink. A year ago, Mr Wong stroke symptoms, a slight inconvenience action, with the entire flight performance.

(Alhambra police Detective) Black stressed that Mr Wong on the tattoo, especially the legs Houwang logo for the Chicago police to determine his identity play a crucial role. He also once again on the "World Journal" to play in the case of express my sincere thanks.

Black said that no Chinese media, in particular the World Journal timely reports and cooperate with, it would be impossible to suspect arrested.

 

This from the wires and the "My LIfe of Crime Blog:"

A man wanted for the murder of his wife and son on Dec. 6, 1998, was arrested today in Chicago, Alhambra police said.

Fu Lin Wang was busted by Chicago PD after his picture and description were appeared on the America's Most Wanted Internet Web page, and in Chinese newspapers throughout the United States and Canada, Alhambra police Sgt. George Flannagan said.

Wang, who has some pretty unmistakable body ink, was taken into custody without incident, Flannagan said.

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. 

Going through my mail Thursday morning I came across a small envelope, with a smeared postmark that appeared to have been stuffed with a large letter. I opened it, read the first line and knew that we a story on our hands.

The 16-page hand-written letter was signed Jennifer Lopez Dejongh. It detailed her side of a bitter custody feud with Brian Miller, the son of U.S. Rep. Gary Miller. When the court decided in November to hand Dejongh's three boys over to the Miller family for 90 days, Dejongh fled.

Her letter said there was no choice.

The story appears in today's newspaper. Here's an excerpt:

In a letter postmarked from New Hampshire, the mother of three missing grandsons of a local congressman says the boys are safe and justifies her actions as necessary to save the boys from an abusive father.

"I am a mother trying to protect her children," Jennifer Lopez Dejongh wrote toward the end of the 16-page letter, written in longhand and postmarked Feb. 2 in Manchester, N.H., without a return address. "If you speak to my father, tell him we're safe and happy."

Dejongh, 30, and her children, Brian, 8, and twins Christian and Evan, 6, disappeared Nov. 19 in defiance of a court order to turn over the children to Rep. Gary Miller, R-Diamond Bar, and his wife Cathy. Her husband George Dejongh is also missing. The couple wed in July.

On Friday, Jude Lopez, Jennifer's father, reviewed the letter and confirmed the writing as that of his daughter. Lopez said he has had no contact with her since the disappearance.

"I told her, `If you go away, you can't call me,"' Lopez said. "I'm not going to get involved. I'm going to call the police."

The letter outlines Jennifer Dejongh's side of a bitter custody dispute with Brian Miller, the congressman's son, and ...

The rest is here.

 

Sources tell us the Wrong Slip Bandit is in custody.  

His name: Noel Arellano (dob:7/8/1974). Not much more is known at this time. We're fleshing out a story on the case.

Arrellano was arrested Tuesday morning in Norwalk. he is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail a hearing is scheduled for Friday morning.

 

 

The initial search for Jennifer Dejongh focused on a "missing" Lincoln Aviator. Up until this morning the sheriff's department was still teling reporters that they were on the lookout for the car. Our sister paper even ran a story with the information.

Just one problem. The Aviator pictured here is the "missing" Aviator. It's been parked in a Whittier driveway since Sunday. Ace reporter Jen McLain snapped this photo Tuesday morning.

Wenesday morning ace reporter Tania Chatila was chatting with deputies at Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau  and this is her report of the exchange:

Okay, so I called about 7:30 - 7:45 this morning to see if there were any updates on the Miller case. I s/w a Deputy Oscar Butao who at the time told me that there was no new information and that police were still searching for the children, the mother and the car.

I asked him what car? And he said a black Lincoln Aviator license plate 5JAT330.

I got off the phone, wrote up the web update but left out the car information because I remembered the photo. Eddie called, I told him about it and he told me to call back and ask. When I did, Butao said something along the lines of "Oh, they recovered the vehicle?" He said he would check up on it. He called me back and basically said that the information was on an old, initial alert and that it was no longer valid. He said there was no new car information.

Doofs!!!!