Recently in West Covina Category

WEST COVINA -- The smell of lacquer from a freshly refinished counter top prompted concerns at a large apartment building Thursday, authorities said.
Fire officials responded to a three-story apartment building at 800 S. Sunset Avenue just after 7 p.m. after people reported a strong, unidentified chemical odor, West Covina Fire Department Assistant Chief Randy Isaman said.
Firefighters arrived and also smelled the odor, so they had police prepare to do evacuations if necessary while they asked residents to remain in their homes, Isaman said.
Officials found the cause of the odor before evacuations were carried out, he added, and residents were able to remain in their homes.
Building maintenance workers planned to continue ventilating the building through the night to get rid of the remaining odor.

WEST COVINA -- Police jailed a man and a teenage boy Wednesday after they allegedly tried to carjack a man, authorities said.
The incident began shortly before 7 p.m. as an 18-year-old man was sitting in his vehicle in the 1700 block of South Cabana Avenue, West Covina police Lt. Joseph Sevilla said.
The older suspect allegely got into the back seat of the vehicle, pointed a gun at the man and ordered him out of the car, the lieutenant said.
The older suspect yelled for the younger one to get into the vehicle, he said, but the teenage suspect refused. Both suspects then fled the area on foot.
Sevilla said a police officer spotted the suspects at a bus stop on Sunset Avenue, just south of Francisquito Avenue, where they were arrested.
Inside the younger suspect's backpack, police found a BB gun resembling a .45-caliber handgun, Sevilla said.
The older suspect's name was not available late Wednesday as he was still going through the booking process, the lieutenant said. He was expected to be held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The younger suspect's name was withheld due to his age.

WEST COVINA -- A West Covina man was jailed on suspicion of drunken driving Wednesday after he rear-ended a woman's car at an intersection, police said.
Mark Munoz, 48, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence, West Covina police Lt. Joseph Sevilla said.
The crash was reported about 6:20 p.m. at Azusa Avenue at Aroma Drive, the lieutenant said.
A woman was driving north on Azusa Avenue and was preparing to make a right turn when Munoz allegedly failed to stop in time and rear-ended her car, causing minor damage, Sevilla said.
Witnesses reported Munoz stumbled after getting out of his car and was down on his hands and knees prior to the arrival of officers, he added.
Police determined Munoz was driving under the influence of alcohol and arrested him, Sevilla said.
No one was injured in the crash, he said.
According to sheriff's booking records, Munoz was being held in lieu of $5,000 bail Wednesday at the West Covina Police Department jail and is due for arraignment in West Covina Superior Court Thursday.

WEST COVINA -- Two men and two teenagers were behind bars Saturday after allegedly stabbing two men during a fight outside a party, police said.
Alejandro Rodriguez, 18, of West Covina and Lawrence Corlew, 20, of Covina were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, along with a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy, West Covina police Lt. David Rozeboom said.
The wounded men were found shortly after midnight Saturday in the 3700 block of Garvey Avenue South as police were responding to a complaint about a party nearby in the 100 block of Buckboard Circle, Rozeboom said.
"There was some issue with someone blocking the roadway," Rozeboom said, and several people began fighting.
Officers pulled over a car that was leaving the area and found the wounded men inside, he said.
The apparent victims, who are 20 and 21 years old, were stabbed in the leg and lower back and hospitalized with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, he said.
Rozeboom added the stabbing did not appear to be gang-related.
No one answered the door Saturday evening at the home where the party was held.
Initial news reports indicated the party was attended by teens wearing high school band and cheerleader uniforms, but police could not confirm that Saturday evening.
Neighbors in the area said they didn't seen anyone dressed in a uniform.
According to sheriff's booking records, Rodriguez and Corlew are due for arraignment Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court and are each being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.
The teenage suspects were taken to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, Rozeboom said.
Saturday's stabbing was the third incident of violence at a West Covina house party reported in just over a week.
In the early morning hours of Nov. 1, 27-year-old Ramiro Limon Jr. of East Los Angeles was fatally shot outside a house party at Shadydale Avenue and Roxbury Street, police said. His brother, 40, was wounded in the attack.
On the night of Oct. 31, a 16-year-old Baldwin Park boy was shot in the shoulder when a fight broke out in front of a house party in the 1900 of E. Nanette Avenue.

WEST COVINA -- A gunman killed one man and wounded his brother during a fight outside a Halloween party early Sunday, authorities said.
Ramiro Limon Jr., 27, of East Los Angeles died at the scene of the shooting, which took place just before 1 a.m. at the intersection of Shadydale Avenue and Roxbury Street, Los Angeles County coroner's officials said.
His brother, 40-year-old Rodrigo Ruiz of East Los Angeles, was shot in the hand, West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said. He was hospitalized and is expected to recover.
The shooting occurred as a Halloween house party was winding down, Lopez said.
"The party was breaking up, and apparently a fight ensued between the victims and the suspects," he said.
"During he fight, the (shooter) went to his vehicle and retrieved a handgun and fired several shots, hitting both victims," police said in a written statement.
The shooter, described only as a male Latino, then got into the passenger side of a dark-colored vehicle with a female driver and several other male passengers and fled the scene, Lopez said.
A second suspect was also involved in the fight, but Lopez said it was not clear if that other suspect -- also described only as a male Latino -- fled with the shooter or if they split up.
No further suspect descriptions were available.
Police Sunday afternoon were working to sort through conflicting witness statements.
Authorities believe as many as 50 people attended the party, and detectives were working to interview as many of them as possible.
A man who answered a door near where the shooting took place said the party occurred at his house, but the shooting took place in the street. He declined to comment further.
Mary Dugan, who lives on Roxbury Street, said she arrived home about 1 a.m. -- just minutes after the shooting -- from a Halloween party herself.
She saw a body lying in the street, covered by a white sheet. Her house was blocked off by police crime scene tape, and officers told her she could not return until the morning.
Dugan said she was allowed back in her home about 9:30 a.m.
"They're always having parties over there," she said, but the gatherings had never before erupted in violence.

WEST COVINA - A teenager is expected to recover after being shot during a fight at a house party Friday, officials said.
Police responded to a report of several groups fighting in front of a house party about 11:10 p.m. in the 1900 of E. Nanette Avenue, West Covina police Lt. David Rozeboom said.
At some point during the scuffle, someone in the fight pulled a gun and shot a 16-year-old Baldwin Park boy in the shoulder, he said.
Police stopped a car that was leaving the scene of the shooting, Rozeboom said, and found the wounded teenager was a passenger inside.
The teen was treated at a hospital and has since been released, he added.
The shot was apparently fired from a crowd, he said, and no description of the shooter was available Saturday.

WEST COVINA - A 6-year-old girl died Saturday after a 32-inch television set fell on top of her, police said.
Jasmine Starr Ilgenfritz of West Covina died at the hospital shortly after the accident, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Lt. Joe Bale said.
The incident occurred about 10:30 a.m. at a home in the 600 block of S. Gaybar Avenue, West Covina police Lt. David Rozeboom said in a written statement.
"The victim was apparently playing in the living room with her siblings, ages 1 and 3, when the television was accidentally dislodged from the table it was resting on," the statement said.
The children were being supervised by their grandmother, who was in the kitchen of the home, officials said, and no adults witnessed the incident.
Paramedics rushed the girl to a hospital, Rozeboom said, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
The initial investigation revealed no signs of foul play, he added.

A shooting in West Covina Tuesday night left one woman dead and an unidentified person injured, according to news reports this morning The homicide is the sixth in West Covina this year and 77th in the San Gabriel Valley since January.

WEST COVINA -- A man used a rifle to rob a beauty salon Wednesday, police said.
The crime occurred shortly after 8 p.m. at the Infinite Beauty Salon, 2416 S. Azusa Avenue, West Covina police Lt. Marcos Plebani said.
The robber was described as a black man in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and of medium build, the lieutenant said. He wore a grey hooded sweat shirt.
He entered the store, brandished a rifle and was last seen fleeing on foot with an undisclosed amount of stolen cash, Plebani said.
No injuries were reported.

INDUSTRY -- A West Covina teen died early Saturday after crashing his SUV into a parked big rig on the 605 Freeway, authorities said.
Christopher Kar Leung Ng, 18, was pronounced dead following the crash, California Highway Patrol officials said in a written statement.
The crash was reported about 3:15 a.m. on the northbound 605 Freeway at the 60 Freeway.
"This impact was so severe, the Mercedes lodged underneath the trailer and Mr. Ng was extracted from the vehicle over an hour later," the statement said.
Ng was driving his Mercedes-Benz SUV north on the freeway at high speed when he allowed the SUV to drift toward the right shoulder, according to the CHP statement.
The SUV struck the rear of a big rig that had pulled over onto the shoulder, officials said, which was being driven by a 55-year-old Washington man. The truck driver was not hurt.
Ng was not wearing a seat belt, officials said.

This from the U.S. Department of Justice: 

       A former Huntington Park Police Officer who for a time worked on federal drug trafficking investigations was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for stealing cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana from narcotics dealers and then selling the drugs for personal profit.

        Sergeant Alvaro Murillo, 45, of West Covina, who was called El Padrino (The Godfather) by his co-conspirators, was sentenced late this morning by United States District Judge Stephen V. Wilson.

        The sentencing follows a trial in May in which a federal court jury found Murillo guilty of two drug conspiracies, one count of extortion and one count of submitting a false tax return. The evidence at trial showed that Murillo orchestrated six thefts, which yielded him nearly 700 pounds of marijuana, four pounds of methamphetamine and well over 10 pounds of cocaine. Murillo attempted a seventh theft of 30 kilograms of cocaine - "the big one," as he called it - but that was not successful because the target was an undercover federal agent who was posing as a drug dealer. Sentencing papers filed by the government argued that Murillo was involved in additional drug thefts not discussed at his trial.

        From late 2002 through the fall of 2006, Murillo worked with informants - who sometimes called themselves the "black tactic group" - to identify drug dealers from whom they could steal narcotics. Once a target was identified, Murillo checked law enforcement databases to obtain information about the dealer and to make sure there were no legitimate investigations into the target. After planning the thefts, the informants would trick the drug dealer into turning over narcotics or otherwise cause the drug dealer to leave without payment, often with Murillo in the area to act as backup. Once they had secured the narcotics, Murillo and the people involved in the thefts made arrangements to store and then to sell the stolen drugs. Testimony at trial showed that Murillo typically demanded to receive the sale of drug proceeds in cash, and the jury heard evidence that he received training on money laundering tactics used by narcotics traffickers.

*UPDATED

WEST COVINA -- A 20-year-old Rialto woman died Sunday in after being struck by a pickup truck on the 10 Freeway in West Covina, California Highway Patrol officials said.
Maritza Plascentia died at the scene of the crash, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Katalin Van Meter said.
The crash occurred about 3:40 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the freeway, just east of Vincent Avenue, CHP Sgt. Jesse Holguin said in a written statement.
The woman was a passenger in a 1999 Toyota Camry that had come to a stop along the right shoulder of the freeway, the sergeant said.
The driver of a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, a 20-year-old San Bernardino man, tried to come to a stop behind the Toyota when the crash occurred, Holguin said.
The driver of the Chevrolet turned into the emergency shoulder area and realized he was travelling to fast," the statement said. "(He) steered to the right to avoid a collision, but struck the female passenger as she exited the Toyota."
The woman died from her injuries, officials said.
Any witnesses to this crash are asked to call the Baldwin Park office of the CHP at (626) 338-1164.

Officials charged two men Friday with two takeover-style robberies at video game stores in West Covina and Baldwin Park.
Gregory Todd, 22, and Thomas Stringer, 23, were each charged with six counts of robbery and six counts of kidnapping, along with a gang enhancement, according to the felony complaint. A charge was filed for each individual person considered a victim of each individual crime.
The robberies the men are charged with took place Wednesday afternoon at a West Covina Gamestop store, 2360 S. Azusa Ave., and a Baldwin Park Gamestop store, 14460 Merced Ave, Unit 120, authorities said.
In the West Covina crime, three or four men armed with several handguns barged into the store about 6 p.m., West Covina police Sgt. Steve Wheeless said.
"It was a takeover," he said. Though the employees were not tied up, but, "They were moved from the sales portion of the store to a back room," the sergeant said.
The suspects then allegedly helped themselves to cash, video games and electronic equipment from the store, he said.
A citizen helped lead police to an abandoned suspect vehicle near the robbery scene, authorities said.
"It was some time later that a citizen called regarding a suspicious vehicle," he said.
The abandoned vehicle fit the description of the car used in the West Covina robbery and was found nearby, officials added.
Four people were detained in the area and arrested, Wheeless said. Todd and Stringer were ultimately identified as suspects in the robberies, while the other two were released.
A similar robbery was reported about four hours earlier at the other Gamestop location in Baldwin Park, Baldwin Park and West Covina police said.
In that crime, the same two men suspected in the West Covina robbery were identified as suspects in a similar takeover-style robber at the Baldwin Park Gamestop location, Baldwin Park police Sgt. Kevin Gauthier said.
At least one other unidentified robber was believed to be involved in the Baldwin Park crime, as well as two other people who were seen in the getaway vehicle, Gauthier said.
Authorities allege Todd and Stringer are members of the "Swans" street gang, which is affiliated with the Los Angeles gang, the "Bloods".
According to sheriff's booking records, Todd and Stringer were being held in lieu of $100,000 each.
They were scheduled to enter pleas at an arraignment in West Covina Superior Court Friday, however the hearing was delayed until Sept. 28, court officials said.

WEST COVINA -- A woman was struck by a car and badly injured Thursday while attending a "Back-To-School Night" event at a West Covina elementary school, police said.
The crash occurred about 6:15 p.m. in front of Workman Avenue Elementary School, 1942 E. Workman Avenue.
The woman, a 44-year-old Altadena resident, was crossing Workman Avenue near Phillips Avenue in a crosswalk when she was struck, West Covina police Cpl. Rudy Lopez said.
She was unconscious when rescuers arrived, Lopez said, and was flown by helicopter to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Her condition late Thursday was unknown.
The injured woman was believed to have children attending the school, Lopez said.
The man driving the Honda that struck remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Lopez said. No arrests were made late Thursday.
The driver indicated the sun may have been in his eyes at the time of the crash, Lopez added.
Traffic on Workman Avenue was shut down between Azusa Avenue and Armel Drive during the investigation.
School officials could not be reached for comment late Thursday.