West Covina: February 2012 Archives
An armed man who was shot by West Covina police after a high-speed chase Sunday had his 4-year-old son with him during the wild pursuit in a stolen SUV, police said Monday.
Freddy Silva, 31, allegedly drove the wrong way on the 10 Freeway, opened fire on police with a shotgun, and crashed into a house in Pomona, before he left his son and carjacked second car. He was then shot by police and remains hospitalized.
Silva had been acquitted 10 days before on an assault case involving a firearm, police also said Monday.
Lt. Dave Dolson of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said Silva, whose last known address is in Claremont, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remained in critical condition Monday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
"He was shot once in the upper torso with a department-issued shotgun," Dolson said.
The Sheriff's Homicide Bureau is handling the investigation because it is an officer-involved shooting.
Dolson said Silva's son is in protective custody with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. He didn't know where Silva was heading Sunday before encountering police.
According to online court record and authorities, a Pomona Superior Court jury acquitted Silva on Feb. 16 of charges related to an assault case.
West Covina police shot and seriously wounded a man Sunday following a wild high-speed chase to Pomona during which he opened fire on police with a shotgun, drove the wrong way on the 10 Freeway, crashed into a house and carjacked a second vehicle, authorities said.
The suspect was taken to a hospital following the shooting, where he was listed in critical condition, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Tony Moore.
Sheriff's officials initially said the suspect had died at the hospital following the shooting.
"That information was reported to us incorrectly," Moore said. "The suspect is not deceased and is listed in critical condition."
The shooting took place about 4 p.m. on Alvarado Street, just west of Park Avenue, officials said.
The incident began about 15 minutes prior, when a police officer spotted an SUV that had been reported carjacked driving in the area of Temple Avenue and Amar Road in West Covina, West Covina police Lt. Alan Henley said. The SUV failed to pull over for the officer, initiating a pursuit at high-speeds.
When the chase reached the area of Amar Road and Amber Valley Drive in Walnut, "The suspect pointed a shotgun out the window and fired at officers," Henley said.
The suspect was believed to have fired one or two blasts from his shotgun, police added. No officers were struck.
The pursuit continued onto the 10 Freeway, where the suspect drove on the wrong side of the roadway into Pomona, Henley said. At several times during the chase, the fleeing driver pointed his shotgun back toward the pursuing officers and made "furtive movements," he added.
The fleeing SUV exited the freeway and crashed into a house in the area of Park and McKinley avenues, officials said. The suspect then allegedly carjacked a second vehicle, a white Honda sedan.
Authorities late Sunday could not confirm initial reports from the scene that a child had been left behind in the crashed SUV.
The white car rammed a police car before the pursuit came to an end on Alvarado Street, Henley said.
The circumstances of what took place next remained under investigation, officials said, however an officer-involved shooting took place in which the suspect was struck in the upper body.
West Covina and Pomona police swarmed the scene in the minutes following the shooting and shut down Alvarado Street in the area where the shooting occurred.
Maria Hernandez, 40, said she was in her home when she heard a single gunshot and looked outside to see what was going on.
By the time she looked outside, police were already taking the wounded man into custody, she said. "He was yelling."
She added the white Honda the suspect has been driving continued moving without a driver until it struck a curb.
The wounded suspect's name was not released Sunday. Witnesses said he appeared to be a Latino man in his 30s.
As is common practice with officer-involved shootings involving Los Angeles County police agencies, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau is leading the investigation, officials said.
WEST COVINA -- Police, with the help of an automated license plate scanning device, arrested a Baldwin Park man driving a stolen car late Friday, officials said.
Norberto Alcantara, 35, was booked on suspicion of auto theft, West Covina police Lt. Alan Henley said.
An officer was on patrol about 8 p.m. in the 1400 block of South Azusa Avenue when an automatic license plate reading device mounted on top of the patrol alerted the officer of a stolen car nearby, the lieutenant said.
Police stopped the car and arrested the driver, later identified as Alcantara, after determining the car had been reported stolen out of Orange County, Henley said.
According to county booking records, Alcantara was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail pending a scheduled arraignment Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court.
WEST COVINA -- West Covina police are looking for the man whose foot will fit the size 13 Nike rubber shoe left behind after a Tuesday night robbery.
A female police officer found the shoe that fell off the crooked Cinderfella's foot as he fled with a bag containing an undisclosed amount.
The robber stole the bag from a woman at Westfield West Covina, 112 Plaza Drive just after 10 p.m., according to Lt. Marty Sevilla.
He said the woman went to a bank drop box on the first floor to deposit the day's receipts from a kiosk at the mall.
The robber approached from behind and grabbed the woman's wrist. Sevilla said the victim was knocked to the floor, the suspect took the bag and ran to a waiting light blue or gray minivan.
But the culprit left a clue.
"Apparently he lost one of his shoes," Sevilla said, adding that the shoe was discovered in the parking lot after a review of the surveillance video.
The victim wasn't taken to a hospital.
The robber was described as a black man in his late 20s to early 30s with a thin build and standing 5 feet 9 inches tall. He wore a gray hooded sweatshirt and dark-colored pants.
There was no description for the getaway driver.
- Ruby Gonzales
WEST COVINA -- An 18-year-old man suffered a stab wound to his arm Saturday during a fight between two groups of teenagers at the Westfield West Covina mall, police said.
A group of four teenagers, who were described as members of a "tagging crew," became involved in an altercation with three other young men in the 1000 block of West Covina Parkway, at the southeast end of the mall, about 6:20 p.m., West Covina police Lt. Jerry Pearman said.
During a fistfight between the two groups, one of the taggers pulled a knife, the lieutenant said, stabbing one of the other combatants in the arm.
The injured teen was taken to a hospital for treatment, Pearman said.
Police searched the area, but the suspects were not found, he said.
The stabber was described as a Latino boy of about 17 years, of thin build and with a shaved head.
WEST COVINA -- A man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Friday for bludgeoning his father to death with a dumbbell in an Irwindale self-storage facility, officials said.
Jonathan Martinez Pedraza, 26, of Hollywood, received his sentence from West Covina Superior Court Judge Douglas Sortino after being convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and other crimes Feb. 3, court officials said.
He killed his 62-year-old father, Miguel Pedraza of Glendora, Sept. 3, 2010 and left his body inside a storage locker at A-1 Mini Storage, 4391 Irwindale Avenue, officials said.
A motive in the killing has not been released.
The sentence was slightly less than the maximum possible sentence of 27 years to life in prison.
After killing his father, Jonathan Pedraza fled the area in a car, crashing through a security gate and becoming involved in a hit-and-run crash in Baldwin Park before being taken into custody.
In addition to murder, he was convicted of felony vandalism and two counts of hit-and-run, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
A hearing in October in which Pedraza was determined to be mentally competent to stand trial.
His trial lasted about a day and a half, and the jury deliberated for about two hours before finding Jonathan Pedraza guilty.
Evidence presented at trial revealed that Pedraza delivered at least five powerful blows to his 62-year-old father's head causing 10 lacerations and a fractured skull.
WEST COVINA -- Three Los Angeles teens in a stolen Honda Accord were arrested after a chase through local streets that ended in a crash Thursday.
One of the boys fled but was later discovered in a trash can, according to West Covina police Lt. Marty Sevilla.
A police dog bit him as well as the suspect driving the stolen car.
The incident started at 10:47 p.m. on Sunset and Cameron avenues when a sergeant ran the license plate of a 1997 Honda Accord and it came back as being stolen from Los Angeles.
Sevilla said several units followed the car and when they tried to pull it over, the driver took off.
While heading south on Valinda Avenue, he said the driver tried to make a left turn into Meadowside Street, lost control, crashed into the southeast corner and hit a wall.
The driver tried to run but was captured by a police dog. The rear passenger surrendered and was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Sevilla said.
He said the teen sitting in the front passenger seat bolted and ran across a gated community in the area of Lemongrass Lane and Olive Grove lane which is in the county area.
"He was found hiding in a trash can," Sevilla said.
The three teens were arrested on suspicion of grand theft auto and felony evading.
- Ruby Gonzales
WEST COVINA -- Police arrested two men who ran from a stolen car Thursday, including one who was subdued with a Tazer and a bean bag gun after trying to choke a police dog sent to capture him, authorities said.
Officers received a report of a stolen car about 2:10 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Fleetwell Avenue, West Covina police Lt. Tommy Garcia said.
Officers searching the area spotted the stolen car about 2:30 p.m. less than a mile to the south, parked along a curb on Azusa and Fairgrove avenues, the lieutenant said.
Both men, initially described as appearing to be in their late teens or early 20s, ran from the car once they spotted an approaching police officer, Garcia said.
The passenger was captured almost immediately, he said, however officials set up a search perimeter to hunt for the driver.
A short time later, were notified by a resident of the 1700 block of Newcrest Drive that he had arrived home to find a man had broken into his house and was hiding in his bathroom, Garcia said.
Police ultimately forced their way into the home and sent in a police dog, the lieutenant said.
"He was fighting with the dog. He wasn't giving up," Garcia said. "He actually got the dog into a position where he was choking the dog."
At that point, officers shocked the suspect with a Taser with no effect, he said. Officers then fired a bean bag round at the suspect and took him into custody.
The suspects' names were not available Thursday afternoon pending booking, officials said.
The passenger was being held on suspicion of auto theft, while the driver was suspected of auto theft, burglary and resisting arrest.
WEST COVINA -- Two robbers posing as solicitors forced their way into the home of a 90-year-old man last week and stole items including jewelry that belonged to the man's deceased wife, authorities said.
The crime took place Thursday at a home in the 400 block of South Mesita Place, however the victim did not report it until Tuesday after family members convinced him to do so, West Covina police officials said.
The elderly victim answered a knock at his door about 1:10 p.m., Lt. Marty Sevilla said. He encountered two men -- one of about 60 years old and one of about 30 years old -- who had a clipboard with them and believed them to be solicitors.
"The men forced their way in by pushing the elderly man onto a chair," Sevilla said. "The older male remained with the victim while the other man ransacked the home, taking jewelry belonging the victim's deceased wife and cash."
The robbers were inside the man's home for about five minutes before running off, the lieutenant said. The homeowner was not hurt.
Police described the older suspect as white, about 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall and heavyset. The younger robber was white, five feet 6 inches to five feet 8 inches tall and of thin build.
Anyone with information is asked to call West Covina police at 626-939-8557, or tips can be left anonymously on the department's 24-hour tip line at 626-939-8688.
CONTRIBUTORS
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| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
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Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
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