Recently in Whittier Category

A Rowland Heights doctor is accused of sexually assaulting patients at a Whittier Hospital. he denies the charges. Here's our story so far:

WHITTIER - A doctor denied sexually assaulting patients during office visits.

Dr. Wazir Nadir Ali, 44, of Rowland Heights pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object and two counts of sexual battery by fraud at his Tuesday arraignment at Whittier Superior Court.

He will return to court Nov. 6.

The charges stem from an incident in 2005 and a second incident 2007 at a Bright Medical Associates facility on Whittier Boulevard in Whittier. Two women alleged Ali sexually assaulted them under the guise of a medical examination.

Ali resigned from Bright Medical last year.

Sheriff's booking records show he is out on bail.

Reporter Amanda Baumfeld turned in a great obituary about Buddy McDonald, one fo the original Little Rascals. He died this week in a Seal Beach retirement home. Here's a snippet of Baumfeld's piece:

What he might not be known for is his endless dedication and work in substance abuse counseling, those who know him said.

In the 1950 s, McDonald developed a drinking problem and ended up in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was a move that ended up being a "significant turning point of his life," according to his son, Scott.

Soon after, McDonald became a popular speaker at AA meetings throughout Southern California and strived to help people regain control of their lives.

In 1965, he met Leon Emerson, a Downey Municipal Court judge. The two of them thought people convicted of alcohol-related offenses should be sent to AA meetings instead of jail.

I also found an interview with Buddy that ran on a Web site devoted to Laurel and Hardy comedies. The interview is fascinating and describes a robbery conviction from the 1950s:

Question: What did they send you to prison for?

Bud McDonald: Robbery. I was with some other guys, and we robbed a market. I had just come out of the marine corps, served in Guadalcanal. I didn't know any better, I didn't have any money to get an attorney, so I took a public defender. He got me to cop a plea. I plead guilty. Later on, when I was sober about a dozen years after Alcoholics Anonymous, a probation officer named Brown in Walnut Park gave me some advice. He was going to law school and we found a law I didn't know about and together with my sponsor, a man named Carson, they got all my felonies taken back to court and the guilty pleas removed and the not guilty pleas entered. All my citizenship rights and everything else were restored to me.
 

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. 

From reporter Ruby Gonzales on the 211 beat in Whittier:

LA HABRA - A man arrested for allegedly robbing a La Habra bank last week is a former Pasadena police officer.

The FBI said it is also investigating if the man, 44-year-old Vincent Cantu of Whittier, could be the apologetic "Polite Bandit" who hit three local banks in 2006.

"There are similarities," said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. She said the "Polite Bandit" robbed Banco Popular branches and the La Habra robbery was at a Banco Popular.

The bandit was seen with a gun during the 2006 heists and told victims he was sorry.

The *shooting of a sheriff's deputy's mother in early July may have been a case of mistaken identity, according to a story by reporter Ruby Gonzales:

WHITTIER - Gang investigators say the July 6 shooting that wounded a deputy's 60-year-old mother was a case of mistaken identity.

They believe members of the Dead End Locos gang not only shot at the wrong house that night, the group also mistakenly tagged it two weeks ago.

Now deputies are asking for the public's help in finding three men wanted for questioning in the shooting in the 11700 block of Keith Drive.

One of two suspected shooters is already in custody and deputies have also recovered one gun and the getaway vehicle, a gold-colored Ford Explorer.

 

As for the mug shot. Here's the caption:

Ruben Rene 'Droopy" Amperano, one of the alleged shooters, was arrested during a parole and probation sweep on July 10. (Courtesy)  

A 31-year old member of a gang called Brown Brotherhood is taken into custody by a parole agent during a multi-agency sweep at the 8700 block of Nogal Ave. in Whittier on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. A 22-caliber rifle, a crossbow and other weapons were found at the location. The parolee is looking at parole violation and charges, of being an ex-felon in possesion of a gun. Nine locations in Whittier, Pico Rivera and Norwalk were hit simultaneously early in the morning.
(SGVN/Staff Photo by Raul Roa/SWCity)

If it's true it's called patricide.

Here's what we know:

WHITTIER - A father collapsed and died Thursday after a fight with his son, and the son has been arrested on suspicion of murder as officials investigate what caused the death, authorities said.

The dead man was preliminarily identified as Joe Anthony Valverde, 56, of Whittier, said Los Angeles County Department Investigator Betsy Magdaleno.

His son, 34-year-old Isaac Gutierrez of Whittier, is being held in connection with the death, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said, however district attorney's officials will review the case and the coroner's findings to determine whether murder charges will ultimately be filed.

The rest of the story is here.

Unlike the mythical panty story, this actually happened in the San Gabriel Valley.  Whittier Daily News reporter Ruby Gonzales has the scoop on a guy who died around April 15. Apparently the county tax collector was looking for him but the grim reaper got there first:

A man apparently died three months ago but his body was discovered Tuesday afternoon after a county worker came knocking.

Guy King, 65, was found on his couch next to a paper bag with a carton of milk and some yogurt that expired on April 18, said Whittier Police spokesman Jason Zuhlke.

He said King apparently kept to himself and his family lives out of state. A neighbor last saw King two months ago.

The grisly discovery was made Tuesday afternoon in the 10800 block of Kibbee Avenue by a county employee and a neighbor.

Zuhlke didn't know what county department the worker was from and why he was at King's home.

However, records show the bank had a lien on the house.

Over the weekend there were five homicides and one suicide recorded in local cities. The first incident involved a man who shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself on the 605 near Telegraph Road Saturday afternoon.

Later on, four San Gabriel Valley homicides occurred within a six-hour window.

Here's a timeline and brief description of each:

VIOLENCE TIMELINE:

A few weeks ago, I had a surprise late-night encounter with three coyotes roaming the streets of Los Feliz.

It seemed like feral dogs were everywhere that week. Photographer Watchara Phomicinda snapped a picture of a skinny one rooting about an empty field in Irwindale. I can't remember where else they turned up, but they were around.

Last year at this time it was black bears. Bears in Monrovia; bears in Duarte; bears in Bradbury; bears in Azusa.

Old-timers probably know this already, but I was fascinated to find out that predators are nothing new in the San Gabriel Valley or Whittier for that matter.

Grizzlies, wolves, cougars and coyotes roamed pretty freely in these parts right up until the turn of the 20th century.
They're pretty much gone. If only we could say the same about their human counterparts.

***
Whoops.
In my haste to write a brilliant column each week, I've been making grammatical errors. To all you English teachers out there, my deepest apologies.

I had this pointed out to me via a marked-up column sent in the mail by Ms. Beryl Collins of Arcadia.

The mark-up, done nicely in red ink, actually contains just three sentences.
It begins with, "What school did you attend?"

To answer that I guess I have to tell you a little about myself. For the most part I am a product of the California public school system.

After my parents moved to California, I attended Laura M. Hansen Elementary in Saratoga and Joaquin Miller Junior High in San Jose.

The Jesuits took over from there, and although there were some summer school classes at Lynbrook High, I graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

Since then, I've attended UCSD, San Jose State, Pasadena City College and Mt. San Antonio College.

That seems like a lot of education. Even after all that, I still don't know how to construct a proper sentence.

The sentence below was one example pointed out by Ms. Collins. It appeared in a column that ran in this newspaper on June 3:

"I'm sure there's countless similar stories."

She suggests I should have constructed the sentence as: "I'm sure there are countless similar stories."

All I can say is that I'm really glad she hasn't been reading my text messages.

U no wot i mean?

Thanks for the tip, Ms. Collins, I'm sure there are countless similar examples.

***

Are the copper thieves getting bold or what?

Whomever hit an Edison substation in Whittier knew exactly what to take, and absconded with copper grounding wire. It could fetch a tidy sum at the recycling center.

What's probably most irritating about the theft is that Edison had to turn off the power in most of Pico Rivera and portions of Whittier on a hot afternoon.

One can only hope the thief's refrigerator was affected and his (or her) beer got warm.

The DA's office released their report Wednesday into the snafu surrounding the slaying of Monica Thomas-Harris, by her estranged husband. The report hit newsrooms one day after Cooley cruised to reelection.

Thomas-Harris, 37, was shot to death by "Keno" Curtis Jan. 5 in a low budget Whittier motel room. Their bodies were found by a maid doing a routine cleaning inspection.

Here's the report.

LAPD chased this guy into Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera and Whittier before he was caught. Apprently the suspect was wanted for a DUI.