Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor SAN DIMAS - Detectives are still investigating a reported argument that led to gunfire at Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park Saturday.
During the reported argument, an unknown suspect fired at least one round into the air. The gun was not pointed at anyone in particular, according to Lt. Ben Torres of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Park Bureau. Deputies with the San Dimas Station and Park Bureau responded to the park, 120 Via Verde, just after 5:30 p.m. There were people at the park during the gunfire, Torres said. No one has come forward to deputies yet claiming to be a victim of the incident, Torres said. No one has provided information about the shooting and a suspect description is not available. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Arraignment was continued to July 30 for former NFL cornerback Brandon Browner who attempted to kill his ex-girlfriend as her children watched.
Browner, 33, was charged with one count each of attempted murder, first-degree residential robbery, first-degree burglary, person present, and false imprisonment. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a child, according to Greg Risling of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Browner is accused of chasing his ex-girlfriend after breaking into her apartment through a locked window. He is also accused of dragging her and then smothering her in a carpet … all while her two children watched, according to La Verne Police and the DA’s office. Browner is being held in lieu of $10 million bail and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted as charged. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The infamous bank bandit known for his stylish doo has struck three more times, bringing his robbery total to six. The Twirly Head Bandit hit banks in Gardena, Norwalk and Pasadena, according to the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. The bandit previous hit banks in West Los Angeles, Culver City and Monrovia, according to Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.
The robber was given an unknown amount of cash, according to Lt. Tom Loy of the Monrovia Police Department.
The suspect fled the bank and employees locked the doors after he left, Loy said. The robber is a Black male in his mid 20s, 5-foot 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighs 160 to 170 pounds. No suspect vehicle description was available. Anyone with information on the bandit is urged to call the FBI at 310-477-6565. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The coroner will determine if the man who stabbed to death a Cal Poly Pomona public safety specialist last month had anything in his system when the killing occurred.
A motive is still unknown after 27-year-old Rodney Lee Hunter reportedly committed the brutal stabbing of Mark Manlapaz, a 17-year-veteran of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona June 29, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The autopsy on Hunter was performed July 9. Hunter was identified by Homicide detectives as a Cal Poly Pomona custodian. How long Hunter worked for the campus is not immediately known. Manlapaz, 37, served the campus as a public safer specialist. He was parked at university property known as Campus South, 3530 Pomona Blvd., when he was approached by Hunter, who stabbed him to death. Manlapaz died in his university-issued truck. Witnesses helped authorities locate Hunter about a half mile from the scene of the stabbing, near the John T. Lyle Center For Regenerative Studies. One of the witnesses who apparently knew Hunter told detectives that he appeared “out of it,” according to Sheriff's Homicide Lt. John Corina. Hunter fought with the witness when approached. A Pomona Police officer and a Cal Poly Police officer both opened fire on Hunter, but the interaction that led to the officer-involved shooting remains undisclosed. The knife thought to be used in the stabbing was recovered near the victim’s truck. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LA PUENTE - A victim shot in the face by an unknown assailant died last week of his injuries exactly two weeks after being injured, authorities said.
Francisco Lopez, 30, was shot in the face outside QQ Bargain Dollar Mart, 401 S. Azusa Ave., around 9 p.m. Friday, June 22. Lopez was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Lopez died Friday, July 6. The suspect fled with two female accomplices in a black, older-model car with collision damage to the passenger side, according to Sheriff’s deputies during the initial incident. The gunman was described as a Hispanic man between 20 to 30 years old. The two female accomplices, the driver and rear passenger, are Hispanic and between 20 to 25 years old. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LA HABRA HEIGHTS - Deputies quickly arrested man who admitted to brandishing a handgun at another driver Friday night.
The driver, only identified as a Hispanic man, pointed a handgun at the victim at Hacienda Road and West Road around 9:14 p.m. The suspect apparently did not try to rob the victim, nor did the crime occur as the result of a fight. “It wasn’t a robbery and it wasn’t a fight. It was just a guy who pointed a pistol at a guy in another car,” said Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station. Deputies responded after the victim called 9-1-1 and after being given a vehicle description, deputies located the suspect in his black Porsche Cayenne and conducted a high-risk stop, Reynanga said. The suspect was arrested at Hacienda Boulevard and Haliburton Road in Hacienda Heights and admitted to having a gun in his vehicle. The suspect’s name was not readily available. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - With triple-digit temperatures poised to bake SoCal this weekend, Los Angeles County Firefighters are responding with additional staffing.
Augmented fire weather staffing will bring an additional 100 firefighters to county strike teams, patrols and water tenders. Strike teams will be placed in high burn zones, according to an official statement from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. An excessive heat warning will go into effect Friday, July 6 at 10 a.m. and end July 7 at 9 p.m., with temperatures expected to rang from 105 to 113 degrees with little relief expected in most areas, according to the National Weather Service. The current closures affecting Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road will be extended to Monday, July 9, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Looking ahead, authorities expect significant Santa Ana wind events this fall. The Los Angeles County Fire Department will lease the Canadian-operated Super Scoopers, which are slated to arrive September 1, according to Chief Daryl Osby of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The Erickson SkyCrane helicopter will also supplement county-operated firefighting helicopters. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road will close to vehicle traffic Tuesday, July 3 and reopen Thursday, July 5.
The high fire danger has forced authorities to close Glendora Mountain Road from Big Dalton Canyon Road to East Fork Road. Glendora Ridge Road will be closed from GMR to Mt. Baldy Road, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Bicycle and pedestrian traffic will still be permitted, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest of a man Saturday who helped kidnap, beat and murder a young man near Azusa.
Matthew Luzon Martin-Capiendo was recognized as he exited the AMC Montebello 10 Theater in Montebello around 6:30 p.m. June 30, according to Deputy Joana Warren of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Martin-Capiendo was booked at the Montebello Police Department jail and is being held without bail. He is expected in court today, Warren said. Martin-Capiendo and three other suspects, who are also behind bars, are accused of kidnapping, robbing and beating a man, identified as 20-year-old Julian Hamori-Andrade May 29. The four suspects further beat him and dumped his body over the side of San Gabriel Canyon Road above Azusa. The victim’s body was discovered by Sheriff’s deputies the next day, immediately followed by an announcement of the arrest of three suspects, Hercules Dimitrios Balaskas, a 19-year-old Glendora man, Francisco Amigon, a 19-year-old La Verne man, and Jacob Hunter Elmendorf, 19, also from La Verne. The four men were charged May 31 with three counts of first degree murder with special circumstances, first-degree residential robbery and kidnapping. The suspects also face three special circumstances of lying in wait and murder during the kidnapping and robbery Hamori-Andrade, whose body was found dumped 30 feet over the side of Highway 39 Wednesday, May 30, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors accuse Balaskas of beating Hamori-Andrade with the metal chair. Martin-Capiendo allegedly further beat Hamori-Andrade with a rock and broke glass pipe once he was taken to the mountainside, deputies said. The brutal killing began May 29 when deputies responding to a home in the 6100 block of Goodway Drive in the unincorporated area near Azusa for a disturbance call discovered a large blood trail leading from the unoccupied home to the street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A motive for the killing is unknown. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Authorities are searching for a three-time bank robber who last struck a Monrovia Chase Bank Thursday.
The man dubbed the “Twirly Head Bandit,” so named due to the design in haircut, robbed banks in West Los Angeles, Culver City and Monrovia, according to Laura Eimiller, spokeswoman for the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. The Monrovia Chase Bank, 102 W. Foothill Blvd. was robbed just after 5:30 p.m. June 28. The robber pretended to be a customer and passed a demand note to the teller for money in various denominations, Eimiller said. The robber wrote the teller to stay calm and not make any sudden moves. The robber was given an unknown amount of cash, according to Lt. Tom Loy of the Monrovia Police Department. The suspect fled the bank and employees locked the doors after he left, Loy said. The robber is a Black male in his mid 20s, 5-foot 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighs 160 to 170 pounds. No suspect vehicle description was available. Anyone with information on the robber is urged to call the FBI at 310-477-6565. |
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