Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A 51-year-old Commerce man was arrested Tuesday, hours after allegedly stabbing to death an Azusa man aboard a westbound Gold Line train.
Peter Munoz was booked on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail, according to Deputy Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Munoz was officially arrested at 11 p.m., according to Los Angeles County booking records, nearly 12 hours after the attack occurred. “The arrest comes after investigators conducted interviews of witnesses and viewed surveillance video in the area,” Schrader said. A motive for the killing is unknown. 62-year-old Xuezhong Bao was named as the victim by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Bao was stabbed at least once in the upper torso at or near the Irwindale Station, 16017 Avenida Padilla, some time before 11:30 a.m. November 27. It was unclear if he was stabbed on the platform, or inside the train. Bao and the suspect made their was westbound in a train that arrived at the Duarte/City of Hope Station. The suspect was detained. Bao died after attempts at CPR failed. Munoz is being held in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station jail and is awaiting a scheduled appearance in Alhambra Municipal Court Thursday, November 29. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor ELECTION - Knowing the remaining votes would not be enough to ensure victory, sitting Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced he was conceding to his opponent Monday afternoon.
Alex Villanueva will become the 33rd elected Sheriff’s for Los Angeles County, taking 52.59 percent of the vote, to McDonnell’s 47.41 percent. Alex Villanueva is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s lieutenant and the first opponent to unseat a sitting Los Angeles County Sheriff in more than 100 years. Villanueva also served more than 30 years in the Sheriff’s Department, has Doctorate in Public Administration, and served in the U.S. Air Force and California National Guard. McDonnell contacted Villanueva to facilitate briefings to a smooth transition between the two administrations. “It is my hope that the Sheriff-elect will come to his new position with an open mind,” McDonnell said in a statement. “The honor of serving as the L.A. County Sheriff is one like no other in law enforcement. As the elected leader of the nation’s largest Sheriff’s Department, and the second largest law enforcement agency in the nation, the Sheriff’s will be immediately faced with a range of very complex issues that go to the heart of maintaining public safety and public trust,” McDonnell said. McDonnell thanked those who voted for him, stating those nearly 1.2 million voters took confidence and recognition in his department’s accomplishments. “These voters see that crime is down, arrests and public contacts are up. We are setting the national standard in the reform of large jail systems, ad we are now better prepared than ever before,” McDonnell said. The swearing-in ceremony will take place Monday, December 3 in the Ingalls Auditorium at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, scheduled for Noon. McDonnell will hold a press conference Tuesday, November 27 at 10:30 a.m. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A 17-year-old girl was identified Monday as the bloody, beaten victim found dead near a mountain road November 24. Johanna Lissette Mejia Gayton was identified by Sarah Ardalani, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. A local resident collecting cans reportedly discovered Gayton’s dead, bloody body, which was dumped in a culvert along a mountain road. The resident called 9-1-1 around 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Deputies from the San Dimas Station arrived to East Fork Road at mile marker 1.25 and declared Gayton dead at the scene, according to Deputy Armando Viera Jr. of the Los Angeles a County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Gayton’s body was in a culvert adjacent to a turnout and apparently suffered blunt force trauma, Viera said. No suspect information is available. Anyone with information on this death is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The county coroner named a 24-year-old man killed in a crash after he fled a vehicle and ran across freeway lanes.
Edwin Contreras Interiano, a Pomona man, died at the scene of the collision, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. The fatal crash occurred at 9:28 p.m. November 23, minutes after an occupant of the stopped silver Chevrolet Cruze called authorities and said their son fled the vehicle with the car keys, according to the California Highway Patrol. A white pickup truck may have struck the victim, the CHP said. The victim’s family was reportedly in the vehicle and stopped on the right shoulder for an unknown reason before the victim fled. The victim’s mother was apparently behind the wheel of the Cruze, according to the CHP. Authorities had all lanes shut down at 9:39 p.m. The No. 1 and 2 lanes were opened at 10:07 p.m. and all lanes were cleared by 11:37 p.m. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A local resident collecting cans reportedly discovered the dead, bloody body of a woman dumped in a culvert along a mountain road.
The resident called 9-1-1 around 12:15 p.m. Deputies from the San Dimas Station arrived to East Fork Road at mile marker 1.25 and declared the woman dead, according to Deputy Armando Viera Jr. of the Los Angeles a County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The woman, whose body was in a culvert adjacent to a turnout, apparently suffered blunt force trauma, Viera said. No suspect information is available. Anyone with information on this death is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). MOUNTAINS - Homicide detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are en route at the time of this post to a suspicious death in the mountains above Azusa.
San Dimas Sheriff’s Station deputies were called to the scene along East Fork Road at mile marker 1.25 around 1:15 p.m. Los Angeles County Firefighters were dispatched to the scene 10 minus later. One patient was found DOA, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department radio traffic. Firefighters were initially told of a bloody woman and were dispatched to a medical emergency call. A female adult was found dead at the scene, according to Deputy Armando Viera Jr. with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. No other information is available. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - The driver in the fatal crash over the side of San Gabriel Canyon Road five miles above Azusa remains unidentified Tuesday. The crash occurred at mile marker 23 November 19 around 5:11 p.m. The victim’s unknown-model sedan was found 200 feet down an embankment -- the body was found 80 feet from the embankment, according to the California Highway Patrol. It was unclear if the victim was ejected, or walked away from the vehicle before dying.
A driver witnessed the car go over the embankment and flagged down Sheriff’s deputies, the CHP said. CHP investigators determined the driver was traveling south at an unsafe speed and failed to negotiate a roadway curve, drove across northbound lanes, collided with a dirt embankment and descended into a ravine. The crash sparked a three-acre brush fire that was quenched with ground crews and helicopters from the U.S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire Department. Fire personnel discovered the body while battling flames and the driver was declared dead at 6:56 p.m., the CHP said. The driver was wearing a seat belt, the CHP said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detective is accused of raping the 14-year-old victim in a sex assault case he was investigating the Sheriff’s Department said Monday.
Neil Kimball, 45, assigned to the department’s Special Victim’s Unit, was arrested Monday after a months long investigation took place into the allegations of assault, which took place a year ago, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a written statement. The alleged assault took place in Ventura County in November of 2017. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. The Ventura County DA is working with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators on the case. Kimball, a 20-year-veteran of the department, was being treated at a medical facility when the allegations surfaced October 10. A fellow detective was assigned to handle some of Kimball’s cases when the allegation surfaced, according to department Spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. Kimball was previously investigated for an allegation of assault in 2008 when a victim alleged Kimball grabbed her hand and forced her to touch his exposed genitals. He also allegedly grabbed her buttocks, according to a memo from Deputy District Attorney Deborah Escobar in a memo released to the Los Angeles Times. During the 2008 allegations, Kimball and a fellow deputy detained the victim and a group of girlfriends at an unspecified hotel. After allowing the women into their room to use the restroom, Kimball followed, filled up a hot tub and ordered them in. Some of the women complied and entered the tub while wearing their underwear. Kimball allegedly flirted with the women, the memo stated. The case was reportedly dropped due to insufficient evidence, the Sheriff’s Department said. Kimball has been relieved of duty with pay and is being held at the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles. Bail has been set at $2 million. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Firefighters have yet to reach a victim inside a vehicle that crashed and ignited a small brush fire above Azusa Monday.
Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search and rescue personal are attempting to reach the crashed vehicle said to be as much as 150 feet over San Gabriel Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. A driver apparently witnessed the vehicle go over the side of the roadway near mile marker 23.86 around 5:18 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Deputies with the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station are redirecting northbound traffic at the base of the canyon. The fire’s progress is being allowed at the top of the hill by the asphalt road and at the bottom by the San Gabriel Reservoir. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Detectives believe homicide played a role in the death of a still-unidentified person found near Angeles Crest Highway Saturday. The body was deemed a “long-term DOA” by Los Angeles County firefighters who spoke with Sheriff’s deputies at the scene around 10:30 a.m. November 17. The condition of the body makes it difficult for detectives to determine gender, let alone the manner of death, according to Deputy Armando Viera Jr. of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. “Detectives have learned U.S. Forestry employees were cleaning debris near the location when they located the decedent. Based on the condition of the remains, this incident is being investigated as a homicide,” Viera Jr. said.
Anyone with information that could aid the investigation is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). |
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