Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – Arraignment for the man accused of raping and brutally beating a woman found dead in her Covina retirement home unit 24 years ago was continued to September 1. David Adolph Bernal, 46, was charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance allegations that the crime was committed during a rape, sodomy and burglary, according to Greg Risling, Assistant Media Chief with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Bernal was located and arrested at his El Monte home August 6, 2020. Investigators allege he is the suspect in the January 19, 1996 death of Mary Lindgren, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Lindgren, 67, was found dead in her first-floor bedroom at Covina Villa Retirement Home. Her body was found by facility staff at 7:30 a.m. A break in the case came this July when DNA evidence submitted last year yielded a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.
Sheriff’s Homicide detectives assisted Covina Police in the investigation. Facility staff, residents, family members, outside vendors and neighbors living near the facility were interviewed and determined to have no involvement in the murder, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. DNA, as well as several other pieces of evidence, was collected at the scene. A suspect profile was generated from DNA collected at the scene, but matches with state and federal criminal justice databases could not be found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. As years went by, state and national crime broadcasts were sent to participating agencies. Several leads were acquired, but led nowhere, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. It was last year when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Unsolved Unit submitted suspect DNA evidence with the California State Department of Justice for a DNA search and identification process, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. Investigators focused their attention on the possible suspect, eventually jailing Bernal, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance August 7. If convicted as charged, Bernal faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. A decision to seek capital punishment will be decided at a later date, Risling said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Investigators working the cold case of a brutally beaten, raped and murdered woman in Covina used a statewide DNA technology to identify and arrest a suspect.
David Adolph Bernal, 46, was located and arrested at his El Monte home August 6. Investigators allege he is the suspect in the death of Mary Lindgren, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Lindgren, 67, was found dead in her first-floor bedroom at Covina Villa Retirement Home January 19, 1996. Her body was found by facility staff at 7:30 a.m. A break in the case came this July when DNA evidence submitted last year yielded a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. Sheriff’s Homicide detectives assisted Covina Police in the investigation. Facility staff, residents, family members, outside vendors and neighbors living near the facility were interviewed and determined to have no involvement in the murder, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. DNA, as well as several other pieces of evidence, were collected at the scene. A suspect profile was generated from DNA collected at the scene, but matches with state and federal criminal justice databases could not be found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. As years went by, state and national crime broadcasts were sent to participating agencies. Several leads were acquired, but led nowhere, the Sheriffs Information Bureau said. It was last year when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Unsolved Unit submitted suspect DNA evidence with the California State Department of Justice for a DNA search and identification process, the Sheriffs Information Bureau said. Investigators focused their attention on the possible suspect, eventually jailing Bernal, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance August 7. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor UNINCORP. COVINA - Nine homes suffered various damage after being hit by what deputies described as large bore air rifle bullets. The shootings took place over a six-week period around unincorporated Covina communities and within Covina city limits. Projectiles have hit homes, front yards, backyards and objects on private property, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. “These are relatively large projectiles, not like what you might expect from a traditional BB or pellet gun. These are actual bullets fired from an air rifle as powerful as some pistols,” the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station said in a written statement. Some residents were home when the shots were fired. Incidents occurred:
Such weapons use compressed air to fire the large bore projectiles, usually lead. The sound emitted closely resembles that of a paintball gun.
Deputies have not been able to determine the origin of the gunfire. Sheriff's deputies and Covina Police are working to find the shooter responsible. “What the perpetrator may not know is, even though these air rifles are not considered firearms, he or she can and will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon or shooting at an inhabitant dwelling when arrested,” according to the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station. Anyone with information on the shootings is urged to call San Dimas Sheriff’s Station detectives at 909-450-2718. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3 Tips mobile app or lacrimestoppers.org Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - Arraignment was continued for the woman prosecutors allege killed her 2-year-old son in Covina. Xa Dinh Ngo, 39, also referred to as “Michelle” Ngo, had her arraignment continued to July 29, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Ngo faces one count of murder with a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife, in the death of her son, Elvis Puente. Ngo allegedly stabbed her son to death multiple times, prosecutors said. Details surrounding Puente’s death remain under a law enforcement security hold, according to Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Ngo was briefly hospitalized after a Covina patrol sergeant found Ngo running down the road in the 300 block of North Second Avenue, half-naked and with blood splatters on her body, January 11, 2019 around 3:30 a.m. Police learned Ngo’s address and discovered a small fire on the second floor of her townhome at 141 E. Italia St. once they arrived. Her son was discovered dead in the townhome.
Ngo was uncooperative with officers once detained, but alluded to a possible victim, Covina Police said. Ngo was arrested by Covina Police detectives on suspicion of murder once she was discharged. It is unclear if Ngo suffered from a mental condition, or was under the influence of drugs. If convicted as charged, Ngo could face a maximum of 26 years to life in state prison. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - The suspect accused of entering a motel room that was not his and sexually assaulting a young girl on a trip from China was immediately sentenced to six years in state prison Monday. Douglas Rivera, 41, pleaded no contest to one felony count of lewd acts upon a child. In addition to prison time, Rivera will submit to lifetime sex offender registration, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Rivera pleaded no contest at a scheduled pre-preliminary hearing at Pomona Superior Court June 10. Two preteen girls from China were staying in a room at Vanllee Hotel and Suites, 1211 E. Garvey Ave., February 7, 2018. The girls were part of a Chinese tourist group. Rivera drove up to the girls’ room around 10:08 p.m., peered through the open drapes from his truck and masturbated, according to Covina Police. Rivera then exited his truck, stood outside the room and pretended to talk on his cellphone for 30 minutes. Rivera entered the motel room when the girls opened the door thinking he was their chaperone, Covina Police said.
Multitudes of tips phoned in to Covina Police helped identify Rivera -- who he is and where could have been, said Lt. Trevor Gaumer of the Covina Police Department in a previous interview. Covina Police detectives served a search warrant at Rivera’s Baldwin Park home and located the truck parked there February 9. The Dodge Ram 4500 truck was coated with a truck bed liner spray, possibly in an attempt to alter its appearance, Gaumer said. While on the run, Rivera published a two-minute video in an attempt to explain away what happened. “Listen. I did not do nothing [sic] wrong. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Something happened at that hotel,” Rivera said in his video. “Please keep me in prayer. God will let this truth out,” Rivera added. When charges were filed last year, Rivera was facing three counts: lewd acts upon a child, first-degree burglary with a person present and indecent exposure. If convicted as charged, Rivera could have been sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - Three men arrested in the 2016 shooting death of another man in a Covina parking lot are scheduled for a pretrial hearing Tuesday. Adam Hernandez, Christopher Avila and Andrew Lengson, the latter considered an accessory to the shooting, are scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court April 9. Hernandez and Avila met their victim, 20-year-old Isaac Urena in the parking lot of Clearman’s North Woods Inn, 540 N. Azusa Ave., before Noon August 13, 2016. Urena posted jewelry online for sale and agreed to meet a buyer to complete the transaction, Covina Police said. Hernandez and Avila allegedly met Urena to rob him.
Urena was driven to Clearman’s by a friend. As the sale went sour, Urena was shot while he sat in his friend’s Honda Civic. The friend drove away from the scene, eventually stopping in the parking lot of Faith Church, 1211 E. Badillo St., in West Covina. Paramedics declared Urena dead at Faith Church. His friend was uninjured. Urena died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Hernandez and Avila were arrested soon after the shooting. Avila was eventually released from custody without charges due to insufficient evidence, but new evidence led to his rearrest. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Autopsies have yet to be performed on the man and woman found dead of apparent gunshot wounds in Covina Wednesday. Monica Ann Dominguez, 52, and Michael John Rivera, 62, were identified by Sarah Ardalani, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Rivera is the allegedly gunman. Ardalani listed Rivera as the reported suicide case. Dominguez is listed as the reported homicide.
Covina Police were called to the home in the 200 block of East Center Street around 4:46 p.m. February 13 to a call of a domestic fight an the sound of gunfire from a locked room in the apartment unit. Three adopted juveniles, grandchildren of one of the suspects, were inside the apartment when gunfire rang out. The juveniles were found safe at a neighbor’s home. Police discovered the bodies after breaching the locked door to the room. A handgun was recovered at the scene. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – The County DA has filed one count of murder Wednesday against the woman who allegedly stabbed her own son multiple times in a Covina townhouse. Xa Dinh Ngo, also known as Michelle Ngo, 39, faces one count of murder with a special allegation that she personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, according to Spokeswman Venusse Navid of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Ngo is scheduled for arraignment in Pomona Superior Court. She faces 26 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged. Ngo is accused of stabbing her toddler son, 2-year-old Alvis Puentes, on the second floor of their Covina townhome at 141 E. Italia St. January 11 around 3:30 a.m.
A Covina Police sergeant on patrol found a partially-clothed Ngo running down the road in the 300 block of North Second Avenue. Ngo tried to flee from officers, but was ultimately detained and found with blood splattered on her body. She alluded to a possible victim somewhere in town, but refused to speak further, Covina Police said. After Ngo was hospitalized, police learned her address, arrived to the location and found a small fire burning inside, Covina Police said. Police entered the home and discovered Puentes’ body. Ngo is scheduled for arraignment in Pomona Superior Court. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor WEST COVINA - The man who allegedly knocked his victim unconscious with an empty glass beer mug pleaded not guilty September 24.
Larios Jr. placed the mug on the ground and left with a female companion, according to the Covina Police Department.
The victim was found on the bathroom floor, unconscious. He suffered a skull fracture in the attack, Covina Police said. The motive for the attack is unclear. Bail for Larios Jr. is set at $110,000 and he faces 19 years in prison if convicted as charged. Larios Jr. is scheduled to appear in West Covina Courthouse October 10. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor COVINA - The cause of death for a transient woman found dead near Arrow Highway and Azusa Avenue July 31.
Joann Saunders, 54, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Addition investigation may help determine her cause of death. Firefighters responded to the flood control channel near El Pollo Loco, 1405 N. Azusa Ave., for a medical call. Firefighters informed Covina Police of Saunders’ death around 5:45 p.m. Investigators with Covina Police believe Saunders initially died of natural causes, according to Sgt. Mike Robison of the Covina Police Department. |
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