Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Surveillance footage once again helped identify the man accused of gunning down three homeless people in Los Angeles late last month.
The suspect was already in custody, accused of murdering a San Dimas man after following him home from West Covina. Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department Saturday. The three murders of homeless men occurred from November 26 to November 29. The same vehicle was seen at all three murder scenes, investigators said. Ballistics examination determined the gun seized after Powell was arrested in Beverly Hills was used in the homeless murders, according to an LAPD written statement. The first LA murder occurred around 3 a.m. November 26 in the 800 block of West 110th Street. The next murder occurred around 5 a.m. November 27 in the 800 block of East Seventh Street. The third happened around 2:30 p.m. November 29 at South Avenue 18 and South Pasadena Avenue. All victims in the LA murder were sleeping either on a public sidewalk or in an alleyway. Powell will remain in custody pending the filing of charges. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Plenty of activities and delicious goodies will be available all day during during a free event that promotes active transportation.
626 Golden Streets comes to the San Gabriel Valley Sunday, April 23. The event stretches six and one half miles along portions of Bonita Avenue, Fulton Road and Arrow Highway to Claremont. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The people-centric event promotes active transportation: walking, biking, jogging, running, strolling … you name it. Other activities and chances to support local businesses will be available along the route. The event will require the temporary closure of roadways and no vehicle traffic will be allowed. The first 50 attendees will receive a free limited edition t-shirt and raffle tickets. Join the Heart of the Foothills opening ceremony at Palomares Park in Pomona, 499 E. Arrow Hwy., from 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. Parking restrictions will go into effect along the route beginning at Midnight prior to the event. Road closures are scheduled to start at 5 a.m. and full closures will be made by 7 a.m. A partial reopening of the route will begin by 4 p.m. with most sections reopening by 5 p.m. Visit the 626 Golden Streets website for frequently asked questions. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Beginning this afternoon, continuing work on the L Line Foothill Extension will sporadically impact traffic, authorities said.
A rail delivery train will deliver 1600-foot segments of rail sticks at various points along the L Line route from Glendora to Pomona, according to the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority. The deliveries are expected to take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are scheduled to last through Saturday, August 28. At-grade crossings will be affected multiple times. Crossing gates will be functional and may impact traffic for up to five minutes at a time while rail sticks are off-loaded, the construction authority said. In August, the construction authority announced the$1.5 billion, 9.1-mile project to Pomona was 36 percent complete. Construction on this segment from Glendora to Pomona began July 2020. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Investigators are searching for a woman missing since November 2018.
Lindsey Kathleen Sprague, 36, was last seen in San Bernardino County. She was identified as a San Dimas resident, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Sprague stands 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, has blond or brown hair and hazel eyes. She also has a tattoo of a shooting star on her right shoulder blade and a tattoo of the Roman numeral 12 on her left forearm. Anyone with the information on the whereabouts of Sprague is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man prosecutors accused of funneling hundreds of thousands in Covid-19 jobless benefits to foreign nationals pleaded guilty Thursday.
Bonifacio Jastilana Marinas, 50, pleaded guilty to a single-count criminal information charging him with mail fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office. In his plea deal, Marinas admitted that his actions Cost the Unemployment Development Department and the United States Treasury $516,244. Marinas filed paperwork in the names of foreign nationals he falsely claimed were real estate agents hit hard by the pandemic. “According to his plea agreement, from April 2020 to August 2020, Marinas took advantage of provisions in the CARES Act to file approximately 85 unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) that falsely asserted that the named claimants were self-employed real estate agents in Los Angeles County whose jobs had been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the US Attorney’s Office said in a written statement. Marinas listed his realty business, West Covina-based Vintage Realty & Finance, Inc., as the workplace of the alleged EDD claimants and his home as the claimants’ addresses, but the funds were funneled to residents of Saipan and the Philippines, the US Attorney’s Office said. The claimants were not registered as real estate agents in Los Angeles County, had no employment history in California and were not eligible for the benefits Marinas claimed, the US District Attorney’s Office said. As a result, the debit cards used to distribute the unemployment benefits were mailed to Marinas, who then used them to withdraw the fraudulently obtained funds, the US Attorney’s Office said. Marinas is scheduled for a sentencing June 24 in U.S. District Court and faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - The California Highway Patrol arrested a driver September 7 after he allegedly led Claremont Police and CHP officers on a chase throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
Claremont officers initially pursued Anthony Orlando Franco, 33, who was driving in a stolen vehicle. The CHP was notified of the chase as it was west on the I-10 freeway west of Indian Hill Boulevard, according to Officer Rodrigo Jimenez of the California Highway Patrol Baldwin Park Office. CHP officers took over the pursuit of a black 2017 Kia Soul on the west 210 freeway at Grand Avenue, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch. The chase took to surface streets through Glendora, Covina, Irwindale, Pomona, La Verne, Claremont, Baldwin Park and West Covina. He also allegedly fled in opposing lanes of traffic, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch. The suspect also traversed the I-10, 210, 57, 71 and 605 freeways. The pursuit briefly reentered the 210 freeway eastbound from Sunflower Avenue in Glendora. The CHP attempted to disable the Kia Soul with the Pursuit Intervention Technique, but the vehicle kept moving and exited onto southbound San Dimas Avenue in San Dimas. While westbound in the area of Walnut Avenue and Arrow Highway, the driver reportedly struck the front of a CHP officer’s patrol vehicle, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch. The CHP canceled the chase due to the driver’s reckless nature. Claremont officers located the suspect and continued the pursuit into Pomona where the suspect abandoned the Soul and fled on foot at the American Inn & Suites, 310 E. Foothill Blvd. The Kia rolled and crashed into two parked vehicles, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch. Franco was caught shortly after running and was medically cleared before being booked at the Inmate Reception Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, assaulting a peace officer, felony evading an officer, being in possession of a stolen vehicle and driving under the influence of drugs, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch. Franco was additionally booked for warrants related to felony evading and parole violations. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Two men charged with capital murder in the stabbing death of a West Covina man pleaded not guilty Thursday. La Verne man Elijah Thomas Rouse, 18, and 37-year-old Shaun Cardarelli, of San Gabriel, are of accused of killing John Aguila during the commission of a robbery. The murder charge includes that both men used a knife during the commission of a crime, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Both suspects are also accused of conspiracy to commit arson. Whether or not to seek the death penalty will be determined at a later date, the district attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors accuse the suspects of killing Aguila in his West Covina apartment in late August 2019. Aguila was wrapped in a blanket along with cellophane, his body bound with duct tape. The suspects used his 2017 Honda Civic to take his body to San Bernardino county where it was dumped off a road in Upland, doused in gasoline and set on fire. A third man Davone Anthony Smith, 26, Also faces a conspiracy charge to commit arson, and a felony count of being an accessory after the fact. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The 33-year-old motorist killed after a suspected DUI driver crashed into her car last week has been identified. Debby Shen was named by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. An autopsy has yet to be performed, according to public coroner records. David Busby, 56, was traveling south on the 57 freeway past Arrow Highway in the No. 2 lane just before 10 p.m. June 19. He slammed his 2016 Ford Transit 250 into the stalled 2012 Hyundai Elantra occupied by Shen, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Elantra was stalled in the No. 1 and 2 lanes when it was hit.
A Sig Alert was issued for the No. 1, 2 and 3 lanes from 10:19 p.m. to 1:16 a.m. Busby was booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the North County Correctional Facility, according to county booking records. Busby is scheduled for a July 23 appearance in Pomona Superior Court. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate!
Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor
REGION - A heads up for drivers in the East San Gabriel Valley area as loads of cyclists will speed through for the Amgen Tour of California Friday.
The Tour will be coming through the cities of Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont and through the San Gabriel Mountains. The race is split into men’s and women’s brackets. Women’s Stage 2: 9:45 a.m. start time ONTARIO - Begins at Citizen’s Business Bank Arena -North on North Haven Avenue -West on Arrow Route UPLAND -North on Euclid Avenue UPLAND/CLAREMONT -West on East 16th Street/ Baseline Road LA VERNE/SAN DIMAS -West on Foothill Boulevard GLENDORA -North on Amelia Avenue -West on Foothill Boulevard GLENDORA/MOUNTAINS -North on Glendora Mountain Road -North on Glendora Ridge Road -North on Mt. Baldy Road -Finish at Mt. Baldy Resort: 12:09 a.m. (estimated)
Men’s Stage 6: 11:50 a.m. start time
ONTARIO - Begins at Citizen’s Business Bank Arena -North on North Haven Avenue -West on Arrow Route UPLAND/SAN ANTONIO HEIGHTS -North on Euclid Avenue UPLAND/CLAREMONT -North on North Mountain Avenue/Mt. Baldy Road MOUNTAINS -South on Glendora Ridge Road -North on Glendora Mountain Road -South on East Fork Road MOUNTAINS/AZUSA -South on San Gabriel Canyon Road AZUSA/GLENDORA -East on Sierra Madre Avenue GLENDORA/MOUNTAINS -North on Glendora Mountain Road MOUNTAINS -North on Glendora Ridge Road Mt. BALDY -North on Mt. Baldy Road -End at Mt. Baldy Resort: 3:40 p.m. (estimated) The entire race will conclude in Pasadena. The Amgen Tour of California is an annual, professional Tour de France-style cycling event that challenges the world’s top cycling teams along hundreds of miles of iconic California highways, byways and coastlines. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor SAN DIMAS - Nearly four years after a fast food restaurant owner was gunned down outside his own business, the suspect accused of pulling the trigger has entered a plea. Sergey Gutsu, 26, pleaded not guilty May 9 to one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation that the crime was committed during a robbery, according to Paul Eakins of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Gutsu also faces one count of second-degree robbery and two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, which are all felonies. The charges include firearm allegations, Eakins said. The murder charge coupled with the special circumstance allegation makes Gutsu eligible for the death penalty, Eakins said. Pravin Patel, the 62-year-old owner of the San Dimas Quiznos shop, was shot in an altercation with an armed robbery suspect around 3:20 p.m. June 2, 2015. The suspect fled on foot from the now-defunct Quiznos, 1034 W. Arrow Hwy. Before being shot, Patel gave up an undisclosed amount of cash to the suspect who also threatened patrons at the restaurant. As the suspect exited, Patel followed him and struggled over the cash. Patel died at a hospital that day. Gutsu was already incarcerated, serving 51 years to life in prison after pleading no contest in December 2017 to armed robbery and attempted murder of a Calistoga police officer. Gutsu allegedly implicated himself nearly three years ago in the Quiznos murder while being questioned by authorities for an armored truck robbery, shooting and wild pursuit in July 2016. Gutsu and an accomplice, 24-year-old Ivan Morales, are accused of firing upon an armored truck at a Chase Bank in the City of Windsor July 12, 2016. Gutsu and Morales drove up to the armored truck in a carjacked van, confronted the guards and started shooting, authorities said. One guard was hit by gunfire while Gutsu and Morales fled into another vehicle, taking $30,000 with them.
An officer with the Calistoga Police Department located the suspects. A pursuit began, during which the pursuing officer was fired upon. The officer being fired at by Gutsu rammed him with the patrol car. Gutsu was hospitalized and later jailed. Morales briefly eluded police, initiating a manhunt in Calistoga. Gutsu and Morales are also accused of an armored truck robbery in Granada Hills March 29, 2016, authorities said. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives arrived at Santa Rosa July 13, 2016 to interview Gutsu who then confessed to being involved in Patel’s murder, according to information provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Bail for Gutsu in the Quiznos murder case has been denied. If convicted as charged, Gutsu faces the possibility of life in prison without parole or the death sentence. Prosecutors may still seek the death penalty at a later date, Eakins said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 12 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. |
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