 Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor AZUSA - Investigators are asking for public assistance in providing information regarding a fire that gutted the cafeteria of a shuttered elementary school Friday. Investigators ultimately deemed the fire at Mountain View Elementary school, 201 N. Vernon Ave., as arson. Beyond that, the Azusa Police Department has not provided any details regarding a possible suspect description, if one exists. District employees were on campus at the time, but it is unclear if any of those employees witnessed the start of the fire. The cafeteria was being used to store furniture, according to radio traffic from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Firefighters were dispatched to the school at 7:16 p.m. Friday, June 7. They discovered heavy smoke and flames coming from the cafeteria and initiated an aggressive fire attack to limit the damage. Knockdown was called at 8:06 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Mountain View was one of two campuses closed for the 2019-20 school year as a cost-saving measure to grapple with declining enrollment district wide. Anyone with information on this fire is urged to call the Azusa Police Department Detective Bureau at 626-812-3200. Remain anonymous 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 AZUSA - A West Covina man is facing felony charges stemming from an arson fire February 24.
Joe Monge, 41, was arrested Thursday, March 16, through the work of Azusa Police detectives and four Los Angeles County Fire Department arson investigators. A cell phone warrant was obtained to track Monge’s location, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire Monge is accused of setting burned February 24 around 7:10 a.m. in the 600 block of North Angeleno Avenue in a garage. No injuries were reported, according to the Azusa Police Department. County booking records detailing Monge’s arrest March 16 were not available.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor AZUSA - Police arrested a man who may have possibly ignited the small brush fire that burned for a few hours about homes in Azusa Saturday.
Artemio Sanchez-Gutierrez, 30, was booked on suspicion of arson. He told the Los Angeles County Fire arson investigators that he put out a cigarette in the area where the fire started and believes he may have ignited the small brush fire, according to the Azusa Police Department. The fire scorched about one and a half acres to two acres in the hillside above Azusa February 12, according to Dispatch Supervisor Melanie Flores of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Water dropping helicopters equipped with night vision aided ground crews in keeping the fire from expanding. Firefighters are continuing mop-up of the location this morning, Flores told SGV CityWatch. Sanchez was issued a citation and released, according to Los Angeles County booking records.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor AZUSA - Police suspect a transient camp cooking fire in the San Gabriel Mountains led to a small spot fire Thursday.
The fire was reported to police at 5 p.m. in the 1900 block of North San Gabriel Canyon Road June 2. Officers used their patrol vehicle fire extinguishers and dirt to knock out the flames, according to the Azusa Police Department. The fire was estimated at 10 feet by 10 feet, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department radio traffic. Investigators detained former San Bernardino resident Daniel Velez, 42, and later booked him on suspicion of unlawfully causing a fire and occupying property without consent, Azusa Police said. The occupying offense is a misdemeanor, Azusa Police said. Velez is being held in lieu of $20,000 ahead of a scheduled appearance in the West Covina courthouse June 7, according to Los Angeles County booking records.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The transient who admitted to setting the Ranch 2 Fire that burned above Azusa was sentenced to prison time recently.
Osmin Palencia, 37, pleaded no contest March 16 to one count of arson during an emergency. He was sentenced to five years in state prison. He must also register as an arson offender, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Palencia surrendered himself at the Azusa Police Department August 16, 2020. The Ranch 2 fire burned more than 4,237 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Investigators from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Azusa Police quickly learned after the fire erupted that arson was to blame and named Palencia as a suspect. Palencia is a transient who lived In the San Gabriel River near where the fire erupted, Azusa Police said. The Ranch 2 Fire was first reported around 2:45 p.m. August 13, 2020. The fire ignited along Highway 39 and Ranch Road, near homes nestled in the San Gabriel Mountains  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor AZUSA - The man sought for allegedly igniting the 2,256-acre Ranch 2 Fire turned himself in to police Sunday.
Osmin Palencia, 36, surrendered himself to Azusa officers, according to the Azusa Police Department in a written statement. Investigators from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Azusa Police quickly learned after the fire erupted that arson was to blame. Police did not state how Palencia became a suspect. Palencia is a transient who lives In the San Gabriel riverbed near where the fire erupted, Azusa Police said. Booking information for Palencia was not readily available.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor AZUSA - Police and Fire investigators are looking for a man they say is connected to the fast-moving Ranch Fire.
Los Angeles County Fire Department arson investigators and Azusa officers immediately worked to determine the origin of the fire and deemed it as arson, according to the Azusa Police Department. Osmin Palencia is a 36-year-old transient who lives in the San Gabriel riverbed near the origin of the Ranch Fire. Palenica is said to have violent tendencies and people should use caution if they see him, Azusa Police said. Anyone with information on Palencia’s whereabouts is urged to call the Azusa Police Department at 626-812-3200.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor AZUSA - A man accused of setting a series of fires throughout Azusa and Covina was detained Saturday after allegedly setting two dumpster fires in Azusa, police said. A lot of what burned included trash, bulk property and dumpster contents throughout the two cities. No injuries were reported. The incidents begin in Covina the afternoon of April 4, where police and firefighters investigated two outside fires in the area of Azusa Avenue and Covina Boulevard, two fires in an abandoned building At 1060 W. San Bernardino Rd., one incident near a Walmart and two more incidents in the 1400 block of N. Azusa Ave., according to Lieutenant Daniel Reagan of the Covina Police Department. One of the earliest fires at firefighters responding to whisper a garbage fire at 1054 N. Azusa Ave. in Covina at 4:18 p.m., according to Los Angeles county fire department dispatch reports. At 4:54 PM, firefighters were sent to another reported fire in the same area.
At 5:38 p.m., firefighters were sent to a structure fire at the Covina Bowl property, 1060 W. San Bernardino Rd. At 7:51 p.m. firefighters extinguished a garbage fire at N. Azusa Ave. and West Grondahl Street. At 8:05 p.m., another fire was reported, this one at 1421 N. Azusa Ave. in Covina. In Azusa, firefighters and police responded to two fires in the 200 block of East Newburgh Street. “Officers were able to view surveillance and identify a suspect who they found about a block away. There was some medical issues involved, so he was cited and taken to a hospital,” according to Sgt. Bailey of the Azusa Police Department. The suspects name was not released.  PHOTO/Stock image. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor AZUSA - A 29-year-old transient was caught by Azusa and Covina Police September 25, accused of setting several fires on the Azusa/Covina border.
Manuel Cruz Garcia was booked on suspicion of felony arson and on an outstanding warrant. Garcia allegedly set fire to several dumpsters at businesses in the area of Arrow Highway and Azusa Avenue, according to Sgt. Tommy Avila of the Azusa Police Department. Police were alerted by eyewitnesses to a dumpster fire burning behind Just Tires, 877 S. Azusa Ave., at 10:30 p.m. Garcia was then seen setting another fire in a dumpster at Covina’s El Pollo Loco, 1405 N. Azusa Ave., and Wal Mart, 1275 N. Azusa Ave. The fires were only contained to the dumpsters, causing only minimal damage, Avila said. As Azusa and Covina officers spotted him starting the fire near Wal Mart, the suspect fled on foot and a brief foot chase began, but Garcia was detained. A transient who witnessed Garcia set the fire at Just Tires was able to positively identify Garcia as the suspect, according to Azusa Police radio traffic. Garcia is being held in lieu of $310,000 bail. He is being housed in the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles and is scheduled to appear in West Covina Superior Court Thursday, September 27. |
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