Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

AZUSA - Police found no evidence of gunfire, but their search did yield a man who was sought since December on a warrant for a number of alleged crimes.

Officers initially descended upon the Sycamore Park Apartments, 1151 W. Arrow Hwy., near Vincent Avenue before 5 p.m. on a report of potential gunfire coming from one of the apartment units April 2. Officers did not locate evidence of gunfire, but did find the suspect they have been seeking for months.

Roy M. Garcia, 66, was taken into custody after initially refusing to surrender to officers. After being told gunfire was coming from within the complex, Azusa officers called mutual aid assistance from Glendora Police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A Sheriff’s helicopter circled overhead, a deputy’s voice boomed from a loudspeaker, ordering Garcia to surrender.

Garcia was sought on suspicion of criminal threats, brandishing a weapon or firearm, committing a hate crime and resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer, crimes allegedly committed December 27, 2022.

Garcia is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail ahead of a scheduled appearance in the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled appearance in the West Covina Courthouse April 4.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

AZUSA - The cavalry was called in Friday as officers from nearby agencies assisted the Azusa Police Department in serving a multi-location search warrant.

The operation netted 13 arrests and the seizure of illegal handguns and other evidence related to various gang crimes. Those arrested face charges ranging from probation violations to conspiracy to commit murder, according to the Azusa Police Department.

“Names, locations, and evidence found are withheld due to an ongoing investigation by this department,” according to the Azusa Police Department in a written statement.

The Azusa Police Department’s Detective Bureau and Crime Suppression Team served the search warrant.

Assisting were police departments from El Monte, West Covina, Glendora, Pomona, La Verne, Covina, Glendale, Irwindale, Beverly Hills, Foothills Special Enforcement Team and County of Los Angeles Probation Department.

Anyone with information regarding illegal gang activity is urged to call the Azusa Police Department’s Detective Bureau or Crime Suppression Team at 626-812-3200.

AZUSA – A multi-agency investigation involving Azusa and Glendora detectives into catalytic converter thefts last year led to the discovery of the stolen items being stored and sold in Pomona.

Eight suspects were arrested April 2 after a search warrant was served. Numerous catalytic converters were found, as well as nearly $40,000 in cash, firearms, narcotics, items taken during railroad cargo thefts and other metal theft-related items, according to the Azusa Police Department.

Additional warrants were served with help from the task force comprised of the California Highway Patrol and Union Pacific Railroad Police. The value of the stolen cargo is estimated at $100,000, according to the Azusa Police Department.

Azusa Police property crimes detectives began investigating the catalytic converter theft and learned stolen converters from Azusa, several other local cities and converters from San Bernardino County were being stored and sold in the San Gabriel Valley prior to being transported for recycling, according to the Azusa Police Department.

The eight suspects face charges including possession of stolen property, felony vandalism, vehicle theft, firearms violations, narcotics violations, probation and parole violations, according to the Azusa Police Department.

“This investigation continues to be ongoing. The Azusa Police Department is committed to curbing thefts related to catalytic converters within the City of Azusa, as well as working with other local agencies to combat this issue within the San Gabriel Valley and other parts of Southern California,” according to the Azusa Police Department in a written statement.

Assisting Azusa and Glendora detectives were the Taskforce for Regional Autotheft Prevention, Foothill Special Enforcement Team, San Bernardino County Auto Theft Task Force, Chino Hills Station Multiple Enforcement Team, Chino Police Department, Los Angeles County Probation and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Metal Theft Investigator.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

AZUSA - Nine law enforcement organizations, led by the Azusa Police Department, targeted eight homes in an ongoing investigation into a shooting that left a teen injured March 17.

Several people ended up arrested after the 5 a.m. raid April 16 and multiple firearms were seized. The eight homes targeted in the search warrant reportedly housed a number of Sentinel Boys gang members and their associates, according to the Azusa Police Department.

The shooting occurred St. Patrick’s Day in the 500 block of North Dalton Avenue just before 10 p.m. A juvenile was injured and required extensive medical treatment, according to the Azusa Police Department.

A resident was nearby and heard the gun fire erupt on Dalton Avenue. The suspect or suspects fled west in a vehicle towards Alameda Avenue from the 500 block of North Dalton, then additional gun fire was heard.

The huge multi-agency response included the Glendale Police Department, Arcadia Police, Pomona Police, El Monte Police, West Covina Police, Irwindale Police, Covina Police, Glendora Police and the Foothills Special Enforcement Team.

A 17-year-old Azusa resident was arrested. He was booked on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm, resisting or deterring police, possession of a high-capacity magazine, possession of an undetectable firearm, resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer and vandalism. A weapon seized at the juvenile’s location was an unregistered ghost gun, Azusa Police said.

21-year-old Abraham Garcia, from Riverside, was arrested and booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm and a probation violation. Officers seized a Smith and Wesson model 34 22-caliber revolver, Azusa Police said.

Another ghost gun was also seized, located at a third home known to house Sentinel Boys gang members, Azusa police said.

“This investigation reemphasizes the Azusa Police Department’s commitment to curbing violent crime and reducing gang crime in the City of Azusa,” Azusa Police said in a written statement.

Anyone with information on these crimes is urged to call the Azusa Police Department at 626-812-3200.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

AZUSA - A Police K9 sniffed out a stolen vehicle suspect hiding in a Glendora neighborhood on the border with Azusa January 15.

The suspect fled after spotting an Azusa patrol car behind him in the area of Barranca Avenue and Baseline Road Friday. He wound up at a dead end and escaped on foot briefly, according to Sgt. Bailey of the Azusa Police Department.

Officers located the stolen vehicle the suspect drove earlier that day, but the vehicle and driver somehow disappeared and officers could not locate either of them, Bailey told SGV CityWatch.

An Azusa police detective relocated the stolen vehicle on the road hours later around 7:10 p.m. around Citrus Avenue and Baseline Road, Bailey told SGV CityWatch.

“The guy knew officers were behind him and actually turned down a dead end,” Bailey told SGV CityWatch.

The driver ran through Stanton Elementary School from the dead end at East Hollyvale Street.

Glendora and Pomona officers, aided by a Pomona Police helicopter, Sheriff’s helicopter and a Pomona Police K9, assisted Azusa Police in finding the suspect, who was located around 8:32 p.m.

Manuel Urquidez, 27, was booked on suspicion of stealing a vehicle.

Urquidez was issued a citation and released the following morning, according to Los Angeles County booking records.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

GLENDORA - An Azusa man was jailed Wednesday after running from police at the end of a pursuit, Glendora Police said.

Officers accuse Azusa man Jacob Black, 36, of felony evading, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a short barrel shotgun, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, obstructing an officer, driving with a suspended license and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the Glendora Police Department.

Glendora Police allege they attempted to perform a traffic stop on Black who allegedly committed a series of traffic violations around 6 a.m. September 16.

Black accelerated and led officers on a high-speed chase that ended with a foot pursuit in Azusa, Glendora Police said.

Black was stopped and arrested quickly.

“While he was being taken into custody, officers found a fully loaded, sawed off shotgun concealed underneath his clothing,” Glendora Police said in a written statement.

AZUSA – Glendora Police jailed a theft suspect and took him into custody after he escaped on foot into an Azusa neighborhood.
 
The suspect, wanted for a theft from a vehicle, fled into a neighborhood near Angeleno Avenue and Paramount Street, setting off a multi-agency containment and search, according to Cpl. Tim Crawford of the Glendora Police Department.

AZUSA - Three spike strips and two PIT maneuvers later, an accused DUI driver was taken into custody after kindly pulling into an In N Out parking lot Sunday.

Upland Police attempted to stop the driver, 45-year-old Michelle Starkey, for a registration violation near Foothill Boulevard and Central Avenue around 10:26 a.m., according to Sgt. Bill Chani of the Upland Police Department.

Starkey refused to stop and casually drove west on Route 66 all the way into Azusa, Chani said. She obeyed the speed limit, stop signs and red lights.

Patron Janette Brown-Ortega was eating on the patio at Mr. D’s, 919 Foothill Blvd., in La Verne and witnessed the pursuit.

“We heard several sirens before the car stopped in the intersection with multiple officers from Pomona, Claremont, and La Verne trailing. Officers exited their vehicles and drew their weapons in an attempt to have the suspect come out of the car," Brown-Ortega said. “They stopped for about two minutes, before driver sped away again.”

Officers used several spike strips as Starkey drove through Glendora, Chani said.

Starkey even dragged a spike strip behind the Dodge Nitro she drove as she continued west at a snails-pace 10 miles per hour, according to police radio traffic.

After officers made two attempts at disabling the vehicle with the Pursuit Intervention Technique in Azusa, Starkey allegedly struck an Upland officer’s vehicle, Chani said.

The officer was uninjured after his patrol car was hit.

Starkey parked the Dodge Nitro at In N Out, 988 E. Alosta Ave she will be facing charges of assault on a peace officer, assault with a deadly weapon, drug possession, driving under the influence of drugs and evading police, Chani said.

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