 Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A little more than two months after a man shockingly died after taking refuge inside an unlocked Azusa Police SUV, his cause of death has been revealed. Eric Valencia, 37, died an accidental death due to hyperthermia, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Hyperthermia causes the core body temperature to rise significantly above normal and the body’s mechanisms to shed excess heat fail. Valencia was arrested March 20 at 10:09 p.m., accused of DUI and child endangerment. The father of two also allegedly had a blood alcohol level of double the legal limit, according to the Azusa Police Department. His arrest was considered a detention only. It is not immediately clear what exactly Valencia was arrested for. Valencia was released March 23 at 12:38 p.m. Video surveillance at the Azusa Police Station shows Valencia scoping out a parked and unoccupied Azusa Police SUV. Once he discovered it was left unlocked, Valencia entered. All doors should have been locked and secured. Three days later, an officer was about to prep the temporarily-out-of-commission police SUV for a wash when Valencia was discovered deceased, sitting up in a rear seat around 4:51 a.m. It is unclear how long Valencia was dead before being discovered inside. He was declared dead at 4:59 a.m. The rear doors of police vehicles automatically lock from the inside once closed. Azusa Police reported that Valencia had a working cell phone with him inside the SUV, but apparently made no outbound calls. The city retained the private investigation firm JL Group to conduct an independent probe into why the vehicle was left unlocked. ********** The death record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Information about the decedent(s), including cause and manner of death, is public record and was distributed by government sources. ********** Copyright 2026. All stories and original images published here are the exclusive property of SGV CityWatch and may not be republished in any form without the permission of this organization.  Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor AZUSA - Investigators named the man who was found dead inside an out-of-service police vehicle parked outside the Azusa Police Department. The man was identified Friday as Eric Valencia, 37. His cause of death has been deferred, pending additional investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Valencia was discovered around 4:51 a.m. March 26 in the back seat of the vehicle. The patrol vehicle was left unlocked and parked outside the Azusa Police Station as it was scheduled for maintenance, according to the Azusa Police Department. Valencia was arrested Friday, March 20 at 10:09 p.m. He was held until his release Monday, March 23 at 12:38 p.m., according to Los Angeles County booking records. His arrest was considered a detention only. He was originally arrested and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and child endangerment. “Azusa Police personnel were not aware that the individual had entered the vehicle, and he was not in the custody of the Azusa Police Department at the time he gained access,” according to Azusa Police Chief Rocky Wenrick in a written statement. Wenrick noted that the patrol vehicle was unlocked, but should have been secured. Investigative firm JL Group has been hired for an independent review of the death, which would include why the vehicle was not secured, Wenrick said. The Azusa Police Detective Bureau is conducting the initial criminal investigation, while the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Justice System Integrity Division, has been notified and will receive full access to all evidence, security camera footage, and investigative reports, Wenrick said. ********** The death record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Information about the decedent(s), including cause and manner of death, is public record and was distributed by government sources. Copyright 2025. All stories and original images published here are the exclusive property of SGV CityWatch and may not be republished in any form without the permission of this organization.  Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor AZUSA - A police vehicle parked outside the Azusa Police Department was the focus of an investigation after a man was found dead inside Thursday. The dead man was discovered inside the vehicle around 4:51 a.m. March 26. Life-saving measures were implemented, but the man was declared dead, according to the Azusa Police Department. “The vehicle was pending mandatory maintenance and was not in active use by department personnel at the time of discovery,” according to the Azusa Police Department in a written statement. It is unclear how long the man was dead before being discovered inside. He was declared dead at 4:59 a.m. The police station is located at 725 N. Alameda Ave. The county medical examiner will determine cause and manner of death. The Azusa Police Department Detective Bureau is also investigating. The investigation will be submitted to the Justice System Integrity Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for review, according to the Azusa Police Department. Anyone with information on this incident is urged to call Azusa Police Detective Lieutenant Steve Sears at 626-812-3200. ********** Copyright 2025. All stories and original images published here are the exclusive property of SGV CityWatch and may not be republished in any form without the permission of this organization.  Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor AZUSA - A man was found dead inside a motel room Sunday afternoon. The cause has not been determined yet, but investigators believe nothing suspicious led to the man’s death, according to the Azusa Police Department. First responders were sent to the Super 8 by Wyndham, 117 N. Azusa Ave., around 2 p.m. November 2. It is not immediately clear how long the man, identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as 48-year-old Walnut Creek resident Pavle Males, was in the room before being discovered. The cause of death has been deferred, pending additional investigation. The Los Angeles County Fire Department called in their Health Hazmat unit to the scene and spent several hours on site while police and medical examiner investigators worked as well. ********** The death record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Information about the decedent(s), including cause and manner of death, is public record and was distributed by government sources. Copyright 2025. All stories and original images published here are the exclusive property of SGV CityWatch and may not be republished in any form without the permission of this organization.  Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor AZUSA - The driver of a gray Honda Civic possibly passed out behind the wheel before crashing head-on into a tree on the shoulder of the west 210 freeway Saturday. The crash happened near the Vernon Avenue on ramp just before 3:30 p.m. August 23. Witnesses reported the driver may have passed out, causing the vehicle to swerve across all lanes before slamming into the tree, according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs. As of 5:29 p.m., the county medical examiner had to estimated time of arrival to the scene. ********** Copyright 2025. All stories and original images published here are the exclusive property of SGV CityWatch and may not be republished in any form without the permission of this organization.  Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor AZUSA - The 81-year-old suspect accused of causing felony vandalism in an Azusa neighborhood for roughly a decade has died, authorities said. Prince Raymond King died Wednesday, May 29. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner has yet to either defer, or list a cause of death. Officers were sent to a home in the 500 block of North Soldano Avenue around 7:30 a.m. for a death investigation. First responders found King unresponsive, according to Sgt. Johnson of the Azusa Police Department. “There were no signs of any trauma or foul play,” Johnson told SGV CityWatch. King made a May 28 appearance in court where he was charged with five felony counts of vandalism and two misdemeanor counts of vandalism. He pleaded not guilty, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators with the Azusa Police Department Directed Enforcement Unit conducted a lengthy investigation and learned that for nearly 10 years dozens of citizens were being victimized by a serial slingshotter who broke windows, windshields and almost struck people with ball bearings, according to the Azusa Police Department. During a search warrant served May 23 in the 900 block of North Enid Avenue, detectives located and arrested Prince Raymond King. Ball bearings and a slingshot were seized from his home. King was held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled appearance in West Covina Superior Court May 28. He was released on his own recognizance. He was scheduled for an early disposition hearing June 17. King was charged with crimes committed October 10, 2021, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records. If convicted as charged, King faced a possible sentence of nearly eight years in prison.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - All three men killed in a horrific crash involving speeding motorcycles were identified recently.
Motorcyclists Brandon Mendoza, 31, and Gabriel Abarca, 23, Where are identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. Both men died of blunt trauma injuries. Bystander Marcos Loera, 22, died of blunt head trauma. The deadly crash was dispatched just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, October 4. Authorities reported that two motorcycles were traveling eastbound on Arrow Highway at high speed when the crash occurred in the intersection at Cerritos Avenue. Four other vehicles were struck by the motorcycles. The collision ejected both riders. One rider died at the scene in the intersection. The other was thrown roughly 100 feet eastbound onto a sidewalk and later died at a trauma center. One of the motorcycles went airborne and struck Loera who was with a girlfriend standing on a sidewalk. Loera died at the scene. As authorities continued to set up the crime scene in the minutes after in the crash, a woman beside herself with grief was seen embracing Loera’s body on a patch of grass. A mangled motorcycle sat twisted nearly one hundred feet ahead of them. Pieces of the second motorcycle involved landed at a nearby 76 gas station. Investigators with the Azusa Police Department believe that both motorcycle riders were traveling around 90 miles per hour at the time of the crash.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Coroner investigators revealed the cause of death of a man found face down and naked off of the side of a mountain road above Azusa February 13.
Christian Peña, 24, died of a gunshot wound to the leg. The death was ruled a homicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. A passerby saw the naked body face down in the dirt off to the side of the 2000 block of San Gabriel Canyon Road just before 6:30 a.m. February 13. Detectives believe that Peña was shot elsewhere and dumped along the mountain road after detectives were unable to find any shell casings, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. Investigators did not have a California ID for Peña, but noted that he last listed New York as his state of residence.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Investigators have identified the man who may have been dumped along a mountain road in Azusa.
Christian Peña, 24, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Investigators have not yet scheduled an examination to determine the cause of death. A passerby saw the naked body face down in the dirt off to the side of the 2000 block of San Gabriel Canyon Road just before 6:30 a.m. February 13. Peña was reportedly found suffering gunshot wounds, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man died from blunt force trauma to the head in a likely homicide, coroner investigators ruled.
Jose Mejia Argueta, 40, was found near the San Gabriel Riverbed after Azusa Police responded around 10 a.m. January 10, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A passerby reportedly discovered the body. Argueta’s body was found on the opposite side of a chain link fence along Encanto Parkway and Hacienda Drive. The San Gabriel Riverbed has become the living space to a number of homeless people who populate the mostly-dry riverbed almost as fast as they are removed, The riverbed is the frequent victim of man made brush fires and has been the scene of assaults and at least one other murder. |
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