POMONA – A Long Beach man pleaded guilty to killing a random woman in the vengeful search for his 
estranged wife, whom he also shot to death nearly three years ago.

Miguel Angel Prieto, 46, pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder, crimes that spanned three months.

“Given the senseless and brazen crimes committed by Miguel Angel Prieto, he will be sentenced to two consecutive life sentences,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Prieto shot a man and woman inside a vehicle parked on an industrial side street in the 1500 block of West McKinley Avenue in Azusa February 9, 2018. Prieto apparently believed the woman to be his estranged wife, Maria Perez. The man survived his wounds, the woman did not, prosecutors previously said.

The woman was identified as Rocio Sandoval, 38.

>>READ THE FULL STORY: Man Charged in Ex-Wife’s Slaying Likely Connected to Attempted Double Murder in Azusa

April 7, 2018, Prieto ventured to the restaurant of Perez’s uncle in Long Beach and shot at a woman inside the restaurant he believed to be Perez’s aunt.

Prieto went to Perez’s Covina apartment April 11 and it was there that she was shot multiple times and killed, prosecutors previously said.

Witnesses and neighbors were able to identify Prieto as the gunman. He was located in Long Beach hours after his estranged wife’s slaying and arrested.

>>READ THE FULL STORY: Long Beach man Arrested, Accused of Murdering Ex-Wife in Covina Apt.

Sentencing is scheduled on March 3 in Department T of Pomona Superior Court.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA – A witness to an armed robbery helped police locate the suspect Monday, police said.

A passerby saw an armed suspect point a handgun at a woman around 10:40 a.m. February 1. The suspect reached into the victim’s sweater pocket and take a cell phone, according to the Covina Police Department.

Officers searched the area after the witness called 911. A suspect was detained nearby in the 300 block of West Badillo Street and the suspect ran from officers. He jumped over fences until reaching an apartment complex, Covina Police said.

The suspect walked out of the complex after officers established a containment. The suspect ran again and into Covina Park where people were exercising and was detained. A loaded clip for a 9mm handgun was seized from the suspect, Covina Police said.

An El Monte K9 assisted with a weapon search and a handgun was found near some bushes.

A witness helped Covina officers identify the suspect, 18-year-old Angel Vasquez of Baldwin Park. He was booked on suspicion of possessing narcotics while armed with a firearm, resisting arrest, evading or obstructing police and misappropriation of found property.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - An argument and suspected gang rivalry led to a shooting early Wednesday, Covina Police announced.

The shooting took place in the 400 block of East Cypress Street. Police were called to the scene at 1:48 a.m. and detained four suspects in a nearby vehicle, from which a handgun was recovered, according to the Covina Police Department.

No one was injured.

Three men and the juvenile were arrested and booked on suspicion of shooting at an inhabited dwelling, Covina Police said.

The juvenile was additionally booked on suspicion of attempted murder. The juvenile was transferred to a juvenile facility.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A man was discovered dead after a fire burned near a Covina home December 25.

Firefighters were called to 1138 W. McGill St., at 1:25 a.m. to a single-story home where the fire was burning, according to Dispatch Supervisor Bernard Peters of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The body of a dead man was found in a burned RV, according to Captain John Kades of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

The fire was knocked down at 1:49 a.m., Peters told SGV CityWatch.

Coroner investigators are still trying to positively identify the victim, Kades told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Two men armed with weapons and suited in tactical gear were arrested Tuesday after they allegedly forced their way into a Covina home to try and take back $6,000 stolen by the resident who allegedly took it from the dispensary he was fired from, police said.

Shannon Hunter and James Harper were located in a vehicle as they fled scene. The men were allegedly hired by the owner of a Rowland Heights marijuana dispensary who sought to take back the stolen cash, according to the Covina Police Department.

The home invasion robbery occurred in the 600 block of South Calvados Street around 11:38 p.m. The suspects fled before police arrived.

The suspects were found during an area search. After detaining the suspects, officers saw Hunter and Harper had marked “security” clothing, badges, tactical vests and weapons, both real and replica, Covina Police said.

“The victim went to the dispensary to collect their final paycheck, and also stole approximately $6,000 from the business while there. The business owner sent Harper and Hunter, posing as security guards, to recover the stolen money,” Covina Police said in a written statement.

Hunter is a prior convicted felon and was also charged for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

COVINA – Three people were arrested after a probation search uncovered drugs and a weapon.

Officers searched an occupied room at Vanlee Hotel, 1211 E. Garvey Ave., at 9 a.m. November 17. The probation search was conducted on a convicted felon who is also a parolee, according to the Covina Police Department.

COVINA - Police announced October 30 the arrest of a man who allegedly used an air rifle to destroy property in and around Cypress Elementary school late last year.

Justin Lee Estep, 32, is accused of using what has been described previously by investigators as a large bore air rifle to cause destruction at homes and other buildings in the Covina area from November 2019 to January 2020.

Estep was booked on suspicion of felony vandalism, according to the Covina Police Department.

Covina officers in the patrol division and detective bureau developed new leads in the investigation and identified Estep as a suspect. A search warrant was written and executed, helping investigators to find and seize from Estep’s vehicle a high-powered air rifle wrapped in camouflage cloth, lead projectiles, an air tank and air compressor, according to the Covina Police Department.

Additional evidence was discovered inside the suspect’s residence, Covina Police said.

The vandalism occurred in the area of the 300 block of W. Cypress St. in unincorporated Covina.

The vandalism was first covered by SGV CityWatch at the beginning of the year.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A pursuit suspect disabled his vehicle while driving through an Azusa neighborhood early Saturday morning and eventually escaped on foot, a police lieutenant said.

Officers attempted a traffic stop on the driver for excessive window tint in the area of Azusa Avenue and Arrow Highway around 1:13 a.m. October 17. The suspect led officers on a chase, running a red light and a stop sign during his getaway, according to Lt. Josh Turner of the Covina Police Department.

Officers ultimately located a Glock hand gun loaded with an extended gun clip inside the suspect vehicle, Turner told SGV CityWatch.

The pursuit quickly entered Azusa where the chase took the side streets before the driver disabled the vehicle he was in.

The driver struck a dip in the road at high speed at South Louise Ave south of West Paramount Street, Turner told SGV CityWatch.

“The suspect popped two of his vehicle’s tires after hitting a ditch. He then foot bailed from his vehicle into a residential neighborhood,” Turner told SGV CityWatch.

A Covina police K9 and a police helicopter helped officers on the ground search for the suspect, but no suspect was found.

Officers impounded the silver sedan the suspect was driving, Turner told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Azusa officers abruptly ended a pursuit of a reckless Hyundai Elantra that found its way into San Gabriel Valley surface streets.

The white Elantra was abruptly stopped by Azusa officers on Hollenbeck Avenue north of Covina Boulevard. One suspect was taken into custody. It is unclear if a second suspect seen earlier in the chase, was found and arrested.

The driver and his passenger were sought for possibly reckless driving by East Los Angeles CHP officers on the eastbound 60 freeway west of Peck Road. The driver bypassed traffic by using the right shoulder.

Officers attempted to stop the driver on the north 605 freeway near Ramona, but driver kept going into Duarte on surface streets. The chase went onto the East 210 freeway where officers could not keep up while the driver used the shoulder, according to California Highway Patrol radio traffic.

After exiting onto Citrus Avenue, the suspect took numerous side streets and stopped at an Azusa apartment complex near Azusa Avenue and Gladstone Street where the suspects ran on foot.

One or more of the suspects got back in the car and took off again.

San Dimas Sheriff’s deputies joined the chase along with Azusa police officers who used the Pursuit Intervention Technique to stop the driver.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

​COVINA - Three people were arrested after another large crowd of protestors turned up at the reported home a deputy who fatally shot a man in Gardena.

The three were accused of various crimes, ranging from trespassing, to assaulting a peace officer and lynching — the latter is a confusing use of the term, according to Lt. Ryan Davis of the Covina Police Department.

“At some point there was an intoxicated person who came onto the property and pushed an officer,” Davis told SGV CityWatch. “As he was attempting to make an arrest, the crowd basically surrounded the officers and started pulling her away.”

The protestor was pulled away from the officer. Eventually, an unlawful assembly was declared and the crowd was dispersed roughly after 7 p.m. with the help of officers from Azusa, Glendora, West Covina and the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station.

The woman who allegedly assaulted an officer was later seen near the Covina Police Department and arrested, Davis told SGV CityWatch.

One of the people who pulled the protester away from the officer during the arrest was also found and taken into custody, Davis told SGV CityWatch. That person was booked on suspicion of lynching, which the California Penal Code describes as removing someone from police custody by means of a riot, Davis told SGV CityWatch.

Police originally responded to the home, which is located near San Bernardino Road and Hollenback Avenue, to keep protesters off the private property.

The protests began around 4 p.m.

Protesters allegedly placed Post-It notes and larger signs on the deputy’s home and walkway, Davis told SGV CityWatch. Protestors also wrote messages in chalk on a public as well as the private walkway claiming that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy Miguel Vega is a murderer, Davis told SGV CityWatch.

One other person was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and for not providing his name to an officer.