AWritten by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - The Charter Oak High School teacher accused of sexually abusing a minor was released two days after his publicized arrest.

Joshua McGinn, was released October 4, the day he was scheduled to appear in court. He was released due to insufficient evidence, according to Los Angeles County booking records.

It is not publicly clear what specifically led to the findings of insufficient evidence.

McGinn is accused of committing unlawful sexual acts with a minor. These alleged acts are said to have occurred in 2022, according to the Covina Police Department.

McGinn’s future as a teacher is unclear.

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The arrest record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Arrest information is public record and was distributed by government sources. The person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Covina Police announced the arrest of a current Charter Oak Unified School District who allegedly abused a minor in 2022.

Joshua McGinn, 41, was booked on suspicion of unlawful sex with a minor. McGinn was arrested October 2 by Covina Police detectives, according to the Covina Police Department.

Records show McGinn is a teacher at Charter Oak High School. He is being held without bail pending a future court appearance, according to the Covina Police Department.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Covina Police Detective G. Hagle at 626-384-5621 or by email at: [email protected].

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The arrest record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Arrest information is public record and was distributed by government sources. The person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A former elementary school teacher was jailed September 11 amidst a child sex assault investigation.

Richard Joseph Jadrich, 68, was officially charged with one count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, one count of continuous sex abuse of a child and a second count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.

Jadrich is a former Covina Valley Unified School District employee. In addition to teaching band at Sierra Vista Middle School, Jadrich also reportedly taught at other district schools..

The alleged assaults are said to have taken place December 1, 2005, January 1, 2006 and October 2, 2006, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.

Although the Covina Police Department previously stated Jadrich was being held without bail, Los Angeles County booking records show he posted bond September 13.

His next scheduled court date is December 10 in West Covina Superior Court.

Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact Covina Police Detective G. Hagle at 626-384-5621, or by email at: [email protected].

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The arrest record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Arrest information is public record and was distributed by government sources. The person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Investigators released a sketch of a suspect wanted for shooting and murdering a man in front of his wife and three children June 22.

The man was shot and wounded in front of his wife, 11 year-old daughter and two 9-year-old twin boys in the 1100 block of East Wanamaker Avenue. The man was taken to a hospital for treatment and later died, according to the Covina Police Department.

The 28-year-old man and his family were out walking around 9:35 p.m.

The suspect, only described as a Latino man age 20 to 25 years old, walked in between the man and his wife. A verbal confrontation and sued and the man was shot in the chest twice, according to the Covina Police Department.

The suspect fled the area on foot. He is further described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and having a thin build.

Anyone with information that may help identify the suspect is urged to call Detective Preciado at 626-384-5622. 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

COVINA - Investigators released images of a man accused of committing two separate sexual batteries December 2.

The batteries occurred at Walmart, 1275 N. Azusa Ave., between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The suspect escaped the store on a bicycle and he is considered to be a public safety threat, according to the Covina Police Department.

Anyone who can help identify the suspect, or who may be a victim, is urged to call the Covina Police non-emergency line at 626-331-3391.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
​CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Detectives are looking for any possible additional victims of a Covina man who was originally arrested in July and accused of possessing child porn. He was later discovered to have sexually assaulted a girl.

Ramon Jeremiah Elias-Zavala was arrested twice in less than a month for the alleged crimes. A search warrant was served at Elias’ Covina home July 15 after investigators received multiple tips that he was in possession of child porn. He posted bail and was released, according to the Covina Police Department.

Investigators learned afterwards that Elias was communicating with an underage female. Detectives were able to identify and speak with the girl who told them that Elias had sexually assaulted her several times, according to the Covina Police Department.

Elias was arrested August 9 and booked on suspicion of rape and he remains in custody.

Anyone who may have contacted Elias or who has a relative who may have contacted Elias is urged to call Covina Police Detective Manny Esquival at 626-384-5621.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - The Covina Police Department is asking for assistance in identifying the person or persons responsible for possibly murdering a man found dead on a service road April 11.

Although the County coroner does not yet list a cause of death for 25-year-old Daniel Diaz, Covina Police Det. Manuel Esquivel said injuries on the body were consistent with an assault.

Officers were called to a report of a “man down” near 427 S. Barranca Ave. at 2:52 p.m. Diaz was found unresponsive and Los Angeles County firefighters would soon declare Diaz dead at the scene,  Esquivel said.

“Diaz’s appearance was disheveled. He had injuries consistent with being assaulted and it appeared he was placed on the service road,” Esquivel said in a statement.

It is believed Diaz was assaulted and later died at a currently-unknown location.

Diaz was transient and was known to frequent the area of Grand Avenue and the I-10 freeway in West Covina.

Anyone with information that can aid the investigation is urged to call Esquivel at 626-384-5621. Provide information 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

COVINA - A 75-year-old Monrovia man was arrested Friday after he allegedly followed a Covina officer into a secured area of the station and brandished a knife.

Luis Hurtado allegedly went to the station, 444 N. Citrus Ave., and followed the officer who was driving in around 6:15 p.m., according to the Covina Police Department.

“The subject confronted the initial officer in the secured area, brandished a knife in a threatening manner and made statements consistent with his desire for police to take his life,” according to the Covina Police Department in a written statement.

Backup officers arrived and subdued Hurtado with less lethal rounds. No officers were injured.

Hurtado was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for criminal filing consideration, the Covina Police Department said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A fight likely fueled by alcohol left two men with knife wounds and two other men, including the alleged knife attacker, in jail Friday.

Officers responded to Rude Dog Bar & Grill, 114 N. Citrus Ave., around 11:13 p.m. May 27 on a reported stabbing. Officers found one man who was stabbed in his lower back and a leg. Another man suffered lacerations to his hands, according to Lt. Tony Zavala of the Covina Police Department.

The stabbing suspect, 27-year-old Matthew Rene Reyes, was found unconscious in the street on Citrus Avenue outside the bar after having been subdued and beaten by other revelers, including a friend of one of the stabbing victims, Zavala told SGV CityWatch.

One of the stabbing victims “soccer kicked” the suspect while the suspect was on the ground, Zavala told SGV CityWatch.

Officers believed a war of words, or a physical altercation led to the knife attack. Both men who suffered the knife wounds were uncooperative with officers, Zavala told SGV CityWatch.

“It appeared the suspect went back to his vehicle and armed himself with a knife. It was described as a hunting knife,” Zavala told SGV CityWatch. “He returned and stabbed the victims while they were outside the bar.”

A friend of the stabbing victim was applying pressure to his confidant’s wounds and became confrontational with officers. An officer was eventually punched in the face, Zavala told SGV CityWatch.

The confrontational friend was subdued with a stun gun.

Reyes, a Baldwin Park man, was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail ahead of a scheduled appearance in the West Covina courthouse Wednesday, June 1.

The friend who allegedly assaulted the officer is 54-year-old Alfredo Garcia, from Pomona. He was booked on suspicion of resisting/delaying an officer. Court date information for Garcia was not readily available.

Zavala believes intoxication played a role in the melee.

COVINA – Police are searching for the armed suspect who assaulted the female employee of a business early Wednesday.

The assault occurred in the 1400 block of North Hollenbeck Avenue April 6. The suspect entered through an unlocked door, grabbed the employee by the throat and forced her to a restroom, according to the Covina Police Department.

The business was described as a pet grooming business.

“A coworker interrupted the assault after he heard the victim screaming and confronted the suspect. The suspect brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and fled on foot,” according to the Covina Police Department in a written statement.

The suspect was described as a Black or Hispanic light-skinned man in his 30s. He stood 5 feet 9 inches tall. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt, faded blue jeans and brown shoes.

Anyone with information that can identify the suspect is urged to call Covina Police Detective M. Esquivel at 626-384-5621. Reference case 22-9499.