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 - Precautionary patrols were performed Friday after authorities received a phoned threat to Gladstone Middle School.

The Azusa Police Department received a phoned threat to the school around 10:15 a.m. The Covina Police Department and school administrators were then notified, according to Sgt. Rodriguez of the Covina Police Department.

The school was locked down as a precaution as well.

The phone number was initially pinged to Gladstone Middle School and further investigation revealed the phone number belonged to a Covina resident reportedly unrelated to the threat, Rodriguez told SGV CityWatch.

Rodriguez was not sure of what exactly the threat was, nor was he sure of what the caller sounded like.

The caller was unidentified and no arrests were made, Rodriguez told SGV CityWatch.

Police patrolled the school until the end of the day.

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 - A driver is in custody, accused of killing a pedestrian on Grand Avenue north of Covina Boulevard late Friday night and leaving the scene.

The pedestrian, only described as a middle-aged male, was reportedly outside of a marked crosswalk when the collision occurred in northbound lanes. He died after being taken to a hospital, according to Sgt. Keith Sutherland of the Covina Police Department.

First responders were sent to the location around 11:13 p.m. Friday, January 5.

The driver called police to report the collision. Officers located the driver at a nearby business and took them into custody, Sutherland told SGV CityWatch.

Alcohol and drugs did not factor into the crash, Sutherland told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

GLENDORA - Two juveniles were arrested after attempting to evade Covina police officers during a pursuit Tuesday night.

The joyriding juvies were found in a Kia Optima taken in Garden Grove around 11 p.m. September 19. Officers attempted to pull over the driver at North Grand Avenue and East Cypress Street, but the driver refused to stop, according to Sgt. Seok Lee of the Covina Police Department.

The juveniles ran from the Optima on Sunflower Avenue near the 210 freeway. The passenger was immediately arrested upon fleeing the vehicle. The driver ran north up into the South Hills area and attempted to hide in some bushes, but was quickly found by searching officers, Lee told SGV CityWatch.

Lee did not immediately know if any weapons or stolen property were found in the vehicle.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A deputies suspicions were spot on August 31 after detaining a man seen acting suspiciously inside of a vehicle, parked outside a Starbucks in unincorporated Covina.

The vehicle was spotted at the Starbucks at Citrus Avenue and Arrow Highway. During a check of the vehicle license plate, the deputy discovered the driver was wanted on suspicion of murder, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

After the deputy and made a request for additional assistance, the driver was taken into custody without incident.

Sidney Clarke, a 28-year-old Brea resident, is accused of gunning down 21-year-old Logan Kahmar August 30. The shooting took place in a residence at 650 N. Tamarack Ave. Evidence led investigators to pin Clarke as a suspect, according to the Brea Police Department.

Brea police detectives reportedly found additional evidence linking Clarke to the murder.

Clarke is being held in lieu of $1 million bail in the Orange County Jail.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - A student was quickly identified as the culprit who phoned in a threat of a school shooting at Sierra Vista Middle School Wednesday morning.

The phone call, made at 8:09 a.m., was traced to inside a classroom at the school, 777 E. Puente St. Using security video from the classroom, the student was identified as having placed the threat, according to Sgt. Marquez of the Covina Police Department.

The student is reportedly special needs.

The caller told dispatchers that a police presence was needed because there was going to be a shooting. The school and officers determined within an hour that the threat was not credible, Marquez told SGV CityWatch.

“The classroom actually had a camera, so we ended up reviewing the camera and it showed the kid actually making the phone call,” Marquez told SGV CityWatch.

“Please be assured we are pursuing all legal and disciplinary action as threats to schools are not a joke,” said Danielle Traviseo, principal of Sierra Vista Middle School, in a email message sent by the school.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA - Homeland Security has joined numerous local agencies with a search of Covina High School after a series of threats were made against the campus Wednesday.

The calls sounded like prerecorded messages sent to both the school, 463 S. Hollenbeck Ave., and the Covina Police Department. Covina Police began fielding the calls around 9:30 a.m., according to Lt. Josh Turner of the Covina Police Department.

The threats indicated there would be explosions at the school. Covina Police fielded recurring calls over a 10 to 15-minute span, Turner told SGV CityWatch.

Only a handful of teachers and administrators remain on campus.

Roughly eight bomb-sniffing K9s are assisting. The Los Angeles County Fire Department is also assisting along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Pasadena Police, San Gabriel Police and California Highway Patrol, Turner told SGV CityWatch.

Detectives are trying to pinpoint the location of the calls.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

COVINA HILLS - A suspect who took a GPS bait package in the northern portion of Arcadia is still at large Wednesday, after escaping to the Covina Hills, where the suspect crashed through a residential yard.

Officers followed the location of the GPS bait package after it was taken around 5 a.m. Wednesday, January 18. The bait package was tracked eventually to the I-10 freeway and on to surface streets in the Covina Hills area. Officers then located the crashed vehicle abandoned with the package still inside, according to Sgt. Quiroz of the Arcadia Police Department.

The suspect crashed in the 19800 block of East Rambling Road in an unincorporated portion of Covina. The California Highway Patrol in Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies were also on scene.

It is unclear why the suspect crashed, although Quiroz surmised that the suspect likely knew that officers were trying to track him.