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 man was killed after his SUV struck a tree planted in a center median.
First responders were sent to East Badillo Street at North Banna Avenue around 7:35 p.m. The driver, the only person in the SUV, was unresponsive. Los Angeles County Firefighters declared the driver dead at the scene, according to Lt. Antonio Zavala of the Covina Police Department. Covina police traffic investigators are on scene conducting an investigation. Zavala was not yet sure if intoxicated driving played a factor. He didn’t know that Speed likely contributed to the fatal crash. Witnesses at the scene told officers that the SUV was being driven westbound on Badillo at the time of the crash, Zavala told SGV CityWatch. Traffic on Badillo Street is blocked between Banna Avenue and Glendora Avenue. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - Police announced the arrest of a man investigators pegged as the gunman in a convenience store shooting.
The still-unidentified victim of the shooting turned up at Kindred Hospital, 845 N. Lark Ellen Ave., around 4:40 p.m. in West Covina just after the shooting happened June 3. A man who drove the victim to the hospital was uncooperative, only stating the shooting happened at a park. The victim soon died from his injuries, according to the Covina Police Department. Investigators determined the shooting happened at La Tiendita JNK Market, 1459 N. Hollenbeck Ave. Two unidentified people were arrested. One day after the shooting, Luis Gonzalez, a 38-year-old West Covina man, was arrested at the Covina Police Department and booked on suspicion of murder. Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call Covina Police Detective Preciado at 626-384-5622, reference case 22-15083. Leave an anonymous tip 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 - Six days after a police shooting left a young man dead, Covina Police department release details of what led up to the deadly encounter.
Officers responded to country liquor, 124 E. Arrow Hwy., April 9 at 10:10 p.m. to several 9-1-1 calls reporting a man with a gun. The suspect, who the callers described, was drinking a beer outside of the liquor store and was allegedly arguing with customers, according to the Covina Police Department. After locating three a man outside of the liquor store, Police noticed one man who fit the description of the suspect. “The officers identified a man who fit the description of the call and gave lawful commands not to reach for anything [“Don’t reach for anything.”] The individual did not comply with these commands and begin to remove what officers reasonably believed to be a gun from his waistband,” according to the Covina Police Department in a written statement. Officers then shot 25-year-old Daniel Valdivia, a Covina resident. He was given medical aid and transported to a hospital where he died. Recovered was a BB gun which resembles a Glock handgun, the Covina Police Department said. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives were initially called to investigate. The investigation has since been handed over to the California Department of Justice. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA – Detectives are investigating the death of a man in his 20s who was found near a wash Monday afternoon.
Few details are available, but firefighters were called by Covina Police officers to the 400 block of South Barranca Avenue south of East Puente Street at 2:54 p.m. April 11, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Video provided to SGV CityWatch shows a lifeless body of a shirtless man laying on what appears to be an access road near the wash behind apartments in the neighborhood. The man has yet to be identified. Next of kin have yet to be notified, according to Sarah Ardalani, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. While the coroner has not yet identified the man, a memorial honoring him identified him as Daniel Matthew Diaz, 25. It is unclear how Diaz died. He reportedly suffered head trauma. A 10-year resident of the neighborhood described the day the body was found. “I had passed by and noticed that cops were blocking off the area and within 30 minutes it had yellow tape. Ambulance and paramedics were dispatched but left right away and Covina police officers stayed looking around for evidence,” according to the resident who asked that her name not be used. “When I was driving by there I had seen a young man digging in trash bins. I have a feeling it might be the same one. Because I drove by there again 40 mins after seeing him and there was already police blocking off the area,” the resident told SGV CityWatch. “We never see anything like this around these streets. It’s quiet around here but have been seeing a lot of homelessness lately. It’s sad.” The coroner will determine cause of death. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor OAKLAND – The California Department of Justice announced Monday that it is investigating the Covina Police shooting that killed a man April 9.
The shooting took place in the 100 block of East Arrow Highway around 10:10 p.m. Covina officers were reportedly responding to a call for assistance, according to Office of the Attorney General. The man killed was identified by the county coroner as 24-year-old Daniel Valdivia, a Covina resident. No other details are available. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau initially responded and began investigating. The California Department of Justice’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team for Southern California responded to the scene to investigate after being notified by local authorities. The state-level investigation is being conducted pursuant to AB 1506 and requires a state prosecutor from the attorney general’s office to investigate police shootings involving a questionable use of force, or a shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian. AB 1506, which was signed into law September 30, 2020, went into effect July 1, 2021. For more information, visit the Office of the Attorney General website. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - A man was hospitalized and later died from wounds suffered in a police shooting, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The police shooting occurred around 10:10 p.m. in the 100 block of East Arrow Highway. No officers were injured during the shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. It is not yet publicly clear what led to the police shooting. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - A man was found hanging from a tree at a public park early Saturday morning.
Officers and Los Angeles County firefighters were called to Cougar Park, 150 W. Puente St.., around 4:20 a.m. March 19, according to Sgt. Joshua Turner of the Covina Police Department. The man was identified as 26-year-old Covina resident. His death was ruled a suicide, according to Sarah Ardalani, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. It is unclear who called police to report the body and it is unclear how long he may have been there before authorities arrived on scene. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – Investigators publicly identified a man who was found dead at a park in Covina recently.
Jwan Clinton, 42, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. His cause of death was deferred, pending additional investigation. The body was located in a parking lot on the Grand Avenue side of the park. Officers were called to the parking lot of Wingate Park, 735 N. Glendora Ave., around 8:51 p.m. December 18 to a man down and bleeding from the head. Covina officers arrived and located the victim. Los Angeles County Firefighters arrived and declared the man dead at 9:09 p.m., according to Lt. Tony Zavala of the Covina Police Department in a previous interview. “There was some head trauma, but we don’t know if that’s a result from a fall, or if he was the victim of some type of crime,” Zavala told SGV CityWatch. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA – A Glendora man arrested in the shooting death of a Good Samaritan who intervened in an alleged vehicle burglary in Covina was hit with a deluge of charges Monday.
Trevor Howard Thompson, 34, was charged with one felony count each of murder, attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, attempted carjacking, second-degree burglary of a vehicle, resisting an executive officer, vandalism and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Thompson, a Glendora man, is accused of shooting and killing 38-year-old Joey Casias December 21 in the 1800 block of East Covina Boulevard. Casias and possibly one other person confronted a suspect, believed to be Thompson, in the 1100 block of North Charter Drive around 11:18 p.m. The suspect was chased to the 1800 block of East Covina Boulevard where Casias was shot and killed. In a written statement, the DA’s office further stated that Thompson allegedly broke into a parked BMW, attempted to carjack one of the Good Samaritans and attacked another. Casias was shot when he tried to stop the attack. A suspect was spotted December 22 by a UPS delivery driver in the 5100 block of North Bonnie Cove Avenue. The driver recognized the suspect from news reports, according to the Covina Police Department. Officers located Thompson in an outdoor patio to an apartment. “Thompson initially refused to surrender to officers and fired a round inside the patio area,” the Covina Police Department said in a written statement. Thompson also allegedly disabled a camera on a police robot sent to conduct surveillance on Thompson. Thompson climbed out of the patio while armed with the handgun to make an escape, but was taken down with less-lethal rounds. Arraignment was scheduled December 27 in Pomona Superior Court, but has been continued to December 28. |
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