 Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor 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. At least nine homes suffered various damage after being hit by what deputies described as large bore air rifle bullets.
The shootings took place over a six-week period around unincorporated Covina communities and within Covina city limits. Projectiles hit homes, front yards, backyards and objects on private property, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. “These are relatively large projectiles, not like what you might expect from a traditional BB or pellet gun. These are actual bullets fired from an air rifle as powerful as some pistols,” the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station said in a written statement from January 2020. Some residents were home when the shots were fired. Incidents occurred:
Such weapons use compressed air to fire the large bore projectiles, usually lead. The sound emitted closely resembles that of a paintball gun. Estep was issued a citation and released October 30, according to Los Angeles County booking records. He was scheduled to make an appearance November 2 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.  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. ANDRES GUARDADO: Protestors Allegedly Find Covina Home of Deputy Who Fatally Shot Man in Gardena7/31/2020  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - Police arrived en mas Thursday night to a neighborhood to quell a group of protestors who reportedly found the home of the deputy who fatally shot an 18-year-old man in Gardena.
The deputy reportedly lives in the area of Hollenbeck Avenue and San Bernardino Road. Protesters stood in the street, on the sidewalk and walked all over the front yard of a home believed to belong to Miguel Vega July 30. Police from Covina, Glendora, Azusa and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrived to push back protestors who left behind signs at the home. Most, if not all, of the signs were removed by police. In a video posted to social media, law enforcement could be seen going in and out of the home, talking to whoever was inside. Deputies descended on Andres Guardado, who was employed as a security guard, at a Gardena business June 18. Deputies claim they saw a gun on Guadardo’s person. Guardado ran from deputies a brief distance into an alley. He was shot and killed by deputy gunfire. A gun was reportedly found in Guardado’s possession. Deputies allege he reached for his weapon during the foot pursuit. Guardado’s death has strained the somewhat current tenuous relationship between law enforcement and the public, amidst calls for defunding law enforcement and amidst destructive protests and rioting. Compounding the investigation is the allegations that shortly after shooting Guardado, deputies ripped surveillance cameras from a nearby business without a search warrant. A security hold was placed on the autopsy report for Guardado — a standard procedure in police shooting investigations, but the very public family squabble between embattled Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and County authorities took an unexpected turn. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner defied the Sheriff’s security request and made public the preliminary results. Guardado was shot five times in the back, according to the coroner report. An independent autopsy confirmed the county coroner’s findings.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - Homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances that led to police opening fire on an armed, barricaded suspect Thursday night. Authorities opened fire on the suspect around 12:43 a.m. and the suspect went down with undisclosed injuries. It was roughly 10 minutes before police approached him since they believed he still held a shotgun, according to Sheriff’s radio traffic. Los Angeles County firefighters arrived to the 300 block of Vincent Avenue regarding a grass fire call in a field around 9:21 p.m. and encountered a suspect armed with a shotgun. Law enforcement was called and firefighters retreated. The suspect evaded authorities while fleeing from yard to yard in the 4000 block of Morada Place, and occasionally fired his shotgun. It is unclear if the suspect intentionally fired at authorities.
Nearby residents were evacuated while the suspect roamed the neighborhood. Law enforcement from West Covina and deputies from surrounding Sheriff’s stations assisted Covina Police.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - A man armed with a shotgun or rifle has taken refuge in the rear yard of a home after firefighters encountered him while fighting a grass fire. The suspect is in a yard at 4126 North Morada Ave. Firefighters had to briefly evacuate after finding the man with the weapon, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department radio traffic. Firefighters were dispatched to the vegetation fire inside a large field at 9:21 p.m. September 19 near the 300 block of North Vincent Avenue. The fire threatened several homes, which firefighters provided structure protection while taking a defensive posture from the suspect.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies are assisting Covina Police with containing the suspect and have K9 units en route. Most of the fire has been knocked down, firefighters said.  PHOTO/By Aaron Castrejon. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - A suspicious, vintage-looking military canister was found to be empty after it turned up near a Bank of America drive-thru ATM Tuesday. The canister was discovered near the ATM, 212 E. Badillo St., July 16. Los Angeles County Fire hazmat units and Covina Police responded around 3:42 p.m. Officers began warning nearby residents and nearby businesses. Some were evacuated or told to shelter in place. Wording written on top of the canister made authorities believe the object contained some type of explosive material. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Arson/Explosives Detail was called, said Sgt. Joshua Turner of the Covina Police Department. “We set up a perimeter on their suggestion based on how large the actual box was,” Turner said, adding the canister had writing suggesting it could have held 45 pounds of an unknown explosive material. The canister turned up empty after Arson/Explosive technicians x-rayed the item. The technicians took possession of the canister so it could not be used again, Turner said.
Detectives will examine security cameras at the ATMs and from nearby businesses to see if a suspect can be identified. A passerby in the area noticed a suspicious person near the ATMs earlier in the day, Turner said. Anyone who may have suspect information is urged to call the Covina Police Department at 626-384-5808. Roads reopened around 5:40 p.m.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - Three people were arrested Friday morning, accused of burglarizing a church near Charter Oak High School. Two suspects caught in the act of burglarizing the church fled towards Charter Oak High School after deputies investigated a potential third burglary suspect found with stolen property, according to Lt. Mark Skaggs of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Station. A resident near Charter Oak High School, 1430 E. Covina Blvd., called San Dimas deputies at 6:15 a.m. March 29 after discovering discarded musical instruments and a suspicious person in their driveway. When a deputy arrived, the suspicious person was gone, but he returned and was soon detained. “Those instruments we recovered were stolen,” Skaggs said, adding that additional stolen paperwork was found. The suspicious person had more musical instruments and documents deputies believe were stolen from a church on Bonnie Cove Avenue and Cypress Street in Covina.
Deputies went to search the church for signs of a burglary when a male and female suspect fled the building and towards Charter Oak High School, Skaggs said. “One of them ran up to a fence and was detained outside the fence by deputies. A male suspect jumped the fence and double-back eastbound into the original ... location and that’s where deputies detained him,” Skaggs said. Charter Oak High School was briefly placed on lockdown during the search. Covina Police are working in tandem with deputies on the investigation. The suspect found in the driveway was arrested on suspicion of burglary by San Dimas deputies. The two suspects who fled the church were arrested by Covina Police, Skaggs said. Booking information was not yet available.  PHOTO/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheri9ff’s Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA - A suspect sought by Sheriff’s detectives in a Pico Rivera investigation was arrested early Thursday morning. A high-risk search warrant was served in the 300 block of West Edna Place March 28 on behalf of a Sheriff’s Department gang unit based out of the Pico Rivera Station, according to Lt. Sue Burakowski of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau. Further details regarding the search warrant will not be known, since a portion of the search warrant is sealed, Burakowski said.
The SEB publicized the arrest on social media at 6:55 a.m., announcing an armed suspect was taken into custody.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor COVINA (County) - Four men made off with another man’s cell phone Sunday afternoon after one suspect brandished a handgun. The incident occurred near North Conwell Avenue and East Brookport Street in unincorporated Covina around 4:30 p.m. March 24. The victim claimed he was followed by the suspects in a vehicle. Two of the suspects approached him and demanded his cell phone, according to Lt. Elisabeth Sachs of the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station. A struggle began between the suspects and the victim. The driver then approached the victim and pointed a handgun at him, Sachs said.
The armed suspect took the phone after demanding it from the victim. All the suspects fled in the vehicle. No one was injured, Sachs said. There is no description of the suspects or their vehicle, Sachs said.  Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A despondent man has not been heard from since late Saturday, Sheriff’s deputies said.
Jeremy Cole Hawkins, 20, was last seen in the Perris area around 11:30 p.m. June 23. Hawkins is reportedly feeling suicidal over relationship problems, according to Deputy Kim Alexander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Hawkins is a white man, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 200 pounds, has short brown hair, hazel eyes, is unshaven and sports a mermaid tattoo on his right arm. Hawkins was last seen wearing a black shirt, black jeans and black shoes. He is driving a 2011 Chevy Silverado with California license plate 69148K2. Anyone with information on Hawkins’ whereabouts is urged to contact Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, Missing Persons Unit Sergeant Nava or Detective Abraham at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). |
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