Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

UPDATE: As of 6:45 a.m. all lanes have reopened.

DIAMOND BAR - Portions of the 60 freeway at the 57 interchange remain closed while the California Highway Patrol investigates a possible shooting from late Tuesday night.

At 5:47 a.m., the California Highway Patrol extending the Sig Alert for an additional hour.

The eastbound and westbound connector roads to the southbound 57 freeway are closed, as well as the westbound 60 carpooling to fly over to the southbound 57 and The northbound, grand Ave., on ramp to the westbound of 60 freeway are also closed, according to Caltrans.

The occupants of a white sedan were fired upon reportedly in the Diamond Bar area. For reasons unknown, the white sedan was driven to the Costa Mesa area. A rear passenger died. A front passenger sustained injuries, but will survive. The driver was not hurt, according to ABC 7 news.

Authorities were called to a reported vehicle to vehicle shooting near Diamond Bar Boulevard around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 1.

A truck was also apparently struck by gunfire, but no one was injured. Video taken at the scene of the investigation showed a pickup truck stopped in a parking lot, CHP officers interviewed a family that occupied the truck.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION - The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has scheduled a DUI checkpoint for Friday, August 4.

The checkpoint will be held at an undisclosed location within the Walnut/Diamond Bar Station patrol area beginning at 6 p.m. and ending Saturday morning at 2 a.m., according to the Sheriff’s Department.

“DUI checkpoint locations are determined based on data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes. The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints are to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road,” according to the Sheriff’s Department in a written statement.

Funding for this checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released a critical incident briefing on the fatal shooting of an armed suspect clad in a bulletproof vest in Diamond Bar.

The suspect, 30-year-old Benjamin Chin, decided to shoot off rounds from a semi-automatic weapon while clad in an armored vest on Crooked Creek Drive in Diamond Bar June 19, 2023. His mother pleaded with him and physically tried to get him to stop shooting, but chin stabbed his mother in the back with a knife.

Chin’s escapades were caught on residential security video and deputy body camera recordings.

Chin’s mother approached deputies as they readied weapons. A deputy’s body cam recording showed one of her hands covered in blood. She pleaded with deputies to not kill her son.

Chin continued to saunter from Crooked Creek Drive eastbound to Diamond Bar Boulevard where he apparently aimed his weapon at a driver who was forced to stop.

Body cam video shows the confrontation between deputies and Chin, who either ignored, or could not understand commands to drop the weapon and surrender.

Deputies shot Chin, who was struck several times and slowly collapsed to the street.

Chin was treated by both deputies and Los Angeles County Fire paramedics. He was transported to a hospital where he later died. His mother survived her wounds.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Homicide investigators over the weekend named the suspect who was shot and killed by deputies after he decided to randomly fire his assault weapon throughout a Diamond Bar neighborhood.

Benjamin Chin, 30, had been shot several times in the upper torso after allegedly refusing to comply with commands from deputies to drop his weapon. He was hospitalized and died the evening of the shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The Walnut/Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Station received 911 calls of a stabbing around 11:36 a.m. Monday, June 19. More 911 calls followed from witnesses reporting gunfire, according to Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.

Chin stabbed his mother once in the back.

Some time after stabbing his mother, the suspect retrieved a bulletproof vest and high-powered rifle. His mother followed him for about a half mile to Crooked Creek and Diamond Bar Boulevard where the suspect reportedly began firing rounds in the air from his rifle.

The suspect reportedly pointed his rifle at an approaching driver who quickly fled the area. The suspect then crossed onto Diamond Bar Boulevard and allegedly pointed a rifle at a pedestrian. A deputy used a patrol car to create a barrier between the pedestrian and suspect, Reynaga said.

Two deputies verbally ordered the suspect to drop the weapon. He reportedly refused and the deputies fired on him striking him three times, Reynaga said.

The mother was treated for her wounds at a hospital and released that afternoon.

The suspect’s vest was equipped with two trauma plates, one in front and one in back. It is not readily clear if the suspect was struck on those trauma plates.

A knife was retrieved along with the suspect’s weapon.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: A 40-year-old live-in caretaker has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder after two women were found dead at a care facility June 24.

Jianchun Li was arrested at 2:25 p.m. He is being held in lieu of $4 million bail, according to Los Angeles County booking records.

ABC7 News revealed that the location was described by neighbors as care facility for the elderly and the neighbors witnessed caretakers exiting the location with their hands up at the order of deputies.

Li has a scheduled appearance in Pomona Superior Court Tuesday, June 27/

DIAMOND BAR - Two women were found dead in a neighborhood early Saturday and a suspect has been detained.

First responders were sent to a residential area in the 23800 block of Sapphire Canyon Road around 8:07 a.m. June 24. Both women were declared dead at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“A person of interest is detained in connection with the two deaths in this case where foul play is suspected,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a written statement.

Investigators are reassuring the community that there is no safety concern at this time.

Investigators have yet to reveal any possible motive, nor have they revealed the likely method used in the deaths.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DIAMOND BAR - A suspect who shot off a high-powered rifle after stabbing his mother in a Diamond Bar neighborhood remains hospitalized, investigators said Monday.

The suspect, who remains publicly unidentified, stabbed his mother once in the back after getting to an argument with her in the 2900 block of Crooked Creek Drive.

The Walnut/Diamond Bar Sheriff’s Station received 911 calls of a stabbing around 11:36 a.m. Monday, June 19. More 911 calls followed from witnesses reporting gunfire, according to Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.

Some point after stabbing his mother, the suspect retrieved a bulletproof vest and high-powered rifle. His mother followed for about a half mile to Crooked Creek and Diamond Bar Boulevard where the suspect reportedly began firing rounds in the air from his rifle.

The suspect reportedly pointed his rifle at a driver who quickly fled the area. The suspect then crossed onto Diamond Bar Boulevard and allegedly pointed a rifle at a pedestrian and a deputy used a patrol car to create a barrier between the pedestrian and suspect, Reynaga said at a Monday afternoon press conference.

Two deputies verbally ordered the suspect to drop the weapon. He reportedly refused and the deputies fired on him striking him three times, Reynaga said.

The suspect’s vest was equipped with two trauma plates, one in front and one in back. It is not readily clear if the suspect was struck on those trauma plates.

After the suspect fell he was treated by deputies on scene and he was transported. The loaded rifle was recovered along with a knife and additional loaded magazine, Reynaga said.

It is unclear if the suspect was legally allowed to own the weapons and it is unclear if the suspect had any mental illness.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DIAMOND BAR - A murder suspect was identified and arrested June 14, the same day a body was discovered near the 60 freeway.

Sercan Naldoken, 32, was arrested at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana at 10:22 p.m., a little more than 12 hours after an officer discovered a woman’s body ditched behind a freeway sound wall.

An officer investigated an unoccupied white Honda Acura parked on the shoulder of the east 60 freeway just east of Diamond Bar Boulevard around 10:45 a.m. June 14, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The officer stopped behind the Acura and, after seeing the vehicle was empty, searched the surrounding area. He found the body of a 56 year-old Downey woman behind the sound wall adjacent to the Acura, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Initially, investigators believed the woman’s death to be homicide.

Naldoken, also a Downey resident, was booked on suspicion of murder. He is being held in lieu of $2 million bail at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DIAMOND BAR - Three suspects accused of being part of a home invasion robbery crew were arrested after authorities fanned out across three counties to arrest them.

Rynell Verdin, Arturo Gonzalez, and Mattron Brown were all taken into custody Wednesday, April 5, after detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau wrote a search warrant to arrest each suspect at their homes in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.

Approximately $17,000 cash, three illegally-possessed firearms, personal items belonging to the victims, as well clothing and ski masks worn during the robbery were recovered, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The home invasion robbery occurred in Diamond Bar. A married couple were forced into the living room at gunpoint. Shirts were placed over their heads while the suspects took more than $22,000 in cash and property. The suspects fled in a black Acura, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The investigation is ongoing in order to determine if this robbery crew is related to other home invasion robberies that have recently occurred in the Southern California Area,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a written statement.

All three suspects are being held without bail ahead of a scheduled appearance in the Pomona courthouse Friday, April 7.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DIAMOND BAR - A man decked out in all black reportedly escaped with a backpack containing an estimated $9,000 to $10,000 in cash and keys outside a business Wednesday evening.

The grand theft took place outside of Restaurant Depot, 20405 Walnut Dr., around 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 15. The suspect reportedly opened the passenger side door of the victim’s vehicle and took the backpack, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s crime broadcast.

The suspect, described as a man in a black mask, black jacket and black pants, fled in a possible older four-door sedan without plates west on Walnut Drive.

The backpack was black and had red trim.

DIAMOND BAR - A man in his 80s was found dead on Brea Canyon Road near the 57 freeway early Sunday morning.

The body was found on Brea Canyon Road one half mile north of Tonner Canyon Road early Sunday morning, according to Sarah Ardalani, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Los Angeles County fire fighters were dispatched to a medical emergency call at 5:31 a.m. July 24. Firefighters declared the man dead at the scene and immediately requested Los Angeles county sheriffs deputies, according to county fire department radio traffic.

The man has yet to be identified publicly until next of kin are notified. There was no cause of death yet.

The investigation has been turned over to the Los Angeles County sheriffs homicide Bureau.

A portion of Brea Canyon Road was shut down with the combined help of the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Diamond Bar/Walnut station during the investigation.