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

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 - Investigators are seeking additional victims of a man accused of raping a woman in Diamond Bar last month.

DNA evidence collected from the assault reportedly helped to identify Joel Martinez, 37. He was pegged by detectives as the man who forcibly raped a woman who was walking to work along Brea Canyon Road near Sapphire Lane just after 4:15 a.m. December 8, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Martinez allegedly approached the woman and asked to use her cell phone. The victim denied Martinez and stated she was low on minutes on her prepaid phone, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The suspect, identified as Martinez, became angry and walked away. Five minutes later the suspect allegedly returned, approached the victim from behind, put her in a chokehold and dragged her 100 feet off the roadway into some bushes where she was assaulted. The suspect allegedly also threaten the victim with a pocket knife, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Martinez was identified as a suspect through DNA evidence January 5. He was located in Eastvale, a city in Riverside County, and arrested January 6.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office formally filed charges against Martinez, including one count of kidnapping with the intent to commit rape, one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of attempted forcible rape, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Martinez is being held in lieu of $1.2 million bail.

Anyone with information on Martinez, or who may be a victim Martinez is urged to call the Los Angeles county sheriffs special victims bureau toll-free tip line at 877-710-5273. You can also email information to [email protected], use the P3Tips mobile app, or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

DIAMOND BAR - A husband and wife were hospitalized after being attacked and zip-tied during a brazen robbery March 12.

A husband and wife arrived home and were confronted by three men clad in black clothing and masks in the 600 block of Blenfield Place around 9 p.m. One of the men had a handgun, according to Lt. Avila of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Walnut/Diamond Bar Station.

“The suspects assaulted the husband and wife. They had moderate injuries,” Avila told SGV CityWatch. They were hospitalized for bruising and contusions.

The suspect zip-tied the hands and feet of the couple and went in the home where the couple's children were.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DIAMOND BAR – Two males were transported to a local hospital after being stabbed at a restaurant January 16, deputies said.
 
Two male victims were stabbed in the back with what deputies described as a kitchen knife at Dilliwala Indian Kitchen, 303 S. Diamond Bar Blvd. around 10:40 p.m. The incident was described as an assault with a deadly weapon after initially being reported as a robbery, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Diamond Bar/Walnut Station.