Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

DIAMOND BAR - A driver is facing vehicle manslaughter and felony DUI charges after allegedly causing a fatal crash on the 60 freeway.

Chino resident Guadalupe Mercado, 32, was recklessly driving a 2022 Mercedes Benz GLC300 eastbound on the 60 Freeway west of Phillips Ranch Road December 6 around 10:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Investigators believe Mercado lost control, veered to the right shoulder and struck the rear of a parked tractor trailer. Mercado’s vehicle ricocheted into traffic lanes where it struck the rear of another tractor trailer, according to the CHP.

Mercado’s 37-year-old passenger died at the scene. Mercado was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center for major injuries and remains there as police await to file felony charges with the newly-elected Los Angeles County District Attorney.

No one else was injured.

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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

DIAMOND BAR - A 22-year-old shooting victim was hospitalized Saturday night after being wounded at a residence during some sort of domestic incident.

A 55-year-old suspect was detained and eventually taken into custody. The victim was last listed in stable condition, according to Sgt. Anderson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Diamond Bar/Walnut Station.

First responders were sent to the 2200 block of happy Hollow Drive around 11:24 p.m., May 18.

There were other people inside the residence at the time of the shooting, but they were uninjured, Anderson told SGV CityWatch.

A CityWatch reader stated that the shooting was between father and son, but Anderson could not confirm that detail.

The suspect’s name was not released.

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

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 - Cash was taken in an early morning robbery by a man who escaped on a red scooter from a 7-Eleven July 10.

The robbery occurred at the 7-Eleven, 206 S. Diamond Bar Blvd. around 5 a.m. Sunday. The suspect dude what was described as a dark gray handgun which he then stashed into a Walmart plastic bag, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Diamond Bar Station radio traffic.

The suspect escaped northbound on the non-motorized red scooter on Diamond Bar Boulevard.

The suspect was described as a balding Hispanic man who is 35 years old. He stands 6 feet tall, weighs 150 pounds and wore a long-sleeve blue shirt.

LOS ANGELES – The driver of a silver two-door sedan who struck and killed a resident out on a nighttime walk is still at-large and investigators seek public help in identifying the suspect.

Bruce Bodel, 72, was hit as he was walking northbound on Penarth Avenue at Lycoming Street at 10:30 p.m. July 4. Bodel was hospitalized, but died from his wounds days later. The driver of a silver sedan fled the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Evidence recovered indicated the silver sedan sustained damage to the front, including a cracked windshield, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

“This has devastated my family. He always liked to go out for walks; that was just his habit. Rather than taking a car he would take a bike or he would walk. He was a vegetarian, he’d never hurt a fly. So anybody who could help bring my uncle justice would be greatly appreciated,” said Bodel’s niece, Jessica.

The vehicle reportedly fled sough on Lemon Avenue.

Anyone with information on the killing of Bruce Bodell is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org.