HACIENDA HEIGHTS – A Department of Homeland Security vehicle was reported stolen May 3 from a Hacienda Heights neighborhood.

The vehicle was reported stolen around 11 p.m. in the area of South Stimson Avenue and Colima Road, according to Sgt. Shawn Dubusky of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station.

Dubusky declined to provide the type of vehicle reported stolen, or whether the vehicle contained any equipment. He did not know if the vehicle was left unlocked, or left running before it was reported stolen.

“We’re just taking a stolen vehicle report and putting it into the system,” Dubusky told SGV CityWatch.

An initial Sheriff’s radio broadcast described the vehicle as a Hyundai Sonata, silver in color, sporting emergency lights and it contained radios, a tactical helmet, ammunition and body armor.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - A man was wounded Monday night during what was described as a likely negligent shooting.

The man likely accidentally shot himself in the upper torso at his home in Hacienda Heights April 25. The man reportedly fled to Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 118 for medical assistance, according to Lt. Bernal of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station.

Deputies were called to investigate around 7 p.m.

Deputies wrote and served a search warrant at the man’s home, unclear about the circumstances of the shooting, but then determined the shooting was likely negligent, Bernal told SGV CityWatch.

The man’s current condition is not publicly known.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - A deputy shot and wounded a man Friday afternoon after that man allegedly threatened to burn down a family home, led deputies on a short pursuit and lunged at deputies while carrying a sharp object.

Deputies with the Sheriff’s Industry Station were sent to a home in the 14400 block of Crystal Lantern Drive in Hacienda Heights April 1. The suspect Is accused of threatening to burn down a family member’s home with a bottle of gasoline. Deputies tried to speak with the suspect who sat in a parked vehicle outside the home, but the suspect drove off, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Deputies engaged the suspect in a brief vehicle pursuit until he drove back to the home and escaped on foot.

“He stopped his vehicle in front of the location and ran to the side of the residence near the garage area. The suspect had a sharp pointed metal weapon in his hand and was yelling unintelligibly,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau in a written statement.

Deputies reportedly gave multiple verbal commands for the suspect to surrender and fired two less-lethal 40mm rounds at him with no effect as he allegedly advanced towards deputies, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

“The suspect advanced toward one of the deputies with the sharp pointed metal weapon in his hand and a deputy involved shooting occurred,” the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said in a written statement.

The suspect was struck by bullets fired by one deputy. The suspect was hospitalized and is apparently listed in stable condition, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - Homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances of a deputy shooting that reportedly sent a suspect to the hospital Friday afternoon.

The shooting took place in the 14400 block of Crystal Lantern Drive around 4:24 p.m. April 1. The suspect, only described as a male adult, was hospitalized. His condition was not disclosed.

It is unclear if any deputies were injured.

Prior to the shooting, deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station were in a vehicle pursuit, which terminated in the shooting.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS – A woman was hospitalized Thursday after being shot while driving by a reportedly unknown suspect in a vehicle.

Deputies responded to a report of gunfire around 7:56 p.m. November 18 in the 200 block of Stimson Avenue. Within minutes, the victim stopped at a 7-Eleven at Gale Avenue and Stimson Avenue where deputies located her, according to Lt. Julie Geary of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station.

Deputies then located the shooting scene in the 1100 block of Charlemont Avenue in Hacienda Heights.

The victim had a passenger in her vehicle, but that passenger was unhurt, Geary told SGV CityWatch.

The unknown suspect fired from a moving white Toyota Camry and fled after the shooting, Geary told SGV CityWatch.

 The victim was hospitalized at a trauma center in Los Angeles.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - Two men clad in all black reportedly used a kitchen knife to take a safe after entering a home through an unlocked door, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The suspects entered the home in the 3000 block of Cardillo Avenue Monday night and restrained the husband and wife by tying them up. Cash and jewelry were taken, according to Sgt. Leyva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station.

Initially it is believed roughly $10,000 was taken in the safe, but investigators are still determining the exact amount, Leyva told SGV CityWatch.

The robbery occurred just after 8 p.m. November 1.

The two men escaped the home through the same unlocked door in an unknown direction, Leyva told SGV CityWatch.

Both suspects were initially described as Black men standing 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds, according the a Sheriff's crime broadcast.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - A gunshot victim was found dead with a wound to the head on the 60 freeway Sunday morning.

The person was pronounced dead by firefighters on the westbound 60 freeway just west of the 7th Avenue on ramp, according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs.

CHP officers were dispatched to what was initially reported as a injury hit and run collision around 5:47 a.m. October 10, according to Officer Peter Nicholson of the California Highway Patrol.

Nicholson did not elaborate further on the crash, only stating that there was a confirmed fatality.

Before the traffic log was removed from public view, initial details stated that an officer observed a weapon in the person’s hand. A vehicle was also at the scene of the shooting, but it is unclear if the person was found dead inside or outside of the vehicle.

At 7:23 AM, a Sig Alert was issued for four hours for the on ramp from seventh Avenue to the westbound 60 freeway, Nicholson told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - A West Covina police pursuit which snaked its way through the City of Industry and Rowland Heights areas has come to an end with a standoff at an elementary school in Hacienda Heights.

Industry deputies are assisting with a containment around Los Altos Elementary School, 15565 Los Altos Dr., after the driver stopped in the parking lot there. The vehicle was reportedly taken without the owner’s consent, according to initial information from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station.

Spike strips were used to help disable the vehicle, which lost its right front tire, but the suspect continued to flee, sometimes moving at 50 miles per hour and sometimes in opposing lanes.

It is not yet clear exactly when the pursuit began, but this reporter became aware of the chase just after 3 a.m.

West Covina officers are continually giving commands for the driver to exit the vehicle, but he is not complying.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Authorities identified the driver who was shot during a road rage incident in Hacienda Heights Saturday afternoon and who later died from his wounds.

La Puente man Luis Mendoza, 35, was identified by the California Highway Patrol.

Mendoza was driving a white Chevrolet Avalanche east on the 60 freeway east of Crossroads Parkway just before 12:30 p.m. July 3.

According to witnesses, the right front passenger of a silver or gray compact apparently opened fire, striking Mendoza and his truck. Mendoza lost control of his Chevrolet Avalanche, hit a white Kia and then crashed into the right shoulder retaining wall, the CHP said.

Mendoza and the two teenagers, 13 and 16 years old, were taken to County USC/Medical Center for treatment. Mendoza died there, the CHP said.

The 13-year-old suffered major head injuries. The 16-year-old suffered injuries considered not life-threatening. The mechanism of their injuries was not immediately known, the CHP said.

The Kia’s driver was uninjured.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call the California Highway Patrol at 323-259-3200. You may also call the California Highway Patrol Major Crimes Bureau at 323-644-9550.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

UPDATE, 8:36 p.m.: One of the three victims hospitalized after a freeway shooting and crash died Saturday, the CHP said.

Officer Elizabeth Kravig of the CHP could not immediately confirm if any of the three victims injured in this incident were struck by gunfire.

According to CBS2 news, a man died, while two teenage sons remain hospitalized.

​The suspect fled in either a gray Toyota Corolla or Toyota Camry, the CHP said.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS - A Sig Alert continues for an unknown duration on the eastbound 60 freeway at 7th Avenue and on the transition roads from the 605 freeway after reports of gunfire erupted either before or after a collision Saturday.

Three people were transported to an area trauma center for treatment, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

It is not quite clear if those three people were injured in the collision or if they were injured by gunfire.

CHP officers were first called to the multi-vehicle collision on the eastbound 60 freeway at 12:28 p.m., according to Officer Elizabeth Kravig of the California Highway Patrol.

The above mentioned lanes and transition roads to the East 60 freeway from the north and south 605 remain closed while officers canvassed the freeway looking for evidence of a shooting, Kravig told SGV CityWatch.

The crossroads Parkway on ramp to the eastbound 60 freeway is also closed to traffic.