Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

IRWINDALE - Hazmat technicians determined the suspicious substance found inside an envelope at a SoCal Edison facility as harmless dirt, police said.

Workers were allowed back into the Southern California Edison Gateway Center, 6010 N. Irwindale Ave., around 12:30 p.m. October 29. Nine employees in all self-evacuated from the building. Two of those employees came in contact with the envelope deemed suspicious while sorting mail, according to Sgt. Rudy Gatto of the Irwindale Police Department.

Firefighters were called at 8:14 a.m. Thursday. Los Angeles County Fire Department hazmat units arrived soon after as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s CBRN Hazmat Detail.

Gatto commends the quick work by the SoCal Edison employees who immediately initiated their response protocols after deeming the envelope as suspicious.

“Their employees are trained to find suspicious packages. Kudos to their staff for being cognizant enough and recognizing that there was something suspicious,” Gatto told SGV CityWatch.

The investigation into the source of the envelope and its contents, as well as why the material was sent to the location, is ongoing, Irwindale Police said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

IRWINDALE - A twisted, smoldering wreck that was once a car was lifted from a flood control channel early Thursday morning after it crashed.

Police and firefighters arrived to Miguel Miranda Avenue and Meridian Street sometime around 12:50 a.m. October 22 to find a vehicle engulfed in flames at the bottom of the flood control channel. No occupants of the vehicle was found at the scene, according to the Irwindale Police Department.

It is unclear if investigators have identified the owner of the vehicle, nor is it yet publicly known if the vehicle may have been stolen.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

IRWINDALE - Police announced the arrest of a man wanted in two separate machete attacks in undeveloped areas of Irwindale in the month of September.

The suspect, Fidel Esparza, 52, was located in the 1400 block of Arrow Highway in Irwindale just before 11 a.m. October 19. Esparza briefly ran from officers and detectives who approached him while they conducted surveillance in the area and was eventually taken into custody, according to the Irwindale Police Department.

Esparza is accused of attacking a woman September 4 and attacking a man September 29 at transient camps located north of the 1200 block of Arrow Highway in undeveloped land owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Irwindale Police Department said.

The woman was attacked by a man wielding a machete at her transient camp and was slashed on an arm. 25 days later a man was assaulted by a suspect wielding a machete and was left with injuries to a hand and some fingers, according to the Irwindale Police Department.

While the attacks were apparently separate, both victims were familiar with the suspect and identify him by name and told investigators that he frequented the area.

After Esparza’s arrest, detectives located and confiscated multiple machetes from the transient camp the suspect lives at.

Esparza was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and on suspicion of resisting arrest, according to the Irwindale Police Department.

Esparza is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the West Covina Jail ahead of a scheduled appearance in the West Covina courthouse Wednesday, October 21.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

IRWINDALE - One person was killed in a collision involving a motorcycle on the east 210 freeway Friday afternoon.

CHP officers responded at 2:38 p.m. to the east 210 freeway at Irwindale Avenue October 9. Officers arrived at 2:52 p.m. and issued a Sig Alert for the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 lanes, according to Officer Tony Polizzi of the California Highway Patrol Traffic Management Center.

The Sig Alert was cancelled just after 6 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The victim was declared dead at the scene, Polizzi told SGV CityWatch.

CHP investigators are still confirming the exact details of the crash. Polizzi could not confirm yet to SGV CityWatch if the crash involved a driver who fled the scene, or if the motorcyclist was the victim who died.

CHP traffic logs preliminarily indicated that the motorcycle rider was reported to be down in lanes of traffic after being hit.