LOS ANGELES – Arraignment for the man accused of raping and brutally beating a woman found dead in her Covina retirement home unit 24 years ago was continued to September 1.

David Adolph Bernal, 46, was charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance allegations that the crime was committed during a rape, sodomy and burglary, according to Greg Risling, Assistant Media Chief with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Bernal was located and arrested at his El Monte home August 6, 2020. Investigators allege he is the suspect in the January 19, 1996 death of Mary Lindgren, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Lindgren, 67, was found dead in her first-floor bedroom at Covina Villa Retirement Home. Her body was found by facility staff at 7:30 a.m.

A break in the case came this July when DNA evidence submitted last year yielded a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Sheriff’s Homicide detectives assisted Covina Police in the investigation. Facility staff, residents, family members, outside vendors and neighbors living near the facility were interviewed and determined to have no involvement in the murder, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

DNA, as well as several other pieces of evidence, was collected at the scene.

A suspect profile was generated from DNA collected at the scene, but matches with state and federal criminal justice databases could not be found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

As years went by, state and national crime broadcasts were sent to participating agencies. Several leads were acquired, but led nowhere, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

It was last year when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Unsolved Unit submitted suspect DNA evidence with the California State Department of Justice for a DNA search and identification process, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Investigators focused their attention on the possible suspect, eventually jailing Bernal, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance August 7.

If convicted as charged, Bernal faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. A decision to seek capital punishment will be decided at a later date, Risling said.​

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION - Deputies announced the arrest of four suspects in a recent home invasion robbery.

The men are accused of terrorizing an older couple who arrived home in the 2200 block of Oldridge August 4 in Hacienda Heights. At gunpoint, the couple were forced through their home after enter the garage, relinquishing cash and jewelry, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Several thousand in cash and jewelry were taken.

The Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau and Burglary-Robbery Task Force worked the incident and obtained a vehicle description based on witness statements and home security camera video, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Deputies in the South Los Angeles patrol area stopped a vehicle matching that seen fleeing the Hacienda Heights home. The four men were identified as the home invasion suspects, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Arrested were:
-Tyler Evans, a 22-year-old Los Angeles man
-Jimmy Griffin, an 18-year-old Tarzana man
-Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Lancaster man
-Jonathan Olivia, an 18-year-old Los Angeles man

A 17-year-old male was detained during the traffic stop, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

All four suspects were booked on suspicion of Robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment.

Griffin was additionally booked on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

All four men have extensive criminal histories, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Recovered inside the suspect vehicle was a purse, ID, wallet, cash and jewelry — all belonging to the victims.

A handgun was recovered. It was reported stolen during another home invasion robbery in Hacienda Heights from July 22, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION - Investigators working the cold case of a brutally beaten, raped and murdered woman in Covina used a statewide DNA technology to identify and arrest a suspect.

David Adolph Bernal, 46, was located and arrested at his El Monte home August 6. Investigators allege he is the suspect in the death of Mary Lindgren, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

Lindgren, 67, was found dead in her first-floor bedroom at Covina Villa Retirement Home January 19, 1996. Her body was found by facility staff at 7:30 a.m.

A break in the case came this July when DNA evidence submitted last year yielded a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Sheriff’s Homicide detectives assisted Covina Police in the investigation. Facility staff, residents, family members, outside vendors and neighbors living near the facility were interviewed and determined to have no involvement in the murder, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

DNA, as well as several other pieces of evidence, were collected at the scene.

A suspect profile was generated from DNA collected at the scene, but matches with state and federal criminal justice databases could not be found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

As years went by, state and national crime broadcasts were sent to participating agencies. Several leads were acquired, but led nowhere, the Sheriffs Information Bureau said.

It was last year when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Unsolved Unit submitted suspect DNA evidence with the California State Department of Justice for a DNA search and identification process, the Sheriffs Information Bureau said.

Investigators focused their attention on the possible suspect, eventually jailing Bernal, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance August 7.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

MOUNTAINS - An aggressive attack kept the Dam Fire above Azusa from burning out of control Thursday.

Roughly 300 acres have burned near the Morris Dam along Highway 39. The fire scorched heavy brush as it moved north away from the foothills. People were evacuated north of Morris Dam up to Crystal Lake Road.

Highway 39 into the Azusa Canyon will remain closed until Sunday, according to the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station.

Non-residents will not be allowed up the mountain past El Encanto Restaurant, according to the Azusa Police Department.

The fire was first dispatched just before 1:30 p.m. July 30. Firefighters from the US Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire Department worked for suppress the flames.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LA HABRA HEIGHTS - A 100-foot by 100-foot spot fire is burning along a hillside, Los Angeles County firefighters said Monday.

The fire is creeping uphill near Hacienda Road and East Skyline Drive. The fire has a potential to char two acres. The threat to structures is minimal, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

MOUNTAINS - A motorcyclist died after crashing on Highway 39 in the mountains above Azusa Sunday morning.

The crash occurred just north of mile marker 23.11 around 7:26 a.m. July 26. CHP officers have closed both north and southbound lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol.

All lanes of Highway 39 were closed at 8:30 a.m. and are expected to remain closed for three hours, the CHP said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

MOUNTAINS - A person was hoisted Saturday after becoming stranded in waist-deep water in the San Gabriel River above Azusa.

Firefighters and a rescue helicopter were called to the San Gabriel River one-half mile south of Morris Dam around 4:50 p.m. July 25. One person was located by firefighters, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter arrived by 5 p.m. and hoisted the victim from the moving water. The person was placed on solid ground near the river and was tended to by firefighters before being released.

MOUNTAINS - Multiple agencies worked to suppress a brush fire that ignited in the mountains above Arcadia Monday.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

UNINCORP. MONROVIA - One person died at the scene of a collision between a sedan and what was reported as an ice cream truck near Monrovia Saturday evening.

One person was declared dead on arrival and at least one person was transported in unspecified condition to a local hospital, according to Dispatch Supervisor Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The collision occurred in the 1900 block of South Shamrock Avenue around 6:11 p.m. July 18.

Both vehicles collided head-on, according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs.

The California highway patrol is investigating the crash.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION – Federal investigators announced the arrest of a Pasadena man and a recent Azusa resident for their alleged involvement in a ransom plot that ended with the victim being buried in the desert after being beaten to death.

Pasadena man Anthony Valladares, 28, and Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, 24, a recent Azusa resident, were arrested July 14 with the execution of search warrants by the FBI and the San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the US Attorney’s Office said.

Prosecutors allege Valladares was the hired muscle used to subdue, intimidate and beat Rouchen “Tony” Liao, 29. Velez was the driver, according to an affidavit.

“According to the affidavit, Valladares admitted that he was hired to assist in the kidnapping, agreed to accept $1,000 for the job, and restrained Liao during the kidnapping. Romero admitted, according to the affidavit, that he was recruited by Valladares and was the driver during the kidnapping,” according to the Department of Justice in a written statement.

Valladares and Velez allegedly worked with two Chinese nationals who fled the country after the killing.

Guangyao Yang, 26, and Peicheng Shen, 34, were charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempted extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act and threat by foreign communication, investigators said.

Yang and Shen, who last lived in West Covina before they fled, were captured and are being held by Chinese authorities.

Liao, a Santa Ana resident, was kidnapped July 16, 2018 in San Gabriel by three men and forced into a dark-colored Toyota Sienna minivan, which was followed by two suspects in a Range Rover SUV.

The kidnapping occurred around 7:30 p.m. at San Gabriel Square, 140 W. Valley Blvd. Liao was possibly coaxed to the area on the premise of conducted a business deal, the FBI said.

After Liao was kidnapped and taken to a Corona home, demands were made to deposit $2 million within three hours to several Chinese accounts. Liao’s father also received “proof-of-life” photos of his son physically retained in a closet: his arms bound behind him, his legs bound together and his eyes taped shut, investigators said.

No more demands were made and nothing was ever heard from the captors again.

Investigators believe Liao died July 17, 2018. The Following day, Yang and Shen allegedly drove to the Mojave Desert to dispose of Liao’s body.

An internet search connected to Yang revealed efforts to learn how fast a body decomposes in soil. Shen apparently had the closet where Liao was held re-carpeted, investigators said.

Liao’s remains were discovered by a hiker June 12, 2019 near Mojave in the area of Cache Creek Road and Highway 58. The manner of death is undetermined.

Liao’s remains were identified by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office - Coroner Section.

The kidnapping charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison.