 PHOTO/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor UNINCORP. COVINA - Nine homes suffered various damage after being hit by what deputies described as large bore air rifle bullets. The shootings took place over a six-week period around unincorporated Covina communities and within Covina city limits. Projectiles have hit homes, front yards, backyards and objects on private property, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. “These are relatively large projectiles, not like what you might expect from a traditional BB or pellet gun. These are actual bullets fired from an air rifle as powerful as some pistols,” the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station said in a written statement. Some residents were home when the shots were fired. Incidents occurred:
Such weapons use compressed air to fire the large bore projectiles, usually lead. The sound emitted closely resembles that of a paintball gun.
Deputies have not been able to determine the origin of the gunfire. Sheriff's deputies and Covina Police are working to find the shooter responsible. “What the perpetrator may not know is, even though these air rifles are not considered firearms, he or she can and will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon or shooting at an inhabitant dwelling when arrested,” according to the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station. Anyone with information on the shootings is urged to call San Dimas Sheriff’s Station detectives at 909-450-2718. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3 Tips mobile app or lacrimestoppers.org  PHOTO/By Aaron Castrejon. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Coroner investigators revealed what killed a newborn girl found in an Azusa apartment dumpster last March. Amira Bello-Pacheco died from intrauterine fetal demise. Her death was ruled accidental, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Azusa Police responded to a 9-1-1 call March 7, 2019 at 3:43 p.m. and found a lifeless newborn in a dumpster to the very rear of an apartment complex in the 600 block of East Fifth Street. Firefighters and policer attempted to revive the child. The newborn was taken to Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina and was declared dead by doctors at 4:37 p.m. According to NBC4 news, a resident witnessed the mother walking away from the dumpster, a trash can in hand and a large amount of blood nearby.
Many intrauterine fetal deaths, otherwise known as stillbirth, have no known cause. It is not immediately clear if a coroner examination determined the stillbirth’s cause. The Azusa Police Department’s case will proceed in the appropriate direction with the coroner determining the cause of death, according to Sgt. Jorge Sandoval of the Azusa Police Department Detective Bureau in a previous interview.. “We’re obviously looking at various options before we proceed one way or the other,” Sandoval said in a March 2019 interview with SGV CityWatch.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A former pizza delivery worker was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison in the stabbing death of his supervisor in La Puente
32-year-old Rafael Sanchez of Baldwin Park was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. He was found guilty November 19, 2019 of first degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Daniel Anthony Sanchez, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The stabbing occurred inside Domino’s, 1073 N. Hacienda Blvd., March 10, 2018. Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station responded at 5:59 p.m. Rafael objected to Daniel Sanchez telling him to do his job. Rafael snuck up behind his supervisor and stabbed him in the neck and back. The knife reportedly used in the stabbing was recovered. Daniel Sanchez was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead, according to detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.  PHOTO/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The suspect accused of molesting a girl from the ages of 12 to 18 years old was sentenced to nearly 11 years in state prison Tuesday. Chin Lee Chook, 56, pleaded no contest to one felony count of oral copulation of a person under 18 and two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child under 14 years old, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Chin Lee Chook, aka Desmond Chook, was immediately sentenced to 10 years and eight months in state prison. He must also register as a sex offender for life, Santiago said.
Chook molested the girl from 2012 to 2018 at a variety of places, including the Diamond Bar church where he volunteered, his Diamond Bar office and the girl’s Riverside home.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - Pomona Police promptly arrested a former Upland Police officer hours after he was released by his department. Joshua Duarte, 31, was arrested January 11. He was a probationary police officer with the Upland Police Department since August 19, 2019, according to Cpt. Marcelo Blanco of the Upland Police Department in a written statement. Duarte is accused of sexual battery while off duty, Blanco said. “I can tell you that I am disturbed by the allegations. The alleged conduct is inconsistent with the expectations of an Upland Police officer and do not reflect the majority of our officers who work hard every day to maintain the trust and support of our community,” said Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman.
Duarte posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court February 3, according to Los Angeles County booking records. Specifics on the investigation by Pomona Police have not been revealed.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION – Both suspects accused of murdering a 9-year-old girl whose body was dumped in Hacienda Heights pleaded not guilty Tuesday. Taquesta Graham, 29, and Emiel Lamar Hunt, 39, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder each in the death of Trinity Jones. The girl’s body was partially exposed in a large duffle bag and found near an equestrian trail along Colima Road and Hacienda Boulevard in Hacienda Heights March 5, 2019, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Graham and Hunt are accused of killing Jones on or about March 1, 2019. The duo has a criminal history. Hunt was convicted of child abuse with great bodily injury in San Diego County in 2005. In 2016, Graham was convicted of enticing a minor for prostitution in San Bernardino County, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators searched for Graham and Hunt after family identified them as suspects.
Hunt and Graham were stopped attempting to cross a border patrol checkpoint in Hudspeth County, Texas days after Jones was discovered, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. Graham was extradited from Texas March 14 after being held by Texas authorities on an outstanding warrant until Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives brought her to the Sheriff’s Norwalk Station to be booked on the warrant. After being detained in Texas, Hunt drove back to California. He was eventually found sleeping in his black Nissan Armada in a parking lot near San Diego International Airport and arrested, homicide detectives said. If convicted as charged, Graham faces a possible maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison. Hunt faces up to 55 years to life in prison, the DA’s office said.  PHOTO/By Aaron Castrejon. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The suspect whom prosecutors allege stabbed and killed a rider on the Gold Line as it left the Azusa downtown station towards Irwindale pleaded guilty to the crime. 52-year-old Peter Muñoz of Commerce pleaded guilty January 8 to one felony count of first-degree murder in the death of Xuezhong Bao, 62. Muñoz was immediately sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Muñoz also admitted to using a knife during the commission of the crime, prosecutors said. The stabbing occurred November 27, 2018 as the East Los Angeles-bound train left the Azusa Downtown Station towards Irwindale. Muñoz was arrested as he exited the train in Duarte, prosecutors said. Deputies with the Sheriff’s Transit Services Bureau, which patrols Los Angeles County Metro lines and Metrolink, received a 9-1-1 transfer call from Irwindale Police at 11:30 a.m. initially describing an attack on either the platform or westbound train in Irwindale, according to Deputy Ramon Montenegro. The train continued westbound and stopped at the Duarte/City of Hope Station, where the suspect and victim were met by deputies.
A passenger, who wished to not be identified, was at the Duarte Station awaiting an eastbound train and witnessed riders fleeing from the passenger car where the victim lay lifeless, deputies taking the suspect into custody, a crime scene in progress. “[I] Was waiting for the train to go to citrus, the E/B train arrived people ran off when deputies got there the ones on the train pointed out the suspect. They arrested him,” said the passenger in a Facebook message to SGV CityWatch. “When fire got there, they started CPR for 15 min. Then stopped. The deputies put up crime tape so I left,” The passenger said. Bao died at the scene from a wound to the upper torso. The knife was recovered, deputies said.  PHOTOS/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The FBI announced the extradition and arrest of a man sought in a shooting that claimed his spouse’s life and their unborn child. Octavio Curiel-Martinez, 37, was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. January 3 and arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies. He awaits prosecution by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to a joint statement issued by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. Curiel-Martinez, a Mexican national, was originally arrested by Mexican police on unrelated charges May 17, 2019 in Bolanos, Jalisco, Mexico -- right where investigators believed he fled after they say he killed his estranged wife, Ana Maria Nunez, 37, and their unborn child. The county DA formally requested Curiel-Martinez’s extradition and a provisional arrest warrant was issued by the Mexican government May 23, 2019. Family of Nunez went to her El Monte home August 29, 2018 to check on her welfare hours after Curiel-Martinez allegedly fired upon, but failed to injure a family member. Nunez was found with multiple gunshot wounds, investigators said. Nunez and her unborn child later died at a hospital. The coroner listed her cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds of the torso.
The shooting took place in the 2700 block of Leafdale Avenue in El Monte. The estranged couple share additional children who were not home when the shooting took place, investigators said. Curiel-Martinez was charged in Los Angeles County Superior Court with two counts of murder, attempted murder, two counts of assault with a firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling or occupied car, two counts of corporal injury to a spouse, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, two counts of felony child endangerment and six counts of misdemeanor child endangerment, the FBI said. A state warrant was issued for Curiel-Martinez’s arrest September 5, 2018. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a federal arrest warrant March 15, 2019 and he was federally charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, the FBI said. The arrest and extradition was the work of the Policía Federal Ministerial, Fiscalia General de la Republica, Instituto Nacional de Migracion, the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Mexico City, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives, the El Monte Police Department and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. The extradition was handled by prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs. “Curiel-Martinez’s extradition was sponsored by the U.S. government’s “Project Welcome Home,” which provides funding for the transportation of FBI fugitives to the United States, where the repatriation by the host country occurs through deportation or extradition,” the FBI said. A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Curiel-Martinez, but it is unclear if anyone will claim the reward. |
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