Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MONTEREY PARK - Police arrested a man and woman from La Mirada March 8, accused of a series of purse robberies around the Monterey Park area. David Nicolas Davido, 30, and Erica Tiger Adams, 29 were both arrested and booked on suspicion of robbery. The du allegedly targeted Asian women in shopping plazas frequented by the Asian community, according to the San Gabriel Police Department. The San Gabriel Police Department partnered with neighboring departments and the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Taskforce worked on identifying suspects who were committing purse snatch robberies in San Gabriel and around the area.
Detectives determined Davido and Adams were suspects in the crimes, located the duo and arrested them. Davido is being held in lieu of $310,000. Adams is being held in lieu of $280,000 bail, according to Los Angeles County booking records. Anyone with information on the suspects are urged to call San Gabriel Police Detective Eric Britt at 626-382-0248. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Homicide detectives are preparing to submit a criminal case against Taquesta Graham, the mother of slain 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones and a suspect in the girl’s death. Graham was being held in Texas on an unrelated warrant after she and fellow suspect Emiel Lamar Hunt, Graham’s boyfriend, were stopped attempting to cross a border patrol checkpoint in Hudspeth County, Texas Friday, March 8 at 6 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. Graham was extradited from Texas the morning of March 14 and was booked at the Sheriff’s Norwalk Station on the outstanding warrant and she continues to be held in jail. She was then questioned in Jones' death, homicide detectives said.
The criminal case will be filed with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office at a later date, homicide detectives said. “During the past week, Investigators learned Graham, Hunt and victim Trinity Jones moved from a family member’s home in Long Beach in May of 2018. During the past ten months the extended family had only seen or heard from the couple and Trinity on a few occasions,” Homicide detectives said. “Investigators have learned Hunt, Graham and Trinity were homeless just prior to her death and were residing in a Santa Fe Springs motel or in their vehicle.” A break in the case came March 6 after Jones’ sketch was released publicly, a tipster came forward to detectives and expressed concern the girl in the sketch was Jones, but did not know the whereabouts of the girl or Graham. Investigators explored Taquesta Graham’s history and learned Hunt, her boyfriend, has a criminal history, which includes a prison sentence for a previous child abuse conviction, homicide detectives said. Once 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. Homicide detectives began focusing on the whereabouts of Hunt and Graham after comparing a photo of Jones to the girl found dead and realized the similarities between the two. Jones’s body was likely dumped over the side of Hacienda Boulevard in he afternoon hours of Friday, March 1, homicide detectives said. When Jones was actually killed remains either unknown or undisclosed. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The suspect who allegedly rammed into the doors of a Montebello JC Penny and assaulted officers during a subsequent chase entered his plea March 12. Tom Rojas, 37, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of assault upon a peace officer, one felony count each of fleeing a pursuing peace officer’s vehicle while driving recklessly, vandalism causing more than $400 in damage and hit-and-run driving causing property damage, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Public Information Officer Paul Eakins. Police began pursuing him after responding to a burglary call at The Shops Montebello, 1600 Town Center Dr., around 3 a.m. March 9. A vehicle was seen crashing into one of the store fronts, Montebello Police said.
Rojas allegedly fled the scene, but was found later at Paramount and Whittier boulevards in Pico Rivera. Rojas allegedly drove recklessly along surface streets and tried to strike other vehicles and police vehicles on the road, Montebello Police said. The pursuit ended with police gunfire near Dittman Avenue and Indiana Street after a K9 took Rojas down. No officers were injured. Rojas faces a possible maximum sentence of eight years and two months in state prison if convicted as charged, Eakins said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The California Highway Patrol is planning a DUI checkpoint in an unincorporated community near Azusa Friday, March 15. The checkpoint is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. All vehicles will be checked, traffic volume permitting, but the frequency may be reduced to every third or fifth vehicle to assure objectivity, according to CHP Captain Susan Estrem. Estrem said checkpoints tend to, “reduce the number of drinking drivers on the road, even though arrest totals do not rise dramatically.” A major value of checkpoints is their psychological influence.
“We advise the news media well in advance whenever a checkpoint is planned, since extensive publicity also is viewed as a legal safeguard,” Estrem said. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Deputies and Azusa Police officers detained three men after a call of a kidnapping turned out to be a music video shoot, a Sheriff’s lieutenant said. Deputies responded to a call of a possible kidnapping on San Gabriel Canyon Road near mile marker 21.59 at 11:22 a.m. March 13. The caller drove past the scene and reported a vehicle backed into a turnout. Two men were standing near an apparent victim with his hands duct-taped together, said Lt. Mark Skaggs of the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station. A police helicopter was first on scene as the suspect vehicle went into motion north on San Gabriel Canyon Road. Azusa Police were closer to the scene and responded to stop the vehicle first, Skaggs said.
All three men were detained and they explained what was occurring. One man was arrested. A concealed handgun was found inside the vehicle, a misdemeanor offense, Skaggs said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A church volunteer was jailed March 4, accused by a now 18-year-old girl of abusing her inside the church he worked at as well as showing her pornography. Rosemead man Chee Lim Chook, 55, was officially charged March 6 with seven felony counts: two charges of oral copulation with a minor, two charges of digital penetration of a minor, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, two charges of sending harmful matter to a minor and annoying or molesting a minor. The victim was 16 when the alleged abuse took place at the church she was a member of, River of Life Community Church, 20430 Yellow Brick Rd. Chook is described as the victim’s family friend, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim came forward with the allegations February 21, 2019. “The victim stated that the suspect would have sex with her at the church as well as provide her with pornography to watch,” the Sheriff’s Department said. Chook is currently jailed and is being held in lieu of $140,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court Monday, March 25. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau believes there are additional victims. Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the Special Victims Bureau tip line at 877-710-5273, or by email at specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org. Information can be given anonymous by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A stabbing suspect found guilty on four felony counts will be spending 10 years plus life in prison in an attack against his girlfriend. Matthew Fay Echauri, 25, was sentenced Tuesday to time in state prison. The above sentence includes the possibility of parole, according to Venusse Navid of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Villalobos also imposed a 10-year protective order against Echauri, Navid said.
Echauri was found guilty this February on four felony counts: one count each of attempted murder and mayhem and two counts of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime with force and violence. The jury also found true that Echauri used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife, during the crime and that he inflicted great bodily injury, Navid said. Echauri stabbed his then 18-year-old girlfriend multiple times after an argument March 2, 2017 in her Temple City home. Two days into being taken into custody, Echauri called the girlfriend and threatened to harm her if she spoke to police. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - One charge of murder has been filed against a suspect in the death of 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones, Sheriff’s officials announced. 38-year-old Emiel Lamar Hunt was sought after being identified as a person of interest in Jones’ death. He was found sleeping in his vehicle in a parking lot near San Diego International Airport and was arrested without incident Saturday, March 9. Hunt was officially charged Tuesday morning after a case was submitted to the County DA, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Hunt is scheduled to be arraigned in Pomona Superior Court Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff’s detectives confirmed Hunt is the boyfriend of Trinity’s mother and recently became a Los Angeles County resident. Information on the second person of interest is being withheld pending further investigation, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A case in the homicide of 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones was presented to the DA’s office Monday. The case is under review, according to Greg Risling of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. It is unclear when charges are expected to be formally filed. Risling did not confirm the name of a possible suspect, Emiel Lamar Hunt, 38. Hunt was taken into custody March 9 and booked at the Sheriff’s Norwalk Station. He is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. Hunt is reportedly in a relationship with Trinity’s birth mother Trinity’s father, Antonio Jones, posted on his Facebook page an image of Hunt and stated “This is the boyfriend of my baby momma who murdered my youngest princess.” The identity of the second suspect detained has also not been officially released. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Sheriff’s homicide investigators have positively identified the girl found dead in Hacienda Heights as 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones of Los Angeles County. Jones’ name was released due to overwhelming media interest and news tips from the public. While the girl’s death was ruled a homicide, the manner in which she died is being withheld, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Two people have been detained, but their names have not been released. |
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