Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - The U.S. Forest Service will be conducting controlled burns near Coldbrook Campground June 20. The prescribed burn of hazardous brush is scheduled to occur at Valley of the Moon, a mile south of Coldbrook Campground along San Gabriel Canyon Road. Smoke and flame may be visible to surrounding communities, Angeles National Forest Service officials said.
Such prescribed burns can provide protection to the community in the event of a wildfire. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A man enjoying a hike Wednesday evening ran for his life after encountering an estimated 400-pound bear. The hiker encountered the bear about one half mile from the top of Wheeler Avenue along a fire access road that leads to Sunset Peak June 19. The bear reportedly chased the hiker, who fled into some bushes down a hillside. The hiker had a cellphone signal and was able to call 9-1-1, according to Sgt. Matt Bodell of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. Deputies were called around 6:30 p.m., Bodell said.
The man is a regular on the trails in the area and this is the first encounter he can recall, Bodell said. “The terrain up there is very hilly. He said when he lost sight of the bear, that’s when he left the roadway,” Bodell said. “He went into the bushes and waited it out.” The hiker was uninjured. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Officials recently identified a 19-year-old man killed in a drive-by shooting in Altadena. William Harris IV, from Pasadena, died after being taken to an area hospital. He was shot by a suspect from an undescribed vehicle June 10. Harris died from gunshot wounds of the torso, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Harris and a 17-year-old were both struck by gunfire in the 2100 block of Santa Anita Avenue June 10. The condition of the teen injured was not disclosed. Anyone with information on the suspect or who witnessed the shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - Arraignment was continued for the woman prosecutors allege killed her 2-year-old son in Covina. Xa Dinh Ngo, 39, also referred to as “Michelle” Ngo, had her arraignment continued to July 29, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Ngo faces one count of murder with a special allegation of using a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife, in the death of her son, Elvis Puente. Ngo allegedly stabbed her son to death multiple times, prosecutors said. Details surrounding Puente’s death remain under a law enforcement security hold, according to Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Ngo was briefly hospitalized after a Covina patrol sergeant found Ngo running down the road in the 300 block of North Second Avenue, half-naked and with blood splatters on her body, January 11, 2019 around 3:30 a.m. Police learned Ngo’s address and discovered a small fire on the second floor of her townhome at 141 E. Italia St. once they arrived. Her son was discovered dead in the townhome.
Ngo was uncooperative with officers once detained, but alluded to a possible victim, Covina Police said. Ngo was arrested by Covina Police detectives on suspicion of murder once she was discharged. It is unclear if Ngo suffered from a mental condition, or was under the influence of drugs. If convicted as charged, Ngo could face a maximum of 26 years to life in state prison. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Two counts each of murder, second-degree robbery and one count of attempted murder have been filed against the 30-year-old man who went on a crime spree that left two people dead. Rhett McKenzie Nelson of St. George, Utah is scheduled for arraignment in the Foltz Criminal Justice Center Thursday. the charges include special allegations of multiple murders and murder by means of discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle and allegations of using a handgun in the commission of crimes, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Nelson is being held without bail. Those killed in Nelson’s crime spree are Dmitry Koltsov, shot dead in Central Los Angeles June 10 and Joseph Gilbert Solano, a 13-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The latter was shot inside an Alhambra Jack In the Box about an hour after the Los Angeles murder.
“Hours after shooting Solano, the defendant committed two robberies in Long Beach, one at a Shell gas station and the other at a 7-Eleven,” Santiago said. If convicted as charged, Nelson faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. A decision on the possibility of capital punishment will be determined at a later date, Santiago said. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor EL MONTE - Police and Sheriff’s deputies have a pursuit suspect surrounded in a mobile home park as the driver refuses to stop. The driver behind a reported stolen vehicle from West Covina is circling the roads in the Brookside Country Club, 12700 Elliot Ave. All entrances and exits into the mobile home park are covered, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s radio traffic. A deputy with the Sheriff’s Temple Station began pursuing the suspect in the El Monte area just after 9 p.m. after the deputy discovered the license plate belonged to a stolen vehicle.
The driver fled the deputy through El Monte streets into the Brookside Country Club where El Monte officers took over the pursuit. No officers are chasing the suspect at this time as they hold the entrances and exits, likely hoping the suspect surrenders willingly. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Authorities announced the 13-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shot inside an Alhambra restaurant died Wednesday afternoon. Joseph Gilbert Solano, 50, passed away from injuries sustained in the June 10 shooting. A suspect, later identified as Utah man Rhett Nelson, was arrested and has yet to be charged. Solano was clinging to life since the shooting and was finally taken off life support Wednesday. He was waiting for an order at Jack In the Box, 2531 W. Valley Blvd., Monday after taking his mother’s vehicle to be serviced at a nearby Jiffy Lube when he was attacked.
Solano joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 1999. He worked in the Court Services division for a year until switching careers as a firefighter with the City of Alhambra. He left the Alhambra Fire Department in 2001, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Alex Villanueva. Solano rejoined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2006. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The California Department of Fish & Wildlife will relocate the bear and cub involved in a confrontation June 10 after determining the mother bear was defending her offspring. The mother bear, referred to as a sow, was protecting her cub and not acting abnormally aggressive. The CDFW is in the process of releasing both the sow and cub back to suitable habitat near where they were captured, the CDFW announced Wednesday. The dog of a resident in the 500 block of Hermosa Avenue allegedly attacked the bear cub Monday in the resident’s yard, prompting the sow to defend her cub. The resident kicked the sow after it injured the dog. The resident was scratched and bit on his legs, according to Interim Sierra Madre Police Chief Jim Hunt. “CDFW biologists concluded the bear acted in defense of itself and its cub, which constitutes normal behavior,” the CDFW said. The resident and dog are recovering from their injuries.
Both the sow and cub were tranquilized and removed from the scene. A DNA analysis taken from the man and the sow helped confirm the captured bear was the same involved in the confrontation, the CDFW said. Scientists also confirmed the bear in the June 10 incident was not the same involved in an April 24 incident when an 84-year-old transient living in the Sierra Madre foothills was attacked. “CDFW reminds Californians that much of the state is bear country, even Los Angeles County, one of the most populated counties in the United States,” the CDFW said. To learn more on how to coexist with wildlife, visit KeepMeWild.org. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives released the booking photo of the man believed to have shot and gravely wounded an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy. Detectives believe Rhett McKenzie Nelson, a 30-year-old Utah man, may have committed additional crimes since entering California in the first week of June and seek additional victims to come forward. Nelson may have also shot and killed a man in Central Los Angeles June 10 -- roughly one hour before puling the trigger on Joseph Solano, an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy waiting for an order at an Alhambra Jack In the Box.
Any potential victims or law enforcement agencies with information on Nelson are urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The suspect behind the shooting of an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy in Alhambra was identified as a missing Utah man. Rhett McKenzie Nelson, 30, from St. George, Utah, was detained by Long Beach Police, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Nelson apparently went missing in Utah May 27 and disappeared in a white 2012 Kia Sorento with only his cellphone. He has a history of opiate abuse, according to a man identifying himself as Rhett’s father, Bradley. Nelson was taken into custody by Sheriff’s deputies at 1 p.m. Tuesday. “Shortly after 10 a.m., the suspect went into a church in the city of Long Beach on Clark Avenue. From that church, he called his father in St. George, Utah. During that call, he referred to committing murder in Southern California,” according to Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The father then called Long Beach Police and after triangulating Nelson’s location through a cellphone number provided by the father, officers found nelson driving away from the church, Wegener said.
Nelson arrived to SoCal during the first week of June, Wegener said.
Los Angeles County Deputy Joseph Gilbert Solano, 50, is in grave condition after being shot in the head while waiting for an order at an Alhambra Jack In the Box, 2531 W. Valley Blvd., June 10. Solano is on life support, Villanueva said. Deputies still believe at this point in the investigation that the shooting was random. Solano was dressed in plain clothes and wore nothing to indicate he was a deputy, Wegener said in a previous interview. Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department said his detectives are investigating Nelson’s possible connection to a fatal shooting that occurred around 4:50 p.m. in the 1900 block of 7th Street -- about one hour before he gravely wounding the deputy. In the Los Angeles shooting, a 30-year-old man was shot and killed after a brief exchange with a suspect who arrived in a vehicle. The suspect and vehicle matched those in the Alhambra shooting, Moore said. Although Nelson told his father about committing murder in Southern California, it is unclear if nelson was referencing the Alhambra and Los Angeles shootings. Solano’s family is awaiting further tests to decide the next course of action. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! |
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