Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A person has been detained and apparently matches the description of the suspect responsible for shooting and critically wounding an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy. At 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, Long Beach Police stopped and detained the driver. The man detained in Long Beach is being called a person of interest, according to a statement issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The person of interest was detained in the 2400 block of Granada Avenue in Long Beach.
NBC4 news reported earlier today that the person of interest was detained after a brief police pursuit. No other details are available. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - The suspect accused of entering a motel room that was not his and sexually assaulting a young girl on a trip from China was immediately sentenced to six years in state prison Monday. Douglas Rivera, 41, pleaded no contest to one felony count of lewd acts upon a child. In addition to prison time, Rivera will submit to lifetime sex offender registration, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Rivera pleaded no contest at a scheduled pre-preliminary hearing at Pomona Superior Court June 10. Two preteen girls from China were staying in a room at Vanllee Hotel and Suites, 1211 E. Garvey Ave., February 7, 2018. The girls were part of a Chinese tourist group. Rivera drove up to the girls’ room around 10:08 p.m., peered through the open drapes from his truck and masturbated, according to Covina Police. Rivera then exited his truck, stood outside the room and pretended to talk on his cellphone for 30 minutes. Rivera entered the motel room when the girls opened the door thinking he was their chaperone, Covina Police said.
Multitudes of tips phoned in to Covina Police helped identify Rivera -- who he is and where could have been, said Lt. Trevor Gaumer of the Covina Police Department in a previous interview. Covina Police detectives served a search warrant at Rivera’s Baldwin Park home and located the truck parked there February 9. The Dodge Ram 4500 truck was coated with a truck bed liner spray, possibly in an attempt to alter its appearance, Gaumer said. While on the run, Rivera published a two-minute video in an attempt to explain away what happened. “Listen. I did not do nothing [sic] wrong. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Something happened at that hotel,” Rivera said in his video. “Please keep me in prayer. God will let this truth out,” Rivera added. When charges were filed last year, Rivera was facing three counts: lewd acts upon a child, first-degree burglary with a person present and indecent exposure. If convicted as charged, Rivera could have been sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The suspect behind a brazen daylight shooting of an off-duty Sheriff’s deputy likely ditched most of the clothes he wore after fleeing the scene, the Sheriff’s Department said. The suspect is described as a 20-something white or Hispanic man standing around 5 feet 11 inches tall. After he shot the off-duty deputy, the suspect quickly exited, fled in a newer-model white SUV to a nearby neighborhood and changed to a black shirt and black pants, according to Lt. Kent Wegener of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Before changing clothes, the suspect wore sunglasses, a light-colored fedora, a burgundy buttoned short-sleeve shirt and slim blue jeans. The shooting occurred around 5:50 p.m. at Jack In the Box, 2531 W. Valley Blvd. The deputy was shot once while standing at the counter. The restaurant was occupied by customers at the time and witnesses were interviewed, Wegener said. The deputy was dressed in plain clothes and his appearance would not have given any indication that he was a sworn officer of the law, Wegener said.
A home security camera caught the suspect changing clothes. Detectives have no known motive for the shooting. The exchange between the deputy and suspect was brief. The shooting was caught on camera, but no sound accompanies the video, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. The suspect’s white SUV featured paper plates. Anyone with information on the suspect 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 LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against a man accused in the death of a dependent adult in 2018. Emanuel Arellano, 25, surrendered to deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Six days prior, the county DA filed charges of involuntary manslaughter and dependent care abuse in the death of 51-year-old Timothy Cortinas. Cortinas was left inside Arrellano’s hot vehicle August 3, 2018 in the 300 block of South Frankfurt Avenue in West Covina. Cortinas, a Walnut resident, was an intellectually-disabled adult being transported with two other passengers. The latter two were dropped off at their locations. Cortinas was somehow forgotten and left to suffer sweltering temperatures in the August sun at Arellano's home.
It was at least two hours before Cortinas was found unresponsive in Arellano’s vehicle. He died at the scene. Last year, Irene Melendez, mother of Cortinas, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Easter Seals (the organization the driver worked for), Holy Family Children’s Care and the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center. Arellano posted bond and was released Thursday at 2:21 p.m. He was scheduled for a June 7 court appearance, according to Los Angeles County booking records. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A San Gabriel man was named Friday less than a day after dying by gunfire during a barricade that shut down a huge section of freeway and cause two homes to burn. Jose Salvador Meza, 35, was identified by Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Meza died as he began exiting a rear door to a burning home in the 2000 block of Brighton Street in San Gabriel Thursday afternoon. Armed with a shotgun, Meza was hit by gunfire and fell at the door where he was eventually declared dead. Meza is accused of firing on San Gabriel Police officers just before 12:30 p.m. June 6 when they arrived to investigate a domestic disturbance call. San Gabriel officers returned fire. Meza barricaded himself and fired his weapon inside the home numerous times during the ordeal. A fire erupted inside one home at the triplex property. Meza fled to a secondary home, pistol in hand, where a second fire broke out.
Authorities shut down both east and west lanes of the I-10 freeway from San Gabriel Boulevard to Del Mar Avenue out of an abundance of caution. Meza continued to flee around the property as residents were evacuated, firefighters worked to battle the fires and deputies worked to get Meza to surrender. During the barricade, Meza allegedly ignited fireworks which were caught on live news as the exploded. Some launched in the air. Meza armed himself with two handguns before fleeing into one of the burning homes where he found a shotgun. Homicide investigators have not yet stated if Meza died by deputy gunfire, or if the injuries were self-inflicted. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The county coroner has identified the man found dead hundreds of feet over the side of a mountain road last month. Frank Grossman III, 71, died from multiple blunt traumatic injuries after he fell down the mountainside. His death was ruled accidental, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. A city of residence for Grossman was not immediately available. The body was found May 27 in the area of Angeles Forest Highway near mile marker 18.87. Los Angeles County firefighters and the U.S. Forest Service were called to the area around 4:47 p.m.
A hiker or passerby discovered what appeared to be a body 400 feet over the side of the road and called the U.S. Forest Service who then called deputies, according to Lt. Smeltzer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Crescenta Valley Station. Rescue crews traversed the terrain to recover the body for coroner investigators. It was not immediately known how long Grossman was on the mountainside before being discovered. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LA HABRA - Detectives from La Habra Police and the Sheriff’s Industry Station are investigating three suspects accused of being involved in a Hacienda Heights home invasion robbery Tuesday. After Industry detectives identified a stolen vehicle they believe was used in the home invasion robbery, they learned La Habra officers had the vehicle and were searching for the suspects, according to Lt. James Long of the Sheriff’s Industry Station. La Habra officers found a stolen gold 2008 Acura at a Chevron ExtraMile, 110 S. Harbor Blvd., before Noon. It is believed to be the same car seen fleeing the area of the home invasion, according to Sgt. Jose Rocha of the La Habra Police Department. Three suspects fled the Acura when La Habra officers attempted to contact them, setting off a containment search, Rocha said.
Two 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old were found and taken into custody without further incident, Rocha said. There was property inside the Acura that detectives are working to link to the Hacienda Heights home invasion, Rocha said. The home invasion occurred around 10:30 a.m. in the 16000 block of Santa Bianca Drive Tuesday. Three suspects, one of them reported armed, entered a window and took $300 in cash, according to Sgt. David Cortinas of the Sheriff’s Industry Station. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A loaded shotgun was discovered during a search in the San Gabriel Mountains Sunday evening after a caller reported hearing gunfire, a Sheriff’s lieutenant said. One juvenile and four adults were detained far up in the mountains as deputies investigated the gunfire claim. Deputies found the shotgun and a construction vehicle damaged by gunfire, according to Lt. Elisabeth Sachs of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. Deputies responded to a call of numerous shots heard along Highway 39 near mile marker 26.5 at 6:15 p.m. June 2.
Deputies combed the forest area after the detainees denied shooting anything and found the weapon 100 yards away. “They found a loaded shotgun, 12 gauge,” Sachs said. “They also found an excavator and all the windows were shot out of it.” One of the suspects confessed to firing the shotgun and damaging the excavator. He was arrested and booked on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm and vandalism, Sachs said. The suspect's name was not available. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Officials have publicly identified the man killed in a likely gang shooting near Azusa. Azusa resident Oscar Carmona, 22, was identified by Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. San Dimas deputies were initially called to an injured victim in the 18000 block of Newburgh Street June 1 around 11:15 p.m. Carmona, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
There is no suspect description and the murder weapon is outstanding. Anyone with information on 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 LOS ANGELES - Authorities named the 18-year-old killed at a West Covina house party. Dennis Bracamonte of La Mirada was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. A chaotic scene unfolded Friday, May 31. Police responded to a home in the 300 block of North Hollow Avenue to reports of a shooting around 10:30 p.m. Police found three victims suffering gunshot wounds.
Two teen boys suffered wounds to their legs and were hospitalized. Bracamonte died at the scene. A fourth victim, a teen girl, was self-admitted to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators have yet to provide a description of the shooter. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! |
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