Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - A former NFL star faces a flurry of charges stemming from a July 8 tirade in La Verne against his ex girlfriend.
 
Brandon Browner, 33, pleaded not guilty July 30 to one count each ofattempted murder, first-degree residential robbery, first-degree burglary, person present, and false imprisonment. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a child, according to Greg Risling of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
 
Browner is due back in court August 29. His bail is set at $10 million.
 
Officers responded to a home July 8 after the victim reported her ex-boyfriend forced his way in through a locked window. He physically prevented the victim from fleeing the home, La Verne Police said.

Browner reportedly physically harmed and threatened to kill the victim, taking a $20,000 Rolex watch in the process, La Verne Police said.

A La Verne Police press release provided details of the initial call, but neglected to provide details on a reported pursuit Browner led officers on into Azusa, where he surrendered on the 210 freeway at Azusa Avenue.

Azusa Police Sergeant Jorge Sandoval said officers responded around 3:20 p.m. to assist with blocking traffic during a La Verne Police high-risk traffic stop.

Officer Elizabeth Kravig of the California Highway Patrol said CHP officers also assisted with traffic control.

Browner last played with the New Orleans Saints in 2015. He re-joined the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 as an off-season or practice squad member. He previously played with Seattle from 2011 to 2013.

Browner first joined American football in 2005 when he signed with the Denver Broncos.

Browner has also played for the Calgary Stampeders Canadian Football team and New England Patriots.

Browner is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, winning XLVIII with the Seahawks in 2013 and winning Super Bowl XLIX in 2014 with the Patriots.
 
If convicted as charged, Browner faces a life sentence in state prison.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

MOUNTAINS - The “Mountain Fire” above Glendora has charred one acre in a steep ravine since it sparked after a solo vehicle collision early Saturday.

The fire is holding at one acre in heavy brush and steep terrain, according to Chief Robert Garcia of the U.S. Forest Service, which is the agency leading the firefight.

The collision occurred just before midnight along Glendora Mountain Road just south of mile marker 8.02. A vehicle went over the side of the road and came to rest 150 yards in a deep ravine.

Thick smoke from the fire prevented first responders from finding the vehicle initially, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department radio traffic.

The patients, only described as a man and woman, were able to climb out of the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The patients, both of whom suffered severe burns on their body, were hoisted from the mountainside by helicopter.

One patient was taken to Brackett Field in La Verne via helicopter, which was low on fuel, to a second waiting helicopter, which transported the victim to County/USC Medical Center.

The second patient was flown directly to County/USC as well.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

MOUNTAINS - Two crash victims have just been airlifted from the scene of a vehicle over the side on Glendora Mountain Road.

The crash ignited a half-acre brush fire along Glendora Mountain Road just south of mile marker 8.02. All forward progress of the fire has been stopped, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The two patients inside the car have suffered significant burn injuries after flames generated by the crash consume them.

Rescuers attempted to traverse the mountainside, but the thick smoke prevented rescuers from pinpointing the location of the vehicle.

One patient was taken to Brackett Field in La Verne via helicopter to a second waiting helicopter, which will transport the victim to County/USC Medical Center. The first helicopter is unable to complete the hospital trip due to low fuel, firefighters said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - The woman facing two counts of criminal threats and stalking against a Glendora Catholic school is facing nearly four years in prison.
 
Magaly Esmeralda Alvarenga, 39, pleaded no contest to the above charges Wednesday. Alvarenga sent threatening letters to St. Lucy’s Priory High School,655 W. Sierra Madre Ave.,between December 2017 and May 2018.
 
Alvarenga signed some of the threatening letters in a student’s initials, making threats of gun violence and burning down the school, prosecutors said.
 
Letters were first sent to the school in December of 2017 during the winter break. Two additional letters were sent on May 10 and May 23 containing white powder and drugs, prosecutors said.
 
Glendora detectives were able to identify, locate and arrest Alvarenga.
 
Alvarenga faces three years and eight months in state prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced August 9 in Pomona Superior Court.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - No legal next of kin has been notified yet in the case of a man found dead in an RV in the county area of Azusa.
 
The man’s identification is pending until family has been notified, according to Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
 
A concerned resident called deputies to check on the RV the victim was staying. The friend did not hear from the victim, only described as a white man in his 60s, two days prior to the discovery, according to Lt. Elisabeth Sachs of the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station.
 
The man was declared dead at 10:15 a.m., according to Winter.
 
The friend noticed a bad odor coming from the RV, which was parked in the 16600 block of East Newburgh Street in Vincent, an unincorporated community near Azusa.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Officials named the construction worker killed after being crushed under the forklift he was ejected from in an accident July 20.
 
Jordan Hoyt, 20, was the worker hilled near a Pomona hillside at Kellogg Drive and the eastbound 10 freeway last Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
 
The crash occurred around 9:35 p.m.
 
Hoyt and fellow construction workers were part of a project to add carpool lanes to the I-10 freeway between the 605 and 57 freeways, according to Officer Rodrigo Jimenez of the California Highway Patrol.
 
Hoyt was behind the wheel of a telescopic forklift, travelling east on a dirt road when for unknown reasons, the forklift fell down the hillside. Hoyt was ejected and the forklift fell on him, Jimenez said.
 
A second man was reportedly injured.
 
Kellogg Drive was shut down until about 4:20 p.m.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES -  The 80-year-old man who shot and wounded his son and wife in a domestic outburst July 15 appeared in court Tuesday.
 
Adrian Louis Ness was charged with three felony counts of attempted murder and injuring a spouse. Ness pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to court August 9, according to Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
 
The felony complaint includes a special allegation that the defendant personally and intentionally discharged a firearm, which caused great bodily injury, Ardalani said, adding that Ness allegedly inflicted great bodily injury under circumstances of domestic violence.
 
Ness’ bail is set at $4.06 million.
 
Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station arrived to a home in the 6300 block of Muscatel Avenue around 1:45 p.m. Sunday on a reported shooting victim.
 
Deputies located Ness’ 53-year-old son wounded and soon found Ness’ 90-year-old wife. The two shooting victims were hospitalized and underwent surgery, deputies said.
 
If convicted as charged, Ness faces 88 years to life in state prison.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

GUSTINE, California - Two young girls and a woman, all from Covina, died after their Dodge Caravan was rear-ended on the 5 freeway Tuesday morning.
 
The crash occurred on the 5 freeway south of Taglio Road in Gustine, south of Modesto, around 1:55 a.m. July 17. The girls, both 6 and 10 years old, as well as a 57-year-old woman, died at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol, Los Banos Office.
 
The woman was identified as Regina Dorado.
 
The two girls have yet to be identified, as legal next of kin have not been notified, according to Deputy Daryl Allen, public information officer for the Merced County Sheriff’s Department, coroner division.
 
Another 6-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman also in the Dodge Caravan were injured. The girl was airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno. The woman was taken by ground ambulance to Memorial Medical Center.
 
The Dodge Caravan was in the No. 2 lane of the northbound 5 freeway, followed by a 2011 Freightliner.
 
Dorado began slowing for a traffic collision, but the driver of the Freightliner, an Ontario man, failed to slow and rear-ended the Caravan, sending it into the center divider.
 
The girls were students of Cypress Elementary School in Covina.
 
Cypress Elementary Principal Shannon Wyatt sent a phone message to Cypress parents about the deaths.
 
“Sadly, two of our students and their grandmother passed away in a fatal car accident. Additionally, a third student is reported to be in critical condition,” Wyatt said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time.”
 
Alcohol, drugs and weather are not believed to be factors in the crash, the CHP said.
 
The driver of the Freightliner was not arrested.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Sheriff’s homicide detectives and the sister of a slain Hacienda Heights man asked for the public’s help in solving a 13-year-old murder case Tuesday.
 
Edward Berber, 27, was found shot to death December 6, 2005 in his Hacienda Heights home in the 1800 block of Charlemont Avenue. Berber’s mother made the gruesome discovery after she went to check on him after she had not heard from him in a few days.
 
Berber, a father of two, was shot dead in his bed.
 
Investigators working the case back then exhausted all leads in finding a suspect. Those detectives have since retired, according to Cpt. Chris Bergner of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
 
Detectives presented a sketch of what the suspect would have looked like 13 years ago, Bergner said.
 
There is no known connection between the suspect and Bergner, said Sgt. Robert Martindale of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau, adding that the sketch was created with witness statements from 2005-06 and from fresh interviews of the same witnesses.
 
There was nothing about Berber’s history found that would incite such violence against him, Martindale said.
 
Berber was a family man who loved his children, according to sister Alejandra Johnson.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

MOUNTAINS - One hiker was hospitalized with unknown injuries after falling 40 feet from the top of Switzer Falls above Altadena Monday night.
 
Firefighters and a helicopter located the victim after being dispatched around 8:22 p.m. A helicopter located the victim and hoisted them out along with an uninjured hiker, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
 
A medic was lowered to the injured hiker and assessed the hiker’s injuries before they were airlifted.
 
The victim and uninjured were taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena.