 Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - An aggressive attack kept the Dam Fire above Azusa from burning out of control Thursday.
Roughly 300 acres have burned near the Morris Dam along Highway 39. The fire scorched heavy brush as it moved north away from the foothills. People were evacuated north of Morris Dam up to Crystal Lake Road. Highway 39 into the Azusa Canyon will remain closed until Sunday, according to the San Dimas Sheriff’s Station. Non-residents will not be allowed up the mountain past El Encanto Restaurant, according to the Azusa Police Department. The fire was first dispatched just before 1:30 p.m. July 30. Firefighters from the US Forest Service and Los Angeles County Fire Department worked for suppress the flames.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LA HABRA HEIGHTS - A 100-foot by 100-foot spot fire is burning along a hillside, Los Angeles County firefighters said Monday.
The fire is creeping uphill near Hacienda Road and East Skyline Drive. The fire has a potential to char two acres. The threat to structures is minimal, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A motorcyclist died after crashing on Highway 39 in the mountains above Azusa Sunday morning. The crash occurred just north of mile marker 23.11 around 7:26 a.m. July 26. CHP officers have closed both north and southbound lanes, according to the California Highway Patrol. All lanes of Highway 39 were closed at 8:30 a.m. and are expected to remain closed for three hours, the CHP said.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A person was hoisted Saturday after becoming stranded in waist-deep water in the San Gabriel River above Azusa. Firefighters and a rescue helicopter were called to the San Gabriel River one-half mile south of Morris Dam around 4:50 p.m. July 25. One person was located by firefighters, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter arrived by 5 p.m. and hoisted the victim from the moving water. The person was placed on solid ground near the river and was tended to by firefighters before being released.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - Multiple agencies worked to suppress a brush fire that ignited in the mountains above Arcadia Monday. Firefighters from the US Forest Service, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Arcadia Fire Department, Monrovia Fire Department, Pasadena Fire Department, Sierra Madre Fire Department and Glendale Fire Department held the brush fire to seven acres.
The fire was first dispatched just before 12:30 p.m. July 20. No structures were threatened. Sierra Madre firefighters were first on scene, according to the Sierra Madre Fire Department. There were a number of hikers in the area when the fire ignited near the restroom area at Chantry Flats. The hikers were asked to shelter in place during the fire fight, according to the US Forest Service. The cause is under investigation.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor UNINCORP. MONROVIA - One person died at the scene of a collision between a sedan and what was reported as an ice cream truck near Monrovia Saturday evening.
One person was declared dead on arrival and at least one person was transported in unspecified condition to a local hospital, according to Dispatch Supervisor Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The collision occurred in the 1900 block of South Shamrock Avenue around 6:11 p.m. July 18. Both vehicles collided head-on, according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs. The California highway patrol is investigating the crash.  (Left) One of the suspects involved in the kidnapping. (Center) Rouchen Liao. (Right) One of the vehicles involved in the kidnapping. IMAGES courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION – Federal investigators announced the arrest of a Pasadena man and a recent Azusa resident for their alleged involvement in a ransom plot that ended with the victim being buried in the desert after being beaten to death.
Pasadena man Anthony Valladares, 28, and Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, 24, a recent Azusa resident, were arrested July 14 with the execution of search warrants by the FBI and the San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the US Attorney’s Office said. Prosecutors allege Valladares was the hired muscle used to subdue, intimidate and beat Rouchen “Tony” Liao, 29. Velez was the driver, according to an affidavit. “According to the affidavit, Valladares admitted that he was hired to assist in the kidnapping, agreed to accept $1,000 for the job, and restrained Liao during the kidnapping. Romero admitted, according to the affidavit, that he was recruited by Valladares and was the driver during the kidnapping,” according to the Department of Justice in a written statement. Valladares and Velez allegedly worked with two Chinese nationals who fled the country after the killing. Guangyao Yang, 26, and Peicheng Shen, 34, were charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempted extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act and threat by foreign communication, investigators said. Yang and Shen, who last lived in West Covina before they fled, were captured and are being held by Chinese authorities. Liao, a Santa Ana resident, was kidnapped July 16, 2018 in San Gabriel by three men and forced into a dark-colored Toyota Sienna minivan, which was followed by two suspects in a Range Rover SUV. The kidnapping occurred around 7:30 p.m. at San Gabriel Square, 140 W. Valley Blvd. Liao was possibly coaxed to the area on the premise of conducted a business deal, the FBI said. After Liao was kidnapped and taken to a Corona home, demands were made to deposit $2 million within three hours to several Chinese accounts. Liao’s father also received “proof-of-life” photos of his son physically retained in a closet: his arms bound behind him, his legs bound together and his eyes taped shut, investigators said. No more demands were made and nothing was ever heard from the captors again. Investigators believe Liao died July 17, 2018. The Following day, Yang and Shen allegedly drove to the Mojave Desert to dispose of Liao’s body. An internet search connected to Yang revealed efforts to learn how fast a body decomposes in soil. Shen apparently had the closet where Liao was held re-carpeted, investigators said. Liao’s remains were discovered by a hiker June 12, 2019 near Mojave in the area of Cache Creek Road and Highway 58. The manner of death is undetermined. Liao’s remains were identified by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office - Coroner Section. The kidnapping charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor UPDATE, 1:26 p.m.: Firefighters have the Bichota Fire held at 5 acres, according to the US Forest Service.
Three people in a separate incident near the fire were rescued: a 90-year-old man who refused medical treatment, a 14-year-old girl taken to Foothill Presbyterian hospital and a 55-year-old man taken by helicopter to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. The latter two received abrasions. MOUNTAINS - A 5-to-10-acre brush fire is burning rapidly in the San Gabriel Mountains above Azusa Sunday. The fire is moving to the north at a rapid rate of spread and has jumped across Highway 39 near mile marker 31, according to the US Forest Service. An unknown number of victims are apparently trapped in an area near the fire and are being rescued by forest service firefighters. There are two patients suffering abrasions, according to US Forest Service radio traffic. The US Forest Service is reaching out to the Los Angeles County Fire Department for aircraft resources to assist and may be reaching out San Bernardino County for aircraft assistance. The rescue effort is being hampered by drivers enjoying the mountains. There is a significant amount of traffic blocking rescue vehicles from being able to effectively fight the fire and rescue victims. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, Air Rescue 5, is offering assistance to help airlift trapped victims, but the area where the victims are trapped does not provide a good landing spot, according to US Forest Service radio traffic. The US Forest Service needs law enforcement in order to close down northbound traffic on Highway 39 and to potentially evacuate people in the mountains.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Authorities named the man who was recovered in a submerged vehicle that plunged over a mountain road. Abraham Tapia Jr., a 26-year-old Azusa man, was identified by Investigator Nani Cholakians of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Tapia was in a vehicle that veered off of Highway 39, down the mountainside and into the San Gabriel Dam July 2. The Chevy Camaro crashed through a chain link fence and became submerged in the water around 10:20 p.m. A passenger, 26-year-old Azusa man Andres Peralta, freed himself, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Peralta was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. The driver of the vehicle was nowhere to be found, the CHP said. Rescuers searched for the vehicle and discovered its location at 4 a.m. Friday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau successfully lifted the destroyed Camaro July 4. Tapia was found after the vehicle was recovered. The Body and Destroyed Vehicle Were Recovered July 4. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - First responders have recovered a body found in the San Gabriel Dam Sunday afternoon. Deputies were called to the dam along Highway 39 near mile marker 24.43 to rescue a person in the water. The person was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to Lt. Melikidse of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station. County firefighters and U.S. Forest Service firefighters were called to the scene around 12:20 p.m. for a cardiac arrest victim, but learned of a person in the water.
A Sheriff’s rescue helicopter found and hoisted the victim, Melikidse told SGV CityWatch. Dispatch Supervisor Melanie Flores of the Los Angeles County Fire Department was told that the victim is a critical missing person. The death was pronounced at 1:09 p.m., Flores told SGV CityWatch. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau was called to investigate. The body was recovered close to the scene of a deadly crash from Thursday, July 2 where a Chevy Camaro crashed through a chain link fence and became submerged in water. The passenger survived and a body, along with the car, was pulled July 4. |
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