 Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES -The man accused of beating to death a 76-year-old woman during a burglary in her home April 9 pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Heber Enoc Diaz, from Pasadena, is charged with one count of murder with special circumstance allegations that the crime was committed during a robbery and a burglary. He also is charged with two felony counts of second-degree burglary and one felony count each of first-degree residential burglary, second-degree robbery and elder abuse, said Los Angeles County District Attorney’s public information officer Paul Eakins. Diaz, 27, is accused of causing great bodily harm when he used a hammer, a jab saw and a box cutter to kill Chyong Jen Tsai, according to the complaint. Diaz was previously employed by Tsai to renovate her home, but was not employed at the time Tsai stumbled upon the suspect burglarizing her garage. Diaz is also accused of burglarizing Tsai’s home March 19 while he was employed. Also charged in the case are Luis Alonso Cruz Gaitan, 33, of Altadena, who faces one felony count each of accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property exceeding $950 in value, and Isis Ondina Villalobos, 26, of Pasadena. She faces one felony count of accessory after the fact, Eakins said.
If convicted as charged, Diaz faces life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. Gaitan and Villalobos each face up to three years in county jail if convicted as charged. Diaz was scheduled to be arraigned in the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. Gaitan and Villalobos are scheduled for a hearing June 28.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The California Highway Patrol will hold a sobriety checkpoint in the unincorporated area of Azusa Friday, August 23. The checkpoint, scheduled at an undisclosed area, will take place at 5:30 p.m. Traffic permitting, all vehicles will be checked, but if traffic volume increases, every third or fifth driver will be stopped to maintain objectivity, according to California Highway Patrol Captain Susan Estrem. The captain noted that 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, the CHP said. “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 - A 46-year-old motorcyclist was killed after apparently drifting into opposing traffic and colliding into a Chevy Tahoe August 14. The unidentified man died after colliding on San Gabriel Canyon Road north of mile marker 35.68. The crash occurred around 11:09 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The rider of the 2018 Suzuki motorcycle was southbound at an unknown speed, failed to negotiate a turn and hit a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe which was northbound at 25 miles per hour.
“The Suzuki then collided with the left front of the Chevrolet and the motorcyclist was ejected from his motorcycle. The motorcyclist sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision,” according to Officer Sullinger of the CHP Baldwin Park Office. The 66-year-old driver of the Tahoe sustained an abrasion and swelling to his left forearm. His 62-year-old passenger was uninjured. Alcohol and drugs are not suspected factors in the crash.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The 61-year-old woman accused of intentionally killing a cyclist and trying to kill other riders in Claremont pleaded not guilty Friday. Sandra Marie Wicksted, a Claremont resident, faces one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder in the November 3, 2018 incident. The complaint includes allegations of using a vehicle as a deadly and dangerous weapon and the crimes were willful, deliberate and premeditated, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Information Officer Ricardo Santiago. Wicksted is accused of trying to run over four cyclists before fatally striking 54-year-old Leslie Ann Pray. The collision occurred at Radcliffe Drive and Mills Avenue at 11:35 a.m.
During the crash that killed Pray, Wicksted’s green 1996 Mercury Tracer station wagon slammed into a wall and became heavily damaged. Radcliffe faces a possible maximum sentence of life in state prison if convicted as charged, Santiago said. Radcliffe is scheduled to return to court September 3.  PHOTO/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Detectives investigating the assault and disappearance of a Monrovia woman pieced together the suspect’s movements in the hours since her July 29 disappearance. Amanda Kathleen Custer, 31, was seen by witnesses as her reportedly lifeless body was placed into the rear hatch of a grey Prius, allegedly at the hands of Robert Anthony Camou, 27. Before Camou was seen in Claremont northbound towards the San Gabriel Mountains, he stopped at Del Taco, 1834 E. Route 66, in Glendora at 8:32 a.m. Five minutes later, Camou bought cigarettes from a Shell Gas Station, 1860 E. Route 66, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. Camou was tracked by the ankle monitor he was required to wear as part of a domestic violence case involving Custer. The Prius headed east through Claremont at 8:56 a.m. through Baseline Road and Padua Avenue.  PHOTO/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Camou stopped at an AMPM in the 3800 block of Sierra Avenue just before 9 a.m. near Lytle Creek. Nearly 30 minutes later, he headed south on the 15 freeway, but detectives lost track of Camou’s movements.
“After this point, there is a five-hour gap in time, where the location of Robert Camou and Amanda Custer is unknown,” detectives said. At 2:40 p.m., Camou visited a Chase Bank ATM in Azusa -- about five hours after detectives lost track of him after he removed the ankle monitor. Detectives have expanded their search, which focused on the Glendora Ridge Road/Mt. Baldy Road and Lytle Creek areas, to include the Azusa canyons. "This is basically a plea to anybody one out there, especially on Monday, the 29th of July that was hiking or fishing or mountain biking that might of seen anything out of the ordinary. It might not have seemed important at that time, but it does now,” said Custer’s father, Rick Custer. Camou is being held without bail in an unrelated domestic violence, burglary and assault case. Anyone with information on Custer’s whereabouts 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).  PHOTO/Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Homicide detectives have expanded their search for a woman not seen since July 29. Detectives are searching the Lytle Creek area, where suspect Robert Anthony Camou apparently has great knowledge of. His girlfriend Amanda Custer has been missing since she was taken against her will, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “We are asking the community to remain vigilant and keep an eye out for Amanda Custer,” deputies said in a written statement. Deputies are also searching the San Gabriel Mountains in the Glendora Ridge Road and Mt. Baldy Road areas. Camou was apparently witnessed placing Custer into his grey Prius after an assault occurred in a Monrovia home. Police entered the home after Camou drove away with Custer and found blood inside. Camou was found sleeping in his Prius in Los Angeles July 30 and was arrested after a lengthy standoff. Camou is being held on an unrelated, no-bail domestic violence warrant.
Camou infamously was recorded rapping about killing a woman and burying her in the dirt. The video was recorded hours before his arrest. If anyone has information on Amanda Custer’s whereabouts or any information about her disappearance, call 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).  PHOTO/Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A registered sex offender who molested a 17-year-old student during a driving lesson pleaded no contest July 8 and was sentenced Thursday. Montclair man Tom Mantung Lam (aka Lam Man Tung, Jie Yao Li and Nam Tung Lam), pleaded no contest to one felony count each of child molesting with a prior, sexual penetration of a person under 18 and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. He was sentenced to three years in prison, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. A parent of the girl paid for private lessons with Lam to help her obtain her license in June of 2018. The first four of six lessons occurred without incident, detectives said. March 7, 2019 is when the alleged assaults occurred. Lam warned the victim not to report what happened to the police, prosecutors added.
Lam was arrested March 15. Lam is a registered sex offender. He was arrested by Monterey Park Police November 27, 2014 and convicted of annoying or molesting a minor while as a driving instructor, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. According to the Megan’s Law registry, Lam was additionally convicted of sexual battery in another case.  IMAGE/KTLA News. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Homicide Investigators believe the suspect seen allegedly kidnapping his girlfriend July 29 from her Monrovia home may have driven to the mountains above Claremont just hours after a domestic attack. The suspect, 27-year-old Robert Anthony Camou, was witnessed taking Amanda Custer, 31, from her Monrovia home around 8:15 a.m. July 29. Sheriff’s Homicide detectives state Camou’s 2017 four-door Toyota Prius was seen north on Padua Road in Claremont heading to Mt. Baldy. “Anyone on or off road, in the area of Mount Baldy (Mount Baldy Road, Glendora Ridge Road, Glendora Mountain Road) on Monday July 29, 2019, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., that observed suspect Camou, victim Custer and/or the Toyota Prius, are encouraged to contact Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. Police entered the home where the attack occurred July 29 and reportedly found blood inside. Camou was found around 2:45 a.m. the following day, sleeping in his Prius parked at South Hill Street and West Second Street in Downtown Los Angeles. He was arrested after an hours-long standoff -- Custer was nowhere to be found.  PHOTO/Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Camou is being held without bail on unrelated burglary and domestic violence charges, the Sheriff’s Department said.
In a bizarre twist, a video surfaced of Camou rapping at an L.A. club. In the song, Camou spoke of killing a woman and burying her in dirt. He mentioned police were looking for him before exiting off screen. “Although the extent of Victim Custer’s injuries are unknown, Homicide Detectives believe she may be in grave danger,” the Sheriff’s Department said. Anyone who has seen Custer or knows her whereabouts 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). |
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