 Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The man who bilked more than $400,000 from his clients over a 12-year period was sentenced Tuesday.
Augusto “Tito” Gonzalez De La Cruz, 58, pleaded no contest to seven felony counts of grand theft and admitted an allegation of a loss of property valued at more than $200,000, according to Deputy District Attorney Ryann Jordan of the Consumer Protection Division. Gonzalez De La Cruz was immediately sentenced to jail, which will be followed by four years of mandatory supervision as part of the negotiated plea agreement, according to Paul Eakins of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Gonzalez De La Cruz was ordered to pay $404,000 in restitution to the 35 victims listed in the amended criminal complaint. De La Cruz was taken into custody after a warrant for his arrest was made February 6. De La Cruz is accused of running a fraudulent immigration business in which he duped 35 victims into paying for services they never received, according to the Azusa Police Department. From January 2006 to February 2018, De La Cruz stole $404,000 from victims and their families. Police and prosecutors were initially informed of the fraud by 15 victims from May 2015 to January 2018, but 20 additional victims came forward through a hotline established by detectives, Azusa Police said. De La Cruz allegedly made false promises to his victims that included expediting the processing of visas, resident alien cards and citizenship petitions, Jordan said.  IMAGE/From PulsePoint. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS - An unclothed man was discovered and hoisted from the side of Mt. Baldy Road late Tuesday.
Firefighters were dispatched at 10:25 p.m. to Mt. Baldy Road and Mountain Avenue to a cliff rescue. Firefighters located a man in his 20s, found 300 feet over the side of the road, according to Dispatch Supervisor Imogene McBride of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. According to Los Angeles County Fire radio traffic, the man’s mother said he had been missing since October 11. The man, who possibly suffered from psychiatric issues, was assessed by a medic lowered from a Los Angeles County Fire helicopter. The man was packaged and hoisted from the mountainside and flown to an area hospital for treatment, McBride said. The San Dimas Mountain Rescue team responded to the scene. A supervisor with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s San Dimas Station had no details of the mountain rescue and was reluctant to provide details to SGV CityWatch if they were available.  PHOTO/Stock image. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The man who piloted a single-engine plane which crashed in the same area of another deadly plane collision at Brackett Field Airport was identified recently.
The fixed-wing plane is registered to the Curtis Hedlund Corporation, according to the Federal Aviation Administration plane registry.
The address, 16206 Arrow Hwy. in Irwindale, houses Hedlund’s business, Boss Air Mechanical, a full-service air conditioning and heating contractor. The Beech V35 aircraft Hedlund piloted crashed just before Noon, October 1. An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board was nearby investigating the first crash when Hedlund collided with a tree, according to Josh Cawthra of the NTSB. According to a preliminary report issued by the NTSB, Hedlund was arriving to Brackett Field Airport from Blythe, California when the air traffic control tower cleared Hedlund to make a straight-in approach for runway 8-R. Witnesses heard a noise, then observed the Beech V35 bank to the left. Its trajectory steepened before the left wing hit the ground. Shortly after impact, the plane ignited, according to the preliminary NTSB report. The tree the plane struck was 50 feet tall, 900 feet from the approach end of the runway and 185 feet left of the runway centerline.  PHOTO/Stock image. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor REGION - Several mountain roads have been temporarily closed due to the high-fire danger, authorities said Monday.
Glendora Mountain Road will be closed from Big Dalton Canyon Road to East Fork Road and Glendora Ridge Road will be closed from Glendora Mountain Road to Mt. Baldy Road until Tuesday, October 16. Chantry Flats, Mt. Wilson Trail and Bailey Canyon will also be closed, according to Sierra Madre officials. A wind advisory is in effect until 3 p.m. Monday, October 15. A red flag warning will remain in effect until 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, as winds will reach 25 to 30 miles per hour. Gusts of 45 miles per hour are possible, according to the National Weather Service. The windy conditions will slightly decrease Tuesday.  Lighting crackles above the sky above San Dimas during a thunder storm Friday, October 12. PHOTO/Aaron Castrejon. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor REGION - Rain and lighting-related crashes and power failures are reported across the San Gabriel Valley Friday.
Firefighters have been dispatched to a call of arcing power lines in the 300 block of West Walnut Avenue in Monrovia. Firefighters were also responding to a similar call in the 200 block of West Walnut Avenue around 9 p.m. A transformer explosion was reported in 2300 block of Canyon Park Drive just after 9 p.m. in Diamond Bar. Power lines were also reported down at South Diamond Bar Boulevard and Kiowa Crest Drive at 8:53 p.m. Power lines were reported down in the 700 block of North Nogales Street in Walnut at 8:50 p.m. A transformer explosion was reported in Pomona at West Artesia Street and Berkeley Avenue just before 8:40 p.m. A transformer explosion was reported in Temple City in the 5000 block of Sereno Drive around 8:40 p.m. The storm responsible for this damage came from a small cluster of strong thunderstorms which were predicted to produce frequent lightning, small hail and waterspouts. The storm moved north to northwest across the inner waters of Los Angeles County, according to the National Weather Service. The storms are expected to redevelop over the next few hours.  PHOTO/Courtesy of ABC7 Chicago. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The family of a 20-year-old man who was slain in a car on his birthday is pleading for witnesses to come forward in the two-year-old killing.
Saieed Stecoo Ivey was gunned down outside his apartment complex in the 800 block of El Repetto Drive in Monterey Park June 9, 2016. Homicide detectives, as well as Ivey’s family and friends, are asking for public assistance in finding those responsible. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $10,000 reward, in conjunction with a $10,000 reward from Ivey’s family and friends, for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. An unknown suspect pulled the trigger around 4:30 a.m. that night. Ivey celebrated his birthday just four and a half hours prior to the shooting, detectives said. Ivey was a basketball player at East Los Angeles Community College. A Chicago transplant, Ivey sought a better life away from the violence of his hometown. Ivey’s mother, Chareda Carter, flew from Chicago to make a public plea in helping solve her son’s murder. “He did not deserve this. If anyone can provide any information, please do not hesitate to call,” Carter said. “it’s tough to lose anyone in your life, especially a son this age and who was aspiring to be successful.” Anyone with information on Ivey’s killer or killers is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).  PHOTO/Google Maps. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A Covina man accused of four separate incidents of peering into women’s stalls at Citrus College was officially charged Wednesday.
Phillip Joseph Osuna III, 25, was charged with four misdemeanor counts of unauthorized invasion of privacy, peeking, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Osuna is accused of four incidents taking place in women’s restrooms at Citrus College from August 30 to September 20. If convicted as charged, Osuna faces a maximum possible sentence of two years in jail, Santiago said.  PHOTO/Stock image. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A 20-year-old man is facing 29 years to life in state prison after being found guilty of attempted murder and mayhem in a 2016 attack on his then 17-year-old girlfriend.
Jason Scott Gustin was found guilty of the above charges and was also found guilty of personally inflicting great bodily injury under circumstances of domestic abuse. He also used a knife during the attack, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The attack occurred August 22, 2016 near Arcadia as Gustin and his former girlfriend met to end their relationship, according to Deputy District Attorney Prescilliano Duran, who prosecuted the case. As Gustin and the girl sat in his car, he slashed the girl’s throat and attempted to choke her. As she attempted an escape, Gustin slashed the back of her neck, slashed an arm and produced a deep cut the entire length of her right thigh, Duran said. The girl escaped and ran one-quarter mile to a nearby convalescent home where she took refuge. Gustin chased the girl and attempted to enter the building, but was locked out by a nurse, according to witness testimony. Gustin was arrested after fleeing to his mother’s workplace. Gustin is scheduled to be sentenced December 4 in Department G of Alhambra Superior Court.  PHOTO/Stock image. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The man and woman found shot to death in their Pomona home were identified Monday.
Vernon Jackson, 62, and Sandra Jackson, 59, were identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Vernon apparently shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself. Police discovered the dead couple while investigating a call for a welfare check in the 1400 block of West McKinley Avenue October 6. The couple suffered a single gunshot wound each, according to Sgt. Brian Hagerty of the Pomona Police Department. Police discovered the bodies around 11:20 a.m.  PHOTO/Stock image. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A lieutenant with the county coroner has identified the man killed in a plane collision near La Verne’s Brackett Field.
Frank E. Owens, 69, was the man killed in the plane that went down just outside of Brackett Field Airport, 1615 McKinley Ave. September 30, according to Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Owens is the registered owner of the 177RG Cessna fixed-wing, single-engine plane that crashed into a nearby plant nursery. His listed city of residence is Los Angeles, according to a plane registry with the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilot was practicing landing and takeoffs in the plane when it went down. The pilot reportedly radioed that the Cessna was experiencing some mechanical problem before the crash. The female pilot, was seriously injured. Her current condition has not been disclosed. The September 30 crash and the October 1 crash of a Beech Bonanza fixed-wing aircraft in virtually the same location are not connected and will be investigated separately, according to the FAA. |
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