Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION - The US Forest Service announced Glendora Mountain Road will be closed for the next five days due to a high fire danger risk.

A red flag closure will shut down Glendora Mountain Road from Big Dalton Road to East Fork Road starting at 4 p.m. today and is expected to end 10 a.m. Monday, November 30. Also closed will be Glendora Ridge Road from Glendora Mountain Road to Mt. Baldy Road, according to the US Forest Service.

Pedestrians and bicyclists will still have access.

A fire weather watch will be in effect for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting Thanksgiving afternoon through Friday evening, but may graduate into a red flag warning later Wednesday.

Moderate to locally-strong Santa Ana Winds will develop Thursday night and through Friday morning. Winds are expected to peak Thursday night and Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Gusts are expected to reach between 40 and 65 miles per hour over much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Humidity is also expected to dip between 12 to 25 percent Thursday and as low as 6 to 15 percent for Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Santa Ana Winds are expected to dissipate into Saturday.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

POMONA - A Pomona man was booked on suspicion of several felony counts of attempted murder and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle after being arrested more than four months after shooting at a vehicle occupied by a man, woman and child, the CHP said.

Preston Urel Givens Jr., 25, is accused of unloading a firearm at a Nissan Altima on the I-10 freeway near Fairplex Drive July 10, 2020 after a highway violence incident. He was identified by members of the California Highway Patrol Baldwin Park Special Enforcement Team, according to the CHP.

Givens was arrested during a traffic stop November 13.

None of the intended victims were injured. After the incident, which occurred at 12:30 a.m., the victims went back to their residence in Bakersfield.

“Officers from the CHP Baldwin Park Special Enforcement Team conducted extensive follow up for this investigation. As a result of their efforts, they were able to identify the suspect,” According to Officer Tony Chen of the California Highway Patrol Baldwin Park Special Enforcement Team.

Givens is being held in lieu of more than $3.6 million bail at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles. His next scheduled court date is November 20 in Pomona Superior Court.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - A Pomona man was arrested November 9 after fleeing police while driving a Humvee stolen from an Upland Army Reserve facility.

Armando Garcia, 29, a parolee convicted in 2019 in state court on theft and burglary charges, was named Friday in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court. Garcia allegedly stole the semi-armored Humvee midday Monday before Pomona officers found the unlicensed vehicle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Garcia was charged with theft of government property.

Garcia refused to stop and led officers on a four-minute chase, driving at excessive speed, running red lights, stop signs, failing to signal for turns and driving in opposing lanes, according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

Garcia eventually stopped in a residential neighborhood on East Kingsley Avenue and was taken into custody.

Inside the Humvee, valued at more than $200,000, was a large pair of bolt cutters and a cut army-approved padlock. The latter is fixed with a steel wire to prevent turning of the steering wheel, the criminal complaint stated.

If convicted as charged, Garcia faces a possible statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison.

REGION - A man who pleaded no contest after being charged with molesting three boys was sentenced to nearly 10 years in state prison recently.

Carlton Murray Harris Jr. was charged with one count of a lewd act upon a child under 14 and two counts of lewd acts upon a child under age 14 to 15, according to Pamela Johnson, public information officer with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

​Harris was sentenced to nine years and four months in state prison.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - A Rialto man and Upland woman were identified after being killed in a crash November 8.

Ana Miramontes, 41, was named by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. While the coroner would not release the name of the man because next of kin had not been notified, the California Highway Patrol identified him as Daniel Miramontes who is in his 40s.

The fatal collision occurred on the eastbound I-10 freeway at Via Verde around 2:08 a.m. Witnesses reported seeing a black minivan rear end a white sedan, according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs.

Both Ana Miramontes and Daniel Miramontes occupied the white sedan that was rear ended. They both died at the scene, according to California Highway Patrol officer Xavier Becerra.

Both fatal victims were pronounced dead at the scene at 2:30 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs.

The crash initially affected the No. 2, 3 and 4 traffic lanes. CHP officers temporarily had all lanes blocked during the investigation. Eventually all lanes, except for the No. 1 lane, remained closed.

A good Samaritan attempted to perform CPR on at least one person injured in the crash who was reportedly down in lanes of traffic, according to CHP traffic logs.

Two others were injured in the crash: an 18-year-old man who suffered major injuries and a 16-year-old male who suffered moderate injuries were taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, according to the CHP.

Initial reports from the scene indicated that one person, possibly two people, ran from the crash and into the nearby foothills. The CHP requested assistance from the air in locating a person described as a driver who fled into the foothills, according to CHP traffic logs.

It is unclear if the CHP determined if someone actually ran from the crash scene.

MOUNTAINS - Firefighters are rescuing one injured occupant of a vehicle that plunged an estimated 400 feet down Angeles Crest Highway Sunday.

The driver of the vehicle was declared dead at the scene of the crash one mile south of a fire station along Angeles Crest Highway, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The surviving occupant is needing immediate aid, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The CHP was called to near mile marker 33.34 around 7:16 p.m. November 8. According to CHP traffic logs, an occupant of the vehicle flagged down a passerby to tell them about the crash.

A Los Angeles County Fire helicopter will be taking the surviving patient.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

REGION - Fire authorities are confident the remaining hotspots on the Bobcat Fire will be extinguished as forecasted rain is expected to hit the region Saturday and Sunday.

Firefighters achieved 98 percent containment recently on the Bobcat Fire, Which incinerated nearly 115,800 acres, destroyed 87 homes, damaged 28, as well as either damaging or destroying 102 other structures, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

There is a slight chance that rain will move in by late Friday. The chances for rain will increase by about 4 a.m. Saturday and an 80 percent chance of precipitation will likely carry into Saturday evening, according to the the National Weather Service.

For Sunday, showers will be likely, mainly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The rains will also likely prevent dirt and ash from spreading across and blanketing the region, the US forest service said.

When last updated October 17, fire authorities said what remained of the bobcat fire was smoldering and creeping where heat exists within containment lines in the existing footprint.

The U.S. Forest Service announced a temporary closure of Crystal Lake Campground ground November 5 due to ongoing cleanup efforts for the bobcat fire and for impending inclement weather. The closure will remain until further notice.

Large portions of Angeles Crest Highway remain closed for emergency repair work due to the Bobcat Fire. Angeles Crest is closed 500 feet east of Mt. Wilson/Redbox Road to Upper Big Tujunga Canyon Road and 3.3 miles east of Newcomb’s Ranch Road to Islip Saddle.

Chantry Flats Truck Trail above Sierra Madre is unstable and dangerous for travel. It also remains closed for repair work, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The Bobcat Fire began burning on Sunday, September 6. In the hours and days since it ignited, it rapidly grew in size and at times outpaced containment efforts set forth by firefighters.

The Bobcat Fire encased the Southland in a filthy orange glow, at times rained copious amounts of ash as if it were a winter snowstorm.

Flames enveloped the mountainside moving at first northeast from Cogswell Dam where it ignited over the San Gabriel Mountains and into Kern County where most of the destruction was seen.

Through the persistent work of firefighters on the ground and in the air, Mount Wilson Observatory was saved from destruction after flames repeatedly Insta too close for comfort to the historic site.

Sturtevant Camp, East of the Mount Wilson Observatory, was also saved.

The fire may have ignited do to brush potentially coming into contact with an overhead Conductor, according to southern California Edison in a letter addressed to the California Public Utilities Commission.