Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - Pomona Police promptly arrested a former Upland Police officer hours after he was released by his department. Joshua Duarte, 31, was arrested January 11. He was a probationary police officer with the Upland Police Department since August 19, 2019, according to Cpt. Marcelo Blanco of the Upland Police Department in a written statement. Duarte is accused of sexual battery while off duty, Blanco said. “I can tell you that I am disturbed by the allegations. The alleged conduct is inconsistent with the expectations of an Upland Police officer and do not reflect the majority of our officers who work hard every day to maintain the trust and support of our community,” said Upland Police Chief Darren Goodman.
Duarte posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court February 3, according to Los Angeles County booking records. Specifics on the investigation by Pomona Police have not been revealed. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The man accused of capital murder in the slaying of his estranged girlfriend entered a plea October 10. Robert Anthony Camou, 27, pleaded not guilty in the death of Amanda Custer, 31, who disappeared July 29. She was last seen being placed in the rear hatch of a Toyota Prius outside a Monrovia home. Blood was found inside the home. Custer has not been seen or heard from since. Camou faces a count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of killing a witness and an allegation that he was out on bail when he committed the crime. He is also charged with one felony count each of first-degree burglary, person present; injuring a girlfriend; and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. The charges also include one misdemeanor count of battery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Deputy District Attorney Melanie Drew alleges while Camou was out on bail for a previous assault, Camou killed Custer on or around July 29. Camou was out on bail connected to an April 22 assault in which Camou allegedly battered his girlfriend, strangled her and threatened her with a stun gun, Drew said. Custer fled to a nearby home where Camou chased her into and battered a male resident who tried to stop him. If convicted as charged, Camou faces life in prison without parole or death. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The 29-year-old woman accused of molesting a 16-year-old boy beginning three years ago pleaded no contest October 2. Jessica Marie Esparza was sentenced to five years probation and one year in county jail after pleading no contest to unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a person under 18, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Esparza was credited with 300 days served while in custody. Esparza is originally charged with one count each of unlawful sexual intercourse, sodomy of a person under 18, sexual penetration of a person under 18 and two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18, authorities said.
The alleged acts are believed to have occurred from March 2016 to October 2017. Esparza was a part-time Azusa Unified staff member and served as an assistant baseball coach. Administrators were made aware of the allegations Friday, May 3. They then notified Azusa Police officers around 2:20 p.m. the same day. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The 27-year-old man caught on security camera allegedly assaulting his estranged girlfriend was officially charged Wednesday. Robert Michael Mendez was charged with one count felony each of criminal threats, kidnapping and three counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The charges filed include a special circumstance allegation that Mendez inflicted great bodily harm during domestic violence. Arcadia Police believe the assault on camera occurred Sunday September 29. Officers were sent a link of the assault around 2 p.m. September 30. The video was believed to have taken place in the area of Santa Anita Avenue and Camino Real. Detectives canvassed the area and narrowed the location to the 1500 block of South Santa Anita where the woman and suspect were found, Arcadia Police said.
The victim was hospitalized for her injuries. Mendez was found and arrested within the home in the 1500 block of South Santa Anita Avenue and arrested, Arcadia Police said. “Investigation also revealed that the female victim had been held against her will inside the residence since late last evening,” Arcadia Police said. Mendez was ordered to be held in jail in lieu of $330,000 bail ahead of a scheduled appearance in Pasadena Superior Court October 9. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The county DA slapped a capital murder charge against the domestic violence suspect who rapped about killing and burying his girlfriend. Robert Anthony Camou, 27, faces one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of killing a witness and an allegation that he was out on bail when he committed the crime, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The case against Camou, originally filed May 29, also charged him with one felony count each of first-degree burglary, person present; injuring a girlfriend; and assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. The charges also include one misdemeanor count of battery. While investigators have searched for the missing 31-year-old Amanda Custer, Deputy District Attorney Melanie Drew alleges Custer was killed by Camou on or about July 29.
The May 29 charges stem from an incident when Camou allegedly strangled Custer and threatened her with a stun gun. Custer fled to a neighbor’s home where she was chased inside by Camou who also attacked the resident within for intervening. If convicted as charged, Camou faces life in prison without parole. A decision to seek the death penalty will be made at a later date, Santiago said. Custer’s body has yet to be found. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A man found guilty of a series of heinous crimes against four women over five years will see the inside of a prison cell for life. Jason Chung Chien Yu, 43, was sentenced Wednesday. He was found guilty in June of three counts of sodomy by use of force, two counts each of kidnapping to commit rape, assault to commit rape and false imprisonment and one count each of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and criminal threats, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Yu assaulted women ranging from 22 to 60 years old. He promised the victims money or drugs in exchange for sex. Yu Kidnapped a woman to commit rape in 2012. He also beat and sodomized two women in 2016. In February 2017, Yu kidnapped another woman and assaulted her, the DA’s office said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - The suspect accused of entering a motel room that was not his and sexually assaulting a young girl on a trip from China was immediately sentenced to six years in state prison Monday. Douglas Rivera, 41, pleaded no contest to one felony count of lewd acts upon a child. In addition to prison time, Rivera will submit to lifetime sex offender registration, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Rivera pleaded no contest at a scheduled pre-preliminary hearing at Pomona Superior Court June 10. Two preteen girls from China were staying in a room at Vanllee Hotel and Suites, 1211 E. Garvey Ave., February 7, 2018. The girls were part of a Chinese tourist group. Rivera drove up to the girls’ room around 10:08 p.m., peered through the open drapes from his truck and masturbated, according to Covina Police. Rivera then exited his truck, stood outside the room and pretended to talk on his cellphone for 30 minutes. Rivera entered the motel room when the girls opened the door thinking he was their chaperone, Covina Police said.
Multitudes of tips phoned in to Covina Police helped identify Rivera -- who he is and where could have been, said Lt. Trevor Gaumer of the Covina Police Department in a previous interview. Covina Police detectives served a search warrant at Rivera’s Baldwin Park home and located the truck parked there February 9. The Dodge Ram 4500 truck was coated with a truck bed liner spray, possibly in an attempt to alter its appearance, Gaumer said. While on the run, Rivera published a two-minute video in an attempt to explain away what happened. “Listen. I did not do nothing [sic] wrong. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Something happened at that hotel,” Rivera said in his video. “Please keep me in prayer. God will let this truth out,” Rivera added. When charges were filed last year, Rivera was facing three counts: lewd acts upon a child, first-degree burglary with a person present and indecent exposure. If convicted as charged, Rivera could have been sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison and lifetime sex offender registration. Email Newsletter! | Advertise! | Donate! |
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