Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man admitted Friday to supplying drugs that ultimately killed a woman who ingested them.
Edwin Oliva, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing Fentanyl resulting in death and one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Oliva admitted in a plea agreement to providing several lines of a drug for his victim to snort and he neglected to tell her that the drug was Fentany, which he was aware of. “Oliva did not call 911 or otherwise seek medical care for the victim until nearly six hours after texting a friend that the victim was not breathing,” the US District Attorney’s Office. In that nearly six hours, Oliva cleaned his apartment by removing the fentanyl and other drug trafficking evidence, which was put in the trunk of his significant other’s car and driven away from the apartment in attempt to hide it, the US District Attorney’s Office. After serving a search warrant, Montebello officers on the car and located 1.9 kilograms of heroin, 21 grams of fentanyl, 1.4 kilograms of marijuana, 0.4 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a blue flip phone he used to conduct drug transactions and a notebook he used as a pay/owe ledger, the US District Attorney’s Office said. Oliva has been in federal custody since March 2019. After being taken into custody that month, Oliva ordered his significant other to destroy evidence and to tell authorities that the blue flip phone was a toy for their children. Oliva is scheduled to be sentenced January 7, 2022 and faces a statutory maximum of life in prison. The fentanyl distribution charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The heroin possession charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – A San Marino man who was recorded while accelerating towards a crowd of protestors in Old Town Pasadena May 31 last year pleaded guilty to 11 felony weapons charges, prosecutors said Thursday.
Benjamin Jong Ren Hung, 28, entered into a plea agreement filed April 29 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy, transporting and receiving firearms across state lines, making false statements during purchases of firearms, possession of unregistered firearms and illegally transporting firearms across state lines to California, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Hung admitted to making false statements to gun dealers in the state of Washington when purchasing four rifles and a shotgun in March 2020, falsely claiming he was a Washington resident. “The firearms dealers were not legally permitted to sell firearms to California residents,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Hung also admitted to taking part in a multi-year conspiracy in making false statements to arms dealers in Oregon to illegally transport weapons to California. He paid a co-conspirator to purchase handguns for him and had the co-conspirator claim he was Hung. The weapons were then delivered by the co-conspirator to Hung. This elaborate scheme was concocted to elude California’s strict gun laws, Hung stated in the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Hung also admitted to illegally possessing three unregistered short-barreled semiautomatic rifles, which were seized from his Lodi home in September 2020, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In his plea agreement, Hung admitted to taking a Glock 26 9mm handgun to a George Floyd protest May 31, 2020, where he used his customized Dodge pickup truck to antagonize protesters. Hung accelerated towards the intersection, sounded the truck’s train horn he had installed, briefly stopped, then continued through the intersection, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. As Hung fled, his truck left a large cloud of exhaust, an act sometimes referred to as “coal rolling,” Hung was found and arrested by Pasadena Police. A date for Hung to appear in court to formally enter the guilty pleas has not yet been set. This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force, FBI civil rights squads and the Pasadena Police Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A Covina man who repeatedly cyberstalked two victims, including a teen girl, over a period of years, demanding sexual favors and threatening violence if they didn’t comply, was sentenced to prison time.
Carl De Vera Bennington, 34, was sentenced April 14 to 18 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in December 2020 to his crimes. He sent hundreds of messages over several years to his victims, whom have never met Bennington in the flesh. Prosecutors describe Bennington as having a "deep-seated and violent ideology regarding women,” according to a sentencing memo. When one victim blocked Bennington from contacting her online, he created new accounts and continued his harassment between June and November 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “He insulted the victim, demanded she engage in sex acts with him, and threatened to sexually assault her. When the victim demanded that Bennington stop harassing her, he threatened to kill her and her family,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a written statement. Another victim deactivated her accounts in 2017 after Bennington’s solicitation for sex. She reactivated her accounts in 2019 and Bennington was there again to send her numerous online messages. He threatened to kill her unless she caved to his sexual demands, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Bennington frequently promoted incel (involuntarily celibate) ideology, which involves individuals who are unable to find a willing sex partner,” according to a sentencing memo filed by prosecutors. “The ideology ranges in tone from expressing sadness and self-loathing to advocating the “absolute hatred” of women.” United States District Judge Dolly M. Gee described Bennington’s messages to his victims as “repeated, cruel” and “sadistic.” Bennington reportedly suffers from mental health issues, prompting prosecutors to seek enhanced supervision and mental health treatment following his release. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A man accused of stabbing to death his victim more than 40 times 43 years ago was charged Thursday.
Anthony Davis, 61, was charged with one count of murder in the death of a man at the Spic and Span Motel on or about January 7, 1978. The victim, 42-year-old Rudolfo Chavez was found by a motel employee, according to Greg Risling, assistant media chief with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. DNA evidence collected at the crime scene led back to Davis, Risling said in a written statement. Davis is ex pected to be arraigned in department and other Pomona superior court today, February 19. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office failed to state the possible sentence Davis could face in this crime if he is convicted. This case is being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man prosecutors accused of funneling hundreds of thousands in Covid-19 jobless benefits to foreign nationals pleaded guilty Thursday.
Bonifacio Jastilana Marinas, 50, pleaded guilty to a single-count criminal information charging him with mail fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office. In his plea deal, Marinas admitted that his actions Cost the Unemployment Development Department and the United States Treasury $516,244. Marinas filed paperwork in the names of foreign nationals he falsely claimed were real estate agents hit hard by the pandemic. “According to his plea agreement, from April 2020 to August 2020, Marinas took advantage of provisions in the CARES Act to file approximately 85 unemployment insurance claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) that falsely asserted that the named claimants were self-employed real estate agents in Los Angeles County whose jobs had been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the US Attorney’s Office said in a written statement. Marinas listed his realty business, West Covina-based Vintage Realty & Finance, Inc., as the workplace of the alleged EDD claimants and his home as the claimants’ addresses, but the funds were funneled to residents of Saipan and the Philippines, the US Attorney’s Office said. The claimants were not registered as real estate agents in Los Angeles County, had no employment history in California and were not eligible for the benefits Marinas claimed, the US District Attorney’s Office said. As a result, the debit cards used to distribute the unemployment benefits were mailed to Marinas, who then used them to withdraw the fraudulently obtained funds, the US Attorney’s Office said. Marinas is scheduled for a sentencing June 24 in U.S. District Court and faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. 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. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor 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. The victims were on Harris' team in the Puente Hills-Rowland Heights Little League.
Harris, 48, pleaded no contest to the charges in October. A no contest plea is the same as a guilty plea. He must also register for life as a sex offender. The acts occurred between 2014 and 2017 at Harris' home with victims ranging from 11 to 15 years old, Johnson said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - One of the suspects accused of helping to kidnap a Santa Ana business owner who wound up dead after his father was extorted of $2 million pleaded guilty today.
28-year-old Anthony Valladares pleaded to a single-count of conspiracy to kidnap. In his plea deal, he admitted to conspiring with Chinese nationals and an Azusa man to violently abduct Ruochen “Tony” Liao from a San Gabriel parking lot July 16, 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Valladares admitted to obtaining a gun, ammunition and a stun gun used in the kidnapping and beating. Valladares previously admitted to being paid $1,000 for the job. Liao’s skeletized remains were eventually 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, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office - Coroner Section. Liao met with 34-year-old suspect Peicheng Shen, who used an alias at the time of the meeting. The latter lured Liao into a trap, promising him to help collect a debt from another person, according to Valladares’ plea agreement. Liao was kidnapped in San Gabriel during a third meeting with Shen. He was lured to a minivan where Valladares was hiding. Valladares was the hired muscle used to intimidate, subdue and beat Liao who was driven away by Azusa man Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, 24. “Liao entered the minivan and spoke in Chinese with Shen, who used a specific word to signal Valladares to begin attacking the victim. Once Shen uttered the word, Valladares and Shen violently assaulted Liao, used a taser to subdue him, and ultimately bound and restrained him with a black hood and ties,” according to the plea agreement. Velez was recruited by Valladares, court papers stated. Once taken to Rosemead, Liao was then transported in another vehicle by Shen and Guangyao Yang, 27, to a home in Corona where Liao was stuffed in a closet. His legs were bound, his eyes taped shut and his arms restrained behind him, court papers stated. Liao’s father received a ransom demand for $2 million one day after the kidnapping. The father received “proof of life” images of his son bound and restrained in the closet, court papers stated. Liao died while restrained in Corona by Shen and Yang. Valladares was apparently not present, court papers stated. Investigators believe Liao died July 17, 2018. The Following day, his body was likely disposed of. Investigators found their way to the Corona home. The closet where Liao was held captive received new carpeting. Internet searches conducted by Yang sought information on how long a human body decomposes in soil, court papers stated. Shen and Yang fled to China, but were eventually captured and are still being held by Chinese authorities on charges related to the case. Shen and Yang were charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempted extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act and threat by foreign communication, investigators said. Romero Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to kidnapping. He is scheduled to be sentenced February 4, 2021. Valladares is scheduled for a February 18, 2021 hearing and may face a maximum statutory sentence of life in federal prison. The prosecution and defense agreed that a sentence of 12 years, but no more than 25 is an appropriate sentence. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man accused of driving a truck through a protest in Pasadena May 31 was found with an illegally-obtained weapon, part of a cache of weapons believed to be amassed for acts of civil disorder.
Benjamin Jong Ren Hung, 28, was charged with one count of conspiracy to transport firearms across state lines and to make a false statement in acquisition of firearms. Prosecutors allege Hung, a San Marino resident, acquired a cache of four weapons purchased in Oregon and then transported across the state line into California, according to an affidavit filed with the complaint against Hung. A friend of Hung purchased one handgun in Oregon and allegedly falsely stated that he was the transferee of the weapon, rather than Hung. The weapon was transported to California and kept in Hung’s home prior to the May 31 protest, the affidavit stated. In March, Hung allegedly purchased three additional handguns himself in Oregon and transported them to California. “[Hung] also allegedly amassed other firearms and tactical equipment from suppliers throughout the United States and used his family’s vineyard in Lodi, California as a training camp to prepare to engage in civil disorders,” the affidavit stated. Hung was arrested after attempting to drive through protestors on a street in Old Town Pasadena May 31. Protesters scattered as a truck approached. No one was injured. Pasadena Police searched Hung’s truck and found a loaded semiautomatic handgun, multiple high-capacity magazines loaded with ammunition, an 18-inch machete, $3,200 in cash, a long metal pipe and a megaphone,” the affidavit stated. If convicted as charged, Hung could face a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, authorities said. This incident was investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force and Civil Rights squads and the Pasadena Police Department. Hung was ordered detained at an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles Wednesday. He is scheduled for bail status hearing September 28. He is scheduled to be arraigned October 15. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION – The man police accuse of setting the Ranch 2 Fire appeared in court September 11. Osmin Palencia, 36, pleaded not guilty to one felony count each of arson during a state of emergency and arson of a structure or forest, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Police accuse Palencia of intentionally starting a fire that grew to burn 4,237 acres. The blaze, dubbed the Ranch 2 Fire, was reported to authorities around 2:53 p.m. August 13. Azusa Police allege Palencia ignited the fire during an argument. He is apparently a homeless man who lives in a tent near where the fire started at San Gabriel Canyon Road and Ranch Road.
The case against Palencia also includes allegations that he was previously convicted of dissuading a witness in 2015, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Palencia faces a possible maximum of 23 years in state prison if convicted as charged. Palencia is scheduled to return to court December 9. |
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