Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Evidence was recovered and a suspect was arrested November 8, accused of pulling the trigger in the shooting that claimed the life of a Monrovia woman.
Sidney Terrence Johnson, a 25-year-old Los Angeles man, was tracked down after a two-month investigation and arrested at his home. He was booked on suspicion of murder and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. The case has been submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to the California Highway Patrol. Bertha Hernandez, 35, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in a crash vehicle on the eastbound 210 freeway east of Baldwin Avenue, September 4. Hernandez was driving a black Mercedes-Benz when the shooting occurred around 9:05 a.m. “Upon arrival, officers observed a solo vehicle that had multiple bullet holes on the driver's side and the solo female occupant inside the vehicle had sustained multiple gunshot wounds,” according to the California Highway Patrol in a written statement. CHP officers responding to calls of gunfire and a traffic collision found the Mercedes-Benz had crashed into a sound wall, multiple bullet holes peppered the driver side. Hernandez was declared dead at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol. The events leading up to the shooting are either unknown, or have yet to be publicly shared. Johnson is being held at the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles. There is no court date information available. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A Pasadena man who pleaded guilty late last year to conspiracy to kidnap was sentenced for his part in a plot that ended with a victim’s body being unearthed months after the victim was kidnapped.
Anthony Valladares, 29, was sentenced to 195 months in federal prison. Hired as the “muscle,” Valadares was one of four men directly involved in the kidnapping of Ruochen “Tony” Liao in San Gabriel. Liao was beaten, restrained and held for a $2 million ransom that was demanded from his parents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin also ordered Valladares to pay $33,090 in restitution. Valladares pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to kidnap October 2020. Liao met with Chinese national Peicheng Shen, 35. The latter used an alias several times while communicating with Liao, pretending to help him settle a debt. During a third meeting, Shen met Liao at a San Gabriel shopping center July 16, 2018 and lured him into a van, according to court documents. Valladares was hiding in the van. Shen uttered a word to the “muscle,” who helped to beat shocked with a stun gun, restrained with zip ties and covered with a black hood, according to court documents. “Valladares admitted to helping Yang acquire the taser used in the kidnapping and admitted to acquiring a revolver and bullets for the kidnapping,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a written statement. Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, a 25-year-old Azusa man, was hired by Valladares. Velez drove the van to a house in Rosemead where Liao was placed into another vehicle. Shen and another co-conspirator, Chinese national Guangyao Yang, 28, took Liao to a home in Corona where his legs and arms were restrained and his eyes taped shut. He was then confined to a closet, according to court documents. “The day after the kidnapping, the victim’s father received a demand for a $2 million ransom in exchange for the victim’s life, with the money to be deposited into three Chinese bank accounts within three hours,’ according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a written statement. Valladares was apparently not present when Liao was killed. Investigators learned of Yang’s Internet search history, which included discovering how long it takes for a body to decompose in soil. The closet where Liao was confined was also re-carpeted, according to court documents. Liao’s body was eventually disposed of in Mojave, California. His skeletal remains were eventually discovered by a hiker June 12, 2019 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. Shen and Yang, who previously resided in West Covina, were both arrested in China, held on charges related to the kidnapping. Velez pleaded guilty in September 2019 to one count of conspiracy to kidnap. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, November 10. The FBI conducted this investigation with help from the FBI’s Safe Street Task Force, which includes the Pasadena Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Julia S. Choe and Frances S. Lewis, both of the General Crimes Section, prosecuted this case. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES – Investigators identified the partially-decomposed body found along Glendora Mountain Road from mid-August.
The remains belonged to 51-year-old Miguel King. He died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death is listed as a homicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. King’s body was discovered along Glendora Mountain Road near mile marker 1 about 15 feet off the roadway August 14, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department radio traffic. King was initially listed as DOE #14 until coroner investigators were able to identify the body. The body discovered in the mountains is likely the same Miguel King, also age 51, who was listed as a missing person by Sheriff’s detectives. Miguel Angel King was last seen by his family at his Los Angeles home in the 12300 block of Spring Street July 20. He reportedly did not have a history of going missing, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The niece of Miguel Angel King started a gofundme page to raise funeral expenses for her uncle. The missing King’s white Toyota hatchback was found abandoned and parked at an Inglewood apartment complex in the 100 block of West Queen Street around 1 p.m. July 24, according to the Los Angeles Times. 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 – Coroner investigators are still working to identify the remains of a person found in the San Gabriel Mountains August 14.
The partially decomposed body was found Saturday August 14 along Glendora Mountain Road at mile marker 1 about 15 feet off the roadway, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department radio traffic. The body has been given the temporary identification of Doe #14, according to Sarah Ardalani, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. The circumstances surrounding the discovery, as well as any possible criminal doings that may have led to the death are not publicly known. The Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau has not returned a request for information on the investigation. Deputies and mountain rescue personnel worked over the weekend to recover the body. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A 62-year-old bicyclist died along Angeles Crest Highway above La Cañada Flintridge Saturday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.
Initially, officers believed that the bicyclist along the northbound lanes of Angeles Crest Highway at mile marker 27.55 died from some medical emergency, according to California Highway Patrol traffic logs. Officers responded to the scene around 8:19 a.m. July 17. They requested that all northbound lanes be shut down while firefighters performed CPR to revive the bicyclist, but he died at the scene, according to CHP traffic logs. The bicyclist was identified as Steve Gerdes, a Glendale resident, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. LOS ANGELES - A $10,000 reward will be announced Friday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of a man in the San Gabriel Mountains March 25. San Dimas Sheriff’s Station Captain Walid Ashrafnia will be flanked by Homicide Bureau personnel, Sheriff Alex Villanueva and a representative of Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Kathryn Barger to discuss the shooting death of Gerald Purdue. Described as an avid hiker, 63-year-old Gerald “Myles” Perdue was found dead along Mt. Baldy Road near mile marker 3.09. Deputies were notified at 1:45 p.m. An overview of a coroner report noted Perdue died on a hiking trail, the victim of a gunshot wound to the chest. “Deputies from San Dimas Station responded to the location regarding an unresponsive male who was found in a culvert about 60 yards off the road. Upon their arrival, deputies located the victim, a male White in his 60’s who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso and pronounced deceased,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau in a previous statement. Purdue’s vehicle was located at the scene. Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - A man in his 60s was found dead in a culvert, suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso along Mt. Baldy Road, Thursday afternoon, deputies said.
Deputies were called to Mt. Baldy Road at mile marker 3.09 around 1:45 p.m. March 25 to an unresponsive man found 60 yards off of the roadside, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The unidentified man’s vehicle was recovered at the scene. It is not yet clear if the man’s wounds were self-inflicted. Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), through the P3Tips mobile, or lacrimestoppers.org. 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 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. |
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