Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Multiple private schools have been evacuated and have closed the rest of the day after an email threat was sent to the schools.
Damien High School in La Verne was evacuated and will remain closed Monday, according to the La Verne Police Department. “Following further investigation, the threat appears to have come from overseas and has been deemed not credible by LVPD,” according to the La Verne Police Department. Students at St. John the Baptist School in Baldwin similarly evacuated and closed Monday around 10:20 a.m. after a threat was received, according to a parent who received an email and voicemail to pick up their child. “This morning a mass email was sent out to some Catholic and non-Catholic schools making a threat to school safety on this date. While there is no current evidence to suggest that this threat is credible, out of an abundance of caution, we decided to cancel classes for today,” according to an email sent by St. John the Baptist School. Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic School in Claremont and Bishop Amat High School also canceled classes for Monday and sent students home after receiving a similar thread. Fox11 News reported that a Catholic School in Compton received a similar threat. “The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is aware of the online threats to schools in LA County. LA County Sheriff’s Stations will conduct patrol checks at local schools throughout the day. We will continue to monitor and provide future information as it becomes available,” according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Law enforcement and school authorities are extra vigilant Friday after students reported separate incidents of stalking.
A student of the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District was reportedly grabbed by a man while walking to school around 8:30 a.m. September 14. The student was able to break free and notify school and Sheriff’s deputies, according to school officials. The suspect, last seen near Hacienda Boulevard and Francisquito Avenue. He is a Latino man in his 40s, wearing a yellow shirt, blue hat and neck tattoo he drove a white van. West Covina Unified officials said a similar incident occurred in their area where a student appeared to be followed near Hollenbeck and Hollencrest. Authorities searched for, but did not locate the white van that was seen. “As this case undergoes investigation, HLPUSD school police, City of Industry deputies and the West Covina Police Department will be providing additional patrol officers in the surrounding areas,” according Alfonso Jiménez, superintendent of schools for the Hacienda La Puente School District. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION – The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man who shot and wounded a police officer August 10.
Jose Ortega, 25, wounded an officer assigned to the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force in La Puente, according to the U.S. Marshal Service. Undercover officers with L.A. IMPACT were confronted by the suspects they were surveilling and a shooting occurred. The wounded officer received injuries considered not life-threatening, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. One suspect involved in the shooting was arrested, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Ortega is a Hispanic man with black hair, brown eyes, stands 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighs 290 pounds. He is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who knows Ortega’s whereabouts is urged to call the U.S. Marshals Service at 1-877-WANTED2 (926-8332). Remain anonymous by using the U.S. Marshals Tips app, the P3Tips mobile app, or 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Two 500 kilovolt transmission lines in the Walnut area malfunctioned, causing 159,239 customers to lose power in the San Gabriel Valley early Sunday, a Southern California Edison spokesman said.
Some customers in Walnut, Covina, West Covina, La Puente, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, El Monte, the Whittier Narows area, Irwindale and Baldwin Park were affected by the outage that began at 6:47 a.m., according to Reggie Kumar, Southern California Edison spokesman. Customers in Carson were affected as well. Power was fully restored with the help of generators at 7:36 a.m., Kumar told SGV CityWatch. “Those transmission lines actually feed all the way to Bakersfield, so it was a very large loss,” Kumar told SGV CityWatch. The transmission lines are located in the City of Walnut. The cause is under investigation and repair work continues, Kumar told SGV CityWatch. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A former pizza delivery worker was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison in the stabbing death of his supervisor in La Puente
32-year-old Rafael Sanchez of Baldwin Park was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. He was found guilty November 19, 2019 of first degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Daniel Anthony Sanchez, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The stabbing occurred inside Domino’s, 1073 N. Hacienda Blvd., March 10, 2018. Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station responded at 5:59 p.m. Rafael objected to Daniel Sanchez telling him to do his job. Rafael snuck up behind his supervisor and stabbed him in the neck and back. The knife reportedly used in the stabbing was recovered. Daniel Sanchez was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead, according to detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Detectives are asking additional victims to come forward after the arrest and arraignment of a high school track and field coach accused of carrying on a years-long relationship with a student. Fidel Camarena Dominguez, 37, pleaded not guilty to six counts of lewd acts on a child 14 or 15 years old, two counts each of oral copulation of a person under 16, dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime and one count each of unlawful sexual intercourse and oral copulation of a person under 18, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Dominguez is accused of carrying on the relationship from February 2015 to June 2017 with the Rosemead High School student who was 14 at the time, prosecutors said.
Dominguez was the girl’s coach. He would pick her up on weekends, driver to his home in the 400 block of Sandia Drive in La Puente and have sex with her, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The victim, now 18, told deputies about the assaults February 22, 2019. Dominguez was arrested at Rosemead High School Friday, March 1 by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau at 10:40 a.m. He was booked at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Temple Station, Los Angeles County booking records show. In addition to serving as track coach, Dominguez also served as a day-to-day substitute teacher, according to documents from Transparent California. A decade ago, he served as track coach at Beverly Hills High School. Dominguez is being held in lieu of $400,000 bail. Investigators want any additional victims of Dominguez to come forward and call the Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau Tip Line at 877-710-5273, or send an email to specialvictimsbureau@lasd.org. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LA PUENTE, HACIENDA HEIGHTS - One man was hospitalized after being shot, an event that led deputies on reports of gun violence across La Puente and Hacienda Heights early Saturday. Deputies responded to three separate calls within a 50-minute span, according to Lt. James Long of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station. Industry deputies first responded to a call of a shooting occurring at City Lights Cocktail Lounge, 1257 S. Hacienda Blvd., at 1:16 a.m. The man was hospitalized and refused to give deputies information, Long said.
Industry deputies then responded to a report of shots fired towards a home in the 600 block of Unruh Street at 2:05 a.m. in La Puente. An occupant in a black sedan allegedly opened fire. Deputies searched, but could not find any physical evidence of a shooting, Long said. A resident reported a prowler in the 15000 block of Amar Road in West Valinda around 1:46 a.m. The suspect was seen pointing a handgun at the resident, Long said. No one was arrested from any of the incidents, Long said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man January 18 after he allegedly robbed five 7-Eleven convenience stores across the San Gabriel Valley. Julian Larsuel, 19, was arrested early Friday morning after a deputy anticipated his next target, a 7-Eleven in Hacienda Heights. Larsuel is accused of robbing at gunpoint stores in Baldwin Park, West Covina, Covina, City of Industry and La Puente, authorities said. Larsuel allegedly robbed a Covina 7-Eleven, 105 N. Vincent Ave., at 1:10 a.m., where he stole several hundred dollars. In roughly more than one hour, Larsuel is accused of additionally robbing stores in Baldwin Park, 3705 Puente Ave.; West Covina 7-Eleven, 235 N. Azusa Ave..; La Puente, 15211 Amar Rd.; and City of Industry, 16107 Gale Ave., authorities said.
Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Industry Station were aware of the robberies and began checking stores not yet robbed. A deputy at a Hacienda Heights 7-Eleven, 15780 Tetley St., saw a man arrive matching the robbery suspect some time before 3 a.m. The deputy detained the suspect at gunpoint and he was arrested without incident. The suspect apparently tossed a handgun into a trashcan after seeing the deputy arrive, authorities said. The handgun, an airsoft or pellet gun, was recovered at the scene. Larsuel was arrested at 2:50 a.m. He is being held in lieu of $165,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Rio Hondo Municipal Court Wednesday, January 23. Feds’ Investigation in Drugs, Fraud, Identity Theft Leads to Arrests Across San Gabriel Valley8/17/2018 Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor REGION - Federal authorities arrested 12 people tied to a local street gang in a widespread investigation into narcotics, fraud and identity theft. A total of 17 tied to the Puente 13 gang were named in a series of indictments returned by a federal grand jury. The investigation was a collaboration between the United States Secret Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The investigation involved wiretaps that revealed to investigators criminal activity by gang members, gang associates and others, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The 12 arrests were made over Tuesday, August 14 and Wednesday, August 15. Crimes allegedly committed include possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, felon in possession of a firearm, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal possession of access devices (credit cards), possession of access device making equipment, and possession of stolen mail, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The investigation is five months in the making, having begun when authorities learned that Puente 13 gang member Victor Ponce De Leon, 26, was involved in drug trafficking after communications were intercepted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In an indictment, Ponce De Leon, also known as “Dopey,” alleged he was involved in selling an ounce of methamphetamine while armed with a 9-millimeter handgun. A scheme to smuggle narcotics into the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic was also uncovered, according to an indictment naming 39-year-old Glendora man Ricky Lee Thornburg, also known as “Shorty.” Thornburg is currently incarcerated at Pitchess. Thornburg planned to receive the methamphetamine and heroin, hidden in plastic drinking straws, from a woman who was to visit, but the shipment was intercepted in May, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. An identity theft ring was also uncovered during the investigation, with stolen credit cards and personal identifying information from numerous common victims were found in the possession of multiple defendants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Arrested were:
>>CLICK TO READ THE CHARGES AGAINST EACH DEFENDANT
Most of the defendants were arraigned in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Thornburg, Basye, Arroyave, Maribel Gomez and Jimenezare expected to soon be brought into court. The Glendora Police Department and Culver City Police Department assisted in the investigation. Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor LA PUENTE - A victim shot in the face by an unknown assailant died last week of his injuries exactly two weeks after being injured, authorities said.
Francisco Lopez, 30, was shot in the face outside QQ Bargain Dollar Mart, 401 S. Azusa Ave., around 9 p.m. Friday, June 22. Lopez was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Lopez died Friday, July 6. The suspect fled with two female accomplices in a black, older-model car with collision damage to the passenger side, according to Sheriff’s deputies during the initial incident. The gunman was described as a Hispanic man between 20 to 30 years old. The two female accomplices, the driver and rear passenger, are Hispanic and between 20 to 25 years old. |
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