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 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 – Arraignment for the man accused of raping and brutally beating a woman found dead in her Covina retirement home unit 24 years ago was continued to September 1. David Adolph Bernal, 46, was charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance allegations that the crime was committed during a rape, sodomy and burglary, according to Greg Risling, Assistant Media Chief with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Bernal was located and arrested at his El Monte home August 6, 2020. Investigators allege he is the suspect in the January 19, 1996 death of Mary Lindgren, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Lindgren, 67, was found dead in her first-floor bedroom at Covina Villa Retirement Home. Her body was found by facility staff at 7:30 a.m. A break in the case came this July when DNA evidence submitted last year yielded a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.
Sheriff’s Homicide detectives assisted Covina Police in the investigation. Facility staff, residents, family members, outside vendors and neighbors living near the facility were interviewed and determined to have no involvement in the murder, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. DNA, as well as several other pieces of evidence, was collected at the scene. A suspect profile was generated from DNA collected at the scene, but matches with state and federal criminal justice databases could not be found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. As years went by, state and national crime broadcasts were sent to participating agencies. Several leads were acquired, but led nowhere, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. It was last year when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Unsolved Unit submitted suspect DNA evidence with the California State Department of Justice for a DNA search and identification process, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. Investigators focused their attention on the possible suspect, eventually jailing Bernal, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance August 7. If convicted as charged, Bernal faces life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty. A decision to seek capital punishment will be decided at a later date, Risling said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Investigators working the cold case of a brutally beaten, raped and murdered woman in Covina used a statewide DNA technology to identify and arrest a suspect.
David Adolph Bernal, 46, was located and arrested at his El Monte home August 6. Investigators allege he is the suspect in the death of Mary Lindgren, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Lindgren, 67, was found dead in her first-floor bedroom at Covina Villa Retirement Home January 19, 1996. Her body was found by facility staff at 7:30 a.m. A break in the case came this July when DNA evidence submitted last year yielded a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. Sheriff’s Homicide detectives assisted Covina Police in the investigation. Facility staff, residents, family members, outside vendors and neighbors living near the facility were interviewed and determined to have no involvement in the murder, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. DNA, as well as several other pieces of evidence, were collected at the scene. A suspect profile was generated from DNA collected at the scene, but matches with state and federal criminal justice databases could not be found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. As years went by, state and national crime broadcasts were sent to participating agencies. Several leads were acquired, but led nowhere, the Sheriffs Information Bureau said. It was last year when the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and homicide detectives with the Sheriff’s Unsolved Unit submitted suspect DNA evidence with the California State Department of Justice for a DNA search and identification process, the Sheriffs Information Bureau said. Investigators focused their attention on the possible suspect, eventually jailing Bernal, who is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance August 7. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION – Federal investigators announced the arrest of a Pasadena man and a recent Azusa resident for their alleged involvement in a ransom plot that ended with the victim being buried in the desert after being beaten to death.
Pasadena man Anthony Valladares, 28, and Alexis Ivan Romero Velez, 24, a recent Azusa resident, were arrested July 14 with the execution of search warrants by the FBI and the San Gabriel Valley Safe Streets Task Force, the US Attorney’s Office said. Prosecutors allege Valladares was the hired muscle used to subdue, intimidate and beat Rouchen “Tony” Liao, 29. Velez was the driver, according to an affidavit. “According to the affidavit, Valladares admitted that he was hired to assist in the kidnapping, agreed to accept $1,000 for the job, and restrained Liao during the kidnapping. Romero admitted, according to the affidavit, that he was recruited by Valladares and was the driver during the kidnapping,” according to the Department of Justice in a written statement. Valladares and Velez allegedly worked with two Chinese nationals who fled the country after the killing. Guangyao Yang, 26, and Peicheng Shen, 34, were charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, attempted extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act and threat by foreign communication, investigators said. Yang and Shen, who last lived in West Covina before they fled, were captured and are being held by Chinese authorities. Liao, a Santa Ana resident, was kidnapped July 16, 2018 in San Gabriel by three men and forced into a dark-colored Toyota Sienna minivan, which was followed by two suspects in a Range Rover SUV. The kidnapping occurred around 7:30 p.m. at San Gabriel Square, 140 W. Valley Blvd. Liao was possibly coaxed to the area on the premise of conducted a business deal, the FBI said. After Liao was kidnapped and taken to a Corona home, demands were made to deposit $2 million within three hours to several Chinese accounts. Liao’s father also received “proof-of-life” photos of his son physically retained in a closet: his arms bound behind him, his legs bound together and his eyes taped shut, investigators said. No more demands were made and nothing was ever heard from the captors again. Investigators believe Liao died July 17, 2018. The Following day, Yang and Shen allegedly drove to the Mojave Desert to dispose of Liao’s body. An internet search connected to Yang revealed efforts to learn how fast a body decomposes in soil. Shen apparently had the closet where Liao was held re-carpeted, investigators said. Liao’s remains were 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. Liao’s remains were identified by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office - Coroner Section. The kidnapping charge carries a statutory maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Public help is sought for information on the killing of a 22-year-old man found dead on a Hacienda Heights Street June 28. Javier Rodriguez, a Hacienda Heights resident, was found wounded on Turnbull Canyon Road south of Northview Terrace around 12:35 a.m. Rodriguez died at the scene from an apparent gunshot wound to the upper torso, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to contact Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau Detective R. Tomlin or Detective K. Acebedo at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3 Tips mobile app, or at lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOMITA - A 28-year-old suspect accused of gunning down a man in Baldwin Park was located and arrested June 25, authorities said Tuesday.
Anthony Angel Knight was tracked down to a park in Lomita and was nabbed in an undercover operation. The murder weapon was recovered later, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Knight is the alleged trigger man in a shotgun shooting in Baldwin Park June 14 that took the life of Brian Morales. The 19-year-old victim was gunned down outside his Baldwin Park home in the 4000 block of Phelan Avenue around 3:13 a.m. He died at the scene. Knight was booked on suspicion of murder and is being held in lieu of $4.5 million bail. His arraignment has been postponed to an unknown date at Pomona Superior Court. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A man was rescued in April, but two others weren’t so lucky in a kidnapping and ransom plot involving a former Colton resident and her boyfriend. Leslie Briana Matla, 20, and Juan Carlos Montoya Sanchez, 25, were arrested last week on a federal criminal complaint alleging the couple collected ransom money in a kidnapping conspiracy where US citizens were held captive in Mexico, according to the Justice Department. The criminal complaint charges Matla and Sanchez with one count of money laundering and conspiracy. On March 28, April 13 and April 22, three men – residents of San Diego, Norwalk and Pasadena – were kidnapped in Tijuana while on business or visiting family. A suspect using a Mexican telephone number called the victims’ families and were told to deposit ransom money at a specific location, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Matla, a current Mexican resident, Would venture into the US to pick up ransom payments placed by the kidnapped victims’ family members at locations chosen by her co-conspirators, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Mexican authorities found the San Diego victim’s body March 29 after the victim’s adult son placed a bag containing $25,000 inside the women’s restroom of a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, The U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The Norwalk victim’s body was found in Mexico April 14 after the victim’s family tried, but failed to pay a $25,000 ransom to a woman whom law enforcement believes was Matla, at a Lowe’s parking lot in Norwalk, according to court documents. A Pasadena woman alerted authorities April 22 that her family member was being held captive in Mexico and that a suspect demanded a ransom of $20,000 be left in a Food 4 Less parking lot in Lynnwood. A pregnant woman was to pick up the cash.
The relative of the Pasadena woman was rescued that day from a Tijuana hotel - the same hotel where the two other victims met their fate, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Cell phone records helped authorities to discover that all three victims have been held at the same motel. Nine suspects were arrested at the hotel. US border crossing records, surveillance footage from the ransom drop off points and social media messages helped identify Matla. Sanchez also received Wire transfers from two of the kidnapping victims, according US Attorney’s Office said. Both suspects face a possible maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted as charged. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - A Monterey Park man was official charged May 7 with one count of murder in the stabbing death of his mother. 34-year-old Alexander Joshua Escobar is accused of stabbing to death 65-year-old Josephine Reyes, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The murder count includes an allegation of using a knife, according to Deputy District Attorney Melanie Buccat. Escobar is accused of stabbing his mother multiple times in the home they shared in the 1700 block of Alisar Avenue May 5.
Escobar allegedly called police and admitted to dealing the fatal blows. Monterey Park Police officers found the suspect with his hands up. He was detained without incident, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. “When officers entered the residence, they found a female Hispanic in her 60’s with multiple stab wounds to the upper torso. She was pronounced dead at the scene,” Sheriff’s investigators said. Two knives were recovered at the scene. Bail is set at more than $2 million. If convicted as charged, the defendant faces a possible maximum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison, the county DA said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The 52-year-old detainee questioned in the shooting death of an 83-year-old man was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder. John McHugh, a Temple City man, is accused of shooting his father, said Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The father, Michael Patrick McHugh, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
The shooting occurred in the 4900 block of Halifax Road just after 3 p.m. April 24. Deputies responding to the gunshot victim call found Michael McHugh suffering from a wound to the upper torso. He died at the scene, investigators said. John McHugh was detained at the scene. Booking records show McHugh was arrested at 4:30 p.m. April 24. He is being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles in lieu of $2.03 million bail ahead of a scheduled appearance in Alhambra Superior Court April 28. |
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