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 - Homicide detectives are again asking for public assistance in identifying the gunman who killed an 18-year-old in a friend’s garage. Oscar Garcia, 18, was shot and killed in a garage in the 100 block of West Cypress Street April 22, 2017 by a still-unidentified shooter. A 17-year-old boy was also hit by gunfire, but survived. A teen girl escaped injury. The gunman is a Hispanic male 20 to 25 years, stands 6 feet tall, has a medium build, light skin, has black hair and brown eyes. A $20,000 rewards is offered to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect. The three teens were in a detached garage when the gunman approached and stood at the doorway and pointed a gun at the teens. There was a brief verbal exchange and gunfire erupted.
The shooting was reportedly unprovoked. Anyone with information on the gunman 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 - The man found guilty of murdering a husband and wife during a burglary in the La Verne foothills was sentenced recently. Luke Fabela, 27, was sentenced to life in prison September 27 without the possibility of parole for the 2014 killing of Shirley Isom, 75, and her husband Armie Isom, 89. In May, jurors found Fabela guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree residential burglary. They also found true the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a burglary, according to Greg Risling, assistant chief for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The Isoms were killed in their La Verne foothills home on Roughrider Road December 26, 2014. Both died from blunt force trauma. Shirley Isom additionally suffered sharp force trauma. Fabela also stole a cell phone from the home, prosecutors said. DNA evidence tied Favela to the scene. 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 LOS ANGELES - The suspects accused of killing a man reported missing by family in late August were formally charged, the County DA recently announced. La Verne man Elijah Thomas Rouse, 18, and Shaun Cardarelli, 37, from San Gabriel, were charged with one count of murder with the special circumstance allegation of killing during the commission of a robbery and an allegation that they used a knife as a deadly and dangerous weapon, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Evidence collected during a search warrant served in La Verne August 27 led investigators to believe the disappearance of 28-year-old John Aguila is connected to a burning body found in Upland Friday. San Bernardino County Firefighters responded to the San Antonio Heights area for a small brush fire near North Mountain Avenue and Euclid Avenue August 23 around 3:30 a.m. The body was located while flames were being extinguished.
The burned body has yet to be positively identified, however. Aguila, from West Covina, was last seen and heard from August 22 around 4:30 p.m. His abandoned car was found in San Dimas August 23 — bloodied gloves and clothing found within. Rouse and Cardarelli both face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged. They also face the death penalty. A decision on whether to seek capital punishment will be made at a later date, Santiago said. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES -The man accused of beating to death a 76-year-old woman during a burglary in her home April 9 pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Heber Enoc Diaz, from Pasadena, is charged with one count of murder with special circumstance allegations that the crime was committed during a robbery and a burglary. He also is charged with two felony counts of second-degree burglary and one felony count each of first-degree residential burglary, second-degree robbery and elder abuse, said Los Angeles County District Attorney’s public information officer Paul Eakins. Diaz, 27, is accused of causing great bodily harm when he used a hammer, a jab saw and a box cutter to kill Chyong Jen Tsai, according to the complaint. Diaz was previously employed by Tsai to renovate her home, but was not employed at the time Tsai stumbled upon the suspect burglarizing her garage. Diaz is also accused of burglarizing Tsai’s home March 19 while he was employed. Also charged in the case are Luis Alonso Cruz Gaitan, 33, of Altadena, who faces one felony count each of accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property exceeding $950 in value, and Isis Ondina Villalobos, 26, of Pasadena. She faces one felony count of accessory after the fact, Eakins said.
If convicted as charged, Diaz faces life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. Gaitan and Villalobos each face up to three years in county jail if convicted as charged. Diaz was scheduled to be arraigned in the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. Gaitan and Villalobos are scheduled for a hearing June 28. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The 61-year-old woman accused of intentionally killing a cyclist and trying to kill other riders in Claremont pleaded not guilty Friday. Sandra Marie Wicksted, a Claremont resident, faces one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder in the November 3, 2018 incident. The complaint includes allegations of using a vehicle as a deadly and dangerous weapon and the crimes were willful, deliberate and premeditated, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney Information Officer Ricardo Santiago. Wicksted is accused of trying to run over four cyclists before fatally striking 54-year-old Leslie Ann Pray. The collision occurred at Radcliffe Drive and Mills Avenue at 11:35 a.m.
During the crash that killed Pray, Wicksted’s green 1996 Mercury Tracer station wagon slammed into a wall and became heavily damaged. Radcliffe faces a possible maximum sentence of life in state prison if convicted as charged, Santiago said. Radcliffe is scheduled to return to court September 3. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - Homicide investigators announced the arrest of a female suspect implicated in the April 16 shooting death of a man in Carson. Maricela Mercado and her daughter, 15-year-old Alora Benitez, were found and deported by Mexican authorities after being detained in Chihuahua, Mexico. The two were accused of entering the country illegally, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Mercado was detained by U.S. Customs and Border protection agents upon her transfer to the Paso Norte port of entry. El Paso Police officers jailed Mercado pursuant to a warrant issued for the murder of Jeffery Appel, the Sheriff’s Department said. Benitez was taken by FBI agents and Victim/Witness advocates from the FBI.
At the time deputies issued a written statement a little after 1 p.m. July 24, Mercado was awaiting extradition to California. Benitez was waiting reunification with family. Mercado, 40, and fellow murder suspect Roman Cerratos, 39, are accused of being involved in a shooting death April 16, 2019. A victim, Appel, was found dead inside a vehicle in Carson. During the investigation, detectives believed the two suspects and Benitez fled across the border. Cerratos was found in Mexico June 14 and was extradited to waiting Sheriff’s detectives. He was subsequently booked on suspicion of murder. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The man prosecutors claim shot his neighbor July 15 during a dispute entered his plea during a July 17 arraignment. Massimo Barbagallo, 46, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder with an allegation of using a handgun to cause death, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Barbagallo is accused of gunning down his unarmed neighbor, 26-year-old Cristian Jonathan Alarcon.
The shooting may have been the result of a long-standing feud between the two neighbors, homicide investigators said. Barbagallo’s bail has been set at $3 million. He is scheduled to return to Alhambra Superior Court August 9. He faces a possible maximum of life in state prison if convicted as charged. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Homicide detectives located and arrested a 17-year-old boy days after he allegedly shot three people at a West Covina house party, fatally wounding one. The suspect, who remains unnamed due to his age, was found at an undisclosed hospital June 6 after being injured in a possibly-separate shooting, according to Detective Jason Marks of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. The suspect in a red hat seen in a low-quality photo taken from surveillance video is the gunman, Marks said. Numerous tips led to the suspect’s identification. The teen is accused of shooting and killing 18-year-old Dennis Bracamonte of La Mirada at a party May 31. Two others were wounded. The gunman was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, Marks said.
The shooting took place around 10:30 p.m. A fight erupted prior to the arrival of police. Officers found three victims in a rear yard. Bracamonte was declared dead at the scene. Two male juveniles received gunshot wounds to their legs, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. A female juvenile wound up at a nearby hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The second suspect seen wearing a black Raiders hat remains outstanding. Anyone with information on the remaining suspect is urged to call Homicide detectives at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). |
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