Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - A Pomona man was booked on suspicion of several felony counts of attempted murder and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle after being arrested more than four months after shooting at a vehicle occupied by a man, woman and child, the CHP said.
Preston Urel Givens Jr., 25, is accused of unloading a firearm at a Nissan Altima on the I-10 freeway near Fairplex Drive July 10, 2020 after a highway violence incident. He was identified by members of the California Highway Patrol Baldwin Park Special Enforcement Team, according to the CHP. Givens was arrested during a traffic stop November 13. None of the intended victims were injured. After the incident, which occurred at 12:30 a.m., the victims went back to their residence in Bakersfield. “Officers from the CHP Baldwin Park Special Enforcement Team conducted extensive follow up for this investigation. As a result of their efforts, they were able to identify the suspect,” According to Officer Tony Chen of the California Highway Patrol Baldwin Park Special Enforcement Team. Givens is being held in lieu of more than $3.6 million bail at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles. His next scheduled court date is November 20 in Pomona Superior Court. 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 RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Vehicles were shot at, crashed into, one person was shot and two people were stabbed by a man who slashed at a deputy with a knife during an attack May 13.
Deputies accuse 46-year-old Sergio Rodriguez of attempted murder with a knife, attempted murder with a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon while using a knife, assault with a deadly weapon while using a firearm, carjacking and possession of a controlled substance. Nine victims were identified, the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff’s Station said in a written statement. Rancho Cucamonga deputies responded to the area of Milliken Avenue and the 210 freeway at 1:17 a.m. Wednesday to a report of someone who shot at a vehicle, damaging one of the tires. The suspect fled in a red 1993 Honda Accord southbound on Milliken Avenue until he crashed into an occupied vehicle at Milliken and baseline Road. The suspect is accused of attempting to carjack the victim after the latter pulled over in the wake of the crash. Rodriguez allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times, the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff’s Station said in a written statement. The suspect fled again in the Honda Accord, drove into an apartment complex where he rammed another vehicle as the driver waited for a security gate to open. The suspect walked to the damaged vehicle, opened the driver side door and stabbed the driver several times, the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff’s Station said. The suspect fled to Milliken and Foothill Boulevard where deputies located the suspect, identified as Rodriguez, as he attempted to abandon his Honda Accord. “Deputies saw Rodriguez and attempted to detain him. He was uncooperative and slashed at a deputy with a box cutter, striking him in the abdominal and groin area. The box cutter did not penetrate the deputy’s vest but sliced his uniform shirt and pants,” according to the Rancho Cucamonga Sheriff’s Station in a written statement. Detectives soon learned that Rodriguez is connected to multiple other shooting incidents along the 210 freeway, with one victim receiving a gunshot wound to the leg. Rodriguez is being held in lieu of $4 million bail at the West Valley Detention Center. 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. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The investigation continues into the death of a man whose body was found near a freeway on ramp in Azusa Thursday afternoon. Carlos Zuniga Medina, 29, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. He died from gunshot wounds. His death was ruled a homicide. The body was found just before 3:18 p.m. April 9 on the Vernon Avenue on ramp. Medina was declared dead on arrival, according to Dispatch Supervisor Troy of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. A Sig Alert for the on ramp from Vernon Avenue to the eastbound 210 freeway was initiated at 3:53 p.m. Thursday. The Sig Alert was canceled at 1:14 a.m. Friday, according to Officer Patrick Kimball of the California Highway Patrol Traffic Management Center.
April 8, police were called to a reported shooting victim at that same location after 10 p.m. No victim had been found. It is unclear if Wednesday nights call and Thursday nights discovery of a dead man are connected. The California Highway Patrol Investigative Services unit is determining the circumstances of the shooting, according to Officer Rodrigo Jimenez of the California Highway Patrol Baldwin Park Officer. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A Pomona man was identified as a homicide victim found shot in a residential area.
Marvin Watkins, 57, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. He was found dead on a sidewalk. Officers responded to Viewpoint Circle near Skyview Circle to investigate a gun fire call just before 7 p.m. March 23. Family members of the victim reported the shooting, Pomona Police said in a written statement. The Pomona Police department deemed the death a homicide, but the county coroner has yet to conduct an autopsy, according to public records. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to contact the Pomona Police Department at 909-620-2085. The Cause of the Shooting Has Not Been Shared. CLICK TO READ MORE Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The suspect who hid away in Mexico until federal and Mexican authorities took him into custody faced arraignment on multiple murder charges Tuesday. Octavio Curiel Martinez, 38, was charged with one count each of murder, murder of a human fetus, attempted murder, shooting at an inhabited structure, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, three misdemeanor counts each of cruelty to a child by endangering health, two counts each of assault with a firearm, injuring a spouse and child abuse, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Martinez also faced the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and allegations of using a handgun, Santiago said. Martinez is accused of shooting and killing estranged wife Ana Nuñez, 37, and their unborn child August 29, 2018 in their El Monte home. Martinez was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. January 3 and arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies. Martinez, a Mexican national, was originally arrested by Mexican police on unrelated charges May 17, 2019 in Bolanos, Jalisco, Mexico -- right where investigators believed he fled. Nuñez’s family went to her El Monte home to check on her hours after Martinez allegedly fired upon, but failed to injure a family member. She was found with multiple gunshot wounds, investigators said. Nunez and her unborn child later died at a hospital. The coroner listed her cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds of the torso. The estranged couple share additional children who were not home when the shooting took place, investigators said. A state warrant was issued for Curiel-Martinez’s arrest September 5, 2018. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a federal arrest warrant March 15, 2019 and he was federally charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, the FBI said.
The arrest and extradition was the work of the Policía Federal Ministerial, Fiscalia General de la Republica, Instituto Nacional de Migracion, the FBI’s Legal Attaché in Mexico City, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives, the El Monte Police Department and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. The extradition was handled by prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs. “Curiel-Martinez’s extradition was sponsored by the U.S. government’s “Project Welcome Home,” which provides funding for the transportation of FBI fugitives to the United States, where the repatriation by the host country occurs through deportation or extradition,” the FBI said. A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Curiel-Martinez, but it is unclear if anyone will claim the reward. If convicted as charged, Martinez faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The manner of death for a man found inside a vehicle in El Monte last week was revealed recently. Michael Meza, 27, died from a gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a homicide, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Meza was found dead inside a parked vehicle in the 11000 block of E. Lower Azusa Road just after 7:30 a.m. Friday, March 6. He was found in the driver seat. He was likely killed the same morning he was found, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Anyone with information on the 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 P3 Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - The man found shot dead inside a vehicle in El Monte March 6. Michael Meza, 27, was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Meza was discovered dead inside a vehicle parked in the 11000 block of East Lower Azusa Road just after 7:30 a.m. Friday. Meza reportedly suffered from at least one gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Investigators haven’t stated publicly if Meza died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, or if someone else pulled the trigger. A coroner exam has yet to be scheduled, according to public coroner records. Investigators believe the shooting occurred in the early morning hours March 6. Anyone with information on this incident is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Provide information 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 REGION - Jury members deliberated for two days, ultimately convicting a former Los Angeles Police officer in the murder of a man in Downtown Pomona. Henry Solis, 31, was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Salome Rodriguez. Solis faces 40 years to life in state prison if convicted as charged, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The shooting took place March 13, 2015. Rodriguez walked past Solis as he stood outside a Pomona bar. Solis pursued Rodriguez and fatally shot him. Solis’ attorney tried to persuade the jury that Solis shot Rodriguez in self defense after being attacked.
Solis said in testimony that the shooting resulted from an arrest gone wrong and claimed he pursued Rodriguez who allegedly sexually assaulted Solis. Solis fled after the murder and took refuge in Mexico until his capture and extradition more than two months later. Solis is scheduled to be sentenced March 11. |
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