Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor MOUNTAINS - An SUV stolen out of the Rose Hills Mortuary Wednesday was recovered, but not before the suspect evaded authorities up into the Azusa mountains. The chase began at 4:37 p.m. May 15 from Rose Hills, 3888 Workman Mill Rd. Sheriff’s deputies gave chase, but decided to cancel the pursuit to handle other emergency calls, according to Lt. Robert Westphal of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Pico Rivera Station. West Covina police officers soon gave chase and followed the suspect mostly north on Azusa Avenue where the suspect drove around stopped traffic by using a sidewalk and front yard.
The chase entered Azusa where the driver drove through an empty lot on the southeast corner of Foothill Boulevard and Azusa Avenue, drove over a sidewalk and accessed northbound Azusa Avenue again to the San Gabriel Mountains. In a bizarre twist, the driver used the rough right shoulder of northbound San Gabriel Canyon Road to bypass wide-open road. The SUV’s tires spun wildly over the right shoulder until the SUV became stuck on the terrain. The driver surrendered to West Covina Police without further incident. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - Three men arrested in the 2016 shooting death of another man in a Covina parking lot are scheduled for a pretrial hearing Tuesday. Adam Hernandez, Christopher Avila and Andrew Lengson, the latter considered an accessory to the shooting, are scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court April 9. Hernandez and Avila met their victim, 20-year-old Isaac Urena in the parking lot of Clearman’s North Woods Inn, 540 N. Azusa Ave., before Noon August 13, 2016. Urena posted jewelry online for sale and agreed to meet a buyer to complete the transaction, Covina Police said. Hernandez and Avila allegedly met Urena to rob him.
Urena was driven to Clearman’s by a friend. As the sale went sour, Urena was shot while he sat in his friend’s Honda Civic. The friend drove away from the scene, eventually stopping in the parking lot of Faith Church, 1211 E. Badillo St., in West Covina. Paramedics declared Urena dead at Faith Church. His friend was uninjured. Urena died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Hernandez and Avila were arrested soon after the shooting. Avila was eventually released from custody without charges due to insufficient evidence, but new evidence led to his rearrest. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and area police agencies worked to arrest a suspect in four Game Stop robberies dating back to August of 2018. Frederick Lopez Jr., 27, was arrested at his home without incident March 6 during a search warrant. Lopez is accused of stealing merchandise, cash and employee cellphones totaling $135,000, the ATF said. The crimes occurred at:
interference with commerce by robbery, the ATF 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. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor REGION – Investigators examining a deadly collision on the I-10 freeway from January 5 is not a hit and run as was initially suspected. The California Highway Patrol stated the 30-year-old Covina driver of the Honda Accord that struck and killed 22-year-old Grisol Lupita Ramirez did stop at the scene and spoke with officers. The Accord struck Ramirez after she exited a Honda Civic that spun out on the westbound I-10 freeway near Holt Avenue around 11:25 p.m. The Civic likely spun out of control in the No. 4 lane after encountering rain-slicked roads. Ramirez exited the right front passenger side door and was hit in the No. 1 lane. She died at the scene. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - A man convicted of gunning down his wife’s mother and father inside his family’s home will see the inside of a prison cell until he dies.
Zhang and Diao, both 60, visited from China in 2016. Wang executed them both April 13 of that year inside his family’s home in the 1300 block of East Oahu Avenue ahead of his in-laws’ planned trip back home after months of friction with their son-in-law, prosecutors said.
West Covina Police were called to the home that day after a neighbor reported hearing gunfire and children screaming. Officers found the dead couple inside. Wang’s children were found hiding in a bathroom. His wife was at work when the shooting occurred, prosecutors said. Wang surrendered at the home without incident. Wang had previously threatened his wife’s life and the life of her parents, according to prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Kelsey McKeever-Unger. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor POMONA - The 21-year-old man accused of threatening violence against his former high school pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Peña was arrested November 8.
Peña is scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court December 4 where it will be decided if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial. Peña is facing a possible maximum of three years and eight months in state prison if convicted as charged. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LOS ANGELES - Two felony counts of criminal threats have been announced against a West Covina man accused of publicizing threats of violence against a West Covina High School.
Dereck Peña, 21, was officially charged Tuesday and faces a possible maximum sentence of three years and eight months in state prison if convicted as charged, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. An ex-girlfriend alerted authorities November 7 after Peña allegedly told her about the acts of violence intended against South Hills High School, Santiago said. Real machetes, replica body armor, replica handguns and replica rifles were found at Peña’s home the following day, West Covina Police said. Peña was found in his residence and arrested without incident, West Covina Police said. The unspecified threat and video surfaced November 8, one day after detectives were determining the source of additional threats, the latter deemed non-credible, West Covina Police said. Peña faced arraignment in Pomona Superior Court Tuesday. 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 POMONA - A man accused of stabbing his ex girlfriend multiple times in front of their son pleaded no contest Monday to the crime.
Eduardo Marin, 48, pleaded no contest to four counts, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree burglary, person present, and cruelty to a child by endangering health. Marin is accused of breaking into his ex girlfriend’s West Covina home October 13, 2016 and stabbing her multiple times with their son present. A family member was injured after intervening, according to Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Marin admitted to special allegations that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife, during the commission of the crime. Additionally, Marin admitted committing great bodily injury on the victim under circumstances involving domestic violence, Ardalani said. Marin fled the scene, but was caught by West Covina Police. Marin is scheduled to be sentenced August 13 and faces 20 years and six months to life in prison if convicted as charged. |
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