Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - Two Los Angeles men were charged with one count each of murder in the January 17 slaying of a La Puente man.

Sonny Ruiz, 23, and Drygani Gonzalez, 24, were arrested May 2 by West Covina Police detectives in the killing of Michael Varela, 24, according to the West Covina Police Department.

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Varela died at a hospital.

Ruiz and Gonzalez are being held without bail in the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled appearance in Pomona Superior Court May 8.

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The arrest records in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Arrest information is public record and was distributed by government sources. The persons named in this article have only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - A man found dead near the South Hills Country Club was recently identified as a West Covina resident.

Robert Valle, 27, was named by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. He died by hanging.

The body was found behind chain link fencing near the country club, 2655 S. Citrus Ave., March 24. First responders were sent to the scene around 7:20 a.m., according to Lt. Armas of the West Covina Police Department.

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The death record in this article is being redistributed by SGV CityWatch and is protected by constitutional, publishing and other legal rights. Information about the decedent(s), including cause and manner of death, is public record and was distributed by government sources.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - Foul play is not suspected in an apartment fire that killed a pet cat Saturday night.

Firefighters were able to contain flames to one second-story unit at an apartment in the 1600 block of Amar Road. A pet rabbit was rescued and two residents require medical attention. Adjacent apartment units sustained water damage, according to the West Covina Fire Department.

Residence occupying the affected apartment unit had already evacuated and nearby residence were evacuated with help from first responders.

“Arson Investigators from our Fire Investigation Unit are investigating this incident with no foul-play suspected at this time,” according to the West Covina Fire Department in a written statement.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - An adult was found deceased near South Hills Country Club Monday morning.

The body was found behind chain link fencing. First responders were sent to the scene at Cameron Avenue and Barranca Avenue around 7:20 a.m., according to Lt. Armas of the West Covina Police Department.

“There’s no foul play, no outstanding suspects. That’s where we’re at with it,” Armas told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - An unknown number of suspects took off with a trailer full of camping gear that was parked outside a home February 21.

The suspects used the cover of night, having pulled the trailer up and over the chocks after cutting the lock in the area of South Lark Ellen Avenue and East Walnut Creek Parkway, according to owner Kristin Sauceda, whose son is in the Boy Scouts.

The trailer was taken between 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.

“It had all of the troops camping gear and supplies as well as food since we were getting ready to go on a camping trip this weekend,” Sauceda told SGV CityWatch.

An estimated $20,000 in gear was stolen, which includes tents, custom made patrol boxes which hold all of the scouts cooking supplies, $1000 worth of groceries, tables, easy ups, camp stoves, propane, Dutch ovens, a Dutch oven table, a mini smoker and other miscellaneous supplies, Sauceda told SGV CityWatch.

The trailer was not even parked for 12 hours before it was stolen. Security cameras would normally have captured the theft, but they were temporarily down due to construction and neighbors’ cameras could not capture anything, Sauceda told SGV CityWatch.

Anyone with information on this theft can call the West Covina Police Department at 626-939-8500.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - No arrests were made after a misunderstanding about a man aboard a Foothill Transit bus being possibly armed with a weapon February 21.

West Covina police briefly detained a man believed to have been armed, but no weapon was found. A call of an armed man aboard a Foothill Transit bus was received by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Walnut/Diamond Bar Station. Dispatchers then notified West Covina Police at 1 p.m., according to West Covina Sergeant Hernandez.

There was apparently no one else aboard the bus other than the driver and the potentially-armed man, Hernandez told SGV CityWatch.

The bus stopped on Workman Avenue outside of Eastland Center, according to pictures and video from the scene.

Officers arrived along with a SWAT team due to concerns of a potential barricade, Hernandez told SGV CityWatch.

Video from the scene shows a confused and frustrated man complying with orders to surrender.

It was not immediately clear who made the initial call, but photos from the scene show the LED signs adorning the bus flashed the word “HELP!”

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - One person was killed and three others were hospitalized in a early-morning collision Friday.

Traffic investigators believe the driver of a black Toyota sedan was driving on the wrong side of the road in the 1700 block of Puente Avenue when the sedan crashed head-on into a white Honda sedan February 21, according to the West Covina Police Department.

The crash occurred around 12:16 a.m.

Four people were in the white Honda. A rear passenger died at the scene. The other three occupants were hospitalized, as well as the driver of the black Toyota, according to the West Covina Police Department.

Of the two men and one woman hospitalized, one is listed in critical condition, and one in stable condition. One patient has already been released.

The wrong-way driver is still hospitalized.

The West Covina Police Major Accident Investigation Team is handling the case.

Anyone with information on this crash is urged to call the West Covina Police Tip Line at 626-939-8688. Remain anonymous 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

WEST COVINA - Police are close to wrapping up the scene of a shooting in an alleyway between residences and a strip mall Friday night.

The shooting took place near the 200 block of South Bandy Avenue.

Callers reported the shooting around 5:56 p.m. January 31. Bullets struck a wall, according to Lt. Matt Nelson of the West Covina Police Department.

Opposite of the homes are businesses along Glendora Avenue, including The Detail Hub, Elevate Barbershops and Tina’s Tavern.

Notifications were made to area hospitals for any gunshot victims, but no victims have been reported. Bullet fragments have been recovered, Nelson told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - Three suspects implicated in a November 2024 double shooting were arrested, the West Covina Police Department announced recently.

Keyon Wilkes, a 23-year-old La Puente man, Johnny Pardo, a 33-year-old West Covina man and Michael Turner, a 45-year-old Gardena man, are accused of a shooting at Tina’s Tavern, 328 S. Glendora Ave. November 9.

Turner was arrested November 9. Wilkes was arrested December 12. Pardo was arrested January 18, according to Los Angeles County booking records.

Turner was officially charged with one count of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm. He pleaded not guilty January 21, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.

Wilkes was charged with one count of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm, and two special allegations of use of a firearm and causing great bodily injury, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.

Wilkes posted bond January 17 and was released.

Pardo’s case is still under review by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, according to the West Covina Police Department.

Pardo posted bond and was released January 19.

A reported argument led to the shooting which occurred around 11:30 p.m. November 9. First responders arrived to one victim wounded in a parking lot, another was found inside the bar.

Both men wounded men were conscious while being loaded into ambulances. A white sedan was towed from the scene as evidence.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A male pedestrian was hospitalized after being severely wounded in a collision Tuesday.

The crash occurred on Vincent Avenue near the I-10 freeway. First responders were sent to the crash around 1:21 p.m. January 21.

The driver who struck the pedestrian remained at the scene and spoke with investigators, according to Lt. Brian Daniels of the West Covina Police Department.

The crash investigation closed down northbound lanes of Vincent Avenue from Lakes Drive to the freeway and both the on and off ramps of the I-10 freeway at Vincent Avenue for several hours.

The investigation is still ongoing, but it appears initially that the pedestrian may have been crossing Vincent Avenue outside a crosswalk, Daniels told SGV CityWatch.