 Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor WEST COVINA - Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder after being detained during a SWAT operation in La Verne, West Covina Police announced. Elijah Thomas Rouse, an 18-year-old La Verne man, and Shaun Cardarelli, a 37-year-old San Gabriel man, are being held in lieu of $1 million bail. Evidence collected during the search warrant served in La Verne August 27 led investigators to believe the disappearance of 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.
Aguila, 28, 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. A motive for the killing is either unknown or has yet to be publicly disclosed. Rouse and Cardarelli are scheduled to appear in Pomona Superior Court August 29.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor WEST COVINA - A man in his 70s was pulled from the water of a mobile home complex pool Monday and died at the scene of a likely accidental drowning, police said. Police and West Covina firefighters were called to the 3000 block of Valley Boulevard for a reported drowning August 26 around 7:51 p.m. The victim was described as having little swimming experience, according to Sgt. Huston Clements of the West Covina Police Department. The victim was identified as 75-year-old Derek Tejung Lai of West Covina, according to Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
The death appears to be accidental, but an autopsy has yet to be performed. A relative was present during the drowning and had great difficulty pulling Lai out, Clements said. Clements was unsure if Lai was a resident of the mobile home complex where he drowned. 
VIDEO/Courtesy of West Covina Police.
Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor
WEST COVINA - Police released video of a person of interest seen leaving a San Dimas neighborhood after abandoning the car of a missing person.
The car was found Friday, August 23 -- one day after John Brian Mananghaya Aguila was last heard from by family members. Bloodied gloves and clothing were found during a search after the vehicle was impounded, West Covina Police said in a written statement. The driver of the 2017 Honda Civic was determined to not be Aguila.
Fingerprints obtained from the car allowed investigators to identify a person of interest.
Three people in a La Verne apartment complex in the 1400 block of Third Street were detained during a search warrant issued by the West Covina Police SWAT team. It is unclear if any of the three detainees are under arrest. Anyone who has information on any suspects, or who knows Aguila’s whereabouts is urged to contact the West Covina Police at 626-939-8557, or leave an anonymous message on a recorded line at 626-939-8688.  PHOTO/Courtesy of the West Covina Police Department. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor LA VERNE - A missing persons investigation led West Covina detectives to La Verne Tuesday where three people of interest were detained, police said.
John Brian Mananghaya Aguila, 28, has not been seen or heard from since August 22 at 4:30 p.m. He failed to show up to work and his being gone is out of character, West Covina Police said in a written statement. Aguila’s 2017 Honda Civic was found abandoned in San Dimas Friday, August 23. It was searched after being impounded and bloody gloves and clothing were found within, West Covina Police said. Surveillance footage showed the Civic was parked in San Dimas by a male determined to not be Aguila. The driver walked away from the car. Fingerprints collected from the Civic helped identify a person of interest. The West Covina Police SWAT team served a search warrant at an apartment complex in the 1400 block of Third Street in San Dimas August 27 around 8:30 a.m. Aguila was not inside the apartment unit, West Covina Police said. It is unclear if any of the three detainees are under arrest. Anyone who has information on any suspects, or who knows Aguila’s whereabouts is urged to contact the West Covina Police at 626-939-8557, or leave an anonymous message on a recorded line at 626-939-8688.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor WEST COVINA – A resident was tied up, her mouth taped and her home ransacked by four masked men early Friday. The home invasion robbery occurred in the 3400 block of South Flemington Drive around 1:30 a.m. August 16. A sledge hammer was used to break a rear sliding glass door, according to Lt. Michelle Figueroa of the West Covina Police Department. Figueroa did not immediately know what, if anything, was taken. Detectives are still determining the loss.
The resident was apparently uninjured during the robbery. Figueroa did not have a detailed description of the four suspects or a possible vehicle involved. Anyone with information on possible suspects is urged to call the West Covina Police Department at 626-939-8500.  Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor WEST COVINA - Industry Station deputies arrested Thursday the suspect wanted on suspicion of burglarizing a little league snack bar in May, West Covina Police announced. The unidentified suspect was arrested August 1. A speaker and $500 in cash were taken from the snack bar at the Eric Fuentes Memorial Field at Cortez Park, 2441 E. Cortez Ave. between 10 p.m. May 19 and 5 p.m. May 20, according to the West Covina Police Department. West Covina American Little League volunteer Freddie Soltero reached out to CityWatch in May about the burglary. He said a WCALL coach discovered a metal roll-up door was ajar, a chair propped under the window. The coach discovered the speaker and cash were missing.
After West Covina Police published a surveillance video screenshot of the suspect, two people identified him. Despite suspect booking information being public record, Lt. Jeff Munn of the West Covina Police Department deferred identification of the suspect to the detective handling the case. |
Archives
February 2026
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed