Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A 17-year-old driver was located hours after allegedly striking and killing a juvenile at a West Covina intersection Sunday night, police said.

The teen driver was found hours after the collision occurred. Officers were able to determine the identity of the suspect, found him later during a traffic stop and took him into custody, according to Sgt. Eric Street of the West Covina Police Department.

Police were called to the scene at 7:36 p.m. August 29. The juvenile girl died at the scene.

The teen driver was suspected of DUI, but Street did not know if the teen was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The juvenile girl was struck on Azusa Avenue at Fairgrove. The teen driver fled the scene after the crash, Street told SGV CityWatch.

The teen driver is still in police custody, and was booked on suspicion of DUI resulting in bodily injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit and run resulting in death.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA – An early-morning altercation likely lead to a man’s death in a shopping center parking lot Thursday, police said.

Investigators preliminarily believe that the man found unresponsive by officers in the 1500 block of East Amar Road August 26 was struck by a vehicle that was leaving the rear lot of a shopping center, according to the West Covina Police Department.

Officers attempted to save the man, but he died at the scene.

Police were called to the shopping center at 2:38 a.m.

"Witnesses heard an altercation and a vehicle leaving the area. Upon arrival an adult male was found unresponsive on the ground in the rear parking lot of a shopping center," according to the West Covina Police Department in a written statement.

WEST COVINA – The West Covina Police Department announced the deployment of automated license plate reading cameras throughout the city.

The West Covina City Council Approved the purchase of 30 automated license plate reader cameras from Flock Group, Inc., an Atlanta, Georgia-based company to the tune of $157,500, according to West Covina City Council documents.

“We have seen an increase in property crime to include stolen vehicles,” according to Cpt. Ken Plunkett of the West Covina Police Department during a March 16 city council meeting. “Additionally, vehicles are most oftentimes associated with reported crimes and serve as a means to identify and prosecute potential suspects.”

One goal of implementing the cameras is to mitigate bias in policing. The cameras do not use facial recognition software and can only read license plates, which can help police with investigative leads, Plunkett said.

The cameras can be solar powered, or wired to another electrical source. The cameras take still photos when reading a license plate across two lanes of traffic and apparently do not record video. They can photograph up to 45,000 plates per day and can capture license plates on vehicles moving up to 100 miles per hour.

Data is reportedly stored for 30 days and then is erased from the system.

The city approved a two-year lease agreement with Flock to use the cameras. If data within those two years shows the cameras to be a success, the city would have to consider spending cash from the city’s general fund to use the cameras beyond the lease.

Plunkett cited data from neighboring Covina, which also implemented Flock cameras and in just two months of deploying the system, Covina Police recovered 14 stolen vehicles and made 22 arrests.

Azusa Police officers were able to recover 16 stolen vehicles, Plunkett said.

The nearly $158,000 in funding was acquired through federal asset forfeiture funds.

WEST COVINA – Traffic is flowing again after a motorcyclist from La Puente crashed into another vehicle and died at the end of a high-speed pursuit Wednesday morning.
 
The unidentified rider who was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour refused to stop for CHP officers conducting a construction crew protection operation on the I-10 freeway in the Pomona area around 1 a.m. August 18, according to Officer Rodrigo Jimenez of the California Highway Patrol.
 
The rider sped past the CHP from the I-10 westbound near Kellogg Drive. Officers caught up to the rider near Azusa Avenue.
 
The rider entered surface streets on West Covina Parkway and fled south on Glendora Avenue when officers lost sight of him, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch.
 
The rider reportedly ran a red light and broad-sided a Toyota Camry occupied by a 35-year-old female driver and 40-year-old male passenger in the No. 2 lane of Glendora Avenue at Merced Avenue, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch.
 
The rider died at the scene. The driver and passenger in the Camry were taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.
 
The CHP Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is investigating the fatal crash. West Covina Police assisted with traffic control and the West Covina Fire Department rendered aid at the scene, Jimenez told SGV CityWatch.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A man was found deceased in the 700 block of North Sunset Avenue early Wednesday morning, Police said.

A passerby saw a man down near the Sunset Square Apartments, 745 N. Sunset Ave. around 4:30 a.m. August 4.

The man possibly died of natural causes, according to Lt. Tony Cortina of the west Covina Police Department.

The man was only described as being in his 50s, according to Sara Ardalani, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

​A coroner examination will determine cause of death.