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

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 La Puente man is facing assault with a deadly weapon charges and more, accused of unloading a handgun during a reported road rage incident.

Javier Arturo Ramirez was officially charged with one count of shooting at an inhabited vehicle, two counts of assault with a firearm on a person, and three felony enhancements, according to Los Angeles Superior Court records.

Ramirez pleaded not guilty November 14.

Ramirez, 21, is accused of shooting at another driver and at a passenger during what is described as a road rage shooting in West Covina November 8. The shooting occurred in the 300 block of South Azusa Avenue just before 10 p.m.

Both victims were uninjured, according to the West Covina Police Department.

Ramirez was located and arrested in Pomona November 10.

Ramirez is being held without bail ahead of another scheduled appearance in West Covina Superior Court Thursday December 12.

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The arrest record 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 person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - After several hours of negotiations, a man was smoked out of a home November 12, after he attempted to blow up the residence.

During negotiations, the suspect allegedly pointed a handgun at officers from within the home, according to the West Covina Police Department.

First responders were called to the 700 block of North Broadmoor Avenue to a reported fire alarm call just before 1:30 a.m. The suspect within stated he wanted to burn his home down.

“When officers arrived, the male subject, who was outside, quickly entered the residence. As officers approached the location they smelled an odor of gas and something burning. When officers attempted to make contact with the male, officers observed the subject walk up to a window and point a firearm at them,” according to the West Covina Police Department in a written statement.

The West Covina SWAT Team responded, as well as a crisis negotiation team. Officers determined the suspect was alone in the residence, according to the West Covina Police Department.

A search warrant was written. As negotiations continued to go nowhere, tear gas was propelled into the home. Suspect Michael Samaniego, 40, was arrested and booked on suspicion of assault on a peace officer with a firearm and resisting an officer by use of force, according to the West Covina Police Department.

Samaniego is being held without bail ahead of a scheduled appearance in West Covina Superior Court November 14.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - Less than a day after a victim was critically wounded in a drive-by shooting, a suspect was identified and taken into custody.

West Covina man Anthony Henry Harris, 30, was arrested after officers served a warrant at his residence in the 900 block of East Service Avenue around 7:38 a.m. Sunday, September 1. Harris was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held without bail, according to the West Covina Police Department.

The victim, a 28-year-old man, was walking on Lark Ellen Avenue near Fairgrove Avenue when a vehicle drove by. An occupant shot at the victim several times. The victim was shot in the face. He remains hospitalized, according to the West Covina Police Department.

No other suspects are being sought.

Harris is scheduled for an appearance in West Covina Superior Court Thursday, September 5.

Anyone with additional information on this shooting is urged to call the West Covina Police Department at 626-939-8688, reference case 24-05258. 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 - An arson suspect was arrested Thursday, accused of igniting a fire at a street side electrical conduit box.

Firefighters were sent to East Vine Street and Hollenbeck Avenue just before 3 p.m. Thursday, August 29. An investigation led firefighters to a suspicion of arson, according to the West Covina Fire Department.

West Covina arson investigators and police officers arrived and a suspect was soon identified, located and arrested.

Arrested was 34-year-old Christopher Delon Fleytas. He was booked on suspicion of arson, possession of an incendiary device and possession of methamphetamine. He also had an outstanding warrant for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, according to the West Covina police department.

Fleytas is being held in lieu of $80,000 bail in the Inmate Reception Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled appearance in West Covina Superior Court September 4.

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The arrest record 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 person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A child has come forward with claims of sexual abuse against a man already accused of possessing hundreds of images of child porn.

A federal warrant was issued for Matthew Peter Mullen, 39. He was arrested August 8 and initially booked on suspicion of possessing child pornography and possession of obscene images of minors in a sexual manner, according to the West Covina Police Department.

“Later on August 08, 2024, a victim who is a minor was identified. West Covina Police Detectives and Special Agents from HSI contacted the victim and their family. This criminal investigation led to additional allegations of sex acts with a child under 10 years of age against S-Mullen,” according to the West Covina Police Department in a written statement.

The alleged acts were said to have occurred January 1, 2021.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed multiple felony counts for sex acts with a child under 10 years of age. Mullen was arraigned in West Covina Superior Court August 12 and is being held without bail.

It appears none of the original porn charges were included when Mullen was charged, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Mullen pleaded not guilty August 12. He is scheduled for an early disposition hearing September 9, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Assisting with the investigation are the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Homeland Security.

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​The arrest record 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 person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A weeks-long investigation involving the West Covina Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Homeland Security resulted in the arrest of a 39-year-old man accused of possessing hundreds of images of child porn.

Matthew Peter Mullen was arrested August 8. He was booked on suspicion of possessing child pornography and possession of obscene images of minors in a sexual manner, according to the West Covina Police Department.

A federal warrant was issued for Mullen’s arrest. Mullen was allegedly found in possession of more than 600 obscene images, according to the West Covina Police Department.

He was taken into custody at 9 a.m., August 8, according to Los Angeles County booking records.

Mullen has apparently performed work as a volunteer and local organizations.

His LinkedIn and Facebook profiles list extensive work in quality assurance for a variety of video game developers, most recently with Infinity Ward, Elodie Games and Disney Interactive.

“Due to Mullen’s volunteer efforts in local organizations, Investigators believe there may be additional victims. HSI Los Angeles and the West Covina Police Department are asking for assistance from the public,” according to the West Covina Police Department in a written statement.

Anyone with information on this investigation is urged to call West Covina Police Detective Iside at 626-939-8520 or contact the HSI TIP Line at 877-447-4847 and reference the Matthew Mullen investigation.

Mullen is scheduled to appear in West Covina Superior Court August 12.

********** The arrest record 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 person named in this article has only been arrested on suspicion of the crime(s) listed and is presumed innocent.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - One week after a brutal homicide was reported at a bus stop, detectives arrested a suspect.

Kevin Davis, 64, a North Hollywood resident, was found with a stab wound to the chest at a bus stop at California Avenue and West Covina Parkway around 3:47 a.m. Sunday, July 7. Despite efforts to save Davis, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Detectives somehow identified Rodney Chapman Jr., 34, as a suspect. He was located in the city of Pomona where he was arrested.

Chapman was charged with first-degree murder along with enhancements for using a weapon during the murder and for having been convicted of five previous felonies dating back to 2010, according to the West Covina Police Department in a written statement.

Chapman is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. He is next scheduled for an appearance in West Covina Superior Court, July 29.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A driver allegedly wanted for equipment violations led police on a pursuit and barricaded himself for several hours inside of his vehicle, police said.

Officers originally attempted to stop the driver, Marcelo Patricio Carrillo, 38, for allegedly driving without headlights in the area of Azusa Avenue and Vine Street February 6 just before 11:30 p.m.

The pursuit took surface streets north into the city of Azusa.

Carrillo allegedly struck a parked vehicle at the end of the pursuit and refused to exit his vehicle. West Covina officers, with assistance from the Covina and Azusa Police Departments, surrounded Carrillo’s vehicle and negotiated with him to surrender.

Carrillo allegedly kept a firearm on his lap throughout the standoff, Rodgers told SGV CityWatch.

Officers even used Carrillo’s mother who pleaded with him over a bull horn to surrender peacefully, but the suspect did not listen.

Flash bang grenades and tear gas were used and Carrillo was flushed out and arrested. He was booked on suspicion of evading a peace officer, reckless evading and carrying a loaded firearm in public, Rodgers told SGV CityWatch.

Carrillo was finally removed from the vehicle around 2:30 a.m.

Carrillo is scheduled to appear in the West Covina courthouse February 8.