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 - 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 man hospitalized after being shot late Friday night died from his wounds, police said.

The victim was found shot in the 600 block of South Sunset Avenue. First responders were sent to the scene around 9:13 p.m., according to the west Covina Police Department.

It is not immediately clear if the victim was shot at the location or perhaps dropped off there.

No suspects are in custody.

Anyone with information on this shooting is urged to call the West Covina Police Department 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 - 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 - A reported argument led to a shooting at a popular bar late Saturday night.

The shooting unfolded at Tina’s Tavern, 328 S. Glendora Ave., 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 who were shot were conscious while being loaded into ambulances.

​Both victims were hospitalized with injuries deemed not life-threatening.

A white sedan was towed from the scene as evidence. No suspects have been arrested, according to the West Covina Police Department.

Investigators broke down the scene around 1:40 a.m.

Multiple attempts to speak with a West Covina Police supervisor were unsuccessful.

It is not publicly clear if a suspect is in custody.

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 - Detectives are continuing their search for a gunman who fired multiple rounds in a West Covina neighborhood, May 13, striking a victim.

The victim received what was described as a graze wound and is recovering from the injury, according to Lt. Tim Rodgers of the West Covina Police Department.

The shooting occurred at 1015 W. Garvey Ave. North. First responders were sent to the location at 10:46 p.m.

The suspect fled in a vehicle westbound on Garvey Avenue.

Rodgers said investigators were still determining a motive. A description of the suspect and getaway vehicle was apparently not known.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A shooting occurred at an apartment complex Monday night.

The shooting occurred at 1015 W. Garvey Ave. North. First responders were sent to the location at 10:46 PM. The victim is expected to survive the injuries, according to preliminary information from Lt. Rodgers of the West Covina Police Department.

Garvey Ave. North is blocked to traffic between Vincent Avenue and Poxon Place.

No other information is available.

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

WEST COVINA - A deputy shy of 20 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department survived a shooting while waiting at a red light Monday afternoon.

A suspect believed to be driving a white sedan with tinted windows shot the uniformed 43-year-old deputy who sat on an LA County Sheriff’s motorcycle while perched at a red light on South Barranca Street at East Garvey Avenue North. The deputy remains hospitalized in stable condition, according to Sheriff Robert Luna.

The shooting happened around 2:45 p.m. Monday, April 22. The white sedan fled westbound on the I-10 freeway.

“He was sitting on a marked black and white police motorcycle in full uniform and he was shot in the back,” according to Sheriff Luna in an evening press conference.

An examination of the deputy’s vest shows that he was struck once. The bulletproof vest saved the deputy’s life, Sheriff Luna said.

It is not yet clear if this was a crime of opportunity, or if the suspect followed the deputy and waited for a time to strike, Sheriff Luna said.

A license plate was obtained regarding a vehicle possibly tied to the shooting. Within the hour or so after the incident, deputies and California Highway Patrol officers surrounded a house in La Puente where several people were detained. These persons of interest will be released, if they haven’t already been released, since investigators cannot link them to this crime, Sheriff Luna said.

“Right now there is somebody out there armed with a firearm who shot one of our deputies in the back and if he’s willing to do that, he’s willing to shoot at anybody,” Sheriff Luna said.

Anyone who witnessed this shooting, or who may have information leading to a suspect, or suspects, is urged to call Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives at 323-890-5500. Remain anonymous by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), through the P3Tips mobile app, or lacrimestoppers.org.