Recently in 187 Category
WEST HOLLYWOOD -- A passenger on a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus fatally shot the bus driver before surrendering to deputies early Sunday, officials said.
The shooting took place about 9:10 a.m. on an MTA bus as it was eastbound on Santa Monica Boulevard, near Knoll Drive, according to Deputy Lillian Peck of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
The name of the bus driver was not released.
Deputies responded to a report of a "gunshot victim" and found the male bus driver had been shot in the upper torso, Deputy Jeff Gordon said.
"Immediately after the incident, witnesses saw a male black adult climb from a window on the bus and run toward Santa Monica Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard," Gordon said.
Sheriff's officials said the The gunman, whose name was not released Sunday afternoon, surrendered to deputies without a struggle.
The bus wounded bus driver was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Gordon said.
"During the investigation two firearms were recovered from the inside of the bus," he said.
ALHAMBRA -- After 31-years as a fugitive, cold case homicide investigators have arrested an Alhambra man on suspicion of murdering a man on Los Angeles on New Year's Day, 1981, authorities announced Friday.
Abraham Tovar, 73, was arrested Wednesday at his Alhambra home by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Homicide Due Diligence Team, LAPD officials said in a written statement.
His brother, Andrew Tovar, was arrested, tried and convicted for the Jan. 1, 1981 slaying of 36-year-old Charles McGee at a vacant lot in the 2300 block of South Central Avenue in Los Angeles, officials said. Andrew Tovar served a state prison sentence and has since died.
Though always suspected in the killing, "Abraham Tovar was never brought to justice and remained a fugitive from the law for 31 years," according to the LAPD statement.
Investigators picked up Abraham Tovar's trail several months ago in Alhambra, police said.
The three-decade-old manhunt collimated with Abraham Tovar's arrest about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at his home in the 1500 block of South Chapel Avenue in Alhambra, LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman said. He was taken into custody without incident.
The Due Diligence Team concluded a several-month investigation that resulted in two search warrants being issued, several days of surveillance and numerous interviews with the suspect's family members and friends in order to locate and apprehend him," the police statement said.
The Tovar brothers had a dispute with an unidentified man at the vacant lot where McGhee's body was later found, officials said.
"Armed with a handgun and a hatchet, the Tovar brothers returned to the lot for revenge," according the police statement. "However, the brothers were unable to find the person they were looking for, so they turned their anger toward Charles McGhee and (a second victim) Wayne Alexis instead."
Abraham shot both men, investigators said. Alexis survived his wounds and testified against Andrew Tovar during his trial.
"This is a perfect example of how, sooner or later, the long arms of the law will catch up with criminals," the statement added.
Information on Abraham Tovar's initial court appearance was not available Friday due to technical problems with county booking records.
A case had not been filed with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Friday afternoon, officials said.
PHOTOS: (above)1981 murder suspect Abraham Tovar, 73, of Alhambra shortly after his arrest Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (below) Abraham Tovar, photographed in September of 1985.
SANTA ANA -- A jury convicted a gang member Thursday of fatally slashing the throat of an 18-year-old La Habra man outside a Halloween party in 2009, officials said.
Steven Salvador Hernandez, 19, of La Habra faces up to 15 years to life in prison when he returns to court July 27 for sentencing for the Oct. 31, 2009 killing of Joshua Mora-Rodriguez -- a recent high school graduate and son of two Los Angeles police detectives who was preparing to join the Army, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Duff, who prosecuted the case.
The jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and street terrorism, and also found that the crime was gang-related.
Mora-Rodriguez, on the other hand, had no gang ties, Duff said.
"He had just graduated from high school and was getting ready to join the army," he said.
Two other suspects, 17-year-old Rene Antonio Lobos and 22-year-old Francisco Nuno, both of La Habra, are due for trial May 30 in Santa Ana Superior Court, prosecutors said. Hernandez, who was 17 at the time of the killing, and Lobos, who was 15, were both charged as adults.
The fatal attack took place shortly before midnight at a Halloween gathering of about 40 people hosted by a female friend of one of the suspects in the 1000 block of East Francis Avenue, Duff said.
Two of Mora-Rodriguez's friends had been beaten up by several other young men earlier in the evening, prior to the fatal confrontation, the prosecutor said.
As the victim and his two friends left the party, they got into a verbal argument with two of the young men they had been fighting with, Duff said.
A fight broke out, he said.
"The rest of the gang members (six to eight) jumped on," Duff said. "The witnesses basically described it as an ambush."
"Nuno is accused of beating the victim with his fists and Lobos is accused of beating the victim with a baseball bat while Hernandez stabbed the victim's neck with a knife," district attorney's officials said in a written statement.
The knife severed Mora-Rodriguez's carotid artery, and he bled out within minutes, Duff said.
Police found Lobos and Nunez with blood on their clothing and arrested them at the scene, officials said. Hernandez was arrested several weeks later.
The knife used in the stabbing was recovered from a neighbors home, still bloody and wrapped in clothing, Duff said.
"DNA established not only that it was the murder weapon, but that it was (Hernandez's) clothing," he said.
Like Hernandez, Nuno and Lobos have also been charged with second-degree murder and street terrorism, with the additional allegation that the crime was gang-related. If convicted as charged, they also face up to 15 years to life in prison.
ALHAMBRA -- Opening arguments were heard Thursday in the second murder trial of an Alhambra man accused of killing his girlfriend and hiding her body in a trash can at a friend's house in Arcadia nearly five years ago.
An Alhambra Superior Court jury failed to reach a verdict in the first murder trial for 37-year-old Isaac Campbell late last year. He's accused of the Aug. 12, 2007 slaying of girlfriend Liya "Jessie" Lu, 31, of San Gabriel.
Following the hung jury, which deadlocked 10-2 in favor of convicting Campbell, prosecutors announced they would hold another trial.
Jury selection was completed Wednesday, and opening arguments in the case were made Thursday before witness testimony began, court officials said.
In Campbell's first trial, prosecutors alleged that Campbell killed Lu, whom he met while both were nursing students at Pasadena City College, killed Lu with a choke hold. But coroner's officials were never able to determine an official cause of death for Lu because of the condition in which her body was found.
Lu's body was discovered about a month after she disappeared, wrapped in plastic trash bags and left, along with kitty litter, inside a trash can he left at a friend's home in Arcadia.
Campbell's defense argued that he discovered Lu dead, panicked and hid the body, but was not responsible for her death.
He remains jailed in lieu of $1.025 million.
POMONA -- An 18-year-old Pomona man died late Tuesday at the scene of what investigators labeled a gang-related shooting.
Paramedics pronounced Jonathan Marquez dead by paramedics shortly 18 minutes after the 11:15 p.m. shooting in the 600 block of Davidson Lane, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
No description of the shooter was available, however the attack was believed to be gang-related, Pomona police Sgt. Duane Leonard said.
Officers first responded to a report of gunshots in the area when they discovered the gravely wounded man, he said.
The initial investigation indicated that the attacker approached Marquez on foot before opening fire, striking him multiple times, the sergeant said.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Pomona police homicide detectives Bebon or Lange at 909-620-2095.
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- Forty-nine decapitated and mutilated bodies were found Sunday dumped on a highway connecting the northern Mexican metropolis of Monterrey to the U.S. border, officials said.
The bodies of 43 men and six women were found in the town of San Juan on the non-toll highway to the border city of Reynosa at about 4 a.m. (5 a.m. EDT; 0900 GMT), forcing police and troops to close off the highway. Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said a banner left at the site left a threatening message in the name of the Zetas drug cartel.
- Full story from the Associated Press
NORWALK -- The sentencing for a Whittier gang member who fatally shot another man in Uptown Whittier in 2009 was postponed Friday, officials said.
Brandon Valdez faces up to 50 years to life in prison for the murder of Daniel "Danny Boy" Quijada, 30, on May 16, 2009.
A scheduled sentencing Friday in Norwalk Superior Court was postponed until July 20, court officials said.
He has been convicted of first degree murder along with the special allegations that he used a handgun in the killing and carried out the crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang.
Quijada, a father of five, was shot to death near his apartment in the 6300 block of Milton Avenue.
Valdez was named in a 2008 gang injunction against a Whittier street gang known as Whittier Varrio Locos.
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Coroner's officials Friday identified a man found dead alongside Angeles Crest Highway north of La Canada Flintridge in an apparent homicide.
The body of Noe Vasquez, 35, of Canoga Park was found about 5:20 a.m. near mile marker 27.5 of Angeles Crest Highway, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
Though an autopsy was pending, homicide detectives found evidence of a shooting at the scene and were investigating the death as a homicide, sheriff's and coroner's officials said.
A passing motorist spotted Vasquez's body lying next to a guard rail and called authorities.
The investigation is ongoing.
According to county booking records, he was arrested April 24th on suspicion of a misdemeanor by the Los Angeles Police Department's South Bureau and released the following day after a conviction for violating a gang injunction.
Los Angeles County Superior Court records indicate Vasquez had a long criminal history dating back to 1995.
He was convicted of violating a court order in Van Nuys Superior Court in December of 2009, illegal gun possession at the Van Nuys court in 2006 and 2005, harassment in San Fernando Superior Court in 2000, domestic violence in the Van Nuys court in 2000, drug possession in Van Nuys court in 1995 and grand theft in Van Nuys court in 1995.
Anyone with information was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling L.A. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Gang member Brandon John Valdez is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in Norwalk Superior Court for the murder of a 30-year-old man in Uptown Whittier in May of 2009.
A jury found him guilty of the first-degree murder of Daniel "Danny Boy" Quijada, along with discharge of a handgun to commit the crime, and that it was done for the benefit of a criminal street gang.
Valdez, 27, faces 50 years to life, Deputy District Attorney Brock Lunsford said.
"According to court testimony, (Quijada) was killed because he supposedly was engaged in activities not sanctioned by the gang in control of the area," he explained.
Valdez was already in custody for violating parole when Whittier police arrested him in March 2010 for the shooting of Quijada, of Whittier.
The father of five, had just left his apartment in the 6300 block of Milton Avenue when he was gunned down outside his building as children played nearby.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Quijada, according to court testimony, had at one point been a part of Rivera 13.
Valdez is a known member of Whittier Varrio Locos, Lunsford said.
"There was no testimony that Quijada was an active member of Rivera 13," he said.
His widow, Diana, said her husband was no longer involved with the gang.
"We were just trying to raise our family," she said.
Diana, who asked her last name not be used, was seven-months pregnant at the time of the murder.
She gave birth to a boy, whom she named Angel.
According to court records, Valdez has several prior convictions -- in July 2006 for committing battery while he was in prison; in June 2006 for being a felon in possession of a firearm; and in June 2005 for being under the influence of a controlled substance and theft.
He also has a May 2005 conviction for theft.
- Sandra Molina
WHITTIER -- A 50 year-old man linked through DNA evidence to the 1981 rape and murder of a young woman in her Whittier home pleaded not guilty Thursday to murder, authorities said.
Joseph Allan Thornton was arrested at his Auburn home April 16 after DNA collected from the scene of the June 27, 1981 slaying of 21-year-old Blanca Stella Negrete at her home in the 7600 block of Washington Avenue, according to Whittier police Lt. Kent Miller
After entering his plea in Whittier Superior Court, Thornton was ordered to return to court July 30 for a preliminary hearing setting.
Detectives were left with no leads in the long-cold homicide investigation when the case was reopened in May of 2010, and investigators DNA samples taken during the original investigation which could now be used for DNA analysis, Miller said.
Because of a domestic violence arrest since Negrete's killing, officials said, Thornton's DNA had been entered into a national database, and came back as a match when checked against the DNA evidence from the 1981 homicide scene.
Family members of both Negrete and Thornton appeared in court Thursday.
PHOTO of Thornton courtesy of the Whittier Police Department
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- Officials shut down both directions of Angeles Crest Highway north of La Canada Flintridge early Thursday as homicide detectives investigated the discovery of a man's body.
California Highway Patrol officials discovered the body about 5:30 a.m. along Angeles Crest Highway near mile marker 27, just under three miles north of the 210 Freeway, Los Angeles County sheriff's Sgt. Debra Herman said.
Detectives from the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau were sent to investigate the scene.
No description of the body was available, and the circumstances in which it was found were not released.
"It's very, very early in the investigation," Herman said, adding that officials had limited cell phone and radio reception at the forest investigation scene.
It was not clear how long the highway would remain closed.
To detour around the closure, the CHP advised southbound traffic was advised to take Angeles Forest Highway to Big Tujunga Canyon Road and turn left. Continue on Big Tujunga Canyon Road, which become Oro Vista Avenue, and continue to Foothill Boulevard.
Northbound traffic was advised to take westbound Foothill Boulevard to Mount Gleason Avenue and turn right, then take make a right on Big Tujunga Canyon Road. After traveling a short distance on Big Tujunga, another right turn on Angeles Forest Highway will connect motorists back to Angeles Crest Highway.
WHITTIER -- The investigation continues into the death of a man who was fatally shot in the back while walking with his fiancee in West Whitter last month.
Jacobo Abraham Dominguez, 24, died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center shortly after the 10:45 p.m. attack April 27 in the 6600 block of Danby Avenue, in an unincorporated county area near Whittier. Though listed by investigators as a Compton resident, his fiancee said he had been staying in the Whittier area in recent months.
"The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the back," Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Assistant Chief of Operations Ed Winter said.
Dominguez's fiancee was pistol-whipped during the attack, but not shot, officials said.
"She was struck in the face with a gun," Lt. David Dolson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau said. The woman suffered a significant injury to her nose, but declined to be hospitalized, he added.
Dolson said investigators were left with only a vague description of the assailants: several males in a 4-door, gray or silver sedan with tinted windows.
"Information we developed indicates to us that it was gang-related," the lieutenant said. "Everything is still under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
PASADENA -- A 38-year-old man accused of killing his 61-year-old roommate at an assisted living center for the mentally ill is due to appear in court to face a murder charge Thursday, officials said.
Paul Jason Lopez was scheduled to be arraigned in Pasadena Superior Court in connection with the killing of Monday's slaying of George Shatford at the Pasadena Residential Care Center in the 1400 block of North Garfield Avenue, Pasadena police Lt. Phlunte Riddle said.
In the meantime, he was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Shatford was found dead in the room he shared with Shatford, police said. Though ligature marks were found around his neck, leading police to suspect strangulation, Shatford's officials cause of death was to be determined through an autopsy by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
The motive in the slaying remained unclear Wednesday, and whether or not the men had been involved in previous arguments or fights was not disclosed.
"At this particular point, I don't know the motive," Riddle said. "We don't have a reason behind Mr. Lopez's actions."
Though the facility where the men lived cares for mentally ill residents, police said due to federal medical privacy law, they could not discuss why he was housed at the assisted living home.
GRAPHIC WARNING: Surveillance video footage, synced with police audio recorders, from Kelly Thomas beating in Fullerton:
CONTRIBUTORS
|
| Frank Girardot, Metro Editor for the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers, brings you behind the yellow tape with takes on true crime, cold cases and more. This is also your forum to discuss crime, its impact on your neighborhood and how we cover it. Have any questions or tips? You can leave a comment here or e-mail Frank. |
|
|
Brian Day is the crime reporter for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper group. E-mail Brian. |
Recent Comments
opuvoxittze on Arson suspected in Pasadena house fire: PCj846 zycpnjmqxrbx ...
nttzcmuhowu on Three men steal $25,000 from elderly Norwalk woman: T321h5 bfcxvpoqhksq ...
twhbsduvmf on Shooting reported in Norwalk: IGqhxM xxmnpsgknjjn ...
eebpia on Officials: Suspect shot by CHP in Industry brandished handgun: icWtJ2 aauuetxqddlg ...
draecghzf on Saw this on MyDeath Space: 1eWiZk wkdthvhojvfv ...
pccmpwqqsnk on La Habra man charged with $5 million fraud becomes fugitive after missing court appearance: lPVC5b gsibedmzkecj ...
wkhdaaylrzs on Police detective shot in Long Beach: dvALWi tgaqownwdpep ...
tdhorvvbj on Police urge caution after 'hot prowl' burglaries in Arcadia: q3IEQ1 jpwhaoekihsr ...
xuhjdatk on O.J.'s LONGEST RUN: eAX2b2 jwqhtyigctgf ...