LOS ANGELES >> A Los Angeles jury ruled Wednesday that an elderly Montebello man was sane when he strangled his wife at the couple’s Montebello apartment in 2012, officials said.
The jury convicted Baghdo Hayrapetyan, 75, of second-degree murder Oct. 30 for the March 5, 2012, death of 63-year-old Anahit Hayrapetyan at an apartment in the 2000 block of West Whittier Boulevard, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials said in a written statement. But the Baghdo Hayrapetyan maintained that he was not guilty by reason of insanity.
The same jury found Wednesday that the convict was sane when he killed his wife during an argument, officials said.
Baghdo Hayrapetyan is due back in Los Angeles Superior Court Feb. 10 to be sentenced by Judge Sam Ohta, district attorney’s officials said. He faces 15 years to life in state prison.
The convicted killer was being held without bail in the meantime at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.
Family members found the body of Anahit Hayrapetyan, along with and unconscious and bleeding Baghdo Hayrapetyan at their apartment, Lt. Ed Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said. Detectives determined the man’s severe stab wounds were self-inflicted.

MONTEBELLO >> A wreck forced the closure of all but the right-hand lane of the eastbound 60 Freeway in Montebello Friday afternoon, officials said.
The crash took place just before 2 p.m. on the eastbound 60 Freeway at Findlay Avenue, just east of Atlantic Boulevard, California Highway Patrol Officer Jennifer Cassidy said.
The crash involved two vehicles and only minor injuries, Cassidy added. Further details were not available.
The CHP issued a Sig Alert for all but the right-hand lane of the eastbound 60 Freeway as officers and firefighters worked at the scene. All traffic lanes were cleared at 3:43 p.m.

MONTEBELLO >> A man died and a woman suffered serious injuries following a motorcycle crash in Montebello early Sunday, officials said.
The name of the man was not released pending notification of family, Los Angeles County Department of Coroner Investigator Betsy Magdaleno said. He was initially described as a 19-year-old Montebello man.
A woman riding as a passenger on the motorcycle suffered serious injuries in the crash, but was expected to survive, Montebello police Lt. Mike Flores said. Her age and city of residence were not available.
The crash took place about 4:45 a.m. in the 400 block of East Avenida De La Merced, Montebello police officials said in a written statement.
“Preliminary investigation reveals the motorcyclist was traveling eastbound on Avenida De Le Merced and lost control of the vehicle,” according to the police statement. “The motorcycle struck a curb and both the driver and passenger were ejected.”
Both the man and woman were taken to a hospital, where the man succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
The investigation was being handled by the Montebello Police Department’s Traffic Bureau.

MONTEBELLO >> Police in Montebello are planning a to check drivers for sobriety and valid licenses during a checkpoint later this month, officials said.
The checkpoint will be held from 7 p.m. Dec. 19 to 3 a.m. Dec. 20 at an undisclosed location within the city, MOnterey Park police officials said in a written statement.
Over the past three years in Monterey Park, eight people have died in DUI-related crashes, and 1,057 people have been injured, according to Sgt. Larry Jackson.
Funding for the checkpoint is being provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

MONTEBELLO, Calif. >> Police Sunday discovered a woman’s body inside the trunk of the car of a Montebello family that’s been missing for five days, authorities said.
The Perez family was last seen Friday, Montebello police officials said. The missing family includes Daniel Perez, 43, his wife Erica Perez, 39, and their sons Alex, 6, Tristan, 8, Jaiden, 9, and Jordan, 11.
Police launched an investigation Tuesday after a relative reported the Perez family missing, Montebello police officials said in a written statement. The family has not been seen or heard from since.
But the case turned from a missing persons investigation into a homicide investigation Wednesday afternoon when police made a grisly discovery.
Based on a tip received while canvassing the family’s neighborhood, investigators found a black 2010 Honda Accord belonging to the family about 5 p.m., parked along the curb at 2nd Street and Harding Avenue, next to Beverly Hospital, Montebello police Capt. Luis Lopez said. The car was found less than a mile to the north of the family’s 1st Street home.
Police then discovered the body of a woman inside the trunk of the car, Lopez said. It was not clear late Wednesday whether the body found was that of Erica Perez, Lopez said, however the basic description of the body was consistent with the missing woman’s description.
Police released no information regarding how the woman may have died, or how long ago. The Perez family remained unaccounted for.
“The biggest concern we have is for the children,” Lopez said.
The captain described Daniel Perez a a “person of interest” in the investigation.
Family members told police the parents’ marriage was “unstable” and that the couple had a history of domestic violence, police officials said in a written statement,
Police continued seeking the family Wednesday night, Lopez said. Their investigation included a review of vehicles that have recently crossed the Southern border into Mexico, in case the family had left the country.
Police sought a second car registered to the family, which Lopez described as a black 2014 Toyota Camry with California license plate No. 7FDS891.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Montebello police at 323-887-1313.

PHOTOS of Perez family courtesy of the Montebello Police Department.

MONTEBELLO >> A leaking water main prompted officials to shut down a section of Lincoln Avenue in Montebello Sunday.
The water leak did not damage the roadway, however authorities determined it was necessary to shut down both directions of Lincoln Avenue to allow work crews room to make repairs, Montebello police Lt. Stan Flores said.
Crews shut down Lincoln Avenue between San Gabriel Boulevard and La Merced Avenue at 2 p.m., police said. The road was expected to remain closed through at least 10 p.m.
Police suggested motorists take Montebello Boulevard as an alternate route.

MONTEBELLO >> Police released a sketch Friday of one of two men sought in connection with the failed kidnapping of a Montebello woman at the laundry room of an apartment building earlier this week.
The woman and her husband fought of the two attackers, who remain at-large, Montebello police officials said in a written statement.
The crime took place about 9 a.m. Monday in the laundry room of an apartment complex in the 100 block of North 10th Street, Sgt. Marc Marty said.
One of the two men, who was wearing a mask, grabbed hold of the woman by the hair and began pulling her into the laundry room, the sergeant said. The woman, who was in her early-30s, managed to break free. The two suspects ran in different directions.
”The victim’s husband was nearby at the time and saw a male suspect run down his driveway,” according to the police statement.
“The victim’s husband chased and caught the suspect in the street and a fight ensued,” the statement said.
During the fight, the masked suspect who initially grabbed the woman returned to the scene and punched the husband, causing him to release the other suspect.
Both attackers fled in a white, 1995- to 2000-model Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck, Marty said.
Neither the woman or her husband suffered significant injury, police said.
As the suspects fled, they dropped a bag containing rope, Marty said.
Since the crime was not completed, it was unclear what the attackers’ ultimate goal was, the sergeant said. It was unclear if they committed the failed kidnapping as part of an attempted robbery, a sexual assault or some other crime.
Police described the first suspect, who grabbed the woman, as a male, 6 feet 2 inches tall, wearing a mask, gloves and a dark-colored gray and black shirt and blue jeans.
His accomplice was described only as male, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a baseball cap.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Montebello police Detective Zabala at 323-887-1254.

MONTEBELLO >> Rescuers freed a 68-year-old man from his minivan Thursday after he became trapped by high-voltage power lines when his vehicle struck a utility pole, authorities said.
The incident, which began with the crash about 7 p.m. on Beverly Boulevard, just east of Poplar Avenue, resulted in no injuries, Montebello Fire Department Capt. Fernando Pelaez said. With 16,000-volt power lines sparking and arcing all over the crash scene, the situation could have been much worse, he said.
The solo-vehicle crash sent power lines down onto the street and over the minivan, the captain said.
Firefighters arrived on scene and warned passers-by to stay away from the lines, as well as metallic items such as fences and lampposts that were electrified by them.
They also told the driver of the minivan to stay inside until Southern California Edison officials could shut down the power, which took about 45 minutes, Pelaez said. Had he stepped out prior, “He definitely would have gotten electrocuted.”
The sheared power pole also supported an electrical transformer, officials said.
Rescuers tried to keep the driver calm until the power was ultimately cut off to the wires, officials said. Firefighters then managed to free him from the crashed minivan.
The driver, a doctor, did not appear injured and declined to be taken to a hospital, Pelaez said.
The intersection of Beverly Boulevard and Poplar Avenue was expected to remain closed into Friday morning as utility crews repaired the damage.
About 5,000 SCE customers initially lost power as a result of the crash, Montebello police Lt. Kelly Gordon said. By 10:45 p.m., about 500 SCE customer remained without electrical service.
No crime was initially suspected in connection with the crash, which was being investigated as an accident, Gordon said.

MONTEBELLO >> An improperly secured cargo container slipped from a big rig Saturday, knocking down a power pole and shearing a fire hydrant on Telegraph Road in Montebello, authorities said.
The mishap occurred about 4:30 p.m. on Telegraph Road, just west of Gage Road, Montebello police officials said.
A big rig had just pulled out of a nearby business when the metal cargo container loaded on the back slipped, Lt. Julio Calleros said.
“The load was improperly secured,” he said. “The load fell from the truck, striking the telephone pole and the fire hydrant.”
The driver was unhurt, he said.
A geyser erupted from the damaged fire hydrants, and power lines fell to the street, he said.
The accident knocked out power to the nearby Quality Inn & Suites, trapping several people inside elevators, but the electricity was restored within minutes, Calleros said.
The eastbound lanes of Telegraph Road remained shut down early Saturday evening, though the westbound lanes were closed as workers repaired the damage, police said.

PHOTO courtesy of the Montebello Police Department.

MONTEBELLO >> Coroner’s officials have released the name of a 20-year-old Montebello man who died in a suspect street racing crash in Montebello Wednesday.
Luis Manuel Oliveras died at the scene of the crash after the 2004 Honda Accord he was driving struck a light pole about about 11:15 p.m. on San Gabriel Boulevard, just north of Plaza Drive, in an unincorporated county area near Montebello, according to California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles County Department of Coroner officials.
A 19-year-old woman riding as a passenger in the Honda suffered injuries in the crash, CHP officials said. An update on her condition was not available.
Investigators believe the Honda was involved in a street race when the crash occurred, CHP Sgt. Cesar Murillo said. The car that was racing the Honda fled the scene and has not been found. No description was released.
Oliveras lost control of the car as he was driving south on San Gabriel Boulevard at high speed, CHP officials said in a written statement.
The car crossed the center median and struck a light pole along the northbound traffic lanes, officials said.
Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call theCHP’s East Los Angeles office at 323-980-4600.

MONTEBELLO >> A car crashed into an apartment building in Montebello Sunday afternoon, prompting the temporary evacuation of four units, officials said.
The crash was reported about 2:51 p.m. at a two-story apartment building with carports located below in the 800 block of North Wilcox Avenue, Montebello Fire Department officials said.
A Honda Accord being driven by a man in his 20s was northbound on Wilcox Avenue when it crossed southbound lanes and struck a wall of the carport that lies beneath the apartment’s building’s first floor, Montebello police Lt. Mike Flores said.
The driver told police he swerved to avoid another car that was entering traffic, though the cause remained under investigation, the lieutenant said. Intoxicated driving was not initially suspected.
The driver, as well as another man in his 20s who was riding as a passenger in the car, suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene by paramedics, Flores said. No injuries were reported in the apartment building or carport.
The Honda ended up partially penetrating the carport wall, Flores said.
As a precaution, authorities evacuated four apartment units, which housed about a dozen residents, he said.
Engineers examined the building and declared it was safe for the displaced residents to return shortly after 5 p.m., Flores said.

MONTEBELLO >> A man escaped injury Sunday when a masked gunman opened fire on him in a seemingly random shooting in a Montebello alley, authorities said.
The incident took place about 3:30 p.m. in an alley behind the 100 block of North Poplar Avenue, Montebello police Lt. Mike Flores said.
A man was standing in the alley when he noticed a male attacker with a handgun crouching near a car, wearing all black clothing and a bandana over his face, the lieutenant said.
Flores said the gunman fired two shots, both of which missed the victim. The bullets struck two nearby apartments, but injured no one.
The attacker fled on foot and was not found, Flores said. The victim told investigators he had no idea who the gunman was.
Anyone with information can reach Montebello police at 323-887-1313.

MONTEBELLO >> Police asked the public to keep an eye out for a Montebello family’s service dog, which went missing last week.
Pipistrello, a 2-year-old Australian terrier called “Pip” for short, was last seen Tuesday in the 300 block of North Greenwood Avenue, near Harding Avenue, Montebello police Lt. Rich Meadows said.
More than a pet, Pip is a service dog who aids her owner, who suffers from a medical condition, Meadows said.
Upon hearing of the lost service dog, Montebello police decided to help the family spread the word in hopes that someone will find and turn in Pip, the lieutenant said.
Pip is reddish-blond and was wearing a pink collar and a dog tag attached to the collar with a pink, heart-shaped clip, officials said.
Anyone who spots the dog is asked to contact Montebello police at 323-887-1313.

PHOTO courtesy of the Montebello Police Department

MONTEBELLO >> A 75-year-old man convicted of strangling his wife of 44 years at their Montebello apartment received a sentenced of 15 years to life behind bars Wednesday, authorities said.
Baghdo Hayrapetyan, 75, received the sentence from Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta, court officials said.
A jury convicted him Oct. 30 of second-degree murder for the March 5, 2012, strangling death of his wife, 63-year-old Anahit Hayrapetyan, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials. At a hearing the following month, the same jury determined that Baghdo Hayrapetyan was sane at the time of the killing.
The couple, who had been married for more than four decades, became involved in an argument at their home in a seniors’ apartment complex in the 2000 block of West Whittier Boulevard.
Rescuers and police arrived at the scene to find Anahit Hayrapetyan unconscious and not breathing, Los Angeles County sheriff’s and coroner’s officials said. Baghdo Hayrapetyan was also suffering from stab wounds on his torso that were believed to be self-inflicted. He was initially hospitalized in critical condition before receiving medical treatment and facing trial.
The crime was first discovered by worried family members who went on the apartment to heck on the couple after being unable to contact them, Lt. Eddie Hernandez of Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said.

MONTEBELLO >> A judge sentenced a Montebello doctor to five years in prison Friday for sexually molesting four female patients in his care, officials said.
Arturo Vargas, 44, pleaded “no contest” Friday to two counts of felony sexual battery, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials said in a written statement.
A jury convicted Vargas in February of two counts of sexual exploitation by a physician for molesting two additional patients, but acquitted him of seven charges involving four other alleged victims, officials said. The Los Angeles Superior Court jury failed to reach verdicts on more than a dozen additional charges.
Vargas entered Friday’s “no contest” pleas during what was scheduled to be a pretrial hearing on the remaining charges.
In addition to being sentenced to five years in state prison, Judge Curtis Rappe also ordered Vargas to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Montebello police first arrested Vargas in Jan. 2012 after a woman reported being molested by him at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Offices on Towne Center Drive, authorities said. Seven additional women subsequently came forward and made similar allegations of molestation at the Baldwin Park facility, as well as at other medical facilities in Los Angeles County.

Video by Walt Mancini
VIDEO 1
VIDEO 2
VIDEO 3
VIDEO 4
PASADENA >> Five “Courageous Citizens” who put themselves in danger to stop three different violent attacks in Montebello, Alhambra, and Burbank received awards Wednesday form the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
A man who intervened in the beating of an elderly man by an assailant half his age; two women who stopped a registered sex offender and lifelong felon from kidnapping a young woman; and two men who helped stop and capture a man who as he stabbed his ex-wife were the five “ordinary citizens” who District Attorney Jackie Lacey said showed uncommon courage in the face of violent crimes against strangers.
“We hope these stories will inspire others to do the right thing when the time calls,” Lacey told the Pasadena Rotary Club audience.
Telesforo Arellano Diaz, 58, of Montebello, received the Courageous Citizens Award for defending a 78-year-old man who was being severely beaten by an unprovoked attacker half his age, Deputy District Attorney Tony Cho said.
Richard Paul Garcia, then-39, attacked the victim as he collected recyclables from a Montebello dumpster near Washington Boulevard and Greenwood Avenue, Cho said. Garcia punched, kicked and struck the victim with a broomstick.
Diaz rushed to help, Cho said. Garcia attacked Diaz, biting him on the hand during the scuffle. But Diaz, with the help of two other good Samaritans, held Garcia until police arrived.
The victim suffered a broken hand, but no permanent injuries, Cho said. Without Diaz, “It could have been much worse.”
Diaz said he never thought twice about getting involved. “An old person like that, it could have been by father. It’s not right,” he said through a Spanish interpreter.
Jennifer Clark, 43, of Redondo Beach and Connie Tejada, 58, of Downey stopped by a Fremont Avenue Starbucks in Alhambra for coffee on Sept. 12, 2013, when they noticed a man yelling at a woman in her 20s as she sat in a car.
The man — later identified as Frank Hernandez, now-66, of Rosemead — had met the victim at his church and lured her to the coffee shop by telling her he had a gift for her, Deputy District Attorney David Ayvazian said. He cut off his GPS tracking device before meeting the woman.
Hernandez brandished what appeared to be a revolver, forced his way into the woman’s car, threatened to kill her and pistol-whipped her, Ayvazian said.
As the terrified victim made eye contact with Clark, “She mouthed, ‘help me,’” Clark said. Clark then told the man, “She doesn’t want you here. You need to go away now.”
As the attacker fled, Tejada used her cell phone to take video footage of Hernandez and his license plate, which she promptly handed over to police, helping them promptly arrest Hernandez, officials said.
“We believe that she was going to be kidnapped, possibly worse, and these two women got involved and stopped that from happening,” Ayvazian said. If not for Clark and Tejada, “who knows what harm this innocent woman would have had to suffer? And another violent predator would be continuing to roam our streets.”
Francisco Godinez, 40, of South Gate and Zinobi Gerbs, 44, of Burbank were honored for intervening when they saw Trino Godinez, 47, attacking his ex-wife with a knife following a planned custody exchange at a Burbank gas station.
The woman ran from her car at a red light after the suspect hopped into the car, brandished a handgun and threatened the woman, Deputy District Attorney Melanie Buccat said. The attacker chased after her, stabbing her three times.
Frank Godinez leapt from his work truck to help and struck the knife-wielding attacker in the head with a wrench before he, Gerbs and an off-duty sheriff’s deputy subdued the man.

DIAMOND BAR >> Deputies arrested a Montebello police officer early Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving following a crash in Diamond Bar, according to officials and county booking records.
Christopher Andrew Cervantes, 43, was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI about 3:30 a.m. and released on $5,000 bail within the hour, according to Los Angeles County booking records.
Lt. John Saleeby of the sheriff’s Walnut-Diamond Bar station confirmed the arrest, but declined to provide information regarding the circumstances of the arrest, saying the investigation was “ongoing.” He deferred further inquiries to the Montebello Police Department.
In addition to the sheriff’s department investigation, Montebello police have launched their own internal investigation into the incident, Montebello police Lt. Kelly Gordon said.
“At 12:40 this morning, one of our employees was involved in a traffic collision in Diamond Bar,” Gordon said. “The employee was arrested.”
Gordon declined to confirm the name of the involved officer.
She said she did not know whether the involved police employee was on-duty or off-duty, or whether the crash involved a police vehicle or a personal car.
Further details were not available. Montebello Police Chief Kevin McClure could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
Wednesday’s arrest was not Cervantes first scrape with the law from the other side of the badge.
He was arrested by San Diego police in July of 2011 when he was allegedly drunk, resisted arrest and falsely identified himself to arresting officers as an agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Fellow officers who filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Montebello Police Department in 2012 accused the department of failing to properly discipline the officer.
Former Mongol Al “The Suit” Cavazos and his brother, former club president Ruben “Doc” Cavazos, have accused Cervantes and his partner in the ATF of lying about the circumstances of a 2007 shooting in order to obtain a search warrant which ultimately led to federal convictions for 78 Mongols and a state conviction for the shooter. Both Montebello police and ATF officials have denied the allegation.
The Mongols have voted the Cavazos brothers “out bad” of the organization.
Al Cavazos said he was not surprised Cervantes, who he described as “crooked,” had gotten into legal trouble.
“I have put in numerous complaints with the Montebello Police Department department about his corruption,” Al Cavazos said of Cervantes. “He falsified documents that put me in jail.” Al Cavazos served nine months behind bars in connection with the case, and has since successfully sued the government for the return of a seized motorcycle.
“(Cervantes) falsified evidence, which I could prove,” he said. “He went as far as to falsify two attempted murder, and drug charges.”
Al Cavazos said he has also filed complaints with the sheriff’s East Los Angeles Station, which patrols the jurisdiction where the 2007 Nicola’s bar shooting took place. But nothing has come of the complaints, which Cavazos said police and sheriff’s administrators were not taking seriously.

MONTEBELLO >> Police are planning a sobriety and driver license checkpoint Friday in Montebello, officials said.
The checkpoint will be held from 7 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. the following morning at an undisclosed location within the city, Montebello police officials said in a written statement.
“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 8 lives and resulted in 791 injury crashes harming 1,057 of our friends and neighbors,” according to Sgt. Larry Jackson.
Funding for the checkpoint is being provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

MONTEBELLO >> Police asked residents of a Montebello neighborhood to stay indoors Wednesday as they searched the area for suspect in a reported home-invasion robbery, officials said.
The incident first began shortly after 7 p.m. in the area of Wilcox Avenue and Hay Street, Montebello police officials said via the department’s Twitter account.
Though initially described as a residential break-in, police later said they were treating the crime as a home-invasion robbery.

MONTEBELLO >> A Montebello domestic violence suspect who allegedly bit and choked his girlfriend, suffered a broken arm while fleeing police and escaped from a hospital where he was brought for treatment and psychiatric evaluation turned himself in early Sunday, officials said.
Conrado Ferrer, 23, got into a fight with his girlfriend about 1:10 a.m. Saturday, said Montebello police Detective Paul Antista.
“During the altercation, suspect Ferrer bit his girlfriend on her finger, pushed her to the ground causing her to hit her head on a block wall and then began choking her,” the detective said.
Someone in a passing vehicle called police, but Ferrer fled when they arrived, Antista said. As he tried to escape, Ferrer jumped from an apartment building roof and broke his arm, the detective said.
Once in custody, he said he wanted to kill himself, Antista said.
Ferrer was brought to Beverly Hospital for treatment of the arm injury and a psychiatric evaluation, but at 5:19 a.m. he bolted from the hospital while receiving X-rays, wearing only a hospital gown, police said.
A search proved fruitless, and police sought the public’s help in finding Ferrer.
He showed up at the Montebello Police Department early Sunday morning to turn himself in, Lt. Rick Rojas said.
“His family talked him into surrendering,” he said.

City News Services contributed to this report.