The reward has been raised again to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the AK-47 Bandit.

City of Chino Chino – A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered in exchange for information leading to the arrest of a suspect who shot and wounded a Chino police officer after robbing a bank last year and who has since been linked to additional bank robberies in other states. The increased reward and publicity campaign was announced at a joint press conference held by the FBI’s Assistant Director in Charge in Los Angeles, Bill Lewis; the Chief of Police of the Chino Police Department, Miles Pruitt; the Chief of Police of the North Bend, Washington Police Department, Mark Toner; and the Chief of Police of the Rexburg, Idaho, Police Department, Shane Turman. On Wednesday, February 29, 2012, the California Bank & Trust on 5455 Riverside Drive in Chino, California, was robbed by a white male, described as 25-40 years old, with a stocky built. The suspect was armed with an assault rifle, similar to an AK-47, with a sling and drum magazine. Following the robbery, a police officer patrolling the area came upon the bank robbery suspect who was fleeing the bank. The suspect fired upon the officer and seriously wounded him. During and following the robbery, the suspect wore body armor over a dark-colored collared short-sleeved shirt and blue pants, as well as a ski mask covering his face. The suspect was seen leaving the scene in a vehicle described as a dark gray Nissan Maxima with four doors and tinted windows. Prior to the bank robbery, a threat was called into the 911 dispatch center from a payphone in the general vicinity of the bank by a male caller. Investigators believe the suspect employed a diversionary tactic in an attempt to delay officers responding to the bank robbery. Since the Chino robbery and attempted murder of the police officer, the suspect has been linked to additional bank robberies and one attempt. The suspect is also believed to be connected to the March 12, 2012, robbery of the Bank of the West on the 1000 block of Helen Power Drive in Vacaville, California. He may also have been involved in an attempted robbery three days prior on March 9, 2012, of the Tri Counties Bank on the 1700 block of Challenge Way in Sacramento, California. The suspect is believed to have used the above-described Nissan Maxima in both the Vacaville robbery and the Sacramento attempted robbery. On July 6, 2012, a similar style take-over robbery occurred at the Chase Bank on Mt. Si Boulevard in North Bend, Washington. The suspect was armed with an AK-47 style rifle with attached drum magazine. He had a loud, deep voice with no obvious accent, and threatened to shoot the tellers if they did not hurry. The suspect carried the cash by hand as he did not bring a bag. A dirty, reddish-orange Jeep Patriot or Liberty was parked out front of the bank as a getaway vehicle. It may have had out-of-state license plates with a prominent blue stripe across the top. On November 7, 2012, a robbery took place at the East Idaho Credit Union in Rexburg, Idaho. At approximately 4:30 pm, the suspect entered the bank with what may have been an assault rifle and ordered the employees and customers into the vault. After obtaining the money, the suspect fled in a dark blue sedan with tinted windows and a red and blue license plate. He was last seen headed south on South Yellowstone Highway. Anyone with information about this incident or as to the identity or whereabouts of this suspect is urged to contact investigators at a toll free number established for this case: 1 855 9 BANDIT or send an e-mail to this address: bandit@chinopd.org. This suspect is considered heavily armed and dangerous and individuals who may come into contact with him are advised to contact law enforcement immediately and refrain from taking independent action to apprehend the suspect. Bank surveillance photographs of the vehicle and the suspect can be found at http://www.chinopd.org/. The FBI’s wanted flyer announcing the reward can be found at: https://bankrobbers.fbi.gov/robbers-container/2012-12-07.3681698452 Information can be provided confidentially. Billboard advertising has been donated to assist with the publicity on this case and will run digital ads with a bank surveillance photo, the reward offer and the toll free number for several days in the Los Angeles market, as well as other markets around the United States. The $100,000 reward is being offered collectively by multiple entities, broken down as follows. It should be noted that each entity offering reward money attaches a separate set of criteria that must be met in order for reward money to be paid. FBI: $50,000 City of Chino: $20,000 East Idaho Credit Union, City of Rexburg, Idaho: $20,000 California Bank & Trust: $10,000 This case is being investigated jointly by the Chino Police Department; the Rexburg Police Department; the North Bend Police Department: the Vacaville Police Department and the Sacramento Police Department, as well as FBI offices in each of the above-mentioned jurisdictions.

Staff Reports

City of Industry – Plastic thefts have been a major issue in California, but the Industrial Plastic Theft Task Force have been working hard to reduce the number of thefts in the LA County area. The Industrial Plastic Theft Task Force is a group from the City of Industry station who have dedicated their time to recover stolen plastics. They were formed in 2011 and are believed to be the only team of this type in the nation. Most of the stolen and recovered plastics are pallets, trays, shelves, baskets, and totes (collapsable crates) from grocery stores, pizza places, bakery industry, restaurants, beverage companies, and shipping and receiving companies. Once thieves collect the plastic, they take it to sites where it can be grounded and then sold to plastic manufacturers. “The plastic trademark products are often stolen from the loading docks behind businesses throughout Los Angeles County and the entire region,” said Sergeant Nabeel Mitry, Industry Sheriff’s Station Industrial Plastic Theft Task Force, in a news release. “Additionally, either employees steal the plastics themselves, or leave them in a place outside the business so their crime partners can pick them up,” Mitry added. Sheriff’s investigators are recovering property stolen from victims throughout Los Angeles County, especially the San Gabriel Valley, as well as communities in neighboring counties such as in the Inland Empire and Orange County. The Plastic Theft Task Force has recovered about $6.5 million worth of items in the past year, according to local reports. They have arrested at least 50 suspects in the past year and have located about 20 sites used to stow or grind stolen plastic. “The victims of these thefts are hard working businesspeople contributing products and services to their customers, as well as jobs to the economy. The enormous cost to businesses as a result of these thefts is ultimately paid by consumers through increases in prices for goods and services,”said Industry Sheriff’s Station Captain Mike Claus in the release. “Clearly, the enormity of the loss just in Los Angeles County could easily exceed $10 million dollars a year. I have been contacted by Los Angeles County and even worldwide global businesses who have made it clear that this is an epidemic that has never been addressed. These businesspeople are grateful that the Sheriff’s Department has taken a leadership role in addressing this issue and educating the public about it. While expressing gratitude, some business owners explained that their losses had been so huge, that had the thefts continued, they most likely would have had to go out of business.” “We will continue to find these stolen products and return them to their rightful owners, and the people responsible will be arrested and addressed by the criminal justice system,” said Captain Claus.

By Michael Armijo

Walnut – The Walnut Valley Unified School District announced that it wont be able to pay their bills this school year, which opens them up to a possible “take over” by the county. The board voted 4-0, with board member Larry Reddinger absent, to declare a ‘negative certification” on their annual budget. “We are 90% salaries and benefits,” said one school official, who asked not to be named. “We can remove the negative certification if and when we get concessions from the teachers union,” they added. “Negative certification” means that the district is declaring it cannot pay its bills and is desperately short of cash. This status is reported to the LA County Office of Education (LACOE) and is required to be reported by state law. “There are only four ways to really solve this situation,” said the official. “One: reduce salaries, two: require furlough days for teachers, three: begin layoffs, or four: a freeze. But the Union isn’t budging, so the district had no choice but to declare the negative certification.” District officials said that layoffs were not something they want to consider, but with 90% of the budget being salaries and benefits, there may not be any choice. “Area districts have been utilizing furlough days to balance their budget for the past two years,” they said. “We haven’t had any. And we haven’t increased spending, but with ‘step and column’ plus rising health care and utilities, the budget keeps increasing without voting on a single expenditure.” If the district and the Union cannot agree, then the county has the opportunity to take over and is watching the district closely. Inglewood Unified is the only other district that has been stripped of its power. They also claimed “negative certification,” and has now lost all power. LACOE can now force Walnut Valley to explain how it ran short of cash, and if not satisfied with the districts plans to resolve the issue, they could begin to take over power. “Basically, the district used the money from the sale of the landfill they received to balance the budget,” officials said. “This year, the county said they can no longer use that money, which created the financial crisis. That’s how the district has been able to avoid furlough days for the past few years.” The district is facing a $4.7 million deficit to its approximately $110 million annual budget. The administration has asked the teachers to accept furlough days to help close the gap, which will amount to a cut in pay, but the teachers union has refused, according to the Walnut Valley Educators Association website. Laying off teachers, which the district said they will do if the union doesn’t accept the furlough days, will mean larger class sizes. There has already been a huge increase in kindergarten this year. The union wants more teachers hired, and the district wants to keep the class sizes the same and instead provide teachers’ aides to help out in classes with more than 22 students. For more information, please go to http://www.wvusd.k12.ca.us.

Staff Reports Riverside County – According to information submitted to the Internet Crime Complaints Center (IC3), there have been recent cyber crime trends and new twists to previously-existing cyber scams. A payment management company recently reported to the top fraud attacks most impactful to eCommerce. These attacks were identified by frequency of attack and revenue loss. In ranked order, the top nine fraud attacks identified were: 9) Triangulation Schemes 8) Phishing/Pharming/Whaling 7) Botnets 6) Re-shipping 5) Affiliate Fraud 4) Identity Theft 3) Friendly Fraud 2) Account Takeover 1) Clean Fraud. Also, several legitimate direct sales companies have seen a large surge in fake orders being places with their consultants. The consultants are contacted through the legitimate “find a consultant” link located on the various sales Websites. In each instance, the suspects are placing large orders and agreeing to pay by check. The consultant receives the check for a much larger amount than the total cost for the products. The consultants are instructed to cash the check and send the difference back to the buyer via wire transfer. The IC3 has received several complaints filed by consultants from companies affected by this scam. For more information regarding online scams, visit the IC3 Press Room page for the most current Public Service Announcements. http://www.ic3.gov/media/default.aspx.

Staff Reports LA County – Last month, there have been reports of two threats towards local schools and two school lockdowns in the local area. The first incident occurred on Thursday, Dec. 13, when a 14-year-old student at Canyon View Junior High School in San Dimas allegedly threatened to bring a gun to campus and kill a teacher, according to the LA Times. Sheriff’s spokesman Steven Whitmore said to the Times that the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made. The second incident occurred two days after the tragedy of 20 children and 6 adults being killed in Newtown, Connecticut. On Sunday, Dec. 16, a Pomona man was arrested for allegedly making violent threats against local elementary schools. Kyle Bangayan, 24, was arrested at around 11:15 a.m. by Los Angeles police officers and FBI agents at his parents’ residence in the 1200 block of North New Hampshire Avenue in East Hollywood, according to local reports. Found at the parents’ residence were nine firearms, including rifles, a shotgun, handguns, and ammunition, officials state. However, it is not known to whom the guns belonged to. Reports state that officials searched Bangayan’s Pomona residence and didn’t find any weapons or related evidence. Bangayan’s threats were made on Facebook, where he referenced the Newton shooting. Local reports state that Bangayan was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats and held on $500,000 bail. However, prosecutors declined to file charges against Bangayan on Dec. 17 because he did not target specific schools and apparently claimed the post to be a joke. The first lockdown that occurred was on Dec. 17 at approximately 9:45 a.m., when Diamond Bar High School went on lockdown due to a suspicious man in the area. According to a post by Principal Catherine Real on the DBHS website, Diamond Bar High School was notified by the Walnut Sheriff’s Department that a suspicious individual was in the vicinity. Local reports state that the man was carrying a duffel bag and acting suspiciously. In the interest of the students’ and staff’s safety, DBHS immediately went into their lockdown procedure. At approximately 10:05 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department notified the school that the man was in question, detained and was in police custody. Local reports state that the man was a Diamond Bar resident and not a threat. The lockdown was over and the school went back to their normal bell schedule. Real ended the post to DBHS parents saying, “Please know that your child’s safety is our number one priority and once that safety was secured and verified, parents were notified as quickly as possible.” The last lockdown occurred on Dec. 21, when Diamond Ranch High School went on lockdown due to an alleged threatening call from a student. The Pomona Unified School District posted online at around 10:30 a.m. that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department had directed Diamond Ranch High School to be placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure to a matter they were investigating. The post stated that all students were safe in class and parents would be notified as soon as the lockdown was lifted. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s responded to the school campus and didn’t find any evidence of any threat on campus. However, the Sheriff’s brought up additional resources to aid in sweeping the entire campus and surrounding area and the situation was named precautionary. A post at around 1:30 p.m. stated that the lockdown was lifted. Classes remained in session until 2:20 p.m., as scheduled. Parents were sent to the gym to pick up their children and the school followed emergency release protocols, meaning that only those listed on the students emergency release card were able to pick up students and picture identification was required. All school activities were cancelled for that day and arrangements were made for students to take finals in January, when students returned to school after Winter Break. The post ended with: “We thank you for your patience during this incident. We appreciated the commitment of our local law enforcement officers in keeping our students and staff members safe.” Both the LA County Police Department and Sheriff’s Department have recently announced that they will increase daily patrols around local schools to protect against potential treats. The LA County Sheriff Department posted a news release after the Newtown tragedy regarding school safety, tips for parents, teachers, and schools, and new notification systems available to the community. Read this news release at http://nixle.us/84K5H. For more information, go to http://sheriff.lacounty.gov.

Staff Reports West Covina – Two people were killed last month in two West Covina car crashes. The first crash occurred on Dec. 22 at around 2 a.m., when Baldwin Park resident, Andrew Joey Villagran, crashed his car into a pole, according to local reports. Villagran, 25, was traveling west in his 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, when his car veered to the left, crossed the eastbound lanes, and jumped the curb, according to the report. He crashed into a wooden utility pole off 15610 San Bernardino Road and later died at the USC Medical Center. The second crash occurred on Dec. 25 at around 9 p.m., when two apparent street racers crashed into a van, killing a 90-year-old woman. Rialto residents Vincent Lopez, 30, and Victor Hugo Sanchez, 34, were reported to be drinking in a nearby bar an hour before the incident. Then witnesses had seen them street racing on Lark Ellen Ave. and Merced Ave., where they also ran the corner stop signs, according to local reports. The men were reported to have crashed into a van driven by Jaime Ochoa, who was driving home his mother, Cilia La Torre, 90. La Torre had just been released from Queen of the Valley Hospital and was seated in a wheelchair secured in the van when the crash occurred. However, the impact of the collision caused her to be thrown from the van and pronounced dead at the scene. Ochoa was taken to USC Medical Center to be treated for head trauma. Lopez was taken to the Queen of Valley Hospital for leg injuries. Lopez and Sanchez were booked for suspicion of felony drunken driving and may face other charges for the death, according to reports. If anyone has information regarding either of these crashes, please contact the West Covina Police Department at (626) 939-8500.

Staff Reports

Chino Hills – Residents and officials are not happy with a residential home that has allegedly turned into a Chinese maternity hotel, which is against city code enforcement law.

City staff inspected a property at 15250 Woodglen Drive in Chino Hills through a court order on Nov. 19 and a public complaint was filed on Dec. 7.

Through the court-ordered inspection, city officials discovered that the home has been used to house 30 pregnant Chinese women that have come from China to give birth on United States soil.

The inspection also revealed that a resident was charged $150 a day for a medium-size room. An invoice showed another tenant paid $27,000 for her prenatal and postpartum care, according to local reports.

The “hotel” has been reported to be offering $5,000 to $15,000 packages, according to notinchinohills.org. These packages include transportation, meals, tours, and a hospital stay before returning to China with their American-born babies.

Officials observed raw sewage “flowing down” the property and determined that the septic system was failing, according to a city report.

Co-owners Hai Yong Wu and Yi Wang, who own the home built in the mid 70’s, purchased the home through a California based corporation, Los Angeles Hermas, Inc. They face numerous code enforcement violations.

Through property meter readings, the city was able to determine that more than 100,000 gallons of water, or an average of 4,000 gallons per day, was being used at the facility from Sept. through Dec 2012. Septic systems in that area were designed to handle only 1,500 gallons a day, almost one third of the current use, the complaint said.

The city also observed a dining area, dining schedule, a “lobby”, recreation areas, a luggage dolly, and brochures advertising the hotel as “USA Los Angeles Hermas International Guidance on How to Have an American Baby,” the complaint said.

Chino Hills City Mayor, Peter Rogers, said that until the 14th Amendment of the Constitution is amended or eliminated, what is being done by the operators of these birthing tourism programs is not illegal, according to last week’s City Council meeting minutes.

The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution states a child born in the US is granted citizenship and will receive a birth certificate.

Chino Hills residents protested off of Peyton Avenue and Chino Hills Parkway early last month regarding the “hotel”. Residents held signs saying “Not in Chino Hills, Not Anywhere” and “No Birth Tourism”.

Among the protestors was the “Not in Chino Hills” group, which was organized just a few weeks ago. According to their website, the mission of “Not in Chino Hills” is to preserve their family oriented community. The alleged Maternity Hotel is their first issue to face.

The City Attorney, Mark Hensley, announced at the Dec. 11 council meeting that their office will seek an immediate order requiring the operations at the property cease, and that the property “cannot be inhabited until brought to compliance with city zoning, building and safety codes.”

Hensley also said there is the possibility of a court hearing within the next four weeks.

The inspection report also indicates the home had been subdivide, without proper permits, lacked emergency escape windows, unpermitted gas lines for a secondary kitchen, no smoke detectors or carbon monoxide detectors, and unpermitted electrical and plumbing connections in the 17 room facility. Rooms also resembled a hotel, with matching monograms, keyed locks on each door, and water buckets to wash with.

The home appears to be empty now with the lights completely out at night and the property appears to be uninhabited, according to local reports. But some have reported seeing construction trucks that appear to be working on sewer lines.

Several calls to Wu and Wang were not answered nor returned.

Photo By Diane Armijo

By Erika Aguilar and Michael Armijo Walnut – One of Walnut’s iconic restaurants, Taco Factory on Lemon Avenue and La Puente, has closed because the landlord refused to renew the lease, said owner Raquel Guillen. The Walnut Taco Factory had been there for over 26 years. The Taco Factory previously had nine locations in Los Angeles County, Orange County, and San Bernardino County, until a few weeks ago when Guillen was notified by her landlord that her very first location in Walnut was shutting down. “The landlord did not renew my lease and it took me by surprise,” Guillen said, “I’ve been at that location for over 26 years and never had an issue with the leasing renewal.” She also added that she had great relationships with her prior two landlords and that closing down her very first store came as a shock. “This is what can happens when you don’t own your own building,” she said. Guillen and her staff recently cleared out all of the equipment from the Taco Factory. Holding back tears, she shared, “I had an emotional attachment to that restaurant.” Several calls to The Weekly News by residents felt it was discrimination, that the landlord wanted to place an Asian food based restaurant in that spot. B ut calls to the landlord by The Weekly News and by the former tenant Guillen were not answered. “Losing my first store in Walnut was a tough lesson I learned. I am curious to see what kind of food will be sold there now,” said Guillen. But she is relentless and unwilling to yield to the recent events that have occurred. “I am trying to find a new location in Walnut because that is where I started,” she said. She has already met with a new landlord and is trying to reopen another location. She indicated that she had eight employees working at the Walnut restaurant location and that she did not want to let them go. “We’re making arrangements to relocate our employees to the other locations,” she said. But still the question remains, “Why did they not renew her lease?” She recalled, “I remember we ran out of meat, beans, rice, and everything the first day we opened in Walnut.” “I ran a bridal shop in Pico Rivera for eight years and decided to open up my own restaurant in Walnut when I moved and bought a house in that city,” she said. The City of Walnut only had a pizza place, a bank, and a supermarket located in that shopping center back in the 1980s. Gullien said she always passed by Lemon Avenue and La Puente Road and believed that she could run a successful restaurant business at that location, so that working parents like her could purchase authentic Mexican food at a low cost to feed their children. “I was a working, single mom at the age of 24 and I didn’t want to cook when I got off work. I felt that the city needed more local restaurants to pick up food for their kids on the way home, and since the restaurant business was familiar to me, I followed my dream,” she said. Reminiscing back to the days of her childhood when she would hear the clunking sounds of pot and pans in her parents’ restaurant kitchen, and the aroma of fresh homemade corn and flour tortillas, Raquel Guillen pursued the “American dream” of opening her first restaurant. It began in 1984 at a small, 600 foot square leasing space in Walnut, California. Guillen expressed that her late son, George, designed her first restaurant logo when he was in junior high school. It was a drawing of a man wearing a hat, known as a sombrero in Spanish, taking a nap while homemade tortillas were falling into a pot off the machine line. She explained that she redesigned the logo in 2006, after she witnessed a Cal Poly Pomona Chicano Studies Professor explain to his students at the Diamond Bar Taco Factory that the old logo misrepresented Latinos as being lazy and always making tortillas. She revealed, “Chicomecóatl” also known as “Xently,” was her choice for the new Taco Factory logo. The logo represents the “goddess of corn” and the “maize deity” of Aztec/Mexican history in 15th-16th early century. “It is very important to me because she is a woman and represents corn,” Guillen conveyed. With determination and respect for the residents of the City of Walnut, she has pride for her clientele and everything that they have done for her and her family. Guillen said that the residents of Walnut are even driving to the Taco Factory location in Diamond Bar. Guillen owns and runs other restaurant locations in Claremont, Chino Hills, Fontana, Irvine, Rancho Cucamonga, and Upland and two locations in Irvine. “This wasn’t something I was expecting, but we’ll see what happens in the near future,” she said.

Photo courtesy: Walnut Valley Unified School District

By Sarah Armijo Walnut – Walnut Valley Unified Superintendent Dr. Dean Conklin announced his retirement, which will be in effect June 30, 2013. Conklin sent out a letter regarding his decision to the district staff and Board of Trustees last week. He states that he announced his retirement six months early to provide the Board of Trustees time to find the next superintendent and ensure a smooth transition. In the letter to his staff, he explained that he is not retiring because he is frustrated or disenchanted with his job. He says he loves his job and every job he’s had in the past. “My decision is all about the quality of life, and the quality of my life is very good. That being said, I have been touched by the fact that I do have friends and mentors who are dealing with health issues; a reminder that life is precious, and not to be taken for granted. This reality has definitely had a place in the decision I have made,” says Conklin. At age 57, Conklin has served 33 years in public education, including seven years as superintendent. He has been working in the Walnut Valley District for 15 years now and says he will miss the students, Cabinet, administrators, teachers, staff members and the Board of Trustees. “Walnut Valley Unified is an extraordinary place, and I have been truly honored to serve in the capacity of superintendent. You are a very professional staff, and totally dedicated to the District. Your commitment is the major reason that this District enjoys the reputation it does,” says Conklin. He adds, “The years I have spent in the Walnut Valley Unified School District have been a remarkable experience, and I have been blessed.” Conklin ends his letter with letting his staff know that he will be committed to finish the task at hand over the next six months. He says he will help build consensus in the WVUSD district and renew dedication to keeping the educational programs vibrant and effective. He also says that he will help resolve WVUSD’s current financial problems during these last six months as superintendent. “I believe that the solutions to our financial challenges are within our grasp.”

Staff Reports

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