Mentally ill man Gerardo Cortez, 26, of Monrovia, is arrested for allegedly making telephone threats to shoot adults and children at a hospital, a mall, and schools in Arcadia and Monrovia.
Gerardo Cortez, 26, of Monrovia was arrested for allegedly making telephone threats to shoot adults and children with an AK-47 at schools (including Arcadia High School), a mall, and hospitals in the San Gabriel Valley last week. See also Mountain Views News, September 14, 2013, p. 1.
Gerardo Cortez, 26, of Monrovia, pleads not guilty in threats to shoot students in area schools. He is charged with 6 counts of making false criminal threats and 5 counts of falsely reporting an emergency.
Gerardo Cortez arraignment postponed to October 4, 2013. He allegedly made a series of threats to several San Gabriel Valley locations. He has a history of making false bomb threats.
The arraignment of Gerardo Cortez, of Monrovia, has been postponed to October 25, 2013. He allegedly made a series of telephone threats to several San Gabriel Valley locations, including a shopping mall, a medical center, and several schools, including Arcadia High School. The caller said he had an AK-47 gun and threatened to shoot people. The joint police forces from Arcadia, Covina and Monrovia, the FBI, and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs had investigated.
Arcadia, Monrovia, and Duarte schools all forced to lock down this week due to phoned in threats of a gunman on 4 separate campuses. On Thursday, September 12, the caller contacted Arcadia Police Department, reporting "he was at Arcadia High School and that he was going to start shooting students with an assault rifle." A second call was received during the police search of the campus that told officers to back off or they would be shot. No suspects of weapons were found.
Former Arcadia police officer Christian Blesch (photo), 36, was arrested for embezzlement of Arcadia Police Officers' Association funds. As of September 24, 2013, Blesch was terminated. Blesch allegedly charegd more than $50,000 for personal items on a police association's credit card. He pleaded not guilty to a felony count of grand theft by embezzlement.
Chief Roy Nakamura became Arcadia’s 30th Police Chief and its first of Asian-American descent on January 9, 2021. Captain Nakamura began his career with the Arcadia Police Department in 1992 as a Police Officer. As an Officer, he was assigned to Patrol and worked as a Field Training Officer, as well as being assigned to the Detective Bureau. As Detective, he was assigned to the Forgery and Fraud Unit and completed his Detective Bureau assignment in the Crimes Against Persons Unit. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2002 and worked as a Field Supervisor until he was transferred to Personnel and Training. In 2009, Captain Nakamura was promoted to Lieutenant, working various assignments under the Operations and Administration Divisions within the Department, including Watch Commander, Detective Bureau Commander, Field Training Officers Program Commander, and Force Training Unit Commander. In 2019, he was promoted to Captain. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cal Poly Pomona.
Arcadia Police Department has a new police chief. His name is Bob Guthrie and has been serving as interim police chief since Bob Sanderson retired in April. He joined the Arcadia Police Department as a cadet in 1989.
On April 28, Arcadia Police Department hosts first in-person Coffee-with-a-Cop event since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, at the Bowlero in the Westfield Santa Anita mall. Prior to the pandemic, coffee was held once every 3 months. Arcadia Police Chief Roy Nakamura, five lieutenants, several sergeants, and volunteer police attended, along with some city council members.
Former Arcadia police lieutenant Kenneth Kuwahara, 40, entered his plea of guilty to false personation and identity theft, both felonies, and four misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution. The solicitations happened between January and May of 2005, while Kuwahara was on duty as watch commander. He faces up to 5 years in prison. The article includes Chief Bob Sanderson's comments.
Former Arcadia police officer Christian Blesch, 36, was arrested and charged with grand theft. He allegedly embezzled funds from the Arcadia Police Officers' Association over a period of several months. As of September 24, 2013, Blesch was no longer employed by Arcadia Police Department.
Former Arcadia Police Department lieutenant Kenneth Kuwahara, 41, who pleaded guilty last year to felony offenses of false personation and identity theft and four misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution, will have a sentencing hearing on June 28, 2007.
Nurhan Venk, 47, suspect in the shooting of Arcadia police officer, charged with attempted murder for shooting the officer in the face. He faces another attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting his 73-year-old mother in the chest. Zoo Yang, an 83-year-old neighbor across the street was also struck by a stray bullet while he was watching his grandchild.
