William Cottrell's (aka Billy Cottrell), a former Caltech physics student who was in prison for participating in firebombing 100 vehicles in the San Gabriel Valley (Duarte, Arcadia, West Covina) in 2003, will be resentenced. The federal court has dropped arson charges against him but he remains convicted on a conspiracy charge. He could be released or face more prison time.
Isaac John Campbell, 33, pleaded not guilty to murdering his former girlfriend, Liya "Jessie" Lu, whose body was found in a trash can at his friend's home in Arcadia. Campbell will return to Alhambra Superior Court on June 19 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.
Teacher Brandon Michael Landreth, 30, of Pasadena, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court. He allegedly confessed to his ex-wife that he shot 25-year old Justo Cesar Morales to death at his parents' Canyon Road home in Northern Arcadia.
In 1934, William F. Gettle was kidnapped from his Arcadia home and held for ransom. Larry Kerrigan, Jimmy Kirk and Roy Williams received life sentences for the crime.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Thomas L. Willhite, 50, of Arcadia to the State Court of Appeal for the Second District. Willhite has also been a Superior Court judge and a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge.
John Anderson, 52, pleaded not guilty in Pasadena Superior Court to a probation violation related to a 2005 conviction for prowling, peeking, and trespassing in Arcadia. He allegedly shot a veteran Monrovia police sergeant too.
Peter Phoenix, 27, of Rosemead, was found guilty of four of seven counts of "distraction burglaries" targeting seniors in the San Gabriel Valley. His sentence is 144 years in prison.
The body of Liya Lu, a 31-year-old woman, was found in a back yard on Baldwin Avenue. Her American name is "Jessie". She was last seen on August 11. See also 30907AN.
Alhambra Superior Court Judge Alice Hill found "sufficient cause" to hold Isaac Campbell, 34, to be tried for the murder of Liya "Jessie" Lu. He will be arraigned May 7.
70-year-old Mulji Patel of Arcadia was sentenced to 12 years in prison for hitting a workers' compensation attorney in the head with a hammer. The assault happened on January 31, 2006. Erwin A. Nepomuceno was the victim.
Former Arcadia High School teacher Phillip Morgan Sutliff pleaded guilty to multiple sex crimes against a former student, accepting a plea bargain of 12 years and eight months in state prison.
Richard Robert Russo, convicted in the murder of his wife Carmen, hanged himself with a bedsheet in his cell at Wasco State Prison. He died Sunday, October 15, 2006.
Former Arcadia High School English teacher Phillip Morgan Sutliff was sentenced, under a plea bargain, to 12 years and 8 months in state prison for sex crimes against a female student. See also 30835AN.
The Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme, has a stronghold on illegal drug trafficking in the San Gabriel Valley. Fighting within the gang is causing violence, even as some key members are in prison.
Marco Antonio Irigoyen of West Covina has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for lewd conduct with a minor. He was a fourth grade teacher at Rio Hondo Elementary School in Arcadia. He pleaded no contest.
Phillip Sutliff is expected to tell a Pasadena Superior Court judge whether he will accept a plea-bargain ageement or stand trial for sex crimes with a minor, a former student of his at Arcadia High School. Their relationship happened over a 2 1/2 year period. He is currently on unpaid leave from his job.