Arcadia City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto has appointed Captain Roy Nakamura as the city's 30th police chief. He is a 28-year veteran of the Arcadia Police Department. He succeeds Chief Robert T. Guthrie, who is retiring. Nakamura is the first police chief of Japanese and Asian descent in a city that once temporarily incarcerated Japanese and Japanese-Americans at Santa Anita Park. Arcadia's population is currently 60.8% Asian.
Los Angeles County Court official says zero-bail policy working as intended. Risk is deciding factor in determining if suspect is released without payment. Zero bail eliminates the financial requirements for release from all but the most serious offenses prior to arraignment. Police will instead cite and release, or book and release, suspects for a majority of misdemeanors and some felonies. Serious and violent crimes (such as killing, kidnap, robbery, assault with deadly weapon), are not eligible and still retain previous bail amounts. More than a dozen LA County cities have joined a lawsuit attempting to reverse the policy. Attorneys for the cities, include Whittier, Downey, Beverly Hills, and Arcadia, argue the Superior Courts have balanced the system too heavily in favor of offenders, so much that "victims and public safety are given a zero value."
Arcadia woman Ruixue "Serena" Shi, 37, pleaded guilty to soliciting $22.8 million in funds for a condominium and hotel project scheme. The crime is one federal count of wire fraud, which has a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 3, 7, October 28, 2021.
Arcadia resident, Robert Charles Porter, was arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder for allegedly executing a San Dimas police informer and wounding another.
Indictment implicates Baldwin Park's ex-city attorney Robert Tafoya in $70,000 bribery scheme to help secure cannabis permit from a vote by Councilman Ricardo Pacheco. Special agents with the FBI and IRS arrested former Compton Councilmember Isaac Galvan, 36, and another person, a 50-year-old Arcadia resident, who is the owner and operator of a cannabis grower that obtained a permit in Baldwin Park.
Arcadia's crime drops in 2019. Compared to 2018, there was a 28% drop in residential burglaries, a 17% decrease in robberies, and an 11% reduction in assaults.
USC Arcadia Hospital announces leadership changes. The appointments will "better serve its community and align with Keck Medicine of USC health system." Colleen Wilcoxen, is now chief nursing officer. Robert Begg has been named Vice President of Human Resources and will supervise workforce training and development. Beginning January 29, Lisa Johnson will serve as the USC-AH chief quality officer.
Monrovia man Yi Chen gets 4 years in prison for fraud in a student visa scheme to get Chinese immigrants into the U.S. unlawfully. From June 2015-February 2021, Chen was the CEO and owner of two so-called educational consulting companies in Alhambra and Arcadia that charged foreign students thousands of dollars for "guaranteed" admission to a college that would lead to the issuance of an F-1 student visa. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 2, October 6, 2022.
Woman gets 20 years in prison for bilking investors. Ruixue "Serena" Shi, 38, of Arcadia, bilked investors in a Southern California hotel and condominium project of at least $26 million. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 8, 14, November 24, 2022.
Drive-in movie fundraiser, a tribute to former addict and prison inmage, actor Danny Trejo, to help drug treatment organization CRI-Help. Features Universal Studio's award-winning documentary "Inmate #1: the rise of Danny Trejo" on a 50-foot screen at Santa Anita Park on May 14. The film chronicles Trejo's journey from addiction to Hollywood stardom. He will appear and his restaurant Trejo's Tacos will cater the event.
Family of murder victim Chyong Jen Tsai, left appalled by District Attorney George Gascon's reforms. Man accused in slaying facing a shorter sentence of 32 years and 4 months-to-life in prison if convicted, instead of life in prison without parole if prosecuted with "special circumstances." Gascon wants judge to dismiss two special circumstance allegations against the accused. Tsai was killed April 9, 2019 at her Arcadia home.
The fight over affirmative action arrives in Arcadia. Arcadia Mayor Roger Chandler and Councilmember Paul Cheng will participate in a demonstration to protest Proposition 16 on Saturday at Arcadia County Park. Proposition 16 is a constitutional amendment that would repeal Proposition 206, which banned the use of affirmative action involving race-based or sex-based preferences in California, from the state constitution.
Arcadia Gem Coin mastermind Steve Chen sentenced to 10 years in prison. One of Arcadia’s largest
financial scandals in 2015 involved cryptocurrency and a host of well-known public officials,
including a former Arcadia mayor, for involvement in a Ponzi scheme that ultimately shut down the
operations of the Arcadia business known as U.S. Fine Investment Arts, Inc. (USFIA).
Arcadia donor receives 12 years. Accused influence peddler Imaad Zuberi also must pay $18M in lobbying, tax and campaign finance case. His crimes include unregistered lobbying for foreign governments, said prosecutors.
Man, 52, gets two life sentences for killing his nephews in Arcadia. Deyun Shi will spend the rest of his life in prison without a chance for parole for killing 15-year-old Anthony Lin and 16-year-old William Lin in their Arcadia home on the 400 block of Fairview Avenue, and for attacking his now-former wife Amy Lin, at the couple's La Canada Flintridge residence.
Former Arcadia man accused of lying, losing millions of investors' money. James Arthur McDonald, Jr. former CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Hercules Investments LLC and Index Strategy Advisors Inc. was charged with one count of securities fraud. Prosecutors claim McDonald lost clients of his Los Angeles-based firm Hercules millions of dollars in late 2020. He had been renting a home in Arcadia.