Rape suspect Arcadia man Philippe Lutete, 30, not mentally competent to stand trial. He will be taken to Patton State Hospital for treatment. Once he is deemed competent, the criminal case against him will proceed.
Three women were violently robbed in a span of a week in the 99 Ranch Market parking lot at 1300 S. Golden West Avenue. In two of the incidents, a passenger leaned out of a car to grab purses, and in the other incident, two men pushed a woman to the ground, kicked her in the face and stole her purse.
A man with a stun gun shot and tried to kidnap two 16-year old girls walking down Golden West Avenue, but resident Dale Raine's yells scared the man away.
Based on the description and surveillance video, Arcadia police believe the same man may have robbed two 7-Eleven stores this month. The most recent robbery took place on May 20 at the 7-Eleven at Live Oak and Tyler Avenues. The previous crime occurred on May 10 at the 7-Eleven at 1003 S. Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia.
A home invasion robbery on December 12 resulted in the shooting death of 35 year old Jose Antonio Parra, while his girlfriend and three small children were locked in a bedroom. It happened on the 11000 block of Kristi Court in unincorporated county area near Arcadia.
The husband and wife suspected of enslaving and torturing a 20-year old woman from mainland China allegedly kept a second slave and may have imported as many as a half dozen people into the United States. Dianji Zhai and Hua Jiang of Arcadia have been arrested.
None of the three Chinese-American candidates received enough votes to win one of the three open seats in Tuesday's Arcadia City Council elections. With the departure of Mayor John Wuo, who was the second Chinese-American to be elected to the council, Arcadia, an ethnically diverse city, is reverting to an all Caucasian council for the first time in 12 years. Many in the Chinese community prefer to relay a concern to someone of their own race and culture "because this person understands what they say, what their concern is based on," former council member Dr. Sheng Chang said. Councilman Roger Chandler, however, believes that the city has enough volunteers, associations and resources to facilitate communication and to aptly handle any issue that could come up.
A federal investigation of a San Gabriel Valley-based Asian crime syndicate led to the arrests of 18 suspected Red Door gang members in several San Gabriel Valley cities, including Arcadia. The effort was dubbed "Operation Paint it Black." Authorities seized seven guns, 12,500 ecstasy pills, 2,230 marijuana plants and a Lamborghini. The 18 were indicted on drug trafficking and international marriage fraud charges.
Five young women were chosen to ride in Arcadia's entry in the 1996 Tournament of Roses Parade. All residents of Arcadia, they are: Erica Mead, Michelle Medeiros, Nicole Mosteller, Rebecca Choi and Michelle Wilson.
American Pharoah's trainer Bob Baffert and his wife Jill donated $150,000 to three charities. Jockey Victor Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to win 2015 Triple Crown, donated all his earnings from Belmont Stakes race to City of Hope.
Sheriff's homicide detectives arrested Arcadia man, 72-year-old Richard Cole, in the 2001 fatal stabbing of his wife, Charlotte S. Cole, who was found slumped over the steering wheel of her minivan in an Arcadia parking lot. Although he was a person of interest initially, the case remained open and went cold for 10 years. Investigators gathered evidence in the last year, leading to his arrest on Sunday, November 4, 2012. This was his second arrest in the killing.
Arcadia man Tatsuhiko Sakamoto, 37, pleaded not guilty to fatally hitting 21-year-old road worker Connor McDermott Penhall, in Pomona Superior Court yesterday. The crash happened April 4, 2012, when Sakamoto allegedly drove onto a closed part of the 10 Freeway in Baldwin Park, while drunk. He will next appear in court June 27 to set a date for his preliminary hearing.
Santa Anita Handicap takes place tomorrow. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is going for a record third straight Big 'Cap Victory, riding Shared Belief, a fan favorite.
The 2001 murder of grocer Adel Karas, a 48-year old Egyptian man from Arcadia, a few days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was initially thought to have been a hate crime. He was shot at his store International Market at 1381 E. Last Tunas in San Gabriel. Now police suspect Adel Karas was the victim of extortion. The suspects are two Latinos in their mid-20s.
A high speed police chase that began in Pasadena, then went through Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte and several other San Gabriel Valley cities, ended in the driving crashing into another car. The suspect was Edgar Angarita, 45, of Hollywood and the 21-year-old woman from Baldwin Park that he crashed into, are both being treated at the hospital. Police say Angarita was intoxicated. The chase occurred Monday, January 24. He is being held on suspicion of felony evading a police officer, but additional charges may be coming.
Carol Yeh, formerly of Arcadia, took a year off from her studies at Yale to travel with the Yale Glee Club as manager of "Whim 'n' Song", an all-women a cappella singing group. She is profiled.