A jury convicted DeQiang Song, 24 of Monterey Park, of the kidnapping and attempted murder of a 21-year-old woman, who he knew through a mutual friend, after taking her on a trip to Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall in Arcadia on September 8, 2010. He then took her to a remote area of desert in San Bernardino County and bound her, strangled her, sliced her throat with a knife and left her for dead. She survived. Song asked the victim's father for $10,000 in ransom money. He will be sentenced April 26 in Alhambra Superior Court.
Deqiang Song, 26, of Monterey Park, gets life in prison without possibility of parole, for the crime of kidnapping for ransom, and a second sentence of life in prison plus four years, for the attempted murder of his then 21-year-old victim. Song met his victim through a mutual friend and took her to Westfield Santa Anita mall in Arcadia on September 8, 2010. Then he took her to a remote area of desert in San Bernardino County. He strangled the woman and slit her throat. He called her father for ransom. She survived.
Arcadia firefighter/paramedic Michael Herdman was remembered as a devoted father and animal lover, at a memorial service yesterday, at Arcadia Performing Arts Center. Hundreds attended. His body was found June 27 in Sespe Wilderness in Ventura County. He went missing June 13. See also Arcadia Weekly, July 10, 2014, p. 1, 20 and Mountain Views News, July 12, 2014, p. 6.
20-year-old man Jason Scott Gustin found guilty of attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend in Arcadia. On August 22, 2016, according to testimony at trial, Gustin met near Arcadia and sat in his car to talk when he pulled out a knife and slashed her throat and then began strangling her. As the victim tried to escape, he stabbed her multiple times. She ran away to a nearby convalescent home. He was arrested a short time later after he showed up at his mother’s workplace in Arcadia.
Troy Lucarelli, 43, of Temple City, was arrested by Monrovia Police, after he broke into a woman's home in Arcadia, robbed her of her car keys and stole her car in the 900 block of Paloma Drive.
Los Angeles County Sheriffs arrested Jason Macklin Dell, 33, for attempted kidnapping of a 6-year-old girl at Arcadia County Park.
See also Mountain Views News, p. A6, June 29, 2013 which reported suspect was released.
Mansionization vote soon. Officials say no to economic impact study (on how home size affects property value) amid update to city's zoning code. Opponents and proponents packed into City Council Chambers. Resident Lee Marshall said more stringent regulations (in building height, floor area ratio (FAR), setbacks, hillside standards) would add value to homes by encouraging more harmonious development. Resident Polly Wong said she built her dream home in Arcadia and the new recommendations might significantly hurt her investment. See also Arcadia Weekly, p. 1, 16, March 17, 2016 for "No economic study for zoning code changes."
Dr. James Lin will be the King of Arcadia Methodist Hospital's Mardi Gras 2014. He has been chief of staff in 2013 and chair of the Medicine Department in 2006. See also Mountain Views News, p. 6, March 1, 2014.
Arcadia resident Sylvia Miller (photo) will tell California Retired Teachers Association about her years as a human "computer" at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), as recounted in Nathalia Holt's book The Rise of the Rocket Girls. Miller was one of many women scientists hired to compute data used to chart the path for NASA's early space missions.
Arcadia Fire Chief Kurt Norwood announces his retirement. He began his career in Arcadia in March, 1987 as a firefighter. His last day will be July 9. See also Mountain Views News, p. 6, June 18, 2016.
Police find woman’s body in Arcadia backyard in the 300 block of East Forest Avenue. A 76-year-old Arcadia woman was killed yesterday at her home and her vehicle was stolen. The coroner’s office has not yet identified the woman. Neighbors said she was a longtime resident with two daughters and a grandson. The motive behind the killing is unknown.
Peter Chang, 60, of Long Beach, admitted in court that he shot his estranged wife, Liya ("Sandy") Lu, 32, in front of her Arcadia home on Bonita Street. He was immediately sentenced to 29 years to life in prison. The murder occurred on January 27, 2008.
The body of missing Arcadia firefighter Mike Herdman was found by rescuers in the Sespe Wilderness yesterday. He went missing June 13. Cause of death is pending an autopsy. Herdman would have turned 37 tomorrow. He is survived by a wife and 6-year-old daughter.
John Shear (pictured), a 5-foot, 110-pound, 90-year-old paddock supervisor at Santa Anita Park, nearly lost his life when he threw himself in the path of a runaway horse on March 12 to protect a little girl he didn't know. He has worked seasonally for Santa Anita Park for nearly 50 years. He sustained a fractured pelvis and other injuries but is recuperating at home now. He is a hero.
Nadia Lanyi celebrated her 105th birthday. She lives at Arcadia's Vista Cove. She is originally from Lithuania and lived in New York for most of her life. She has lived in this area for 14 months.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger offers $20,000 reward in Arcadia investigation into heinous murder of Chyong Jen Tsai, a 76-year-old Arcadia woman, whose body was found on April 9, 2019 in her backyard in 300 block of East Forest Avenue. Her 2005 Lexus RX300 is believed to have been stolen from her home.
1980s pop group Air Supply plays at the Arcadia Performing Arts Center on January 25, 2014. Also playing this season are America (2/22), Susan Egan (3/1), and The Temptations (6/7).
A woman in her 60s turned in a grenade she found, in the garage of her former home in Glassell Park, to Arcadia Police. She is staying with friends in Arcadia. The explosive device was a live World War I hand grenade called a "Mills Bomb" commonly used by British military from 1915-1970s. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's bomb squad detonated the grenade on the lawn of the Arcadia Police Department, after placing it in a hole several feet deep with sandbags. Police advise anyone who finds an explosive device to not move it, but leave it in place and call the police.
Four Chinese investors are plaintiffs suing San Gabriel consulting firm California Investment Immigration Fund. Plaintiffs believed they were investing $500,000 in U.S. businesses in return for green cards. FBI allege the scheme was fraud and raided the firm and homes of lawyer Victoria Chan, her father Tat Chan, his wife Zheng Chan, in April.