Arcadia-based Dr. Monique Williams has agreed to plead guilty to the unlawful distribution of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, aka Oxycodone. She admitted to writing prescriptions for people she did not examine and people that did not need it.
Attorney Michael Mayock, representing convicted client Billy Cottrell, seeks a verdict reversal for the 2003 fire-bombing of sport utility vehicles (SUV) at a San Gabriel Valley automobile dealership. He says the jury did not know about Cottrell's Asperger's Syndrome, a neurological disorder. Cottrell's prison situation is 'nightmarish.'
Authorities say an E-mail unlocked a door into a string of vandalism and arson cases at SUV dealerships and led to the arrest of William Jensen Cottrell.
Billy Cottrell, a Cal Tech graduate student who took part in a fire bombing spree that caused millions of dollars in damage to SUV dealerships in the San Gabriel Valley, was sentenced to more than 8 years in prison. See inset for chronology of ecoterror events.
Cal Tech student William Jensen Cottrell, allegedly connected with an ecoterrorist group in connection with vandalism at Rusnak Mercedes-Benz and other car dealershships in the San Gabriel Valley, was arrested by the FBI.
Charles Cooper continues his Arcadia city centennial series "Memories of Arcadia" with a story about Arcadia's mayors. A. N. Multer was the first person to be given the title of mayor of Arcadia. City founder Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin was the city's first presiding officer, but he held the title of president of the Board of Trustees. The title of mayor was not adopted until 1927, when the Board of Trustees changed to the City Council. Arcadia will have 4 mayors this year to mark the city's centennial. Each city council member will rotate into the position. More interesting facts: Floretta Lauber was the first woman to serve as mayor. She paved the way for Mary Young, Barbara Kuhn, and Gail Marshall to follow. Other history of mayors is recapped. The first city manager was William J. Richards in 1951, when a charter was adopted. The longest serving city official was City Clerk Christine Van Mannen, who held the job for 32 years. See hard copy in VF Arcadia (City) History.
The City Council has authorized the Arcadia Fire Department to issue citations for violations of the Uniform Fire Code. Mayor Gail Marshall honored William Barton and Arly Barton as citizens of the month.
Dr. William "Bill" Kaplan, the first geneticist at City of Hope, died November 6 of heart failure. During his retirement, Kaplan helped direct volunteers who ran Arcadia Public Library's bookstore.
Dr. William E. White will be honored by the Alpha Auxiliary of the Methodist Hospital foundation. White has practiced for 40 years in the Sierra Madre and Arcadia areas.
A federal apeals court overturned William Cottrell's (aka Billy Cottrell), convictions on two counts of arson for his role in the 2003 torching of several sport utility vehicles (SUV) at San Gabriel Valley car dealers, attacks authorities blamed on a radical environmentalist group. The court ruled that the judge in his trial should have allowed testimony regarding Cottrell's Asperger's Syndrome, a disability that could have affected the jury's decision.
Former Caltech graduate student William "Billy" Cottrell was re-sentenced to serve at least 18 more months in prison for participating in a vandalism spree in the San Gabriel Valley in 2003.
In William Cottrell's trial, the jury never got to hear evidence about his Asperger's Syndrome. Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that Asperger's could not be introduced at trial as a legal defense. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Klausner's ruling was a mistake and tossed out Cottrell's arson convictions, leaving only the conspiracy count. Last week Cottrell was re-sentenced to the original 100-month term for the conspiracy conviction, after prosecutors declined to retry the arson counts. One reason federal officials declined was because they did not want Asperger's Syndrome established as a viable legal defense.
Less than one week remains before voters decide on ballot measures I, N, and P. A lot of money has been spent by Westfield Group and Our City, a committee headed by George Fasching, on Measures N and P. Measure I is an unopposed bond campaign.
The Library Board of Trustees voted to post a PATRIOT Act notice, as required by the act. The notice reads, "Although the Arcadia Public Library makes every reasonable effort to protect your privacy, under the federal USA PATRIOT Act (PL107-56), records of the books and other materials you currently have on loan from this library, your inter-library loan requests placed during the past year, or the Internet sites and e-mails that you access through our computers may be obtained by federal agents. That federal law prohibits library workers from informing you if federal agents have asked about or obtained your records.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien ordered changes to a statement signed by Mayor Roger Chandler and members of the City Council after two residents, with the backing of the initiative's corporate sponsor, filed suit over factual inaccuracies. This will affect the wording of Measure N on the next ballot.