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PASADENA/ALTADENA

ARCADIA

SIERRA MADRE 

 

A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO JACK 
LALANNE

SPORTS

MONROVIA

ANTHONY HARRIS 
LASALLE HIGH 
SCHOOL’S NEW 
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

 

Breaking News:

Ex-Huntington 
Memorial Official 
Arrested

MAYOR LUTZ DELIVERS 
STATE OF THE CITY 
ADDRESS

ARCADIA CITY AND 
SCHOOL BUDGETS FALL 
SHORT

 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Page 5

Page 6

Page 4 

Page 3 


Page 10

Page 15

SATURDAY JANUARY 29, 2011

VOLUME 5 NO. 5

Whatever Happened To.......?

Autumn and Asher Win Top Prizes

MURDER AT 1 CARTER

In 2006 A Startling Discovery Was Made At 1 Carter - Two Men 
Had Been Shot - One Dead - The Other Critically Wounded. 
Have the Killers Been Found? What Happened? Has Anyone 
Been Prosecuted?

Students Win Talent Competition 

 Autumn Rodriguez, a 4th grade student 
at Sierra Madre Elementary school 
and Asher Smith, a 5th grader at SME, 
won First and Second place, respectively 
at the school’s 4th Annual Family Concert’s 
Talent Show. The first place winner 
was awarded $200.00 and the second 
place winner won $100.00.

Autumn, who won for her vocal rendition 
of “Part Of Your World” sang a capella. 
Asher won second place for his dance 
performance to the tune of “It Don’t Mean 
A Thing”.

The competition, which consisted of 
performance by 7 semi-finalists, was 
sponsored by the school’s Annual Fund 
Committee. The performances were followed 
by a concert by Dread Zepplin, 
which included Sierra Madre’s favorite 
rock star, Elvis.

 Judges Meegan Tosh, LynnAnne Hansen-
Miller, Ty Gaffney and Susan Henderson 
had a tough time selecting the top 
performers for the evening.

Among the other contestants were:

 Megan Alle, Ashley Mao and MacKenzie 
Vocek, all 5th graders who sang “A 
Thousand Miles”. (Ashley played the keyboard 
for the group.);

AylahRobinson, 5th grade who sang 
a saucy Country Western Tune, “Our 
Song”;

Camille Kennedy, 3rd grade, who 
danced a traditional Irish dance and wore 
an beautiful traditional Irish costume;

Maddie Rahn, a 4th grader who sang “I won’t say I’m in Love” and captured the attention of everyone 
in attendance with her showmanship and Amy Stapenhorst, 4th grade, who sang “Take Me 
Home, Country Roads” with her father Steve on the guitar.

All of the contestants displayed amazing courage to perform before more than 100 parents, 
friends and well wishers. Terri Brown and Matt Hourihan were the Family Concert chairpersons. 
Principal Gayle Bluemel served as MC for the talent show.

Funds raised for the event go to the school’s Annual Fund which helps support programs and 
activities throughout the school year. Paul Beach is the chairman of the Fund and this year, the 
goal is to raise at least $100,000, the amount raised last year. The fund helps maintain and protect 
the quality of children’s education. With the severe cutbacks from Washington and Sacramento, 
private donations are critical.

The next event will be Sierra Madre School Annual Auction on March 26, 2011 - La Salle High 
School. “100% of the money raised at the Auction goes to the school and funds staff training, science 
and technology programs, health and safety services, performing and visual arts education and many 
more programs that would otherwise be eliminated.”.

For more information on the auction, please contact Lisa Brault (626) 791-3678, Tobi Nishikawa 
(626) 579-6426 or Mimi Young (626) 818-0184. Staff/MVNews


Photos and Story By Susan Henderson

 April 3, 2006 started like any other spring 
day in Sierra Madre, however by 5:30 p.m., 
the tranquility and peace that normally 
surrounds the city had been violated. 
What sounded like gunshots is said to have 
been heard by some residents in the vicinity 
of 1 Carter. A wounded man stumbled 
down the fire 
road looking 
for help. Another 
man lay 
dead in what 
has been reported 
to be 
a ‘carjacked’ 
vehicle.

 News reports 
were 
sketchy. One 
dead man, 
one wounded. 
Investigations 
by the LA 
County Sheriff’s 
Department 
began. 
For months, 
there was no 
news, only 
speculation 
that the 
crime involved gangs and/or drugs. 
Then in December, 2007, approximately 
eight months later, an arrest 
was made.

 Federico Gonzalo Narvaez Bustos 
from Riverside who was age 27 at 
that time, was arrested for an array of 
serious felony charges. They included 
murder and attempted murder. 
By then it was believed that the crime 
did involve illegal drugs and that at 
least two other men were wanted in 
connection with the murder and attempted 
murder.

 The dead man was Victor Tapia. The 
wounded man, the only witness to the 
crime, remained unidentified. After recuperating 
in the hospital, he kept a very 
low profile.

 In the meantime, the wheels of justice 
moved very slowly. Arrested in 2007, 
Bustos has not gone to trial for the murder 
yet. He was arraigned and a preliminary 
hearing was held in Pasadena Superior 
Court in March, 2008, where he was 
held to answer to seven serious felonies: 
1 count of premeditated murder, 1 count 
of attempted murder, 1 count of assault 
with a deadly, semi-automatic weapon, 2 
counts of kidnapping, 1 count of carjacking 
and 1 count of robbery.

 However, somewhere along the line, 
Bustos, who has been held without bail 
since his arrest, has been determined to 
be mentally incompetent to stand trial. 

 On January 11, 2011, Bustos was remanded 
to Patton State Hospital where 
he will remain until such time as a court 
finds him competent to stand trial. In 
the meantime, all criminal proceedings 
against Bustos have been suspended.

 Now 31, this man accused of murder and 
multiple other violent crimes, may never 
come to trial. Whether or not he does is a 
function of his mental state.

In addition, if and when Bustos goes to 
trial, he will have to deal with another law 
enforcement agency. Bustos is an illegal 
immigrant and on an INS immigration 
hold. Should he be released from custody 
for any reason, he will be turned over the 
the INS for deportation. That will occur 
whether or not his mental incapacity sets 
him free or even if he is convicted and 
serves his time in jail. 

 So, the full story of what happened on 
that fire road may never be fully disclosed.

The facts may never come out in trial. 
What drove these men to Sierra Madre 
we will only be able to speculate for now. 

Hopefully, one day we will get the full story 
and close that chapter of the seemingly 
never ending 1 Carter dilemma.

 

 

 
The property where the murder took place, shown above as it looked in 
late 2006, was formerly known as 1 Carter. It is currently being developed 
for luxury homes. At the time the crimes were committed, the former developer 
had just begun clearing some of the vegetation in the area. Since 
the time of the murder and assualt, roads have been paved and the site is 
preparing to construct new homes. The photo below was taken in 2010.


Talent show semi-finalists, left to right: Amy Stapenhorst, Maddie Rahn, Camille Kennedy, Aylah 
Robinson, Asher Smith, Autumn Rodriguez, Megan Alle, Ashely Mao and Mackenzie Vocek.

ONE NIGHT ONLY! “FIBBER McGEE AND MOLLY” AT 

SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE ON FEBRUARY 6

 

 “Fibber McGee and Molly” was one of the most popular comedies of the Golden Days of Radio, enduring 
from 1935-1959. The fun is being re-created by actors of Bill Martyn’s Special Mark Productions in a mock 
radio broadcast on Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

 Fibber McGee was a likable fellow frequently getting himself into some sort of trouble, patiently endured and 
soothed by his loving wife Molly. Their home at 79 Wistful Vista was frequently visited by a comical assortment 
of characters (in every sense of that word). 

 The actors will re-create the original broadcasts complete with commercials and sound effects. (The show’s 
most famous running gag was the overstuffed hallway closet, which would burst with a cacophonous downpour 
of stuff when anyone opened it.)

 The radio episodes being re-created include “”Fibber The Magician” (1948), “Molly the Dressmaker” (1949), “Fibber and Molly Braid a Rug” (1952), 
and “Fibber and the I.R.S.” (1952).

 The actors of Special Mark Productions play roles originally made famous by Marian and Jim Jordan, Harlow Wilcox, Harold Peary, Gale Gordon, Bea 
Benedaret, Arthur Q. Brian, Bill Thompson and Cliff Arquette. The series’ head writer and co-creator was Donald Quinn. “Fibber McGee and Molly” 
would have endured into the 60s, but for Marian Jordan’s failing health. Now, for one more night, you can see what all the fun was about.

 At Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Free parking behind theatre. Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 7 p.m. 
Tickets: $20. Seniors (65+) and students (13-17), $17. Children 12 and under, $12. Reseervations: (626) 355-4318 or www.sierramadreplayhouse.org


Also Inside...

CALENDAR Page 2 

FEATURES

Education & Youth Page 7

Good Food & Drink Page 8

Legals Page 9

Left Turn/Right Turn Page 11

Opinion Page 11

The World Around Us Page 12

Homes & Property Page 13 

The Good Life Page 14

SPORTS Page 15

 Bobby Eldridge - On The Course

 FYI Page 16 


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Mountain Views News 80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. #327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.604.4548   www.mtnviewsnews.com