Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 28, 2012

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 28, 2012 

This Week In Monrovia from Mark Alvarado Interim City Manager

TEAM MONROVIA CAN PREVAIL ONCE AGAIN

Duarte Kiwanis Club Hears from P.E.A.C.E.

Tuesday’s State of the City address was delivered 
in front of a packed house at the Krikorian 
Premiere Theater. Mayor Mary Ann Lutz 
outlined both the challenges and opportunities 
facing Monrovia in 2012. The main message 
of the address was that we still have challenges 
ahead, but if we pull together, Team Monrovia 
will prevail – just like we always do!

We were hit with two major storms in December, 
one being the windstorm and the other being the 
State’s elimination of redevelopment agencies. 
There is still much to be decided, but Monrovia 
has been through storms before, and is ready 
to tackle this one. The community’s gains over 
the past several years, coupled with the ongoing 
organizational and financial restructuring of 
public business, has positioned Monrovia well for 
short-term recovery and long-term stability and 
prosperity. If projections hold true and sales and 
property tax revenues rise over the next two years 
then new resources and opportunities will begin 
to open. And of course we will be looking to the 
City’s Economic Development steam engine to 
help us move forward. As for the challenges, we 
will continue to work toward solutions, and to 
effectively work together to find those solutions. 
The full State of the City speech can be viewed on 
our City website at http://www.cityofmonrovia.
org/.

This year’s State of the City event came in 
under budget, thanks to generous sponsorship. 
I’d like to thank NAI Capital for providing the 
refreshments, and the City Manager’s Office staff 
for putting together another great event.

Update on Redevelopment

Wednesday’s special City Council meeting 
was held to further tackle the issue of dissolving 
our Redevelopment Agency. We are still waiting 
to hear from the League of California Cities 
(“League”) and the California Redevelopment 
Association (“CRA”) representatives on what 
type of new “version” of redevelopment is being 
proposed to the Legislature and the Governor. 
However, in order to comply with the bizarre terms 
and process the State established with the passing 
of the ABX1 26 legislation, all redevelopment 
agencies must be dissolved by February 1, 2012. In 
order to do so, a successor agency must be formed 
to carry out the liquidation of all the former 
Monrovia Redevelopment Agency’s assets and 
obligations. At Wednesday’s meeting, the City 
Council appointed themselves as the successor 
agency, and will now take on the responsibility 
of winding down the former agency’s affairs. In 
the meantime, we’ll continue to keep you posted 
on the status of the League and CRA efforts. We 
shall see…

An E-Monrovia

Staying connected in the fast-pace world of 
social media has increasingly become more 
and more important. We realize that in today’s 
need for government transparency, the idea of 
being online is, as it turns out, a necessity. So 
how are we doing? Monrovia has been able to 
offer a wide variety of social media networks to 
communicate to our residents. City Departments 
use social media tools, such as Facebook and 
Twitter, to reach out and participate with a 
broader audience. Here is what is available to our 
E-community:

Kiwanis President, Tina Carey, Captain Rita Beltran-Heinz, P.E.A.C.E instructor, Sgt Jennifer 
Dillon, Kiwanis member, Aida Torres.

Former Captain, Rita Beltran-Heintz, has 
quite a story to tell. After serving 25 years in Law 
Enforcement and focusing on “boot camps” for at 
risk teens, she began to get requests to help with 
much younger kids at-risk. Her unique program 
(Providing Enrichment At-Risk Children 
Everywhere) P.E.A.C.E. recognizes that children 
between the ages of 8 – 13 can be involved in 
graffiti, gangs, drugs or alcohol, disrespectful and 
disruptive behavior or sex. 

Her program is created for both the child and 
a parent resulting in a changed relationship. The 
back-to-basics approach sets goals for better 
grades, respectful behavior, integrity, discipline, 
self esteem and healthy lifestyles. The core of 
the program is an intensive, 9 week program on 
Saturdays. Her entire staff is all volunteer, and 
once the parent and child commit to the program, 
great strides are made. The Duarte Kiwanis Club 
had the pleasure of hearing Captain Beltran-
Heinz speak at their January 17th meeting. The 
Duarte Kiwanis Club has lunch meetings the 
first, third and fifth Tuesdays of the month at 
Westminster Gardens. 

For further information on providing a program 
or joining the club, contact Dr. Diane Hernandez 
at drdiane@drhernandezoptometry.com. 

Monrovia Police Blotter

DUARTE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

During the last seven-day period, the Police 
Department handled 392 service events, resulting 
in 81 investigations. To see a complete listing of 
crimes reported, go to http://www.crimemapping.
com/map/ca/monrovia for crime mapping.

Assault with a Deadly Weapon / Criminal 
Threats – Suspect Arrested. On January 16 at 
11:52 a.m., officers responded to a residence in 
the 100 block of West Cherry regarding a suspect 
making verbal threats to his family. The suspect 
has recently obtained a handgun and has been 
wearing it in his waistband. During recent 
arguments he has threatened to shoot them and 
has shown the weapon. After once again being 
threatened, the suspect’s brother found the 
loaded gun hidden in their parent’s room. He 
took the gun and locked it up.

The next day when the suspect went to retrieve 
the gun and realized it was gone, he became 
irate and threatened the family with a stool, 
which he dropped and then retrieved a knife 
from the kitchen counter. He then threatened 
the family with the knife. The victims went 
into their bedroom, locked the door and called 
police. Officers arrived and were able to arrest 
the suspect without further incident.

Attempt Murder – Suspect Arrested. On 
January 22 at 5:53 p.m., dispatch received a call 
reporting a stabbing victim at a residence in 
the 1200 block of Encino. Officers responded to 
the location and discovered a male adult with 
a puncture wound to his chest. The suspect 
violated a restraining order and entered the 
home of his estranged wife with a hunting type 
knife and stabbed her male companion one time 
in the chest. The suspect then left the location.

The investigation led officers to a hotel in the 
900 block of West Huntington Drive. Officers 
immediately contained the hotel room with 
the assistance of two Irwindale police officers. 
Officers directed the clerk to make a telephone 
call into the suspect’s room to tell him that his 
credit card was declined and he needed to go to 
the office and resolve the problem. The suspect 
did not indicate if he was going to leave his room, 
but approximately 15 minutes later he exited 
his room and was taken into custody without 
further incident. The victim was taken to a 
hospital, where he was admitted in critical, but 
stable, condition.

Theft – Suspect Arrested. On January 17 at 3 
p.m., a Monrovia High School teacher reported 
her cell phone had been stolen. She left the phone 
unattended near a practice field. She was able to 
activate a GPS feature which indicated the stolen 
phone was at a residence in the 100 block of East 
Los Angeles. Officers responded, were able to 
recover the phone and arrested the 16-year-old 
suspect.

Grand Theft Auto – Motorcycle. On January 
17 at 6 p.m., a red and white-colored Honda dirt 
bike with no plates was stolen from the 500 block 
of West Duarte between 6 and 8 p.m. A 1990’s, 
dark green minivan, possibly a Ford or Chevy, 
was seen in the area. The vehicle was driven by 
a male White subject, approximately 50 years 
old, medium build, with a brown mustache and 
goatee. Investigation continuing.

Traffic Collision – Vehicle versus Bicyclist. 
On January 18 at 1:43 p.m., a female juvenile on 
a bicycle was on her way home from school. She 
was traveling west on Duarte Road, crossing at 
Alamitas, when she was struck by a vehicle. The 
driver was stopped on Duarte Road, turning 
south onto Alamitas. The bicyclist was on the 
sidewalk and entered the crosswalk, but the 
driver was looking towards his left and never 
saw the bicyclist enter the crosswalk. The impact 
knocked the juvenile off her bike, causing minor 
visible injuries. As a precaution, since the juvenile 
was not wearing a helmet, she was transported 
to a hospital by ambulance. Her parents were 
notified and responded to the hospital.

Prowling / Possession of Burglary Tools- 
Suspect Arrested. On January 19 at 2:27 a.m., 
a resident in the 300 block of Shadow Lane 
reported seeing a male subject using a flashlight 
to look into parked vehicles. The subject ran 
when he saw police cars approaching. Officers 
conducted a yard-to-yard search and found the 
suspect hiding in a backyard. He was arrested for 
prowling and possessing burglary tools.

Found Child. On January 19 at 3:58 p.m., 
officers were flagged down regarding a 2-year-
old child walking alone in the 300 block of North 
Grand. Officers were able to determine that the 
child lives at a residence in the 400 block of East 
Greystone. Her grandmother is currently her 
guardian, as the child’s mother was recently 
taken into custody. At the time of the mother’s 
arrest, a referral to the Department of Child and 
Family Services was generated. This incident was 
reported to the Department of Child and Family 
Services worker.

Commercial Burglary – Suspect Arrested. On 
January 19 at 8:51 p.m., officers responded to a 
business in the 700 block of East Huntington 
regarding a male subject who stole merchandise. 
An officer saw a subject walking on Huntington 
who matched the description of the suspect. As 
the officer attempted to contact the suspect, he 
ran. The officer gave chase, detained the suspect, 
and he was arrested for burglary. The suspect 
had apparently committed the same crime two 
days prior.

Vehicle Burglary. On January 20 at 1:05 a.m., 
officers were dispatched to a residence in the 
700 block of South Alta Vista on the report of a 
burglary that had just occurred. The victim’s van 
was parked and locked on the street. The victim’s 
wife heard the van door open and told the victim, 
who went out to investigate. He saw a male subject 
near the rear doors of his van. The suspect ran 
to a vehicle and fled in a possible 1990’s, black 
Honda Civic. The suspect had punched out the 
rear door lock to gain entry to the van and took 
an electric sander. The suspect is described as a 
male, wearing dark clothing and either a mask or 
bandana over his face. Investigation continuing.

Driving Under the Influence. On January 
20 at 4:25 a.m., an officer on patrol drove by a 
vehicle parked in the 300 block of West Foothill 
and saw a subject slumped over the steering 
wheel. The vehicle was running, it was in 
drive, and the subject would not respond to his 
knocking. Eventually, the subject woke up and 
the vehicle moved forward, but stopped shortly. 
After investigation, the subject was arrested for 
driving under the influence.

Theft from a Vehicle. On January 21, several 
thefts from vehicles occurred overnight. The 
thefts occurred in the 200 block of North Alta 
Vista, 200 block of West Lime, 400 block of 
Concord, and the 300 block of North Mayflower. 
All of the thefts appear to have occurred in the 
early morning hours and in most of the incidents 
the vehicles were left unlocked. The items taken 
were cash, electronic items, gift cards, and 
miscellaneous items that were left in the vehicles. 
Investigation continuing.

Grand Theft Auto. On January 21 at 8 a.m., a 
vehicle was reported stolen from a residence in 
the 1300 block of South Alta Vista. The vehicle 
is a black, 2000 Honda Civic and was taken 
sometime during the night. The vehicle has 
yellow fog lights on the front and a rear spoiler. 
Investigation continuing.

Detective Bureau Case Follow-up

Update: 2010 Armed Robbery – Suspect 
Arrested. On December 28, 2010, an armed 
robbery occurred at a liquor store in the 400 
block of West Duarte Road at approximately 
8:45 p.m. Three suspects wearing ski masks 
entered the store. Two of the suspects walked 
behind the counter and one of them punched 
the clerk. The clerk fled into the store and was 
followed by the suspect. This suspect had a small 
chrome handgun and demanded money from 
the clerk. When the clerk said he didn’t have any, 
the second suspect took the cash register and all 
three suspects fled to a waiting vehicle, driven by 
a fourth suspect.

On January 18, a suspect was arrested by the 
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Homicide 
Bureau for a murder committed in Lynwood. 
During the lengthy interview, the suspect 
admitted to committing the armed robbery at 
the liquor store in Monrovia, along with two 
additional suspects. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s 
Department Major Crimes Division is taking 
over the investigation and prosecution of the 
armed robbery case.

Celebrating the 400 year anniversary of 
the King James Version of the Bible 1611, Neil 
and Susan Earle have created an exhibit now 
on display at the Duarte Historical Museum, 
depicting the history of what has been termed as 
“the greatest book ever printed.”

Two DVDs on the subject and informational 
handouts are available at the museum and Neil, 
Senior pastor at the New Covenant Fellowship in 
Glendora and teacher of church history on line, 
will be available at 2 p.m. on Saturdays to answer 
questions. Neil is co-author of the Arcadia Press 
Images of Duarte book which was published 
in 2009. He also serves as host on the Duarte 
Public Access Channel (DCTV) series A Second 
Look. Susan is Registrar for Grace Communion 
Seminary, an online school based in Glendora. 
The Earles have resided in Duarte since 1999.

Anchoring the display is an 1898 King James 
Bible which is impressive in its size and the 
intricacy of its cover. It is on loan for the exhibit by 
Duarte residents Russell Duke, President, Grace 
Communion Seminary and Associate Dean of 
Theology, Azusa Pacific University, and his wife, 
Phyllis. Also on display is a 1770 German Bible 
on loan from Susie Albrecht of Glendora, which 
was given to her by her Swiss father. That Bible 
is based on Luther’s original 1622-34 translation.

The Museum is located at 777 Encanto Parkway, 
Duarte and is open the first and third Wednesday 
each month from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Saturday 
1-4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information 
call (626) 357-9419