Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 6, 2016

7

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 6, 2016 

SIX VYING FOR ARCADIA COUNCIL SEATS

With the surprise lack of filing by two potential candidates by the extended 
deadline at 5 p.m. Jan. 20, there are now six candidates for two 
available seats on the Arcadia City Council.

Paul Cheng, a lawyer in Pasadena who made a big splash in the hotly-
contested 2010 election, pulled the necessary papers last month to 
submit a bid but then last Friday, the original deadline for submitting 
signatures and other forms, posted on his Facebook page that he would 
not be running this year.

 “I am writing this to let everyone know that I will not be running for 
Arcadia City Council,” he wrote. Noting that “many pundits have said 
that I have an excellent chance to win,” he said he determined that with 
his “growing law practice,” he would be unable to dedicate himself to 
clients that “God has put before me” during the election cycle. He also 
confessed to being a “momma’s boy” who needs to spend more time 
with his mother as she is “getting older.”

Late last month a relative unknown in local politics or community activities, 
Alan Yee Phong Thian, also pulled papers from the City Clerk’s 
office but did not file the completed paperwork.

Nonetheless, the campaign promises to be lively with three former 
Mayors in the race — Peter Amundson, Dr. Sheng Chang, and Bob 
Harbicht, along with April Verlato, who has made quite a name for 
herself in the past year challenging the City and the Council in many 
verbal and legal ways on the topic of mansion-ization. She has a law 
practice based in Downtown Arcadia and is President of the Arcadia 
Improvement Association.

Amundson and Harbicht have been sitting out a mandatory minimum 
two-year period since sitting on the Council for eight years (two consecutive 
four-year terms).

The other two candidates are Burton Brink and Paul Van Fleet, both of 
whom ran in the last election of 2014.

One of the two seats available would have been former Mayor Wuo’s 
as an incumbent for his second consecutive term this time around after 
a prior eight-year stint. But Wuo’s name became so entangled with 
a federal investigation and eventual criminal charges of fraud by the 
Securities and Exchange Commission against an Arcadia-based business 
called USFIA Inc. (US Fine Investment Arts) for operating a global 
pyramid scheme bilking $32 million from investors over the last 2 1/2 
years, that Wuo resigned October 6. He has not been officially charged 
with any wrongdoing.

 The other open seat belongs to Mayor Gary Kovacic, who is termed out 
after another coupling of two consecutive four-year terms.

Voters will submit votes only by mail again this year, with the first batch 
of ballots being mailed Monday, March 14, according to Lisa Mussenden, 
Elections Official, Chief Deputy City Clerk/Records Manager for 
the Arcadia City Attorney/City Clerk Office. Postage for resident mail 
ballots will be prepaid by the city and ballots must be postmarked April 
12 and received in the City Clerk’s office by April 15. Walk-in ballots at 
City Hall must be received in the City Clerk’s office no later than 8 a.m. 
the morning of April 12, 2016.

 The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce will hold its traditional Meet the 
Candidates Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Cay Mortenson 
Auditorium of the Arcadia Public Library.

A first-time candidate in the 2014 election who surprised some with a 
strong showing, Burton Brink, age 52, is a Sergeant with the Los Angeles 
County Sheriff Department.

Right from top to bottom: April Verlato, Peter Amundson, Paul Van 
Fleet, Dr. Sheng Chang, Burton Brink and Bob Harbicht.

Excerpts from story by Scott Hettrick

ARCADIA POLICE BLOTTER


For the period of Sunday, January 24th, through 
Saturday, January 30th, the Police Department 
responded to 1,080 calls for service of which 149 required 
formal investigations. The following is a summary report 
of the major incidents handled by the Department during 
this period.

Sunday, January 24:

Just after 12:20 a.m., an officer responded to the 100 
block of Colorado Place regarding an attempted stolen 
vehicle report. The officer discovered an unknown 
suspect attempted to steal the vehicle by punching 
the ignition cylinder with a tool. The suspect was 
unsuccessful and fled with the victim’s passport. No 
suspects were seen and no witnesses were located.

 Around 1:19 p.m., an officer responded to the area 
of Fifth Avenue and Longden Avenue regarding an 
activation of an Arcadia Police Department GPS 
tracker. Arcadia PD detectives had previously deployed 
decoy packages containing bait property and tracking 
devices to combat the increase in package thefts from 
residential areas. An investigation revealed a 27-year-
old male from El Monte had the stolen package, 
property, and tracking device inside his vehicle. The 
suspect was arrested and transported to the Arcadia 
City Jail for booking.

Monday, January 25:

At about 7:51 a.m., an officer conducted an 
enforcement stop on a vehicle in the area of Santa 
Anita Avenue and Alta Street for having expired 
registration. A records check of the vehicle revealed 
the registration had expired; however, the vehicle 
displayed a 2015 registration sticker. The driver, a 
46-year-old female from Arcadia, knew about the 
forged sticker on her vehicle. The suspect was cited 
and released in the field.

 At approximately 10:46 p.m., officers responded to 
the intersection of Longden Avenue and Azure Way 
regarding a tree on fire. An investigation revealed an 
unknown suspect lit a discarded Christmas tree on fire. 
A male suspect wearing light blue pants was seen fleeing 
on foot westbound on Longden Avenue. 

Tuesday, January 26:

Around 9:50 a.m., an officer responded to a residence 
in the 1100 block of Rodeo Road regarding a burglary 
report. The officer determined unidentified suspect(s) 
entered the residence by smashing a rear window and 
fled with an unknown amount of property. No suspects 
were seen and no witnesses were located. 

 Just after 2:24 p.m., an officer conducted a traffic 
stop on a vehicle in the area of Oakwood Drive and 
Foothill Boulevard for failing to stop at a stop sign. 
Upon contacting the driver, the officer discovered 
the 26-year-old male from Riverside was driving with 
a suspended license. He was cited and released in the 
field. The vehicle was impounded for 30 days.

Wednesday, January 27:

Shortly after 10:28 a.m., officers responded to the 200 
block of West Longden Avenue regarding a fire. An 
investigation revealed a pool motor had caught fire in 
the rear yard of the residence. Officers extinguished the 
fire. No injuries were reported.

 At about 2:32 p.m., officers responded to the rear 
parking lot of Chase Bank, 60 East Huntington Drive, 
regarding a robbery that had just occurred. The officers 
determined the unknown suspect made arrangements 
to purchase a laptop from the victim. During the 
exchange, the suspect struck the victim and fled with the 
laptop in a red Ford Mustang. Arcadia Fire responded 
to provide treatment to the victim.

 The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, 20 to 
25-years-old, approximately 6’ tall, with a heavy build. 
The investigation is ongoing.

Thursday, January 28:

At approximately 2:24 p.m., an officer responded to 
a residence in the 1400 block of South Fifth Avenue 
regarding a fraud report. The officer discovered an 
unknown suspect transferred $32,000 from the victim’s 
bank account without her permission. The victim 
does not know how the suspect obtained her personal 
information. 

 Around 8:52 p.m., officers responded to a residence in 
the 500 block of Santa Cruz Road regarding a burglary 
in progress. An investigation revealed two suspects 
entered the residence by unknown means, confronted 
the victim, then fled to black sedan.

 The suspects are described as black males wearing 
dark clothing. The investigation is ongoing.

Friday, January 29: 

At about 12:03 a.m., an officer responded to Dave 
and Busters, 400 South Baldwin Avenue, regarding 
a disturbance report. Upon contacting the 33-year-
old male from Arcadia, the officer noticed symptoms 
of alcohol intoxication and determined the suspect 
was unable to care for himself. He was arrested and 
transported to the Arcadia City Jail for booking.

 Just after 8:57 p.m., an officer conducted a traffic 
stop on a vehicle in the 900 block of West Huntington 
Drive for driving without headlights. Upon contacting 
the driver, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol 
emitting from the driver. Through a series of tests, the 
officer determined the 57-year-old male from Canyon 
Country was driving under the influence of an alcoholic 
beverage. The suspect was arrested and transported to 
the Arcadia City Jail for booking.

Saturday, January 30:

Just after 3:27 a.m., an officer conducted an 
enforcement stop on a vehicle near the intersection 
of Duarte Road and Baldwin Avenue for having 
expired registration. While talking to the driver, 
he informed the officer he was in possession of 
methamphetamine and a smoking pipe. The 38-year-
old male from Arcadia was arrested and transported 
to the Arcadia City Jail for booking.

 At approximately 1:03 p.m., an officer responded to 
the area of Campus Drive and Holly Avenue regarding 
a robbery that had just occurred at Nordstrom, 400 
South Baldwin Avenue. An investigation revealed the 
37-year-old male from Monrovia became combative 
when loss prevention specialists attempted to detain 
him for stealing store merchandise. The suspect struck 
the loss prevention specialist and fled on foot. The 
suspect was located, arrested, and transported to the 
Arcadia City Jail for booking.


REMEMBRANCE

THELMA WEAVER

MONROVIA POLICE BLOTTER


By Joan Schmidt

Several years ago, I met a “whirlwind” “bundle 
of energy” amazing woman, Thelma Weaver, 
Annunciation Pastor, Father Eugene Herbert’s 
mother.

 Born on April 9, 1915 in San Francisco, Laura 
Thelma Mac Neill grew up in Carmichael with her 
older brother and parents. She was student body 
President of her Junior College where she met and 
fell in love with Maurice Allison Herbert; they 
married at the First Baptist Church, Sacramento 
on August 16, 1936.

 Thelma and Maury settled on See Drive in West 
Whittier and raised six children, Earle, Jack, Jerry, 
Gene, Sharon and Carl. Thelma had a deep love of 
God and served others. She was a Cub Scout den 
mother for her sons, Brownie leader for Sharon 
and kept scrapbooks of all family activities. Besides 
being adept at all “woman’s work”-cooking, 
mending, etc., she was a handy “repairman” who 
could fix anything. After a woodworking course, 
she made all the bookshelves and floor lamps in 
the family living room!

 Maurice passed away in 1967. In 1984, Thelma 
married fellow Church member Richard Steen 
Weaver, who brought two grown women to the 
family.

Thelma was preceded in death by her two 
husbands, two sons and one of her stepdaughters.

 This remarkable woman has THREE special 
services remembering her. The first was in Hemet, 
Friday night. Baptist Pastor Jack Stamback presided 
at the uplifting service. Beautiful hymns, meaningful 
readings and Pastor Stamback’s sermon were 
followed by remembrances by Thelma’s surviving 
sons, Jerry, Gene and Jack. Pastor Stemback 
reminded us of Thelma’s return home to her Savior 
and Jerry and Gene recounted an incident in their 
past that showed a mother of great wisdom and 
love. Jack did a “show” – a dialogue between him 
and Mom recalling various incidents.

 A beautiful funeral Mass was celebrated by 
Thelma’s son, Pastor Father Eugene Herbert, 
Annunciation Church, Arcadia Saturday. Her 
attending family members were involved in all 
aspects of the service- music, readings, bringing 
up the gifts and sharing of special memories. 
Thelma was proud of her Scottish heritage-family 
members dressed in their clan’s plaids/kilts and a 
bagpipe player performed Amazing Grace. 

 Bishop David O’Connell came Saturday prior 
to the Mass and personally greeted every attendee 
prior to the service. He then attended the Pro-
Life Rally in Los Angeles. Because he was not able 
to stay for Saturday’s service, Bishop O’Connell 
returned to Annunciation Monday morning and 
celebrated the 8:30 Mass for Thelma.

 I must tell you that this woman had NO 
FEAR. She and her husband went on a river raft 
ride when she was close to 70 and insisted on 
sitting along the sides to feel everything. Her 
step-daughter called her “Mom”, hated the word 
“step” and spoke of their great African Safari 
when Thelma was 83! Her daughter-in-law related 
a “double-parasailing”over Cayman Islands. 
She was terrified but Thelma was having a blast! 
Grandchildren spoke of the amazing woman with 
spunk who was an inspiration and gave them 
much love and encouragement.

 Thelma spent the last ten years of her life at 
Camelot Retirement Home where she enjoyed 
many friends and card games. This past April 
she celebrated her 100 birthday with 39 family 
members. She is survived by 5 children, 11 
grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

During the last seven-day period, the Police 
Department handled 346 service events, resulting 
in 72 investigations. To see a complete listing of 
crimes reported, go to http://www.crimemapping.
com/map/ca/monrovia for crime mapping. For 
Police Department news and information, visit our 
website and follow us on Twitter. 

Shoplifting – Suspect Arrested February 1 at 10:22 
a.m., loss prevention from a business in the 500 
block of West Huntington phoned police to report 
a male subject that had left the store without 
paying for merchandise he had concealed. Officers 
arrived and detained the suspect, who admitted 
to the theft. The suspect was arrested and issued a 
citation to appear in court on the charges. 

Domestic Violence – Suspect Arrested February 1 
at 2:41 p.m., a caller reported a male and female 
fighting in a vehicle parked in the 300 block of 
Genoa Street. When officers arrived, the male and 
female had separated. They admitted to arguing 
over personal matters while sitting in the vehicle. 
During the argument, the female had slapped the 
male subject twice in the face. The male subject 
then punched the female in the face and body. The 
female sustained a large contusion above her right 
eye and possibly a broken nose. She was taken to 
the hospital for treatment. The male subject was 
arrested for domestic violence and taken into 
custody. 

Warrant – Suspect Arrested February 1 at 7:43 
p.m., an officer was on patrol in the 1600 block 
of South Mountain and observed a vehicle 
traveling the wrong way on a one-way street. The 
officer stopped the vehicle for the violation. The 
investigation revealed the subject was driving on 
a suspended license and had several outstanding 
warrants for his arrest. The suspect was arrested 
and taken into custody. 

Domestic Violence – Suspect Arrested February 
1 at 10:09 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 
600 block of South Myrtle on the report of a 
traffic collision. The occupants of the vehicle are 
boyfriend and girlfriend. They were involved in 
a verbal argument that escalated into a physical 
altercation in the backseat of the vehicle. During 
the altercation, the vehicle rolled back and struck 
the curb. The male subject was determined to 
be the primary aggressor. He was arrested for 
domestic violence and taken into custody. 

Traffic Collision February 2 at 1:56 a.m., officers 
responded to the area of Magnolia and Cypress 
on a solo vehicle traffic collision. The driver was 
traveling south on Magnolia, made a right turn 
onto Cypress and lost control of her vehicle. She 
collided into a parked vehicle, continued on and 
then struck a curb, where the vehicle came to rest. 

Commercial Burglary February 2 at 2:36 a.m., 
police received a report of an alarm activation at 
a business in the 900 block of West Duarte Road. 
An unknown suspect threw a rock through the 
front glass door to gain entry. The location was 
ransacked, but no loss could be determined. The 
investigation is continuing. 

Trespassing/Possession of Stolen Property – 
Suspect Arrested February 2 at 2:50 p.m., officers 
were dispatched to a residence in the 200 block 
of South Mountain regarding a subject found 
sleeping in a vacant home. Officers responded 
and located the subject, who was found to be in 
possession of stolen property. The owner of the 
residence desired prosecution for trespassing, 
and the suspect was arrested. Further 
investigation revealed the property he was in 
possession of was stolen from a business in 
Duarte. The suspect was identified by store clerks 
in a photo lineup. Additionally, the suspect was 
found to be on active felony parole. The suspect 
was arrested and taken into custody. 

Mail Theft February 2 at 10:32 p.m., an incident of 
mail theft was reported in the 200 block of West 
Walnut. A Monrovia resident received a phone call 
from the Glendora Police Department reporting 
they had two suspects in custody that were in 
possession of the resident’s mail. 

 The resident then contacted her property 
manager, who told her he had reported the mail 
theft earlier that day to the Monrovia Postal 
Inspector, but didn’t report the theft to police. 
Apparently, the suspects broke into the back door 
of the apartment complex mailboxes and stole 
mail. The officer took a mail theft report from the 
resident and forwarded the report to the Glendora 
Police Department.

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com