Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, May 6, 2017

MVNews this week:  Page A:6

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Mountain View News Saturday, May 6, 2017 

‘PEST CONTROL’ COMPANY MAY BE KILLING 
COYOTES WITH CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

PETA Calls for Investigation Into Reported Use of Sodium Pentothal by 
Employee of Animal Pest Management Services, Inc.

ARCADIA POLICE BLOTTER

For the period of Sunday, April 23rd, through Saturday, 
April 29th, the Police Department responded to 1,012 calls 
for service, of which 134 required formal investigations. The 
following is a summary report of the major incidents handled 
by the Department during this period.

Sunday, April 23:

Shortly before 4:26 p.m., an officer responded to a residence 
in the 600 block of West Naomi Avenue regarding a battery 
report. The officer determined two men were arguing when 
the altercation turned physical and the suspect, a 61-year-
old male, punched the victim multiple times in the face. The 
suspect was arrested and transported to the Arcadia City Jail 
for booking. 

Monday, April 24:

Around 3:10 a.m., an officer contacted the driver of a vehicle 
parked in the parking lot of Arcadia Garden Café, 850 
South Baldwin Avenue. Upon contacting the driver, the 
officer discovered the 34-year-old male from Alhambra 
was in possession of stolen mail, ID’s, and narcotics. He 
was arrested and transported to the Arcadia City Jail for 
booking.

 At approximately 9:07 a.m., an officer responded to 
Leonard Lem DDS MD Inc., 650 West Duarte Road, 
regarding a commercial burglary report. An investigation 
revealed unknown suspects entered the business by 
unknown means, ransacked the business targeting 
expensive dentistry tools, and fled undetected. The 
investigation is ongoing.

 Just after 3:35 p.m., officers responded to a residence in the 
900 block of First Avenue regarding a burglary investigation. 
The officer discovered unknown suspect(s) entered through 
an unlocked window, ransacked the residence, and fled with 
jewelry, cash, and purses. No suspects were seen and no 
witnesses were located. 

Tuesday, April 25:

Around 2:05 a.m., an officer conducted an enforcement 
stop on a pedestrian seen jaywalking in the area of Live 
Oak Avenue and Sixth Avenue. A records check revealed 
the 41-year-old male from an undisclosed location had two 
outstanding misdemeanor warrants. During a search of 
the suspect, the officer located stolen personal identifying 
information as well as credit card information. He was 
arrested and transported to the Arcadia City Jail for booking. 

 Just before 9:33 a.m., an officer responded to the 1000 
block of West Duarte Road regarding a vehicle burglary 
report. The officer determined unknown suspect(s) smashed 
a rear window and stole the victim’s backpack. No suspects 
were seen and no witnesses were located.

 Shortly after 4:09 p.m., an officer responded to Macy’s, 
400 South Baldwin Avenue, regarding a theft report. Loss 
prevention specialists witnessed a 22-year-old male from 
Temple City and a 22-year-old male from El Monte conceal 
numerous items before exiting the store, failing to make 
payment. Both suspects were arrested and transported to 
the Arcadia City Jail for booking.

Wednesday, April 26:

At about 3:13 a.m., an officer conducted a traffic stop on a 
bicycle in the area of Fifth Avenue and Foothill Boulevard 
for not having lights on the bike. During a consensual 
search, the officer located a meth pipe and two hypodermic 
needles. The 33-year-old male from Olivehurst, California, 
was cited and released in the field.

 Just before 8:03 a.m., an officer responded to the 900 block 
of Kingsley Drive 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 39-year-old male from Covina had the stolen 
package, property, and tracking device in his vehicle. The 
suspect was arrested and transported to the Arcadia City 
Jail for booking.

Thursday, April 27:

At approximately 9:46 a.m., an officer conducted an 
enforcement stop on a vehicle in the area of Rosemead 
Boulevard and Longden Avenue for having a person ride 
in the back of the truck bed. An investigation revealed 
the person in the truck bed was attempting to secure a 
motorcycle reported as stolen from the Los Angeles Police 
Department and inside the truck was a driver, two adult 
passengers, and a toddler not seated in a car seat. Inside the 
vehicle, the officer located a knife, a glass pipe near where 
the child was seated, and an open container of alcohol in 
a bag with diapers. A 47-year-old male from Pasadena, a 
25-year-old female from Altadena, and a 20-year-old male 
from Los Angeles, and an 18-year-old male from Pasadena 
were arrested and transported to the Arcadia City Jail for 
booking.

 Around 6:07 p.m., an officer responded to the Santa 
Anita Mall, 400 South Baldwin Avenue, regarding a 
vandalism report. The victim returned to her vehicle and 
found a suspect had used their shoe to dent the driver’s side 
door and break the door handle. No suspects were seen and 
no witnesses were located. 

 At about 8:39 p.m., officers responded to 24 Hour Fitness, 
125 North First Avenue, regarding a burglary report. The 
officer determined an unknown suspect cut the victim’s 
combination lock to the locker and stole the victim’s wallet, 
phone, and car keys. The victim’s credit cards were then 
used in Duarte to purchase more than $2,100.00 worth of 
items at Best Buy. The investigation is ongoing. 

Friday, April 28: 

Just before 12:44 p.m., an officer responded to the intersection 
of Live Oak Avenue and El Monte Avenue regarding an 
activation of an Arcadia Police Department GPS tracker. 
Officers located the package, property, and tracking device 
in the possession of a 29-year-old male from El Monte. The 
suspect was arrested and transported to the Arcadia City Jail 
for booking.

Saturday, April 29:

Shortly after 11:46 a.m., an officer responded to the Santa 
Anita Mall, 400 South Baldwin Avenue, regarding the 
activation of an Arcadia Police Department GPS tracker 
attached to a bicycle. Officers located a 29-year-old male 
from Los Angeles in possession of the stolen bicycle. He 
was arrested and transported to the Arcadia City Jail for 
booking.


Arcadia, Calif. — This morning, PETA sent an 
urgent request to California law enforcement, 
the California State Board of Pharmacy, and the 
federal Drug Enforcement Administration seeking 
a formal investigation into what may have been 
the illegal use of sodium pentothal—a controlled 
substance—on coyotes by an employee of Chino-
based Animal Pest Management Services, Inc. 
(APMS), one of the biggest exterminators in 
Southern California. Under federal and state law, 
sodium pentothal must be administered by or 
under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian—a 
certification that the employee doesn’t have.

 In the letter, PETA references allegations 
raised from a constituent and discussed during 
an Arcadia City Council meeting on February 
21 that a longtime APMS employee injected a 
trapped coyote with a mystery substance in a 
constituent’s backyard. This assertion is supported 
by a 2009 Los Angeles Times article that likens the 
employee, Jimmie Rizzo, to an “Angel of Death” 
and specifically mentions his use of sodium 
pentothal—a Schedule III controlled substance 
under state and federal law—on coyotes.

 “Coyotes and other wild animals are being 
harmed and killed by ‘pest management’ 
companies while they’re already struggling to exist 
peaceably in an ever-shrinking environment,” says 
PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA is 
calling on authorities to investigate immediately 
whether a controlled substance was used illegally 
and, if reports are true, to throw the book at those 
responsible.”

 PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that 
“animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—
notes that “nature’s dogs” are an integral part 
of California’s ecosystem. In addition to eating 
vegetables and fruits, as predators, they help keep 
populations of smaller animals such as squirrels 
and rats in check. Trapping and killing them is 
both unnecessary and harmful, and residents 
can avert human-coyote conflict simply by using 
motion-activated lights or sprinklers at night to 
scare them away, not leaving pet food outside, and 
never leaving animal companions unattended 
outdoors.

 For more information, please visit PETA.org.


MONROVIA DEVELOPS MATERIALS AIMED AT 
HELPING TAKE BACK CITY PARKS AND STREETS 

“THE MOUSE THAT ROARED”

DUARTE’S ROTARY CLUB PAVED THE WAY

FOR WOMEN WORLDWIDE TO SERVE

During the past few weeks, staff has been working to 
develop additional public education materials related 
to our, Taking Back Our Parks & Streets program 
to highlight the negative impacts that AB 109, Prop 
47, and Prop 57 have had on California’s criminal 
justice system. To that end, our outreach materials 
have been included for your review and reference, 
which include a fact sheet, a brochure, and a sample 
lobbying template letter. Many thanks to Jackie Tran 
and Caroline Velarde for their work in getting these 
important documents put together! 

 Public outreach and education is perhaps the 
most important element related to our overall plan 
for taking back our streets and our parks, and the 
materials we have developed are intended to provide 
Monrovians with an easy mechanism through which 
our community can advocate for changes in State law 
that will restore local law enforcement authority to 
address quality-of-life crimes. 

 Many are unaware that during the past several 
years, the State has enacted multiple new laws 
that have weakened and taken away certain 
law enforcement authorities, including AB 109, 
Proposition 47, and Proposition 57. As we move 
forward into this next week, we plan on coordinating 
the release of our Taking Back Our Parks & Streets 
program in conjunction with a presentation that 
was provided by Michele Hanisee, President of the 
LA Deputy District Attorneys Association, at our 
May 2, 2017, City Council meeting. The presentation 
provided an assessment of the actual and verifiable 
negative impacts that the new State legislation has 
had on crime in California, and the overview, along 
with our new outreach materials, will all be uploaded 
to the City’s website, http://www.cityofmonrovia.
org/, within the next week.

By Joan Schmidt

 At a recent Duarte City 
Council Meeting, I learned 
an amazing history lesson-
how women worldwide can 
now belong to ALL service 
organizations, thanks to the 
Duarte Rotary Club and a 
Supreme Court Decision 
thirty years ago. Lydia 
Carswell, a former DUSD 
Principal, and member of 
Duarte’s Rotary Club gave 
the excellent presentation.

 Lydia explained the 
Club’s history and how its 
motto became “The Mouse 
that Roared”. 

 The story began in 1976; 
the Duarte Rotary Club 
down to eight members including DUSD 
Superintendent Dr. Richard Key. The club 
voted to invite women, M.L. Elliott and D. 
Bogart. A few months later, R. Freitag, a 
psychologist, joined.

 The Superintendent spoke to District 
Governor-Elect Paul Bryan about women in 
the Rotary; Bryan advised using discretion.

 On June 1, 1977, Duarte’s Rotary Club was 
celebrating its 25th Anniversary. A Rotary 
International Representative attended and 
was in disbelief when he saw three members 
were women.

 The Club was given an ultimatum: No 
women or you can no longer be a Rotary 
Club. The club voted again and requested a 
hearing with the Rotary International Board 
of Directors. They were told “Only real Rotary 
Clubs could have a hearing.”

 An option was to appeal to the Council on 
Legislation, the lawmaking body of Rotary 
International, which was to meet in Tokyo 
that year. Duarte Rotary and the Community 
joined to raise money to send a Rotarian to 
Tokyo.

 However, at the Council on Legislation, 
the issue presented was not whether women 
should be admitted to Rotary, but whether 
the Duarte Club had violated the bylaws. By 
a vote of 1060 to 34, it was decided the Club 
did violate the bylaws. The Duarte Rotary met 
and decided to continue. On March 27, 1978, 
a Rotary International representative came to 
Duarte and revoked its charter.

 The Duarte Rotary Club did not go away 
quietly. Bill Brooks, Director of Personnel, 
City of Hope, and Club member suggested 
they change their name to the Ex Rotary Club 
of Duarte, use the same insignia on the pin, 
but put a big “X” over it, and so began Duarte’s 
Ex Rotary Club.

 A Rotarian from Arcadia suggested Duarte 
enlist the help of the American Civil Liberties 
Union-He did it Pro bono. Ex Rotary Club 
notified Rotary International that they would 
file suit to be reinstated.

 Lawsuits began and Rotary International 
petitioned to transfer the lawsuit to federal 
court, but feds ruled it had to be fought in 
state court.

 In 1983, it went to trial, but Judge refused 
to reinstate the club. Duarte appealed the 
decision. In 1986, appeals reversed the judge’s 
decision stating Rotary Clubs are business 
establishments subject to regulation under 
the state’s Unruh Act banning discrimination 
based on race, gender, religion or ethnic 
origin.

 In 1986, Rotary International (RI) appealed 
the case to CA Supreme Court who refused to 
hear it and then appealed to the US Supreme 
Court.

 On May 4, 1987, the US Supreme Court 
affirmed the 1986 ruling of the Court of 
Appeals, 7-0.

 Two months before the US Supreme Court 
Decision, Sylvia Whitlock, incoming Duarte 
Rotary Club President attended a president-
elect training with 310 men. John Fee, District 
Governor reported it was RI’s intention to 
appeal the decision. John reported “It is just 
the case of the mouse that roared-a small 
club trying to change Rotary International.” 
Sylvia jotted that down and brought it back 
to the Duarte Club. They changed Rotary 
International and the world.


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