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Long Beach Blvd. and 49th St. At 10:30 p.m., responding to reports of a shooting, even with the help of a chopper, police found only shell casings. No victim, no shooter, no weapon, no dice.

Monday, November 25

 

Bellflower Blvd. and Harvey Way. At 11 a.m., a SoCal Edison power pole fell onto Bellflower Boulevard, blocking traffic in both directions. Called “equipment problems,” it was a problem for more than 3,400 area homes and the Long Beach City College bistro. At 12:15 p.m., power began resuming, bistro and all.

 

Citywide. Mercedes Montanez, 68, Luisa Camargo, 38, Maria Luisa Henao, 43 and one male, Tito Lozada, 49, were charged federally of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to a statement, some allegedly scammed a 66-year-old Long Beach woman in a “Latin Lotto Scam.” Those accused supposedly convinced victims they had a winning lottery ticket but would have to pay a deposit or fee to actually collect the winnings and receive a big payday. Instead they made off with the deposit, no winnings.

 

6400 block of Long Beach Blvd. At 4:30 a.m., police served a warrant on an early-morning location, finding 64 gamblers at the location, where 11 illegal machines were also found and removed as was cash. Of the original 64, about 50 apparently did not have warrants. Ten were arrested for outstanding warrants, Jose Lara, 27, Tah Hill, 35, Kianda Beard, 30 and Eddie Escobar, 23, all from Long Beach; Gerrardo Lopez, 46 ,and Laura Marquez, 35, both of Wilmington; Richard Hernandez, 27, of Artesia, Deandre Gregoire, 42 and Luis Magallaneszayas, 30, of Los Angeles. Jimmy Trinh, 45, of Rosemead was arrested on suspicion of accepting wagers, which is the whole point of the place. Edmond Sims, 36, of Long Beach allegedly tried to flee, was booked on suspicion of willful harm on a K-9 with serious injury and resisting arrest. He was taken to a the hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

 

Placerville. Daniel Castro Fernandez, 22, and Jason Hernan Cortes, 20, were taken into custody on for the July 6, 2018 murder of 41-year-old Hernan Cortez, who was stabbed to death inside the motor home in which he was living in West Long Beach. Said police in a statement, “Homicide detectives believe the suspects planned to rob the victim and the robbery quickly escalated to murder. The victim and suspect Cortes were relatives and known to each other.”

 

200 block of West 5th St. At 5:10 p.m., police responded to assist an assault victim, 46-year-old Jayne Sauter of Long Beach, who was unconscious with minor visible injuries. Taken to the local hospital, she died three days later. Homicide detectives found out about an argument between the victim and her live-in boyfriend, 50-year-old John Edward Buchanan of Long Beach at the 700 block of Chestnut Avenue, which led to his arrest. 

 

2300 Pacific Ave. At 10:45 a.m., came reports of two males fighting at the back door of still another gambling establishment. 

 

Pacific Coast Hwy. at Gardenia Ave. At 6:45 p.m., the driver of a stolen car hit a bicyclist was riding across Pacific Coast Highway, then kept driving. Fire department paramedics took the injured man to the hospital in stable condition, while police found the car nearby in an alleyway, with nobody in it. Now policel; are searching for the driver.

Magnolia Ave. and Eighth St. In an alleyway at 10:50 a.m. came reports of a man shooting at two women. This came after reports of a gunman firing at women in an alley near Daisy Avenue and Third Street. This series of targeting women ended when one of the women told the cops the gunman was her boyfriend, Anthony Johnson, 25-years-old, who lives near the shooting. He was held on $3 million bail.

 

1900 block of Dawson Ave. As the result of having too many warrants for things like drugs, firearms and domestic violence, a family told police their wanted 32-year-old son showed up at their home. He was in a detached garage at the back of the house, so Signal Hill Police evacuated the family from the home and neighboring houses at noon. SWAT was called in, so reinforcements were summoned and by 4 p.m., tear gas, rubber bullets and a dog were used to apprehend the suspect, taking him away.

 

11th St. and Ohio Ave. At 2:40 p.m. Long Beach police spotted a BMW suspected of being used in an armed robbery of Signal Hill Jewelry & Novelties. Police attempted to stop the black sedan, the driver failed to yield and the pursuit was on. It ended near Sixth Street and Stanley Avenue, where two boys were arrested. A possibly armed man fled on foot and after a search, at 4 p.m., police determined he was out of the area.

 

steve@beachcomber.news