2015 03 23 monday rosemead

Page 1

GREG GETS AWAY WITH IT AGAIN

LOOK FOR OUR SUMMER CAMP GUIDE COMING THURSDAY rosemeadreader.com

Manual Recount Completed in San Gabriel Election The City Clerk’s Office concluded a manual recount Thursday of all ballots cast in the March 3 municipal election. The final tally after the manual recount was: John Harrington: 1,749 Juli Costanzo: 1,279 Denise Menchaca: 1,277 The manual tally yielded a different result from the original count, which had Costanzo and Menchaca in a tie with 1,276 votes each. Two boards of four people manually counted the ballots in about six hours on Thursday. The recount occurred in the City Council Chambers and was open to the public. Each candidate was permitted to designate people to obSEE PG. 3

- SEE PAGE 2 -

FREE

MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015 - MARCH 29, 2015 - VOLUME 6, NO. 11

Scathing Report on Police Rouses City Officials Audit Says Detectives Used ‘Coercive Interrogation Techniques’ Among Other Findings After a year and a half, a damning report on the Pasadena Police Department’s detectives was finally released: a 74-page executive summary of the outside civilian review. The report makes 58 recommendations for reform of the Pasadena PD’s detective operations. Elbie J. Hickambottom, Jr., and Dale Gronemeier – the civil rights attorneys who successfully litigated in the trial court the release of 80% of the City’s independent civilian review of the Kendrec McDade shooting -- hailed the belated release of the report by Veritas Assurance Group as “proving the need for an Independent Police Auditor and for reopening the investigation of the Joseph Jones murder.” Hickambottom said “Veritas functioned as the equivalent of an Independent Police Auditor because it reviewed the Pasadena PD’s detective operations and, contemporaneously as it audited, it informed

- Photo by Terry Miller

the PD of its deficiencies. That’s exactly what the proposal for an Independent Police Auditor reporting to the Public Safety Commit-

Azusa Council Incumbents Begin New Terms in Office BY JOE TAGLIERI

tee would be doing – but across-the-board for all of the PD operations and not stopping its auditing at an arbitrary moment.

“It would cost Pasadena less for a full time Independent Police Auditor

SEE PG. 5

Residents Sue Arcadia Council in Attempt to Block Construction Projects BY JOE TAGLIERI

Three City Council members who recently won re-election took their oaths of office Monday before a standing-room-only crowd that filled the Azusa Auditorium. Mayor Joe Rocha, who has held the office since 2007, ran unopposed and garnered more than 1,700 votes. Rocha was first elected to the council in 1997. “As a teacher I never had to shy away from anyone,

SEE PG. 4

- Photos by Jorge Rosales

Residents of the Arcadia Highlands neighborhood filed a lawsuit March 12 against the City Council in an attempt to block the demolition of two vintage homes set to be replaced by larger, more elaborate residences. In February the Council upheld the Planning Commission’s reversal of a decision by the Arcadia Highlands Homeowners Association to reject the proposed projects at 29 E. Or-

ange Grove Ave. and 1600 Highland Oaks Drive. The existing structures each are one story and approximately 2,000 square feet, while the approved developments call for homes that total more than 6,000 square feet including a two-story home for the Highland Oaks Drive project. “It’s unfortunate that the city council didn’t listen to the citizens and their concerns about the mansionization that’s going on SEE PG. 5

Former Arcadia Private School Teacher Sentenced to 5 Years Probation A former high school teacher pleaded no contest today to falsely imprisoning students in their car while they drove over a weekend through Altadena, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Deputy District Attorney Melanie Buccat said John Edward Maust (dob 4/23/80) entered the plea to two felony counts of false imprisonment by violence in case GA094098. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elaine Lu of the Pasadena Branch immediately sentenced Maust to five years of formal probation, 180 days of community service and more than 50 Alcoholics Anonymous sessions. Maust also was ordered to one year of counseling and to stay away from the victims. Additionally, he is prohibited from consuming any alcohol while on probation. On June 7, 2014, three teenagers, two of whom attended Arroyo Pacific Academy where Maust taught, were driving when they saw the defendant in his driveway. After the victims stopped to talk to him, Maust got into the back seat and told one of the victims to drive, the prosecutor said. During the drive, Maust took out SEE PG. 4

BALLOTS ARE COMING! VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BUSINESS


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.