The Orange County Tribune July 16, 2020

Weather Forecast

WEEKEND EDITION

79/66

Saturday: 79/66 clouds, sun Sunday: 79/66 mostly sunny Monday: 82/65 sunny Tuesday: 79/63 sunny

HHH

Printed in Garden Grove, California n orangecountytribune.com n Saturday, July 16, 2022 n orangecountytribune@gmail.com

Suspects Held in 2019 Home Invasion Death GARDEN GROVE MAYOR STEVE JONES Speaking Wednesday at State of the City event (Tribune photos by Jim Tortolano)

Doggone good “State of the City”

By Jim Tortolano Orange County Tribune

W.C. Fields was quoted as saying, “Never work with children or animals.

They are scene stealers.”

At the conclusion of Wednesday’s “State of the City” address at the Hyatt Regency hotel, Garden Grove Mayor Steve Jones introduced the lovable “therapy dogs” from the police department, Misha and Nellie.

Soon small throngs gathered around the huggable and hugging canines to underline Fields’ quip.

However, Jones’ remarks were not limited to just the appeal of man’s best friend. The gathering – a joint venture of the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce and the City of Garden Grove

– was the first after two years of hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Doesn’t it feel good to be back together again?” he said. “Over the last year, our city has been on a winding road to recovery. We’ve made significant MISHA SAYS HI progress to put the pandemic behind us, but our destination still lies ahead.

“During this time, Garden Grove’s focus has been on ensuring a safe and Continued on page 2

Two arrested in 7-11 fatal shootings “This was a reign of terror,” and that may have ended with the arrest of two suspects in the shootings at 7-11 stores across Orange County and other parts of Southern California.

Malik Patt, 20, and Jason Payne, 44 were arrested

Friday in Los Angeles at the conclusion of a manhunt by the Orange County Violent Crime Task Force, according to District Attorney Todd Spitzer. They were one booked into Orange County Jail.

“To be thinking that you go to a convenience store or doughnut shop or a sandwich shop and to get shot in the face or call your loved with your last gasps Continued on page 2

Three are arrested in Texas for fatal shooting of GG’s Shon Hall Three suspects in the 2019 home invasion murder of a former Garden Grove High star football player have been arrested in Texas and await extradition to California.

According to Lt. Evan Beresford, community outreach commander for the GGPD, those suspected of the July 8, 2019 killing of Shon Xavier Hall, 25, are: • Donyena Hamilton, a 32-year-old man from Dallas

• Lavondrick HoodJones, a 28-year-old man from Dallas • Frederrion Johnson, a 22-year-old man from Lufkin, Texas.

Hall was named allleague as a defensive back in 2010, the year the Argonauts won the school’s first-ever CIF-SS football championship.

The 2019 attack took place on La Grande Avenue near Katella Avenue and Magnolia Street. Shortly after Continued on page 2

OC now is considered “high transmission” area Rising numbers of new cases have elevated Orange County to an area of “high transmission” of the coronavirus.

According to the county health care agency, the OC has case rate of 33.1 per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, which is a daily average of 1,068 cases.

Additionally, the positivity rate in testing is at 17.4 percent.

“We are seeing a summer wave in cases and hospitalizations,” according to

OC Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau.

Friday’s report from the OCHCA shows 7,170 new cases over a threeday period. That averages to 2,390 case per day, a sharp increase from Tuesday’s 1,293 average and the 1,527 figure of a week ago.

Deaths rose from 10 in Tuesday’s report to 15 for Friday. Hospitalizations stayed level at 277 and the use of intensive care Continued on page 2

For breaking news and sports all week long, go to www.orangecountytribune.com

2 SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

A doggone good “State of the City” Continued from page 1

sound passage. For us, it’s all about the journey that begins with healing and strengthening our minds and bodies and celebrating our extraordinary spirit of community.”

The mayor did not use the occasion to pull the wraps off any new projects not previously announced, but he did place emphasis on: • the city’s response to homelessness • the opening of the Sprouts Farmers Market in the new Pavilion Plaza West Center • efforts to treat the municipal water supply to eliminate manmade chemicals • expansions and improvements of parks • the return of the Open Streets event and the annual Strawberry Festival • progress in bringing to reality several new hotels on Harbor Boulevard and development at the Brookhurst Triangle and along Valley View Street in West Grove.

The welcome address and closing remarks were by Jon Glant, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Mayor Pro Tem Diedre Thu-ha Nguyen. The National Anthem was performed by Sharon Jasmine Terrero of Bethany

Evangelical Church.

Michael Johnson of Republic Services made the introductions and invocation was by James Scheller, chaplain for the GGPD. Dr. True McMahan of Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center introduced the mayor.

Entertainment was provided by the Charade Dance Academy.

Smiles were provided by Nellie and Misha, who echoed the upbeat tone of the event which might be translated into Dogspeak as “Wag more. Bark less.”

3 arrested in 2019 murder Continued from page 1

4 a.m. three masked armed persons broke into the home and demanded drugs and cash.

In the course of the attempted robbery, Hall was fatally shot and the intruders fled in a motor vehicle.

Since then homicide detectives have been pursuing leads which

led them to Texas. They arrived in the Lone Star State on Monday and took the suspects into custody, where they will be facing robbery and murder charges when back in Orange County.

Anyone with more information about the incident is asked to call Detective Steve Heine of the GGPD at (7140 741-5422.

OC a “high transmission area” Continued from page 1

units to treat COVID-19 pattens climbed from 30 to 35.

To date, OC has had 620,698 cases, of which 585,529 are considered recovered. The death total is at 7,170.

Two suspects arrested in 7-11 shootings

Across the U.S., The New York Times reports that – over a 14day period – new cases are up 17 percent and deaths up 19 percent. Hospitalizations have risen by 10 percent.

In California, Los Angeles Times calculates that – over a similar period – new cases have declined 5 percent and deaths are up 19 percent.

Continued from page 1

JIm Tortolano Editor and Publisher Marilyn Lewis Tortolano General Manager The Orange County Tribune is published on Wednesdays and Saturdays with some exceptions. Address is 9402 Luders Ave., Garden Grove, 92844.

E-mail is orangecountytribune@gmail. com.

Our website is www.orangecountytribune.com.

Phone: (714) 458-1860.

Established Aug. 6, 2016. All opinions expressed in The Tribune, unless otherwise stated, are those of the individual writer or artist and not necessarily those of The Tribune.

A member of The Associated Press , the Online News Association and the Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce.

for breath,” he said.

Two people were fatally shot and several others wounded by gunfire in the robberies.

Patt and Payne are suspected in not only the shootings in Brea, La Habra and Santa Ana, but also in a total of 11 robberies ranging across Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

They are expected to be arraigned on Monday in Orange County on a variety of charges.

Based on an image captured by a security camera, Patt is believed to be the shooter in the incidents on Monday.

The best in

local news for West OC The Orange County TRIBUNE

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022 3

News&Views n VOTE 2022

n WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL

Election season to kick off on Monday The 2022 General Election campaign season is just about to begin.

Monday is the first day for candidates for local office to take out declaration of candidacy and nomination papers for city councils, school and college district boards and governing boards for other agencies as well.

The deadline to file nomination papers and declarations of candidacy is Friday, Aug. 12. Vote centers will open on Oct. 29 and the election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 8.

For The Tribune’s coverage area, that means city councils in Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Westminster, as well as the governing boards of the Garden Grove Unified, Huntington Beach Union High and Westminster School districts.

Other races of special interest are: • State Senate 36th District: Janet Nguyen (Republican) vs.

Kim Carr (Democrat) • State Assembly 70th District: Tri Ta (Republican) vs. Diedre Thu-Ha Nguyen (Democrat) • Orange County Supervisor 2nd District (non-partisan): Vicente Sarmiento vs. Kim Nguyen.

Also, voters in Huntington Beach will be asked to approve the sale (and taxation) of cannabis products within city limits and several city charter amendments.

For more information on the election calendar and process, go to ocvote.com .

QUANG TRI MONUMENT RENDERING Basic design approved, but no agreement on where

Monument Approved But For Just Where?

Quang Tri gets OK, but no decision on location

By Jim Tortolano Orange County Tribune

The battle at Quang Tri in South Vietnam in 1972 continues to be echoed in 2022 by a contentious struggle over the controversial monument intended to honor those who fought and died in that conflict.

At Wednesday’s typically-long meeting of the Westminster City Council most of the evening was taken up with lengthy public comments and discussion on the two intertwined issues of the design and depiction of the monument and its location within the city.

After nearly two hours and some on-the-fly negotiations, the council eventually decided in favor of accepting – with some modifications – the proposal from the Quang Tri monument committee. The vote was 4-0 with Councilmember Chi Charlie Nguyen abstaining.

Over the course of the discus-

sion, objections were raised about the site, height and historical accuracy of the monument and at one point, at least two members of the council – Mayor Tri Ta and Councilmember Carlos Manzo – supported sending the issue back to the committee in an attempt to work out differences among members of the committee, “This is has turned into something we didn’t intend,” said Manzo. “It’s created division in the community.”

Quang Tri committee member Bob Harrison, despite raising historical accuracy issues about the monument, finally agreed to accept the design provided that badges representing U.S. Marine Corps helicopter squadrons as well as military advisors are included.

Kenny Hoang, vice chair of the committee, initially withheld his support for that change, until Continued on page 4

Seek suspect in stabbing in Westminster A suspect is being sought in the fatal stabbing of a man Wednesday afternoon in Westminster.

According to Sgt. Eddie Esqueda of the WPD, police are searching for Trent William Millsap, 27, who is believed to frequent motels in Westminster, Garden Grove and Anaheim.

At around 5:51 p.m., officers were sent to the Union 76 gas station, 6322 Westminster Blvd. in reference to a stabbing. The victim was found on the ground suffering from a stab wound to the chest area.

Officers started life-saving measures and continued until Orange County Fire Authority paramedics arrived and took the victim – identified only as “John Doe,” 38, considered “possibly transient” – to a local trauma center where he succumbed to his injury.

WPD detectives arrived and took over the investigation and concluded that Millsap – who had left the area before police arrived – was the suspect. He has an outstanding parole warrant and should be considered armed and dangerous.

He is described as a White male, tall with a muscular build with a bald head, with tattoos on his head, face, neck, arms and chest.

TRENT MILLSAP (WPD photo)

4 SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

Quang Tri monument gets approval, but ...

Continued from page 3

Councilmember Kimberly Ho said to Hoang that if agreement couldn’t be reached it would further delay approval of the monument, first proposed in 2020.

He finally gave his assent and the council voted.

Later in the evening the council finally decided just before midnight to defer to the next meeting – July 22 – the question of the location for the Quang Tri monumen.

The proposed Quang Tri Citadel monument would observe the victory of South Vietnamese forces – with some Ameri-

can assistance, including air support – over North Vietnamese troops in a battle that lasted from June 28 to Sept. 16, 1972.

That struggle is also known as the Second Battle of Quang Tri. The first took place during the Tet Offensive of Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 1968.

That was also a victory for American and South Vietnamese forces, but the persistence of Communist forces in mounting major attacks all across the Republic of Vietnam is considered to be a turning point in American popular support for involvement in the war.

Driver in fatal crash to be charged with murder An unlicensed 19-year-old driver who led Orange police on a brief police pursuit at more than 100 miles per hour before crashing and killing three passengers, including a

14-year-old girl and a 17-yearold boy, was charged Thursday with three felony counts of murder. Three teenage passengers were also ejected during the crash, but survived.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, Azarie Dupree Fuller, 19, of Exeter, has also been charged with one felony count of evading while driving recklessly and causing death, three felony counts of child endangerment by a caretaker, one misdemeanor count for driving without a valid license, and an infraction for speeding more than 100 mph.

He faces a maximum sentence of 45 years to life plus 14 years if convicted on all counts. Fuller, who remains hospitalized, is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 4. His bail is set at $3,550,000.

On Saturday, July 9, at around 2:47 a.m., Fuller is accused of coming to a screeching halt in a Nissan Altima near the back of an Orange Police Department vehicle stopped in a turn lane of West Lincoln Avenue just west Continued on page 5

ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE/SATURDAY JULY 16, 2022 5

Cricket making a comeback in the USA Continued from page 6

ents. Other players were born in or have connections to Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.

Batter and U.S. vice-captain Aaron Jones was born in Queens, New York. That’s Mets country in baseball terms. But Jones’ West Indian heritage dictated there was only one game for him, and it wasn’t at Shea

Stadium. The cricket World Cup was always the ultimate goal.

“For me, it’s everything,’’ Jones said. ``The World Cup is the biggest thing in cricket. For me growing up as a little man, I always wanted to play in World Cups.

“This is a great opportunity right now. Definitely, it will be a big achievement, we’ve been talking about it over the past couple of years. It will be a big achievement not only for us, but

for everyone back home in the USA.’’ Well, it’s unlikely that ``everyone’’ back home will care.

Many will not even know. But this is the time for Americans to take just a little bit more notice of cricket, not just because the U.S. team is close to reaching the World Cup. The next T20 World Cup after this one will be co-hosted by the U.S. in 2024.

Cricket has two World Cups.

There’s the older 50-over version, the Cricket World Cup, and the shorter 20-over version called the T20 World Cup. The 2024 T20 World Cup will have games split between America and West Indies, the first major cricket tournament to be staged in the U.S. Another U.S. player, fast bowler Rusty Theron, has a good cricket perspective. He played for South Africa before moving to America and qualifying to play for the U.S. in 2019. He’s noticed cricket take off in the U.S. ``in a big way’’ in the last few years. “(There’s) more media coverage, obviously, and some fi-

nancial incentives for players to take up the game,’’ Theron said. ``It’s something that’s tangible for people to buy into, beyond just the national team, but making a living out of cricket. I think the foundation is there.

“What a lot of people don’t really know is that cricket has been around in the U.S. for a long time, it’s now just a matter of trying to professionalize the talent we do have.`` Theron is right about cricket’s history in the U.S. because it was popular in the 1700s and 1800s and George Washington was allegedly a fan, and might even have played in a game once.

“When I talk about cricket with my friends, they have absolutely no clue about it,’’ said Vaghela, who is studying at University of California Santa Cruz. ``But once I get them introduced to it, they get so interested. My roommate back in college absolutely loves watching cricket now that I’ve talked to him about it.’’

And he might even get to watch Vaghela and the U.S. appearing in a World Cup soon.

Murder charge in fatal crash Continued from page 4

of Glassell Street. Two officers, including a police trainee, were inside the police car.

Fuller is accused of making a U-turn, turning his lights off, and driving more than 100 miles per hour with an Orange police officer and his trainee in pursuit.

Less than a mile after the chase began, Fuller allegdly left the road and crashed into multiple

poles. The Altima erupted into flames and all seven people in the vehicle, including Fuller, were ejected from the car.

Dayanara Rebolledo, 14, Dominic McGinley, 17, and Gustavo Castro, 26, were killed. Three other passengers, including two 14-year-olds and a 17-year-old, were injured in the crash, but survived.

Free e-paper! Here’s how ...

There may be no free lunch, but there may be free news.

The Orange County Tribune, in addition to its website – www.orangecountytribune.com – now publishes an e-paper edition on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

It’s in a more traditional, more familiar newspaper format. If you’re interested in getting a free subscription to the e-paper Tribune, send us an e-mail at: orangecountytribune@gmail.com and we’ll get it started right away.

6 SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022/ORANGE COUNTY TRIBUNE

The Sports Page

Cricket Going to Bat For the USA America may be headed to World Cup

By Enock Muchinjo Associated Press

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP) – It’s almost natural that Vatsal Vaghela’s first exposure to cricket in California was at a baseball field, where cricketers had to wait for the baseball players to finish and leave.

Cricket gave birth to baseball, though the offspring quickly eclipsed the parent as the summer pastime for Americans. But step back for a minute there, baseball, because Vaghela and his teammates on the United States cricket team aim to reach their own kind of World Series this week.

They need one more win on Friday (results too late for our deadline) to qualify for a cricket World Cup for the first time.

The U.S. has easily beaten Jersey and Singapore in its first two games at a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe. The prize is a place at the T20 World

IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE BASEBALL, DOESN’T IT? Team USA’s Aaron Jones take a cut during a cricket match (Photo by USA Cricket).

Cup in Australia in October, and another victory in the semifinals will clinch it for the Americans. T20 stands for Twenty20, the shortest format in international cricket.

“It’s very exciting. We all know how important this tournament is,’’ Vaghela said.

The 20-year-old Vaghe-

la was born in Milpitas, California, to Indian immigrants and a love of cricket, unsurprisingly, was passed down to him by his father. Cricket is small fry in Milpitas, located in Silicon Valley, but it’s the only sport that matters in India, so down to a baseball park they went to play cricket.

“I picked it up just watching my dad play tennis-ball cricket with his friends at the local baseball field, and I think I was, like, 10 or 11 when I started playing cricket,’’ Vaghela told The Associated Press in an interview.

Dad must have been a good coach because Vatsal’s 16-year-old sister,

Isani, plays for the U.S. women’s team.

The connection to cricket-loving countries is strong throughout the U.S. men’s team in Zimbabwe: Captain Monank Patel was born in India.

Batter Steven Taylor was born and raised in south Florida by Jamaican parContinued on page 5

Dodgers crush Angels 9-1 in one-sided match

By Pete Zarustica Orange County Tribune

Nothing could have illustrated the gap between the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers more than Friday’s “Freeway Series” game in Anaheim.

The Blue Crew hammered the Halos 9-1 and Clayton Kershaw (7-2) threw seven no-hit in-

nings in the one-sided victory that underlined the difference between what – right now – might be the best and the worst teams in Major League Baseball.

It was only two hits and a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth by Brandon Marsh that kept the Angels from being totally embarrassed before a crowd of 44,000 fans in

Anaheim.

The win improved the Dodgers’ record to 59-30.

They’re still in first in the National League West, 9.5 games ahead of San Diego. It was their ninth win in 10 games.

As for the Angels (3952), they remain mired in fourth in the AL West. It was their eighth loss in 10 games.

Kershaw was the night’s

star, working eight innings and giving up just one hit and no runs. He struck out seven batters and walked none.

At bat, the Dodgers had 12 hits. Willie Smith was 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Justin Turner was 3-for-5 with four runs batted in.

The two teams will close break – with a game at out the season’s “first 7:07 p.m. today (Saturhalf” – before the All-Star day).