Authorities cordoned off a shopping center in Colton Saturday after a man claimed to have a bomb, authorities said.

A man threatened to have a bomb at a shopping center near Mt. Vernon Avenue and Olive Street on Feb. 16, 2019, police said. (Credit: Colton Police Department)

The incident was reported shortly before 4 p.m. at the Plaza, near Mt. Vernon Avenue and Olive Street, the Colton Police Department announced via social media.

Police shut down Mt. Vernon Avenue between Olive street and Colton Avenue as they continued negotiating with the man as night fell.

Images released by police officials showed a man sitting, and at times kneeling, near a bomb squad robot.

Sheriff's officials asked the public to avoid the area as the situation continued evolving.

Officials announced the suspect had been taken into custody about 9:30 p.m.

Police ultimately found the man had a pellet gun and a fake bomb, but no live explosives, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.

No further details were available.

A man threatened to have a bomb at a shopping center near Mt. Vernon Avenue and Olive Street on Feb. 16, 2019, police said. (Credit: Colton Police Department)

Detectives are seeking a killer or killers who shot one man to death and wounded another man inside an illegal marijuana shop in San Bernardino last week, officials said Monday.

Homicide victim David Klemm, 28, of Colton, pictured in an undated photo released in a photo released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department on March 18, 2019.

Gunfire was first reported about 10:45 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of South E. Street, the San Bernardino Police Department said in a written statement.

“Officers arrived minutes later and found the location to be an illegal marijuana dispensary,” according to the statement. “Officers quickly saw evidence of a shooting within the business and conducted a safety check for possible victims.”

David Klemm, 29, of Colton was discovered inside, unconscious and suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

A second victim, described as a 23-year-old Riverside man, arrived at a hospital a short time later with gunshot wounds not believed to be life-threatening, officials said.

It was not clear whether anything had been stolen from the shop, officials said. No suspect description was available.

Anyone with information is urged to contact San Bernardino Police Department Homicide Unit Detective Cunningham at 909-384-5745, or Detective Mahan at 909-384-5613.

Larry Richard is seen in a driver’s license photo released April 1, 2019, by the San Bernardino Police Department.

Investigators are asking potential witnesses to come forward after a man was found fatally shot on a residential street in San Bernardino Monday.

Officials were called regarding shots fired in the 1400 block of North Wall Avenue around 2:30 p.m., San Bernardino police said in a news release.

Officers were dispatched, but a homicide detective who was already in the field and heard the call over his or her radio was first on scene, police said.

The detective found the victim — later identified as 42-year-old Colton resident Larry Richard — had been shot multiple times and was not breathing.

Paramedics responded and took Richard to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Investigators are now trying to piece together what led up to the shooting and identify the gunman. No suspect description was available Monday.

Anyone with information on the killing can contact Detective Siems at 909-384-5650 or Sgt. Shank at 909-384-5613.

A shallow magnitude-3.4 earthquake was reported Thursday morning near San Bernardino, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 6:05 a.m. PDT at a depth of 9.9 miles.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was two miles from Colton and three miles from Rialto.

In the last 10 days, there has been one earthquake of magnitude 3.0 or greater centered nearby.

This information comes from the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and this post was created by an algorithm.

Read the full story on LATimes.com. 

A Loma Linda man is accused of stabbing two Riverside men, leaving one of them hospitalized in critical condition, during a fight in Colton on Wednesday, officials said.

Ricardo Moreno, 22, was found and arrested Wednesday afternoon following the 12:35 a.m. stabbing in the area of Sperry and Fairview drives, according to Colton Police Department officials and county booking records.

“It was reported that the suspect was involved in a physical altercation that resulted in two male victims being stabbed with a knife,” Colton police said in a written statement.

One of the victims, an 18-year-old Riverside man, was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said. The second victim, a 21-year-old Riverside man, was taken to a hospital where he was listed in stable condition.

Detectives obtained several warrants and conducted searches in both Colton and Loma Linda before ultimately arresting Moreno in connection with the double stabbing in Loma Linda, police said.

Moreno was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and burglary, records show. Further details on the stabbing, including a motive, were not available Thursday.

The suspect was being held without bail pending his initial court appearance, scheduled Friday in San Bernardino County Superior Court.

Eddie Goldbaum, 22, is seen in an undated photo provided by the fontana Police Department.

The subject of a welfare check was arrested on suspicion of murder after police discovered a bloody scene in his Colton home that led them to a homicide victim early Tuesday morning, officials said.

Colton officers made contact with 22-year-old Eddie Goldbaum after responding to a possibly suicidal person reported on the 1300 block of North Christobal Lane around 3:30 a.m., according to a Fontana Police Department news release.

A "large amount" of blood was discovered both in the residence and in Goldbaum's vehicle, the release states.

An interview with Goldbaum led detectives to the 100 block of South Acacia Avenue, where they discovered the body of a 44-year-old Fontana woman who had been shot dead, police said.

Video from the dead-end street along the 10 Freeway just south of the Colton Golf Course showed San Bernardino County sheriff's investigators placing evidence markers near a parked semitrailer and in a grassy area beyond the end of the pavement.

Officials determined the shooting occurred in Fontana, near the corner of Boyle and Hemlock avenues, about 7 miles west from where the woman's body was discovered. Evidence was recovered from that scene as well, officers said.

Officials investigate the scene in Colton where a woman’s body was dumped after she was shot dead in Fontana on June 25, 2019. (Credit: Inland News)

Both crime scenes are surrounded by trucking and machinery businesses.

Goldbaum and victim knew each other, Fontana Police Officer Rich Guerrero said, but the officer declined to provide details on their relationship.

The woman has not been publicly identified.

Goldbaum was being held without bail and scheduled to appear in court Thursday, inmate records show.

The investigation remained active Tuesday afternoon, and no further details were available.

Three people were arrested Tuesday after an armed robbery in Colton involving a rifle that was followed by a pursuit through San Bernardino County, the Colton Police Department said.

Officers responded to reports of an armed robbery at a local business in the 400 block of North Mt. Vernon Avenue in Colton at about 7:32 a.m., and were told that a suspect had fired at least one round from a rifle, authorities said.

A vehicle involved in the robbery was found and officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but a pursuit ensued, according to Colton police.

Officers chased the vehicle into the city of San Bernardino, where the vehicle stalled.

The driver, Rachel Salazar, 31, and the passenger, Christian Tapia, 23, were both arrested and booked into a San Bernadino detention center on felony evading and felon in possession of a firearm charges, according to the department.

Officers also found a second vehicle believed to have been involved in the robbery, conducted a traffic stop and arrested 21-year-old Edgar Chavez on suspicion of armed robbery, police said.

Chavez was also wanted for an armed robbery reported in the city of Fontana ten days earlier on July 20, 2019, according to authorities.

Bail for Tapia was set at $50,000 and Salazar’s was set at $100,000, county inmate records show. No booking information was available for Chavez.

The incident is under investigation. No further details were immediately available.

Anyone with information was encouraged to contact the Colton Police Department Detective Bureau at 909-370-5000 or Det. Anthony Jaeger at 909-370-5028.

Rene Gabriel Lamadrid, 32, of Colton, pictured in in a photo released by the Fontana Police Department following his arrest on Aug. 29, 2019.

Detectives arrested a 32-year-old man on Thursday who they say used social media apps to send sexual videos to a 10-year-old girl and attempt to meet her for sex, as as well keeping a cache of child pornography, authorities said.

Investigators arrested Rene Gabriel Lamadrid about 9 a.m. at his Colton home, according to the Fontana Police Department and San Bernardino County booking records.

Members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force learned Lamadrid had been in contact with a 10-year-old girl using social media apps including Snapchat and Likee, according to Fontana police Officer Daniel Romero.

“Despite the fact the suspect knew the victim was only 10 years old, he was attempting to meet the victim at a specific location or pick her up from school to engage in multiple sexual activities,” Romero said in a written statement. “The suspect sent the victim videos of himself performing sexual acts through these cellular telephone applications and attempted to solicit her to send him videos.”

Police discovered that Lamadrid has also been in contact with other children through social media apps including Kick, Skout and Whisper, the officer said.

On Snapchat, Lamadrid used the screen name “JackSawer311,” police said.

A search of Lamadrid’s home turned up images and video depicting child pornography, Romero said. Several electronic devices were seized as evidence.

Lamadrid was booked on suspicion of communication with a minor to commit a sex offense, sending harmful matter to a minor and possession of child pornography.

Bail for Lamadrid was set at $50,000 pending his initial court appearance, scheduled Tuesday in San Bernardino County Superior Court, records show.

A driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence following a fatal crash on the westbound 10 Freeway in Colton on Labor Day, officials said Tuesday.

The driver of a silver 2004 Saturn Ion died after 30-year-old Jeffrey Ornelas Jr. of Colton ran into the sedan around 7:35 a.m. Monday west of Mount Vernon Avenue, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.

Ornelas was traveling about 55 mph in a black 2013 Jeep Wrangler when he came up behind the Saturn, which was stopped in the No. 4 lane. The Jeep slammed into the Saturn’s back end, causing the Wrangler to overturn, investigators said.

The Saturn driver sustained major injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

CHP described the victim as a 62-year-old Los Angeles man. His name was being withheld, pending the notification of his next of kin.

Ornelas was treated for minor injuries, officials said.

The Jeep driver was later booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

Investigators did not say what led them to believe Ornelas was intoxicated.

Inmate records show the suspect was released on bail around 2 p.m. Tuesday. No court appearance had been scheduled.

The fatal crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information can contact Officer J. Duran in CHP’s San Bernardino office at 909-383-4247.

Police responded to a bank in Colton where a suspect opened fire on officers during an attempted armed robbery on Tuesday.

The incident began around 6 p.m. when police received a call from a person inside the Chase Bank at Washington Street and Cooley Drive, according to Sgt. Ray Mendez with the Colton Police Department.

When officers arrived, the suspect opened fire from inside the bank, shooting through the glass at the officers, Mendez said.

One officer sustained a non-life threatening injury to the neck . The officers were able to retreat and no other officers were injured.

Police blocked off the area and locked down surrounding businesses.

Mendez said at some point, the suspect was seen down with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

SWAT members were called in to the building after a suspicious package was seen on or near the suspect. It was later determined not to be dangerous.

The bank was closed, although there was "one or two" employees still inside at the time, Mendez said. They were not harmed in the incident.

The investigation is ongoing.

A man who opened fire at officers and injured one of them during a suspected bank robbery in Colton died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said Wednesday.

Colton police responded to reports of a possible robbery at the Chase bank at 2005 E. Washington St. a little after 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Police Department. The business was closed at the time, and investigators believe there were at least two employees inside.

As the officers approached the building, a person inside the bank started shooting at them, shattering the front windows and injuring one of the officers, authorities said. Police did not fire back, Sgt. Robert Vega told KTLA.

Police subsequently found the suspected shooter dead with a gunshot wound that was self-inflicted, according to the department.

Just before 8 p.m., the agency said the area had been closed to the public and that all officers were OK, although one of them suffered a minor injury. No other injuries were reported.

A SWAT team and a bomb squad ultimately cleared the building and determined that there were no additional threats.

The coroner's office later described the suspect as a 36-year-old man from Rialto. Officials said they were withholding his name until they could reach next of kin.

The incident drew a large law enforcement response, including aerial units.

A witness who was at a Stater Bros. market nearby said he saw the windows break during the gunfire. Other retail stores and restaurants are located in the area.

The case remains under investigation.

A Moreno Valley man was arrested on suspicion of murder after police said Monday he may have intentionally caused a fatal car wreck.

Brian Davidson of Moreno Valley arrested on Nov. 26, 2019. (Credit: Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)

The collision occurred on the 7800 block of Reche Canyon Road  at 7 a.m. on Nov. 25, according to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s news release.

The victim, 60-year-old Brian Laverty of Moreno Valley, was transported to the hospital where he died from injuries he suffered in the crash.

Investigators have determined the crash was likely intentional, the release stated.

Officers arrested 57-year-old Brian Davidson on suspicion of murder last Tuesday. His bail was set at $1 million, according to jail records.

This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information can contact 951-955-2777 or 951-486-6700.

Police found an infant inside a car being driven by a shooting suspect who tried to flee from police in the Inland Empire Sunday night, authorities said.

Authorities discovered a baby inside a vehicle being driven by a shooting suspect in Colton on Dec. 22, 2019. (Credit: OC Hawk)

The events began Saturday night when a fight broke out at a party in the 15900 block of Tyrol Drive in the city of Fontana.

Three men involved in the fight left the party but returned with guns about 4:30 a.m. Sunday and opened fire, Fontana Police Department Lt. Bills said.

Two male victims were struck by the gunfire, according to a news release from the Police Department. Both men were transported to a local hospital and listed in stable condition.

The shooting suspects were later identified as 28-year-old Michael Santoscoy, 23-year-old Christopher Santoscoy and 37-year-old Trinidad Macias.

Michael and Christopher Santoscoy were located and arrested without incident, according to the news release.

About 10 p.m. Sunday, police spotted Macias entering and fleeing in a white Nissan Altima in the 6100 block of Honeysuckle Lane in San Bernardino.

Three men involved in a shooting in Fontana are shown in photos released by the Fontana Police Department on Dec. 23, 2019.

A slow-speed pursuit that was taken over by the California Highway Patrol included stints on the 10, 210, 15 and 215 freeways and continued for about an hour, Bills said.

Macias was apparently on the phone with family members during the pursuit and claimed to have several handguns, a rifle and his infant child in the vehicle with him.

At one point during the pursuit, police say Macias threw a gun out of the vehicle and onto the freeway. The gun was recovered by trailing officers.

Macias eventually pulled over on North Bordwell Avenue and surrendered without incident in the city of Colton.

After taking Macias into custody, police discovered the infant inside the vehicle. The baby, believed to be about 3 months old, appeared to be OK and was released to his mother.

KTLA’s Nancy Fontan contributed to this report.

A shooting suspect is taken into custody following a pursuit in the Inland Empire on Dec. 22, 2019. (Credit: OC Hawk)

Police asked the public for help Wednesday in identifying a person who may have witnessed a fatal shooting in Colton last year.

On the night of April 2, 2019, Colton police were called to Valley Boulevard near the railroad tracks where they located 39-year-old David Delarosa suffering from a gunshot wound.

Delarosa, a resident of Colton, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Surveillance video obtained from that night shows Delarosa walking shirtless just minutes before he was shot and killed, the Colton Police Department stated in a news release.

Investigators are now releasing the surveillance video and asking the public for help identifying a second male subject who walked by in the same direction a few moments after Delarosa.

That person may be a witness or may be able to provide information on what happened that night, police said.

Investigators believe the second person in the video may also live in the Colton area.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Police Department at 909-370-5000.

One man died and another was hospitalized after they were shot in a commercial neighborhood in Colton early Saturday, police said.

The shooting took place about 1:10 a.m. in the 300 block of North Sperry Drive, just north of the 10 Freeway, according to the Colton Police Department.

“Through investigation it was learned that two subjects were shot while sitting in a vehicle,” Colton police Sgt. Robert Wilson said in a written statement.

One of the victims, described as a 31-year-old Rialto man, was taken to a hospital where he soon succumbed to his wounds, police said. His identity was not released pending notification of family by coroner’s offiicals.

The second victim, a 24-year-old Colton man, was expected to survive, Wilson said.

No further details regarding the circumstances of the deadly shooting, including a suspect description or motive, were available.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Colton police Detective A. Jaeger at 909-370-5028, or Colton police dispatch at 909-370-5000.

Colton police on Sunday were searching for a man who shot and severely wounded a 5-year-old boy during an attempted home break-in the night before, authorities said.

Multiple people were trying to force their way into a home located in the 800 block of East Washington Street when one of them opened fire just after 11 p.m. Saturday, according to police. He shot a 5-year-old boy.

The child was left with life-threatening injuries and taken to a nearby hospital, police said. He survived but investigators are still searching for the shooter.

Police described the suspect as a black man believed to be between 18 and 20 years old.

Authorities have not released further details as the investigation continues.

Anyone with information can reach Detective A. Jaeger at 909-370-5028 or Colton police at 909-370-5000.

A former Colton resident and her boyfriend are in custody to face charges in a kidnapping-for-ransom plot that spanned the U.S.-Mexico border and left two men dead, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Leslie Briana Matla, 20, a U.S. citizen living in Mexico, and her 25-year-old boyfriend Juan Carlos Montoya Sanchez of Tijuana tried to collect $25,000 from the abducted victims’ families before they were found dead, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

One of three kidnapped victims was able to escape death. The men — residents of San Diego, Norwalk and Pasadena — were in Tijuana on business or to visit family when they were abducted on March 28, April 13 and April 22, authorities said.

Their families then got a call from a Mexican phone number, ordering them to leave ransom money at a designated location in California, where Matla would retrieve it, officials said.

Prosecutors did not name the slain men. But the Los Angeles Times identified them as Salvador Acosta Medina of San Diego and Edgar Esteban Guzman of Norwalk, citing the criminal complaint.

Both Medina and Guzman were found dead in Mexico one day after being abducted, in spite of their families’ attempts to pay a $25,000 ransom. Medina’s adult son left a bag with the cash inside in a McDonald’s woman’s restroom in San Ysidro, while Guzman’s family tried to pay a woman prosecutors believe was Matla at a Lowe’s parking lot in Norwalk, according to court documents.

The Pasadena victim was rescued the same day he was kidnapped after a relative reported the ransom request. The victim’s family told investigators they were asked to hand over $20,000 to a pregnant woman at a Food 4 Less parking lot in Lynwood.

The man was being held hostage at a Tijuana hotel, where the first two victims had also been detained. Mexican authorities arrested nine suspects at the hotel, officials said.

After reviewing border crossing records and security cameras and the ransom drop-off spots, detectives identified Matla as the woman sent to collect the payments. Other records show Sanchez received wire transfers from two of the victims, prosecutors said.

Both Matla and Sanchez were arrested in San Diego — Matla on Thursday and Sanchez on Sunday — to face one count each of money laundering conspiracy. If convicted as charged, each could face up to life in federal prison.

Sanchez was scheduled to appear in federal court in L.A. Monday afternoon, while Matla remains in U.S. custody after her initial appearance Friday, officials said.

Police arrested a man in Colton after he allegedly stabbed one of his girlfriend’s family members, leaving him with life-threatening wounds, authorities said Sunday.

Cruz Orozco, 24, allegedly stabbed a 36-year-old man who tried to intervene when Orozco and his girlfriend got into a “physical altercation” Thursday night, the Colton Police Department said in a news release. Authorities did not say how the victim and Orozco’s girlfriend are related.

Officers responded to the stabbing at a home in the 800 block of North Rancho Avenue at 10:44 p.m., according to police. Orozco allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times in the upper body and neck.

Police said the victim was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries while Orozco fled the scene in a vehicle. But Orozco returned to the home shortly after and surrendered to detectives, authorities said.

He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and attempted murder, according to police.

Authorities did not release further details Sunday as the investigation continues.

Anyone with information can call Detective M. Sandoval at 909-370-5020 or Colton Police Department Dispatch at 909-370-5000.

Illegal fireworks are being blamed for a brush fire that burned dangerously close to homes in Colton Tuesday night.

The fire was sparked between East Scenic Drive and Award Drive and took six engines to douse, the City of Colton Fire Department stated in a post on Facebook shortly before 11:30 p.m.

The blaze burned in dense vegetation near the homes but crews were able to keep the fire from spreading.  

Firefighters from Loma Linda and San Bernardino County also responded to help fight the brush fire, which had been extinguished by Wednesday morning.

Investigators determined the fire was caused by illegal fireworks, the Colton Fire Department stated.

No structure damage or injuries were reported.

The fire comes amid several reports in recent days of illegal fireworks being set off around Southern California.

Using illegal fireworks can result in fines and the possibility of being arrested.

A man has been arrested after a grenade launcher was discovered in a vehicle involved in a solo-car crash on Christmas Day in Grand Terrance, authorities said Tuesday.

Jesus Angel Rodriguez, 28, of Colton was taken into custody Monday, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

He was arrested on suspicion of the following: possession of an operational destructive device; non-injury hit-and- run; filing a false police report; and filing a false insurance claim.

An investigation began after a car was found abandoned near the intersection of Glendora Drive and Barton Road around 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 25.

The vehicle's rear window had been shattered by a bullet, which hit the inside of the windshield before landing on the dashboard, according to the release. A small amount of blood was found in the center console.

In the back seat, authorities found an anti-tank rocket propelled grenade launcher. The destructive device was "in plain view," officials said.

The driver was believed to have fled on foot. The car was later found to have been registered to Rodriguez, who was on parole for assault with an automatic weapon, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Rodriguez — who wasn't injured in the crash — has been booked on a parole hold and is being held without bail, authorities said. A booking photo was not released.

Investigators did not provide any further details about the incident.