Tow Truck

Colleagues and friends of the man involved in the alleged murder-suicide last week in La Cañada identified him Monday as Aaron Welch, an auto mechanic, tow-truck driver and longtime La Crescenta resident. The bodies of Welch and 39-year-old Genny Herrera were discovered by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in the front room of an apartment in the 4500 block of Lasheart Drive shortly after 11 a.m. Friday. Sheriff’s homicide Det. Steve Lankford said it appeared the man fatally shot Herrera, and then fatally shot himself.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — When a woman drove her car through the front of Movses Golden Pastry five years ago, owner Armen Nazarian thought he could protect his store by installing steel barriers in front of the property. He was wrong. Early Tuesday, police said, a Burbank woman in the parking lot slammed on the gas pedal of her white Toyota 4Runner and barreled through the Glenoaks Boulevard corner bakery. She evaded a steel barrier and smashed through a storefront window, refrigerators, tables and chairs.

Karen S. Kim The junction of two Glendale freeways will soon mark the junction of two traffic agencies, as Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol begin construction on an 89,000-square-foot regional traffic management center. The two agencies were expected to kick off construction on the project at 11 a.m. today at Caltrans District Headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. "Working in partnership, if we're all doing the same job and we're all under the same roof, it will make it easier to get the information we need to work together," Caltrans Spokeswoman Deborah Harris said.

Local man ordered back to jail with raised bail GLENDALE -- A Montrose man was in custody Monday after a judge raised his bail to $270,000 in connection with an accident that severed a Monterey Tow truck driver's legs. A Pasadena judge decided to raise 41-year-old Choon Suk Ro's bail and ordered him back into custody following testimony about the accident from California Highway Patrol officers, Officer Vince Bell said. Ro was charged with two felony counts of hit-and-run, two felony counts of driving under the influence, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of driving with a suspended license, one count of destruction of evidence, and one count of possession of marijuana in a car, Bell said.

Jackson Bell A tow truck driver was allegedly stabbed Thursday morning several times by a homeless woman after he walked into a restaurant's unisex bathroom she was in, authorities said. Dolores Perez, 47, allegedly attacked the 57-year-old Glendale man about 5:30 a.m. at Troy's, 520 S. Glendale Ave., said Sgt. Tom Lorenz, the department's spokesman. Perez, who allegedly continued attacking him after he left the restroom, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, Lorenz said.

The following information was taken from police reports: 500 block of East Garfield Avenue: A 59-year-old Glendale man was arrested Monday on suspicion of scratching and hitting his girlfriend. Pacific Avenue and Pioneer Drive: A 46-year-old transient man was arrested Monday on suspicion of attacking a tow-truck driver with the truck's grappling hooks. Western Avenue and Victory Boulevard: Three Sun Valley men -- 18, 22 and 26 -- were arrested Sunday on suspicion of possess- ing false identification documents and driving without a license.

Mark R. Madler The mysterious disappearance of a 30-year-old Burbank woman took a twist Thursday afternoon when the woman's car was found in Los Angeles with a body in the trunk. The body had not been identified by Thursday night, but Burbank Police believed it was Sharon Anne Santos, a financial analyst who was last seen by co-workers Aug. 17. "We are handling this as a homicide investigation," Burbank Police Sgt. Jay Jette said. Investigators were led to the 700 block of New Depot Avenue about 12:30 p.m., Jette said.

In light of the critical praise being lavished on the new Pixar film "Cars," I feel compelled to warn you that it's not that great. Yes, it has beautifully drawn, lit and shaded animation and a sweet story about a young hot-shot who learns what's really important in life. And yes, it's got some charming characters who speak funny, nonabrasive language. But it is just too hard to warm up to talking cars. No matter how anthropomorphic they make their movements, they are still hunks of metal, rubber and glass with no arms or eyebrows.

Boycott will awaken a nation's 'sleeping giant' I think the May 1 "boycott" will have a big effect ? only one that the organizers didn't intend ("Locals engage in boycott," May 3 ). They were right in one thing they said ? "a sleeping giant is being awakened." That is the American people, who've been silent or passive about illegal immigration and pressing our government to enforce the laws of our country. I, for one, am one of those. I work in the garment industry ? the vortex of employing illegal immigrants.