A 29-year-old man entered court in a white tee shirt with a yellow collar under blue cotton scrubs and slip-on sneakers issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. His head was clean-shaven and his face and scalp had a clear and even complexion framed by a full beard. As the deputy motioned for him to sit, his shoulders slumped...

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A threat of violence made against a student is being investigated by El Camino College Police Department. The El Camino College Police Department (ECCPD) released a “Campus Watch” alert warning that on Wednesday, May 18 at 1 p.m., an unnamed male student reported that he received a phone call threatening him and others with violence if they came to school...

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A sentencing hearing for Sonita Heng, 22, was postponed until the conclusion of a trial she is already involved in. Heng is accused of homicide against 21-year-old El Camino College student Juan Carlos Hernandez, along with suspects Weijia Peng and Ethan Kedar Astaphan. On Sept. 22, 2020, Hernandez went to work as a “budtender” at the unlicensed V. I. P....

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Eduardo Dumbrique grew up in Lawndale and was 15 when he was arrested, transferred into adult court, wrongfully convicted and given a life sentence. Throughout his incarceration, Dumbrique did not have access to formal education, including his 13 years served in solitary confinement where human contact – let alone college and other programming – was prohibited by the California State...

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The trial of the accused in the killing of El Camino College student Juan Carlos Hernandez is expected to commence on Sept. 6. In a pre-trial hearing in the case of the People of California vs. Ethan Kedar Astaphan on Tuesday, May 3, at Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, Astaphan, 28, of San Gabriel, waived his rights...

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For a little more than a year, I slept mostly in my car. Each day I was worried, planning and plotting my moves. Where could I park? Which restaurant bathroom sink could I wash up in without getting stared down or kicked out? Where could I access electrical outlets or use free Wi-Fi without having to worry about time limits?...

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On Wednesday, March 16, Ethan Kedar Astaphan, 28, pled not guilty to first-degree murder of 21-year-old late El Camino College student Juan Carlos Hernandez. Astaphan was arraigned at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles in Department 117 and faces a sentence of 25 years to life. Judge Lynn Hobbs presided over the hearing. Astaphan will return...

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A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed by a former El Camino College police cadet against the El Camino College District, El Camino College's Police Department and Dalfiery Toruno, a former El Camino police sergeant. Maria Navarro, courtroom assistant in Department 40 at Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, said that a settlement had been reached and...

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The case of John Doe vs. El Camino Community College District, et al. remains unresolved as the next hearing is currently scheduled for March 10. A settlement in the lawsuit filed against the El Camino College District, El Camino College's Police Department and former El Camino police sergeant, Dalfiery Toruno, had still not been filed with the court as of...

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On Sept. 22, 2020, 21-year-old El Camino College engineering student Juan Hernandez went missing from his home on Adams Blvd. Almost two months later, Hernadez' body was found in the Mojave Desert on Nov. 15, 2020. Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Habib Balian presented the prosecution's case concerning what happened to Hernandez during a preliminary hearing in the case...

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