A group of San Gabriel Valley residents are facing federal charges related to their alleged scheme to transport hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine from Los Angeles County to New Zealand and Australia. A 27-count federal indictment led to the arrests of five people, while a sixth is in immigration custody in Louisiana and a seventh remains a fugitive, the United States Department of Justice said in a news release. The five people arrested Wednesday morning are: Yangqiang Chen, 45, of Monterey Park Jie Chen, 40, of Rosemead MeiMei Chen, 41, of Rosemead Guorong He, 50 of Rosemead Yien He, 32 ..read more

A Monterey Park man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison after he admitted to selling sensitive information to China while serving as a sailor in the U.S. Navy. Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to one count each of conspiring with an intelligence officer and receiving a bribe, about two months after he was initially arrested while serving at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme. On Monday, he was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, according to Courthouse News Service. “Between August 2021 and at least May 2023, Zhao admitted receiving ..read more

Video of the last time a Southern California woman was seen alive before she disappeared on a yoga retreat in Guatemala was released as her family remains desperate for answers. The family of Nancy Ng, a 29-year-old Monterey Park woman, said they are beyond distraught as they work to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. Nancy, a former Cal State L.A. student who works for the Alhambra Unified School District, had planned to relax at a week-long yoga retreat at Lake Atitlán, something she had done for the second year in a row. She left California on Oct. 14 and just a few days into her tri ..read more

The search is underway for a Southern California woman who disappeared while on a yoga retreat in Guatemala. The missing woman, Nancy Ng, 29, from Monterey Park, disappeared on Oct. 19 at a retreat in Lake Atitlán, according to her family. Nancy, a former Cal State L.A. student who works for the Alhambra Unified School District, had planned to relax at a week-long yoga retreat, something she had done for the second year in a row. She left on Oct. 14 and just a few days into her trip, her family said the retreat organizer called to say she had disappeared. She was officially reported missing on ..read more

Three Los Angeles County residents are facing decades in prison after the U.S. Department of Justice charged them in connection with 10 pharmacy robberies this summer. Makai Yusef Sanders and Kenyatta Kamar Jones of Hawthorne and Diavion Deshawna Mouton of Carson, all 22 years old, were charged earlier this month with Hobbs Act robbery (indicating it affected interstate or foreign commerce) and using a firearm during a violent crime, the DOJ said in a news release. Federal authorities allege the trio targeted Rite Aid and Walgreens stores between Aug. 9 and Sept. 19, striking in Long Beach, Be ..read more

Authorities in Monterey Park have released surveillance video of a violent hit-and-run crash involving a box truck with the aim of catching the driver who caused it. The collision happened at the intersection of New Avenue and Garvey Avenue at about 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 18. Surveillance video from two angles shows the driver of a white box truck fail to stop at a red light, plow into a white sedan, and then drive away. Surveillance cameras captured the driver of a box truck run a red light and collided with a sedan in Monterey Park, Calif. on Oct. 18, 2023. (City of Monterey Park) Surveillance ..read more

A Monterey Park man serving in the United States Navy in Ventura County has pleaded guilty to giving a Chinese intelligence officer sensitive military information. Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, was arrested two months ago and accused of taking bribes in exchange for the information. On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring with an intelligence officer and receiving a bribe ..read more

Candidates for the next California U.S. Senator gathered for a town hall in Monterey Park on Friday night to discuss gun violence and policy reform. The four Democratic candidates gathered at East L.A. College, which sits less than three miles from the site of the Monterey Park mass shooting that claimed 11 lives on Jan. 21, 2023. The discussion was hosted by the youth-led organization March for Our Lives, in partnership with People’s Town Hall and Southern California Crossroads. The appearance also marked the first time all four candidates appeared together on stage. The candidates include Re ..read more

A Monterey Park man serving in the United States Navy has been arrested and accused of taking bribes in exchange for providing military information to China. Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, was taken into custody by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. Zhao, who also goes by Thomas Zhao, worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, which is where he was arrested, according to the Associated Press. According to prosecutors, he used his security clearance to provide "non-public, sensitive U.S. military information ..read more

Authorities are asking for the public’s help finding a 13-year-old girl who was last seen in Monterey Park Friday. Lyrik Omar Amparano left her temporary home at 11 a.m., according to the Monterey Park Police Department. She told her social worker she was going to visit a cousin in an unknown location without permission. She was last seen on foot. Lyrik, who is male but identifies as female, suffers from bipolar disorder but does not take medication, police said. She was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt, gray sweat pants and black Vans. Her hair has red tips and she was last seen wearing it in ..read more