Los Angeles Times - 29.08.2019

LATIMES.COM THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019B

CITY & STATE

Prosecutors are seeking
the death penalty for the
mother of Anthony Avalos
and her boyfriend, who are
accused of torturing the 10-
year-old boy for days before
his death last year.
A grand jury indicted
Heather Maxine Barron, 29,
and Kareem Ernesto Leiva,
33, in October on charges
that they murdered the boy
and abused two other chil-
dren in the household. The
boy’s relatives praised the
district attorney’s office’s
decision to pursue the death
penalty, which was an-
nounced in court Wednes-
day.
“I know the death penalty
will not bring Anthony back,
but this is one of the worst
kind of crimes you could
commit so it deserves the
worst kind of punishment,”
David Barron, Anthony’s
uncle, told reporters after

the hearing.

Prosecutors have said

that Heather Barron and

Leiva poured hot sauce on

Anthony’s face and mouth,

whipped the boy with a

looped cord and belt, held

him upside down and

dropped him on his head re-

peatedly. They also alleged

that the couple alternately

withheld food and force-fed

him, slammed him into fur-

niture and the floor, denied

access to the bathroom and

enlisted other children in the

home to inflict pain.

Anthony’s wounds

stretched from head to toe

as bruises, abrasions, red

dots, scabs, cuts and a trau-

matic brain injury, prose-

cutors have said. In addition

to the injuries suffered by

Anthony that resulted in his

June 21 death, prosecutors

have said that Leiva previ-

ously struck one of his broth-

ers so hard that the boy

required a trip to the hospi-

tal.

In a filing Wednesday,

prosecutors said the couple

watched pornographic vide-

os and performed sexual

acts with each other in front

of Anthony and another

child in the household. The

filing also alleges that in July,

Leiva assaulted another in-

mate in jail.

Barron and Leiva are be-

ing held without bail. Both

have pleaded not guilty.

Anthony’s family mem-

bers showed up for the hear-

ing, some wearing shirts

that read, “#Justice4An-

thony.” Maria Barron, An-

thony’s aunt, wept as she

held up a photograph of An-

thony while addressing re-

porters in the courthouse.

If the Los Angeles County

Department of Children and

Family Services had “done

their job when we called and

told them what was going on

we wouldn’t be here today,”

Maria Barron said. “We

would be at school right now,

he would probably be trying

out for band, starting the

sixth grade with his cousin.”

She said she hasn’t been

allowed to see Anthony’s sib-

lings in four years.

Both the Los Angeles

County Sheriff ’s Depart-

ment and DCFS have come

under criticism by some of

Anthony’s family members

and community protesters

for not permanently remov-

ing the boy from the home

and not arresting Heather

Barron and Leiva on suspi-

cion of child abuse.

Both agencies received

calls about abuse in the

household, beginning with a

referral in April 2014 alleging

that Leiva had hit Anthony

and three siblings with vari-

ous objects, including a

hose. The caller alleged that

Barron screamed at the chil-

dren and locked them in

their rooms for hours.

In October 2014, a caller

alleged that Barron

screamed at the children,

dragged one of Anthony’s

brothers across the room by

his arm, showed no affection

and “seemed completely de-

tached.”

California has not had an

execution since 2006. In

March, Gov. Gavin Newsom

issued a moratorium on ex-

ecutions in the state.

Death penalty sought in child’s killing

HEATHER Maxine Barron and her boyfriend Kareem Ernesto Leiva are charged

with murdering her son. Relatives of the boy praised the death-penalty decision.

Irfan KhanLos Angeles Times

Prosecutors will seek

execution of couple

accused of torturing

Anthony Avalos, 10.

By Alene
Tchekmedyian

A Manhattan Beach man
who allegedly scammed
$14 million from investors by
falsely telling them their
money would be used to pro-
duce a feature film distribut-
ed by Netflix has surren-
dered to federal authorities.
Adam Joiner, 41, who
turned himself in to author-
ities on Tuesday, was
charged with wire fraud,
money laundering and ag-
gravated identity theft, ac-
cording to the U.S. attor-
ney’s office.
He was released from
custody Tuesday afternoon
on $350,000 bond.
Prosecutors said Joiner
pitched a script to Chinese
and Korean investors for
“Legends,” an “anachronis-
tic mash-up of legendary
and historical figures” such
as Davy Crockett, Calamity
Jane and Paul Bunyan.
According to an affidavit
by an FBI investigator,
Joiner forged signatures,
emails and distribution
agreements from Netflix
executives to send to the in-
vestors. None of the execu-
tives he named to investors
knew Joiner and some did
not even work for Netflix at
the time the fake agree-
ments were made, the inves-
tigator said.
According to the affi-
davit, in one email posing as
an executive, Joiner wrote:
“Looking forward to making
this movie!” He then began
sending periodic updates
about the films, investiga-
tors said.
“We are expecting to se-
cure Don Murphy by this
Friday to be our ‘name’ pro-
ducer for the film,” he wrote
in one message, according to
the affidavit. “Don has done

all of the Transformers mov-

ies and several others. He

has discussed wanting to

bring in Michael Bay to di-

rect so we plan to explore

that.”

In another, he wrote, “Di-

rector: We agreed to terms

verbally yesterday with Gui-

llermo del Toro and his

agent.”

According to the affi-

davit, Joiner actually did

have an agreement with

Murphy, but the producer

told investigators that the

film never reached pre-pro-

duction stages.

Murphy said that be-

cause Joiner didn’t have a

successful track record with

film production, they agreed

to use an escrow account

and an initial payment of

$600,000, according to the af-

fidavit. Murphy terminated

his partnership with Joiner

in summer 2017 and never

heard back from him, the af-

fidavit said.

Joiner eventually told his

investors that he was replac-

ing Netflix with Amblin as

the distributor and began

making excuses for delays in

filming, including “internal

politics,” the affidavit said.

“[O]nce Bradley Cooper

turned down the agreement

with Universal ... Universal

decided to refuse payment

to Amblin,” one email read,

according to investigators.

According to the affi-

davit, Joiner didn’t return in-

vestors’ money when asked.

They said Bank of America

records show deposits to ac-

counts shared with his wife

and an account titled “Stock

Car Willie, LLC,” which is the

name of a film listed on his

IMDb page about an African

American NASCAR driver.

In August 2016, Joiner

purchased a $5-million

home in Manhattan Beach

using money from the in-

vestors, prosecutors said.

He is to appear in court

Sept. 23, according to the

U.S attorney’s office.

The Associated Press

contributed to this report.

Man sought in

$14-million film

scam surrenders

PROSECUTORSsay Adam Joiner bought a $5-mil-
lion home in Manhattan Beach using scam money.

Google

Investors were falsely

told they would be

funding production

of a Netflix feature.

By Alejandra
Reyes-Velarde

A legal settlement re-

stricting the city from clear-

ing homeless encampments

on skid row has survived a

court challenge, but the

judge said business owners

could file a separate claim if

they can show that the

agreement has adversely

affected their property.

U.S. District Judge S.

James Otero in Los Angeles

rejected a petition filed in

July by downtown property

owners and residents and

the DTLA Alliance for Hu-

man Rights to block the set-

tlement. Otero said the set-

tlement, which the city

reached in April, closed the

case.

“The court concludes

that it lacks jurisdiction over

the litigation,” Otero wrote

in the ruling Tuesday.

The decision stems from

a lawsuit brought in 2016 by

homeless individuals and

advocates who accused the

city of using camp cleanups

to drive homeless people out

of the downtown district.

Later that year, the judge

ordered the city to stop con-

fiscating and destroying

homeless people’s property

on skid row and surrounding

streets, unless it was crime

evidence, contraband or an

immediate threat to public

safety or health.

The city’s settlement this

year with homeless people

and advocates incorporated

the limits that the judge set

in 2016. The city also agreed

to store all confiscated

property and make it avail-

able for pickup within 72

hours, or if it consists of

medication, medical equip-

ment, sleeping bag or blan-

kets, within 24 hours.

In their petition, the peti-

tioners contended that the

settlement “will only extend

and worsen the [homeless-

ness] crisis we are facing in

this city.”

The DTLA Alliance also

accused the city of negotiat-

ing in secret and of withhold-

ing the terms of the deal, pre-

venting them from jumping

into the case sooner.

Property owner Harry

Tashidjian argued that his

risk of fire damage and van-

dalism had increased “expo-

nentially” in recent years,

driving up his security and

pest control costs.

Otero, citing Tashidjian’s

statements, said if “these

types of allegations” are true

and “traceable” to the settle-

ment, the petitioners could

bring separate litigation

against the city or the home-

less people and their advo-

cates.

“Proposed intervenors

contend, perhaps rightly,

that some of plaintiffs’ and

defendants’ actions taken

pursuant to the settlement

agreement have resulted in

adverse consequences to

them,” Otero wrote. “If these

types of allegations are true

... proposed intervenors may

have standing to pursue in-

dependent litigation against

plaintiffs or defendants.”

Elizabeth Mitchell, an at-

torney for the DTLA Alli-

ance for Human Rights,

said: “We absolutely agree

with his assessment of pur-

suing an independent suit,

and [it] is something we

have been building towards

over the past several

months. We are reviewing

the necessary steps now

with our clients.”

THE AGREEMENTreached by the city in April prevents confiscating and destroying homeless people’s

property on skid row and surrounding streets unless it is crime evidence, contraband or a health hazard.

Wally SkalijLos Angeles Times

Restrictions on sweeps upheld

Downtown property

owners and residents

had challenged limits

on clearing camps.

By Gale Holland

Two men have been ar-

rested in connection with

the disappearance and

death of a West Covina man,

authorities said.

Elijah Thomas Rouse, 18,

of La Verne and Shaun Car-

darelli, 37, of San Gabriel

were arrested Tuesday on

suspicion of killing 28-year-

old John Brian Mananghaya

Aguila, according to the

West Covina Police Depart-

ment.

“Things we found inside

the home suggest there was

foul play there,” said Cpl.

Rudy Lopez, a spokesman

for West Covina police. “We

are waiting for the San Ber-

nardino County coroner to

identify the body.”

The cause of death is un-

known, Lopez said. Police

also have not cited a poten-

tial motive.

Aguila was last seen

Thursday in La Puente

when he was visiting his girl-

friend, Lopez said. His girl-

friend told investigators

that she believed he was

headed home that evening.

Sarah Webster, a spokes-

woman for the Bureau of

Land Management, said

Aguila didn’t report to work

Friday. He had been em-

ployed as a seasonal fire-

fighter since June.

Detectives believe Aguila

was attacked and fatally in-

jured at his home, Lopez

said. His body was probably

dumped and burned in Up-

land near Euclid and Moun-

tain avenues before 3:30 a.m.

Friday, police said. The in-

juries initially made it diffi-

cult for police to identify the

body, he said.

On Friday, police learned

Aguila’s white 2017 Honda

Civic had been impounded

in San Dimas. Surveillance

video from a home in that

neighborhood showed a

man parking the car and

walking away, police said. In

the trunk, detectives found

gloves and bloody clothes.

Fingerprints on the car

led them to a La Verne resi-

dence, where the two sus-

pects and a woman were de-

tained for questioning Tues-

day. The woman, a girlfriend

of one of the suspects, was

released.

On social media, Aguila’s

family members have been

pleading for the public to

come forward with any infor-

mation about his disappear-

ance and death. Family

members could not be

reached for comment or

declined to be interviewed

Wednesday.

Rouse and Cardarelli are

being held in lieu of $1 million

bond and will appear in

court Thursday, according

to inmate records.

Two men arrested in apparent killing

Burned remains are

thought to be those

of missing firefighter

from West Covina.

By Alejandra

Reyes-Velarde

and Richard Winton