Los Angeles Times - 11.03.2020

B4 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 S LATIMES.COM

A former University of La

Verne student is facing crim-

inal charges after author-

ities say she made a series of

fake threats that roiled the

campus and forced classes

to be canceled for a day, au-

thorities said.

Anayeli Dominguez

Pena, 25, of Ontario was ar-

rested Monday and has been

charged with making crimi-

nal threats and filing a false

claim for state victim com-

pensation benefits — both

felonies. She also was

charged with internet or

electronic impersonation, a

misdemeanor, and six mis-

demeanor counts of filing a

false police report, accord-

ing to the La Verne Police

Department.

She remained in custody

Tuesday morning in lieu of

$200,000 bail, jail records

show.

The arrest stems from an

investigation La Verne po-

lice launched in February

2019 in response to reported

threats that were directed at

the university, an affiliated

student group, its members

and Dominguez Pena her-

self, authorities said.

“The investigation con-

cluded that the suspect

acted alone and no other

members of the student

group were involved with the

criminal acts,” police offi-

cials wrote in a statement.

Most of the threats came

via text messages or emails

and eventually escalated to

the point that the university

canceled classes on March 1,

2019, citing “two reports of

hate crimes targeted at

members of the student

body.” Among the incidents

investigated was a backpack

emitting smoke in a car at a

dormitory parking lot, police

said.

The reported threats also

used the logo of a fraternity

“to focus suspicion on the

fraternity and its president,”

but no evidence was found

tying them to the crimes, po-

lice said.

The incident sent a

shockwave through the uni-

versity community, which at

one point came together for

a candlelight vigil following

what officials initially be-

lieved to be “racially moti-

vated hate crimes.”

“The actions of the ac-

cused, if proven true, threat-

ened to undermine the sin-

cere and necessary work of

addressing the very real is-

sues of race and social jus-

tice that persist locally and

nationally,” university Presi-

dent Devorah Lieberman

said in a statement. “We will

not be deterred in that work.

We are committed to moving

forward together here at the

University of La Verne to

make positive changes on

our campuses and in our

community.”

Dominguez Pena re-

ceived a bachelor’s in child

development from the uni-

versity in 2018 and was in her

first year in the higher edu-

cation administration mas-

ter’s program at the time of

the incidents, according to

spokesman Rod Leveque.

She is not currently enrolled,

he added.

Leveque said the group

allegedly targeted by the

threats “was not an official

student group recognized or

funded by the university, but

rather a self-organized col-

lection of students.” He de-

clined to name the group or

the fraternity whose logo

was linked to the threats.

Officials said the uni-

versity has taken a number

of steps in the past year to

demonstrate its “commit-

ment to diversity and inclu-

sion” — including mandat-

ing diversity training for fac-

ulty and staff, offering work-

shops, requiring training on

unconscious biases and eq-

uitable practices for those

serving on search commit-

tees and opening the Lud-

wick Center for Spirituality,

Cultural Understanding and

Community Engagement.

Such efforts will contin-

ue, officials added.

“The university has zero

tolerance for hateful acts or

related misconduct, and any

member of the campus com-

munity found to have en-

gaged in such behavior will

be dealt with in accordance

with university policy,” the

school wrote in a statement.

“The university will also con-

tinue to cooperate with the

La Verne Police Department

and other law enforcement

partners in this investiga-

tion and any related crimi-

nal prosecution.”

Ex-college student

held in fake threats

By Luke Money

Federal agents have
arrested an 18-year-old
woman after Border Patrol
officers found a man hidden
underneath the rear seat of a
vehicle at the Mexican bor-
der, according to a news re-
lease.
The woman, who was
driving a black Mitsubishi,
was stopped early Monday
at the Calexico West Port of
Entry, where a Border Patrol
agent at the booth ordered
an in-depth examination of
the driver and vehicle, ac-
cording to U.S. Customs and
Border Protection.
The border separates
Calexico, Calif. — a dusty
city about two hours east of
San Diego — from Mexicali,
Mexico.
A canine team screened
the vehicle, and a dog
alerted authorities to the
car’s rear area, where they
found a 48-year-old Mexican
citizen, according to the

agency. Pictures show the

man hiding beneath a con-

cealed compartment below

the rear seats.

Authorities escorted the

man into an area for further

processing. The driver, a

U.S. citizen, was taken to Im-

perial County Jail to await

criminal proceedings.

“The primary focus of our

national security mission is

to protect the American

homeland from all threats,”

Pete Flores, Border Protec-

tion’s director of field opera-

tions for San Diego, said in a

statement.

“Although we routinely

encounter individuals at-

tempting to enter our coun-

try illegally, this incident

serves as another example

of the inhumane tactics hu-

man smugglers will utilize in

order to circumvent our

laws.”

Agents find man under car seat

A CANINE TEAMmember alerted U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers

to a man wedged under a car seat at the Calexico West Port of Entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Driver is arrested in

what Border Patrol

calls an ‘inhumane’

smuggling attempt.

By Priscella Vega

Three police officers
acted lawfully when they
shot a gunman who opened
fire at the Gilroy Garlic Fes-
tival in a violent rampage
last year that killed three
people, including two chil-
dren, and wounded 17 oth-
ers, according to a report re-
leased Tuesday by the Santa
Clara County district attor-
ney.
Thousands were in at-
tendance at the popular
food festival in the “Garlic
Capital of the World” on July
28 when a gunman identified
as 19-year-old Santino Wil-
liam Legan cut through a
fence to bypass event securi-
ty and unleashed a barrage
of gunfire at attendees.
Legan was confronted by
officers less than a minute
after the shooting started.
He was hit several times by
rounds from the officers’
handguns before he deliv-
ered the fatal bullet from his
own rifle.
Under California law, offi-
cers are allowed to use
deadly force when they or
others are faced with immi-
nent danger.
The officers “quite rea-
sonably believed that they
needed to use deadly force to
protect innocent lives, and
their own, from Legan’s vi-
olent rampage,” Deputy
Dist. Atty. Rob Baker wrote
in the report.
“Placing themselves, lit-
erally, in the line of fire to
stop a mass murderer un-
doubtedly saved lives and

prevented further blood-

shed.”

Gilroy Det. Eric Cryar,

Officer Robert Basuino and

Officer Hugo Del Moral were

patrolling the festival about

6:30 p.m. when they heard

shots being fired from the

gunman’s AK-47-style as-

sault rifle and rushed to in-

vestigate.

Cryar was about to take a

knee to fire when the gun-

man turned toward him and

fired a round.

The detective took cover

behind a nearby barrel and

fired at least 12 shots at the

suspect.

He fired three or four ad-

ditional shots after the gun-

man appeared to be down

because he didn’t know if the

man was reloading or the

gun had malfunctioned. Ba-

suino and Del Moral also

opened fire on the suspect.

Cryar and Del Moral, who

were wearing body-worn

cameras that day, did not ac-

tivate them before the

shooting began because of

the urgency of the situation,

they told investigators.

“If we didn’t take the ac-

tion that we took there could

be a lot of dead people,” Cr-

yar told investigators.

The assailant had en-

tered the festival about a

half hour before it was set to

close for the day and fired his

rifle once into the ground.

Witnesses told police that it

appeared the gun malfunc-

tioned and the gunman

struggled with the weapon

for 15 to 20 seconds before re-

moving the magazine and

inserting a new one.

After reloading, he fatally

shot 13-year-old Keyla Sal-

azar, who was with her par-

ents under a white tent near

an inflatable slide.

The gunman then began

firing rounds into the crowd

in a counterclockwise fash-

ion, the report states.

Stephen Romero, 6, and

Trevor Irby, 25, were fatally

wounded.

The FBI and Gilroy po-

lice are still investigating the

shooting as a possible act of

domestic terrorism.

Authorities launched the

probe after officials discov-

ered the gunman had a list of

other potential targets in-

cluding religious organiza-

tions, courthouses, federal

buildings and political insti-

tutions involving both the

Republican and Democratic

parties.

“In light of the grave cir-

cumstances of this case,

[law enforcement’s] actions

were unquestionably lawful

and justified,” Baker wrote.

Gilroy officers’ actions upheld

THREE PEOPLE at the Gilroy Garlic Festival died in July when they were shot

by a gunman. A report said police officers who responded acted lawfully.

Kent NishimuraLos Angeles Times

Police acted lawfully

and saved lives when

when they shot a

gunman at garlic

festival, report finds.

By Hannah Fry

BOY STRUCK AND KILLED

Irfan KhanLos Angeles Times

Friends and relatives grieve at a memorial for a 12-year-old boy who was killed while crossing Martin

Luther King Jr. Boulevard on his way to Animo Jefferson Charter Middle School on Tuesday morning. A

bystander performed CPR, but the boy died at the scene. The driver had just dropped off her daughter.

said. He followed by holding

up a card with the Greek let-

ter delta, which refers to the

defense. “It’s my simple way

of illustrating there are two

sides to every story.”

What led Durst to

Berman’s home just before

Christmas in 2000, the law-

yer said, was a tradition

among friends. Durst, es-

tranged from his family, had

a “pattern” of seeing Berman

around the holidays.

“Susy was alone. Bob was

not happy with his family.

She and Bob were the clos-

est of friends,” DeGuerin

said.

David Chesnoff, a veter-

an Las Vegas lawyer on the

defense team, said that

Durst was driving from

northern California, part of

a planned trip to see

Berman, who had told her

friends the visit would be

filled with festivities.

“If this was some plot by

Mr. Durst to commit a pre-

meditated murder,” Ches-

noff said, “you don’t plan a

party.”

Durst made it to Bakers-

field on the night of Dec. 22,

2000, the lawyer said, but

checked into a hotel because

he was suffering from mi-

graines and neck pains. He

called Berman to tell her

he’d pick her up the next day

at home. The two planned to

dine at the Rose Cafe in

Venice, Chesnoff said.

When Durst showed up

at Berman’s home on Dec.

23, he found her dead and

then scrawled out a note to

Beverly Hills police, telling

them a “cadaver” was at her

address.

“Bob was scared,” Ches-

noff said. “He didn’t want to

just leave her there, but he

couldn’t call himself.”

The defense lawyer high-

lighted what he deemed fail-

ures in the police investiga-

tion after Berman’s killing.

“The investigation didn’t

produce one piece of foren-

sic evidence for you to con-

sider,” Chesnoff said. There

were no fingerprints or DNA

related to Durst at Berman’s

home, the gun was never

found, and LAPD had not

properly secured the crime

scene, the lawyer claimed.

And Chesnoff pointed to

elements at the home that

suggested a struggle, or war-

ranted further inquiry:

Berman’s phone was off the

hook, and her dogs, which

were running loose around

Benedict Canyon, prompt-

ing a neighbor to phone po-

lice, had their leashes on.

“The investigation in this

case was sloppy, it was in-

complete, and no efforts

were made at the time to

find the real killer,” Chesnoff

told the jurors.

During his opening on

Tuesday morning,

DeGuerin, the lead defense

attorney, focused much of

his time on chipping away at

the prosecution’s efforts to

link Durst to a trifecta of

killings. He referred to the

dismemberment of Black’s

body in 2000 as “the ele-

phant in the room.”

“I know it concerns every-

one,” he said.

DeGuerin told jurors

that the gruesome details of

Black’s death were separate

from Berman’s killing, and

called its inclusion in

Lewin’s opening statement a

“calculated” move by the

prosecution “to obscure

everything else.”

He portrayed Durst as

autistic, ailing and unusual.

“Bob doesn’t make good

decisions. It’s part of his

makeup,” DeGuerin said.

He said Durst’s “emotional

condition” was a mild form

of autism previously known

as Asperger’s syndrome.

DeGuerin suggested that

Durst was the victim of

“gotcha journalism” in the

form of the HBO documen-

tary “The Jinx: The Life and

Deaths of Robert Durst.”

Durst was arrested on the

eve of the series’ finale, and

excerpts of the hours of in-

terviews Durst gave to the

filmmakers comprised

much of the prosecution’s

opening statement.

Robert Durst found

his friend’s body,

defense team argues

[Durst, from B1]