The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 428

LOS ANGELES TIMES B2 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1991 Metro Digest Local News in Brief School District May Lose $70 Million in State Aid The Long Beach Unified School Dis- trict may lose a claim totaling more than $70 million in state funds, for the district's voluntary desegregation programs because state auditors say the school system cannot fully document the claim. In a preliminary report, auditors concluded that the district is not entitled to tho mnnnu snH mav nptlinllv nWG the The men, who authorities dubbed the "Look-Alike Bandits," used the credit cards to buy thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, a district attorney's spokeswoman said. OK Given for Corporation to Run Historic Theater Despite objections by the the Glendale City Council has authorized formation of a nonprofit corporation to operate the historic Alex Theatre. The council, acting jointly as the Redevelopment Agency, also appointed six members of a theater task force to be directors of the corporation to operate the Alex as a cultural and performing arts center. Three more members will be appointed later.

Mayor Ginger Bremberg called the action "presumptuous and quite arrogant" because Mann Theatres still owns the 66-year-old theater at 216 N. Brand Blvd. Redevelopment officials are negotiating to buy the theater from Mann, which closed the Alex on Sept. 26. Sgt.

Robert R. Sobel. But Takasugi said other department officials would have to be called first to determine if Block's testimony was needed. The government rested its case on Friday against the defendants who are accused of beating narcotics dealers and stealing cash. Prosecutors have called nearly 50 witnesses during the 3'6-month trial.

Robbery Ringleader Gets 23-Year Prison Sentence A man described as the leader of' a band of crooks that stole valuables and identification from look-alike shoppers was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Jorge Luis Higareda, 19, was sentenced Thursday in Pasadena Superior Court for nine counts of armed robbery. Authorities said Higareda led a gang that committed nine armed holdups at shopping centers in Monterey Park between late July and early August, 1990. The four bandits chose shoppers who looked like them, police said. jstate another $9 million because of triggerman, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death earlier this year.

The special circumstances trial has focused on whether Trone intended for Haro to be killed when he participated in her kidnaping, rape and robbery. Judge Delays Decision on Sheriff's Testifying A federal judge ruled Friday that he will decide later whether Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block has to testify as a defense witness in the civil rights trial of six Los Angeles County narcotics officers. U.S. District Judge Robert M. Takasugi said he would wait until he hears the Jan.

3 testimony of lower-ranking Sheriff's Department officials before deciding whether to order Block to appear in court. Attorneys for the five sheriff's deputies and a Los Angeles police officer had subpoenaed Block in hopes of eliciting testimony that could contradict a key prosecution witness, former Sheriff's would only say that they are displeased with the conclusions of the preliminary report and plan to challenge them in court, if necessary. Special Circumstances Found in Murder Case A jury found Friday that special circumstances existed at the time George Marvin Trone Jr. and a partner murdered a Pasadena woman in 1988, making Trone, 21, eligible for the death penalty. Pasadena Superior Court Judge Charles C.

Lee ordered the jury to return Jan. 16 for the penalty phase to decide whether Trone should be sentenced to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. On Aug. 30, a previous jury convicted Trone of murdering Lois Haro, 26, after abducting her from a shopping mall. But that panel deadlocked on whether special circumstances existed, and a new jury was empaneled to decide that issue.

Trone's partner, Ronald Anthony Jones, also 21, named by police as the pincunipieie uuaiiuiui icluiuo, i close to the audit said. In some, cases, auditors asked the district to produce records it was no longer legally required to keep, sources said. Losing the funds would be a staggering defeat for the Long Beach school system, which waged a costly five-year legal battle to be reimbursed for money it spent to desegregate schools. liino Ponnh nffinlnls nnri State auditors they could not discuss the audit until it becomes final probably in 1 late January. Long Beach administrators Ollly 111 L-A- By Steve Harvey Here they are, the winners of the 1991 Only in L.A.

Signs. Guideposts and competition. Best Editing of a Street Sign: This alteration, made on Canoga Park's Valley Circle Drive, was made despite Webster's New World Dictionary's rejection of "Valley girl." Scott Dewees took the photo. You Can Say That Again: Not far from Valley Girl, Alan Richman of Woodland Hills found a set of guideposts in his neighborhood that packed meaning on several levels. Tomb of the Unknown Interstate Route: Drivers spend a lot of time going nowhere, so maybe this guidepost, near LAX, was the perfect symbol for the year.

It was photographed by Rick Brown before Caltrans had a chance to apply the Interstate 404 numeral. Freeway Sign Transplant of the Year: A sign on the eastbound Santa Monica Freeway told drivers the way to "Sacrafield," photographed by Paul Rayton. Meanwhile, on the San Diego Freeway, a "Bakersmento sign was sighted at about the same time. Both have been fixed. First Evidence That the Russians Have Infiltrated Caltrans: On the Mountain Street exit of the Glendale Freeway, Al Maclnnes noticed what appeared to be a letter from the Cyrillic alphabet in a pavement marking.

TPCtT5WffiH8 TOW AT OWNEBS EXPENSE! LAMC 80.71 .4 If at First, Second and Third You Don't Succeed, Give Up: Laura Herining of Long Beach spotted this handwritten notice on a utility pole. It was obviously the work of someone who wanted to avoid having a misspelling featured in Only in L.A. Notice for Sacraf leld-Bound Drivers: Just when he thought he had figured out L.A.'s freeway system, Ed Gredvig spotted this notice on the westbound 10. Or was it the westbound Park Here Illegally and You'll Have to Hop Away: Michael Saltzman came upon the apparent threat of one parking lot on Beverly Boulevard to transform trespassers into toads. Sweepstakes Winner: Arrows, dueling arrows everywhere! It's the Southern California you-cah't-get-there-from-here dilemma summed up by one intersection on Huntington Drive in Arcadia, as photographed by Kurt Anderson.

HEARING: Officer in King Case Cleared CRASH: 3 in Family, Friend Die in Mexico down and that's when he observed; two officers around a suspect; one officer striking the suspect once or' twice, and the other officer striking him once or twice, and the suspect; appearing to be on all fours," i Taylor said. "He stopped for a moment and; looked at that and then at a time he felt was appropriate he grabbed, ahold of the suspect, and with the! help of some other officers, turned; him over and secured him." Taylor said a lieutenant from the. Police Department's training divi-1 sion testified during the hearing: that from the short amount of time; Blake spent at the scene, it be difficult to "conclusively" de-! termine that excessive force was; used on King. In addition, Taylor said, Blake, testified that only after seeing the! full videotape did he begin to realize excessive force was used. "He indicated he was very uncomfortable with the tape," Taylor! said.

"And he said there were things on the tape that he believed; to be misconduct. But even after, playing this thing over and over in. his head, there was nothing that he! saw at the time that drew him to; that conclusion." The verdict marks the third case, in which a peace officer present at; the King beating has kept his Last month, two Los Angeles school police officers who had been, fired for standing by and not inter-! vening in the King incident were; ordered reinstated. about," he said. The hearing was closed because a judge in the criminal case of tte( four officers issued a protective order earlier this year sealing all evidence gathered by the police Internal Affairs Division investigating the beating.

Sgt. Harold Clifton, acting head of the division's advocate section, declined to comment on the Blake ruling. He also was unsure whether Blake's exoneration will prompt his office to change the way it presents evidence at the other administrative hearings. "It could have a major impact," he said, "because the department's position was that Officer Blake was guilty of misconduct." According to board chairman Taylor, evidence in the Blake hearing showed that the officer's involvement on the night of the beating was minimal. He also said that when Blake realized what was happening, he "moved swiftly" to end the incident with King's arrest.

Taylor said Blake arrived about a block away from where other officers had stopped King in Lake View Terrace. Blake, he said, was helping to direct traffic and about two to four minutes later he began walking toward the site where King was surrounded by a large group of officers. Blake first paused to look at a bus full of people who had stopped and were watching the incident, Taylor said. "He then continued to walk Continued from Bl who was unfairly targeted at a time when the department was under intense public pressure to discipline the "officers. "I think this whole incident has placed a heavy burden on a lot of people that are involved in evaluating it," he said.

"As a part of that evaluation process, there are people who perhaps should not have been swept up into this investigation. And Blake may be one of those. Taylor added: "He's a military-type guy with a lot of decorations. And he has a very positive attitude about the department. He's not bitter about this.

He's eager to get back to work." Blake could not be reached for comment. But Ryon, his defense representative, said "those 23 seconds cost Officer Blake nine months of misery." "Right now he just wants to be left alone," Ryon said. "He's exhausted. He's mentally and physically exhausted. He's just trying to get himself back into shape so he can get back on his beat on Monday." Ryon also strongly cautioned against the public interpreting the verdict to mean that the Police Department "takes take care of its own." "It's a shame we had to close the board hearing because I would have loved to have all the ers sitting in the gallery and seeing what our disciplinary system is all Continued from Bl inore than $10,000 to cover immediate funeral costs and hospital bills.

She said she has raised about $1,200 from many family members, but that medical costs for Isabel in particular are rising, o- i Torres, press attache cLVAfor the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, said Mexican officials had intervened to allow the three sons to return home without paying the bills. The Guerrero family had begun immigrating to Southern California from the small town of Santa Ana Amacatlan, Michoacan, in the mid-jl970s, relatives said. For years Jose Guerrero's wife, Elvira, worked in a meat-packing plant to supplement her husband's income. About two years ago, she became a Mary Kay Cosmetics consultant and talked often of enough credits under a company incentive formula to win a pink Cadillac, said Juarez, her sister-in-law. "I'm not sure why she was so determined to have that car," said Juarez.

"She lived in such a little one bedroom and a garage for five children. She wasn't ambitious, ''but maybe she thought the car would shine in front of that 'T. ater, said Juarez, Elvira Guer-Jbirero yould laugh at her goal. jFamiiy, she said, always came first. Painfully, the family is sorting (through the job of shipping the ibodies to Michoacan for burial and planning a future for the remaining 'Guerrero children.

"We wili be -responsible for them until we see happens with Isabel because she is the eldest," Juarez said. In a telephone interview from a l(3'uaymas hospital Friday, pld son Raul, student at Para-Imount High School, said he tried to prevent the accident. It occurred 6on a stretch of modern four-lane highway in the state of Sonor'a that is the site of frequent crashes- Jose and Elvira Guerrero with their children Isabel, Eduardo, Raul and Jose Jr. when the' family celebrated Isabel's 15th birthday. prompted the doctors to medicate her heavijy.

Today, the relative said, the three sons will be driven back to Los Angeles. Once here, said Juarez, they will be given more medical treatment if necessary and told of their'parcnts' deaths. "Little by littlethe boys will learn the truth," Juarez said. "We just want to make sure they're all right first." Meanwhile, Raul, whom' Juarez; said will see no news reports of his parents' deaths, continued to express faith on Friday that his-parents and brother had survived. "I believe they will live," he said by' telephone.

"I saw them after the accident happened. They couldnlt talk, but they were breathing. My mom is unconscious; that's why they keep her isolated from us now. But she is very determined." I ni 1 gA J.rQl Stuck on "19 Puzzle fans have their ups E- and downs. Call for clues to help you solve The Times daily crossword puzzle! per minute Go Anfiele iroe i because people tend to speed, Mexican police said.

But this accident, said Raul, was not caused by speeding. "Tj1 very body in the car was Hi asleep because we had been driving all night," said Raul. "I was sitting in the front seat and looked over and saw that Delgado was falling asleep. I screamed at him, 'Wake I tried to grab the steering wheel, but it was too late. He woke up astonished, and hit the accelerator." When the car swerved off the road, flipping over in the process, his parents and youngest brother, none of whom were wearing seat belts, were thrown out of the car.

Another relative said the three brothers; with various broken bones, were gathering around their sister's hospital bed this week in tears after her screams of pain.