Nearly six years after police pushed him to confess to a murder that never happened, Thomas Perez Jr. received a $898,000 settlement from the city of Fontana.

On August 8, 2018, Perez called the Fontana Police Department to report his father had been missing for 17 hours. 

By the end of the lengthy investigation, Perez confessed to killing his father – before learning that his father had been found alive and well.

According to reports by CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and more – the officers’ tactics were coercive and, at one point, led Perez to attempt to take his own life while he was still in the interrogation room.

On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Fontana Police Department issued a statement offering the department’s side of the story.

“This was a missing person’s case where officers and detectives followed unfolding evidence that pointed toward possible foul play,” says the statement signed by chief Mike Dorsey. “In the settlement agreement, the judge on the case noted that a reasonable juror would agree that officers had sufficient evidence to suspect a crime had been committed.”

Dorsey’s statement narrates that the case began with Perez’s call, saying his father hadn’t returned from getting the mail with his dog the night before. According to the report, the dog returned without Perez’s father – whose wallet, cell phone and keys were still in the house.

“We noticed the house – and particularly the father’s bedroom – was in disarray,” writes Dorsey. “The son explained that he had removed his father’s mattress and some clothing and had cleaned the house with bleach.” 

That was when officers reportedly became suspicious of Perez and asked him to come to the police department for an interview. The department says Perez agreed and arrived voluntarily.

The LA Times reports it was during this interview that officers “alleged Perez had murdered his father and, when Perez denied the accusation, officers tried to convince him that he had forgotten the crime, according to a federal lawsuit, court records and video of the interrogation.”

CNN’s story alleges that amongst the accusations and tactics, officers even brought in the family dog and said she was suffering because she had witnessed the murder. The LA Times said officers told Perez the dog had walked through blood and would be sent away to be euthanized.

The Fontana Police Department did not confirm or comment on the involvement of Perez’s dog, but in a report by The Sun, a photo shows Perez cradling his dog on the floor of an interrogation room that reportedly was screen-grabbed from police video.

“In situations like these, it is acceptable and perfectly legal to use different tactics and techniques, such as ruses, to elicit information from people suspected of potential criminal activity,” says the police statement. “Were we perfect in how we handled the situation? Nobody ever is.”

Dorsey says that around the same time that Perez went to the station for questioning, officers spoke with a neighbor who described Perez as “mentally unstable” and said that he didn’t have patience with his father.

This neighbor also purportedly told officers that the morning the father went missing, someone else was seen driving his truck erratically, and it seemed there was something in the bed of the truck which was then parked in the garage, away from its usual parking spot on the street.

The department says officers used these details in a presentation of evidence to a judge and soon acquired a search warrant.

“During the search, we found blood on the staircase, carpet near the stairs, a couch, in the garage and in a bathtub and on the floor of an upstairs bathroom, adjacent to the father’s bedroom,” says the department.

Throughout the rest of the investigation, officers say they found more evidence of foul play and heard questionable comments from Perez. 

For example, Dorsey said Perez asked officers to drive him around a golf course, during which, while they were near a pond, Perez allegedly asked the officers “Don’t bodies float?”

Toward the conclusion of Dorsey’s statement, he writes, “Sadly, situations like these can and often do end up as homicide investigations. We are so thankful this was not one of those.”

After the nearly $900,000 settlement was reached in the spring of 2024, CNN reports it reached out to Perez and his father who say they both continued to feel the effects of this incident for years and worked to help each other through it.

Authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk missing man who was last seen in the city of Cerritos.  

David Andrew Arellano, 28, was last seen on Nov. 10 at around 8 a.m. on the 13000 block of Cantrece Lane, according to an LASD missing persons bulletin.  

The 28-year-old is described as a Hispanic male standing 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds with brown hair and eyes. He has a Saint Jude tattoo on his left arm.  

He was last seen wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and black shoes, officials said.  

“Mr. Arellano suffers from schizophrenia and requires medication,” the release noted. “His family is concerned for his well-being and asking for the public’s help.”  

An at-risk missing or critical person includes, but is not limited to the following:  

• The missing person is the victim of a crime or foul play. 

• The missing person is in critical need of medical attention. 

• The missing person has no pattern of running away or disappearing. 

• The missing person is the victim of a kidnapping or parental abduction. 

• The missing person is mentally impaired to the extent that such person is unable to care for him or herself or is an immediate danger to his or her own safety or the safety of others. 

Anyone with information about Arellano’s whereabouts or information about this investigation is asked to contact the LASD’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500.  

Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org. 

When the 2025 MLB season begins next April, the Los Angeles Dodgers will have a renovated clubhouse worthy of the defending World Series champions.

Work has begun at Dodger Stadium, including renovations to the home team clubhouse, which houses team lockers, showers and communal areas.

On Monday, video from Sky5 showed large portions of the playing surface at Dodger Stadium covered with heavy machinery and signs of both the visitor and home team clubhouses having been torn down.

Specific details about the renovations were not immediately released, but the Dodgers organization confirmed the work on at least the home clubhouse and said the work would be completed in time for the start of the 2025 season.

Last month, USA Today baseball reporter Bob Nightengale said the renovations were estimated to be around $100 million.

It’s the latest in a long line of modernization projects that have taken place in recent years at Major League Baseball’s third-oldest stadium.

In 2021, the team completed its largest renovation in decades, transforming the area behind centerfield—once occupied by dumpsters and parking lots—into the reimagined Centerfield Plaza. This two-acre “front door” to the historic stadium is now a welcoming, fan-centric entrance, featuring beer and restaurant options, including a hidden speakeasy, and several statues, setpieces and props perfect for photo ops.

Since transforming the unused space into the now-beloved Centerfield Plaza, more than 40% of all Dodger Stadium visitors now use that entrance, according to the Sports Business Journal.

While those improvements were fan-centric, it appears this latest round of renos will cater to the team that brought its second World Series title to L.A. in the last four seasons and its first championship parade since the Reagan Administration.

As free agency begins and the Dodgers look to bolster their roster to defend their championship crown, a new-and-improved space for players will be just the latest tool at the team’s disposal.