West
Suspect who fatally shot California UPS driver 10 times in truck was coworker, childhood friend: DA
The suspect who shot a UPS driver in broad daylight in an ambush killing as the victim was on his delivery route in Southern California was a childhood friend of his and a coworker, prosecutors said.
Rhean Jalipa Fontanoza, 46, allegedly shot 50-year-old Expedito De Leon 10 times “in a matter of seconds as he sat seat belted in his delivery truck” on May 16, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
“He still had his UPS scanner in his hand and his seatbelt buckled when Fontanoza drove up next to De Leon’s delivery truck and shot [at] him 14 times in 19 seconds,” the DA’s office said.
Authorities said Fontanoza fired 14 shots and 10 hit De Leon.
USPS MAIL CARRIER SHOT AND KILLED ON THE JOB, POLICE OFFERING $250K REWARD FOR INFO
Rhean Jalipa Fontanoza (bottom), 46, allegedly shot and killed his coworker and childhood friend, Expedito De Leon (top), 50, as the victim was inside a UPS truck last week. (KTTV; Irvine Police Department)
Fontanoza, a UPS employee who was on disability leave, is charged with a special circumstances allegation of shooting from a vehicle and murder by lying in wait.
He allegedly went to great lengths to track down De Leon’s delivery route on the day of the killing. He allegedly stopped another UPS driver at around 12:30 that day and asked if it was the same delivery route used by De Leon.
The driver said De Leon was on a different route, prompting Fontanoza to go to the UPS substation in Aliso Viejo, where he was allegedly seen accessing a computer that shows driver routes and taking a picture with his phone.
“Just before 3 p.m., Fontanoza is accused of tracking De Leon down on his route and driving past him a new vehicle which De Leon wouldn’t recognize. De Leon then left his truck to make a delivery and returned to his truck, and buckled his seatbelt,” prosecutors said.
CALIFORNIA MAIL CARRIER FIGHTS BACK AFTER GETTING SUCKER PUNCHED, VIDEO SHOWS
A UPS driver was shot and killed in what police believe was a targeted attack on Thursday in Irvine, California. (FOX 11 LA livestream/Screenshot)
After the murder, Fontanoza fled the scene but was found by authorities in his vehicle later that afternoon, prosecutors said. He refused to get out of the car until tear gas and a police K-9 were deployed, authorities said.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said De Leon “was just going about his day, doing his job with no idea his longtime friend was stalking him with every intent to kill him.”
“The depravity involved to plot and carry out a plan to execute someone you shared a lifetime of memories is not something anyone of us can wrap our heads around,” he added. “No life should have to end like this and it is a tragedy that should have never happened.”
The shooter accused of killing a UPS driver on Thursday in Irvine, California, barricaded himself inside his truck before police forced him out and arrested him. (FOX 11 LA livestream/Screenshot)
At the time of the killing, Fontanoza was scheduled to return to work on June 1 from disability leave.
Investigators have not determined a motive for the attack. Fontanoza is being held in the Orange County Jail with no bail. He is eligible for the death penalty, prosecutors said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, UPS said it was “shocked and saddened by the latest developments in Irvine, CA. These are highly unusual circumstances and do not represent the culture of our company and the camaraderie among our employees around the world.”
“Our focus now is on supporting our people and their loved ones during this extremely difficult time. Since the investigation is ongoing, we defer any additional questions to the investigating authorities,” the company said.
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San Francisco, CA
Court document details attack on SF mayor’s bodyguard as Lurie responds to incident
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — For the first time since the attack on San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s bodyguard, one of the suspects was in court on Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins filed charges against the man. Those charges include:
- Resisting an executive officer
- Assault with force to cause bodily injury
- Willful disobedience of a court order
- Unlawful lodging at the same location from a previous citation
Mayor Daniel Lurie said the incident won’t deter him from walking the streets of the city doing what he was doing moments before his bodyguard was attacked last week.
PREVIOUS STORY: SF mayor was ‘worried’ about 2 men on street, checked on them before bodyguard attack
Multiple angles covered a dramatic altercation between one of San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s security detail and individuals on the street.
“I think I need to be able to see it myself and not just stay cloistered up and not be out of the streets. I walked the streets this morning and had some great interactions and was able to help some people,” said Mayor Lurie.
We obtained the detention motion, which revealed specific details about the incident.
The document said Mayor Lurie was riding in a car northbound on Larking Street with two of his security detail. The mayor asked the driver to stop and got out of the car with one of the officers to approach four people who were blocking the road; “two were sitting on the sidewalk… one was actually sitting in the street.” The document says one of the individuals “was aggressive” and “stepped towards the mayor,” after he asked them to move out of the road a few times. This led the bodyguard to position himself between the mayor and the individual. The document states the individual “got very close” to the officer and threatened him and said, “Bruce Lee I’ll kick your a**!”
The officer, according to the document, proceeded to shove the individual away from him “with both hands to defend himself and to create distance,” causing the individual to fall backwards on the sidewalk.
The individual quickly stood up and “rushed at the officer.”
Multiple people in the area captured the altercation on video.
We asked the mayor if he would do anything different in the future.
INTERACTIVE: Take a look at the ABC7 Neighborhood Safety Tracker
“I’m not going to stop doing it. I will consult with our detail and our chief and make sure we can do this safely,” said Mayor Lurie.
San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said he is glad the mayor sees the crisis on the streets up close.
“A lot of people will cross the street to get away from it hide from it. We don’t want our city hiding from this problem,” said Supervisor Mandelman.
Kevin Benedicto, vice president of the San Francisco police commission, said they will be looking into the incident.
“A number of commissioners are going to want to ask the chief about updates about the incident just to make sure we have all the policies and procedures in place,” said Benedicto.
The Individual who attacked the mayor’s bodyguard has been charged in the past for criminal threats in 2019 and 2020.
One of the arraignments is set for Wednesday at 9 a.m.
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Denver, CO
Our dumpling challenge boils down to eight Denver metro restaurants
Like sand through the hourglass, so too go the dumplings of the Denver Post’s annual food bracket.
Our competition started with 32 restaurants chosen by editors and readers specializing in dumplings and momos, a Tibetan and Nepali variation, in the Denver area. Two weeks later, only eight restaurants remain.
The next round of matchups in our Elite 8 competition to be decided by reader votes are:
Rocky Mountain Momo (9678 E. Arapahoe Road, Englewood) vs. ChoLon (multiple locations)
LingLon Dumpling House (2456 S. Colorado Blvd., Denver) vs. Star Kitchen (2917 W. Mississippi Ave., Denver)
Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings (multiple locations) vs. Dillon’s Dumpling House (3571 S. Tower Road, Unit G, Aurora)
Hop Alley (3500 Larimer St., Denver) vs. Momo Dumplings (caterer; momo-dumplings.com)
The most recent matchups recorded more than 460 entries. Our most popular head-to-head was Rocky Mountain Momo facing off against Yuan Wonton. Rocky Mountain Momo advances with 55% of 260 votes.
MAKfam, a Chinese restaurant with a Michelin nod for its value, faced a tough first-round opponent, The Empress Seafood, and scraped out a win. But this time, it wasn’t as lucky, losing to ChoLon, an upscale Asian fusion restaurant with multiple locations, by only five votes.
Make your picks below for who should advance to the next round. The online voting form will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.
Subscribe to our new food newsletter, Stuffed, to get Denver food and drink news sent straight to your inbox.
Seattle, WA
Seattle goal overturned for goalie interference as Predators complete 4-2 comeback win
SEATTLE — Ryan Ufko scored his first NHL goal with 5:35 to play in the second period to put the Nashville Predators ahead to stay in a 4-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
The rookie skated in from the right of the goal, dodged between two defenders, and tucked the puck past Seattle goalie Joey Daccord to give the Predators a 3-2 lead and two critical points in their chase for a wild-card playoff spot. Right now, the team is on the outside of the playoff picture.
Tyson Jost and Reid Schaefer also scored second-period goals to erase Seattle’s 2-0 first-period lead, and Steve Stamkos added an empty-netter for his 31st goal of the season.
Jonathan Marchessault had a pair of assists for Nashville, which had lost four of its previous five, and Juuse Saros made 43 saves.
Kaapo Kakko scored just 2:14 into the game, and Matty Beniers scored at 9:46 of the first period to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Beniers scored from a tough angle, firing from the bottom of the right circle and over the shoulder of Saros just inside the far post.
Daccord finished with 23 saves.
Seattle’s Shane Wright scored a goal in the second, but it was waved off because of goalie interference when Ryker Evans slid into Saros and took out his feet.
The Kraken were without left wing Jaden Schwartz, who was hit in the face by a skate during Seattle’s 7-4 loss to Ottawa on Saturday.
Kraken, clinging to a wild-card slot, have now lost five of their last seven games.
Up next
Predators: Visit Vancouver on Thursday night.
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Kraken: Host Colorado on Thursday night.
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