Monterey Park Police to Hold Zero Tolerance Distracted Driving Enforcement Operation

On March 28, 2013 as part of April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month campaign, the Monterey Park Police Department will be actively ticketing those texting or operating hand-held cell phones during the month of April. Drivers who break the law and place themselves and others in danger will be cited with no warnings. The current minimum ticket cost is $159, with subsequent tickets costing at least $279. Last April, over 57,000 tickets were written statewide for texting and hand-held cell use. There were nearly 450,000 convictions in 2012. Whether it’s a ticket or a crash, as the campaign theme states, “It’s Not Worth It!”

Distracted driving is a serious traffic safety concern that puts everyone on the road at risk. In recent years, hundreds have been killed and thousands seriously injured in California as a result of collisions that involved at least one driver who was distracted. Nationally, an estimated 3,331 died in 2011. As a result, law enforcement across the state, including Monterey Park are increasingly cracking down on cell phone use and texting. This April will see over 225 local agencies plus the CHP conducting zero tolerance enforcements.

Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. Younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. In addition, studies show that texting while driving can delay a driver’s reaction time just as severely as having a blood alcohol content of a legally drunk driver.

Studies also show that there is no difference in the risks between hands-free and hand-held cell phone conversations, both of which can result in “inattention blindness” which occurs when the brain isn’t seeing what is clearly visible because the drivers’ focus is on the phone conversation and not on the road. When over one third of your brain’s functioning that should be on your driving moves over to cell phone talking, you can become a cell phone “zombie.”

To avoid a distracted driving ticket or crash, the Monterey Park Police Department offers drivers the following tips:

*       Turn off your phone and/or put it out of reach while driving

*       Include in your outgoing message that you can’t answer while you

are driving

*       Don’t call or text anyone at a time when you think they may be

driving.

For more information about the statewide distracted driving awareness campaign, visit the state’s Office of Traffic Safety website at www.ots.ca.gov. The Monterey Park Police Dept. Traffic Bureau can be contacted at 626-307-1240.

Alleged Residential Burglary Suspects Captured in Monterey Park

On  April 4, 2013 Monterey Park Police arrested two men for alleged residential burglary on Wednesday, April 3, shortly after a burglary was reported in the 1700 block of Orange Avenue.

Officers investigated the burglary at approximately 10:40 a.m. A short time later, two subjects were stopped after an officer observed a traffic violation and the vehicle attempted to flee the area. The subjects were stopped and the subsequent investigation revealed that property taken in the burglary was located in the trunk of their vehicle.

Investigators from the Monterey Park Police Department and the West San Gabriel Valley Anti-Crime Task Force served search warrants at two locations and located additional property that is believed to be stolen. Property items recovered were portable gaming devices, jewelry, watches, a handgun and small electronics. There have been numerous residential burglaries in the Monterey Park area during the past several months.

Jose Luis Alcala, 23, of Los Angeles, and Jonathan Estuardo Casasola-Cervantes, 20, of Montebello, were booked for felony residential burglary at the Monterey Park Police Department on Wednesday afternoon. They were scheduled for arraignment at Alhambra Superior Court on April 5, 2013.