The last call he had received was at 10:25 p.m. on the night he disappeared, from the same number E had used to call his mother. Ethan Astaphan, 27, of San Gabriel, and Sonita Heng, 20, of Los Angeles, were arrested by LAPD detectives and SWAT officers last Thursday in connection to the death of Juan Carlos. Astaphan pleaded not guilty on Monday after being charged with murder, while Heng pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact. They are each being held on $10 million bail, according to sheriffs department records. (LAPD). The suspicion she felt about the phone call soon gave way to dread. Heng had returned to the country a week earlier, alone. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, set to transfer to the University of Southern California. Ethan Astaphan, 27, and Sonita Heng, 20, were booked into jail on suspicion of murder and were being held on $10 million bail each, according to inmate records. Peng was apprehended last week in Istanbul and is being held pending extradition to Los Angeles on a murder charge. 'This isnt the outcome we ever wanted or thought wed get, but I still feel blessed that we found his body,'Yajaira Hernandes said. They brought the recording system to a computer forensics specialist in the Glendale Police Department. He was one of 3,781 people reported missing last year in Los Angeles. Booking photos werent immediately released. It wasn't clear if they had attorneys to speak for them. Fashion Model. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. He was last seen leaving his job at a marijuana dispensary in South Los Angeles earlier that night and had sent his mother a text saying he'd be home soon, according to the Los Angeles Times. Collective marijuana dispensary at 8113 South Western Avenue. Hernndez, a student at El Camino College, was. Still, they worried that Hernndezs son had been the victim of foul play. Two people have been charged in connection to the murder of Juan Carlos Hernndez, a 21-year-old college student from California whose body was discovered in the Mojave Desert last week, according to authorities. I'm a nanny and these two simple steps will guarantee your child sleeps for a full 12 hours every night. When Hernndez reported the calls to the police, her sons case was handed to Jennifer Hammer and Daniel Jaramillo, detectives in the LAPDs Robbery-Homicide Division who specialize in kidnappings, extortions and other complex crimes. It couldn't be determined Thursday evening if they had lawyers who could speak on their behalf. Detectives suspected there was more footage on the dispensarys cameras that the LAPD technicians werent able to recover. And hard as it was, she reminded herself that he was capable of making his own decisions. Peng's then-girlfriend Sonita Heng, was charged as an accomplice and has negotiated a plea deal in exchange for her testimony against Astaphan and Peng. 'Hes a great kid, smart, kind, great personality, always helpful,' his mother, Yajaira Hernandez, told KTLA in late September. 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County facing up to $3 billion in sex abuse claims, Most California colleges dont offer rape kits on campus. Hernndez, a part-time engineering student at ECC, was reported missing last September by his family after having failed to make it home from his night shift at the VIP Collective LA, a marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles. She died on 19 December [3] 739. The Bank Holiday excitement is a bit too much for some! The locations of the homes were not immediately available. Peng looked on as Astaphan choked Hernndez, the detective wrote. Peng's then girlfriend, 22-year-old Sonita Heng, is accused of being an accomplice. THE TEEN WAS NOT HURT. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Your Privacy Choices/(Opt-Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Please enter valid email address to continue. His bed was empty and still made up. LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division detectives, with assistance from a SWAT team, served search warrants Thursday at the homes of Ethan Astaphan, 27, and Sonita Heng, 20, who were persons of interest, according to police. Ethan Astaphan, 27, charged with murder, and Sonita Heng, 20, charged with accessory after the fact in the death of Juan Carlos Hernandez Hernandez, 21, Los Angeles student and worker at a. WE WILL TRACK THAT COMING UP. Seeing it, Peoples realized he had heard something the night Hernndez went missing. Her car had been sitting empty, engine running, for hours. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The car he was driving,a 2020 Honda Civic belonging to his mother, was found abandoned a couple of miles from his work two days later. The woman was Sonita Heng, Pengs 20-year-old girlfriend. You altered our future forever.. Ethan Astaphan and Sonita Heng were arrested Thursday in connection with the slaying of 21-year-old Juan Carlos Hernandez, a student at El Camino College in Torrence who vanished on Sept. 22, the. IT HAS A 70% EFFECTIVE RATE. VIP Collective LA was one of three pot shops on the same block of Western Avenue between 81st and 82nd streets. Every time she called, the detectives told her, Were looking into it. She understands now they couldnt tell her about their investigation, but at the time she believed they didnt share her urgency the urgency of a mother whose child is gone. Heng, of Harbor City, faces one count of accessory after the fact and can face up to three years in prison. Astaphan faces up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted. No comments have so far been submitted. Among hundreds of cases being heard on Feb. 28 is the preliminary hearing of Ethan Kedar Astaphan who is accused of killing 21-year-old ECC engineering student Juan Hernandez. The Los Angeles Police Departments Robbery-Homicide Division worked with the FBI to investigate Hernandezs disappearance, and their efforts provided detectives with a sequence of events to find Hernandez, police said. She said her son hadnt called or texted family or friends, something that was out of character for him. Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Habib Balian appeared for the people, and Larson Hahm, a Los Angeles County deputy public defender, represented Astaphan. When she wasnt working, she spent countless hours taping up fliers across Los Angeles, and in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties as well. Following the disappearance, the family started a GoFundMe page to help cover expenses as family and friends took unpaid leave to assist in the search. Two persons of interest in the case Ethan Astaphan, 27, and 20-year-old Sonita Heng were identified as homicide suspects, according to LAPD. The weeks slid by. When Hernndez asked about her son, the stores employees werent helpful. He never returned home. The cause of death was not released, but police said he appeared to be the victim of a homicide.. Her phone rang that evening. Balian declined to discuss a potential motive for the killing. Another caller said he might have been at 4th and San Pedro. Heng, 22, has accepted a plea deal for her role in the murder of Hernandez son. team, served search warrants Thursday at the homes of Ethan Astaphan, 27, and Sonita Heng, 20, who were described as "persons of interest'' in the case. THIS IS KCRA 3 NEWS AT 4:00. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, Concertgoer lets out a loud full body orgasm while L.A. Phil plays Tchaikovskys 5th, Plaschke: Lakers live up to their legacy with a close-out win for the ages, L.A. Affairs: I had my reasons for not dating white men. AT SOME POINT A SHOT WAS FIRED FROM DEPUTIES. 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A judge gave the detectives permission to install a tracking device on Astaphans rented Ford truck in the middle of the night, and in early October, officers from the LAPDs secretive Special Investigation Section began tailing him. Astaphan will have a preliminary setting/resetting hearing and Heng will have a probation and sentence hearing, according to the LA courts case calendar. A man and a woman have been charged with the killing of a 21-year-old Los Angeles marijuana dispensary worker whose body was found in a shallow grave in the Mojave Desert nearly two months after his disappearance. In a pre-trial hearing in the case of the People of California vs. Ethan Kedar Astaphan on Tuesday, May 3, at Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, Astaphan, 28, of San Gabriel, waived his rights to a speedy trial and agreed to return to court on July 6 for another pre-trial hearing. Sonita Heng, 20, who is charged with being an accessory after the fact, also entered a not guilty plea. First published on November 19, 2020 / 8:04 PM. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. All rights reserved, Man Who Vanished From South LA in September Found Dead, 2 Under Arrest, California Home Pot Delivery Can Still Continue For Now, Marijuana Can Be Harmful for Heart Patients, But Improves Some Risk Factors, Studies Show, 25-Year-Old Makes $200/Hour Without a Bachelor's Degree: I Work Less Than 6 Hours a Day', Post-Prom Fight in Palmdale Ends in Gunfire, How SNL Star Ego Nwodim Brought Lisa From Temecula' to Life, Man Who Lost Wife and Son in Texas Mass Shooting Tells His Story.
