Diamond Bar’s Most Memorable Stories of 2011

Here are some of the top stories from 2011 that came out of or involved Diamond Bar.

ALEX MORGAN SCORES AT WORLD CUP - Soccer standout Alex Morgan, a 2007 graduate of Diamond Bar High School, during Team USA’s semifinal victory over France in July. She continued to shine in the finals, when she made the team’s . 

TEACHER ARRESTED  - Steven Andrews, a 41-year-old Lorbeer Middle School teacher accused of having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old former student, on September 30. On October 5, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed 17 charges against him, including six counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child. After several continuances, Andrews on November 23, and has a . 

PTA MOMS ACCUSED OF PONZI SCHEME - In July, three PTA moms from Armstrong Elementary School - Maricela Barajas, 41, Eva Perez, 51, and Juliana Menefee, 50 - were accused of running a Ponzi scheme that . Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators believe that a total of $14 million was drawn in as part of the phony investment scheme and that $4 million was squandered by the PTA mothers. It took several attempts to get the three women into court together; in August, the was brought in, and in September, authorities were unable to get .  All three have plead not guilty, and a .

ZIP CODE UNIFICATION REJECTED - Diamond Bar residents living in the Walnut ZIP code of 91789 from the USPS in October, asking if they were interested in joining the rest of Diamond Bar in 91765. The city pushed for the change, noting that postal delays and border confusion are sometimes a result of the split ZIP codes, and that over the past five years the city has lost $635,000 in sales tax income from businesses in the 91789 area. The proposed , with 978 votes against a merger, 768 in support. 

NEW DIAMOND BAR CITY HALL TO OPEN - After 11 years of leasing space from the AQMD, the city in late December. , and the county library, which will be in the downstairs portion of the building, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2012.

MURDER ON DEL SOL LANE - In April, Kyle Jacobs to charges of murder and unlawful use of a gun in connection to the April 7 shooting death of his former roommate, 39-year-old Ryan Modica, in the 1100 block of North Del Sol Lane. Those charges were dismissed against Jacobs but ; it was unknown whether the reason charges were dismissed was because Jacobs’ attorney, Matthew Kaestner, alleged that an agreement a Sheriff’s Department detective made with witnesses made it impossible for Kaestner to subpoena them.