The murder and arson trial for a man accused of killing his Los Alamitos grandmother has been scheduled to resume Dec. 17.
The trial of Joseph Elija Ettima, 29, was delayed by a series of mental competency hearings held from Feb. 15 to Sept. 10 of this year. The court apparently determined that Ettima was competent to participate in his own defense.
More than three years have passed since Ettima’s grandmother Emma Louise Hardwick-Street, 69, was murdered in the apartment she shared with Ettima’s 8-year-old brother and 3-year-old niece.
According to the police and prosecutors, on Jan. 19, 2009, Ettima, a parolee, asked Hardwick-Street if he could live with her and the children. Prosecutors say Hardwick-Street declined.
She was then murdered. The apartment was set on fire with the children inside.
Ettima’s 8-year-old newphew got the 3-year-old girl out of the burning building.
Ettima was arrested in Mexico on April 15 by U.S. Marshals.
He was originally charged with murder, arson and child endangerment. Since then, the child endangerment charges have apparently been dropped.
If convicted, Ettima could be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty in this case.
Ettima remains in custody.
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Crime Log Compiled by Charles M. Kelly
IN SEAL?BEACH
Monday, September 17
Illegal Parking—10:35 a.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller reported an 18-wheeler parked behind shops at the location. The address was blacked out in the log. Police unit 441 advised the person responsible for the truck to move the truck. That person promised to comply.
Traffic Signal—12:10 p.m.—405 Freeway and Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said the lights were not functioning, causing a traffic back up. The lights at Old Ranch and Seal Beach Boulevard were flashing in all four directions. However, according to the log, the contractor told police that the lights would only be flashing that way for another five minutes.
Battery—3:53 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—A man on a bicycle asked a citizen to call the police. The caller, relaying second-hand information, said the man had been “jumped” by someone. The crime may have occurred on the Marina Bridge. There was apparently a language barrier between the victim and the caller. No suspect information. Dispatchers sent an unspecified number of police units to the fishing hole area to look for the suspect. Police were unable to locate the suspect. Report taken.
Vehicle Fire—4:51 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway and Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller, a passerby, saw smoke coming from a panel truck parked at the corner. The Orange County Fire Authority was en route. By 5:06 p.m., the fire was out. Assisted.
Petty Theft Report—4:53 p.m.—Ocean Avenue—The caller reported the theft of a skate board valued at $100 from a location somewhere south of the Seal Beach Pier at 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 26. The caller also lost sunglasses. Police issued a log item for the insurance company.
Extra Patrol Checks Requested—5:47 p.m.—Main Street—The caller said someone had attempted to tamper with her back door screen, as though someone had tried to enter. There was no damage and she saw nothing suspicious. The caller requested extra patrol checks at night. Two Old Town homes were burglarized on Friday night, Aug. 31, when unknown suspects cut holes in screens and reached into the homes through windows that had been left open.
Tuesday, September 18
Shattered Car Window—7:20 a.m.—Candleberry and Lampson—The caller’s car window shattered. The caller did not know if something was thrown or not. The caller pulled over in the westbound lanes. Police unit 106 found no signs of vandalism. The dispatch log contained speculation that the window might have been defective. Log entry.
Possible Vandalism—9:34 a.m.—Elder Avenue—The caller’s front lawn was damaged sometime after 10 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 17. The caller thought the damage, which was not specified in the log, might have been caused by an animal. The damage was reportedly not permanent. Log entry.
Illegal Peddler—5:28 p.m.—Seal Beach Boulevard—The caller said a woman with a baby in a stroller was begging for money and impeding traffic in the parking lot. Police unit M7 advised the woman to stop begging for money and to stop impeding traffic. The woman told police she would stop. The baby appeared to be in good health.
Suspected Drug Violation—9:24 p.m.—Pacific Coast Highway—The caller said two young women, 16-17 years old, were in a car, smoking drugs. Police unit 207 interviewed the young women in the field. No further police services were necessary.
Wednesday, September 19
Hazard—4:55 p.m.—Main Street—The caller said power lines seemed to be shorting out. The caller saw small flames. The caller ran over to the fire station on Central Avenue to report the fire to Orange County Fire Authority. The OCFA was en route. A second caller reported that lights had gone out. A third caller reported a power outage and gave Southern California Edison the pole number. As of 5:05 p.m., Edison was expected to arrive in 15 minutes. Assisted.
Fire—6:57 p.m.—11th Street—The caller reported a possible house fire on the south side of Electric Avenue. The caller saw a lot of black smoke. However, it turned out to be a vehicle fire that was put out by the Orange County Fire Authority.
Thursday, September 20
Petty Theft Report—8:11 a.m.—Lampson Avenue—The caller said a 5,000-watt generator was taken from a storage bin in the rear parking lot between May and Aug. 8. The generator was valued at $671.04. Report taken.
Impeding Sidewalk—4:12 p.m.—Westminster Avenue—A citizen reported that an unspecified number of individuals were passing out political flyers—the log did not say what party, individual or proposition the flyers were concerned with—and impeding the sidewalk. Police unit 106 had the activists move their table and two chairs off the sidewalk. No further police services were required.
Petty Theft Report—5:54 p.m.—Montecito Road—The caller’s son’s BMX bike was stolen The bike was described as flat black with a blue gooseneck. The crime apparently occurred between 2:30 and 5:50 p.m. The log did not include an estimated value for the lost or stolen bike. The bike was left under the staircase in the area of the caller’s condo. Report taken.
Disturbance, Family—10:31 p.m.—7th Street—The caller heard a man yelling, a woman screaming and something breaking. The caller didn’t know which unit the noise came from. Police unit 207 located the source of the noise.
A woman scared her husband when he came home from work and dropped his keys. No further police services were necessary.
Friday, September 21
Injured Animal—8:16 a.m.—Pacific Coast Highway and 12th Street—The caller found an injured pelican on the sidewalk. Referred to Long Beach Animal Care Services.
Disturbance, Juveniles—1:39 p.m.—Seal Way—The caller said four boys, 13-14 years old, were riding skateboards on the boardwalk. The caller said there used to be “no skateboarding” signs posted, but they have been ripped down. A second caller said the same thing. The second caller was worried that the boys might damage the cement stairs.
Dead Racoon—8:51 p.m.—1st Street and Pacific Coast Highway—The caller reported a dead racoon on the south side of the sidewalk. Referred to Long Beach Animal Care Services.
Saturday, September 22
Animal Noise—3:50 a.m.—Dahlia Circle—The caller reported a dog barking in the backyard of a residence. The caller said the dog sounded excited, which made the caller suspect something might be wrong.
As of 4:09 a.m., police unit 206 contacted a neighbor who owned a dog. The neighbor said his dog wasn’t the one that was barking as his dog was in bed with him for the past five minutes.
Disturbance—2:51 p.m.—Lampson Avenue—An individual took a golf cart without permission and was now out on the golf course. The individual who took the joy ride in the golf cart was apparently interviewed in the field.
Disturbance—8:04 p.m.—Main Street—Two or three men, possibly drunk, stood in front of the location, barking at passersby and dogs in the area. All of the men wore dark T-shirts. The log provided no further description of the barking men.
Sunday, September 23
Vandalism—8:07 a.m.—Harvard Lane—The caller said that sometime between 9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, and 8 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 23, someone wrote on the back of the caller’s car.
The caller was counseled. There was no permanent damage to the car. Log item issued.
Municipal Code Violation—9:50 a.m.—Loyola and College Park—The caller, relaying second-hand information, said someone was fishing off the College Park West Bridge.
IN LOS?ALAMITOS
Thursday, September 27
Illegal Peddler—2:17 p.m.—Cherry Street—The caller reported two men wearing shirts and ties entered his office to sell security systems. The caller was upset because he has a “no soliciting” sign on his door. The salesmen were last seen in the building next door. Police spoke with the two men.
Wednesday, September 26
Suspicious Person—2:28 p.m.—Los Alamitos Boulevard and Cerritos—The caller reported man walking south on Los Alamitos Boulevard with his pants almost falling down and making obscene gestures at passing vehicles.
The caller said the man was in his 60s, wearing a white tank top and blue jeans.
Tuesday, September 25
Disturbance—11:51 p.m.—Ball Road—The caller reported an individual who had been in the parking lot for an hour, yelling and possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol or mentally disturbed.
The caller said the individual could be heard only from the residence that backs up to the location.
Patrol contacted the individual in question, who was advised to keep the noise level down.
The individual agreed to comply.
Friday, September 21
Suspicious Circumstances—2:41 p.m.—Katella and Bloomfield—The caller reported a man talking with two 7- to 9-year-old girls in the grass on the corner.
The man showed the girls something in his backpack and the caller thought it looked suspicious. Patrol contacted the man, who was a crossing guard. The girls were asking the crossing guard for candy and the guard showed them his empty backpack to show that he had no candy. Checked out OK.
IN ROSSMOOR
Monday, September 24
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—11:55 a.m.—Rossmoor Way and Los Alamitos Boulevard.
Welfare Check—7:42 p.m.—St. Albans Drive—The Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a woman down inside a house. It was not known if she was injured. Her boyfriend was apparently not home at the time. A neighbor said the woman was yelling for help. Dispatch called the location, only to have the call answered by a machine. No one picked up. The log did not provide a final disposition on the call.
Tuesday, September 25
Disturbance, Mechanical—1:24 a.m.—Quail Run Road—The caller said smoke was coming from a location on Quail Run Road due to a compressor.
Burglary Report—4:02 a.m.—Bostonian Drive—A citizen said her window was broken. A deputy walked around the outside of the house and did not find any broken windows.
Pedestrian Check—9:26 a.m.—Hedwig Road and Wallingsford Road—A deputy checked on a pedestrian and found a door-to-door solicitor.
Disturbance—7:29 p.m.—St. Albans Drive—The caller heard a verbal dispute between a man and two women.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—8:04 p.m.—Foster Road—A deputy performed a patrol check for two men looking into the windows of buildings next to the playground on the east side of the school. The caller was unable to provide a description because it was too dark. The deputy found janitors on foot inside the school.Wednesday, September 26
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—3:11 a.m.—Rowena Drive—The caller said an unspecified number of individuals had been parked in front of her location in a Ford Mustang for over an hour. The caller could hear other voices down the street.
Thursday, September 27
Disturbance, Family Dispute—9:37 a.m.—St. Albans Drive.
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—9:48 a.m.—Oak Knoll Drive—Because of recent residential burglaries on Oak Knoll Drive, the caller was suspicious of a man parked in a white Ford truck.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—2:50 p.m.—Hedwig Road and Pemberton Road—The caller asked the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to patrol check the bench near the sandbox and swings for a man who seemed to be taking pictures of kids with his cell phone. The man was described as 50 years old, wearing a black and gray baseball cap, gray T-shirt and dark shorts.
Identity Theft—3:45 p.m.—Ruth Elaine Drive.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—4:45 p.m.—Shakespeare Drive—The caller said an ice cream truck was left running near Rossmoor Elementary School for the past 45 minutes. The driver was not near the vehicle.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—9:13 p.m.—Los Alamitos Boulevard—A man was going from table to table at a restaurant, asking customers for money. The man was verbally abusive toward the caller the last time she contacted law enforcement.
Friday, September 28
Vandalism Report—8:57 a.m.—Inverness Drive.
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—12:13 p.m.—Hedwig Road and Pemberton Road.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—1:04 p.m.—Main Way and Silver Fox.
Citizen Assist—3:30 p.m.—Montecito Road.
Suspicious Person or Circumstances—5:27 p.m.—Shakespeare Drive.
Reckless Driving—6:24 p.m.—Salmon Drive.
Reckless Driving—6:45 p.m.—Salmon Drive and Oak Way Drive.
Disturbance, Music or Party—11:31 p.m.—Los Alamitos Boulevard.
Saturday, September 29
Suspicious Person in Vehicle—6:17 a.m.—Foster Road and Kerth Drive.
Disturbance—9:52 a.m.—Chianti Drive.
Ted Apodaca of the News-Enterprise contributed to this article.
