The Region - News from Jan. 1, 1985

Held in the jail ward of County-USC Medical Center with a broken hip and an assortment of cuts and bruises was Gregory Espinoza, 24, of Whittier, who was found in a concrete-lined wash about a block from a West Covina Fashion Plaza store several hours after a burglar smashed display cases and took more than $100,000 worth of jewelry. West Covina police Lt. Jim Dillon said officers answering a silent alarm saw a man inside the J. C. Penney store, but he fled before they could arrest him. Eight hours later, a citizen heard calls for help from a flood control channel. Police surmised that Espinoza vaulted a fence without realizing that there was a 15-foot drop into the wash. A pillow slip containing jewelry was found near the fence, Dillon said.