Friend murdered AHS grad?

1974 AHS class photo, Dean Ron Albert

The man found murdered near the Chantry Flat picnic area Thursday has been identified as 53-year-old Dean Ron Albert, a White male, cording to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. He was a 1974 Arcadia High School graduate, according to ArcadiaApaches.com

The suspect being sought is said to be Albert’s lifelong friend, Kevin Pochter, also a 53-year-old White male. He is considered armed and dangerious. Pochter’s residence is in Huntington Beach. He is 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, and bald with blue eyes. He is wearing dark clothing.

Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau Special Weapons Team deputies spent Sunday (May 1) searching for Pochter in the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest above Arcadia and Monrovia. Pochter, an experienced hiker, was last seen hiking in the San Gabriels on Saturday evening.

Murder suspect Kevin Pochter

The incident began around 5:40 Thursday evening when Sheriff’s Homicide detectives responded to the Chantry Flat unincorporated area near Sierra Madre regarding a shooting death investigation. Investigators learned that a passerby discovered the victim lying on the side of Big Santa Anita Canyon Road, south of Chantry. Deputies from Temple Sheriff’s Station were notified and responded to the location. The victim, who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

On Friday, homicide investigations sought the public’s help in locating the victim’s vehicle that was taken from the murder site. The vehicle was described as a silver, 1993 BMW 740 series, 4 door sedan. The California license plate is 3XKB366. At approximately 11 a.m. Saturday, the victim’s car was located in the parking lot of the Mount Wilson Observatory, San Gabriel Mountains. Witnesses recognized the vehicle after seeing a description of the silver sedan in a local newspaper. Deputies from Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to the parking lot and recovered the vehicle.

Deputies from Crescenta Valley, Temple, and San Dimas Sheriff’s Stations as well as officers from Arcadia, Sierra Madre, and Monrovia Police Departments spent the rest of the day searching for suspect Pochter in the area between the Mount Wilson Observatory and the Chantry Flat Recreational Area.

On Sunday morning, team members from the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Bureau and Emergency Services Details resumed a ground search for suspect Kevin Pochter. An air search is also being conducted by sheriff’s helicopter Air-Rescue 5. Over 62 square miles of rugged terrain have been searched. Deputies and search and rescue personnel from Crescenta Valley, Temple, and San Dimas Stations are monitoring the hiking trails and informing hikers about the continuing search.

If anyone sees Pocher or knows of his whereabouts they should not take any action, but immediately call 911. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau: 323-890-5500. Attention: DETECTIVE RAY LUGO at (323) 890-5632 or SERGEANT JOE RAMIREZ at (323) 890-5500. File Number 011-05214-0551-011.

If you prefer to provide information ANONYMOUSLY, you may call “Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.

— By Scott Hettrick