A disabled Gulf War veteran is hoping to turn his new Placerita Canyon Ranch property into a home for the local business he runs with his brother.
George Molina, 54, who went on to have a lengthy career with the Los Angeles Police Department despite service injuries, opened his aggregate-processing business in 2021, retiring from the department that July after more than 27 years on the force.
Molina sees Earthwise Aggregates, which crushes big pieces of concrete into smaller pieces that can be recycled for barriers, driveways, landscaping and roads, as a way to offer a local service for customers who otherwise must drive to the Antelope or San Fernando valleys, he said.
His new location, the former home of Blue Star Ranch and some other local stables, also offers a new location that’s more suited to the size of the family operation he runs with his brother Marco.
“We’re small. Most of the big competitors are down in the (San Fernando) Valley and Palmdale, Lancaster, and local areas just need the place where they can come and bring their concrete to get recycled,” he said, “and then it can be reused from base material for their land or other resources.”
The business currently operates a lot on Coltrane Avenue, but the size is a bit large for their needs, he said.
As an Army soldier who served during Desert Storm and was injured in combat, he said he wanted to see Blue Star Ranch continue, and he said the property still has an opportunity to help a disabled veteran.
Molina earned a service medal while serving in a tank company with the 3rd Armored Division, he said Tuesday. During one incident, he was able to assist the rest of his unit to safety despite sustaining a traumatic blast injury that left him with a concussion and brain injury.
Despite his injury, Molina joined the LAPD after finishing his service, also garnering awards and media mentions for several incidents throughout his career.
A 1996 L.A. Times article wrote about how Molina and a fellow officer “wrestled the man off the rails at the nearby San Fernando Metrolink station ‘just as the train goes by,’” according to witnesses. He was later awarded a medal from the department for his lifesaving actions.
Molina was later assigned to a task force with the Sheriff’s Department that focused on auto theft and commercial crimes, he said.
News clippings from 2012 mention how his team tracked down the chopped-up remains of a valuable 1970 Mercedes 280 SL convertible owned by John Travolta.
A few years later the team broke up a Sun Valley chop-shop ring credited with stealing more than $5 million in car parts.
But after nearly three decades of policing, George Molina was excited about an opportunity to partner up with his brother Marco, who was already operating a demolition business, Earthwise Demolition and Abatement Co.
George Molina said service and combat injury made him eligible for loans that helped him get started, he said. Both brothers live in the area and are now going through the conditional use permit process with the city of Santa Clarita to try to open their business, which is nestled alongside a power plant and some derricks in Placerita near the residential gate. George’s son, Evan, and Marco’s son, Rocco, also visited the property Tuesday to check out the new lot. Evan, a criminology student at Cal State Northridge, might be the next Molina on the team at some point.
George Molina confirmed the paperwork started last month and he’s looking forward to starting up at the new location once they receive approvals from the city.
