ABC7 gets inside look at LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division as it confronts new challenges
Law Enforcement News
ABC7 gets inside look at LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division as it confronts new challenges
The Manson Family murders, the Nightstalker serial killings, the OJ Simpson case, and, more recently, the murder case involving the singer D4vd and teenager Celeste Rivas Hernandez were all investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department's elite Robbery-Homicide Division. From celebrity murders to high-dollar heists, the Robbery-Homicide Division has worked L.A.'s most notorious cases since its founding. For insights into how L.A.'s best detectives try to crack cases, their captain sat down with ABC7 Investigative Reporter Kevin Ozebek. As the unit confronts new pressures, from shrinking budgets to criminals using artificial intelligence, Capt. Scot Williams says the mission remains unchanged: pursue justice in the city's most complex and high-profile cases. On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles. As one of America's beloved politicians was taking his last breaths, the pressure was on LAPD to help track down the killer. "Over the course of the year of that investigation or so, the department recognized the need to have a group of specialized, very good detectives that were available to handle some of these high-profile incidents," Williams said. That's how LAPD's storied Robbery-Homicide Division was born.
Suspect in Playa del Rey crash that killed toddler was already wanted in two DUIs, records show
The Los Angeles Police Department has identified a 28-year-old man as the suspect in the Playa del Rey hit-and-run collision that killed a 1-year-old boy and his uncle last week. The department identified the suspect as Moises Santiago Rodriguez Leiva of Canyon Country. Arrest records show he was booked for a misdemeanor and is being held on a $200,000 bond. Investigators said they would issue a news release with more details and declined to comment further. But court records show that — at the time of the May 3 traffic collision in Playa del Rey — Leiva already had two outstanding arrest warrants in connection with a pair of DUI cases. The crash killed 1-year-old Roger Sandoval and his uncle, 25-year-old Oswaldo Sandoval. The LAPD said in a written statement that the crash occurred at 4:34 a.m. when the driver of a white Jeep Cherokee traveling south on Vista Del Mar crossed into the northbound lane and collided with a blue BMW 5 series. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced one occupant of the BMW dead at the scene and took three others to a hospital — including the toddler, who later died.
2 arrested in counterfeit luxury merchandise operation in downtown LA
Two people were arrested in an operation involving the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Major Crimes Unit in downtown Los Angeles Thursday morning, law enforcement officials tell NBC4 Investigates. According to authorities, a search warrant was served for counterfeit luxury merchandise at a commercial warehouse in downtown LA. At around 5 a.m., LASD detectives and investigators entered the building near 6th and Main streets. According to the preliminary information, the investigation targeted the possession and sales of counterfeit goods. Authorities searched a retail store in the 500 block of South Los Angeles Street, and a warehouse in the 500 block of Main Street. A preliminary estimate places the street value of the seized merchandise between $5 million and $10 million. A man and woman were arrested in the operation. Main Street was closed down between 6th and 5th street as the investigation continues.
17 kilos of fentanyl worth $1.3 million seized, 1 arrested in major L.A. County bust
A suspected fentanyl dealer is behind bars after a major bust in Arcadia resulted in the seizure of 17 kilos of the potentially deadly drug. California Attorney General Rob Bonta released details about the operation during a press conference on Thursday. He said the suspect was transporting the drug from Mexico and intended to sell it. The street value was estimated at $1.3 million. The amount of fentanyl seized equates to 8.5 million doses. Bonta said that’s nearly as many pills as there are people in Los Angeles County. “Just a tiny amount of fentanyl, given its extraordinary potency, can be deadly,” Bonta said during a press conference. “And behind every seizure like this one, when we take that deadly, potent fentanyl off the streets, out of our communities, are real lives that may have ben saved.” Bonta said one kilo of cocaine and a handgun were also confiscated in the bust.
Feds arrest trio accused in violent sex trafficking ring in Southern California
Federal authorities say a registered sex offender from San Bernardino County and two women accused of helping him run a violent sex trafficking operation were arrested after investigators uncovered an alleged brutal scheme involving coercion, threats and the exploitation of a minor. Tyson Jamerson, 43, and his accomplices, Jaidyn Nyle Steinberg, 21, and Ahliyah Monique Hinojosa Tavie, 20, were arrested May 13 following a federal grand jury indictment tied to separate sex trafficking operations across Southern California, officials with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a news release Thursday. According to federal prosecutors, the investigation uncovered two separate trafficking operations involving a juvenile victim and an adult woman who authorities say were manipulated, threatened and physically harmed. Investigators allege Jamerson and Hinojosa first targeted a minor in September 2025 after picking her up in an area of San Bernardino known for commercial sex work.
SoCal man sold $80 million in cannabis products and didn’t report it, state prosecutors say
A man who operated unlicensed marijuana dispensaries across Southern California is facing dozens of felony charges for evading $7.1 million in taxes, according to state prosecutors. Prosecutors allege that between April 2019 and November 2022, Pin Hsien Hsu, 46, operated about 30 unlicensed cannabis dispensaries in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, failed to file sales tax returns and didn’t report about $80 million in sales. “Tax evasion is not a victimless crime,” Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said during a news conference on Wednesday. “When someone intentionally cheats the system and refuses to pay what they legally owe the consequences are felt by all of us. That’s money that should be going towards schools, towards public safety, towards transportation and healthcare and other essential services Californians rely on every single day.” It is not clear if Hsu has entered a plea or if he is being represented by an attorney. He could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
South Carolina officer killed in head-on collision allegedly caused by fleeing 15-year-old
A Greenwood Police officer died after a crash allegedly caused by a 15-year-old driver attempting to flee law enforcement, WYFF reported. Greenwood Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin stated that on May 11, officers attempted to stop the driver of a vehicle that had been involved in prior shooting incidents. The driver then fled the stop, evading officers at high speed. The driver crossed the centerline and began to drive the wrong way. He struck Officer D.J. Keller’s cruiser head-on. Keller, 31, died at the scene. His K-9 partner, Vice, was in the cruiser at the time but was not severely injured. Keller was responding to assist other officers when his patrol car was hit, the chief said. Keller was a United States Army and National Guard veteran who served with the Greenwood Police Department for three years, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
BWC: Ohio sheriff, deputy stabbed by suspect after responding to suspicious person call
An Ohio sheriff and deputy both were stabbed Tuesday when responding to a call of a suspicious person, authorities say. A news release from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Sheriff Thomas Ballinger and Sgt. Dan Broome both were taken to Wooster Community Hospital. Broome later was flown by helicopter to Summa Health Akron Hospital. Both have been released from the hospital and are recovering, the news release says. A resident called 911 at about 9:45 a.m. when the male suspect jumped over the fence of the resident’s property and threatened to kill the resident’s family, according to cleveland.com/Plain Dealer news partner WKYC Channel 3. A deputy responded and warned the man, but law enforcement officers returned at about 10:30 a.m. when the suspect again caused a disturbance, WKYC reports. The suspect is accused of stabbing Ballinger and Broome with a pocket knife. The man then fled the scene and later posted a video online, claiming he was in a shed and had doused himself with gasoline, WKYC reports. Deputies found the suspect and hostage negotiators were able to talk him into surrendering, WKYC reports.
Public Safety News
Firefighters Quell Fire Near DTLA Commercial Building
Firefighters Thursday knocked down an outside fire near a one-story commercial building in downtown Los Angeles. Firefighters dispatched at 8:15 a.m. Thursday to 1600 S. Compton Ave. had the fire out at 8:37 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. “There wasn’t any active fire in the building, only residual smoke making its way into the building through vents,” said Jamie Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
