Body Discovered In The Back Of Stolen U-Haul Truck In Mid City

A foul odor emanating from a moving van parked in a Mid-City neighborhood Thursday led authorities to a dead body in the back of a U-Haul truck, police said. Los Angeles Police were called to the 2400 block of South Redondo Boulevard just before 11 a.m., said Officer Charles Miller. A passerby told police they saw what they thought was a body under a tarp in the rear of the truck. The passerby also reported a foul odor coming from the truck. When officers arrived, they discovered that the truck had been reported stolen, Miller said. Police were not immediately disclosing any information about the deceased, he said. 

Los Angeles Times

Three People Attacked On LA County Metro Buses In Less Than A Week

Metro passengers continue to fear for their safety after three people were violently attacked on buses since Saturday, two of whom were drivers. The latest attack happened in Santa Monica off Fifth Street and Colorado Avenue. A man kicked the bus door in and attacked the driver. However, the worst attack happened on Saturday night when a Metro bus driver was punched and stabbed in Willowbrook. The suspect has not been caught. The third involved two passengers whose argument turned into a fight that led to one of them stabbing the other. "On the bus, it's kind of a hit or miss," rider Troy Dalmasso said. "I try to sit with my back to the wall you never really know what's coming. Passengers aren't the only ones concerned. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is the chair of Metro, expressed how Metro responded to the attack on the Willowbrook bus driver. "The attack on a Metro bus operator is horrible and will not be tolerated," Bass stated. "Metro has stepped up the presence of transit security officers as part of its broader safety strategy."

CBS 2

String Of Vandalized Cars Found In Los Angeles Westside Neighborhoods

A trail of broken glass and graffiti were left behind after a thief or multiple thieves vandalized cars and a home in three neighborhoods in Los Angeles' Westside. Residents in beach communities of Playa Del Rey and Venice are the targets of multiple car break-ins. A burglar vandalized Trent Marlow’s car with a hammer early Thursday morning. “I came out to go to work, and my car was smashed in,” said Marlow, a Playa Del Rey resident, whose surveillance footage caught the crime. “Then, I noticed my neighbor's car was smashed in, and another neighbor's car was smashed in.” A total of five cars were hit on Sunridge Street and several more down Trolleyway Street in Playa Del Rey. At least two cars were struck a mile up the road on Manchester Avenue. Marlow believes the thief or thieves are after garage openers and house keys. "They came by in the same car on Saturday to one of my other neighbors, and they broke into his car.” Across the Marina, residents are also sweeping glass from broken car windows. Daniel Simon, who lives in Venice, says thieves took more than a thousand dollars worth of costumes from his vehicle. "I went to go check on my car, and I noticed that a bunch of the stuff that I had in my trunk was strewn around the neighborhood on the floor,” he said. Simon's is one of five cars broken into on Brooks Avenue.

NBC 4

Mother-Daughter Duo Sentenced In Death Of Woman Who Underwent Illegal Butt Lift Procedure In LA

A mother-daughter team from Riverside convicted of involuntary manslaughter for illegally administering a silicone injection into a woman's buttocks that led to her death were each sentenced to prison Thursday, but a judge subsequently ordered their release after determining they had already completed their sentences with credit for time they spent under electronic monitoring. Libby Adame, 53, and her daughter, 25-year-old Alicia Galaz, were found guilty last month of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a certificate in the death of Karissa Rajpaul. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli sentenced Adame to four years and four months in state prison, and Galaz to three years and eight months in state prison and ordered them to be taken into custody over the objection of Galaz's attorney, Nareg Gourjian. Within hours of the women being handcuffed, the judge said he agreed with the defense attorney's argument that the two were entitled to additional credit for the time they underwent electronic monitoring while out of custody following their August 2021 arrests at the Riverside home they shared.

ABC 7

Security Guard Arrested For Allegedly Brutally Beating Hairstylist Outside West Hollywood Nightclub

Los Angeles County deputies arrested a security guard for brutally beating a hairstylist outside of a West Hollywood nightclub. The attack happened nearly two weeks ago when 53-year-old hairstylist Albert Vasquez moved back and forth between Gym Bar and Heart WeHo along Santa Monica Boulevard. "We know he was with certain friends at a bar, and from that bar, he walked to another bar because they were next to each other," sister Gloria Jimenez said. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said they received a call for someone needing medical attention around 11 p.m. on April 5 but did not find Vasquez. Jimenez said her brother was taken to the hospital by an EMT. Investigators said deputies learned about the attack four days later after Vasquez woke up after surgery. Deputies arrested the security guard on Wednesday but refused to specify if he was working for one of the nightclubs. He was arrested for battery causing great bodily injury. "His skull was fractured in two places," Jimenez said. "He had part of his scalp removed to allow his brain to expand because of all the inflammation that the brain's going through."

CBS 2

Woman Wanted For Questioning In Death Of 46-Year-Old Southern California Man

Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are asking the public for information leading to the identification and location of a woman who is wanted for questioning in connection with the homicide of a 46-year-old man earlier this month, authorities announced Thursday. According to investigators, Louie Martin Cervantes was involved in a domestic dispute on April 11 in the 16200 block of Valeport Avenue in Lancaster when he was fatally struck by a vehicle. Authorities are searching for a woman named Erica, who is only described as a white adult female in her 30s who frequents the Lake L.A. area of Lancaster. She is believed to be driving a dark-colored pickup truck shown in the LASD bulletin. Anyone with information about this investigation or the woman’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at L.A. Crime Stoppers.  

KTLA 5

Maryland Police Arrest Man Suspected Of Planning Mass Shooting In School, Suicide By Cop

An 18-year-old Maryland high school student was charged with planning to commit a school shooting after investigators reviewed the teen’s writings and other material, including internet searches and messages, police said Thursday. The student was arrested Wednesday by the Montgomery County Police Department. The investigation began after a person contacted police in the Baltimore area, saying he met the teen in a psychiatric facility. The person alerted authorities to the teen’s writings, which were labeled a fictional account by their author, according to court records. But investigators wrote that they believed the document was based on the teen’s life, not entirely fictional. The writings, which the teen called a memoir, spanned 129 pages and included an account of a character who plans a school shooting but ultimately is taken into law enforcement custody and then receives psychiatric treatment, according to police. But the document opened with a disclaimer calling it a work of fiction, according to court papers. Police later obtained a search warrant and uncovered “internet searches, drawings and documents related to threats of mass violence,” officials said. Some recent searches included queries about gun ranges, prison sentences and a long list of past school shootings, according to court documents. Social media messages and posts by the teen also reference a desire to become famous by committing a school shooting, police wrote in charging documents.

PoliceOne

3 Pedestrians Hospitalized After Being Struck In Westlake District

Three pedestrians were hospitalized Thursday night after being struck by a vehicle in the Westlake District, authorities said. The collision occurred at the intersection of Sixth and Alvarado streets at 11 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The victims, two men and a woman between 45 and 65 years of age, were transported to a medical center in critical condition, the LAFD said. Their conditions were later upgraded to stable. The driver remained at the scene and was cooperating with investigators, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. No arrest was made because the incident was considered a traffic collision, an LAPD spokesperson said. One of the pedestrians suffered a fractured skull, officials said. 

ABC 7

Hiker Injured In Hollywood; Firefighters Perform Hoist Operation

A woman in her 20s was airlifted from a remote area in the Hollywood Hills Thursday after sustaining an injury while hiking. Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said firefighters were sent to the 3100 block of Canyon Lake Drive around 1:08 p.m. Thursday to help a hiker who needed rescue due to a lower body injury. It was unclear how the hiker injured herself. No further information was available.

MyNewsLA

Firefighters Put Out Fire In South Los Angeles

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters knocked down a fire in 15 minutes at a guest house in South Los Angeles Thursday evening that was threatening three structures. Firefighters responded at 9:30 p.m. to 529 W. 90th St., near South Figueroa Street, where they found the flames at a guest house that was threatening a front house and a detached garage, according to LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange. Using hose lines at the back of the property, firefighters rapidly doused the flames coming from the guest house near an attached garage, Prange said. The outside of the garage sustained minor damage, Prange said. There were 24 firefighters sent to the fire. No injuries were reported, Prange said.

MyNewsLA

Council Commission Takes Steps On Ethics Reforms For City Of Los Angeles

A Los Angeles City Council committee Thursday moved forward a series of proposed changes to the city charter intended to bolster the independence of the Ethics Commission and enhance its enforcement powers. The Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform voted 6-0 in favor of the changes, which include doubling the penalties for violations of the city's Ethics Code; increasing the size of the five-member Ethics Commission to seven with the additional members appointed by the commission; bolstering its independence; and tightening conflict of interest rules. Councilwoman Traci Park, who sits on the committee, was absent during the vote. Council President Paul Krekorian, who chairs the committee, said the proposal will now move to the full council. If approved, council members will instruct the City Attorney's Office to draft any necessary documents to effectuate the changes, which would then need to be approved by voters, possibly in November.

Westside Current

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.