Law Enforcement News

Chris Pratt joins celebrities to endorse Rick Caruso for LA mayor
Chris Pratt has thrown his support behind moderate Democrat Rick Caruso in the Los Angeles race for mayor, joining a list of celebrities who will be supporting the billionaire developer at the polls on Tuesday. “I’ve lived in LA for over 20 years. It’s been great to me. In that time I’ve seen what many residents here have seen, the city’s gradual decline into pain and utter disarray,” Pratt wrote. “If you live here, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
NY Post

Man shot to death at North Hills motelr
One man is dead after he was shot to death during an argument with another man at a North Hills motel Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. It happened Sunday around 9:40 p.m. at the motel located in the 8400 block of Sepulveda Boulevard.
FOX 11

Man Wounded In Downtown LA Shooting, Suspect Taken Into Custody
Officers arrested a man after they allegedly saw him fire shots at another man in downtown Los Angeles, authorities said Sunday. At about 10 p.m. Saturday, officers spotted a shooting in progress in the area of Maple Avenue and Seventh Street. Paramedics rushed the shooting victim to a hospital, where his condition was not immediately known, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section reported. A police spokeswoman said she had no information about an 11 p.m. shooting in the same area, where CBS2 reported that a person had been shot and three people were taken into custody after a vehicle pursuit.
MyNewsLA

Suspect Connected To 2009 Murder Arrested In Mexico
Authorities arrested a suspect who was wanted in connection with a double shooting in 2009 in Mexico. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Steven Aguilar-Medina was arrested in October for after he was located by their Los Angeles Fugitive Taks Force in the town of Progreso in the state of Merida, Mexico. With the help of Mexican law enforcement officials, and the FBI's legal attache in Mexico City, he was taken into custody and finally returned to Los Angeles this week. Aguilar-Medina, 29, was identified as a suspect in a murder and attempted murder in 2009, when he allegedly shot at two rival gang members, one of whom died. When officers issued a warrant for his arrested in Jan. 2010, they learned that he had fled from California, and issued a federal arrest warrant. "The government is expected to dismiss the federal warrant charging Aguilar-Medina with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and Aguilar-Medina will await prosecution by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office," the FBI said in a statement.
CBS 2

LAPD Briefly Pursues Suspected Stolen Vehicle In El Sereno
The Los Angeles Police Department briefly was in pursuit of a vehicle in the El Sereno area of Los Angeles Saturday evening. Reports of the chase came in around 5 p.m. Saturday. According to reports, the driver of the silver-colored SUV was driving a stolen vehicle. The chase was a very slow affair at times, with LAPD even implementing an unsuccessful PIT maneuver at one point. The slow-speed chase eventually made its way into the Alhambra area, before heading back to El Sereno. Eventually however, officers abandoned the pursuit. No other information was immediately available.
FOX 11

Suspect Flees Police Through Los Angeles On Dirt Bike
A suspect on a dirt bike led police on a wild chase Friday night through the Los Angeles area from film studios in Burbank to the heart of Hollywood. Police began chasing the motorcycle in the Glendale area for traffic violations, including reckless driving just before 10 p.m. The suspect fled at high speeds, at times going off-road and cutting through the Universal Studios lot. He then headed south down into Hollywood, at one point joining a group of motorcycle riders in an effort to blend in. He weaved through traffic and at several points was driving in the opposite direction in lanes on surface streets. He also went off-road, onto sidewalks and through parks. Police units were not following closely on the ground, but a CHP air unit tracked him from the sky.
ABC 7

Man Reported Missing In Sawtelle Area Is Found, Reunited With Family
An 18-year-old man who went missing on Halloween night has been located and reunited with his family, authorities said Sunday. The Los Angeles Police Department did not release where or when Andrew Jason Wright was found. Wright had last been seen at about 6 p.m. Monday in the 1700 block of Federal Avenue, near Santa Monica Boulevard, according to the department.
MyNewsLA

Sheriff’s Detectives Seek Gunman Who Ran Over Victim In West Hollywood Robbery
Sheriff’s detectives were searching Saturday for a gunman who tried to rob a man in West Hollywood before running him down with a car as the victim tried to flee onto busy Sunset Boulevard. The victim survived the attack Friday morning on Sunset Boulevard near Hammond Street. Sgt. Josue Hidalgo of the Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood station said Saturday morning that detectives had not made any arrests. The robbery was captured by surveillance video that showed the attacker, who appeared to be wearing a ski mask, exit a gray Infiniti while brandishing a handgun and run toward the victim, who was getting out of his car in a parking lot, according to the footage that was obtained by KNBC and KTLA. The two men scuffled and ended up on the ground as the attacker appeared to rob the victim. A witness told KNBC that he heard the gunman say: “Give me your purse. Give me your wallet. Give me your watch.”
LA Times

LASD Bodycam Video Shows Teens Being Given Narcan After Being Found Unresponsive
Shocking body camera video shows two teens in Duarte being rescued by quick-thinking sheriff's deputies after they were found lying on a bedroom floor, unresponsive, after possibly ingesting fentanyl, authorities said. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, three deputies responded to the 700 block of Betty Hill Drive Thursday night regarding a medical distress call. The caller said two 17-year-old boys were not breathing. The sheriff's department said the family could be heard screaming for help in the background. Once deputies arrived, they found family members attempting to perform CPR on the boys. "Believing the teenagers ingested Fentanyl or another type of opioid drug, the deputies administered three doses of Naloxone, also known as Narcan, to each teenager while simultaneously administering live-saving first aid/CPR," read a statement issued by LASD.
ABC 7

SoCal Woman Found Guilty Of Creating Child Pornography With Infant
A San Bernardino County woman was found guilty of gaining custody of an infant to produce sexually explicit videos. The woman, Stefani Kasey Marie Stevens, 31, of Yucaipa, was found guilty on Tuesday of multiple child exploitation charges and could face anywhere from 30 years to life in federal prison. Between August 2019 and November 2019, Stevens uploaded child sexual abuse material using three different accounts on Kik, an online messaging app, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Messages between Stevens and another “like-minded” person revealed she was excited to take custody of an infant with whom she would create sexually explicit videos, authorities said. A federal search warrant of her home and online accounts revealed Stevens possessed hundreds of child pornography images and videos. During questioning, Stevens admitted to filming pornographic videos of herself with the infant victim and taking eight to 10 nude photographs with a second victim under the age of 12.
KTLA 5

'All The Parts Come Into Play': Yearslong, Multiagency Investigations Net Results In California
A drive-by shooting at MLK Park. Mexican Mafia drug distributors in Bakersfield. The murders of a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old. This information was gathered from separate, sprawling monthslong investigations by the Bakersfield Police Department in conjunction with federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The breadth often results in arrests of multiple people, each connected to established gangs inflicting violence and pumping Bakersfield with drugs. One such investigation by the BPD, Homeland Security, FBI and several other law enforcement agencies known as Operation Dark Nodes was unveiled last week. The nearly two-year investigation led to 27 arrests Thursday in Bakersfield and the destruction of a portion of a "transnational" drug trade, according to Tatum King, a special agent in charge with Homeland Security Investigations. These sweeping investigations often start with a citizen tip or even a simple traffic stop. But it can lead to a multiyear effort to topple criminal enterprises.
Bakersfield Californian

Man Placed Gun Against New Jersey Cop’s Face And Started Firing, Report Details
The man who shot and wounded two Newark police officers at an apartment building Tuesday placed his gun on the face of one of the cops and started firing, documents detailing the incident acquired by NJ Advance Media show. Officers Johnny Aquino and Jabril Paul were dispatched to an apartment building on Van Velsor Place on Tuesday around 1 p.m. after a 911 caller recognized a man from a news report saying he was wanted for questioning in connection to an earlier shooting, according to the documents. The caller told police the man was reading a book in the back parking lot of the building. Paul and Aquino found the man, Kendall Howard, 30, in the rear parking lot and repeatedly told him not to move, but he ignored their commands and was then ordered to get on the ground and not move, the documents state, citing footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras. He then began walking away and the officers “physically intervened,” the documents said.
PoliceOne

Public Safety News

Massive Fire Destroys South L.A. Apartment Building
A massive fire tore through an apartment building in South Los Angeles late Friday night, destroying the complex. The fire happened just before midnight in the 900 block of 74th Street near Vermont, confirmed the Los Angeles Fire Department. Photos from the scene show flames tearing through the building’s lower level as heavy plumes of smoke poured out from the upper stories. Authorities believe the blaze first ignited from a vehicle parked nearby. Firefighters were seen heavily dousing the scorched vehicle as flames continued simmering inside. No injuries were reported during the fire and it’s unclear how many residents have been displaced.
KTLA 5

LA County Seeing Rise In COVID Metrics, Prompting Fears Of Winter Surge
After months of decline, Los Angeles County health officials have reported a sharp increase in the average daily number of new COVID-19 infections, again raising concerns about an impending winter spike in cases. The seven-day average daily number of infections rose by 10% over the past week, according to the county Department of Public Health, jumping from 988 new cases per day to 1,083. The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals has been rising too in recent days, increasing by another 34 people as of Saturday to 453, according to the latest state figures. Of those patients, 44 were being treated in intensive care, down from 50 the previous day. "With recent unusually high levels of flu and other respiratory diseases, there are signs the county could be headed toward a COVID surge this fall and winter,'' county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Friday. "As families are about to start their holiday travel and get-togethers, it continues to be important to follow simple steps to prevent respiratory illness and COVID-19. The first, and most important, health measure we can take is to receive the new COVID-19 bivalent booster if we are at least two moths out from our last dose.''
NBC 4

A ‘Tripledemic’ Of Flu, RSV And COVID Is Feared In California
A confluence of respiratory illnesses has some California officials warning of a possible triple threat that could strain healthcare systems. Parts of the state are experiencing the earliest start of flu season in recent years, while respiratory syncytial virus — or RSV — is spreading widely and sending significant numbers of young children to the emergency room. Casting a further shadow is the looming threat of COVID-19, which many health experts expect will rebound this fall and winter as more residents travel for the holidays and colder weather pushes activities indoors. “We are potentially going into what people are calling a ‘tripledemic,’ or a ‘tridemic,’” warned Orange County health officer Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, who on Monday declared a health emergency amid a surge in RSV cases. The respiratory illness is the most common cause of pneumonia and inflammation of the airways among babies.
LA Times

Local Government News

LA Council Enforces Rule To Bar Protesters From Entering Chamber For Meeting
Three people were kept from entering the Los Angeles City Council chamber during the latest council meeting, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, as the council enforced a rule that allows it to exclude those who have been removed from multiple meetings within three days of the next meeting. Council President Paul Krekorian also ejected at least a dozen protesters who began chanting and shouting as Friday's meeting began. Protesters have regularly attempted to disrupt meetings since the City Hall racism scandal broke in early October, demanding that Councilmen Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo resign before the council resumes conducting city business. But the number of protesters dwindled this week from at least 20 last week to around a dozen.
westSide Current

LA City Council To Analyze Increase In Charter Flights At Van Nuys Airport
Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted to take a look at the increasingly popular chartered and private flights out of Van Nuys Airport. Residents have complained about the issue for months, noting that the constant noise, pollution and safety concerns are affecting their day-to-day well-being. "They fly at all hours of the day and night. Any given time in the middle of the night I can wake up and I'll hear a jet taking off," said Suzanne Gutierrez, who lives about a block from the airport. According to data out of Van Nuys, there were nearly 5,600 jet operations in October alone, which translates to about 180 per day and one every eight minutes. The increased frequency of operations has many parents concerned, especially because many of the flights travel directly over Valley Charter Middle School.
CBS 2