Driver Clips LAPD Patrol SUV During Pursuit In LA

A pursuit suspect was taken into custody in the Crenshaw District after leading police on a high speed chase Wednesday. Authorities had initially responded to a call reporting a stolen vehicle around 5:10 a.m. The pursuit started in the area of Wilshire and Lucas, then proceeded on to surface streets. SkyFOX was live overhead when an LAPD patrol SUV responding to the pursuit was clipped by another vehicle which sped away. The suspect eventually turned into a parking lot and ditched the car near La Cienega Boulevard and Centinela Avenue. He tried to run away but was later taken into custody. His identity was not immediately released. There were no reported injuries.

FOX 11

‘Romeo And Juliet’: L.A. Couple Accused Of Wielding AK-47 In Brazen String Of Dispensary Heists

Gabriella Tovar and Jesus Mendoza did things any 20-somethings in love might do. They took selfies together, sneaked into each other’s workplaces to hang out, spent all night driving around the city. It was the couple’s other activities, police say, that landed them in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom in late August, shackled and dressed in blue jumpsuits, charged with 14 counts of kidnapping, robbery, fleeing police, committing assault with machine guns and shooting into an occupied building. During a four-day preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Police Department detectives asserted that Tovar and Mendoza targeted four cannabis dispensaries for robberies — including one they allegedly held up on consecutive days — during a six-week-long string of heists that ended June 11, 2023, when Mendoza crashed his BMW after a high-speed chase. Authorities have characterized the two as partners in romance and in crime. At the end of the courtroom table where they sat chained to their chairs was a binder containing the LAPD’s investigative file. It was labeled “Romeo and Juliet.” Testimony and video of the takeover-style heists offered a startling example of the violence that shadows California’s booming cannabis black market.

Los Angeles Times

Police Release Video Of Hit-and-Run Driver That Left 63-Year-Old Bicyclist Injured On Labor Day

Police are seeking help from the public to find a hit-and-run driver who left a bicyclist severely injured in South Los Angeles on Labor Day. The crash happened at around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2 at the intersection of Hoover Street and 79th Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Investigators say that the victim, a 63-year-old man, was injured when he was struck by a car moments after he had fallen off of his bicycle. He was trying to get back on when the collision happened. "As the bicyclist was attempting to get up, a sedan traveling northbound on Hoover Street struck him," LAPD's statement said. "The vehicle ... was last seen northbound." The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment on life-threatening injuries, police said. He remains hospitalized at the latest. As with all hit-and-run crashes resulting in injury in Los Angeles, a standing reward of up to $25,000 is offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the suspect. Anyone who may know more is urged to contact LAPD investigators at (323) 421-2500.

CBS 2

DUI Suspect Crashes Into Multiple Parked Vehicles, Overturns In Los Angeles

A motorist suspected of DUI and speeding crashed into several parked cars and overturned in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles early Wednesday. The crash was reported around 2 a.m. as the vehicle was traveling on Victory Boulevard just east of Corbin Avenue. Investigators said the car was headed eastbound at a high rate of speed when it crossed into the westbound lanes before plowing into at least five parked vehicles and overturning. The 18-year-old driver of the vehicle was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries and is expected to be booked for DUI, police said. Video showed a man and a woman, believed to be between 18 and 20 years old, being treated at the scene following the crash. The woman was bloodied and taken to a waiting ambulance while sitting upright on a stretcher. The man was seen walking to an ambulance with the assistance of emergency personnel. It was unclear who was driving the vehicle.

KTLA 5

Looters Stole $67,000 In Merchandise During Flash-Mob Burglary At AutoZone In South LA, Police Say

A 24-year-old man who took part in a flash-mob burglary of an auto parts store in South Los Angeles following a street takeover in June pleaded no contest Tuesday to second-degree burglary and felony evading police and received two years probation. As part of his probation, Danny Sanchez, of Los Angeles, was ordered to stay away from all AutoZone locations, according to court records. A restitution hearing was scheduled for Nov. 7. The street takeover occurred around 3:50 a.m. June 10 near the intersection of Century Boulevard and Hoover Street, where hundreds of bystanders participated by illegally blocking traffic as vehicles performed dangerous stunts and burnouts, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. At one point, between 50 and 70 of the bystanders ransacked an AutoZone store in the 600 block of West Century Boulevard and stole more than $67,000 in merchandise. Sanchez was taken into custody that day after leading officers on a pursuit, after which they recovered approximately $1,200 worth of stolen items from the suspect's vehicle, police said.

ABC 7

LAPD: Chinatown Apartment Fire Was Deliberately Set

The Los Angeles Police Department said an early morning fire in Chinatown last week that damaged four apartment buildings and injured six people was arson. "After a thorough investigation, LAFD and the ATF officials determined that the fire was deliberately set," Assistant Chief Blake Chow said Tuesday. "Investigators have developed a strong lead on a suspect and are hopeful that the arrest will be made soon." The fire was first reported around 3:45 a.m. last Friday at an unfinished building between Bunker Hill Avenue and New Depot Street adjacent to the lanes of the 110 Freeway. Intense flames from the burning unfinished building, which was mostly exposed wooden framing on a concrete base, damaged dozens of units in three other apartment buildings that faced the construction site. Fifty one residents were displaced from their apartments as a result of the fire, and at least one of the adjacent buildings was closed and red tagged because of the damage, city officials said. Two residents, including a 90-year-old man, were taken to a hospital in critical condition, and four firefighters were injured.

NBC 4

CHP Adds 119 New Officers, Marking Largest Graduation Since Launching Recruitment Campaign

The California Highway Patrol welcomed 119 new officers during a graduation ceremony for the largest CHP Academy class in more than two years, according to a department news release. Governor Gavin Newsom expressed his appreciation for the new officers. “I am grateful to these officers for their service and commitment to protecting Californians,” he said. “As they begin their assignments across the state, they do so knowing they represent the best of California as public servants.” The new officers completed a 26-week training program covering a range of topics, including leadership, ethics, patrol, crash investigation, first aid and traffic control, as well as mastering California’s vehicle, penal and health and safety codes, according to the release. As part of CHP’s multiyear recruitment campaign that started in June 2022, more than 16,000 applications have been submitted in 2024, with the department on track to surpass last year’s total of 19,500. To meet the demand, the CHP has increased cadet classes, with six graduations scheduled per year, according to the release. The next class will graduate on November 15, 2024.

PoliceOne

BWC Video Released In Ambush Of Colorado Trooper While He Sat Parked In Median

A Colorado State Patrol corporal was likely a “target of opportunity” when he was ambushed and shot while parked along U.S. 36 near Westminster earlier this month, agency officials said Monday. State patrol leaders released body-worn camera footage of the moments before and after Cpl. Tye Simcox was shot while parked between two concrete barriers in the highway’s center median and doing paperwork on Sept. 7. Investigators still do not know why Victor Anthony De Santiago, 32, slowed down and began shooting at Simcox from his truck, agency chief Col. Matthew Packard said at a news conference. “If pressed today, I would tell you that I believe, based on current information, that Cpl. Simcox was a target of opportunity,” Packard said. “I think the shooter saw a patrol car and that’s the one he decided to take shots at.” Simcox was shot in the right forearm and quickly left his patrol vehicle, grabbed a rifle from the front seat and returned fire, fatally shooting De Santiago, the footage shows. The corporal was taken to Denver Health by a responding trooper and is expected to make a full recovery.

PoliceOne

Two Human Cases Of Rare Raccoon Roundworm Reported In Los Angeles

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials on Monday said that they are currently investigating the discovery of two humans cases of a rare infection called "raccoon roundworm." While no information about either of the patients was provided, officials say that both were in the South Bay area. Raccoon roundworm, known as Bylisascaris procyonis, is an intestinal parasitic infection that can affect the human spinal cord, brain and eyes, officials said. "While Baylisascaris is rare in people and the risk to the general public is low at this time, it is concerning because a large number of raccoons live near people, and the infeection rate in raccoons is likely high," department officials said in a statement. They say that the confirmed cases are very rare, but an important reminder to people to take precautions in order to prevent further spread of zoonotic diseases, which transfer from animals to humans. The infection cannot be passed from human to human, however.

CBS 2

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.