Off-Duty LAPD Officer Dies Due To ‘Reported Medical Emergency’ 

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that an off-duty officer died on Friday morning. According to a Facebook post by LAPD Headquarters, Officer Paul Ahn passed away due to a “reported medical emergency.” Officer Ahn began his LAPD career in 1995 and was last assigned to the training division, the post said. Ahn’s death comes exactly two weeks after another off-duty LAPD officer, Baldemar Sandoval, died in a crash on the 210 Freeway. 

KTLA 5

Homeless Man Identified After Biting Off Part Of LAPD Sergeant's Finger, Booked For ‘Mayhem'

Police have identified the homeless man who allegedly bit off part of an LAPD sergeant's finger last Thursday. The perpetrator of the Metro Red Line attack has been identified as 36-year-old Ephraim Okorie. Police say Okorie became violent after they escorted him off a train for possessing drug paraphernalia at a station in East Hollywood. The injured sergeant and Okorie were both taken to the hospital. It remains unclear if medical personnel were able to reattach the sergeant's finger. Okorie is now booked for the crime of "mayhem," with his bail set at $100,000.

ABC 7

Two People Killed In Separate Shootings Overnight In Los Angeles

Two people were killed in two separate shootings overnight in Los Angeles County, authorities said. The first shooting occurred about 8:15 p.m. Friday in the 1500 block of East 88th Street in South L.A., according to Adriana De La Torre, a law enforcement official with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies responding to a call found a man between the ages of 45 and 50 suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper torso, De La Torre said. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, he said. No other details were available about the victim or the motive for the shooting. About 2:10 a.m. Saturday, two gunmen in a car shot two other men standing outside in the 900 block of Mariposa Avenue in Koreatown. Both victims were taken to a hospital by fire paramedics, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. One of the victims was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. He has not been identified.

Los Angeles Times

21-Year-Old Woman Arrested After Man Pushing Shopping Cart Was Killed In Sylmar Hit-and-Run

Los Angeles Valley Traffic Detectives made an arrest on Thursday in a hit-and-run crash in Sylmar that left a man dead. Mary Inez Mercado, a 21-year-old who lives in Granada Hills, was booked for felony hit-and-run causing death and is currently being held on $50,000 bail. The incident happened just after midnight on April 21. Police said Mercado was driving a dark-colored vehicle and was heading westbound on Hubbard Street when she hit a man pushing a shopping cart. Mercado stopped near Hubbard Street and Dronfield Avenue and got out of the vehicle but then got back in and drove away, according to police. The victim, who has not been identified, was sent to the hospital where he later died.

ABC 7

Elderly Couple Injured During Home Invasion In Bel-Air

Terrifying moments for an elderly couple who were tied up and robbed during a home invasion. The man and a woman were rushed to a hospital with injuries suffered during a home invasion in Bel-Air, authorities said. Officers were dispatched at 12:56 a.m. Saturday, initially to a report of a burglary in the 1300 block of Casiano Road. Police say three masked men entered the home through an unlocked sliding door and terrorized the elderly couple for three hours. Police say the couple was tied up and at one point the suspects put a hood over the woman's face. The couple repeatedly told them they didn't have any valuables in the home, but that didn't stop the men. The woman in her 60s suffered from a wound and the man in his 70s suffered from injuries after being struck. The condition of the two victims was not immediately available. According to police, the suspects managed to drag a safe out of the home. They also took apart the security system and doused the entire home with bleach. A description of the suspects was not provided, but LAPD continue to search for them. 

FOX 11

5 Westwood Businesses Hit By Burglars Within 10 Minutes

The weekend is off to a frustrating start for five business owners in Los Angeles’ Westwood neighborhood after being hit by burglars overnight. Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department said five businesses, including two restaurants, were broken into along the 1800 block of Westwood Boulevard between 2:30 a.m. and 2:40 a.m. Friday. Evidence from the scene shows the windows on the front entrances of the businesses were smashed. LAPD officials said the suspects were two men wearing gray sweatpants, gray sweatshirts and ski masks. Investigators said the thieves got away with cash but did not disclose an estimated amount. Detectives were in the process of canvassing surveillance footage. Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD.

FOX 11

Fentanyl Deaths Skyrocket In Southern California Prompting Outcry For Stricter Laws

The number of fentanyl-related deaths in California has skyrocketed over the past six years. For comparison, around 230 fentanyl deaths were reported in 2016. Now that number has jumped to nearly 5,800 in 2021 — marking an increase of over 2,000 percent. That alarming number has local leaders and victims’ families speaking out and demanding more legislation, including extra safeguards on social media and stricter penalties for fentanyl dealers. “As a mom, this scares the hell out of me,” said Irvine Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris. “As a legislator, I am determined to act.” Petrie-Norris is pushing for stiffer penalties for fentanyl dealers caught selling the drug on social media. “The reality is that dealers don’t need to lurk in dark street corners or remote parking lots,” said Petrie-Norris. “Now they are connecting with our kids on platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.” Petrie-Norris recently introduced two bills to address the growing issue.

KTLA 5

California Man Guilty Of Killing 3 Boys After Ding-Dong-Ditch Prank

A Corona man accused of killing three teenage boys by intentionally ramming their car after they played a doorbell-ringing prank on him was found guilty Friday of murder. Anurag Chandra was convicted in a Riverside County courtroom of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. "The murder of these young men was a horrendous and senseless tragedy for our community. I thank the jury for their verdict. This is an important step toward justice," county District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement. Chandra’s attorney, David Wohl, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday. The victims, who were all 16 years old, were among six teens inside a Toyota Prius on Jan. 19, 2020 when Chandra intentionally rammed their vehicle off the road and fled, prosecutors said. The Prius’ driver lost control and the sedan slammed into a tree in Temescal Valley, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

FOX 11

New California Sheriff's K-9 Named After 2 Fallen Deputies

The newest member of the Riverside County Sheriff's Office is honoring two deputies who were killed in the line of duty. C.C., the K-9 officer, was named in honor of fallen deputies Isaiah Cordero and Darnell Calhoun, who were both shot and killed within a two-week span while working. The 1-and-a-half-year-old K-9 is a German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois mix who is assigned to Deputy Marcus Murray, CBS reports. Murray told CBS that C.C. is a drug and addiction dog tasked with sniffing around crime scenes to find narcotics. Deputy Isaiah Cordero was shot and killed by a suspect who had an active felony warrant on a case involving a kidnapping and stabbing of a CHP K-9 in December. Just 16 days later, Deputy Darnell Calhoun was fatally shot in the city of Lake Elsinore, the sheriff said. He died after being taken to the hospital in serious condition.

PoliceOne

Man Kills 5 In Texas After Family Complained About Gunfire

A Texas man went next door with a rifle and began shooting his neighbors, killing an 8-year-old and four others inside the house, after the family asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because they were trying to sleep, authorities said Saturday. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers told reporters at the scene that authorities were still searching for 39-year-old Francisco Oropeza following the overnight shooting in the town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Houston. He said Oropeza used an AR-style rifle in the shooting. “Everyone that was shot was shot from the neck up, almost execution-style,” Capers said during an earlier news conference at the scene. Capers said there were 10 people in the house and that no one else was injured. He said two of the victims, all believed to be from Honduras, were found laying over two children inside. “The Honduran ladies that were laying over these children were doing it in such an effort as to protect the child,” according to Capers, who said a total of three blood-covered children were found in the home but were determined to be uninjured after being taken to a hospital.

Associated Press

Man Found Dead After ‘Heavy' Fire Breaks Out In 3-Story Building In LA

A man's body has been discovered by firefighters battling a blaze in Los Angeles. The fire broke out in a three-story, 12,300-square-foot building in the 8600 block of S. Broadway. There, firefighters fully extinguished the heavy fire just after 6:07 a.m. Sunday. During their attack on the flames, firefighters discovered an unresponsive man who was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported. An active investigation is underway. 

CBS 2

Pilot Dead After Small, Single-Engine Plane Crashes On Hillside Above Home In Beverly Crest

The pilot of a small plane was found dead on a steep hillside above a home in a Beverly Crest neighborhood hours after the aircraft was reported missing, officials said. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the single-engine aircraft was found "upon a steep hillside that includes a large water tank (not damaged), above a home at 3045 Beverly Glen Circle." No other deaths or injuries were reported. The search mission began at around 8 p.m. Saturday when Air Traffic Control asked the LAFD to search the area after they reportedly lost radar contact with a small, single-engine aircraft believed to be traveling between Santa Monica Airport and Van Nuys Airport, according to the LAFD. Dense fog and steep terrain prolonged the search, reducing visibility to about 50 feet, witnesses said. 

ABC 7

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.