Law Enforcement News

Election 2022: New Poll Shows LA Mayoral Candidates In Dead Heat
The two Los Angeles mayoral candidates U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso, are heading into the final three weeks of their campaign in a statistically dead heat among likely voters, according to new poll results released Tuesday, Oct. 18. The poll shows Caruso, a political newcomer who has largely self-funded his campaign, with a 3 percentage-point lead (39.8% v. 36.8%) over Bass, a former state Assembly speaker and current congresswoman who has racked up endorsements from some big-name Democrats with national profiles, including President Joe Biden. But the 3-point lead is too small to be statistically significant, meaning the race to become mayor of the nation’s second-largest city could remain a nail-biter through election day. The Southern California News Group poll, conducted by Irvine’s J. Wallin Opinion Research, surveyed 400 likely voters in L.A. about the biggest issues facing the city, which mayoral candidate they prefer and whether they support the two city initiatives on the ballot. The interviews took place Saturday through Monday, Oct. 15-17, and included both English and Spanish speakers using landlines and mobile phones. The respondents matched the demographic composition of the region. The margin of error is +/- 4.9%.
LA daily News

Here's How LA Ranked Among US Cities With The Highest Increase In Homicide Rates
Homicide rates have increased by an average of nearly 10% in 50 of the most populated U.S. cities between 2021 and 2022 and are still rising, according to a new survey. WalletHub compared 50 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicide in the third quarter of 2022, as well as per capita homicides in the same quarter of 2022 vs. 2021 and 2020. Taking the top spot was Kansas City, Missouri, with 14.86 homicide cases per capita. The change in homicide cases per capita comparing 2022 to 2021 was 4.89. Detroit, Michigan ranked No. 2, followed by St. Louis, Missouri; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin rounding out the top 5. Los Angeles ranked No. 22 on this list, with 34.92 homicide cases per capita. The change in homicide cases per capita comparing 2022 to 2021 was -0.13. Oakland ranked quite higher at No. 10, recording 47.01 homicide cases per capita. San Francisco ranked No. 28 and Sacramento at No. 37. All in all there were four California cities to make the top 50 list.
FOX 11

Man Pleads Not Guilty In Rapper PnB Rock’s Killing
A man who was arrested in Las Vegas in connection with the shooting death of rapper PnB Rock at the South Los Angeles Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges. Freddie Lee Trone, 40, and his teenage son are charged with one count each of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts each of second-degree robbery involving the Sept. 12 killing of Rakim Allen, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The 30-year-old rapper was shot at the restaurant at 106 W. Manchester Ave., near Main Street, where he was eating lunch with his girlfriend. Police said a male suspect walked up to the couple, drew a handgun, demanded PnB Rock’s jewelry, and shot him. TMZ and Fox11 reported that Freddie Trone is believed to have been the getaway driver following the shooting, allegedly carried out by his teen son. TMZ reported that the pair later burned the vehicle used during the crime.
MyNewsLA

76-Year-Old Man Makes First LA Court Appearance In Four Cold Case Killings
A 76-year-old man who was allegedly linked by DNA evidence to the cold-case killings of a 15-year-old girl and three young women in Los Angeles and Inglewood dating back as far as 1980 made his first appearance Wednesday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on four murder charges. Billy Ray Richardson -- who appeared in court on a hospital gurney -- was ordered to remain jailed without bail while awaiting arraignment Dec. 8. Richardson was extradited Tuesday from Texas, where he was arrested July 13 after being charged with the killings. "Investigative and forensic work over decades connected these murders through DNA and linked them to suspect Billy Ray Richardson,'' according to a statement released by the Los Angeles Police Department after his arrest. The murder charges include the special-circumstance allegations of multiple murders, murder during the commission of a rape and murder during the commission of a burglary, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Each of the victims had been raped, according to the District Attorney's Office.
NBC 4

3 Charged In Connection With Reseda Murder Of Motorist
Three people were charged in connection with a murder in Reseda that led to a police pursuit months later where a motorist was killed after being dragged under his own vehicle, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced Wednesday. Joshua Reneau, 31, of Los Angeles, Derek Lateef Hall, 28, of West Covina, and Miracole Brown, 20, of South L.A., were each charged with one count of murder, five counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of second- degree robbery. Hall also faces one count each of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. Reneau also faces one count of murder, four counts of assault on a peace officer, two counts of carjacking, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of fleeing a pursuing officer's vehicle causing death. Hall faces one count each of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, prosecutors said.
CBS 2

2 Students Stabbed At John Marshall High School In Los Feliz, Police Say
Two students were stabbed at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz Wednesday afternoon, police say. The stabbing happened at the high school, located in the 3900 block of Tracy Street, around 3:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles School Police Department. School police says both students were transported to a hospital, but their condition is unknown. Details on what led to the stabbing are unclear. Police say a person was detained for a short time and then released. Several police vehicles were seen outside the school as an investigation continued.
ABC 7

12,000 Suspected Fentanyl Pills Found In Candy Boxes At LAX Security Checkpoint
Authorities seized about 12,000 pills believed to contain fentanyl that a person tried to bring in candy boxes through a security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday morning. Narcotics detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force agents made the seizure around 7:30 a.m., according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect tried to go through Transportation Security Administration screening “with several bags of candy and miscellaneous snacks with the intent of boarding a plane,” deputies said. Security officers discovered that the candy boxes contained pills believed to contain fentanyl, deputies said. “The suspect fled prior to being detained by law enforcement but has been identified and the investigation is ongoing,” according to the Sheriff’s Department. Information on whether the pills had tested positive for fentanyl was not available Wednesday evening.
LA Times

LASD Searching For Person Who Left Fake Bomb In Calabasas
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in Calabasas are searching for a person they say left a suspicious devise on the side of the road in the city Wednesday. According to officials, a person who appeared to be carrying a rifle bag and armed with a pistol left a suspicious package in the 26000 block of Agoura Road in Calabasas shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday. The person was seen on surveillance footage wearing a red cap, dark sunglasses, gray hoodie, tan pants and tan boots. Deputies said the package was a fake bomb, but did not provide any further details. Deputies asked that anyone who saw or came into contact with this person call LASD's Lost Hills Station at 818-878-1808. Those wishing to remain anonymous can also call LA Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or submit a tip through lacrimestoppers.org.
FOX 11

California Offering $200k For Information On Four Unsolved Murders
California is offering $200,000 for information on four unsolved murders throughout the state. Rewards of $50,000 each have been assigned to four cold cases spanning the years from 1990 to 2021. Governor Gavin Newsom announced that any information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects involved in the murders will be rewarded. The victims include — Lamar Murphy in Alameda County, Jessica Martinez in Bakersfield, Kyrin Wright in Fresno and Eric Velasquez in Santa Paula. In January 2017, 16-year-old Murphy was shot and killed while riding his bike in Alameda County. Authorities say all suspect leads have been exhausted and they’re asking for the public’s help. Anyone with information can contact the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office at 510-667-3636. The victim’s family has also offered a $10,000 reward. In 1990, 4-year-old Jessica Martinez was playing outside, in front of her apartment complex when she disappeared. Eleven days later, authorities found her body lying in a field about 10 miles from her home.
KTLA 5

Head Of Police Union Says Las Vegas Shooting Suspect Should Receive Death Penalty For Murdering Officer
With police officers filling the courtroom gallery, a man accused of killing a veteran patrol officer stood silently before a judge Tuesday in a case that the top prosecutor in Las Vegas has said might bring the death penalty. Tyson Shawn Jordan Hampton stood shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles, with a bandage on his left forearm. He faces 27 felony charges including murder, attempted murder, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and discharging a firearm. The 24-year-old's court-appointed attorneys declined to seek his release from jail on bail and the judge set another court date Nov. 1. Deputy public defenders Conor Slife and Anna Clark declined after the hearing to comment. In the court hallway, Steve Grammas, executive director of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, stood surrounded by about 30 police officers and union members and called for capital punishment. “This should be a death penalty case,” Grammas told reporters. “That is the expression from myself and I believe all of our police officers. We’re all upset that we have to be here to deal with a case because we lost one of our brothers.”
Associated Press

Jury Returns Guilty Verdict In 30 Minutes For Man Who Murdered First Sikh Deputy In Texas Police Department
A man was convicted of capital murder on Monday in the 2019 shooting death of a law enforcement officer who was the first Sikh deputy in his Texas agency. A jury took less than 30 minutes before finding Robert Solis, 50, guilty in the killing of Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal during a September 2019 traffic stop in a residential cul-de-sac 18 miles (29 kilometers) northwest of Houston. Authorities say the 42-year-old deputy was shot multiple times from behind after he stopped Solis and was walking back to his patrol car. The same jury in Houston that convicted Solis began hearing evidence late Monday afternoon in the trial’s punishment phase. Prosecutors are seeking a death sentence. Just before his trial began last week, Solis fired his court-appointed attorneys and chose to represent himself. Solis testified in his own defense and told jurors he had accidentally shot Dhaliwal. Prosecutors argued Solis deliberately shot Dhaliwal because he didn’t want to go back to jail. At the time of the traffic stop, Solis had a warrant for violating parole.
Associated Press

Person Dies In Brentwood House Fire
A person died Thursday at the scene of a house fire in Brentwood. Firefighters sent to the 400 block of South Cliffwood Avenue at 5:54 a.m. found the person dead on the first floor of the two-story building, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Information on the identity of the person was not immediately available. The fire was extinguished in about a half hour, the LAFD reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
CBS 2

LA County’s COVID Hospitalizations Drop Below 400
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has fallen below 400 for the first time since May, according to the latest state figures out Wednesday. There are 379 COVID-positive patients at county hospitals, down from 403 on Tuesday. Of those patients, 51 were being treated in intensive care, down two from the previous day. County officials have said that roughly 40% of COVID-positive patients were admitted specifically for COVID, while the others were hospitalized for other reasons but tested positive upon admission. Also Wednesday, local health officials reported an additional 2,339 COVID-19 cases and 33 new virus-related deaths covering a three-day span since Monday, following a technical issue that prevented Monday’s and Tuesday’s infection and fatality numbers from being tallied earlier. The new cases lifted the county’s overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,474,708 cases and 33,862 deaths, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
My NewsLA

California To End The COVID State Of Emergency
California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end Feb. 28, 2023, nearly three years from its initiation, officials from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday. The announcement came as new variants spur concerns that there will be another deadly winter surge across the country and as test positivity rates plateau in California following a nearly three-month decline. More than 95,000 Californians have died as a result of COVID-19, according to state data. The state of emergency gave Newsom broad, often controversial, powers to issue masking and vaccination mandates and temporary stay-at-home orders in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. It also enabled the governor to enter into nearly $12 billion dollars worth of no-bid emergency response contracts with testing facilities, personal protective equipment suppliers and temporary workforce agencies. Some of those contracts were with untested vendors who failed to deliver services.
WestSide Current

Local Government News

Kevin de León Says He Has No Plans To Resign From LA City Council
Kevin de León said in an interview Wednesday that he will not resign from the Los Angeles City Council nearly two weeks after a recorded conversation with two colleagues and a top LA County labor official that included racist slurs was made public. The former mayoral candidate's statement in an interview with CBS Los Angeles follows the resignation of Nury Martinez and widespread calls for him to step down that included protests at City Hall and outside his home. De León, Martinez and colleague Gil Cedillo were part of a recorded October 2021 conversation that included racist remarks about Councilmember Mike Bonin's 2-year-old adopted Black son. "I failed in my leadership," he said in an interview with CBS Los Angeles. "I didn't step up and intervene. I didn't put a stop to it." The interview marked his first public statements regarding the leaked recording. NBCLA reached out to the offices of de León and Cedillo for comment.
NBC 4