Family Seeks Justice For Promising Scholar-Athlete Gunned Down In South LA

At just 16 years old, Quincy Reese Jr., a promising scholar-athlete at Crenshaw High School, had an entire future ahead of him, filled with big dreams and ambitions – until his life was taken. On the night of June 10, chaos erupted on Western Avenue in South Los Angeles following a birthday party. “Yes, we don’t have any indication he was involved in any of this. He was just fleeing the location for his own safety,” said Detective Blake Putnins from the Los Angeles Police Department's South Bureau Homicide Division. A single gunshot ended Quincy's hopeful journey, leaving him collapsed on the grass. Now, his family grapples with the devastation of losing a young man with immense potential. “[He was a] 3.4 GPA student, about to be the captain of his basketball team,” said Quincy’s father, Quincy Reese Sr. Despite the presence of hundreds of witnesses, few have come forward with information. Homicide investigators are keen on a dark Hyundai Tucson captured on surveillance footage, believing it holds crucial details about the tragic event. “It’s always the least kid you’d expect. He is not a kid that set himself up to be a victim of the environment, but even still, that’s how random it is around here,” said Jahan Epps, Quincy’s former basketball coach. Quincy's family, desperate for closure, has joined hands with Hoop Justice, a nonprofit organization, and initiated an annual basketball tournament in Quincy's honor to prompt community engagement and dialogue.

NBC 4

LA Model Maleesa Mooney Found Dead In Refrigerator In Downtown Apartment, Officials Say

A 31-year-old model who was found dead inside her downtown Los Angeles apartment was severely beaten, bound and gagged, with her body discovered inside her refrigerator, according to an autopsy report released Friday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Maleesa Mooney was found dead in her apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street around 3:55 p.m. Sept. 12, police said. Her cause of death was not previously revealed, although police said the case was being investigated as a homicide. Mooney's body was found two days after another model, 32-year-old Nichole Coats, was found dead inside a downtown apartment less than three miles away. Police eventually determined the deaths were not related, and the Medical Examiner this week ruled Coats' death an accident due to "cocaine and ethanol toxicity." The autopsy report on Mooney points to evidence of blunt force trauma, including abrasions, lacerations and contusions around her head and neck, body and extremities. According to the Medical Examiner report, Mooney was last seen alive Sept. 6 on surveillance video at her apartment complex. Police went to her apartment Sept. 12 in response to a call from her mother requesting a welfare check.

FOX 11

Authorities Investigating After Man Found Dead In Westlake 

Police have opened an investigation into what led up to a man’s death in the Westlake area of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers responded to the 400 block of South Coronado Street just before 7:45 a.m. Saturday morning. Upon arriving on scene, they discovered a man in his 50s who was “cold and stiff,” police said. There is no indication of foul play, authorities confirmed to KTLA. The man has not been identified by police and a cause of death is yet to be determined. 

KTLA 5

Delivery Driver's Leg Severed In Boyle Heights Crash Involving DUI Suspect

A delivery driver's leg was severed when he was struck by a DUI suspect in a violent crash Saturday morning in Boyle Heights, authorities said. The collision was reported just after 5 a.m. in the 2700 block of Cesar Chavez Avenue, just east of Mott Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The male victim was making a delivery and unloading some packages from his vehicle, which was double-parked at the time of the collision, an LAPD spokesperson said. The man was struck by a vehicle traveling eastbound on Cesar Chavez Avenue, police said. A parked vehicle was also hit. The victim was transported to a hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition. The driver, identified only as a man, was taken into custody at the scene, authorities said. The cause of the crash is being investigated as possible DUI, the LAPD said.

ABC 7

Reseda Man Gets 12 Year-Sentence For Selling Ghost Guns

A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Friday for illegally selling firearms, including dozens of alleged ghost guns, and methamphetamine. Ghost guns are firearms that are homemade, or privately assembled, and untraceable. According to a United States Department of Justice news release, 27-year-old Julio Ernesto Lopez-Menendez of Reseda, sold at least 89 firearms and 20 rounds of ammunition, including more than 60 ghost guns that did not have serial numbers, from January 2022 to April 2022. He does not have a federal firearms license or any firearms registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, according to court documents. Lopez-Menendez also sold 17 pounds of methamphetamine on four occasions, including one sale in which he sold more than nine pounds of the drug to a buyer. In February, Lopez-Menendez, who has been in custody since April 2022, pleaded guilty to distributing meth and dealing firearms without a license. 

KTLA 5

Woman With Dementia Goes Missing In Lomita; Public's Help Sought

Authorities Sunday were asking for the public's help in locating a 74-year-old woman with dementia last seen in Lomita. Marry Woe was last seen about 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the 25400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, the Sheriff's Information Bureau reported. Her family is concerned for her well-being. Woe was described as a 5-foot, 2-inch tall Asian woman weighing 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She also wears glasses. She was last seen wearing a gray shirt, beige cardigan, black tights and gray shoes. Anyone with information regarding Woe's whereabouts was urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. 

CBS 2

Missing Teen With Autism Found Safe In Los Angeles County

A missing teen with autism who disappeared in Palmdale earlier this week was found safe on Saturday night. The boy was identified as 15-year-old Jobari Douglas aka “Noelle,” by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “Thank you to the public, the media, Aero Bureau, and deputy personnel for their tireless efforts in the search for Mr. Douglas,” authorities said. At the time of his disappearance, Douglas was last seen on Wednesday near the 2100 block of East Avenue R around 3:37 p.m. The details surrounding his disappearance and discovery were not released.

KTLA 5

2 Children Dead, 2 Hospitalized In Lancaster Child Abuse Investigation

Two children are dead and two remain hospitalized after they were found Saturday night with cuts to their bodies at a Lancaster home, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies went to the residence in the 1800 block fo East Avenue J-2 after receiving a report of child abuse around midnight. Four children under age 10 found with cuts to their bodies were hospitalized. Two of the children died at the hospital. The other two suffered non-life-threatening injuries. One man was detained by authorities. Details about the man's identity were not immediately available. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. 

NBC 4

Mass Shooting In Tampa, Florida: 2 Killed, 18 Others Hurt When Gunfire Erupts During Crowded Halloween Street Party

A fight between two groups turned deadly in Tampa when a shooting during Halloween festivities resulted in two deaths and 18 people hospitalized early Sunday morning, police said. Officers responded to the shooting in Tampa just before 3 a.m. on the 1600 block of East 7th Avenue in the Ybor City area, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said during a press conference at the scene. The fight occurred in an area with several bars and clubs, and there were large numbers of late night revelers in the area at the time, Bercaw said. Police were not immediately sure if the people involved in the fight were inside any of the bars before the shooting. Video posted online shows people in Halloween costumes drinking and talking on the street when shots ring out, creating a stampede. Some people topple over metal tables and take cover behind them. Video from the aftermath shows police officers treating several people lying wounded on the ground. A volley of about a dozen shots rang out followed a few seconds later by a volley of about eight shots. "It was a disturbance or a fight between two groups. And in this fight between two groups we had hundreds of innocent people involved that were in the way," Bercaw said. He did not provide details of the injuries suffered by the victims taken to area hospitals.

CBS 2

Retired Officer Helped Shield People In Bowling Alley During Maine Shooting

A retired police officer quickly started protecting people in a bowling alley when a man opened fire on Wednesday night, ABC News reports. Riley Dumont told ABC News that her daughter, who is 11 years old, was involved in a youth activity at the bowling alley when shots suddenly rang out. Dumont said her father, a retired police officer with 40 years of experience, quickly grasped the severity of the situation and assisted in safeguarding individuals in the bowling alley. "My dad's been a police officer for 40 years and he literally just went into action in that moment and just kind of corralled us all and made sure we were all safe ... he was waiting for the cops to walk through the front door and he put protection in front of us and tables and like a big bench that the kids were hiding behind," Dumont told ABC News. Dumont shared that she, along with her daughter, mother, and other parents and children present, were hiding. She firmly believes that her father's actions contributed to saving lives. The shootings, at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, killed 18 people and injured 13 others.

PoliceOne

Biker Killed In Crash With Vehicle In Venice

A motorcyclist was killed in a crash with a vehicle in Venice, authorities said Saturday. The crash occurred at about 10:55 p.m. Friday at Lincoln Boulevard and Lake Street, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. The motorcyclist, a man approximately 35 years old, was traveling south on Lincoln when he struck the passenger side of a vehicle driven by an 81-year-old man as it was turning westbound onto Lake Street, police said. Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The motorist, who refused hospital transport, stayed at the scene to cooperate with police, Humphrey said.

MyNewsLA

‘Friends’ Star Matthew Perry Dead At 54, Found In Hot Tub At L.A. Home

“Friends” star Matthew Perry was found dead Saturday in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home, law enforcement sources said. He was 54. Authorities responded about 4 p.m. to his home, where he was discovered unresponsive. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, did not cite a cause of death. No drugs were found at the scene, sources said, but a source told The Times prescription medications were recovered at the home and hence toxicology will be part of the investigation. A representative for Perry did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment. Los Angeles Police Capt. Scot Williams, who leads the Robbery Homicide Division that is investigating Perry’s death, said the “cause of death may not be known for some time, but at this point foul play is not suspected.” The cause of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Los Angeles Times

2 Injured After Car Drives Off Highway In Angeles National Forest

Two people were injured after their car veered off the side of the highway in the Angeles National Forest on Saturday afternoon. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but California Highway Patrol officers were called to the Angeles National Highway, just south of SR-14, at around 4:30 p.m. upon learning of the incident. With SkyCal over the scene, paramedics with Los Angeles Fire Department could be seen fitting the two patients with neck braces before they were taken away in a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department helicopter. The car, a black sedan, could be seen sitting at the bottom of an embankment off the side of the road, with a large amount of debris scattered around the vehicle. 

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.