Far-left plot to seize control of the LAPD — as cops warn they will destroy the city
Law Enforcement News
Far-left Los Angeles politicians are plotting a takeover of the LAPD that would give them control over the way the city is policed, The California Post can reveal. Activists from the Democratic Socialists of America are pushing to snatch control of the country’s third-largest police force in a major threat to the city’s law and order. The scheme, uncovered by The Post, would shift power to the City Council and away from Karen Bass and the LA Board of Police Commissioners. It would include drastic changes to LAPD operations, from stopping officers from working with ICE agents, ban what they called “pretextual traffic stops of black and brown people” and restrict the use of tear gas at protests. The plan, hatched by socialist councimembers, aims to change how many officers are hired, how resources are deployed, what tactics are allowed, and how the department’s multibillion-dollar budget is spent. The police union has slammed the move saying it would “de-police’’ Los Angeles. “The last thing Los Angeles needs is for the DSA-LA clown car to crash into the LAPD so the defund and abolish the police passengers can spill out and start enacting their de-policing agenda,” LAPD union spokesman Tom Saggau told The Post. “What they have proposed is not reform, but the elimination of civilian oversight of the LAPD, which is the scary reality of their true intentions.”
How thousands of sensitive LAPD files got leaked online — and what happens next
The disciplinary files of Los Angeles police officers are closely guarded secrets, protected by some of the nation’s strictest confidentiality laws. But now, many of those secret files have been splashed across the internet, along with tens of thousands of other sensitive records from the L.A. city attorney’s office. The extent of the data breach is still unclear, and city officials have said they are investigating to find out what was taken, who was responsible and how the city’s cybersecurity was compromised.
Ex-Con’s Appeal Denied in LAPD Officer’s 1983 Killing
A state appellate court panel Thursday rejected the latest appeal from an ex-con who is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the shooting death of a Los Angeles Police Department officer during a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace more than 40 years ago. The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal — which noted that the defense was not challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting Kenneth Earl Gay’s convictions — rejected the defense’s claims that jurors were improperly instructed in his most recent trial and that a judge had erred in denying three separate motions to dismiss the case. Gay, who is now 68, was convicted in August 2023 of first-degree murder for the June 2, 1983, shooting death of Officer Paul Verna, a married father of two young sons who both eventually became police officers. Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer in the performance of his duties and murder to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest.
Serial Arson Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Murder in Fire That Killed Two Women
A 39-year-old man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder charges stemming from a fire that killed two women in Hollywood, along with arson for a series of other blazes that he allegedly intentionally set. Jovan Lamar Duverne is charged with two counts of murder stemming from the Feb. 4 deaths of Maria Del Consuelo Alarcon-Valdez, 76, and Yolanda Honda, 82, who were sisters. The murder charges include the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with sentencing enhancements related to a prior arson conviction, according to the District Attorney’s Office, which will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Duverne. The two women died after Duverne allegedly set fire to their home around 2 a.m., authorities said. He is also facing 11 felony counts of arson involving a string of fires at 10 locations across Hollywood between Jan. 26 and Feb. 4 that were allegedly set using a handheld torch-style lighter, with the defendant walking between locations lighting rubbish and trying to enter buildings, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Toddler's death in Porter Ranch investigated as possible fentanyl exposure
LAPD detectives are investigating the death of a toddler in Porter Ranch as a possible drug overdose after law enforcement sources told NBC4 Investigates drug paraphernalia was discovered in the boy's home, and the father made references to fentanyl in conversations with emergency responders. According to the sources, the boy was found unresponsive when someone tried to wake him from a nap, and the father allegedly told paramedics he hoped the boy "did not get into his fentanyl." The boy died at a hospital April 3 after paramedics transported the boy to the hospital in what was described as, "grave," condition. The boy lived in a home near Rinaldi Street and Wilbur Avenue, according to police. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner was conducting lab tests to determine an exact cause of death, according to an entry in its case tracking system. Detectives questioned the father and released him while they continue to investigate what happened. The sources said 'evidence of drug use' and paraphernalia were found inside the home.
Gunfire erupts during attempted Camaro theft in Woodland Hills; suspects flee
An attempted car theft led to an exchange of gunfire between the car owner and two suspects early Friday morning in Woodland Hills, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD confirmed officers responded to the 5500 block of Fallbrook Avenue following reports of gunfire around 2 a.m. According to initial information from news stringer KNN, a homeowner was awakened by noises outside and discovered two men attempting to steal his Chevrolet Camaro parked in the driveway. The homeowner confronted the suspects, who were described as wearing black hoodies, and gunfire was exchanged. Evidence of the shooting included bullet holes in the front door of the home and spent shell casings scattered on the ground. Blood was also reportedly found on the hood of the Camaro, suggesting one of the suspects may have been injured, though police have not confirmed any injuries. The suspects fled the scene in a Camaro of a similar style, according to the stringer report, and they remain outstanding.
North Hollywood coffee shop owner frustrated after yet another burglary
A North Hollywood coffee shop owner is voicing his frustrations after his small business was targeted by burglars yet again, marking what he says is the third time that he's been hit. Cara Vana owner Jesse Valencia says that two of those incidents have happened in the last month, including when the coffee shop was one of six small businesses in the San Fernando Valley to get targeted on the same November night. The most recent instance happened early Wednesday morning, when three suspects were seen outside of the business via surveillance video. The footage shows one of the suspects using a stick-like object to shatter the front door of the shop before all three rush inside. Valencia said that the suspects only took whatever small change they found in the registers, but said that the damage to the door would put them back.
Woodland Hills Man Sentenced in Opioid Ring
A San Fernando Valley man prosecutors said operated corrupt medical clinics was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking ring that sold thousands of illegal opioid prescriptions for cash. Justin Douglas Cozart, 48, of Woodland Hills, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Following a five-day trial, a federal jury in February 2025 found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and concealment money laundering. Prosecutors said Cozart operated several Southern California medical clinics where co-conspirators sent sham patients to obtain oxycodone prescriptions, including locations in Inglewood, Santa Ana and Anaheim. Cozart was accused of employing doctors, including John Korzelius, 74, of Long Beach, who allegedly issued prescriptions for the patients.
3 Southern California men arrested in $1 million Lego heist
Three Southern California men were arrested for their alleged part in a $1 million Lego heist in the Inland Empire, according to authorities. Deputies with the Kern County Sheriff's Office Mojave Substation were called to the 400 block of Silver Queen Road on Wednesday, April 8, after learning of suspicious vehicles in the area, according to a news release shared by the department on social media. "When deputies arrived, two box trucks were seen fleeing the area," the release said. Traffic stops were conducted on both vehicles, and deputies were able to identify the suspects as 37-year-old San Bernardino man Jose Lopez, 25-year-old Los Angeles man Ruben Lopez Flores and 35-year-old Chino man Freddy Hernandez Polinar. Deputies searched both of the box trucks and discovered a large amount of Lego products, and upon searching the surrounding area, found two freight trailers.
Sheriff's deputy killed while serving eviction notice in central California
A man fatally shot a central California sheriff’s deputy Thursday morning as he was being served an eviction notice, prompting an hours-long standoff that ended with authorities fatally running him over with a vehicle after he fled the home. Tulare County deputies were serving the notice to a 60-year-old man in Porterville when he opened fire on them, the sheriff's department said. Porterville is about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the state’s Central Valley. The man barricaded himself inside the home with a rifle for several hours. At one point, authorities deployed gas into the home as the man continued to fire at law enforcement. The standoff ended around 6 p.m. when the man left the home and moved through the yards of nearby homes, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said at an evening news conference. Boudreaux said a Kern County SWAT team drove an armored car into the yard where the man was laying on the ground and he started firing at them. The team drove the car over the man, killing him. Boudreaux said the man had failed to pay rent for 35 days and had been expecting law enforcement to arrive to serve a final notice for eviction. Boudreaux said he “laid in wait” and immediately shot at officers when they arrived. The man's family was in contact with him and urged him to come out peacefully, but he refused, Boudreaux said.
New York serial killer pleads guilty to murdering seven women and admits he killed another
A Long Island architect who led a secret life as a serial killer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to murdering seven women and admitted he killed an eighth in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings. Rex Heuermann, 62, entered the pleas in a courtroom packed with reporters, police and victims’ relatives, some of whom wept as he detailed his crimes for the court. He will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at a later date. Heuermann’s guilty pleas — to three counts of first-degree murder and four of intentional murder — bring finality to a case that bedeviled investigators, agonized victims’ relatives and tantalized a true crime-obsessed public for years. Although he wasn’t charged in her death, he also admitted that he killed Karen Vergata in 1996. Heuermann strangled the women, many of them sex workers, over a 17-year span and buried their remains in remote locations, including along an isolated beach highway across the bay from where he lived, authorities said.
Public Safety News
Unknown patient hospitalized since being found last month in L.A.
Health officials are asking for the public’s help identifying a man who has been hospitalized since he was found unresponsive in Los Angeles last month. The unidentified patient was taken to California Hospital Medical Center after he was discovered in the area of West Olympic Boulevard and South Union Avenue in the Westlake neighborhood on March 26. Officials did not release any details about the man’s injuries or what caused him to become unresponsive. “The hospital is seeking the public’s help in identifying this patient because he had no documentation or evidence of his identity with him,” Dignity Health officials said in a news release. The patient is described as a Hispanic man believed to be between 30 and 35 years old. He has black hair, brown eyes and no tattoos. He weighs about 195 pounds and is approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall. Anyone with information that could help identify the man is asked to contact hospital officials at 213-742-5500 or 213-507-5495.
