Fatal Drive-By Shooting in Jefferson Park
Law Enforcement News
Fatal Drive-By Shooting in Jefferson Park
A 31-year-old man died after he was shot by a person in a vehicle in the Jefferson Park area of Los Angeles, authorities said Monday. The shooting was reported at about 6:45 p.m. Sunday at 2245 W. 30th St., according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman. Paramedics rushed the man to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, the officer said. His name was not released pending notification of relatives. A suspect description and motive were not immediately available, he said.
Homicide investigation underway after girl was killed in alleged bullying incident in Reseda
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a homicide investigation after a 12-year-old student died while trying to protect her sister from an alleged bullying incident at Reseda High School, NBC Los Angeles confirmed Friday. Khimberly Zavaleta's family said the girl suffered a brain injury after she was hit in the head with a metal water bottle, thrown by another student. After spending days in a coma and undergoing surgery, the girl died at a hospital early Wednesday morning, her mother told NBCLA. "I'm devastated. I'm full of pain, thinking about how I will never see my daughter again,' Elma Chuquipa, Khimberly's mother, said in Spanish. A group of students held a protest at Reseda High School Friday in support of Khimberly. "We’re all sad. Because she was the one who gave all the energy to us, because she was so happy. She was always happy. She was always smiling," said Dayari Diaz, Khimberly's friend who organized the protest with help from her mother. "We want justice for her," Dayari, also a student at the school, said. "The school is not doing anything." In response to the deadly incident, the LA Unified School District said, while it cannot share details due to confidentiality, it was "deeply saddened by the death of a Reseda High School student."
Person severely injured in Boyle Heights hit-and-run
Authorities say a person, possibly a bicyclist, was severely injured in a hit-and-run crash in Boyle Heights overnight. A call surrounding the incident came into the Los Angeles Police Department dispatch around 11:18 p.m. Sunday, a department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA. The collision was reported at Cesar Chavez Avenue and Fickett Street. “When officers arrived they found a victim down,” the LAPD spokesperson said. “It appears it was a bicyclist struck by an unknown vehicle that failed to stop and render aid.” The victim was taken to a hospital with severe injuries. No information surrounding the suspect or their vehicle was available. Video from the scene does show a bicycle leaning up against a power pole; the bike was taken by an officer and placed into a squad car.
Stolen gun, 1 pound of methamphetamine seized in North Hollywood
Patrolling officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) arrested three people and seized a pound of methamphetamine as well as a stolen gun in North Hollywood, NBC4 Investigates learned Friday. The officers were monitoring the North Hollywood neighborhood near Whitsett Fields Park Thursday afternoon when they spotted three people acting suspiciously inside a car, the LAPD told NBC4 Investigates. When the officers checked the car's registration, they learned it expired a year ago. Yet the car had a current registration sticker on the plate, police said. The people inside the car, two men and one woman, were asked to step out of the car as the vehicle was impounded. Once the officers began searching inside the car, they found a stolen gun under the seat and a pound of methamphetamine. "Three suspects off the streets --- these individuals were most likely delivering methamphetamine to the unhoused individuals in tents and RV’s located by the parks," LAPD North Hollywood Commanding Officer Cpt. Warner Castillo told NBC Los Angeles Friday. The two men were arrested for narcotics with a firearm. The woman was arrested for possession of methamphetamine.
LAPD increases patrols near places of worship amid US-Israel's joint attacks on Iran
Cheers and chants erupted in Westwood on Saturday night. Dozens of Iranian Americans celebrated after learning that the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for decades, is now dead following the joint U.S. and Israel military strikes. "They couldn't topple this regime without help from outside, and they were begging other countries to come and help them," Los Angeles resident Maryam Farahzadi said. While many were happy about a potential regime change, others were on high alert. In a social media post Saturday, Mayor Karen Bass released the following statement: "We are closely monitoring for any threats to Los Angeles’ public safety amid military action in the Middle East. "While there are no known credible threats at this time, LAPD has stepped up patrols near places of worship, community spaces and other areas of the city, and we will remain vigilant in protecting our city. "We understand that many Angelenos are affected and deeply concerned, and encourage everyone to voice their views in a peaceful way."
Woman behind multimillion dollar liens arrested for filing false documents, LAPD says
Rita Ortiz, the woman who filed numerous multimillion liens on homeowners on Benedict Canyon Drive, has been arrested. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to 7 On Your Side Investigates that Ortiz was arrested on Thursday and faces 25 counts of of filing a false or forged document with a public office. Inmate records show Ortiz, 58, is being held on $700,000 bail. Earlier this month, 7 On Your Side Investigates broke the story of how Ortiz hit several homeowners in Benedict Canyon and beyond with massive liens for services like cleaning. But the homeowners on Benedict Canyon Drive with the massive liens who we spoke to say they never hired Ortiz to do any work. At least 13 of those liens filed by Ortiz claimed $24.6 million in work and materials like "cleaning services" and "equipment". One homeowner, Marjorie Josaphat, got hit with an additional $98.5 million lien from Ortiz. Josaphat said she does not know Ortiz. "It took them 35 liens to get her in jail, but I am happy. It's a good start," Josaphat said.
2 arrested, 2 at large after early morning catalytic converter thefts in Los Feliz
Two people were arrested and two suspects remain at large for multiple catalytic converter thefts in the Los Feliz area early Friday morning, according to Los Angeles police. In a news release, LAPD officers said that they saw suspects "removing a catalytic converter from underneath a parked vehicle in the area of Rodney Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard" at around 3:40 a.m. that morning. A brief pursued occured when police tried to detain the suspects, who fled from the area in an unknown vehicle. It ended minutes later when the suspects lost control and crashed. Two of the suspects, identified as 23-year-old Whittier man Elvin Ferrera and a 17-year-old boy from Huntington Park, were arrested at the scene. The two others fled from the area on foot and have not yet been located. Both of the suspects who were arrested were hospitalized for injuries sustained in the crash. Their conditions as of Saturday evening were not known.
Fugitive Hollywood piano instructor sexually abused teen student for years
A 69-year-old Australian national, a well-connected piano teacher living in West Hollywood before fleeing the country amid a conviction for sexually abusing a child, was extradited back to Los Angeles and sentenced to more than nine years in state prison late last week. In a news release, officials at the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office said John Michael Kaleel repeatedly sexually abused a 13-year-old boy who was taking lessons from him between 2011 and 2013. Detectives with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Kaleel in 2015 after the victim came forward with allegations that the piano teacher had been sexually explicit with him for years. The victim said that when he was 12, Kaleel requested the boy measure his penis and later persuaded him that they should both masturbate over a FaceTime call. In 2015, when the victim was 15, he said he and the piano teacher smoked cannabis together and engaged in oral sex, the Los Angeles Times reported. In the testimonials section of Kaleel’s former website, the children of several high-profile Hollywood writers and producers were listed, including the creators of “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “Mad Men.”
BWC: Suspect’s bullet strikes California officer’s baseball cap during struggle
A Fresno police officer narrowly avoided injury after a suspect fired a handgun at him during a struggle in an alley, striking the top of the officer’s baseball cap and knocking it off his head, according to a critical incident video released by the Fresno Police Department. The shooting occurred Dec. 7, 2025, near West Clinton and Northwest avenues. According to the department’s briefing released on Feb. 27, an officer, identified as Officer No. 1, was patrolling the area when he saw two men standing in an alley near a warming fire. He recognized one of the men as 41-year-old Bradley Nicholson, whom he knew to be on post-release community supervision. The officer got out of his cruiser and walked up to Nicholson. When contacted, Nicholson identified himself as “Jason” and denied being on parole. Body-worn camera video shows the officer asking Nicholson to put his hands behind his back. Nicholson resisted, repeatedly saying he was not on parole. The officer warned that a TASER would be used if he did not comply.
FBI probes Austin bar shooting that killed 2 and wounded 14 as possible terrorist act
A gunman wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah” killed two people and wounded 14 early Sunday at a Texas bar, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The FBI is investigating the shooting, which erupted a day after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran, as a potential act of terrorism. Police in Austin shot and killed the gunman, who used both a pistol and a rifle to carry out the attack, police said. The shooting happened outside Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden just before 2 a.m. along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and only a few miles (kilometers) from the University of Texas at Austin. Nathan Comeaux, a 22-year-old senior, had spent the evening there with friends and said the bar was “full of college students, probably mostly UT kids, shoulder to shoulder, hundreds just enjoying their nights.” The suspect drove past the bar several times before stopping and shooting from the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar, according to Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis. He then parked, got out with a rifle and began shooting at people walking along the street before officers rushed to the intersection and shot him, Davis said. Three of the injured were in critical condition Sunday morning, she said.
