Hit-and-Run Driver Kills Pedestrian In Boyle Heights

Police are searching for a driver who struck and killed a pedestrian in Boyle Heights. The deadly hit-and-run happened on April 16 as the pedestrian was crossing Mission Road near 1st Street at around 8 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was crossing the road when a vehicle traveling southbound struck the person. The suspect did not stop and continued speeding away. Nearby surveillance video captured the suspect vehicle that was last seen making a westbound turn onto Commercial Street from Vignes Street. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by responding paramedics. Their identity was not released. The suspect’s vehicle is described as a black Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima sedan with black rims. A reward of up to $50,000 is available to anyone who provides information leading to the driver’s identification, apprehension and conviction.

KTLA 5

LAPD Expo Shows Latest In Less-than-Lethal Police Robots, Devices

The Los Angeles Police Department hosted an expo on Thursday that demonstrated the future of non-lethal policing. Some 70 vendors came to the police academy to demonstrate robots, advanced Tasers and other devices that can de-escalate dangerous situations without the use of deadly force. The robots were available in two-legged humanoid versions as well as four-legged canine simulators. "What this individual has the capability of doing is they have full range of motion," said Michael Plaskin, whose company Alchera X develops police robots. "They can go ahead and communicate. They have the technology to raise their hands and walk around and be able to deter and detract from another individual." The LAPD and other law enforcement agencies were shopping around here seeing what's available. The Police Commission has to approve major LAPD equipment purchases. The LAPD is looking into less than lethal equipment to reduce the number of fatal officer-involved shootings.

ABC 7

LAPD Seizes More Than 2,800 Boxes Of LEGOs In Massive Retail Theft Bust

Two people were arrested this week in connection with a retail theft ring that allegedly stole thousands of LEGO toys from several Southern California retailers. Blanca Gudino, 39, of Lawndale, and 71-year-old Richard Siegel were taken into custody after police served a search warrant at Siegel's home in Long Beach. Police said detectives became aware of a series of thefts from a retailer on North Gaffey Street in San Pedro where loss prevention personnel identified Gudino as the suspect. On Tuesday, she was seen stealing items from the same retailer in Torrance and Lakewood before dropping them off at Siegel's home, according to police. During the search warrant, LAPD Harbor Area detectives recovered more than 2,800 boxes of LEGO toys. "Individual items seized varied in retail value from $20.00 to well over $1,000," said police in a press release. Police did not identify the retailer that was targeted by the pair. Police said during Wednesday's bust, potential buyers who saw ads for the toys online stopped by the home. Siegel was arrested for organized retail theft while Gudino was arrested for grand theft.

ABC 7

Burglars Hit Another Westchester Home, Pepper Spray Family Dog

A house was burglarized and a dog was pepper sprayed today in Westchester, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Just before 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the residents of 7400 Ogelsby Avenue returned home to find their house broken into and burglarized, the LAPD said. The residents also said their dog was pepper sprayed by the burglars, who fled the scene before police were notified, according to the department. No suspect information or update on the dog was available. Police said they took a burglary report.

Westside Current

Suspected Brothel Busted In South LA

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Vice Division busted a suspected brother overnight in South LA. Vice and patrol LAPD officers raided the suspected brothel that was allegedly taking place behind the walls of an abandoned business near Vermont and Florence avenues. During the bust, several people reportedly took off running and some of them got away. About a dozen people were detained and four were later arrested. Authorities confirmed the four suspects, three men and a woman, all had felony warrants. The names of the suspects have not been released and no further information was released by authorities. 

FOX 11

Man Firing At Southern California Motorists, Killing 1, Charged With Murder

The 39-year-old man arrested for reportedly firing at passing commuters in Riverside County earlier this week, killing a husband and father of four children and injuring another person, has been charged with one count of murder and six counts of attempted murder. Surveillance footage captured Julio Cesar Rodarte as he emptied an entire magazine worth of bullets at passing motorists, loaded another and continued shooting at around 6:30 a.m. June 3 on State Street near the intersection of West 7th Street in San Jacinto. Victor Leon was fatally shot during the incident as he returned home from his overnight warehouse shift in Moreno Valley. He is survived by his wife of 13 years and their four children. A second person injured by gunfire was hospitalized and is now recovering. At a court appearance in Riverside County Thursday, the 39-year-old suspect’s attorney requested a mental competency hearing, which the judge approved and scheduled for July 13, according to Thalia Hayden, public information officer for the Riverside District Attorney’s Office.

KTLA 5

Single Suspect Arrested After Three Banks Are Robbed In About An Hour In Southern California

Police have arrested a 62-year-old man on suspicion of carrying out three bank robberies within about an hour in Temecula and Murrieta. The man, Sonny Tho Leu, was detained by police in Murrieta after they stopped his vehicle. According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, the first of the robberies occurred Tuesday morning at a bank on Margarita Road in Temecula. When deputies arrived at the bank at 11:51 a.m., employees told them a man had passed a note to a teller demanding money. The teller complied, and the man left with an undisclosed sum of money. Bank employees said he was wearing a blue shirt and baseball cap and carrying an orange bag. While deputies were at the bank questioning people, they learned that a person with the same description had just carried out two bank robberies in Murrieta “utilizing the same method,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. At 12:19 p.m., just 28 minutes after deputies had arrived at the Temecula bank, the Murrieta Police Department received a call about an armed robbery at a bank on California Oaks Road. A bank employee told police that the man, wearing a black baseball cap and carrying an orange bag, had handed over a note demanding money while showing a gun in his waistband.

Los Angeles Times

Retail Company In California Using Body-Worn Cameras To Deter Shoplifters

A surge in flash mob robberies and shoplifting at retail stores across Southern California has some companies getting creative with security, and now customers may notice some employees at shops sporting body-worn cameras. Retail security employees at clothing outlets like TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods are now wearing body cameras, similar to law enforcement officers, that will record shoppers and, hopefully, deter thieves. While loss prevention agents will be clearly marked in vests denoting that they are security employees, not everyone is thrilled about the idea.. “A little too aggressive,” one woman told KTLA’s Sandra Mitchell. KTLA consumer reporter David Lazarus said the idea might be a deterrent to thieves. “A potential shoplifter goes in the store, sees somebody wearing a tactical vest and says, ‘Okay, I might get recorded, so I’m not going to do it,’” he explained. Then again, as Lazarus pointed out, there are already cameras at the entrance, overhead and at cash registers in almost every retail shop out there, and if those don’t deter flashmobs and bold shoplifters, body-worn cameras are unlikely to either.

Yahoo! News

Man Who Shot 2 NYPD Cops Opened Fire At Point-Blank Range, Prosecutors Say

The 19-year-old migrant accused of shooting two NYPD cops after being caught zipping the wrong way down a one-way Queens street on a scooter opened fire at point blank range, prosecutors said Wednesday. “This defendant is the very definition of a flight risk,” Queens Assistant District Attorney Lauren Reilly said to Judge Jeffrey Gershuny in front of a sea of more than 50 police officers there to watch Bernardo Raul Castro Mata’s arraignment in Queens Criminal Court Wednesday. “(He) was fleeing from uniformed police officers before shooting two police officers.” Gershuny ordered Castro Mata held without bail on charges of attempted murder as well as assault, criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration for the Monday shootout with police. He faces up to 80 years in prison if convicted. Castro Mata appeared in court via a live video feed from his hospital bed, where he is recovering from a gunshot wound to the ankle fired by one of the cops he allegedly shot. Officers Richard Yarusso and Christopher Abreu were investigating a robbery pattern involving crooks on mopeds and scooters when they spotted Castro Mata on a scooter without a helmet zipping the wrong way on 82nd St. near 23rd Ave. in East Elmhurst around 1:40 a.m., officials said. Prosecutors in court on Wednesday called the scooter an “unregistered motorcycle.”

New York Daily News

Hope For Firefighters Fundraising Event Held In Downtown L.A.

The 27th Annual Hope For Firefighters event benefitting the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund was held in downtown Los Angeles Thursday. KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade hosted the event where 20 sponsored teams competed for trophies and prizes in firefighter games. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass attended the event where funds were raised through sponsorship, meal ticket sales, raffle items and the sale of LAFD merchandise. The event featured live music, meals prepared by 25 different LAFD stations, fire apparatus demonstrations and firefighter teams competing in games with all proceeds benefiting the L.A. Firemen’s Relief Association’s Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund. More information on Hope for Firefighters can be found here.

KTLA 5

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.