Holiday Season Off To Grim Start With Numerous Traffic Fatalities On Thanksgiving Day, LA Official Says

According to Los Angeles Police Department South Traffic Detective Ryan Moreno, this Thanksgiving marked the worst in his 28-year career. Detective Moreno was called from home three times on the Thanksgiving holiday to investigate fatal accidents. Moreno stated, "The first incident occurred yesterday morning in LA's Harbor Gateway area." He explained that it involved a driver who lost control and collided with a light pole at a high speed. "It was a truly unfortunate case. The victim was a young mother with a 5-year-old son." Moreno also mentioned, "Alcohol was a factor in that particular incident. It was tough to know that this little boy's mother would not be coming home." Later that evening, at around 11:30 p.m., another tragic incident occurred. A 26-year-old mother was walking southbound on a sidewalk with her child when a car pulled out from a nearby liquor store, resulting in a collision. The impact caused the vehicle to veer onto the sidewalk, striking the mother and child. Sadly, the mother succumbed to her injuries, while the 8-year-old child is currently fighting for her life at a nearby hospital. On the night of Thanksgiving, Moreno was also called out to a fatal crash in the vicinity of 73rd Street and Western Avenue. In the past ten days, there have been a total of 9 fatalities in South Los Angeles. Approximately half of these cases involved pedestrians, with DUI being a factor in 4 of them, whether it was alcohol or drugs.

FOX 11

Mom ID'd After Being Fatally Struck By DUI Suspect In South LA; 9-Year-Old Daughter Critically Hurt

A 26-year-old woman has been identified after she was struck and killed at a bus stop in South Los Angeles. The victim's 9-year-old daughter was critically injured in the crash, which involved an SUV driven by a DUI suspect, authorities said. About 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Alma Aragon was sitting on a bench with her daughter near the bus stop in the 1700 block of West 83rd Street, at the intersection of Western Avenue, when they were hit by the vehicle. According to Los Angeles Police Department investigators, a sedan pulled out of a liquor-store parking lot when it was struck by the speeding SUV, which then careened into the bus stop. Video from AIR7 HD showed the vehicle apparently slammed into the back of the bench, pushing it off of the sidewalk and into the street. Aragon, her daughter and the DUI suspect were transported to a hospital, where Aragon was pronounced dead, the LAPD said. "It's looking right now like it's going to take a miracle for this girl to (pull through)," Detective Ryan Moreno said at a Friday afternoon news conference near the crash site. "So we're all praying for her that she makes it."

ABC 7

Man Found Fatally Shot In South LA Alley

An investigation has been launched after a man was found shot to death in a South Los Angeles alley early Sunday morning. Officers were dispatched to an area near 110th Street and Vermont Avenue at around 7 a.m. after learning of the incident, according to Los Angeles Police Department. The man, believed to be in his mid-30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no further information provided on his identity. Investigators did not release any information on a possible suspect involved in the shooting. 

CBS 2

Man Stabbed To Death Outside South LA Liquor Store

A man died of stab wounds suffered during an encounter with another man outside a South Los Angeles liquor store. The stabbing was reported about 11:30 p.m. Friday in the 8400 block of South Main Street, according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement. Paramedics rushed the victim to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. Detectives were working to identify a man with whom the victim spoke outside the liquor store before the stabbing, police said. He was described as Hispanic, in his 20s, wearing a dark-colored hoodie. The motive for the stabbing was not clear, police said. The suspect or suspects fled the scene. Anyone with information was asked to call South Bureau Homicide Division detectives at 323-786-5100, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

NBC 4

LAPD Investigates Shooting At Northridge Fashion Center, No Injuries Reported

Police responded to a shooting at the Northridge Fashion Center Friday evening, but no injuries were reported. Officers responded to the scene after a report of shots fired around 5:49 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Aerial footage from AIR7 HD showed a large plate glass window at H2O Sushi & Izakaya restaurant was shattered. It's unclear where gunfire erupted, but police say the shooting stemmed from a "dispute between several juveniles." The area was cordoned off with crime-scene tape, and officers were seen looking into the trunk of a nearby car that had apparently been hit with a bullet. The mall was not evacuated, and no injuries were reported. "LAPD officers have been, and will continue to be deployed at this mall and many other shopping centers throughout the City of Los Angeles during this busy holiday shopping season," the department said. Four to five juveniles were detained and later released. No arrest has been made.

ABC 7

LAPD Investigates Protest At Brentwood Home Of AIPAC President As Possible Hate Crime

Los Angeles police have launched an investigation into a protest Thursday at the Brentwood home of the president of a pro-Israeli lobbying group, with footage on social media showing protesters igniting smoke devices in the street and spattering fake blood on the property. The incident, which police are investigating as a possible hate crime, is the latest in Los Angeles after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israel to bombard and invade Gaza, the Palestinian enclave that Hamas controls. The crisis has roiled Los Angeles, home to large populations of Jews and Palestinians. On Nov. 1, Canter’s Deli, an iconic Jewish restaurant in the Fairfax District, was defaced with antisemitic messages spray-painted below a mural depicting the history of Jews in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Police Department officers responded Thursday morning to the 11900 block of Foxboro Drive, where a group of protesters was causing a “disturbance,” according to a statement posted on X. Police made no arrests at the scene, but were investigating the incident as suspected vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime. The statement did not name the owner of the home that was targeted. Officer Melissa Ohana, an LAPD spokeswoman, said the department doesn’t identify victims of crimes.

Los Angeles Times

‘El Mago,’ Drug Trafficker Linked To Son Of Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin, Gunned Down In L.A.

A convicted drug trafficker linked to the Sinaloa cartel who worked for the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was gunned down Thursday morning in an industrial stretch of Willowbrook, according to authorities and court records. Eduardo Escobedo, 39, was one of two men killed in the 14200 block of Towne Avenue, according to officials from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The other victim was Guillermo De Los Angeles Jr., 47. Around 8 a.m. Thursday, sheriff’s deputies responded to an industrial area filled with warehouses, including a truck yard, pallet storage facility and a church. Escobedo and De Los Angeles died at the scene. A third man was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening gunshot wounds. “It appears that there was some type of gathering or party at the location from last night to early this morning,” Lt. Omar Camacho told KABC-TV Channel 7 at the scene. Escobedo, whose nickname, “El Mago,” translates to “The Magician,” served four years and nine months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute more than 10,000 kilograms of marijuana and laundering drug proceeds. He was released in 2018.

Los Angeles Times

Man Accused Of Leading Drug Operation Behind Strongest Fentanyl Supply Ever Tested By DEA: Prosecutors

The alleged leader of a drug trafficking organization based in San Diego and Tijuana appeared in court on Tuesday to face federal charges in relation to multiple drug seizures, including a 2021 bust of 2 kilograms of powdered fentanyl that is the most concentrated ever tested by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) southwest laboratory, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Aaron Leib Kobisher, 34, allegedly headed a drug trafficking organization that smuggled fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico to San Diego for distribution in the U.S., prosecutors said. Kobisher, who also goes by the name "El Kobi," was extradited from Spain to face charges, having been arrested there in June. He had previously fled the U.S. to Mexico in November 2022. Kobisher made his first appearance in federal court on Tuesday following his extradition and faces fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine trafficking charges. He is the lead defendant charged in a six-defendant indictment stemming from a long-term investigation, prosecutors said. Four others charged in the same indictment were arrested earlier this year while one defendant remains a fugitive. If convicted, Kobisher faces up to life in prison and a $10 million fine. 

FOX News

Police Say A San Jose Couple Waited 10 Hours To Report Their Baby’s Fentanyl Overdose. Now They’re Charged With Murder

The scourge of fentanyl has claimed the life of another Bay Area toddler, an 18-month-old San Jose girl named Winter, born on Christmas eve. This time, the parents are being charged with murder. The San Jose couple didn’t call police for at least 10 hours after they woke up in the early afternoon of Aug. 12 and found their daughter not breathing, court documents say. They told police they were “in denial” and “wanted to grieve together” before calling 911. By the time San Jose Police arrived, rigor mortis had set in, police say. Winter Rayo’s lips were blue. A toxicology report later determined that the concentration of fentanyl in her blood was 24 times the lethal dose for a child her size. Police later found photos and videos showing the parents “recklessly smoking narcotics” while holding the baby or in her presence, according to court documents. The father, 27-year-old Derek Vaughn Rayo, refused to be transferred from jail to his arraignment Wednesday, but the judge ordered him held without bail. The mother, 28-year-old Kelly Gene Richardson, has not yet been apprehended. It is the first time that the Santa Clara County District Attorney has charged parents for the murder of their child in a fentanyl-related death. If convicted of the charges, the couple could face life sentences.

Mercury News

24 Arrested In Drug Trafficking Investigation In Oregon

An investigation into what authorities described as a major drug trafficking group based in southern Oregon resulted in two dozen arrests and seizures of guns, fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs, law enforcement agencies said Wednesday. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Oregon State Police and the Grants Pass Police Department were among the agencies involved in the probe, which lasted more than a year. The agencies announced the investigation at a joint press conference in Grants Pass on Wednesday. As part of the investigation, 24 people were arrested in Oregon on Tuesday, authorities said. Officers seized 37 guns, 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms ) of meth, 1.4 pounds (636 grams) of fentanyl pills and 0.11 pounds (52 grams) of fentanyl, Oregon State Police said. That amount of fentanyl had the potential to yield more than 144,000 lethal doses, said David Reames, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Seattle division. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly, according to the DEA. Officers also seized 0.13 pounds (58 grams) of cocaine and 250 pounds (113 kilograms) of marijuana, state police said.

Associated Press

Fire Damages House In Northridge

Firefighters battled flames Saturday in a two-story house at the end of a Northridge cul-de-sac. The fire was reported at 2:11 p.m. at 17639 W. Osborne St., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Nicholas Prange. Flames were showing from the house when firefighters arrived, Prange said. “Firefighters made access and extinguished the flames in the living space, and then worked their way up to the fire in the attic,” he said. It took 45 firefighters 20 minutes to put out the flames, Prange said. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

MyNewsLA

Fire Breaks Out At North Hollywood Cannabis Growing Operation

Firefighters Thursday knocked down a greater alarm structure fire at a one-story commercial building in North Hollywood that housed a cannabis growing operation, authorities said. Fire crews were called at 4:46 a.m. to 5708 N. Cahuenga Blvd. where they found smoke coming from the building's roof, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey. It took 87 firefighters nearly 30 minutes to extinguish the flames, Humphrey said. The greater alarm blaze was confined within the premises and ventilation system. No injuries were reported and the legal status of the growing operation is under investigation, he said. No further information is available at this time.

FOX 11

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.