Homeless Man Brutally Stabbed To Death In North Hollywood

Detectives in Los Angeles need help tracking down the people connected to the brutal killing of a homeless man in North Hollywood. The Los Angeles Police Department discovered the body at a homeless encampment in the 13000 block of Victory Boulevard. Investigators said the victim had been assaulted and stabbed multiple times. Officers do not have any information about the suspect and are withholding the victim's name until they contact his next of kin. Detectives urged anyone with details about the case to call investigators at (818) 374-9550. Anonymous tips may be submitted to LA Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 222-8477 or on their website.

CBS 2

Chief Trauma Surgeon Gives Life-Saving Training To LAPD's Elite

When Dr. Kenji Inaba isn't the Chief of Trauma at one of LA's busiest hospitals, he's a reserve police officer who trains the Los Angeles Police Department's elite. In 2016, Inaba graduated from the LAPD academy, a requirement to become a medical director and provide medical guidance to the department. He works with the elite Metropolitan Division which has a team of EMTs. "We need to be able to think quick on our feet — be able to adapt to all situations," said Sgt. Amanda Lankford, who supervises the division. Those skills were displayed last year when three officers, including Steve Wills, were wounded in a chaotic shootout. "I was it in the left arm. I have a fractured left arm, 2 plates," Wills said. "18 screws there... I still have a 9mm bullet stuck in there." Two officers risked their own lives to pull Wills to safety as another team member began treatment for gunshot wounds to his right leg. "I remember him driving his knee into my upper thigh and how bad it hurt," Wills said. "I was thinking 'Dude, get off me.' But, he was doing what he needed to do. That technique is part of the medical training that's drilled every four weeks — a regimen that Officer Wills team also receives. 

CBS 2

LAPD Resources ‘Strained' By Downtown LA Graffiti Tower Fiasco

Los Angeles Police Department officers have spent at least 3,000 hours on duty at the abandoned Oceanview Plaza site in Downtown LA where the unfinished high rise towers have attracted street artists, vandals, and others, and the need for round-the-clock security has begun to stress the already-understaffed police department. "This has strained our deployment," Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. "We have called in some officers on an overtime basis, so that we can provide for these added patrols or station them at that site to deter vandals and others from gaining access to it while also ensuring that we meet the minimum deployment requirements for stations across the city," he said. Core patrol functions, such as responding to 911 calls, have not been affected, according to Moore. Officers stationed at the construction site that spans two city blocks between 11th and Figueroa and 12th and Flower Streets have made at least 18 arrests in recent days, including one for illegal gun possession and several others for felony vandalism. Many other individuals caught by officers at the site were questioned, checked for warrants, and released without arrests or citations, Moore said. The LA City Council was also asked Tuesday to direct more than $3 million in order to construct a more robust fence, clear debris, and possibly pay for private security so LAPD officers can leave.

NBC 4

Driver Sought In Deadly Hit-and-Run Crash On Los Angeles’ Westside

Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who left a man to die in the Sawtelle neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday night. The crash was reported shortly after 11 p.m. in the 1900 block of Beloit Avenue. A driver traveling northbound on Beloit hit the pedestrian was he was crossing the street, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KTLA. The victim, identified as a man between 30 and 35 years old, was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. After the crash, the driver fled the area in an unknown direction. No description of the vehicle or the driver was available. 

KTLA 5

Three Suspects In Thefts Of Bronze Plaques In Harbor Area Arrested

Three suspects were arrested Tuesday for allegedly stealing bronze plaques in the Harbor area. Plaques at the Port of Los Angeles were stolen from the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial, the International Warehouse and Longshore Union “Bloody Thursday” Memorial along Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro, and the Japanese Fishing Village Memorial on Terminal Island, according to the Los Angeles Port Police. “The heartless theft of these plaques was an insult to the memories of families who built this region through the fishing industry, who moved goods as part of the ILWU, and who protected our country during the war as merchant marine sailors,” Councilman Tim McOsker said in a statement. “It was an affront to our entire community, and Tuesday, the Harbor area and the great people who shaped our history and culture are on the path of justice.” Los Angeles Port Police Chief Tom Gazsi said “This disturbing series of thefts has had a significant emotional toll on members of our community whose loved ones were memorialized both in the maritime and fishing industry.”

MyNewsLA

4 Southeast L.A. County Victims Were Part Of ‘Random Murder Spree’; 2 Suspects Arrested

Under a dark sky Tuesday night, about 50 people gathered around a street sign near Martha Escuita Primary Center on Bear Avenue in Bell, near where Kevin Parada’s body was found. A photo of Parada was attached to the sign, along with a small bouquet of purple flowers. Below, residents left vases holding white roses, daisies and sunflowers. Dozens of candles bearing the images of saints emitted a warm yellow light onto the sidewalk. A man led the vigil attendees — most of whom were dressed in black — through a series of prayers to God and the Virgin Mary. “Give them eternal rest,” the man said in Spanish, to which the crowd replied “Así sea” — So be it. Parada was one of four people shot and killed in southeast Los Angeles County Sunday night and Monday morning in a “random murder spree,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said after announcing the arrest of two suspects. The shooting deaths occurred within a five-mile radius in the space of a few hours in the cities of Huntington Park, Bell, Cudahy and Los Angeles, according to homicide investigators. “It appears this was a random murder spree, however homicide investigators have not ruled anything out,” Homicide Capt. Andrew Meyer with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said during a Tuesday afternoon press briefing. “There may be other incidents, but at this time we don’t have any information indicating that.”

Los Angeles Times

Southern California Man Gets 32 Years To Life For Murder, Robbery

A 24-year-old man from Oxnard received a sentence of nearly 33 years to life in prison for a robbery spree and murder in 2018, authorities announced Tuesday. On June 27, 2018, Osvaldo Hernandez, then 19 years old, committed three separate robberies and a murder during the fourth attempted robbery, all between 3:45 a.m. and 6:09 a.m., according to a news release from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Hernandez, who was out on bail for possession of a concealed 9mm handgun at the time of the crime spree, shot and killed Robert De La Cerda after attempting to rob the victim and another man who were in a car on South J Street in Oxnard. “Hernandez pointed a gun at the men and demanded their property,” the news release stated. “Mr. De La Cerda exited his car and had a verbal exchange with Hernandez. Hernandez fired one shot, killing Mr. De La Cerda, before returning to his and driving away.” A little less than a month later, on July 18, 2018, officers with the Oxnard Police Department arrested Hernandez.  

KTLA 5

Suspect In Traffic Stop Killing Of Tennessee Deputy Captured After Days-Long Manhunt

A man suspected of shooting and killing a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy and wounding another was captured Tuesday after a days-long manhunt. Kenneth Wayne DeHart, 42, is accused of opening fire on the Blount County deputies shortly after they pulled over an SUV for erratic driving on U.S. Route 411 in Maryville, about 16 miles south of Knoxville, on Thursday evening. DeHart reportedly refused to cooperate and shot at officers after they attempted to use a Taser on him, hitting Blount County Sheriff’s deputies Greg McCowan, 43, and Shelby Eggers, 22. Eggers was treated at a hospital and later released, while McCowan was pronounced dead. DeHart fled the scene and was considered armed and dangerous. The Blount County Sheriff’s Office said DeHart Jr. was captured in Knoxville on Tuesday morning, but no other details were released. He was wanted on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. A photo of the scene shared by the sheriff’s office showed a large police presence in a residential area. “Kenneth Wayne DeHart was taken into custody a short time ago in Knoxville!” sheriff James Berrong said in a Facebook post. “Now the judicial process will take place in the court system. Thanks to all of our law enforcement partners and our community.”

New York Daily News

Woman Killed, Another Seriously Hurt In Del Rey House Fire

A woman is dead and another was rushed to the hospital after a home burst into flames in the Del Rey area of Los Angeles Tuesday morning. The fire was reported at the single-story home around 6:15 a.m. on Sycamore Drive, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Crews encountered a challenging firefight as the flames engulfed foliage around the home. The structure was believed to be vacant, but firefighters pulled out a woman from inside. She was transported by paramedics in critical condition. Another person was found inside a bedroom of the home where the roof had partially collapsed. That individual was pronounced dead at the scene. "This has been red-tagged previously by building and safety," said LAFD Capt. Adam VanGerpen. "It was supposed to be a vacated building but we don't know any more information about the victims."

ABC 7

LA City Councilman Kevin de León Calls For $3.8M To Secure Tagged Skyscraper

City Councilman Kevin de Leon has introduced a motion seeking to allocate $3.8 million to secure a vandalized, abandoned luxury downtown skyscraper, which has caught the attention of taggers and most recently base jumpers, and will be reviewed later this month. If approved, the city would pull $1.1 million to fund fencing and secure the ground floors of the structure near Crypto.com Arena, and another $2.7 million would be allocated, as a loan, to cover costs associated with security services, fire safety upgrades, graffiti abatement and other measures. According to the motion, the money was identified by the city administrative officer to fund the abatement process. City officials would also look to pass the bill to the property owner, and may pursue legal action if necessary. The motion will be first heard by the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee later this month. The councilman has been leading efforts to address issues at the complex, as the development is located in his 14th District, covering parts of Downtown L.A. and northeast neighborhoods such as Boyle Heights, El Sereno and others.

MyNewsLA

Nithya Raman Running For Reelection In LA District That Looks Very Different From Last Time She Ran

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman is seeking reelection, but thanks to redistricting that cost Raman roughly 40% of her old district -- more than any other councilmember -- the district looks much different than it did when Raman was voted into City Hall. "My team has gone out and worked really hard to serve our new constituents and I believe we have served them as effectively as we possibly can -- as effectively as we were serving the old district," Raman said in an interview with ABC7. "But, for any race, these are not voters who got the chance to know me during the last campaign. During this race, it's like I'm running for the first time again." Raman has said she was targeted in the redistricting process as evidenced by the leaked audio scandal at Los Angeles City Hall, where then-Council President Nury Martinez resigned. But one of her current opponents, Deputy City Attorney Ethan Weaver, disagrees.

ABC 7

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.