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Law Enforcement News

Houston Nurse Nicole Linton Charged With Murder, Gross Vehicular Manslaughter In Windsor Hills Crash That Killed 6
A nurse from Houston was charged Monday with six counts of murder and five counts of gross vehicular manslaughter for the fiery crash that killed six people, including an infant and a pregnant woman. Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, was behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz that barreled through a red light at Slauson and La Brea avenues last Thursday and slammed into several other vehicles in the Windsor Hills area, according to the CHP. The six people killed included all the members of one family — 23-year-old Asherey Ryan, the child she was pregnant with, her boyfriend, 24-year-old Reynold Lester, who was the father of her unborn son, and her infant son Alonzo, who was about to celebrate his first birthday. The charges include six counts of murder and five counts of vehicular manslaughter. District Attorney George Gascón said his office cannot file a manslaughter charge in a case involving an unborn child. "This is a case that will always be remembered for the senseless loss of so many innocent lives as they simply went about their daily routines," Gascón said in a statement. Linton is expected to make an initial court appearance in the case on Monday. If convicted as charged, she could face 90 years to life in prison, Gascón said.
CBS 2

Arrest Made In Woman's Stabbing Death In Canoga Park
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a woman in Canoga Park over the weekend. It happened Sunday around 5:36 a.m. in the area near Canoga Avenue and Bassett Street. According to police, officers found the victim - 40-year-old Elisa Lopez of Canoga Park- with a stab wound to her chest. An investigation revealed Lopez and the suspect - 40-year-old Oscar Valenzuela of Sunland - were involved in a fight before the stabbing. Lopez ran away after the stabbing and collapsed shortly afterward, according to authorities. Valenzuela has been booked for murder; his bail is set at $200,000. The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD's Valley Bureau Homicide at 818-374-1925.
FOX 11

Police: 2 Wounded In Shootings More Than 10 Miles Apart May Be Linked
Authorities are investigating a pair of shootings that happened over the weekend as related, after two men were found wounded in similar instances more than 10 miles apart. Investigators were first called to the scene of a reported shooting in the Leimert Park area near Crenshaw Boulevard and Coliseum Place after midnight Monday morning, where a man walking reported hearing gunshots before realizing he had been shot. He was taken to a nearby hospital but an unrelated citizen, and was said to be in stable condition. While speaking with the victim, police also learned that a second shooting victim was at the same hospital. They learned that the second victim, a 25-year-old male, was shot by an unknown gunman at around 10:30 p.m. Sunday evening in the Boyle Heights area on Michigan Avenue. Due to the similarities between the two shootings, investigators were working to determine whether the two shootings, which happened just a little over 10 miles apart from each other, were related. Los Angeles Police Department officers were investigating whether the two shootings were gang-related.
CBS 2

LAPD Searching For Tow-Truck Driver After Deadly Hit-and-Run In South Los Angeles
Authorities are searching for a tow-truck driver caught on camera speeding down a South Los Angeles street, allegedly striking and killing a woman and then driving away. Home surveillance video captures the moments the driver sped off Saturday night near St. Andrews Place and 48th Street. Witnesses say the woman was hit while she was standing in front of her car parked along the street. "We saw that she was near her car and then right after the tow truck came and it hit her and we saw that she got hit and she was just laying there," said witness Alisha Julian. "So right after that happened, I called the police." Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD's 77th Street Division at (323)786-5077 or provide anonymous information to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
ABC 7

Driver In Blacked Out SUV Arrested After Pursuit Through San Fernando Valley
The driver of a blacked out SUV was taken into custody after a lengthy pursuit through the San Fernando Valley Friday night. The black SUV was seen speeding down the 101, 405, 5, 118 and 210 freeways with no lights. The driver often went onto the wrong side of the road and sped past CHP units. Once in the Burbank area, the driver exited the vehicle and appeared to approach another driver. The pursuit driver got back into his vehicle and continued. CHP officers attempted a spike strip during the pursuit but it was unsuccessful. The driver finally exited off the freeway onto a dark street where he exited the vehicle and attempted to run away, but ended up surrendering. The driver was then taken into custody.
NBC 4

Robbery Suspect Captured After Escaping From Sheriff’s West Hollywood Station
A man who escaped custody while being escorted to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department bus in West Hollywood on Friday has been captured, authorities said. The man, who was handcuffed at the time, was being transferred from the jail at the Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood station in the 700 block of North San Vicente Boulevard about 6 a.m. when he broke free and ran, according to the department. The man, described as a robbery suspect, was taken back into custody, according to a tweet from the department’s Special Enforcement Bureau around 6:45 p.m.
LA Times

Box Cutter Attack On Transgender Woman In Inglewood Leads To Hate Crime Charges
A 38-year-old woman has been charged with a hate crime in connection with an attack against a transgender woman in Inglewood earlier this year, officials announced Friday. Ana Luz Vazquez faces one felony count each of assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated mayhem, and one misdemeanor count of violation of civil rights. A hate crime allegation was also filed, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The incident occurred March 10 while the 53-year-old victim was walking her dog in the 600 block of Hargrave Street. Vazquez allegedly punched the victim and attacked her with a box cutter, resulting in moderate injuries, officials said. “Unfortunately, hate crimes continue to plague Los Angeles County and inflict harm on the most vulnerable members of these targeted communities,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “I remain committed to working to end the vile hate that is leveled at people based on their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.” The incident is still being investigated by the Inglewood Police Department.
KTLA 5

Family Asking For Help In Finding Missing Inglewood Woman
The family of a 27-year-old woman from Inglewood is asking for help in finding their sister and daughter Ronnetta Faye Martian. Martian was last seen Monday Aug. 1 with two other men in Rosamond, near Lancaster. Her car was found up in flames in Inglewood on Monday evening. The vehicle was set on fire with fireworks, her sister Chantsee told CBSLA. The two men she was last seen with are not talking to Martian's family and were seen on her Ring doorbell camera leaving her home with Martian's belongings. Anyone with information is asked to call Martian's sister at (323) 570-8466 or her father, Ron, at (323) 627-7912.
CBS 2

74-Year-Old Man Suffering From Diabetes, Alzheimer's Disease Missing In Carson
Authorities were asking for the public's help in finding a 74-year-old man suffering from Alzheimer's disease and diabetes who went missing in Carson. Daniel Peter Chavez, who also has high blood pressure and heart issues, was last seen around 7:30 a.m. Saturday near the intersection of West Carson and South Figueroa streets, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Chavez, who uses a silver walker, may have been headed to the 6500 block of West Boulevard in Los Angeles or to the Redondo Beach Pier. He was described as a 5-feet-9-inch tall Latino man with gray hair, brown eyes, a mustache and two missing fingers from his right hand. He was last seen wearing a blue polo shirt, blue jeans, black shoes and a black bracelet with his name on it. The sheriff's Missing Persons Unit urged anyone with information regarding Chavez's whereabouts to call them at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
CBS 2

As Homicides Increase In Cleveland, Number Of Detectives Continue To Dwindle
As slayings in Cleveland mount, the number of detectives investigating the deaths is a fraction of what authorities say it should be. There have been 83 homicides in the city through July 23, according to police, though the numbers are tentative and could change with rulings from the office of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner. At the same time, the number of detectives investigating the cases is less than half of what the U.S. Justice Department says it should be. The unit has 18 officers, police officials said. It should have 38. Homicide detectives solved about 60 percent of the cases they handled last year, Cleveland officials said. That mirrors the rates of other major departments across the country, according to published reports. The lack of homicide detectives has been a reoccurring problem for the department for years. At one point in 2019, the department had just 14 detectives in the unit. In 2016, a study by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement research group in Washington, D.C., linked the number of homicide detectives to the declining rate of solving cases. In 2012, the department had 19 detectives and solved 77 of 100 homicides; in 2017, it had 14 officers, and they solved about half of the cases.
PoliceOne

NYC Releases List Of 10 ‘Worst Of The Worst' Repeat Offenders
A list of New York City’s 10 “worst of the worst” recidivists has been released – putting the spotlight back on bail reform policies in the Big Apple. The #1 offender on the list, according to FOX News, has been arrested 101 times. Out of those 101 times, 88 of those arrests occurred after the city put new bail policies in place in 2020, NYPD officials said. Earlier this week, Mayor Eric Adams slammed the city’s bail reform laws, calling them “insane” and “dangerous.” “They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing repeatedly, but expect different results,” Adams said. “Our criminal justice system is insane. It’s dangerous. It’s harmful. And it’s destroying the fabric of our city.” In statistics released by the New York State Unified Court System, 23% of accused criminal offenders were rearrested from January 2020 to June 2021 on felony charges. To add to that, 41% were rearrested on criminal charges in the same period.
PoliceOne

Public Safety News

LA County's COVID Hospitalizations Continue To Fall
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has fallen below 1,200, dropping by 44 people to 1,162, according to the latest state figures. Of those patients hospitalized as of Saturday, 123 were being treated in intensive care, down from 126 the previous day. Many of the hospitalized patients entered the hospital for other reasons and only discovered they were COVID-positive after a mandated test. The latest figures come one day after the county Department of Public Health reported 4,864 new infections and 19 additional virus-related fatalities, bringing the county's totals to 3,325,622 cases and 32,826 fatalities since the pandemic began. The county's seven-day average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 12.8% as of Friday. Local health officials say they've seen a steady downward trend in cases and other pandemic metrics in recent days. The county on Thursday had hoped to fall out of the federal government's "high" virus activity category and into the "medium" category. But the average daily rate of new COVID-related hospital admissions just missed the threshold for the "medium" rating.
FOX 11

Local Government News

Los Angeles City Council Opposes 4 a.m. Bar Bill, Citing Safety Concerns
Citing concerns over a potential increase in drunk driving and alcohol-related deaths, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to oppose a bill in the state Legislature that would allow bars in seven cities -- including West Hollywood -- to stay open until 4 a.m. Senate Bill 930, introduced by Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would authorize a pilot program extending the hours that bars, restaurants, taverns and nightclubs in the select cities can sell alcohol from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. The other cities are: Cathedral City, San Francisco, Oakland, Fresno, Coachella and Palm Springs. The council voted 10-2 on Friday on a motion taking an official position opposing the bill, with councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Bob Blumenfield dissenting. Councilman Paul Koretz, who held a news conference last week before introducing the motion, reiterated at Friday's meeting that the proposed legislation would endanger public safety. Though the extended drinking hours would occur in West Hollywood, Koretz believes that drivers would end up crossing through his West Los Angeles district after 2 a.m. and return to L.A. in the early morning.
FOX 11

LA City Council Set To Ratify Local Emergency For Monkeypox Outbreak
The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday is expected to ratify a declaration of local emergency issued last week by Mayor Eric Garcetti for the monkeypox outbreak. The order allows the city to be prepared as vaccine availability increases and move quickly as circumstances evolve, according to a statement by Garcetti last week. Los Angeles County declared a local emergency in response to the monkeypox outbreak last week. The state and federal government have also issued such declarations. “The city is already supporting the county’s vaccination efforts at city facilities and additional sites are expected to open in the coming days,” Garcetti said. “The declaration is about being prepared, not cause for alarm.” According to the county, there were 616 confirmed or presumed cases in the county as of Monday, up from about 500 on Friday. The vast majority of patients are men, with most of them being members of the LGBT community, according to the county.
MyNewsLA.com