LA Mayor candidate goes on crazed rant about LAPD with three-point cookbook on how she’ll destroy it
LA Mayor candidate goes on crazed rant about LAPD with three-point cookbook on how she’ll destroy it
A progressive Los Angeles mayoral candidate has a three-point plan for how she’ll tear apart the Los Angeles Police Department, she said in a social media video Monday. Democratic socialist Rae Huang, who has an outside shot of winning the city’s mayoralty behind Mayor Karen Bass, Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman, said she believes the department needs changing. First, she said she will fire LAPD chief Jim McDonnell. She doesn’t specify any failures, but makes the bizarre claim that the LAPD is “one of the biggest legal gangs in the world.” “While our streets and sidewalks go unrepaired, our mental health services get scaled back or defunded, and our communities are left to fend for themselves with little trust in the department, the LAPD keeps demanding more and more money every year. Who is the LAPD protecting and serving?” she said.
Transient charged with murder after 84-year-old set on fire in downtown L.A.
A transient accused of brutally beating an 84-year-old man and then setting him on fire in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday was charged with murder after the victim died a day later, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. “This case involves an elderly man who was disoriented and living with dementia, conditions that made him particularly vulnerable,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Wednesday. “Our thoughts are with the victim’s family as they endure this unimaginable tragedy.” The victim, Bang Cho, had wandered away from a convalescent home shortly before midnight Sunday when he encountered Lavonta Martel Wilder, 40, on 6th Street between Hope Street and Grand Avenue. Authorities said Cho grabbed one of the bags Wilder was carrying. Wilder then punched and kicked Cho in the head and body before lifting him over his shoulder and slamming him to the ground, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Wilder then set the elderly man on fire.
Pedestrian struck and killed by two drivers in Los Angeles, $50,000 reward offered for info
A pedestrian was killed after being struck by two hit-and-run drivers in Los Angeles. On April 10, the male pedestrian was crossing the street near Winnetka Avenue and Gault Street when he was hit by a Toyota Prius just before 10 p.m. The driver continued speeding away, Los Angeles police said. As the victim lay unconscious on the road, a second driver in a Chevrolet Camaro struck the man. That driver also fled the scene without stopping to check on the injured man. The victim, who suffered severe injuries, was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. His name is being withheld pending identification and notification to next of kin. Detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify the drivers and vehicles involved. The first vehicle is a black Toyota Prius with visible damage to the driver’s side mirror, front bumper area and front hood. The second car is a black two-door Chevrolet Camaro with visible damage to the front bumper. On April 22, LAPD announced a reward of up to $50,000 is available to anyone who provides information leading to the suspects’ apprehension and conviction.
Suspect accused of sexually assaulting 6 women across San Fernando Valley turns himself in
A man suspected of sexually assaulting six women across the San Fernando Valley has turned himself in. The Los Angeles Police Department put out a notice they were searching for 29-year-old Damian Denzell Robinson, who is known sex offender, on Wednesday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Thursday morning that he turned himself in at the Lancaster station and is now in custody. The alleged assaults all happened within the span of six hours on April 19. It started around 9:10 a.m. Sunday when the suspect approached an elderly woman at a business near Devonshire Street and Balboa Boulevard. The LAPD says he pulled down her pants, grabbed her and sexually assaulted her before fleeing. A similar situation happened to another elderly woman near Forbes Avenue and Calahan Street some 45 minutes after that. That woman was able to hold her waistband up and confront the suspect, police said. The suspect fled, but just five minutes later, a woman walking near Lassen Street and Encino Avenue was grabbed from behind and filmed with the suspect's cellphone.
Man hospitalized after Granada Hills bar fight leads to stabbing
A man was hospitalized early Thursday after a bar fight led to a stabbing at a Granada Hills bar, according to police. It happened at around 12:20 a.m. at a bar called Sugar Suite, in the 11800 block of Balboa Boulevard, Los Angeles Police Department officers said. Circumstances leading up to the fight remain under investigation and the suspect has not yet been located. Police only described the suspect as a male adult. Video from the scene shows a small crowd gathered outside the bar as the victim was wheeled into the back of a Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance. He appeared to be alert as he was loaded into the vehicle.
Two Allegedly Armed Thieves Rob $10K from South LA Sinclair Station
Two armed men allegedly robbed a Sinclair Gas Station of $10,000 in South Los Angeles and are still at large Thursday. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southeast Division responded at 11:50 p.m. Wednesday to the gas station at Avalon Boulevard and 111th Street, where the masked suspects armed with rifles demanded money from the cashier, LAPD Officer Charles Miller told City News Service. The suspects ran way from the scene, jumped into a vehicle and sped away, witnesses told police. Miller said an employee was assaulted during the robbery. Officers are currently reviewing surveillance footage of the robbery.
2 teens arrested after San Fernando Valley pursuit ends in crash
Two teenagers were arrested early Thursday morning after a pursuit ended with a crash in the San Fernando Valley, according to police. The crash happened at around 2:10 a.m. in the 16000 block of Magnolia Boulevard, where Los Angeles Police Department officers say that the driver of an allegedly stolen vehicle crashed into a parked car. Both the driver and a passenger fled from the car on foot following the crash, police said. They were later located hiding in a nearby neighborhood and taken into custody. Police did not say exactly how old each of the suspects was or where the car was allegedly stolen from. No injuries were reported in the crash. Video from the scene shows a white Infiniti SUV that had collided with a black sedan parked on the side of Magnolia Boulevard.
2 workers at LAX arrested for smuggling drugs
Two people who work out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) were arrested for smuggling drugs, federal investigators told NBC News on Wednesday. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles Field Division confirmed to NBC Investigations that the two employees are contract workers at the airport. They were arrested by the DEA's LAX Task Force team. The identities of the suspects as well as details on how their alleged crime was committed were not immediately available. The investigation continued Wednesday while the DEA declined to provide additional information.
Dozens of Mexican mafia members and associates arrested in SoCal operation, FBI says
The FBI and local authorities have arrested at least two dozen Mexican Mafia members and associates operating in Orange County, according to the agency. In an early morning operation Thursday, FBI agents executed arrest warrants across Southern California in connection with federal indictments, according to Laura Eimiller, a spokesperson for the agency. Forty-seven people have been indicted as part of the case. In an interview with ABC7 News, First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said federal agents were executing search warrants and arrest warrants at approximately 30 locations. He said authorities have indicted about 40 people, with around 10 people already in custody. Essayli described the Mexican Mafia as the “largest and most powerful gang that operates from inside state prisons.” Essayli said the indictments involve drug distribution, assaults and a murder. “They operate neighborhood gangs throughout the community,” he told the news outlet outside a home in Long Beach. Essayli said the resident has been indicted on five charges involving distribution of fentanyl.
Public Safety News
California reports 3rd rattlesnake death as record heat triggers aggressive season
An early and aggressive rattlesnake season is rattling Southern California, driven by record heat that has pushed venomous snakes into frequent contact with the public across local trails and open spaces. In Palos Verdes Estates, a woman was recently bitten while picking flowers in the Paseo Del Campo open space. She was transported to a local hospital where she remains in stable condition. This follows a tragic incident in Northern California where an elderly woman passed away after being bitten, marking the third reported death in the state this season. Further south, on April 12, Montecito Fire crews rescued a hiker on the Buena Vista Trail after she was bitten on the ankle. Because of poor cell service, she used text-to-911 and a whistle to help rescuers locate her.
