L.A. Metro Operators Demanding Better Protections After Bus Hijacked

After a 24-year-old man armed with what appeared to be a handgun hijacked a Metro bus, causing multiple traffic collisions and crashing into a downtown Los Angeles hotel last week, the union representing bus drivers is demanding better safeguards. That incident occurred around midnight on March 21. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a report that a Metro bus on Line 2 had been hijacked at gunpoint, Metro officials confirmed in a statement. Surveillance footage captured several of the collisions before the bus crashed into the side of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at West Olympic Boulevard and Georgia Street. The bus driver, injured in one of the collisions, was taken to the hospital in stable condition. The suspect, later identified as Anai Lindsey, had been wielding a BB gun that looked like a handgun. He was arrested shortly after fleeing the scene of the Ritz-Carlton crash. This incident, along with other dangerous assaults on L.A. public transit, is why the Smart Transportation Division, the union representing L.A. Metro bus drivers, wants better protection for its drivers and, by extension, riders.

KTLA 5

Man Wounded In Lincoln Heights Shooting

A man was shot Thursday in Lincoln Heights and the suspects are on the loose. Los Angeles Police Department officers from the department’s Hollenback Division were called at 1:50 a.m. to the intersection of North Broadway and Workman Street regarding a shots fired call. When they arrived at the scene, officers learned the victim was approached by three assailants, who fired at him multiple times, an LAPD spokeswoman told City News Service. The victim was taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds and is in stable condition. The suspects ran away from the scene in an unknown direction.

MyNewsLA

Woman Armed With Knife On FOX Studio Lot

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call Wednesday morning regarding a suspect allegedly armed with a knife at the FOX Studio Lot in Los Angeles. SkyFOX was over the scene in Century City where police said they received the call around 9:45 a.m. Police confirmed that a suspect entered the building at 10201 W Pico Blvd and was armed with a knife. The suspect allegedly became aggressive and began threatening to harm others as well as herself. The suspect allegedly locked herself in a room on the third floor of the FOX studio building, according to authorities. Officers told employees and others in the area to avoid the building for the time being, particularly the third floor. LAPD described the suspect as a woman in her mid-30s. She was taken into custody and no injuries were reported, police said. 

FOX 11

'It's A Fight': What The Race For LA County DA Tells Us About Criminal Justice Reform

This being a presidential election year, many more people are expected to go to the polls in the November general election than in the March primary, which means the electorate will likely be younger and more progressive, according to experts. That will probably favor Gascón against the more conservative Hochman, who was the Republican nominee for California Attorney General in 2022 but is running as an independent in the non-partisan race for district attorney. Additionally, L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell handily won reelection in District 2, which includes El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey and other communities. “There’s been this false narrative that Los Angeles and California underwent some massive criminal justice reforms in the past few years,” said Ivette Alé-Ferlito, who is executive director. “We need the board to take really bold action and say — here’s how many beds we are going to fund every year, here’s what a service-based pre-trial system is going to look like,” Clayton-Johnson said. The D.A.’s race will likely be a national throw down over criminal justice reform, attracting large amounts of campaign cash from the left and the right, said Jon Gould, who studies prosecutor policies and is dean of the UC Irvine School of Social Ecology.

Head Topics

2 Men Commit Armed Robbery In Mar Vista, Flee Before Police Arrive

Police are looking for two men who committed an armed robbery in Mar Vista. Just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, officers were sent near the intersection of Venice Boulevard and S Centinela Avenue after a call came in of the armed robbery, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Police say the suspects entered the location and brandished a handgun before demanding cash. Both suspects fled the scene with the money before police arrived, according to authorities. The department did not share the exact address or name of the business that was robbed. No injuries were reported, police said.

Westside Current

Suspect At Large After Murdering Grandfather In Los Angeles County

A reward is being offered as authorities are searching for the suspect who shot and killed a grandfather in South Gate. The victim was identified as Hector Ascencio Sr., 57, by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. On Sept. 16, 2023, Ascencio was inside his home on the 2500 block of Glenwood Place. Someone had knocked on his front door and when he went to answer it, he was shot and killed by an unknown suspect. Ascencio’s young granddaughter was home at the time and witnessed the murder, authorities said. The suspect or suspects drove away from the scene in a dark-colored four-door vehicle. It’s unknown how many people were inside the car. The motive behind the killing remains unclear. A $30,000 reward is being offered by L.A. County officials for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 and ask for Detective E. Soliz or Detective M. Rivas. 

KTLA 5

Federal Agents Raid Homes Tied to Sean Combs in Los Angeles and Miami

Federal agents raided homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area on Monday that are connected to the hip-hop mogul Sean Combs, a person with knowledge of the case said. Homeland Security Investigations carried out the raids but did not provide details about the case, including whether Mr. Combs was a target or which criminal charges were being investigated. Mr. Combs, who is also known as Puff Daddy or Diddy, has been accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking in multiple civil lawsuits over the last several months. A spokesperson for Mr. Combs did not respond to a request for comment. The criminal inquiry was being conducted by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York and federal agents with Homeland Security, a law-enforcement official said. Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the Southern District, declined to comment. In a statement, Homeland Security said that agents from New York had “executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami and our local law enforcement partners.”

New York Times

Truck Driver Indicted On Murder Charges In Crash That Killed Massachusetts Officer, Utility Worker

A pickup truck driver accused of crashing into and killing a police officer and a utility employee at a work site in a Boston suburb, then pulling a knife on another officer before stealing his cruiser, has been indicted on two counts of second-degree murder and other charges, prosecutors and police said Wednesday. Peter Simon, 54, of Woodsville, New Hampshire, also faces charges of motor vehicle homicide, armed robbery, armed carjacking, failing to stop for police, leaving the scene of a crash causing death, and other charges stemming from the Dec. 6 crashes in Waltham, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office and police said. He will be arraigned at a later date and is being held without bail. Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, 58, and a National Grid utility worker, Roderick Jackson, 36, of Cambridge, were killed in the incident. Simon’s attorney, Lynda Dantas, said by email Wednesday afternoon that she had not seen the indictments and could not comment. Simon was driving when he pulled to the side of a road to attempt a U-turn, then turned back into the road, hitting a vehicle, prosecutors and police said. He continued driving and hit Tracey and Jackson at a utility work site, a trench that was marked by orange cones and signs and yellow flashing lights, prosecutors said. Tracey was working a police detail at the work site.

Associated Press

NYPD Officers Rescue Unconscious Woman From Icy Hudson River Waters

Video shared by the NYPD on Facebook shows the moment officers rescued a woman who jumped into the Hudson River. Body camera footage shows two officers question bystanders about how the woman came to be in the water. One officer then quickly removed his duty belt and equipment. Three officers climbed over the fence and jumped down onto the rocks below. They used the woman’s clothing to hoist her from the water and lift her up to where other people were waiting to pull her over the barrier. Once the woman had been lifted onto the sidewalk, FDNY personnel administered CPR and provided medical aid, according to the post.

PoliceOne

1 Woman Dead, Another Critically Injured In House Fire In Los Angeles

A 60-year-old woman is dead, and another 39-year-old woman is in critical condition with severe burns after a house fire in Pacoima Wednesday night. The fire started around 10:30 p.m. at a home located at 13574 Gager St., near Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. When firefighters arrived to the scene, they found heavy flames coming from the roof of the detached garage, which was converted into a living space at the rear of the home. Firefighters forced entry to open the front of the garage in order to gain access to fight the flames. During a search of the house, a woman was found dead and another 39-year-old with special needs was rescued by firefighters. Authorities said the 39-year-old was taken to a hospital in critical condition after she was treated by paramedics at the scene. It took 32 firefighters 20 minutes to put out the flames. LAFD is investigating the cause of the fire. It was reported that there were no fire alarms located inside the garage.

CBS 2

L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price Accused Of 21 Violations Of City Ethics Laws

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission has privately accused City Councilmember Curren Price of voting on a number of matters in which his wife had a financial interest, echoing charges filed last year by L.A. County prosecutors, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. The commission, which has the power to enforce conflict-of-interest laws, notified Price of the accusations last week, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. One of the sources said the filing accuses Price of 21 violations of the city’s ethics laws, many of them similar to those filed by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón against Price last year. In the criminal case, Price is accused of voting to support projects for developers that had done business with a consulting company founded by his wife, Del Richardson Price, who specialized in tenant relocation services. He faces five counts of embezzlement, two counts of conflict of interest and three counts of perjury. The allegations from the Ethics Commission mostly involve violations of conflict-of-interest laws or the council member’s failure to fully disclose economic interests he held in relation to Richardson Price’s business, according to one of the sources.

Los Angeles Times

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.