L.A. Police Search For Additional Cases Tied To Killings Of Homeless Men

Authorities across Southern California are reviewing other cases to determine whether a man charged with killing three homeless men and a Los Angeles County employee might be responsible for more slayings, officials said. “An information bulletin has gone out throughout the region looking for additional cases,” Los Angeles Police Capt. Kelly Muniz said. “We are not aware of any additional cases related to this suspect.” Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was charged Monday with four counts of murder, one count of robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has not entered a plea in the case, and he was remanded into custody without bail pending arraignment in January. Prosecutors also filed special circumstances allegations claiming Powell committed multiple murders. If convicted as charged, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Authorities say the string of attacks began before dawn on Nov. 26. About 3:10 a.m., 37-year-old Jose Bolanos was shot while sleeping on a couch near 110th Street and Vermont Avenue. Roughly 24 hours later, 62-year-old Mark Diggs was shot on San Mateo Street near the Arts District as he pushed a shopping cart and looked for a place to charge his phone, prosecutors said. Around 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, a third victim — identified in charging documents as Shawn Alvarez, 52 — was shot and killed in Lincoln Heights, police said.

Los Angeles Times

Santa Hitches A Ride With LAPD To Deliver Toys To Children

Santa flew through the skies of Los Angeles on Wednesday to deliver toys to children with the help of the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Claus hitched a ride on the LAPD helicopter to the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for the Children's Annual Holiday Celebration where he landed on the rooftop and rappelled down the side of the building to meet with kids and take photos. Around 1,000 patients and their families received toys to enjoy for the holiday season and they even got to experience a "snowy" afternoon, according to the release. The "Toys and Joys" annual event has been spreading good tidings and cheer to more than 25,000 families for 32 years. The overall mission of The Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children is to treat every child that comes through the doors regardless of insurance status. The Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital was founded in 1911 and has become the largest pediatric orthopaedic facility on the West Coast focused solely on musculoskeletal conditions in children.

CBS 2

Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For Killing Well-Known Therapist Amie Harwick In Hollywood Hills

The ex-boyfriend of a well-known marriage and sex therapist was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the woman's deadly plunge from the third-floor balcony of her Hollywood Hills home. Gareth Pursehouse, 45, of Playa del Rey, was convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of 38-year-old Amie Harwick in the early morning hours of Feb. 15, 2020. Jurors deliberated about two days before finding Pursehouse guilty Sept. 28 of Harwick's killing, along with the first-degree burglary of Harwick's home. The panel also found true a special circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait. Prosecutors argued during the trial that Harwick was caught by surprise by Pursehouse, who broke into her home, waited for hours, attacked her and then tossed her off the third-floor balcony. In his closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told jurors that Pursehouse decided on Valentine's Day to end Harwick's life and that she "doesn't know what's waiting for her at home" when she returned early the next morning after a night out with friends.

ABC 7

Family Of Father Killed In South LA Hit-and-Run Seeks Help To Find The Driver

The family of a man who was killed in a South Los Angeles hit-and-run is asking the public to help turn the driver in. The fatal crash happened on November 7, when 37-year-old Miguel Urias, a father of two, left on his motorcycle to visit his mother in South LA. “I miss him and love him, and we all miss him, and we want him here”, said Diana Roman Saenz, wife of Urias. Surveillance footage shows a speeding car sideswipe Urias, throwing him off his motorcycle and killing him instantly. The driver fled. “I have this huge void. This is a huge, huge void that I just know he is missing,” said Saenz. "I feel like it’s just a dream, that I’m going to wake up, and he’s going to walk through the door and call me." Saenz and their two children, just 9 and 13, are broken but determined to find the person responsible for his death. “We need to get some leads. That is why we are asking for the public’s help if they were walking, if they were driving, if they were in that area, it’s such a busy area, so if they saw anything, please contact us or the police so they can help us,” Saenz said. Saenz has posted fliers where the accident happened. "He worked hard. He loved his family. He loved his kids, he would spend any time he could with them and do new adventures with them,” Saenz said.

NBC 4

South Los Angeles Man Faces Life Sentence For Sex Trafficking Scheme Exploiting Teenagers

A South Los Angeles man faces between 15 years and life in federal prison at sentencing Thursday for recruiting and enticing teenage girls to work for him as prostitutes. Donavin Bradford, 32, was found guilty in April of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking with a minor, three counts of sex trafficking of a minor, three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for the purpose of producing a sexually explicit visual depiction, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of sex trafficking through threats of force, fraud, or coercion, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. From the summer of 2021 to February 2022, Bradford conspired with Layla Valdivia, 24, of Ventura, to cause one of the minor victims -- a then-15- year-old girl -- to be used for prostitution. As the victim's pimp, Bradford expected the girl to earn $1,000 per night and give it to him. Bradford and Valdivia advertised the girl for commercial sex work on various websites, and "johns" who responded to the ads were directed to various hotels and motels where they engaged in paid sex acts with the victim. Sometimes the girl would be required to perform sex acts with Valdivia and a client together, prosecutors said.

Westside Current

VIDEO: Thieves Smash Through Gate With Car, Steal From Glassell Park Business

A group of thieves used a hatchback to smash through a gate and then steal from a Glassell Park business. Aaron Baggaley is the latest victim as the suspects drove their vehicle into the Delta Construction & Electric Co. on North San Fernando Road. Baggaley tells FOX 11 the thieves stole equipment and music instruments from his business. Baggaley said the getaway car, a blue Kia Soul, was stolen from an impound yard owned by the Los Angeles Police Department. The owner says the thieves stole six of his family's guitars, studio microphones and construction tools. Baggaley's business is now boarded up, leaving him feeling fed up with the elected officials. "I voted for Karen Bass. I voted for [Joe] Biden. I voted for Gavin Newsom," he said. "I'm sick of it. It's like at some point, you have to give me a reason to vote for you again." "It's really freaking difficult to survive," Baggaley adds. LAPD is instigating the incident. As of Wednesday night, no arrests have been announced.

FOX 11

Man Killed By Gunman In East Los Angeles Barbershop

Police are searching for two people involved in the fatal shooting of a man inside an East Los Angeles barbershop Wednesday evening. The shooting was reported at about 5:41 p.m. in the 1200 block of Atlantic Avenue. Arriving deputies found a Hispanic male between 20-25 years old suffering from gunshot wounds to his upper body, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release. The unidentified man was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries. Investigators determined that the victim was inside the barbershop when a gunman entered and began shooting at him. The suspect fled the shop and was last seen running south on Atlantic Avenue with another person. No motive for the shooting and no description of the gunman or the second person who fled the scene were provided. Anyone with information was asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 323-890-5500. Those who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

KTLA 5

UNLV Shooting Suspect Dead After 3 Killed On Campus, Las Vegas Police Say

Three people were killed and one person was wounded in a shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus Wednesday afternoon, police said. The suspect was killed by officers who rushed to the scene at UNLV and there was no ongoing threat to the community, police said later on Wednesday. Two law enforcement sources told CBS News the gunman, who they described as a white male in his sixties, was a former college professor who had previously taught in Georgia and North Carolina. Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said at a Wednesday evening news conference that police know the identity of the suspect but would not release his name until the families of the victims are notified. But CBS Las Vegas affiliate KLAS-TV reports that its sources identified him as Anthony "Tony" Polito. The sources said Polito recently applied for a job at the university but didn't get it. He may have also had a connection to a person who works on campus, KLAS sources said. McMahill had said earlier in the day that police did not know the suspect's motive. 

CBS 2

Firefighters Put Out Large Fire At Auto Shop In Sylmar

Firefighters extinguished a fully involved fire at a one-story auto body shop in Sylmar Thursday morning. Fire crews were called at 12:17 a.m. to 12909 N. San Fernando Road and Bledsoe Street where they found the body shop burning with heavy flames, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. It took 68 firefighters 35 minutes to put out the flames. No injuries were reported. 

CBS 2

Caltrans Crews Remove Flammable Materials Weeks After Inferno Under 10 Freeway In Downtown LA

Nearly a month after a massive fire prompted the closure of the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, Caltrans crews continued to remove flammable materials from underneath the busy interstate. Overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning, workers were seen clearing out wooden and plastic pallets from a commercial property on 17th Street, between Naomi and Hooper avenues. Several abandoned vehicles were also towed away. The cleanup operation was apparently prompted by the raging arson fire that engulfed two pallet yards under the freeway in the early morning hours of Nov. 11, leading to a weeklong closure of all eastbound and westbound lanes. Before the fire, the state of California had sued the company the leases the property. The lawsuit accused the property of failure to pay rent and violating the terms of its lease, including subleasing the property and other businesses and allowing flammable materials to be stored on the land. An annual survey by Caltrans showed a number of fire and safety violations, officials said.

ABC 7

Bird Flu Concerns Grow In California As Deadly Virus Infects More Farms

Federal and state officials have confirmed outbreaks in the last few weeks of a fast-spreading avian influenza strain — commonly known as bird flu — in four new California counties, sparking concerns about the possible agricultural and financial blow of the virus. The “highly pathogenic” bird flu was confirmed Wednesday at two commercial farms in Stanislaus County, joining recent outbreaks at poultry farms in Fresno, San Benito and Sonoma counties, according to updates from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The strain is easily spread among birds and often fatal for them.“It is important to note that [the bird flu] is widespread in California and may also be present in other counties that are not listed,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday. “Enhanced biosecurity is critical in the face of ongoing disease outbreaks.” Surging egg prices earlier this year were blamed on an outbreak of the bird flu that killed millions of hens and left grocers struggling to keep shelves stocked. 

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.