LAPD Officer’s Alleged Killer Stands Trial Again After Conviction In 1983 Case Was Tossed

A little more than four decades have passed since Paul Verna’s final day as a police officer. The 35-year-old motorcycle cop thought he was making a routine traffic stop on June 2, 1983, prosecutors said. But he had pulled over a vehicle occupied by four people who’d committed a string of armed robberies in the San Fernando Valley in recent weeks. As Verna approached the vehicle, prosecutors say, Raynard Cummings shot him once from the backseat of the car before the man described as his “partner in crime,” Kenneth Gay, exited the vehicle and emptied a revolver into Verna’s body. Both men were convicted in 1985 of killing Verna and were later sentenced to death. But Gay, 65, was back in front of a jury Tuesday, hoping for a second chance at an acquittal in the same San Fernando courthouse. Gay’s conviction was thrown out in 2020 after the California Supreme Court decided that his initial trial lawyer was incompetent. That left Deputy Dist. Atty. David Ayvazian to try convincing a jury that, despite the legal headaches that led to a new trial, Gay’s guilt remains unquestioned.

Los Angeles Times

Thousands are living in RVs on Los Angeles’ streets. Leaders want to shrink the number, but the solution is elusive

Early one recent Friday morning, sanitation workers, homeless-outreach workers and LAPD officers arrived on a little street in the west of Los Angeles. Jasmine Avenue is lined with low-rise apartment blocks, an imposing Catholic Church, a school and a handful of dilapidated recreational vehicles. Park and others argue that these RVs endanger their residents and blight neighborhoods, acting as magnets for crime and damaging the environment. Some advocates for the unhoused agree the impact on city neighborhoods is an issue.

CNN

Man Killed In Driveway Of Hollywood Hills West Home

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man who was standing in the driveway of a home in the Hollywood Hills West neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday morning. The shooting was reported just after 2 a.m. in the 7800 block of Fareholm Drive, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson. Officers arrived on scene to find a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds down in front of a residence. The unidentified shooting victim, believed to be 35 to 40 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene, the spokesperson confirmed. Investigators believe the victim was standing in the driveway of a residence and talking to the suspect when the suspect produced a gun and opened fire. The suspect fled in an unknown vehicle and is still on the loose, according to the spokesperson. It was unclear what led up to the shooting or what the relationship was between the gunman and victim. Investigators are searching the area for any video that may help with the investigation.

KTLA 5

2 Injured In Shooting Near Downtown LA, Suspect Arrested

Two people were injured in a shooting south of downtown Los Angeles Tuesday and a 35-year-old man was taken into custody. Officers responded around 3:25 p.m. to reports of shots fired at 17th Street and Broadway, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police found two people wounded at the scene, and both were taken to hospitals in unknown condition, but both were considered stable, police said. The victims were described as a man and a woman in their 30s. Police said the shooting occurred in a parking lot, where the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds for unknown reasons. The male victim was shot multiple times, police said. The woman was shot once. Both victims are presumed to recover from their injuries. KNX News reported that the suspect got onto a Metro bus after the shooting, and police tracked the bus down and arrested the still-armed man, who was not immediately identified.

MyNewsLA

Group Of Teens Crashes Stolen Car Into Flower Shop In South LA

A group of teens crashed a stolen vehicle into a flower shop after a pursuit in South LA Wednesday morning. Just before 12:30 a.m. a short pursuit began and ended when the driver lost control and went crashing into the business at the corner of Gage Avenue and Figueroa Street. Inside the vehicle were four teens between the ages of 12 and 15. When police ran the license plates they came back as stolen. Police are investigating if the teens were impaired at the time of the incident. The driver was taken to the hospital after complaining of pain. According to police, the three others were arrested and cited. They will be released back to their parents. At this time it is unknown where the vehicle was taken from.

NBC 4

Van Nuys Man Pleads Not Guilty In Darknet Drugs Case

A San Fernando Valley man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges alleging he used “darknet” marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine to buyers nationwide. Brian McDonald, 22, of Van Nuys — whose alleged aliases include “Malachai Johnson” and “SouthSideOxy” — and Ciara Clutario, 22, of Burbank, were charged in an eight-count indictment filed last month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Both defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, five counts of distribution of fentanyl and one count of distribution of cocaine. McDonald also is charged with one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, court papers show. McDonald has been in federal custody since his arrest on May 4. Clutario is expected to make her initial federal court appearance in the coming weeks. A trial date of July 11 was scheduled in Los Angeles federal court, but that date is expected to change.

MyNewsLA

L.A. Singer, Model Tried To Traffic More Than 200 Pounds Of Cocaine In SUV, Sheriff’s Office Says

A singer-songwriter from Van Nuys and her fitness influencer friend may be facing federal charges after they were arrested in Alabama last week while allegedly trafficking more than 200 pounds of cocaine, according to reports. Racquelle Dolores Anteola, 34, of Van Nuys and Melissa Dufour, 36, of Miramar, Florida, were arrested early Thursday while driving on Interstate 10 in Mobile County, Alabama, according to local media outlet Lagniappe. Anteola, aka Rahky, is a singer and rapper based in Los Angeles, according to her Instagram profile. Dufour, who goes by @melimacbarbie_on Instagram, is a fitness model and the owner and designer of a clothing brand called Sexy Sweats. Sheriff’s officials told Lagniappe that the women were driving from Houston to Atlanta in a Ford Expedition with “hidden compartments” that contained 217 pounds of cocaine valued at about $3 million. “The vehicle’s back seat was modified with a steel aftermarket compartment,” according to Lagniappe’s report. “The SUV’s floor had also been lowered and welded back together to provide storage room. The second compartment was located in the back of the SUV, where the side panels were hollowed out.”

KTLA 5

Woman Drives On Shredded Tires During Lengthy Chase On 5 Freeway Through LA, OC

A woman drove on shredded tires during a lengthy chase on the 5 Freeway Tuesday evening through Orange and Los Angeles counties before authorities used a PIT maneuver to stop the suspect's SUV and arrest her. After the pursuit ended, California Highway Patrol officers fired what appeared to be non-lethal rounds at the suspect's SUV during a brief standoff on the 5 in Sylmar. Authorities approached the vehicle and pulled the driver out to arrest her. Earlier in the chase, a CHP officer successfully deployed a spike strip in the middle of the freeway. Rubber started coming off the front wheels a short time later, which significantly slowed the vehicle. That allowed for officers to catch up to the SUV and use a PIT maneuver. AIR7 HD was first over the pursuit around 7:40 p.m. while the suspect was on the 5 Freeway in Norwalk. The chase began in San Juan Capistrano.

ABC 7

Good Samaritans Help Massachusetts Officer Arrest Man Who Fled From Crash, Threatened To Kill Officer

A group of “good Samaritans” helped police arrest a Marshfield man who was resisting arrest after he fled the scene of a car crash on Saturday, police said. James Michael Shields, 37, was arrested and charged with offenses including three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest and intimidating a police officer, according to the Marshfield police. Shields’ bail was set at $10,000 on June 3, but after being arraigned in Plymouth District Court on Monday, his bail was lowered to $1,500, police said. Around 5 p.m. on Saturday, Marshfield police officers were dispatched near Ferry Street and Clay Pit Road for a report of a car crash, police said. One of the cars involved in the crash passed an officer, police said. The officer then followed the car near Furnace Street, but the car didn’t stop. The car then accelerated and swerved in front of another vehicle, while shifting lanes, police said. The car, still with heavy damage from the accident, then turned right into a business parking lot on Plain Street and stopped. The officer got out of his car to check on the driver of the damaged vehicle, Shields, who then started to walk away, police said.

PoliceOne

2 Dead, 5 Injured In Shooting After High School Graduation Ceremony In Virginia Capital

Seven people were shot, two fatally, when gunfire rang out Tuesday outside a downtown theater in Richmond, Virginia, where a high school graduation ceremony had just ended, causing hundreds of attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children, authorities and witnesses said. A 19-year-old suspect tried to escape on foot but was arrested and will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder, Interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards said during a nighttime news conference at which he confirmed the two fatalities. Five others were wounded by the gunfire outside the state capital's city-owned Altria Theater, which is across the street from a large, grassy park and in the middle of the Virginia Commonwealth University campus. At least 12 others were injured or treated for anxiety due to the mayhem, according to police. “As they heard the gunfire, it was obviously chaos," Edwards said. "We had hundreds of people in Monroe Park, so people scattered. It was very chaotic at the scene.” Edwards said one of the people who was killed was an 18-year-old male student who had just graduated, while the other was a 36-year-old man who was there for the graduation. Their names were not released, but police believe the suspect, who was not immediately identified, knew at least one of the victims.

Associated Press

Massive Lincoln Heights Commercial Fire Burns For Over 90 Minutes

An early morning massive commercial fire took Los Angeles City Firefighters over 90 minutes to extinguish. The fire was reported at 1:20 a.m. where it ripped through a two-story events planning business building in the 1700 block of N. Sichel Street. The greater alarm fire threatened neighboring buildings, escalating it to a major emergency, but firefighters were able to contain it to the single 13,500-square-foot building. It took 120 firefighters 95 minutes to extinguish the fire, according to the LAFD. 

CBS 2

Not Enough Firefighters To Deal With Increased Medical Calls: LAFD Report

A newly-released examination of how the LA Fire Department handles emergency calls shows the department sometimes exceeds ideal response times because of traffic, a few neighborhoods in need of dedicated fire stations, and a lack of personnel. The “Standards of Cover” analysis looked at data collected between 2018 and 2020 to help fire administrators forecast needs for hiring and resources. The findings will form the basis for requesting new money for the department, beyond its existing $900 million-plus annual budget. The report also found that 911 calls are dispatched very quickly, firefighters are able to dress and leave their stations rapidly, and most stations are well-positioned to provide coverage to most of the city. “Where we are at our weakest, we are killing our people, way overworking our people, at rates that surprised a lot of us,” LAFD Deputy Chief David Perez told the Board of Fire Commissioners during a discussion of the report’s recommendations in Downtown LA Tuesday. The analysis said firefighters and paramedics at some of the busiest stations get little rest during 24-hour shifts because of constant emergency calls, and showed it takes too long for engines and ambulances to reach the scenes of emergencies in some parts of the City.

NBC 4

LA City Council Approves Steps To Create An Office Of Unarmed Response

The Los Angeles City Council approved a motion Tuesday calling on various city departments to take the first steps toward establishing an Office of Unarmed Response, while also recognizing it will be a "long road ahead" to accomplish that goal. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez, who introduced the motion alongside council members Nithya Raman, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and then-Councilman Mike Bonin, recognized that in the last several years the city has weighed dozen of motions to develop alternative responses to certain emergency calls and create an office where "these efforts are housed, measured and managed." "This motion is the beginning of that work, and it is reflective of all the contributions that members have made," Rodriguez said. The council, on a 12-0 vote, instructed various city departments to create a framework of what the Office of Unarmed Response will look like in terms of scope of work, funding, staffing and establishing primary objectives.

Westside Current

LA Council OKs Music, Alcohol Sales Under Al Fresco Dining Plan

The Los Angeles City Council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee Tuesday approved amendments to the city's proposed al fresco ordinance that would allow music and further set standards for restaurants to sell alcohol in outdoor dining areas. The 4-0 vote with Councilwoman Heather Hutt absent advances the proposal to the full Council for consideration at a future date. The committee approved the Planning Department's recommendation to allow ambient music to a volume that would allow patrons to speak at a normal conversational level. Any violations of the recommended standard would be enforced by the Los Angeles Police Department — with the goal of addressing noise impacts that might be caused by non-compliant outdoor dining operations. Live entertainment, dancing and pool tables, billiard tables and adult entertainment uses are prohibited in outdoor dining areas, according to Planning Department officials. Alfresco operations would also be allowed to operate Sunday through Thursday until 10:30 p.m. and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturdays, if within 250 feet of a residential zone.

FOX 11

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.