LAPD Union Expands Suit Over Alleged Data Breach

The union representing the Los Angeles Police Department’s lieutenants and ranks below has expanded its lawsuit against a department commander on claims of fraud and unlawful computer data access, adding additional causes of action as well as a deputy chief as a defendant. The suit initially alleged causes of action for fraud, unfair competition and a violation of the state Penal Code. The revised complaint now has a total of seven allegations, including conspiracy, one more count each of fraud, unfair competition and violation of the Penal Code. In addition, Deputy Chief Marc Reina, who could not be immediately reached for comment, was added as a co-defendant with Carranza.

MyNewsLA.com

Police Say Woodland Hills Doctor Was Killed In Targeted Hit Outside Of His Own Medical Clinic

Police say that the Woodland Hills doctor who was fatally shot outside of his own medical clinic on Friday was killed in a targeted attack. Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, 61, was walking to his car at around 6:15 after leaving the Woodland Hills Medical Clinic and Urgent Care, located on Topanga Canyon Boulevard, when he was approached by an unknown suspect and shot, according to Los Angeles Police Department investigators. After reviewing surveillance footage of the day, they say that the suspect waited around in the parking lot for nearly an hour before Mirshojae exited the building. Once he neared his car, the suspect opened fire on Mirshojae and ran from the area on foot, leaving the doctor to die in the parking lot. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. They have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting or a suspect description. 

CBS 2

LAPD Searching For Suspects After Woman Shot, Wounded In North Hollywood Arts District

Police are searching for suspects after a woman was shot and wounded in the North Hollywood Arts District. The shooting was reported just after 8 p.m. in the area of 11050 Magnolia Blvd., in front of the Fat Dog restaurant. It wasn't clear if the victim had been inside the restaurant prior to the shooting. Other businesses in the vicinity include a marijuana dispensary, tattoo shop and a theater. The woman is in stable condition, according to the LAPD. Police say a woman was injured with a gunshot wound to the leg and at least two men were seen running from the scene. A white BMW was also spotted fleeing the area. It's unclear if the shooter was in a car when the gun was fired. Multiple evidence markers were covering the sidewalk near the scene, possibly indicating multiple bullet casings. Details on a possible motive and circumstances leading to the shooting were not immediately available.

ABC 7

Man In Critical Condition After Being Shot During Attempted Carjacking In Highland Park

A 69-year-old man is hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in an attempted carjacking in Highland Park early Tuesday morning. The incident happened at about 12:05 a.m. near Marmion Way and Figueroa Street, said the Los Angeles Police Department. LAPD said the suspect, described only as a 19-year-old male, approached the victim on foot while at a stop light and demanded his truck. After the victim refused, the suspect then shot the victim three times, police said. The victim managed to drive to a shopping center for help and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The 19-year-old suspect was arrested nearby, LAPD said. No further details were immediately known.

ABC 7

Stabbing Takes Place In Venice, Suspect On Loose

A person was hospitalized after being stabbed in Venice on Monday night, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed today. Shortly after 11:30 p.m. Monday, first responders were sent to the intersection of Rose Avenue and Pacific Avenue after multiple 911 callers reported a stabbing, police said. The victim, who was stabbed at least once, was taken to a hospital in "stable condition," the LAPD said. Police said the suspect, who was described as a White man in a white shirt, was last seen heading towards Pacific Avenue on foot. The weapon used was a knife, and was still outstanding, the LAPD said.

Westside Current

LAPD Asks For Help To Find Teen Mother, Newborn With Heart Condition

Family members and police asked for help Monday to find a newborn baby with a heart condition and her young mother, who disappeared Sunday in the East Los Angeles area. Fourteen-year-old Amoria Brown and her 3-week-old daughter Omoria were last seen at about 9 p.m. Sunday in the 5200 block of East Huntington Drive. They were believed to be traveling to the high desert north of Los Angeles with family, the LAPD said in a news release that included photos of the missing girl. "It’s just a lot right now; trying to take it all in, trying to process it," said Raquel Brown, Amoria's guardian. "I just want the baby to be OK. She’s not a bad mom. I’m not going to say that she’s bad. She’s young. I can’t just expect her to change overnight, so I do want to make that clear, but I’m here to help." According to Raquel, the girl called her family to let them know she and the baby were OK. Their whereabouts remain unknown, although relatives believe she's heading for the High Desert. When police initially released the notice of the disappearance, it included a missing 15-year-old girl who was described as Brown's sister-in-law. She has since reunited with her relatives, according to her family. Authorities asked anyone with information to contact detectives at 213-479-2827, 911 or L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

NBC 4

Fake Doctor Injured A Patient While Pretending To Be A Cosmetic Surgeon, L.A. Prosecutors Say

To the public, Cristian Perez Latorre appeared to live a life of success and flair, attracting tens of thousands of Instagram followers for his cosmetic surgery business, posing in photos with actors and hobnobbing with international models. On social media, he would dole out video advice on botox, sound baths and the dangers of injected liquid silicone. But at least part of the time, the self-described “facial specialist” who also ran an “aura healing” business was illegally performing cosmetic surgery without a license, resulting “great bodily injury” to at least one client in 2021, according to L.A. County prosecutors. Latorre, 53, was arrested Thursday and has been charged with assault and battery after “impersonating a doctor and performing cosmetic surgery without the proper license,” the L.A. County district attorney’s office said in a statement. He was released Friday on a $150,000 bond, according to jail records and prosecutors. While Latorre advertised himself on his Instagram and other social media as a “plastic surgeon board certified” in Argentina and a “registered nurse first assistant” in the U.S. who worked on “educational medical teaching,” law enforcement said that his medical qualifications were not up to par when he treated a woman three times in 2021.

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Man Arrested After Terrorizing People During Bizarre Crime Spree Near Yosemite National Park

A Los Angeles man was arrested after a bizarre, day-long crime spree in central California that included a pursuit, attempted kidnapping and assault earlier this week. According to a Facebook post from Mariposa County Sheriff's Office, the ordeal began at around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday on Highway 120 in the Buck Meadows area. The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Anthony Mehlhaff, approached a pregnant waitress at a restaurant and reached out to touch her stomach before he reportedly said, "the spirits led me to you and your baby belongs to me, and what time is your break because I will be waiting for you." Afterwards, he stole several drinks, assaulted another member of the restaurant waitstaff and sped away in his car towards Yosemite National Park. "At 3 pm multiple calls began coming in to the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office Emergency 911 center, said MCSD's statement. "Reports of a possible car crash, kidnapping, assault, stolen vehicles, and other suspicious circumstances all occurring near Fish Camp."

CBS 2

California Officer Killed, Another Injured In Fiery Crash Following Pursuit

A San Diego police officer was killed and a second was seriously injured in a fiery crash following a brief pursuit in Clairemont late Monday, officials said. The driver of the car police had been chasing also died, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters at an early morning news conference. Police did not release the names of either Tuesday morning. The chief said the department was still in the process of notifying members of the officer’s family. “I can’t put into words the feelings that come at a time like this,” said Wahl, standing with Mayor Todd Gloria and others. “When we have police officers coming to work, to make a difference, to help those in need, and they put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know. Last night, we lost a good one.” The crash happened just after 11:30 p.m. on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard west of state Route 163. Wahl said officers spotted a vehicle traveling at “a high rate of speed” on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and tried to pull it over. The driver kept going, and the officers briefly gave chase, but the high speeds led a supervisor to call off the pursuit, the chief said. Two other officers were driving together in the same car, responding to the incident, when the fleeing car slammed into the side of their patrol vehicle, he said.

San Diego Union Tribune

Apple AirTags Are Helping Cops Catch Thieves. Here’s How You Can Protect Yourself

Need to find your lost bag? Trying to locate your neighborhood mail thief? Apple’s AirTag can help you with both. Released in 2021, the $29 Apple AirTag was created to help users easily locate items through a Bluetooth signal. Some people are even using it to find their stolen property. In a recent case, a woman in Santa Barbara County who was fed up with her mail being stolen from her post office box decided to bait the thieves and mailed herself a package containing an AirTag. It worked. Her mail, including the packaged AirTag, was stolen and she shared the tracking information with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found the woman’s mail and the mail of more than a dozen other people; the suspected thieves were arrested. This isn’t the first time the quarter-sized AirTags have been used to find stolen items. Santa Barbara County sheriff’s officials have noticed the trackers being used on commonly stolen items, such as e-bikes, wallets, purses, cars and electric scooters, said Raquel Zick, a spokesperson for the department.

Los Angeles Times

Crews Respond To Fire Burning Through Roof Of Downtown Los Angeles Building

Crews battled a fire at a commercial building near the 10 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. The flames were burning through the roof when firefighters arrived around 7 a.m. at the one-story vacant building on East Violet Street, the Los Angeles Fire Department stated in a news alert. The fire was intense enough that crews were forced to take a defensive position while battling the blaze. Sky5 was over the scene at 7:30 a.m. as crews appeared to be getting a handle on the fire. The LAFD declared the incident a “knockdown” roughly 10 minutes later. About 28 firefighters took just under 40 minutes to extinguish the flames, the Fire Department said. No one was injured in the incident, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

KTLA 5

LA County's Hotline To Helpline Expands Its Reach To Help More Families

At the Los Angeles County Child Protection Hotline headquarters in downtown LA, social workers are taking more than 160,000 calls on any given year. Jennie Feria, the chief deputy director of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, tells the I-Team calls that once would end when it was determined there wasn't a need for a child abuse or neglect investigation, now stay open. "We will go ahead and ask questions, screen it and if there is no concern for abuse or neglect, we will definitely connect them to the services through the Hotline to Helpline program," Feria said. Hotline to Helpline started in 2018 and continues to expand its reach. Data obtained by the I-Team from the department shows an increase in these transfers, meaning calls that do not meet the standards for child abuse and neglect but do qualify for services in the community. More than 3,141 calls qualified for Helpline from January to May 2024, with 1,228 of families accepting services, according to the data obtained from the department.  

NBC 4

LA Mayor's CIRCLE Program Expands To Westside Neighborhoods

A program aimed at addressing calls for service involving the unhoused has expanded to more Westside neighborhoods, Los Angeles city officials announced Monday. In addition to Venice and Del Rey, the Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement, or CIRCLE, now covers the Oakwood, Mar Vista, Palms, Playa Vista, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Manchester Square and Dockweiler Beach areas. CIRCLE teams respond to calls related to loitering, well-being checks, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure. The program is intended to "free-up" Los Angeles Police Department sworn personnel by sending non-violent 911 mental health calls to mental health workers and individuals trained to help unhoused individuals experiencing crisis, according to Mayor Karen Bass' office, which operates the program within the mayor's Office of Community Safety. "We are responding to the mental health crisis with solutions that are long-term and sustainable," Bass said in a statement. "At the same time, we are freeing up our LAPD officers to fight crime." 

Westside Current

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.