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Law Enforcement News

Los Angeles Driver Speeding Through Intersection Kills 5, Including Pregnant Woman, In Fiery Crash
Five people have reportedly been killed and eight have been hospitalized as a result of a fiery car crash in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday afternoon. The crash involved six to seven vehicles, three of which caught on fire, and took place at the busy intersection of South La Brea Avenue and Slauson Avenue in the Windsor Hills area of West Los Angeles at 1:30 p.m., KTTV-TV reported. A pregnant woman and her unborn fetus, an infant child, and two other adults were killed in the crash and the fire that ensued. Officials believe that a Mercedes-Benz traveling at a high rate of speed ran a red light and started the crash. Images from the scene show two burned vehicles, one of which was split in half and appears to have crashed into a pole. Eight people were reportedly sent to the hospital and their injuries are unknown. "It almost looks like a war zone," a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer told reporters at the crash scene. The CHP told KTTV-TV that the driver of the Mercedes was critically injured in the crash. Charges are likely to be presented to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office to be filed.
FOX News

Dad Of 3 Killed After Getting Caught In Gang Cross Fire During Shooting In Panorama City
A young father is dead and at least four others were injured following a shooting Wednesday afternoon near the Valley Indoor Swap Meet in Panorama City, authorities confirmed to FOX 11. The Los Angeles County Fire Department said that a shooting was reported at 2:27 p.m. near the intersection of Parthenia Street and Tobias Ave. According to LAPD, officers were originally responding to a traffic collision in the area when the call was upgraded to a shooting. Officers arrived on scene and located five people suffering from gunshot wounds. One person was killed on scene, two were taken to the hospital and the fourth victim was treated at the scene. The victim who was killed was identified as 37-year-old Jonathan Santillano from Sylmar. Family and friends say he was a loving father of three with a fiancé. Santillano was reportedly found dead by his fiancé. He had left the grocery store prior to being shot. During the investigation, it was revealed that three vehicles were involved in a traffic collision. They were parked in the area of Tobias Avenue and Parthenia Street where they were exchanging information when an unknown suspect approached the group and began shooting at them.
FOX 11

Man Shot During iPhone Robbery Hours Before Hollywood Announces New Safety Measures
A man was held up at gunpoint and shot in the chest by a robber who took his iPhone in Hollywood Wednesday morning, police said. Officers responded to a report of a man down in the 1000 block of North Highland Avenue around 3 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed. An unidentified man in his 30s was found at the location with a gunshot wound to his upper body. The victim was conscious and breathing when officers arrived. There was no further word on the victim’s condition. Investigators determined the man had been shot during a robbery in which an iPhone was stolen. The suspect was described as a Black man standing 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighting about 200 pounds. He was wearing a black shirt, Nike shorts and was last seen driving a black Ford SUV, according to police. The issue of safety in Hollywood has captured the attention of local business owners as crime numbers continue to rise. Those owners were joined by Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell and the Los Angeles Police Department at a Wednesday morning press conference where they announced new measures designed to increase public safety.
KTLA 5

Los Angeles Shooting During Possible Robbery Outside Casino Leaves One Person Wounded
A shooting outside Hustler Casino in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County on Thursday morning left one person wounded, according to multiple reports. The shooting happened during a possible armed robbery attempt of an armored vehicle at the casino, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that officers responded to the scene, but did not have information on injuries or suspects. A large police presence could be seen outside the casino and near a building one block away. The LA County Fire Department told Fox 11 Los Angeles that one gunshot victim was transported to a local hospital. The victim's status was not immediately released. In another armored truck robbery just north of Los Angeles in June, millions of dollars worth of gems and jewels were stolen from a Brink's security vehicle.
FOX News

Starbucks Shuttered Near Hollywood Walk Of Fame Plagued By Rampant Crime
A Starbucks near the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame – one of 16 shuttered nationwide by the coffee chain – went dark last week because of “challenging incidents that make it unsafe to continue to operate,” the company said, according to published reports. The cafe on Hollywood Blvd. and Vine St. was among six locations in Los Angeles closed at the end of July after the chain claimed that high crime, homelessness and tense encounters between staffers and mentally ill people forced its hand. Sara Blair, a Hollywood resident, said that particular Starbucks site was often hit with vandalism, according to the Los Angeles Times. Passersby would notice windows being smashed in and boarded up, the Times reported. She also told the Times that she once noticed a large contingent of police officers surrounding the cafe after someone entered with a weapon in what was later determined to be a “hostage situation.” A Starbucks spokesperson told The Post on Thursday that the Seattle-based chain does not have any record of there being a hostage situation at the site. The Post reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department seeking more information.
NY Post

Man Arrested In Attack On Woman In Hollywood
A Lancaster man was in custody Thursday for allegedly attacking a woman in Hollywood, police said. Dammion Adkins, 33, was arrested on Wednesday and booked on suspicion of felony battery with serious bodily injury, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Adkins was being held without bail, police said. The crime occurred about 2:15 a.m. Friday in the 1700 block of North Las Palmas Avenue, police said. "Officers' investigation revealed that a female victim was knocked unconscious, then kicked in the head by the suspect," police said in a statement. "The incident was captured on cell phone video and received significant news and social media attention." Anyone with information on the case was urged to call LAPD detectives 213-972-2967; 877-LAPD-247; or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
NBC 4

Family, LAPD Searching For Man Last Seen At Hospital
Los Angeles Police are asking for help locating a 47-year-old man who went missing Sunday. Family members say Alfredo Gonzalez was last seen at Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, and they are concerned for his safety. No further information was provided. Anyone with information was asked to contact LAPD’s missing person’s unit at 213-996-1800. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or go directly to lacrimestoppers.org.
KTLA 5

Vendor Killed In Gardena Shooting
A fruit vendor in his 30s was shot and killed in an unincorporated area of Gardena and Friday detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. Deputies from the Compton Sheriff’s Station responded just after 5:50 p.m. Thursday to the 100 block of Rosecrans Avenue between Main and San Pedro streets regarding a shots fired call and discovered the victim on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, said Deputy Brenda Serna of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The man was taken to a hospital, where he died of his wounds. His name was withheld pending notification of his next of kin. During the course of their investigation, detectives learned the man was a local fruit vendor who was the victim of an attempted robbery. Authorities say two men are suspects in the shooting. Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
MyNewsLA.com

Inmate Escapes From Sheriff's Transport In West Hollywood, Prompting Manhunt
An inmate who was being loaded into a Los Angeles Sheriff Department transport Friday morning broke free and ran into a West Hollywood neighborhood, prompting a massive search, authorities said. The escape occurred around 7 a.m. Friday at the West Hollywood Sheriff's station in the 8800 block of Santa Monica Blvd. Deputies immediately set up a perimeter and began combing the are for the suspect. The suspect is described as a 6-foot, 4-inches tall man wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, white shoes and is said to be handcuffs. The charge that the inmate had been in jail for was not disclosed. The bus was going to take him to court at the time of the escape, LASD said.
ABC 7

'Ambush To Kill Cops': Deputies Lured To Neighborhood By Unfounded 911 Call
A man who made fake 911 calls to lure law enforcement officers into an ambush was found dead after opening fire on deputies Wednesday morning, according to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. One of the three deputies who responded to the call for help at about 5:30 a.m. was injured in the shooting, Lott said in a news conference. When deputies found the body of 25-year-old Frederick Westfall, he was in full tactical gear and had an assault rifle with him, according to Lott. Lott said it appears Westfall killed himself after shooting at the deputies in the Carriage Oaks Subdivision in northeast Columbia. “I’m fortunate I’m not standing here and talking about a deputy being killed like we had in Spartanburg and in Cayce,” Lott said, referencing recent shootings where law enforcement officers responded to domestic violence calls and were killed by a shooter. “Same type situation in that it was an ambush.” Joseph Shannonhouse is the deputy who was injured, according to the sheriff. Shannonhouse was not hit by gunfire. But while he was driving, a bullet blasted through the passenger window and lodged into the dashboard of his patrol vehicle, Lott said. Glass from that impact hit Shannonhouse in the face and got in his eyes, according to the sheriff.
The State

Public Safety News

Help Sought Identifying Possible Juvenile Hospitalized In L.A. For Nearly 2 Weeks
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services asked the public for help Tuesday in identifying a possible juvenile who has been hospitalized for nearly two weeks. The unidentified male patient was brought into County-USC Medical Center On July 22, the Department of Health Services stated in a news release. No further information about the nature of the injuries or the condition of the patient was released but officials are in need of assistance in identifying him. The patient was described as a male Hispanic between 16 and 20 years old. He is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 154 pounds. The Medical Center described him as having a thin stature with short dark hair and brown eyes. The patient also has a tattoo of a cross under his right eye and another tattoo on his right hand. An image of the patient was released in hopes that someone would recognize him and contact the Medical Center.
KTLA 5

L.A. COVID Surge Appears To Be Cresting, But The Picture Is Still Far From Good
The summer coronavirus wave in Los Angeles County — fueled by super-contagious Omicron subvariants — appears to be cresting as cases continue to fall, but the picture is far from good. COVID-19 deaths — the result of weeks of substantial transmission — remain on the rise and aren’t likely to decrease for some time. Moreover, cases remain highly elevated. The latest data extend the trends health officials noted last week, when they canceled implementation of a long-looming mask mandate. And while the pandemic has regularly upended prognostications, metrics are moving in a promising direction almost across the board. “Although we had three instances earlier in the spring and summer where we saw dips in cases that, unfortunately, were followed shortly by increases, this decline is more pronounced, and it’s accompanied by decreases in our other metrics,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Tuesday. Over the week ending Wednesday, the nation’s most populous county tallied an average of 5,200 new coronavirus infections per day, down 24% from mid-July — the apparent peak of summer’s surge. It’s “the largest drop in average case counts that we’ve seen since the end of the winter surge,” Ferrer told the county Board of Supervisors.
LA Times

Local Government News

LA City Council To Vote On Initiative That Would Require Hotels To Give Up Empty Rooms To The Homeless
On Friday, the Los Angeles City Council will consider passing an ordinance that would house homeless people in empty hotel rooms. If it passes, every hotel in Los Angeles will have to report their vacancies. According to the measure, "Each hotel shall communicate to the Department or its designee, in a form that the Department prescribes, by 2 p.m. each day the number of available rooms at the hotel for that night." "It’s crazy," said Ray Patel, the president of the Northeast Los Angeles Hotel Owners Association. Patel said members of the association are worried. "I can't screen who ends up in my hotel rooms?" he said. "How do I protect my other customers and my staff?" Members of Unite Here Local 11, who are behind the initiative, say they have already gathered 126,000 signatures in favor. Council members could decide to put it on the ballot if they don’t approve it outright. Maria Hernandez, communications director of Unite Here Local 11 said this picks up where the phased-out Project Room Key left off. The Los Angeles initiative paid hotels to house homeless individuals during the pandemic but did not force them. This initiative includes language indicating that hotels not accepting the vouchers could be sued.
FOX 11