Law Enforcement News

Man Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Security Guard Outside USC Off-Campus Apartments
A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of a security guard early Wednesday outside a student apartment building about half a mile from USC, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The shooting was reported around 12:30 a.m. outside the Lorenzo apartments in the 300 block of West Adams Boulevard, just south of 23rd Street and east of Flower Street. Officers responded to the scene and found a male gunshot victim, identified as an apartment complex security guard, police said in a release. The guard was shot while trying to escort a trespasser off the property, the LAPD said. He died at the scene, officials said. His identity has not been released. “The individual was just trying to work, just trying to do his job, and was just trying to keep this building safe when this incident occurred,” Los Angeles Police Lt. Ryan Rabbett told KTTV Channel 11. During the investigation, police found a possible suspect sleeping in a parking area near the lobby of the apartment building, according to the LAPD. The man, later identified as Alexander Crawford, 31, was detained without incident and found to have a handgun in his possession, police said.
LA Times

LAPD Announces $50,000 Reward In Investigation Of Street Takeover Crash That Killed Woman
Los Angeles police announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver who fatally struck a woman in her 20s during a street takeover in South L.A.'s Hyde Park neighborhood. The woman, identified by relatives as Elyzza Guajaca, was struck shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday by a black Chevrolet Camaro while standing with a group of people at the northeast corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue, according to the LAPD. She was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. The driver involved in the deadly collision fled the scene and remained at large Wednesday, authorities said. Los Angeles Police Department detectives said six or seven additional victims, who have not been identified, were seen on videos obtained over the past several days. Investigators are seeking the public's help in identifying them, police said.
ABC 7

Triple-Shooting In Valley Glen Leaves 1 Dead, 2 Wounded
One person is dead and two others wounded following a shooting in North Hollywood Wednesday evening. According to Los Angeles Police Department, the shooting occurred at around 8:15 p.m. in the area near Fulton Avenue and Hart Street. Of the three victims, one was pronounced dead at the scene. Their identity was withheld pending notification of next of kin. Another victim was hospitalized as a result of the shooting, while the third was treated for injuries at the scene. The extent of their injuries was unknown. There was no suspect information immediately available, and investigators have set up a scene to survey the area for evidence.
CBS 2

Woman Killed, Man Wounded In South Los Angeles Shooting
A woman was killed and a man was wounded in a shooting Wednesday evening at a strip mall in South Los Angeles. The shooting was reported at 8:35 p.m. on Avalon Boulevard at Imperial Highway, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Tony Im told City News Service. A canopy was requested as the crime scene investigation began, Im said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man was taken to a hospital in an unknown condition.
MyNewsLA

Body Found In Koreatown May Be Hit-and-Run Victim: LAPD
Investigators were working Thursday to determine what happened to a person found dead in Koreatown overnight. Officers responded to a report of a body near the intersection of Western Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard around 1:30 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed. The unidentified victim was pronounced dead by first responders after being found on a sidewalk. The age and gender of the victim were unknown, the spokesperson said. Based on the injuries, investigators believe the person may have been the victim of a hit-and-run collision. No description of a possible suspect vehicle was provided.
KTLA 5

Family Files Missing Persons Report In LA For Rapper Theophilus London
The family of rapper Theophilus London filed a missing persons report with Los Angeles police this week and are asking for the public’s help, saying he hasn’t been seen in months. London’s family and friends believe someone last spoke to the musician in July in Los Angeles, according to the family’s statement released Wednesday from Secretly, a music label group that has worked with London. London’s relatives have been trying to determine his whereabouts over the last few weeks and filed a police report earlier this week, the statement said. Officer Annie Moran, an LAPD spokesperson, confirmed Wednesday that a report for London had been taken. A department news release said London was last seen in the Skid Row area on Oct. 15, and his family has lost complete contact with him.
LA Daily News

Video: Thieves Steal Hundreds Of Pounds Of Weed From Los Angeles Dispensary
A store owner is left devastated after a group of thieves broke into a Silver Lake dispensary on Wednesday, getting away with hundreds of pounds of marijuana. The owner hopes security footage of the thieves will help someone recognize them and bring justice. “They seemed organized though, like they’ve done this before,” Toby Stein, owner of the Silver Lake Caregivers Dispensary Group, tells KTLA’s Pedro Rivera. Stein says the brazen thieves escaped with hundreds of pounds of marijuana during the swift break-in which happened a little after midnight. Although he’s experienced smaller burglaries in the past, Stein says he’s never been a victim of such a substantial theft like this — six thieves, four vehicles and the entire burglary accomplished within 15 minutes.
KTLA 5

Fentanyl Killed Their Son. Now They’re Begging Parents To Understand The Dangers
It was every parent’s worst nightmare. Two days after Christmas 2020, Chris Didier went into his son Zach’s bedroom in their home near Sacramento. The accomplished student, school theater actor and athlete was unresponsive at his desk – his head lying on his arm. “I could feel before I even touched him that something was horribly wrong,” said Chris. Chris, who is retired from the Air Force, said his first aid training kicked in and he immediately began CPR, instructing another of his sons to call 911. “I will never forget the shock on our son Sam’s face when he came to bring the phone in, seeing his lifeless brother on the floor,” said Chris. Chris’s eyes filled with tears as he sat next to Zach’s mother, Laura, inside their son’s former high school theater classroom, recounting to CNN the tragic day that shattered their lives. Medics arrived at the home and began trying to resuscitate Zach, but they stopped after mere minutes. “They looked at me and said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and I refused to accept that,” said Chris. “It was something that I adamantly could not accept.”
CNN

California School Photographer Arrested In Connection To ‘Numerous' Child Molestation Cases, Police Say
A 72-year-old man is behind bars after police say he was connected to numerous child molestation cases. Back in May of 2022, the Ontario Police Department launched an investigation against Philbert Hernandez. Prior to the arrest, Hernandez was a school photographer and shot photos for various other photography firms across Southern California. On Tuesday, Ontario PD arrested Hernandez. Now, police are looking to see if he had targeted additional victims. Ontario PD is asking any victims or anyone with knowledge of the victims to call 909-408-1166.
FOX 11

New York Officers Lead 60 Stranded Tourists To Safety Through Deadly Blizzard
A tour bus carrying about 60 people who were on their way to Washington, D.C., went off River Road in North Tonawanda, near Gratwick Park, and got wedged into a snow bank around 1:20 p.m. Saturday. "River Road, it was probably the worst part of the city," Police Chief Keith Glass said this week. The bus was about a foot away from going into a ditch and, potentially, tipping over. Officers Brandon Lathrop and Mike Rosky managed to get to the bus in a pickup truck and began getting people off and ferrying them to the Gratwick Hose fire station in groups of four. The pickup got stuck once in the snow and got help getting out from a Department of Public Works vehicle. When the pickup got stuck again in the zero-visibility conditions, the officers realized driving wouldn't work, Glass said. Lathrop and Rosky got the four tour members through the knee-deep snow to the fire hall and paused to warm up.
The Buffalo News

Public Safety News

Hiker Survives 200-Foot Fall In The Hollywood Hills Area
A hiker survives what is believed to be a 200-foot fall in the Hollywood Hills area Wednesday afternoon. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call in the 2000 block of North Fuller Avenue a little before 3:30 p.m. According to LAFD, not only did the male hiker survived the fall, he told paramedics after being rescued in a helicopter that he wouldn't need to be taken to the hospital. As of Wednesday evening, it is unknown what caused the man to fall as far as he did.
FOX 11

West Hills Medical Facility Evacuated After Mercury Spill
Los Angeles fire crews are responding to a mercury spill at a medical facility in West Hills Wednesday afternoon. The incident was reported around 2:15 p.m. in the 7300 block of North Woodlake Avenue. A small amount of mercury had spilled on the floor and the wall in a room inside the facility, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The building was evacuated “out of an abundance of caution,” officials said. The facility, which performs procedures, had an unknown number of patients recovering from anesthesia at the time of the incident.
KTLA 5

Strep Infections In Children That Can Result In ‘Flesh-Eating’ Disease Becoming A Concern
Doctors should be on the lookout for a particular kind of invasive strep infection in children that can result in so-called “flesh-eating” disease and organ failure, according to health officials. Shortly before Christmas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory on the recent increase in pediatric invasive Group A streptococcal infections, otherwise known as iGAS. It’s too early to know for certain whether the increase in such infections is what would be typical for a pre-pandemic season. But iGAS cases in children this season are above similar periods seen in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In any case, the number of iGAS infections nationally has been relatively low. However, federal officials have been investigating a possible rise in iGAS infections in children at a Colorado hospital, and potential increases have been subsequently reported elsewhere.
LA Times