Man Faces Sentencing for Punching Federal Officer at Paramount Protest
Law Enforcement News
Man Faces Sentencing for Punching Federal Officer at Paramount Protest
A Los Angeles man who admitted punching a border patrol officer during an anti-immigration enforcement protest last summer in Paramount is set to be sentenced Wednesday. Christian Damian Cerna-Camacho, 29, pleaded guilty in December in downtown Los Angeles to a single charge of assault on a federal officer. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to eight years behind bars. When agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tried to detain Cerna-Camacho for the assault days after the June 11 protest, he attempted to flee in his vehicle. Agents used their car to chase Cerna-Camacho’s vehicle, pinning it between two unmarked law enforcement vehicles on Whittier Boulevard in Boyle Heights. Officials said the defendant’s car contained a woman passenger and two children in the back seat when the vehicle was pinned.
Woman accused of opening fire at Rihanna's home in Beverly Crest pleads not guilty
The 35-year-old woman who allegedly fired shots at Rihanna's Los Angeles mansion pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday to several charges including attempted murder. Ivana Lisette Ortiz is accused of using a semi-automatic rifle to fire multiple rounds at the Beverly Crest property while the singer was home earlier this month. Her partner A$AP Rocky, their three children, her mother and two staff members were also in the home at the time. No one was hurt. Ortiz is facing 14 counts including attempted murder, use of a firearm, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and shooting into an inhabited dwelling with enhancements. Ortiz's defense attorneys requested a bail reduction to an amount she can afford. But the state argued that she is a risk to public safety and a flight risk, considering she lives in Florida. The judge agreed, and the reduction request was denied. Bail is currently set at $1,875,000. That figure was initially set at $10 million, because there were 10 victims present during the shooting, but it was later reduced. It's unclear why it was reduced.
LAPD to consider permanent restrictions on pretext traffic stops
The Los Angeles Police Department's oversight board considered Tuesday whether to permanently restrict certain types of pretext traffic stops, where officers use traffic violations as lawful reasons to stop motorists in order to look for evidence of more serious crimes. The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners heard presentations from the Push LA coalition, which is urging the City to ban most pretextual stops, and from members of the LAPD command staff, who defended the stops as Constitutional and important in efforts to prevent violence and find illegally possessed guns. The discussion followed recent City Council efforts to review police policies with the goal of reducing friction between officers and residents, after years of complaints that these particular traffic stops have led to distrust of the police and to frustration, as the LAPD's own data shows Black and Hispanic drivers are stopped more often than others, and statistically, relatively few pretext stops have resulted in the discoveries of other crimes. "Pretext stops are lawful detentions," LAPD Capt. Shannon White told the commissioners, and showed a map that illustrated the majority of these stops in 2025 were conducted in neighborhoods experiencing the highest rates of street violence, and of serious traffic collisions that caused injuries and deaths.
Driver in white van sought in Sun Valley chain-reaction crash
Los Angeles police are searching for a driver seen in surveillance video turning left in front of another vehicle just before that car swerved and collided head-on with an oncoming driver in Sun Valley. The violent crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 22 at Foothill Boulevard and McVine Avenue, the LAPD posted Tuesday on Instagram. Video shared in the post shows a white van waiting to make a left turn at the intersection when the driver decides to continue forward as cars are still traveling toward and through the crossing. As the van is still moving through oncoming traffic, the driver of a white sedan swerves at the last second to avoid it, but crashes head-on into another car traveling at full speed through the intersection. Police did not provide details about the conditions of those involved in the crash, but said the van did not stop to render aid and described the incident as a non-contact hit-and-run. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the van or its driver is asked to contact police.
Boston man who led LA law enforcement on a chase found guilty of raping 2 women in 1989
The Boston man who led Los Angeles law enforcement on an hour-long chase more than a year and a half ago was found guilty Tuesday in Massachusetts of raping two women back in 1989. The jury found Stephen Paul Gale, 73, guilty on four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping and a single count of armed robbery. After the verdict, the two survivors told the judge how this has impacted them. "From that moment on, my life was never the same. I tried not to let that define me, but there were things I could not control," said one of the victims. "Insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, loud noises would send me running out of stores. These struggles followed me all my life." Gale will have an opportunity to address the judge when he is sentenced on Monday.
L.A. robbery crew stole $200,000 in lottery tickets from 28 7-Eleven stores
Three members of a robbery crew that hit dozens of 7-Eleven stores have been sentenced to 13 years each in state prison, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Investigators said that between Feb. 13 and April 11, 2024, Darrick Johnson, 29, Taivyon Spells, 20, and James Guillermo Guyton, 29, robbed 28 7-Elevens and five other convenience stores across L.A. County, stealing some $200,000 worth of lottery tickets and other merchandise in the process. “In each incident, multiple suspects entered the store, went behind the cashier’s counter and stole merchandise before fleeing,” the L.A. County DA’s Office said in a news release. “In several cases, employees were threatened or physically assaulted.” Detectives used unique serial numbers on the stolen California Lottery tickets to track independent stores where the tickets were being redeemed and the store’s surveillance cameras to identify the suspects bringing the stolen tickets in.
Santa Monica man arrested for alleged kidnapping, sexual assault of two UCLA students
A Santa Monica man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting two UCLA students in early March. Alexander Schecter, 24, was arrested at his home on Friday, March 20 at around 12:15 p.m. by UCLA Police Department detectives, according to a news release from the campus police department. He is not believed to be affiliated with UCLA. UCLA police said that his arrest stems from an incident that happened on March 8, when officers were called to the 500 block of Landfair Avenue at 3 a.m. for reports of a possible kidnapping and false imprisonment, the release said. "Two female UCLA students were being dropped off in the area when the suspect allegedly prevented them from exiting his vehicle and threatened violence," the release said. "Fearing for their safety, the victims remained in the vehicle as the suspect drove approximately half a mile to the 400 block of Gayley Avenue."
L.A. woman gets prison time, ordered to pay $14 million for role in Medicare fraud scheme
A Los Angeles woman was sentenced to nearly three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution for her role in a Medicare fraud scheme involving fraudulent hospice and diagnostic testing services that were not needed or provided at all. Sophia Shaklian was sentenced to 35 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfield Jr. on Tuesday, the Department of Justice said. She previously pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud last November. The DOJ explained that the 38-year-old, a resident of the Larchmont neighborhood of L.A., and her “co-schemers” often used aliases and multiple bogus hospice and diagnostic testing providers enrolled with Medicare and submitted fraudulent claims on behalf of firms she owned, including her hospice company, Chateau d’Lumina Hospice and Palliative Care, and several diagnostic testing providers: Saint Gorge Radiology in Sylmar; Hope Diagnostics in North Hollywood; Direct Imaging & Diagnostics and Lab One – both based in Hollywood; and Labtech and Lifescan Diagnostics in Claremont.
Man Who Allegedly Helped Run Human Smuggling Ring to Plead Guilty
A Los Angeles County resident who allegedly helped operate what prosecutors call one of the largest human smuggling organizations in the nation is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to a federal charge and admit he held undocumented immigrants captive in a MacArthur Park-area “stash house” until their smuggling fees were paid. Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, 50, of Westlake, has agreed to enter a plea in Los Angeles federal court to one count of conspiracy to bring, transport and harbor aliens in the United States for private financial gain. He is accused of working as the “right-hand man” to ringleader Eduardo Domingo Renoj-Matul, 52 — known as “Turko” — also of the Westlake district near downtown. Renoj-Matul pleaded guilty March 6 to the same charge as Mejia-Chaj, plus one count of hostage taking. Renoj-Matul admitted in his plea agreement that the organization moved nearly 20,000 undocumented immigrants from Guatemala into the U.S. from 2019 through July 2024 — including seven who died in a car crash.
2 suspects arrested in ambush shooting of U.S. Park Police officer
Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police said Tuesday they have arrested two suspects in connection with an attack on a U.S. Park Police officer who was shot while driving in an unmarked vehicle. Darren Foster, 21, and Asheile Foster, 22, have both been charged with assault on a federal police officer (gun). The officer, whose identity was not disclosed, was shot Monday evening as he drove in a Washington neighborhood near its border with Maryland. Park Police Chief Scott Brecht said in a press briefing that the officer was working on an investigation when two gunmen fired at him multiple times as he drove by. The Metropolitan Police press release announcing the arrests said the officer was investigating an incident that occurred in the Park Police’s jurisdiction when he was shot. He drove away to escape the gunfire and was later medevacked to a local hospital. The officer was shot in the shoulder, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The veteran officer was released from the hospital Tuesday. Jeffery Carroll, Washington’s interim police chief, said at a press briefing Monday that the officer was targeted and it was possible the gunmen knew he was a police officer.
Public Safety News
Hospital needs help identifying man found unconscious in downtown Los Angeles
A hospital needs help identifying a patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles. The male patient is around 50 years old, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center. He was found in the hallway of an apartment complex on East 5th Street and has been hospitalized since March 23. He stands 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 156 pounds. He is bald and has brown eyes. He has an “identifiable tattoo” on his upper right arm, workers said. He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. The hospital did not disclose the nature of his injuries. Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar at 323-409-6884.
Local Government News
LA Council Approves Phased Approach to Building More Housing Around Transit
The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved a delayed, phased approach to implementation of Senate Bill 79, a state law that mandates more housing near transit stops. The Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act is expected take effect July 1. It authorizes the development of taller and denser housing projects near transit stops, though affected cities have the opportunity to delay the impacts until 2030, but must enact plans to boost density nonetheless. Council members unanimously approved a proposal that would delay SB 79 by upzoning 55 single-family and low-density zones, and allowing only 4- to 16-unit buildings up to four stories. These areas include Central, West and East LA and the San Fernando Valley, according to a report from the City Planning Department.
