Man Killed In Vehicle-to-Vehicle Shooting In Granada Hills Area

A man was killed early Wednesday in a vehicle-to-vehicle shooting in the Granada Hills area. The shooting occurred at about 1 a.m. near Rinaldi Street and Shoshone Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Information was not immediately available on the identity of the victim, who died at a hospital. The man was a passenger in a vehicle that was fired upon by one or more suspects in another vehicle, police said. The driver was not injured and no description of the suspect vehicle was available. Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 877-LAPD-247.

NBC 4

More Than 130 Arrested As Police Dismantle UCLA Pro-Palestinian Camp

Police moved into the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA on Thursday morning, dismantling many of the tents, pushing out most of the protesters and arresting more than 130 people. The operation caps two days of upheaval that began when UCLA declared the camp “unlawful” and continued when a mob attacked the camp Tuesday night, with police taking hours to stop the violence. On Thursday morning, officers wearing body armor, helmets and face shields methodically pulled apart the barricade as protesters tried to hold together the assemblage of plywood and metal fencing. Police launched flares that arced over the encampment, igniting with piercing blasts, and smoke filled the air from fire extinguishers that demonstrators sprayed at police. At least one officer is seen on video shooting rubber bullets into the crowd. Officers watched the scene from the high windows of Royce Hall, infuriating protesters who shone lights in their eyes and challenged them to come down. There were several fronts of the operation, with police using flash-bang type devices that echoed across campus and dismantling tents.

Los Angeles Times

2 LA Men Plead Guilty To Federal Criminal Charges Involving Stolen Checks

Two Los Angeles men pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal criminal charges for defrauding banks and credit unions out of at least $2.7 million by depositing checks stolen from the mail into bank accounts belonging to accomplices they recruited through Instagram. Carlos Corona, 36, of South Los Angeles, and Jose Luis Edeza Jr., 31, of Sunland, pleaded guilty in downtown Los Angeles to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said that from October 2020 to last August, Corona, Edeza and other co-conspirators engaged in a scheme that involved the theft of checks from the mail, including some that were taken from collection boxes outside post offices. The perpetrators would then solicit account holders through social media to provide their debit cards and bank account information, promising them a cut of any stolen funds deposited into their accounts. Corona, Edeza and others exchanged the bank account holders' information, then deposited the stolen checks into the bank accounts. In most cases, the stolen checks were falsely endorsed in the original payee's name, prosecutors said, but in some cases the checks were altered to make the payee name correspond to the bank account into which the checks were being deposited.

NBC 4

Southern California Pastor, Foster Dad Arrested For Alleged Sex Abuse Of Girls, 10 And 16

A Hesperia pastor and foster father has been arrested for the alleged ongoing sexual abuse of two girls, one of whom was only 10 years old. On Thursday, 54-year-old Jose Manuel Lozano was arrested by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a minor, officials said in a news release. Lozano’s arrest comes at the end of an investigation into “allegations of continuous sexual abuse of minors by a foster parent and pastor of a local church,” authorities said. The church was not identified, but the victims were listed as two girls, one 10 years old and the other 16. Lozano did not appear in a search of jail records, but the Sheriff’s Department says he’s being held at the High Desert Detention Center in lieu of $5 million bail. Detectives believe there may be other victims, and they’re asking anyone with information to come forward and contact Deputy Frankie Zavala at 760-947-1500.

KTLA 5

Suspect Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of CPD Officer Luis Huesca

The suspect wanted in connection with last month’s fatal shooting of off-duty Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca was taken into custody Wednesday, according to an alderman and a police source familiar with the investigation. A Cook County judge last week issued an arrest warrant charging Xavier Tate , 22, with murder in the April 21 killing of Huesca, 30, near Huesca’s home in the Gage Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. In a statement released Wednesday night, CPD said Tate was taken into custody in Glendale Heights by CPD officers and members of the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. A CPD source familiar with the investigation told the Tribune that Tate was arrested with the handcuffs that belonged to Huesca. Authorities announced a combined $100,000 reward for public information leading to Tate’s arrest and conviction. Huesca, a six-year veteran of CPD, was shot multiple times in the 3100 block of West 56th Street while off-duty but in uniform early on April 21. His car was taken at the scene of the shooting, and his gun was also stolen but later recovered. Chicago police later ruled that he died in the line of duty. At his funeral Monday, Huesca was remembered as “an exceptional person with courage, bravery, humility and pride in your work.”

Chicago Tribune

Photos: 15 Portland Police Cruisers Torched By Arsonist

 Fifteen or more parked police cars were badly damaged in a fire at a training facility early Thursday morning, the Portland Police Bureau said. The bureau said an arsonist set the fire, but it did not announce any arrests. Portland Fire & Rescue arrived at the scene in the 14900 block of Northeast Airport Way at about 2 a.m. Thursday to find “at least 15 vehicles in a fenced training area were burning,” the police bureau said. Firefighters quickly doused the fire, which did not damage the building on the property. Photographs provided by the police bureau show police cars in flames, including one next to a large propane tank. Fire investigators are investigating the blaze as “suspected arson fires,” police said. The fires come as a group of protesters continue to hole up in Portland State University’s main library after breaking in three days ago, despite warnings from the school that it is cooperating with police to end the standoff. Police ask anyone who has information about the fires to contact Det. Meredith Hopper or call Portland Fire & Rescue’s tip line: 503-823-3473.

The Oregonian

Firefighters Knock Down Fire At Hollywood Apartment Building In 11 Minutes

A fire at a vacant two-story apartment building in Hollywood was extinguished in 11 minutes Wednesday evening with no injuries reported. The Los Angeles Fire Department received a 911 call at 9:52 p.m. regarding a fire at 6842 Sunset Blvd., near North Mansfield Avenue, where there had been a previous fire. When they arrived, firefighters quickly attacked and contained the blaze with 24 firefighters, said LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

MyNewsLA

Public Advised To Stay Out Of These Los Angeles County Beaches

Officials are asking the public to avoid several Los Angeles County beaches due to high levels of bacteria on Wednesday. The ocean water warnings will remain in effect beginning May 1 until further notice. Excessive bacteria and debris can seep from nearby city streets and mountain areas and contaminate ocean waters, especially around discharging storm drains, creeks and rivers, said the L.A. County Department of Public Health. The warning also includes any runoff that may flow onto or pond on the beach sand. People who enter the ocean during this period could become ill, especially children, the elderly or those who are immunocompromised, officials said. 

KTLA 5

LA City Leaders Push For Ban On Cashless Businesses

Three city councilmembers Tuesday spoke in support of a proposal to ban cashless businesses in the city, in an attempt to empower residents who may not have bank accounts or who may be denied access to credit. During a morning news conference outside City Hall, Councilwoman Heather Hutt -- who last year introduced a motion to ban cashless businesses -- said that when businesses do not accept cash, it creates an economy that is "not inclusive and accessible'' to the city's most vulnerable populations. Hutt's motion is expected to be taken up by the council's Trade, Travel and Tourism committee this summer. "Especially as we end April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, this about our victims of domestic violence who need to use cash for their safety and escape,'' Hutt said. "Electronic forms of payment can track them when trying to flee.'' Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Eunisses Hernandez joined Hutt to show their support -- as did Alberto Retana, president of the Community Coalition, a racial-justice grassroots organization; and Leslie Belt of the Jenesse Center, a domestic-violence prevention and intervention nonprofit.

ABC 7

LA City Council Celebrates International Workers Day

The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday celebrated International Workers Day, also known as May Day, a tradition dating back to the 19th century. Ahead of numerous rallies and marches planned for Wednesday afternoon, Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez led a presentation on the significance of May Day for workers across the city, saying that in Los Angeles, organizers “always give a unique spin” to the celebrations. Every year on May 1 — in recognition of the 1886 Haymarket Affair in Chicago and the ongoing movement for workers rights — people around the world celebrate the struggles and victories of working class people who make society run, the councilman said. In Los Angeles, the first big May Day march happened in 2000 hosted by a coalition of labor organizations such as the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, the Garment Worker Center, the Filipino Worker Center and the Korean Immigrant Workers Alliance. “Since then the march has transformed into different demands, always centering (on) workers and immigrants, but we also have for Black lives, LGBTQ+ equality, to close the gender pay gap, and so much more,” Soto-Martinez said.

MyNewsLA

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.