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Law Enforcement News

Man Shot Dead In Koreatown Found In Planter: LAPD
The manhunt is on for a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in Koreatown Monday night. It happened around 11:30 p.m. in the area of 8th and New Hampshire. The victim, who appears to be from the area, was found in a planter suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the LAPD. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said at least a dozen shots were fired. According to police, the wife of the possible victim was speaking to him on the phone as he was walking home from his job as a delivery driver when she heard gunshots ring out. She rushed to the scene where she is waiting for confirmation that the victim is indeed her husband. The suspect is described as a man around 32-years-old, who was wearing dark clothing and left the scene headed southbound in a black SUV. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
FOX 11

Wig Shop Owner Killed While Trying To Stop Teen Robbery Suspects In Fashion District, LAPD Says
A man who owned a wig shop in downtown L.A.'s Fashion District was trying to stop two teenage robbery suspects when he was stabbed to death over the weekend, authorities said Monday. The victim has been identified as 56-year-old Du Lee, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office. His city of residence was not available. The stabbing was reported at 1:16 p.m. Saturday at Wall Street and Olympic Boulevard, according to the LAPD. Lee was found unconscious and not breathing by arriving officers, and was pronounced dead at the scene, said LAPD Officer Matthew Cruz. An investigation at the scene revealed the victim was involved in a physical altercation with suspects described as a male and a female, Cruz said. The altercation was captured on a bystander's cellphone video. The footage shows a man holding what appears to be a blond wig, which is later seen on the sidewalk near the stabbing victim. One of the suspects brandished a knife and stabbed Lee multiple times, authorities said. The two suspects, both 17, fled the scene and were soon taken into custody, according to police. Their identities were not disclosed because they are minors.
ABC 7

Man Pleads Not Guilty In 5-Year-Old Son's Death
A man pleaded not guilty Monday to murder and assault in connection with the death of his 5-year-old son, who was found unconscious in a bathtub in July. Darwin Reyes, now 33, was charged July 27 with one count each of murder and assault on a child causing death involving his son, Mason, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Reyes was arrested after the boy was found unconscious in a bathtub by officers sent to the 4000 block of Marathon Street, between Vermont Avenue and Hoover Street, one block north of Melrose Avenue, in East Hollywood, at about 2:20 p.m. July 25, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. "Upon the officers' arrival, they observed vomit and blood in the bedroom and in the bathroom of the residence,'' police said. "Upon entering the bathroom, officers saw the victim in the bathtub unconscious and not breathing. Officers attempted to render aid to the victim and requested paramedics.'' The boy also had injuries to his face, according to the District Attorney's Office. Paramedics took the boy to a hospital, where he died. Reyes has remained behind bars since he was taken into custody by the LAPD's Juvenile Division, jail records show.
NBC 4

Man, 58, Reported Missing In Mid-Wilshire Area
Police Monday sought the public’s help to locate a 58-year-old man suffering from an unspecified mental condition who was last seen in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles. Norman Carroll was last seen about 8 p.m. Sunday in the 1000 block of South Orange Grove Avenue, near La Cienega Park, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Carroll is Black, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a tattoo of a red flower on his right forearm. He was last seen wearing a gray hoodie, dark gray sweat pants, and black and white shoes. Anyone with information on Carroll’s whereabouts was asked to contact the LAPD Missing Persons Unit at 213-996-1800. Calls made during non-business hours or on weekends can be directed to 877-527-3247.
MyNewsLA

Studio City Neighborhood On Edge After Homeless Man Allegedly Attacks Homeowner With Metal Pole
A Studio City homeowner has been released from the hospital and is facing a long recovery after allegedly being attacked with a metal pole by a homeless man outside of his home. According to the victim’s wife, Cecilia Guile, two men had set up a campsite in a wooded area near their driveway, just off busy Ventura Boulevard, and had been there for several days. “I want to feel safe, and I never thought they would be violent, but you know, I unload my groceries here and I want to be able to do that without having to look over my shoulder and worry,” Guile told KTLA. Guile said that she called police but was told there was not much they could do other than ask the men to leave. When the problems continued, Guile’s husband, who did not want to be identified, stepped in and asked the men to relocate. According to Guile, that’s when one of the men became violent and started striking her husband from behind with a metal pole.
KTLA 5

Man Arrested In Stabbing Death Of Girlfriend In East Los Angeles
A man was in custody Monday for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend to death in East Los Angeles. Sergio Villalobos-Jimenez, 54, was arrested Sunday and booked on suspicion of murder, and was being held on $2 million bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies from the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station were called about 8 p.m. Friday to the 100 block of South Townsend Avenue regarding an assault with a deadly weapon, and found 45-year-old Milagros Medina suffering from stab wounds, the sheriff’s department reported. She died at a hospital. Detectives announced that they were looking for a man believed to have been Medina’s boyfriend, and sought the public’s help to find him.
MyNewsLA

Officials Seek Other Possible Victims Of Man Arrested In Santa Monica College Assaults
Authorities today urged people to contact them if they were victimized by a 27-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting female Santa Monica College students. Christopher Noah Griddine II was arrested on Sept. 26, and was being held in lieu of $3.2 million bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Campus police issued a warning on Sept 22 saying they had received a report about a man befriending female students in an outdoor seating area south of Drescher Hall. After befriending the women, the suspect would then lure his victims off campus and sexually assault them, campus police said. About 9 a.m. on Sept. 26, deputies and officers from the Santa Monica College Police Department located Griddine, a student at the college, seated in his vehicle at the campus and placed him under arrest, the sheriff's department reported. “Based on the nature of the offenses, detectives believe there may be additional unidentified victims,'' a sheriff's department statement said. “Detectives are working with the Santa Monica College Police Department and are seeking the public's help in identifying any more victims.''
WestSide Current

Video Shows Man Making It Rain During Illegal Street Takeover Near Compton
Dozens of people were seen in a video running into an intersection during an illegal street takeover just outside of Compton on Sunday night, narrowly avoiding cars that swirled along the asphalt. The video, originally reported by KTLA-TV Channel 5, showed an individual standing on the roof of a black pickup truck parked at the center of the intersection and tossing cash in the air, drawing spectators to rush toward the money. Several cars burned doughnuts around the crowd in West Rancho Dominguez. The sideshow at East Compton Boulevard and South San Pedro Street was part of the five to 10 different takeovers that Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to on Sunday evening in and around Compton, said Lt. Oscar Butao. It was likely the same group of 200 to 300 people jumping from intersection to intersection, hosting the shows, he said. A separate video of another sideshow in the Harvard Park neighborhood showed images of a minor crash. No arrests were made, and no injuries were reported during the sideshows, according to Butao.
LA Times

California Police: 5 Homicides Are ‘Related'
A string of five homicides in Stockton reported since the beginning of July are related, city police confirmed Friday, and a person of interest is being sought. The first killing was reported July 8, with homicides following on Aug. 11, Aug. 30, Sept. 21 and Tuesday, police said. All of the incidents were reported as shooting deaths, with all but the first victim being identified as Hispanic men ages 21 to 54. The first was identified as a 35-year-old white man. "It's just people caught by surprise," Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden said Friday at a news conference. "It wasn't a robbery, items aren't being stolen and they're not talking about any gang activity in the area or anything." The homicides all occurred in the evening or early morning hours, and each victim was alone at the time, police said. "By definition, you could probably very well call this a serial killer, right," McFadden said. "But at this time, we don't know if it's a person, two or three. We just don't know." When questioned further, he stopped short of labeling the suspect as a serial killer. "I think we need to focus on a series of killings that are connected, that are resulting in loss of lives," he said. "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who the perpetrator is, someone's getting buried and that's a problem with me."
LA Times

New Law Allows Californians To Legally Jaywalk
A new law signed on Friday will allow Californians to legally jaywalk without being ticketed. Pedestrians can now cross the street outside of an intersection without breaking the law as long as it is safe to do so. The bill, AB 2147, also known as The Freedom To Walk Act, was introduced by Assembly member Phil Ting and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. “It should not be a criminal offense to safely cross the street,” said Ting. “When expensive tickets and unnecessary confrontations with police impact only certain communities, it’s time to reconsider how we use our law enforcement resources and whether our jaywalking laws really do protect pedestrians.” Under the new law, officers can cite a jaywalker “only when a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision.” Proponents say the law is a win in decriminalizing jaywalking, for which tickets are disproportionately given to low-income individuals or minorities who typically cannot afford to pay the tickets.
KTLA 5

Public Safety News

Freight Train Kills Pedestrian South Of Downtown L.A., Officials Say
A pedestrian was killed by a freight train south of downtown Los Angeles on Monday night. The crash was reported at 7:46 p.m. in the 2100 block of South Santa Fe Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. A Union Pacific train struck and killed a pedestrian whose age and gender were not available. No other injuries were reported, firefighters said. Officer Mike Lopez, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson, told The Times that additional information was not available Monday night.
LA Times

Flames Destroy Venice House Under Construction, Adjacent Homes
A Major fire damaged Five homes, including a three story home under construction, in the Venice Canals late Sunday. The fire was reported at 10:44 p.m. Sunday at 421 Carroll Canal and was put out at 12:06 a.m. Monday, said the Los Angeles Fire Department's Margaret Stewart. “A total of five homes were damaged. The three-story home is a total loss as is one of the exposed homes,'' Stewart said. “Three additional homes sustained damage to the eves from the ember cast.'' The house under renovation was fully involved in flames when firefighters arrived, she said. No injuries were reported, she said. More than 100 firefighters were dispatched. Firefighters remained at the scene as required to ensure all hot spots were out, and their trucks were expected to impact traffic on the narrow street, Stewart said. The number of people displaced by the fire was not immediately known, she said.
WestSide Current

LA County Reports 2,600 New COVID Infections For Three-Day Period
Reflecting continued drops in virus transmission, Los Angeles County reported 2,615 new COVID-19 infections over a three-day period that ended Monday. Daily case numbers reported by the county have been steadily falling for weeks, although health officials have conceded that the official figures could be misleading due to residents primarily using at-home tests that aren’t reported to the county. The county Department of Public Health on Monday reported 473 new COVID infections, along with 899 from Sunday and 1,243 from Saturday. The county does not release case numbers on weekends. Throughout the pandemic, case numbers reported on Mondays have tended to be low due to delays in lab reports from the weekend. The 2,615 new cases lifted the county’s overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,458,848. Another 29 COVID-related deaths were also reported — 12 from Saturday, 10 from Sunday and seven from Monday.
MyNewsLA

California Becomes 1st In US To Include Fentanyl Testing In ER Screenings
Hospitals across the state are preparing to add fentanyl to routine drug screenings for suspected overdose patients— with a goal of identifying the synthetic drug early for life-saving treatment. SB-864, titled "Tyler’s Law," says if a provider chooses to do a urine drug screen test, fentanyl will be automatically included in that test. The law would ensure the hospital provides testing access and capability. "I basically contacted every senator in the state of California and Sen. Melendez is the one who responded and we got the law going from there," said Juli Shamash, founder of the Drug Awareness Foundation. The bill was authored by Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 22. "It’s just a way of honoring my son and making his death not be in vain." The law was named after Juli’s 19-year-old son who died in 2018 following a fentanyl ingestion. After Tyler’s death, Juli wanted to prevent anyone else from suffering the same heartache.
FOX 11

Local Government News

LA City Council Expected To Discuss Ending COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium
The City Council is set to discuss ending long-standing renter eviction protections due to COVID-19 hardship in Los Angeles at its meeting Tuesday. For the past few months, council members have grappled with arguments from both tenants and mom-and-pop landlords. Housing groups believe ending the moratorium would place thousands of families impacted by the pandemic into limbo, while landlords claim that current conditions are different from those at the onset of the pandemic and renters should no longer be able to use COVID-19 hardship as a reason to eschew paying rent. After the council’s Housing Committee deadlocked on sending any recommendations, a second committee chaired by Council President Nury Martinez — the Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Recovery and Neighborhood Investment — recommended 4-0 that the moratorium end on Jan. 31, a one-month extension from the Housing Department’s recommendations.ot be in vain." The law was named after Juli’s 19-year-old son who died in 2018 following a fentanyl ingestion. After Tyler’s death, Juli wanted to prevent anyone else from suffering the same heartache.
MyNewsLA

Cleaning Up LA: City Council May Revive Illegal Dumping Reward Program
Seeking to revive the city's dormant Illegal Dumping Reward Program, the Los Angeles City Council voted Friday to establish a tiered reward system for information regarding illegal dumping violations. Illegal dumping of trash and hazardous items in the city's public areas increased 450% between 2016 and 2020, according to a report released last year by Controller Ron Galperin. The council requested the city attorney prepare an ordinance that would provide up to at least a $100 reward if information regarding illegal dumping leads to a misdemeanor or felony conviction. The exact reward -- capped at $1,000 -- would vary depending on how much money the city collects as a result of the enforcement action. The reward amount would drop to at least $50 -- with a cap of $500 -- for an infraction citation leading to a conviction, and $25 for an enforcement action resulting in an uncontested conviction. There would be no reward offered if there is insufficient evidence to proceed with an enforcement action or the enforcement action is unsuccessful. The Illegal Dumping Reward Program, established in 2002, offered up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. But the program has been inactive for over a decade, according to LA Sanitation. Officials said the public may not be aware of the program, and the application process is contingent on a conviction, which could take several years.
NBC 4