Multiple Victims Struck By Gunfire In South Los Angeles Shooting

The Los Angeles Police Department says multiple people were struck by gunfire in a shooting that occurred in South L.A. Saturday night. Authorities responded to calls about a shooting near East Washington Boulevard and South Alameda Street in the Central-Alameda neighborhood at around 7:25 p.m. There were reports that three people were possibly shot and two were transported to a local hospital. A canopy was also requested. Video obtained by KTLA shows LAPD officers investigating the area near several RVs and RV trailers parked on the side of the road. The shooters fled the scene before police could arrive. The suspects are described as four Hispanic males who were last seen fleeing the area in a 2015 or 2016 navy blue Honda Accord. According to data from the LAPD, the number of homicides as of April 27 of this year has increased by 4.2% compared to the same time in 2023. Firearms were used in 72% of all murders in Los Angeles last year.

Yahoo! News

Man Hospitalized After Being Stabbed Multiple Times In Venice, Suspect Outstanding

A 25-year-old man was stabbed multiple times in Venice, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed today. Around 11:30 p.m. Friday, first responders rushed to the 1500 block of Lincoln Boulevard after a 911 caller reported that a man was stabbed multiple times with a knife, according to authorities. The victim, who was not further identified, was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts, the LAPD said. The suspect, who was described as a 30-year-old Hispanic man with red hair and brown eyes, fled southbound on Lincoln Boulevard, police said. Authorities also said the suspect stood at 5-foot-6, weighed approximately 140 pounds and was wearing a black JanSport backpack.

Westside Current

Man Wounded In Highland Park Shooting

A man was wounded in a Highland Park shooting, authorities said Monday. The shooting occurred at 8:29 p.m. Sunday at 5433 Aldama St. at Avenue 56, according to a desk officer at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center. Paramedics took the victim to a hospital where he had stable vital signs, the officer said. Witnesses did not cooperate with efforts by officers to gather information about suspects or motive, he said.

MyNewsLA

1 Arrested In Drug Bust Near Hollywood Apartment Complex

One person was arrested Friday during a drug bust in Hollywood, authorities said. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers served a search warrant near an apartment complex on Fuller Avenue and Franklin. Police said one person was arrested for manufacturing narcotics, but further details weren't immediately released. AIR7 HD was above the scene as the investigation continued Friday morning and captured dozens of items spread out on a white sheet along the sidewalk. A hazmat crew was brought out during the investigation. There was no threat to anyone living nearby. 

ABC 7

Multiple Businesses In Glassell Park Shopping Center Burglarized

An investigation is underway Monday after at least four businesses in a Glassell Park strip mall were burglarized overnight, according to police. The early morning crime spree happened around 4:30 a.m. at multiple businesses on the corner of Verdugo and York at what's known as Verdugo Village. Video from the scene shows a heavy police presence as well as broken glass windows. The businesses hit included Toto's BBQ, Jo-C's hair salon, and a laundromat. Responding officers with the Los Angeles Police Department reviewed surveillance video, which showed a man breaking a window, going inside a business, then coming right back out. Investigators are still trying to determine what the motive is behind these burglaries. The crew - unclear how many - moved fast, breaking glass, running in, looking for cash, then running out. It's the latest in a string of what we call "mom and pop burglaries" - crimes targeting small family-owned businesses.

FOX 11

LA City Council Seeks Accountability To Address Safety Concerns On Metro

Prompted by ongoing concerns for riders and bus operators on Metro, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a motion seeking to bolster safety measures on the transit system. The council members voted 10-0 to instruct the Los Angeles Police Department and the Metro officials to report to the Public Safety Committee regarding the current statistics on the agency's trains, buses, platforms and at stations from 2017 to 2024, and include a demographic breakdown of all victims. Council members Kevin de León, Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman, Heather Hutt and Hugo Soto-Martinez were absent during the vote. "This is borne out of, for me, just an immense amount of frustration about the safety concerns that continue to go unresolved and addressed," Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said prior to the vote. She introduced the motion calling for the report. With Mother's Day around the corner for much of the U.S. and Latin America, the councilwoman noted that Mirna Soza Arauz -- a 66-year-old woman who was stabbed to death on Metro's B (Red) Line in an unproved attack on April 22 -- was not here to enjoy the celebration because this "system failed her." "She took that Metro ride home only to be assaulted, stabbed and die as a result of the assault," Rodriguez said. "This is a system that serves some of the poorest, hardest-working class this city services."

NBC 4

L.A. Prosecutors Say Recording Of Racist City Hall Conversation Was A Crime But Refer Case To City Attorney

A crime was committed by at least one former employee of the L.A. County Federation of Labor in connection with the recording of a racist conversation that rocked City Hall, according to L.A. County prosecutors. But the prosecutors declined to file felony charges, and it will now be up to City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office whether to charge the employees with misdemeanors, according to a memo made public late Friday. In the memo, which explains their decision, prosecutors said Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez lived at a residence tied to an internet service provider address that was in turn linked to an email account associated with social media posts that highlighted the audio, according to the memo. Leon and Vasquez are married and worked at the labor federation. The covert recording captured racist and derogatory remarks during a 2021 conversation at the labor federation’s offices between City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León, and labor federation boss Ron Hererra. Martinez, Cedillo and Hererra have all since left those roles.

Los Angeles Times

L.A. Man Used ‘Trap Cars’ To Distribute Narcotics For Drug Trafficking Ring

A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty to leading a drug trafficking ring and distributing narcotics across the U.S. Joel Antonio Villegas, 35, from South Gate, also known as, “Junior,” led a trafficking ring that imported drugs using modified “trap cars” from Mexico, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. From at least November 2017 to September 2019, Villegas transported cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and hashish oil using modified BMW cars with hidden trap compartments. As the scheme’s organizer and manager, Villegas picked up the drugs and arranged to sell them to customers or other conspirators, officials said. He told his accomplices to purchase cars and modify them by installing hidden trap compartments so more members could help transport drugs. He also coordinated cross-border caravans using couriers and other “trap cars” to pick up the drugs in Mexico for transport into the U.S. He operated a stash house containing cocaine, marijuana, and hashish oil along with materials to manufacture and distribute drugs including packaging materials, pill presses, drug ledgers, and money counters. 

KTLA 5

3 Men Charged In Violent, Weekslong Crime Spree In Southern California

Three men are facing decades in federal prison after a weekslong crime spree in Southern California late last year that included armed robbery, extortion, bank fraud and identity theft, authorities announced last month. Federal prosecutors say that on Nov. 6, 2023, 30-year-old Oscar Aguirre Silva, a resident of Ventura, threatened a taco truck vendor in Oxnard with violence in order to extort the victim. Just four days later, on Nov. 10, 2023, the 30-year-old robbed a woman at gunpoint, stealing her iPhone and purse, which contained two debit cards, one in her name and another victim’s name, according to news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Central District of California Office. Another man, 28-year-old Ventura resident Edward Donaldo Ramirez, served as Silva’s getaway driver during the armed robbery. “Both men then traveled to a Walmart store in Ventura, where they used the stolen cards to purchase $524 worth of merchandise,” prosecutors said. Not long after that, Silva and 30-year-old Ventura resident David Rey Reyes successfully used and attempted to use the debit cards to purchase items at a smoke shop in Oxnard.  

KTLA 5

Body Found At Bottom Of Cliffs Near Point Fermin

A body was found at the base of the cliffs near Point Fermin in San Pedro on Saturday, prompting an investigation from local authorities. Crews were first dispatched to the area, near the 730 block of Paseo Del mar, a little before 12:40 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. It's unclear how the body ended up at the bottom of the cliff. "Crews will provide assistance to law enforcement and the Medical Examiner in recovering the body," said LAFD's Nicholas Prange in a statement. "No additional patients. No details regarding the circumstances surrounding the death." Video from the scene showed a large law enforcement presence throughout the day on Saturday. No further information was provided. 

CBS 2

Fire Rips Through Abandoned Restaurant In Boyle Heights

Firefighters were dispatched to a raging structure fire in Boyle Heights on Sunday morning. Preliminary information from the Los Angeles Fire Department indicates that the fire broke out just after 10:30 a.m. at an abandoned “and apparently vacant” building located at 320 South Soto Street. The detached one-story commercial building, formerly a restaurant, was the site of a previous fire, LAFD said. Video posted to the Citizen App shows flames ripping through the walls of the building; other angles show a thick plume of black smoke rising into the sky. It took 35 LAFD firefighters just 13 minutes to extinguish the blaze, LAFD said at 10:45 a.m. No injuries were reported, and what caused the fire is not known. 

KTLA 5

There’s A New Highly Transmissible COVID-19 Variant. Could FLiRT Lead To A Summer Uptick?

Two new COVID-19 subvariants, collectively nicknamed FLiRT, are increasingly edging out the winter’s dominant strain ahead of a possible summer uptick in coronavirus infections. The new FLiRT subvariants, officially known as KP.2 and KP.1.1, are believed to be roughly 20% more transmissible than their parent, JN.1, the winter’s dominant subvariant, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease expert at UC San Francisco. The two FLiRT subvariants combined comprised an estimated 35% of coronavirus infections nationally for the two-week period that began April 28, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By contrast, JN.1 is now believed to comprise 16% of infections; in mid-winter, it was blamed for more than 80%. “It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a new dominant variant in the U.S.,” said Dr. David Bronstein, an infectious diseases specialist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “With each of these variants that takes over from the one before it, we do see increased transmissibility — it’s easier to spread from person to person. So, that’s really the concern with FLiRT.” The largest FLiRT subvariant, KP.2, is growing particularly fast as a proportion of coronavirus infections. In late March, it made up just 4% of estimated infections nationally; most recently, it’s estimated to make up 28.2%.

Los Angeles Times

LA City Council Members Look At Funding Sources To Support Priority Functions

Amid a projected multi-year deficit and efforts to "right-size" the 2024-25 budget, Los Angeles City officials are continuing their efforts to identify possible funding sources for "priority" programs and services. Last Wednesday, the City Council's five-member Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee began working through more than 150 budget memos, with the intent of narrowing them down to at least 35. The 35 memos represent areas where council members hope to ensure funding for certain programs and services. The committee met into the evening but could not finish its work due time constraints, and opted to extend the meeting to this Thursday. During the meeting, council members expressed concerns and echoed sentiments from department heads, who last week explained how cuts to their operational budgets and elimination of vacant positions would impact their ability to function -- or in some ways not provide a higher level of service that they aim to achieve.

Westside Current

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.