Law Enforcement News

Retired Minister Killed By Car In South L.A. Hit-and-Run
A former church minister and foster mother was killed on Christmas Eve in South Los Angeles after a car hit her and then drove away. The Los Angeles Police Department told City News Service that the driver fled the scene about 3:30 p.m. The incident occurred at the corner of 88th Street and South Broadway. News video showed residents congregating at the scene who told reporters that Trina Newman had been struck. Friends and loved ones told reporters that Newman, 61, had been dropping off gifts at a community center. “I was trying to run through the yellow tape to her. I just couldn’t believe what I heard over the phone,” Amarrie Nicasio, the victim’s daughter, told KTLA. “She helped everybody, she gave back to the community in every way she could. She’s a good person. Whoever did this needs to step up and turn yourself in,” Nicasio said. Nicasio described Newman‘s generosity, and said that she had raised several foster children. Friends and acquaintances said they hoped the driver would be found and brought to justice.
LA Times

Los Angeles Boy, 9, Stabbed At Target Was Released From Hospital In Time For Christmas
A nine-year-old Los Angeles boy who was stabbed at a Target store by a homeless man last month was released from the hospital just before Christmas. Brayden Medina was able to walk out of the hospital on his own on Friday. He had been in the hospital since a homeless man wielding a butcher knife taken from the store’s kitchen section stabbed him in the back on November 15. The homeless man had also stabbed a 25-year-old woman. The man grabbed the knife and threatened to kill the boy before stabbing him and the other woman, according to Los Angeles Police. The boy attempted to walk away before the man stabbed him. After the two attacks, the suspect was shot and killed by the store’s security guard. Los Angeles Police Department Capt. E. Morales posted a video on Twitter showing the boy exiting the hospital and walking toward a police cruiser as his family followed carrying balloons.
FOX News

Woman Hit And Killed During Hyde Park Street Takeover, Police Say
A driver who was taking part in a street takeover in Hyde Park Christmas night fatally struck a woman who was walking nearby, police said. It happened just after 9 p.m. near Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard. Police told Eyewitness News a driver was in the middle of the intersection performing "donuts" when the woman, who was described only as a Hispanic woman in her 20s, was struck. She was rushed to the hospital where she later died, according to police. Tire marks from the car stunts and burnouts covered the road Monday morning. Police said the driver took off on foot. A description of him or her was not immediately released. The incident is being investigated as a hit-and-run, according to investigators. No other injuries were reported. Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
ABC 7

Early Morning Shooting In Del Rey
A motorist was wounded early this morning during a car-to-car shooting in the Del Rey area of Los Angeles. The shooting was reported at 12:54 a.m. at Centinela and Louise Avenues, according to Los Angeles Police Department Officer Annie Moran. The man called 911 to report the shooting and said only the suspect might have been driving an older model Ford Expedition, Moran said. Paramedics took the wounded driver to a hospital where his condition was not available, she said. A news videographer at the scene said the victim was sitting in a white pickup at the time of the shooting.
WestSide Current

1 Shot During Armed Robbery Attempt In North Hollywood
Authorities are investigating an armed robbery and shooting in North Hollywood. According to a press release from Los Angeles Police Department, a shooting was reported at around 5:30 p.m. Monday evening, at which point officers were dispatched to the 15000 block of Van Street. When they arrived, they found that one person had been shot and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their condition was not immediately known. There was no additional information available on the suspects involved, or which location was targeted in the attempted robbery.
CBS 2

Burglars Break Into West L.A. Home On Christmas Eve
A home in the Cheviot Hills neighborhood of West Los Angeles was burglarized on Christmas Eve. The crime was captured by the homeowner’s security cameras and shared on the neighborhood watch social media site Nextdoor. The homeowner, Alex, tells KTLA she and her kids were at a family member’s home to celebrate Christmas Eve dinner. When they returned home, they found that a light was on and her front door was unlocked and her backdoor was wide open. The family’s dog was also home at the time. After checking her home security footage, she saw what appeared to be two men break into her home on Club Drive. “Two people in hoodies, masks and gloves caught on camera at 7:40 p.m.,” Alex wrote. “Stole thousands of dollars of stuff and were in and out in under 10 minutes.” Alex told KTLA that the thieves stole several designer handbags with a value estimated around $13,000.
KTLA 5

Man Arrested For Allegedly Squatting In Culver City Home Under Construction
A man was arrested on suspicion of making his way into a house under construction in Culver City, authorities said Monday. Police received a call Friday regarding people inside a residence under construction in the 4100 block of Irving Place, the Culver City Police Department reported. A suspect at the location spotted officers arriving at the scene, jumped over a wall and ran through an alleyway in a short foot pursuit, police said. He was taken into custody without incident and booked at the Culver City Police Department jail.
FOX 11

Man Arrested After Allegedly Stabbing Brother To Death In Compton
A man allegedly stabbed his brother to death in Compton on Christmas Day, officials said. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called to the 100 block of East Culver Avenue around 10 p.m. Sunday. Investigators discovered that an altercation had occurred between two brothers who live in the apartment. The victim was found unresponsive inside suffering from apparent stab wounds and was declared dead at the scene, Lt. Michael Gomez said. He was described only as being between 20 and 25 years old. The suspect left the apartment, but was found nearby and taken into custody. Authorities have not released his identity. Detectives are trying to determine what led to the deadly altercation.
KTLA 5

Gov. Newsom Grants 10 Pardons, Including For Drug Crimes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom granted 10 pardons Friday, including for several people convicted of drug crimes more than 20 years ago and someone facing the possibility of deportation. The California Constitution gives the governor authority to grant clemency. A commutation reduces the length of a prison sentence. A pardon would effectively do the same, but it also restores certain civil rights for people who have already completed their sentences. In several of the cases, the pardon recipients received a Certificate of Rehabilitation from superior courts across the state after giving evidence that they had been “living an upright life” since their convictions. Newsom looked at the recipients’ conduct after the offense, as well as whether the pardon is “consistent with public safety and in the interest of justice.” The governor also weighed how how a pardon would affect the community, including crime victims and survivors, a news release said. Newsom has granted 140 pardons, 123 commutations and 35 reprieves since taking office in 2019.
NBC 4

California Police K-9 Fatally Shot By Barricaded Suspect
A police dog died Thursday after being shot during a confrontation in Gardena with a barricaded suspect who was also shot and killed, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The Gardena Police Department requested the Sheriff's Department's help with a person suspected of assault with a deadly weapon in the 1800 block of West 145th Street, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. The suspect had been barricaded in the apartment for about 33 hours and was wanted in connection with a shooting that took place in the neighborhood the previous day, according to City News Service. Deputies and the K9 — known as Jack — entered the property at 5:42 p.m. and encountered the suspect, who shot at the K9 and the deputies, who fired back, the news release said. The suspect and the K9 died of their injuries at the scene. A firearm was recovered.
LA Times

Founder Of California-Based Porn Empire Is Arrested In Spain
The founder of a California-based porn empire that coerced young women into filming adult videos has been arrested in Spain, three years after he fled while facing federal sex-trafficking charges, the FBI said. Michael James Pratt was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. Spanish National Police arrested him Wednesday in Madrid, the FBI’s San Diego field office said in a statement Thursday. Pratt, a New Zealand native, will be held in Spain pending extradition to San Diego to face charges of sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor, production of child pornography and money laundering conspiracy. Pratt, 40, founded the now-defunct GirlsDoPorn website in San Diego. In 2019, he and others were charged in San Diego with sex crimes after being targeted in a civil lawsuit by 22 women who claimed they were victimized by fraud and breach of contract. The women said they were plied with alcohol and marijuana before being rushed through signing a contract, which they were not allowed to read. Some said they were sexually assaulted and held in hotel rooms unwillingly until adult filming had ended.
LA Times

Florida Deputy Fatally Shot Responding To Domestic Violence Call On Christmas Eve
A Fla. sheriff's office deputy was fatally wounded on Christmas Eve when a domestic violence suspect opened fire on responding deputies from inside his residence. Five-year Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office veteran Corporal Ray Hamilton, a member of the OCSO Special Response Team, succumbed to the shooting injury shortly after 3 p.m. on Dec. 24, according to a statement issued by OCSO. The suspect, 43-year-old Timothy Price-Williams, was hit with return fire from deputies, sustaining a non-life-threatening injury to his arm. Deputies had been called to the residence in reference to a report of a domestic violence battery. The victim reported that the suspect had slapped her in the face and shoved her during an argument the night before, taking away her phone so she could not call 9-1-1 for help. When deputies went to the scene to make contact with the suspect, he refused to come out of the residence. The OCSO Special Response Team was called in. Price-Williams continued to refuse to leave the home and then shot out a window striking Corporal Hamilton.
PoliceOne

5 Arrested In Deadly Shooting At Minnesota's Mall Of America
Five people were arrested in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man at the Mall of America that sent the sprawling commercial center into lockdown on one of the final days of the holiday shopping season, police said Saturday. At an evening news conference, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges announced the arrests in connection with the Friday night shooting in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington and said all would face murder charges, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Hodges said the arrested suspects were two men, 18, and three 17-year-old male juveniles, according to the Star Tribune, and they were taken into custody in the morning at a home in nearby St. Louis Park by SWAT team officers from three jurisdictions. The chief added that one of the 18-year-olds is believed to be the shooter, though another suspect may also have fired a weapon. A sixth suspect was still being sought. “In Bloomington, if you come here and murder people at our mall, you get one of these at at Christmas,” the newspaper quoted Hodges as saying while holding up an orange prison suit.
Associated Press