South LA bus attack: LAPD seeks 2nd suspect accused of stealing elderly woman’s purse

The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking the public's help in identifying witnesses to a felony battery of an 86-year-old woman who suffered serious injuries after authorities said a stranger gave her a hard shove off a bus near a stop in South Los Angeles last week. Authorities are also seeking help in identifying another suspect, who allegedly took the elderly woman's wallet while she was unconscious and incapacitated. The attack occurred near a bus stop in the area of 24th St and Vermont Ave in South LA's University Park neighborhood around 2:40 p.m. on August 8, according to officials. The victim, a grandmother, suffered severe injuries all over her body after someone shoved her on to the concrete. Witnesses told FOX 11 the attacker allegedly spat on the woman moments after throwing her off the bus. The Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and transported the victim, who was in critical condition, to a local hospital. According to officials, the victim had no independent recollection of the incident due to a head injury.

FOX 11

Former FBI agent appointed as LAPD Commission president

The Los Angeles Police Commission named a new president this week, picking an FBI agent turned university security director and professor to lead the civilian agency charged with oversight of the LAPD. The unanimous vote to appoint Erroll Southers, a career law enforcement official, has drawn praise from colleagues who said his decades of experience make him the ideal leader for the LAPD's watchdog, while critics have questioned his past ties to a controversial counter-terrorism program. Southers takes over as four shootings by police officers in two weeks have revived concerns about the LAPD's use of deadly force. The department is also attempting to replenish its depleted ranks, which officials say fell below 9,000 officers for the first time in roughly two decades. Introducing Southers at the commission's weekly meeting Tuesday, the outgoing president, William Briggs, praised his successor's eagerness to meet with rank-and-file LAPD officers, department brass and police union officials "to learn more about the issues that are most important to them and that impact their work." "Commissioner Southers has worked throughout his career to educate officers and civilians alike on best practices in policing and public safety," Briggs said. Southers told The Times he sees the job as balancing public safety and accountability.

Los Angeles Times

Man charged with series of robberies of taco vendors

A man pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges stemming from a series of robberies of taco vendors at six locations in Los Angeles within a two-hour period last week. Stayshawn Stephens, 26, of Los Angeles, is charged with 12 felony counts of second-degree robbery involving the hold-ups last Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park and east Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Three people dressed in black clothing brandished handguns and, on one occasion, a knife, and searched the victims' pockets, stole tip jars and fled in a Honda Civic, according to the District Attorney's Office. Stephens was identified as one of the suspects who was allegedly involved in the series of robberies, while an investigation is continuing into the other suspects, according to the District Attorney's Office. He was arrested last Thursday by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division and has remained behind bars since then, according to jail records.

NBC 4

Los Angeles to form task force to stop smash-and-grab, mob robberies at shops, malls

After a string of high-profile smash-and-grab robberies targeting high-end shopping centers, Los Angeles area law enforcement officials said Thursday, August 17 they are creating a task force to deal with the problem. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, flanked by leaders from LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, announced the task force made up of officers from around the region dedicated to targeting groups of robbers whose sudden stampedes into retail stores have been flummoxing business owners and police since Monday, July 3. Among those robberies was the widely covered one on Saturday, Aug. 12, when 30 to as many as 50 people, all believed to be between the ages of 18 and 25, barged into the Nordstrom at the Topanga Mall in Canoga Park. The group rampaged through the store, ultimately grabbing around $300,000 worth of merchandise, police said. There have been at least three other, similar robberies of high-end stores recently, including on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at a Ksubi clothing store on South La Brea in the Fairfax District. Speaking Thursday at City Hall, Bass called the robberies "unacceptable." "No Angeleno should feel like it's not safe to go shopping in Los Angeles," she said. "Our No. 1 job is to keep L.A. safe."

San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Search for bank robbery suspect underway in South Los Angeles

Police are searching for a woman who robbed a South Los Angeles bank at gunpoint on Monday. At around 10 a.m., the woman, reportedly in her 30s, entered the Chase Bank located in the 5700 block of S. Vermont Avenue. Once inside, she reportedly threatened employees while armed with a gun. She was able to flee the area before police arrived. There was no report on just how much moneys he was able to steal. Los Angeles Police Department did not provide any further information. 

CBS 2

Authorities Seek Public Help Finding LA Man Kidnapped as Toddler in Mexico

Authorities sought the public’s help Monday to find a man who was kidnapped nearly 20 years ago as a toddler in Mexico City, Mexico. Los Angeles resident Joshua Keshaba Sierra Garcia was last seen around 11 a.m. Aug. 12, 2003, when he was less than 2 years old, according to the FBI. According to the FBI, Garcia was taken to Mexico City by relatives so he could be baptized. His 14-year-old babysitter was killed during the abduction, and after a series of ransom calls and a money drop, Mexican law enforcement arrested one of the kidnappers. But Garcia was never located, authorities said. The FBI is offering a reward of $20,000 for information leading to the recovery of Garcia, who would now be 21 years old. Authorities released a photo of Garcia as an infant, along with a computer-generated image of what he might look like Monday. Anyone with information regarding Garcia’s whereabouts was urged to contact the FBI Los Angeles Field Office at 310-477-6565. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can submit information to tips.fbi.gov.

MyNewsLA

Stabbing Outside Culver City Church; Suspect Arrested

On Sunday, August 20, at 8:18 pm, Culver City Police Officers responded to a call for service regarding a male subject who was wielding a knife at Grace Lutheran Church, located at 4427 Overland Ave. Officers arrived on scene and located and detained the suspect. His identity was not immediately released. Police also located the victim, who was found bleeding from stab wounds at the entrance of the church building. Culver City Fire Personnel responded and treated the victim for stab wounds to his neck and back. The victim was transported to a local hospital for further treatment. The suspect was transported and booked at the Culver City Police Department. The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing considerations. Anyone with any information or questions regarding this incident, please contact the Culver City Police Department’s Public Information Officer, Sergeant Edward Baskaron at 310-253-6316 or the Watch Commander at 310-253-6202.

Westside Current

Suspect in custody after shooting, killing woman in Pasadena

After an hours-long standoff, authorities have arrested a man suspected of shooting and killing a woman Monday in Pasadena. Around 10:02 a.m. Monday, Pasadena police responded to the 200 block of South Raymond Avenue on reports of several shots fired and found 34-year-old Jamila Elysse Moss, a resident of Pasadena “unresponsive with fatal injuries,” a news release from the Pasadena Police Department stated. The suspected gunman, now identified as 32-year-old L.A. resident Guary Lonnie Shuford III, was eventually tracked down to an apartment complex near the intersection of Del Mar Boulevard and Raymond Avenue. Authorities were unable to contact the suspect at first, which led to a sweep of the building. They eventually located the apartment where the suspect was believed to be located and negotiations began. The relationship between the suspect and the victim are unclear at this time, police said. The Pasadena Police Department is being assisted by the Glendale Police Department and a SWAT Team.

KTLA 5

Watch: Suspect fires 'multiple shots at point blank range' at Tenn. officer

Roger Heard Jr. "fired multiple shots at point blank range" at an officer before police shot him in an exchange of gunfire at a Chattanooga gas station on the evening of Aug. 11, according to a statement Sunday from Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp. Wamp also released security camera footage from the incident, which left a Chattanooga police officer injured and resulted in Heard's death. Heard shot investigator Celtain Batterson, striking him in his right arm, according to Wamp. Batterson was later taken to a hospital. Per protocol, Batterson and two other officers, Nicholas Ayres and Christopher Dyess, were placed on paid administrative leave in connection with the shooting, according to the Chattanooga Police Department. On Aug.11, Wamp said, investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department's gun team, along with other partnering agencies, were attempting to locate "multiple dangerous offenders" for the purpose of serving warrants, one of which was Heard. "Heard is a violent felon, a known drug dealer and a gang member," the DA said in a news release. He has served time in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Wamp said, and has felony convictions in Hamilton and Bradley counties. At the time officers encountered him Aug. 11, he had outstanding felony warrants out of Knox County.

Chattanooga Times Free Press

'Criminals are running this city': Now-retired Seattle officer writes brutal resignation letter

A now-retired Seattle police lieutenant called it quits at the beginning of August after 23 years on the force, releasing her resignation letter voicing her frustrations with the city and local leaders, KTTH reports. Lieutenant Jessica Taylor told the Jason Rantz Show that she did not fill out the exit form when announcing her resignation, which asks questions like why an officer is leaving, their new employer, and what the officer liked most and least about working in the department. Instead, she wrote Chief Adrian Diaz a 15-page resignation letter that promised an “unfiltered, raw and unapologetic” description of why she decided to retire. In the interview with the Jason Rantz show, Taylor said she "wanted to go out with the truth." “Chief Diaz, let me tell you, the state of the Seattle Police Department and this city is a disgrace,” she wrote in the letter she shared with the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “The toxic mix of the Seattle City Council’s absurdity, the spinelessness of the mayor, the leniency of the prosecutor’s office and your failed leadership has accelerated this city’s downhill slide straight to rock bottom. The problems were already brewing before you came on the scene, but since your arrival, it’s been a free fall into anarchy and chaos.”

PoliceOne

LAFD battle blaze at auto shop in Pacoima

After overcoming water supply problems at a fire, Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were able to put out a blaze at a one-story automotive shop in Pacoima early Tuesday morning. Fire crews were called at 3:33 a.m. to 9800 San Fernando Road and West Branford Street where they encountered difficulties with nearby hydrants and used ladder pipes and large diameter hand lines to get control of the blaze, said LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart. Several vehicles were burning inside the shop and firefighters began transitioning to an offensive attack with handlines because the remaining fire was deeply seated in stacks of tires, Stewart said. The fire was extinguished in 2 hours and 20 minutes, Stewart said. Some crews remained on scene afterward dousing hot spots. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation. 

CBS 2

Power outage at White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights forces patient evacuations

Emergency crews evacuated hundreds of patients, including NICU infants and other people on ventilators, from White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights following a major power outage. The outage was reported around 11 p.m. Monday at the hospital's Specialty Care Center, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. That part of the hospital contains the NICU, OB GYN and Special Aid rehabilitation departments, fire officials said. At least 241 patients were impacted, and most of them were moved to another building of the hospital that does have power. About 28 of those patients were considered in critical condition and were rushed to other hospitals in ambulances, including 14 infants from the NICU. Firefighters had to physically carry patients down stairs because the elevators were not working.

ABC 7

This rarely happens: The L.A. City Council blocked a commission appointee

It almost never happens. But on Friday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously blocked a nominee to a city commission. The council voted 14 to 0 to reject the nomination of Reseda Neighborhood Council President Jamie York to the five-member Ethics Commission, which proposes policy and issues penalties for campaign finance violations. York was nominated by City Controller Kenneth Mejia to the position in June and had received support from neighborhood leaders. On Friday, York said she was “incredibly disappointed that the Ethics Commission is going to be prevented from doing its important work at a time when its mandate is of such relevance.” The effort to block York was initiated by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley. Her motion to disapprove York’s nomination was seconded by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, whose district takes in parts of South L.A. The council approved Rodriguez’s motion without discussion, with City Councilmember Nithya Raman absent.

Los Angeles Times

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.