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Law Enforcement News

Suspect Allegedly Shoots At Police, Then Crashes At End Of Chase In South LA
A suspect accused of shooting at police was arrested after a chase ended in a violent multi-vehicle crash in South Los Angeles Thursday night. Los Angeles police say the pursuit began when the suspect opened fire on an officer. It's unclear if police returned fired, and more details regarding what led up to the shooting are unclear. The suspect crashed just before 10 p.m. in a residential neighborhood near 97th Street and Towne Avenue. It appeared the suspect's SUV crashed into another vehicle and then slammed into several parked cars. The suspect was quickly taken into custody. It's unclear if the suspect or police officers were struck by gunfire, but it appeared neither party was injured. Aftermath of the crash showed multiple patrol vehicles at the scene and officers cordoned off the area with crime-scene tape.
ABC 7

LAPD to Announce Arrests In Wilmington Shooting That Killed 12-Year-Old Boy
The Los Angeles Police Department Friday will announce “multiple arrests” in connection with a shooting in Wilmington that left a 12-year-old boy dead and two others injured. The shooting occurred on Dec. 6 at Denni Street and Blinn Avenue near Wilmington Park Elementary School, according to the LAPD. The suspects approached an SUV, striking the 30-year-old driver, passenger Alexander Alvarado and a 9-year-old girl who was on the playground at the nearby school. After the shooting, the woman in the SUV managed to drive a short distance away, stopping at North Eubank Avenue near East Anaheim Street, where she and the boy were found by authorities, police said. Alexander was pronounced dead at the scene, while the woman and girl both survived. Alexander’s mother, Jenny Romero, said the wounded woman — her wife — and Alexander had just picked up Romero’s 10-year-old son from school. The younger boy was in the SUV when the shooting occurred, but was not injured. Romero said two people “popped out of nowhere” and one of them opened fire at the SUV.
MyNewsLA

Three Charged In Murder And Robbery Of PnB Rock At Roscoe’s Restaurant
Prosecutors have filed murder charges against two people — including a suspect arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday — in the brazen daytime robbery and killing of Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock at a South Los Angeles restaurant, authorities said. Freddie Lee Trone, 40, and a 17-year-old boy were charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. A third suspect, Shauntel Trone, 38, was charged with robbery and being an accessory after the fact. The teenage boy, who was not identified because of his age, fired the shot that claimed the rapper’s life, according to a criminal complaint made public Thursday. Shauntel Trone and the teenager were arrested Tuesday, and an FBI-led task force captured Freddie Lee Trone in Las Vegas around 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Freddie Lee and Shauntel Trone are married, said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office. The teenager is Freddie Lee Trone’s son, according to law enforcement sources who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation with the media. The teen and Shauntel Trone are not related, Risling said.
LA Times

Bicyclist Killed In Florence Area Hit-and-Run
Police are searching for the driver of a van that hit and killed a bicyclist, dragging him several feet before taking off. The crash happened at 61st and Wall Street just after 11 p.m. Thursday. According to the LAPD, a man riding a bicycle northbound on Wall entered the intersection and was hit by a white work van, which dragged him for 3 to 4 feet. The bicyclist died at the scene. His name has not been released. The van did not stop and drove away from the scene. Police say the driver had to have felt the impact of the collision with the cyclist. It was described as a white work van, possibly a GMC or Chevy, with a rack on top, and may belong to a plumber or construction worker. A $50,000 reward is available for information that leads to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver.
CBS 2

LAPD Program Offers $24K Rent Incentive To Recruits
The Los Angeles Police Department is hoping to attract recruits with its new Housing for Hires program. The program will offer police recruits a $24,000 housing subsidy for 24 months, the LAPD posted in a video on its Facebook page. As of now, the program can support up to 200 new recruits but is hoping to more than double the $2.2 million already raised, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported. Police departments across the nation have seen a decline in officers over the past few years. “The issue of recruitment of cops is now a national crisis,” Los Angeles Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff told the Journal. In 2020 the LAPD hired 79 police officers instead of the 500 they normally add, Capt. Aaron McCraney said in the report. More information about joining the LAPD can be found at joinlapd.com.
KTLA 5

Woman Pleads Not Guilty In Fatal Shooting Of Double Amputee In Wheelchair
A woman with a felony conviction pleaded not guilty Thursday in the shooting death of a homeless double-amputee who was in a wheelchair outside a McDonald’s restaurant in South Los Angeles. Ruby Salazar, 37, of Los Angeles, is charged with one count each of murder and attempted murder, along with two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The charges include allegations of use of a firearm, infliction of great bodily injury and use of a firearm during a specified offense, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Police allege that Salazar walked to Gerold Lipeles and shot him May 17 as the 69-year-old man was asleep in his wheelchair outside a McDonald’s in the 1700 block of West Century Boulevard, between Western and Normandie avenues. Co-defendant Raymundo Hernandez, 34, of Los Angeles, is charged with one count of murder. He pleaded not guilty during a Sept. 1 hearing. Police did not disclose Hernandez’s alleged involvement in Lipeles’ killing.
MyNewsLA

Drunk Driver Who Hit Several Pedestrians, Including FOX 11 Crew, Sentenced To 8 Years In Prison
A Los Angeles County judge announced the sentencing for the drunk driver who crashed into several pedestrians in Hollywood, including FOX 11's crew members, in 2021. On Thursday, the judge sentenced 56-year-old Carlos Gale to eight years in prison for the crash that seriously hurt FOX 11's Hal Eisner and Joab Perez. Back in March 2021, Eisner and Perez were working on a story about the reopening of El Capitan Theatre on West Hollywood Boulevard as Los Angeles County began loosening its COVID-19 restrictions against businesses deemed nonessential. As they were working on a story, an SUV driven by Gale crashed into them on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame in the 6800 block of West Hollywood Boulevard. The crash also injured two sisters from Washington State and a fifth person that FOX 11 was not able to interview with following the crash. During the investigation, authorities revealed Gale had blood alcohol content of .15, nearly double the legal limit.
FOX 11

Police Seek Hit-and-Run Dump Truck Driver Who Severely Injured Woman In Sun Valley
Police are seeking the public’s help to identify a hit-and-run dump truck driver who left a 47-year-old woman severely injured in Sun Valley. The suspect vehicle — described as a large red dump truck — was southbound on Lankershim Boulevard about 3:10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28 when the driver made a turn onto Kewen Avenue and struck the woman, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The driver of the truck fled the scene without offering identification or aid to the woman. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were called to the scene and took the woman to a hospital for treatment of severe injuries. Anyone with information on the collision was asked to contact LAPD Officer S. Reyes at 818-644-8114. Calls made during non-business hours or on weekends can be directed to 877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
LA Daily News

How Feds Choreographed Elaborate Fake Murder To Nab L.A. Developer
Arthur Aslanian wasn’t taking any chances when he met his employee, Sesar Rivera, on the side of a road earlier this month. Only after patting Rivera down to check if he was wearing a wire and making him leave his phone in Aslanian’s pickup truck did he look at the photograph Rivera had brought. It was a gruesome image of a dead man who had been shot in the face. The real estate developer studied the photo to make sure it was the proof he wanted. “That’s him, man, that’s him,” he said. Rivera asked Aslanian what to do with the photo. “F— shred it,” Aslanian responded. Aslanian left the roadside meeting believing the photo confirmed that a plan he set in motion had succeeded, according to an account of the meeting provided by the U.S. attorney’s office. The man in the photo was a banker who had been fighting to recoup about $3 million Aslanian owed him. Instead of paying, prosecutors allege, Aslanian had hired an assassin. Aslanian, however, had just been fooled.
LA Times

Homeless Man Charged With Arson In String Of Santa Monica Fires
Several charges of arson were filed against a homeless man in connection with a string of small fires set in Santa Monica. John Dean Thomason, 51, was arrested Sunday by detectives investigating a series of arson fires set across Santa Monica since the end of August. The fires started popping up on Aug. 27, with a pair of blazes set behind St. Augustine Church and St. Peter Coptic Church on 4th Street, and another behind Dog PPL, a canine social club, on 5th Street. On Sept. 1, two more fires were set behind business on 12th Street, and the next day, two more were reported on 6th Street and Silvercrest Senior Citizen Apartments on 5th Street. The fires were contained to the dumpsters and firefighters were able to keep flames from spreading to nearby buildings. Santa Monica police officials say they linked Thomason to the fires through evidence and video surveillance footage. According to Detective Hector Tavera, seven dumpsters were damaged by the fires.
CBS 2

Ohio Officer Shot In Head Talks About The Incident, Road To Recovery
Officer Thadeu Holloway was investigating a case surrounding a suspect attempting to use fake money at a store, but in an instant his life was forever changed. “When he turned to face me I knew something was wrong,” Holloway told WHIO TV 7 about the Sept. 21, 2021 incident. Holloway explained the man, Antwayne Lowe, tried to punch the officer, so he tased him. The man didn’t listen when Holloway asked him repeatedly to put his hands behind his back. But Lowe then reached for his firearm, and he shot the officer in the head. “I knew I’d been shot, obviously. I fell to the ground, I never lost consciousness, I knew what happened. I knew what I had to do, so after I had returned fire, I was in my head thinking, ‘I’m going to die,’” Holloway explained. Another officer took Holloway to the local hospital in less than four minutes. “I could feel the blood spewing out of my head, I could taste the blood as it was running from my face, I could see it as it was pooling in front of me,” he said. “The bullet hit right here on my temple, and traveled underneath the skin and then came out here.”
PoliceOne

Deputy Details How Teens Are Using Emojis To Purchase Illegal Drugs Online
A sheriff’s department is doing what it can to address how juveniles are accessing fentanyl and other illegal drugs after four Hays County teens died of fentanyl overdoses this year. According to CBS News - Austin, emoji symbols are being used to thwart suspicion when completing illegal drug sales. “Kids are smart, right? They're gonna find a way around getting caught," Hays County Deputy Anthony Hipolito told CBS News. The individuals selling the drugs to children believe that the absence of words within digital text will negate any guilt, but Deputy Hipolito said that is not the case. In the age of social media, officers are constantly searching for new ways to evolve their intel and need parents to be vigilant as well. “Parents aren't really up to date on what kids are saying and how they're using social media,” said Hipolito. “We seem to always be a step behind, but we're trying to do our best to learn.” The U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration released a drug decoder to teach parents and educators how the emojis are being used. Drug dealers and users are using cookie emojis to order large batches of drugs or a tree leaf emoji to inquire if someone is selling marijuana.
PoliceOne

Public Safety News

Crews Knock Down Brushfire Off Barham Boulevard In Hollywood Hills
A small brushfire broke out Thursday in the Hollywood Hills above the 3400 block of Barham Boulevard and just north of the 101 Freeway. Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the fire at around 6:19 p.m. Video from Sky5 captured smoke and fire coming from the hillside above nearby apartment complexes, with the fire burning in light to medium vegetation in a light wind. Firefighters could also be seen pulling a hose up the steep hillside. It took crews about 40 minutes to surround and extinguish the blaze, which was kept to less than a quarter acre, LAFD tweeted. No injuries were reported. The cause of the brushfire is under investigation.
KTLA 5

COVID Is Dwindling, But Could Los Angeles County Have A Bad Flu Season?
With COVID-19’s impact generally easing, although still deadly, could Los Angeles County be on the verge of a nasty flu season? That was the concern expressed Friday by the county’s Public Health director, who said the intense infection-control measures put in place to combat the pandemic also led to a dramatic reduction in flu cases over the past two years. As a result, however, residents could potentially be more susceptible to flu infections, particularly if the area is hit with an infectious influenza strain being tracked in countries like Australia. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the county is “likely to see more influenza than we’ve seen in the past two years,” since most of the COVID-era restrictions — particularly mask-wearing requirements — have been lifted. “The big worry is most of us haven’t seen any flu for a couple years now,” she said, noting that such a lack of exposure could also lead to more infections this winter — a time when COVID infections have also spiked during the last two years. She urged residents to ensure they are up to date on their flu shots and COVID-19 vaccinations.
MyNewsLA

Local Government News

End Date For LA's COVID-19 Eviction Moratorium Tentatively Set
A council committee is recommending that Los Angeles' eviction protections due to COVID-19 hardship end on Jan. 31, setting a potential end date for the moratorium established at the beginning of the pandemic to come before the full council. The council's Ad Hoc Committee on COVID-19 Recovery and Neighborhood Investment voted 4-0 to sunset protections for tenants unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 financial impact. The committee's recommendation follows the council's Housing Committee discussion earlier this month, in which it approved an amendment to the Los Angeles Housing Department's report that would extend eviction protections beyond LAHD's Dec. 31 recommendation. “We consider our moratorium to be one of the strongest tenant protections in the country, and we've kept these protections in place for longer than almost any other municipality in the state,'' Council President Nury Martinez said. “We must put in place long-term protections for our tenants while still preserving the economic well-being of our small mom-and-pop landlords.''
WestSide Current