Venice Gang Member Sentenced To Maximum Term Amidst Courtroom Chaos; Yells "F* You" To Judge

In a dramatic courtroom scene on Thursday, Isaiah Caldwell, a Venice Shoreline Crips gang member, was sentenced to the maximum term of 18 years for conspiracy to commit assault with a firearm. Thursday's sentencing finalized a trial that began on May 6. Caldwell, known on the streets as "6iix Boy," faced multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and a misdemeanor for carrying a loaded firearm. He was found not guilty of all charges except for the conspiracy to commit assault with a firearm. The case revolves around the December 2020 shooting of Ky Alicia Thomas, a 28-year-old mother, outside a scooter and bike rental shop along the Venice Beach boardwalk. Just weeks after giving birth, Thomas was on the boardwalk with her husband, Steven Nobles, when the tragedy struck. The prosecution suggested that Nobles, purported to have ties to a rival gang, was the likely intended target of the shooting. During the sentencing, The judge cited Caldwell’s extensive criminal history, which dates back to his teenage years. "Mr. Caldwell has demonstrated a persistent and unrepentant commitment to a life of crime," the judge stated. "He is an undeterred and resolute hardcore gang member and proud of it." 

Westside Current

Man Wounded In Shooting At Jim Gilliam Recreation Center In Baldwin Hills

A 30-year-old man was shot at Jim Gilliam Recreation Center in Baldwin Hills Thursday evening. Los Angeles Police Department officers were called at 8:28 p.m. to the area of Pinafore Street and Stevely Avenue where they found the victim on a basketball court, Officer Matthew Chavez told City News Service. Witnesses told police the suspect used a 9mm handgun in the shooting. The shooter ran from the scene and is on the loose.

MyNewsLA

Young Girl Found Murdered, Set On Fire In Southern California Identified

A girl who was found murdered with her body set on fire in Southern California has been identified. The victim, Marcia Shirree Thomas, 14, was a missing child from Reno, Nevada, according to the Irvine Police Department. Through DNA testing and years-long investigations, authorities were able to identify the victim 15 years after her murder. On Sept. 4, 2009, the young girl was lured into a van by two brothers in Santa Ana — Zenaido Valdivia-Guzman and Gabino Valdivia-Guzman. Zenaido was 23 at the time and his older brother, Gabino, was 30. Gabino was driving the van and Zenaido was hiding in the backseat. When Thomas entered the van, she began to panic after discovering Zenaido was sitting in the back, police said. The girl began screaming and trying to escape but Zenaido pulled her into the back area and began beating her in the face and neck, authorities said. The older brother continued driving as Zenaido assaulted the girl. As she tried to escape, Zenaido eventually strangled her to death, police said. Gabino drove the van to a business complex on the 1800 block of Kettering Street in Irvine. That’s where the brothers dumped the girl’s body in the parking lot, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire, detectives said. 

KTLA 5

California Doctor Who Defrauded Over $3 Million From Medicare Pleads Guilty

A Southern California physician pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding Medicare out of more than $3 million by billing the program for medically unnecessary hospice services, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Victor Contreras, 68, of Santa Paula, and his co-defendant Juanita Antenor, 61, allegedly schemed to defraud Medicare by submitting nearly $4 million in false claims for hospice services submitted by two hospice companies in Pasadena between July 2016 and February 2019, the DOJ said. According to court documents, Contreras falsely stated on claims forms that patients had terminal illnesses to make them eligible for hospice services covered by Medicare. "Medicare only covers hospice services for patients who are terminally ill, meaning that they have a life expectancy of six months or less if their illness ran its normal course," officials said. Contreras allegedly did this even though he was not the patients' primary care physician and did not speak to those physicians about the patients' conditions, according to court documents.

FOX 11

3 Arrested For Allegedly Robbing Secret Service Agent During Biden California Trip

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the robbery of a U.S. Secret Service agent during President Joe Biden's trip to California last month, according to the Tustin Police Department. The incident happened June 15 at the Tustin Fields I Residential community. Biden was in town to attend a Hollywood campaign gala. According to police, one of the suspects got out of the car and pointed a firearm at that off-duty Secret Service agent's face, demanding his belongings. During that time, the agent fired his gun, prompting the three suspects to drive away from the scene. The Secret Service agent was not hurt, but it was later revealed one of the suspects, Bertran Claude Bell, was struck by gunfire. The three suspects were identified as Bell, Jamonte Fitzgerald Johnson, and E’Shon Dwayne Dodson. All three have been previously arrested and convicted for various crimes in Los Angeles County, according to authorities. Investigative leads resulted in the arrests of all three men between July 11 and July 24 in Riverside, Watts, and Los Angeles.

FOX 11

Louisiana Officer Dies From Wounds Suffered During Standoff

A Lafayette police officer has died as a result of injuries sustained during a hostage-taking and standoff Thursday in Jeanerette. The Lafayette Police Department confirmed the death but did not name the officer. The deceased officer, a SWAT team member with Lafayette police, and three others were injured Thursday afternoon while assisting the Jeanerette Marshal’s Office and other area law enforcement agencies. A police department spokesperson said two officers, including the deceased officer, were shot, and bullet fragments struck the other two officers. The three injured officers are in good condition with non-life-threatening injuries. The names of the officers also have not been released. The officer’s death is the first line-of-duty death the department has suffered since the fatal shooting in October 2017 of Cpl. Michael Middlebrook. A suspect is in custody and no longer a threat, Trooper Peggy Bourque, public information officer with Louisiana State Police Troop I, said Thursday evening. Several news agencies, citing unnamed sources, identified the suspect as 31-year-old Nyjal Hurst. Hurst, in 2014, then 21 years old and living in Jeanerette, was wanted for attempted first-degree murder in a drive-by shooting in the 300 block of Belle Place Oliveria Road, according to a news release from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

‘They’re Going To Get f-ing Shot': Man Makes 22 Calls To 911 Threatening To Kill New York Officers

 In 22 calls to 911, a Salina man threatened to shoot up police headquarters and a 911 call center, adding that he had an AR-15 and would ambush police if they came to him, police said. Corey Kinsella, 31, made the threats over the course of two hours Wednesday, police said in court papers filed Thursday. Prosecutors are considering to charge him with making a terroristic threat. His brother, Shawn Kinsella, was caught by police on April 14 trying to jump a fence shortly before a shootout that left Syracuse police Officer Michael Jensen and sheriff’s deputy Lt. Michael Hoosock dead. Shawn had been hanging out that day with Christopher Murphy, the man who opened fire on police with an AR-15. Shortly after the ambush, Corey Kinsella posted to Facebook a link to a story of the shooting with the caption: “pigs are armed why can’t we be?” District Attorney William Fitzpatrick on Thursday confirmed Shawn and Corey are brothers. Onondaga County prosecutors Thursday filed court paperwork seeking an order to confiscate any guns that Corey Kinsella may own. In the calls to 911 Wednesday, Corey Kinsella was agitated with call takers about getting assistance over not being paid for a fence he built and disputes he had with his ex-girlfriend over their daughter, according to an extreme risk protection order application filed Thursday. According to the application, he told operators he would go down to the Onondaga County Justice Center and “shoot you guys all in the f-ing head.”

PoliceOne

BWC: Florida Officer Fatally Shoots Escaped Inmate Holding 2 People Hostage At Knifepoint

Newly released police body camera footage captured the dramatic moments when a woman and a teenage girl were held at knifepoint inside a Victoria’s Secret store in 2023, WSVN reported. The swift actions of Miami Beach Police officers saved the lives of a woman and a teenage girl, according to the report. The incident on July 27, 2023, unfolded when police received a call about a man holding two people hostage. When officers arrived, they evacuated the store and attempted to secure the scene. The body camera footage, released on July 23, shows the suspect, identified as Darien Young, holding the victims in a chokehold while officers worked to de-escalate the situation. “She will die,” Young threatened as officers pleaded with him to drop the knife. Despite their efforts to reason with him, the suspect did not comply. As the situation intensified, with Young pulling the hostages into a corner and threatening their lives, Officer Cory Jackson intervened and shot the man with a single bullet. The hostages were then able to escape unharmed, according to the report. Young was an inmate who had escaped from a minimum-security New Hampshire Department of Corrections facility a week prior to the events, according to the report.

PoliceOne

The Psychic, The Sex Workers And The Scam That Reportedly Spread From Coast To Coast

On a spring night last year, Gina Rita Russell stopped a woman on a Los Angeles street and told her they were destined to meet. Russell told the woman she sensed something was bothering her and offered to help with a psychic reading, according to documents filed in federal court in March. She read the woman’s palm, charged her $300 and identified her frustration: The woman was a performer, but her music career was faltering. The woman, identified only as “V1” in court documents, told the FBI that Russell said darkness and negativity followed her and prevented her from succeeding. Russell, she said, offered assistance. Soon, she told the FBI, she was giving Russell tens of thousands of dollars to cleanse her negative energy. She said she purchased two cars for Russell and her family and turned over her debit card. Russell, she said, instructed the woman to lie to her father, a Canadian physician, to get him to wire her more than $180,000, the majority of which went to Russell. Eventually, she told authorities, Russell persuaded her to engage in sex work and give Russell the overwhelming majority of the proceeds.

Los Angeles Times

Firefighters Extinguish Attic Fire At Commercial Building In Mission Hills

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters quickly knocked down a fire in the attic of a small, one-story commercial building Friday in Mission Hills. Fire crews were called at 5:08 a.m. to 14769 W. Lassen St. where they found flames coming out of the building’s attic, said LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey. It took 36 firefighters 25 minutes to extinguish the flames. No injuries were reported.

MyNewsLA

LA County Revamps 24/7 Help Line For Mental Health And Substance Use Services

Los Angeles County residents in need of mental health or substance use services can get assistance by calling a centralized call center, officials announced Wednesday. The county departments of Mental Health and Public Health have centralized two separate help lines — Mental Health’s 24/7 Help Line and Public Health’s Substance Abuse Services Help Line — into one at 800-854-7771. County officials rolled out the centralized line on July 9. When calling the centralized help line, callers can select from more than a dozen languages to seek aid. Callers can “press 1” for crisis and mental health resources; “press 2” for substance use disorder services; or “press 3” for veteran and military family support. County residents who dial the previous Substance Abuse Services Help Line will be informed of the new number and be automatically redirected. “The Department of Mental Health is proud to partner with the Department of Public Health in this effort to make connecting with services easier for residents seeking wellbeing support and treatment,” DMH Director Dr. Lisa Wong said in a statement. “By streamlining intakes, referrals and linkage, the county will improve health outcomes and experiences for those in need of services and support.”

MyNewsLA

California’s Largest Wildfire Doubles In Size To 164,000 Acres, Shows Explosive Growth

The Park fire in Butte County — already the largest blaze in California this year — exploded to more than 164,000 acres by Friday morning, with its rapid spread forcing more evacuation warnings. The growth of the fire over two days amid steady winds and hot temperatures has been dramatic, with its remote location making it difficult to fight. It was listed at 164,286 acres Friday morning and 3% contained. Conditions on the ground are going to continue to be a challenge, forecasters say. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the northern Sacramento Valley, which includes the region where the fire is spreading. Forecasters warned there could be wind gusts up to 30 mph pushing the blaze north combined with low humidity through Friday evening, which “can cause new fire starts and ongoing wildfires to ... grow rapidly and dangerously in size and intensity.” 

Los Angeles Times

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.