Woman, 67, Found Dead On South Los Angeles Street Identified

A 67-year-old woman ]found dead on a South Los Angeles street was identified Thursday. Los Angeles Police Department officers from the Southeast Division were called at 11:44 p.m. Wednesday to Broadway and West 111th Street regarding a person down. When they arrived, officers found the victim in the street, an LAPD spokesman told City News Service. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced the woman dead at the scene. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified the victim Thursday as Deborah Baskin.

MyNewsLA

South L.A. Murder Leads Groups To Raise Awareness About Transgender Crime

Meraxes Medina was 24 years old when police say she was shot and killed on March 19. Loved ones and some organizations are raising awareness about gun violence against transgender people around the country and here in Los Angeles. Alisha Whitfield affectionally remembered Medina. "Meraxes was a go-getter. She was very much a go-getter and I love that about her so much," Whitfield told Eyewitness News. They met as teens, traveled and had jobs together. Medina was a talented makeup artist. "I know she would have went far," Whitfield said. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Medina was found dead on the road in South Los Angeles. They said she was shot and that there was evidence she was also struck by a vehicle. "Then to top it off just to be left out there, like, out on the open street for all to see is just disgusting," said Whitfield. An arrest was made 10 days later. Authorities did not report a motive. "Of course, most definitely she was targeted because of her identity," said Whitfield.

ABC 7

Burglary Suspect Arrested After Barricading For Hours Near USC

Police were responding Thursday to a barricaded suspect near the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Police Department said. LAPD officers said they went to the 700 block of West 30th Street, one block west of Figueroa Street, around 6 p.m. to a report of a burglary suspect who was arrested at the location but later returned to the area barricading himself. Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters arrived at the scene around 6:35 p.m. to investigate and extinguish a fire in a two-story craftsman-style home with visible smoke. “The smoke seen at first has now ceased and dissipated without LAFD involvement," LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange said. Around 11 p.m. the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody. No injuries were reported. 

CBS 2

Homeless Man Re-Sentenced To 25 To Life For Raping Santa Monica Woman

Dylan James Jensen, convicted of forcible rape, burglary, and related charges in a 2018 assault on a 66-year-old Santa Monica woman, was re-sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in state prison. Initially sentenced to 100 years to life in April 2022, Jensen's sentence was revised following a ruling by a three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal in January. The panel upheld some of Jensen's challenges to his sentence. The appellate court directed a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to adjust Jensen's sentences for forcible sodomy and forcible oral copulation, and to either impose concurrent sentences on four charges or clarify the basis for consecutive sentences. The District Attorney's Office explained that the revisions were due to the need for concurrent sentences, as Jensen had not had sufficient time between the different acts to reflect on his actions. The victim, describing Jensen as a "monster" who had "ruined my life," expressed relief at the outcome. She shared her hope that Jensen would never be granted parole, emphasizing the impact of his actions on her life. Jensen was found guilty by a jury of multiple charges, including forcible rape, sodomy, oral copulation, burglary, and sexual battery, stemming from the June 4, 2018, assault. The jury determined he was sane at the time of the crimes.

Westside Current

Beverly Hills Man To Plead Guilty In Hemp Farm Fraud Case

A Beverly Hills man who was finishing a sentence in a prior fraud case is expected to plead guilty Friday to federal charges alleging he siphoned more than $18 million from victims with false claims they were investing in a hemp farm that did not exist. Mark Anderson, 69, who was arrested while on supervised release in the previous case after serving a 135-month federal prison sentence, has agreed to enter his plea to two counts of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His attorney could not be reached for comment. Anderson allegedly tricked investors into providing funding for his company, called Harvest Farm Group, to harvest and process hemp, supposedly grown on his farm, into medical grade CBD isolate to be sold for a substantial profit, federal prosecutors said. “His ruse was so convincing that some victims gave him money for fake businesses even after having sophisticated legal counsel review business agreements defendant himself created,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. Special agents with the FBI arrested Anderson last May after prosecutors filed a criminal complaint in Los Angeles federal court alleging a scheme to induce victims to send money to the defendant from at least June 2020 to April 2021, officials said.

MyNewsLA

Video: Street Takeover Crowd Surrounds Virginia Officer’s Cruiser, Causing Damage

The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has released dash camera footage showing a street takeover that led to cruisers being damaged and an officer being injured, NBC Washington reported. Video shows numerous suspects beating on a cruiser as an officer inside radioed for backup. People in the crowd attempted to open the doors of the cruiser and remove its license plate, according to the report. “They’ve all got masks on. They’re beating on my cruiser,” the officer can be heard saying. Additional officers arrived at the scene for backup. As one officer exited his cruiser, he was hit by a vehicle that was speeding away from the scene, according to the report. “So, what does that mean for residential and business communities?” Chief Kevin Davis said. “It means you didn’t have any cops protecting your neighborhoods, your communities, your businesses because these criminals diverted all of our attention to handle an attack on one of our police officers.” Four people have been charged in the incident so far, according to the report. 

PoliceOne

Kansas City PD Chief Announces New Plan To Combat Crime After City’s Deadliest Year On Record

As Kansas City’s rising rates of violent crime continues to end lives and devastate communities, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves unveiled an ambitious, wide-reaching plan last month to reduce crime. The plan was unveiled in its entirety mid-March, when Graves posted it on the KCPD website and spoke at two public events describing how police plan to implement its overarching ideas into real-world actions. It comes after Kansas City recorded its deadliest year on record in 2023, with 185 homicides, according to data maintained by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings. In the last five years, Kansas City’s homicide rate has steadily increased, from 151 killings in 2019 to 185 in 2023. Non-fatal shootings are also on the rise. The city’s second deadliest year on record was in 2020, when there were 182 killings. Throughout Graves’ 2024 plan are traces of an initiative that began in the middle of last year — the Violent Crime Reduction Initiative — which aimed at police and community collaboration, a larger volume of social services and a concept called “focused deterrence” to reduce crime. Focused deterrence is a crime prevention strategy that targets high-risk offenders, featuring both swift sanctions for offenses and social services and community support to enable change.

Kansas City Star

Bad data from the FBI mislead about crime

The fourth quarter 2023 crime report from the FBI, the federal government’s keeper of crime data, is unreliable at best and deceptive at worst. The FBI’s preliminary 2023 data show murder declined by 13.2% across the country and violent crime dropped 5.7% compared to 2022 levels. Various news headlines have reported the FBI’s numbers unquestioningly, claiming murder is “plummeting” and violent crime “declined significantly” to pre-pandemic levels.

Washington Examiner

Boat Fire In San Pedro Near Port Of Los Angeles Leaves 2 With Minor Injuries

Two people suffered minor injuries following a boat fire Thursday in San Pedro, authorities said. Firefighters responded to Berth 42 in the Port of Los Angeles area just before 2 p.m. after receiving reports of a 40-foot pleasure boat on fire. When they arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from the boat. Video posted on the Citizen app showed clouds of black smoke in the distance. "Firefighters initiated marine firefighting tactics and extinguished the flames in 20 minutes, protecting the other nearby vessels," said the fire department in a statement. Aerial footage of the scene showed the charred boat partially submerged as crews worked to clear the area. Authorities said two people, who weren't near the boat, were found "with medical needs." They suffered only minor injuries and refused further medical attention, authorities said. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. No other injuries were reported.

ABC 7

Fire Crews Battle Blaze In Downtown LA's Fashion District

Fire crews battled a blaze that broke out Friday morning at a downtown Los Angeles business in the Fashion District area. The fire was reported at about 5:10 a.m. in the 1400 block of South Main Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The flames burned through the roof of the building, which reportedly houses a clothing business. The roof partially collapsed, and firefighters went into a defensive mode, working to prevent the flames from spreading to other buildings. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

NBC 4

Large Landslide Damages Hollywood Hills Home

A massive landslide damaged and partially buried a home in the Hollywood Hills as an incoming storm has neighbors worried about more significant damage to come. The home is located on Sunset View Drive and is just above the iconic Chateau Marmont hotel. The property was undergoing renovations at the time and the owner said he was just days away from moving his family in. His neighbors called him on Wednesday night with the devastating news. Cell phone video from a neighbor captured the moment the steep hillside above the home began to crumble. “The hill is giving, oh my gosh!” the neighbor is heard saying in the video. “And it’s making all sorts of noises, like it’s cracking.” Another neighbor, David Marvisi, witnessed the shocking collapse. “We were home yesterday and suddenly we heard the bang and we came outside,” Marvisi said. “We saw all this dirt came down at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.”

KTLA 5

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.