Woman Stabbed To Death In Chatsworth; Family Believes Boyfriend Is Killer

A woman was stabbed to death in Chatsworth early Tuesday morning, and her family believes her boyfriend is the killer. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, someone reported hearing a man and a woman arguing around 1:45 a.m. at home on Owensmouth Avenue. When the caller went to check on them, he or she found the woman suffering from a stab wound to her neck. Responding officers said the woman was still conscious and breathing when they arrived, prompting them to call paramedics. She was transported to a hospital in West Hills where she later died. The suspect, who has not been identified by police, fled the scene. According to family members, the victim is Angelica Soto. Though they did not comment on the violent death, the family members did share a photo of Soto and her boyfriend. A neighbor who didn't want to be identified spoke with Eyewitness News, calling the incident "frightening." "It's very frightening. It's generally a quiet neighborhood," she said. "It's sad. It's very sad. We've been here for about 20 years and my heart breaks for the family across the street."

ABC 7

Student Arrested For Deadly Stabbing On USC's Greek Row

Police have arrested a USC student in connection to a deadly stabbing that happened in the Greek Row area late Monday evening. It happened around 8:15 p.m. in the 700 block of W. 28th Street, where officers arrived to find a man, believed to be homeless, unconscious, and not breathing after being stabbed, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. USC student, Ivan Gallegos, 19, of Los Angeles has been identified by LAPD as the suspect. He is being held on $2 million bail. Family members say that he is a member of the USC Marshall School of Business. According to LAPD, the victim was trying to break into a car when he was confronted by the Gallegos and two other males. The incident escalated to the point that Gallegos stabbed the man multiple times. The victim, identified by police as 27-year-old Xavier Cerf, was pronounced dead at the scene and the suspect remained there before being detained. USC campus police say that they are aware of the incident, but that LAPD is the lead in the investigation. Detectives questioned the other two men who initially confronted the victim but they were released at the scene.

CBS 2

Murder Suspect Escapes Jail; Arrested In Hollywood

An attempted murder suspect who escaped from a Rancho Cucamonga jail was back behind bars Tuesday after he was captured by Los Angeles Police Department officers in Hollywood. Deshaun Stamps, 29, of Riverside, was arrested Monday near Hawthorn and Formosa avenues in Hollywood. Video from the scene showed LAPD officers taking him into custody and quickly turning him over to San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies. Stamps had been in custody since Jan. 30, 2023, on suspicion of attempted murder and assaulting a police officer, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Stamps was ordered last week by a judge to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after the judge expressed doubt about Stamps’ mental competency to stand trial, the Southern California News Group reported, citing court records. He was scheduled to return to court on Aug. 14 for a hearing of the results of the evaluation. Deputies at the West Valley Detention Center discovered at approximately 12:19 p.m. Sunday Stamps had fled custody during an outside recreation period, authorities said.

MyNewsLA

Mexican Cartels Team Up With Chinese Nationals In Los Angeles To Launder Money, DOJ Says

The Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most infamous drug trafficking criminal organizations in the world, has found an unlikely ally in Southern California: money laundering groups made up of wealthy Chinese nationals living in the San Gabriel Valley. The Mexican cartel conspired with the Southern California-based groups with ties to Chinese underground banking to launder up to $50 million in drug trafficking proceeds, the U.S. Justice Department announced. This is how the sophisticated, illicit operations allegedly worked: First, on behalf of the cartel, the Chinese nationals in the San Gabriel Valley area initiated transactions to a Chinese bank controlled by a money laundering broker. Then the money laundering group used that money to purchase goods, such as electronics, clothing and precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and methamphetamines. After the Chinese sent those purchased goods to Mexico, the items were sold, and their proceeds eventually ended up in the hands of the cartel to pay for drugs shipped to U.S., according to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “The cartels are desperate to get cash made from the sale of drugs in the United States back down to Mexico without having that cash seized by U.S. or Mexican authorities. The Chinese money laundering groups, on the other hand, are in the business of helping wealthy Chinese nationals obtain cash in this country and thereby circumvent export controls in China on the movement of cash,” Estrada said.

NBC 4

CHP Pursuit Through Downtown Los Angeles Ends With 190 Pound Meth Bust

A brief high-speed California Highway Patrol pursuit through downtown Los Angeles Monday morning ended with a 190-pound meth bust and the driver in custody. The 10-minute pursuit began as a traffic stop for the Ford F-150's tinted windows in the area of Mateo and Alameda streets. The driver of the truck did not stop and led officers on a pursuit, which ended at Figueroa and Second streets near the 110 Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. When the truck came to a stop, officers arrested the driver and pulled plastic bins filled with vacuum-sealed packets of white powder from the truck. The station later reported that 190 pounds of methamphetamine, with a $3.4 million street value, were found in the truck, along with a large amount of cash. The driver was arrested for transporting drugs with the intent to sell.  

CBS 2

3 Men Attempt To Burglarize A House In Westchester

Three men attempted to burglarize a house in Westchester today, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Just after 4 p.m. Tuesday, a resident of the house located in the 7700 block of Cowan Avenue reported a burglary in progress, police said. The person who called police could see the three suspects, who were described as black men in dark hoodies, on the home’s surveillance system, the department said. Before police arrived, the suspects went into a dark gray Honda with no front plates and drove eastbound on 77th Street. 

Westside Current

Vagos Biker Gang Member On The Run Following California House Search, Officials Say

California authorities said a member of the Vagos motorcycle gang was arrested and another remains at large following the search of a home in Kern County. Officials with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said they launched a policing project on Friday, June 14, after they became aware of multiple Vagos Motorcycle Club members who were harassing customers at a business in Tehachapi. Tehachapi is a mountainous community roughly 40 miles east of Bakersfield. Deputies then searched a home in the 20000 block of Dawn Avenue where they found gang paraphernalia, a firearm hidden inside a Vagos vest, a second firearm concealed in a motorcycle, a fully automatic machine gun and a 40MM launcher. Kern County investigators said 37-year-old Angela Vasquez was arrested at the home on numerous charges including firearm charges, child endangerment and gang enhancement. KCSO also obtained a $350,000 Ramey warrant for 41-year-old Ulisses Navarette for multiple felonies and gang enhancement. 

FOX 11

Video: Man Threatens Michigan Officers; Uses Own Kids As Barricade To Avoid Arrest

A 24-year-old man who reportedly called in threats to the Farmington Hills Department and the home of a police officer’s father is jailed on a felony charge. Shawn Bonner faces one count of false report or threat of terrorism, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. For now, he’s in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $100,000. During his run-ins with law enforcement leading to the charge, Bonner twice used his young children as shields against officers attempting to arrest him and at one point barricaded himself in a vehicle with the kids for nearly an hour, police said. Officers eventually punched out one of the car’s windows to take Bonner into custody. As reported by the Farmington Hills Police Department, it all stems from a traffic stop late last month when Bonner’s girlfriend was pulled over for operating a vehicle without insurance. Bonner was in the car, along with the couple’s two kids, and police determined he had an outstanding arrest warrant out of Redford for obstructing a police officer and failing to appear in court. Bonner lied about his identity, refused to exit the car, then dove into the back seat and barricaded himself among his young children, police said. The girlfriend, Kyrstin Elliot, tried to kick at the officers and was subsequently charged with interfering with a police officer, while Bonner was charged with resisting and obstructing. At his arraignment in 47th District Court, Bonner was issued a personal bond, meaning no money had to be posted for him to stay out of jail until his next court appearance — but, as in the Redford case, he failed to show up, police said.

Daily Tribune

Help Needed To ID Woman Found In Downtwn Los Angeles, Now At Hospital

Health Services officials are asking the public for help Tuesday in identifying a woman who was brought to a Los Angeles hospital last week. The patient was brought to Los Angeles General Medical Center after being found by bystanders on South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles on June 14, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services stated in a news release. Officials released an image of the patient in hopes that family members or friends will come forward to identify her. She is believed to be between 45 and 50 years old, is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds. The patient also has brown hair and hazel eyes with a medium to heavy build, according to the news release. No tattoos or scars were found on the patient. Anyone with information was asked to call Clinical Social Worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6884.

KTLA 5

Public Advised To Stay Out Of These Los Angeles County Beaches

Officials are asking the public to avoid several Los Angeles County beaches due to high levels of bacteria on Tuesday. The ocean water warnings will remain in effect beginning June 18 until further notice. Excessive bacteria and debris can seep from nearby city streets and mountain areas and contaminate ocean waters, especially around discharging storm drains, creeks and rivers, said the L.A. County Department of Public Health. The warning also includes any runoff that may flow onto or pond on the beach sand. People who enter the ocean during this period could become ill, especially children, the elderly or those who are immunocompromised, officials said. The public is asked to stay out of these L.A. County beaches: Santa Monica Canyon Creek at Will Rogers State Beach near Will Rogers Tower 18 – 100 yards up and down the coast from the creek; Topanga Canyon Beach in Malibu – 100 yards up and down the coast from the lagoon; Sweetwater Canyon Storm Drain at Carbon Canyon Beach – The entire swim area; Mothers Beach in Marina Del Rey – The entire swim area; Malibu Lagoon at Surfrider Beach – 100 yards up and down the coast from the public restrooms; Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica – 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier; Trancas Creek at Zuma Beach – 100 yards up and down the coast from the creek; and Malibu Pier in Malibu – 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier.

KTLA 5

COVID Cases, Hospitalizations Increasing In Los Angeles County

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Los Angeles County are on the rise, according to the latest data. The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported Thursday there were about 121 new cases per day in the county. That number is up from the 106 cases per day reported June 6. Those numbers are believed to be an undercount due to the availability of at-home COVID-19 testing, according to the county Public Health department. Hospitalizations are also up to 126 patients a day. The previous number stood at 102. "With traveling and gatherings increasing during summer, protection from COVID-19 infection remains important as a new group of variants has begun to circulate nationwide," the county Public Health department said in its most recent statement. The health department said the so-called FLiRT variants, including KP.2 and KP.3 variants, are causing an increasing proportion of cases in the U.S. 

ABC 7

California Braces For Heavy Wildfire Activity This Fall: ‘They’re Only Going To Get Worse’

Experts are warning Californians to brace for a ‘very active’ wildfire season this fall as two back-to-back wet winters and forecasts for a warmer-than-normal summer are likely to prime the state’s landscape for fire. Even as recent blazes triggered evacuations in Los Angeles and Sonoma counties, those incidents may prove to be relatively tame compared with what the rest of the year could have in store, said Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist and extreme weather expert. “We could in fact see a very active finish to fire season 2024, but we aren’t there yet,” Swain said during a briefing Monday. Dense vegetation bolstered by record and near-record precipitation over the last two years will steadily dry and cure over a hot summer — a process known as “fuel loading.” Although this drying has begun at lower elevations, this is not the case yet at higher elevations — where some of the worst wildfires in recent history have occurred. These areas are still moist from recent rain and snow, but are likely to grow drier and more flammable toward late summer. 

Los Angeles Times

L.A. City Council Establishes Charter Reform Commission

In a unanimous vote, the City Council Tuesday established a Charter Reform Commission that will be tasked with recommending updates to a vast range of government procedures — including possible expansion of the council and improving transparency. Council members passed the ordinance 13-0, with the aim of having the commission propose charter amendments for city voters to consider on the November 2026 ballot. Council President Paul Krekorian said commission appointments would be made shortly, with the new panel’s work commencing soon. “When you look at the breadth of what we have in the City Charter, the number of issues that it touches upon, it’s really incumbent upon us to regularly update these and make sure that we’re ensuring that the city is operating as effectively, as efficiently and with the greatest transparency and accountability possible,” Krekorian said prior to Tuesday’s vote. The council’s action culminates months of work by the Ad Hoc Committee on City Governance Reform, which Krekorian formed to bolster transparency and address corruption following the leaked racist audio recording involving three council members that rocked City Hall in 2022.

MyNewsLA

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.