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Law Enforcement News
LAPD Officer Suffers Graze Wound In Shooting With Robbery Suspects In Fairfax Area
A Los Angeles police officer suffered a graze wound during a shooting with an armed suspect in the Fairfax area Thursday night, authorities said. The incident occurred around 6:49 p.m. near Fairfax and Melrose avenues, said Officer Matthew Cruz, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson. Officers came across two suspects attempting to rob a person of a designer watch and interceded, a source with knowledge of the incident told The Times. One of the suspects shot at officers, hitting one of them, and an officer shot back, Officer Annie Hernandez told The Times. It was not clear whether the officer who was injured or another officer returned fire. Investigators believe one of the suspects was shot, Hernandez said. Both suspects fled in a vehicle and remain at large. The officer who was injured was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition, she said. A source with knowledge of the incident told The Times the officer suffered a graze wound and was not seriously injured. Firefighters were dispatched at 7:03 p.m. to the 7800 block of Melrose and transported one patient, said Nicholas Prange, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson. Further information about the shooting was not available Thursday night.
LA Times
Tarzana Homeowner Shoots At Intruders Who Tried To Rob Home, LAPD Says
A home invasion robbery attempt led to a homeowner opening fire at a group of suspects in Tarzana Thursday evening, according to police. Los Angeles police said four suspects broke into a home in the 19500 block of Greenbriar Drive around 8:30 p.m. At least one of the suspects was armed, but it's unknown if they shot at the homeowner. The homeowner, however, fired five times at the suspects, LAPD said. No one was struck by gunfire or injured in the shooting. The suspects ran from the scene. It's unclear if they managed to steal anything from the home. Footage showed a glass door had been shattered during the incident. Police were at the home investigating.
ABC 7
Texas Man Arrested In Connection With 4 L.A.-Area Cold-Case Killings Dating To 1980
A Texas man has been arrested in connection with four cold-case homicides from Los Angeles and Inglewood dating as far back as 1980, authorities said Thursday night. Detectives from the Los Angeles and Inglewood police departments traveled to Fort Worth, where they arrested 76-year-old Billy Ray Richardson with assistance from the Fort Worth Police Department’s Ghost Unit, LAPD officials said. Richardson is suspected in the 1980 killings of Beverly Cruse, Debra Cruse and Kari Lenander in Los Angeles, and in the 1995 slaying of Trina Wilson in Inglewood, according to the LAPD. He was in custody Thursday night pending extradition to Los Angeles, police said. “Investigative and forensic work over decades connected these murders through DNA and linked them to [the] suspect,” police said. Authorities presented the case against Richardson to the L.A. County district attorney’s office, which filed four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances of multiple murders and murder in the commission of rape, police said.
LA Times
Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Killing Her Three Young Children At East LA Home
A woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murdering her three young children in East Los Angeles. Sandra Chico, 29, was ordered to remain jailed in lieu of $6 million bail while awaiting a July 26 hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence to require her to stand trial on three counts each of murder and assault on a child causing death. LA County sheriff's deputies went to a residence in the 600 block of Ferris Avenue on June 28, 2021, after receiving a report that two children at the home were not breathing, according to Lt. Charles Calderaro. Deputies found two boys and a girl in the home, and none of the children was breathing, he said. Paramedics were called, but all three children died at the scene. The coroner's office identified them as Mia Camila Rodriguez, 4; Mason Mateo Rodriguez, 3; and Milan Mateas Rodriguez, who was born less than two months earlier. Authorities have not disclosed how the children died. Chico was arrested by sheriff's deputies that afternoon and has been behind bars since then, according to jail records.
NBC 4
Transient Sentenced To Over 11 Years For Robbing Mail Carriers
A transient who lived in various locations in the San Fernando Valley has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for a two-week crime spree in which he robbed five U.S. Postal Service employees --including one in West LA-and fired a handgun so close to one victim that it caused him to suffer a ruptured eardrum, the Department of Justice announced today. Elvyn Antonio Rodriguez, 22, a Nicaraguan national illegally residing in the United States, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who also ordered him to pay $2,825 in restitution to the USPS and two mail carriers. Rodriguez pleaded guilty in March in downtown Los Angeles to three counts of robbery of mail and property of the United States and one count of aggravated identity theft. In April and May of last year, Rodriguez robbed five USPS employees in Encino, North Hills, Van Nuys and West Los Angeles, pointing a firearm at them and stealing their personal belongings, including their cell phones, credit cards and the keys to their USPS trucks.
West Side Current
LAPD Responds To Stolen Vehicle Call In Venice
The Los Angeles Police Department is responding to a call for a stolen vehicle. It happened around 2:30 p.m. near Electric Avenue and Venice Boulevard. Multiple units were called to the scene. No further details are available at this time.
West Side Current
1 Million Pills With Fentanyl Seized By DEA In Inglewood In Record-Breaking Bust
Federal agents seized about 1 million pills containing fentanyl during a raid in Inglewood this month, the largest bust of fentanyl pills in the state, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday. The drugs were found after agents served a search warrant on July 5 at a home that investigators believe was a stash house used by a trafficking organization linked to the Sinaloa cartel. “This massive seizure disrupted the flow of dangerous amounts of fentanyl into our streets and probably saved many lives,” Bill Bodner, the special agent in charge of the DEA’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement. According to the DEA, the fake pills were designed to have the same look, color, shape and size of real prescription drugs. The pills were made to look like other opioid medications, such as oxycodone. The DEA and Hawthorne Police Department began investigating the organization in May, when agents identified stash houses and drug couriers. That investigation led to the July 5 raid and discovery of the fake pills, which DEA officials believe have a street value of $15 million to $20 million.
LA Times
‘Scrubs’ Producer Arrested For Rape: LAPD
A producer and writer on television shows such as “Scrubs” and “Californication” has been arrested in Los Feliz in connection with “several sexual assaults including rape,” according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Eric Weinberg was arrested around noon on Thursday at a home in the 1900 block of East Edgemont Street, the LAPD said in a press release. According to police, Weinberg committed a series of sexual assaults between 2012 and 2019, targeting “women in grocery stores, coffee shops, and other public places.” “Weinberg would approach the women who were in their 20-30s, under the guise of being a photographer and would set up photo shoots with them. Once the women were in his residence, he would sexually assault them during the photo shoot,” the release said. Weinberg’s IMDB page identifies him as a co-executive producer or supervising producer on more than 100 episodes of “Scrubs” and a co-executive producer on 11 episodes of “Californication,” among other projects. Weinberg is being held in lieu of $3.225 million, police said.
KTLA 5
Targeting Street Takeovers; An Inside Look At LASD's Efforts To Curb Dangerous Sideshows
It is a sound that many in the Southland are all too familiar with, street racing sideshows shifting into hear gear, where hundreds of people gather to watch daring drivers, who at every turn get closer and closer to the crowds. However, on one Saturday night in Gardena, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were ready. At around 9 p.m., members of the sheriff's department met up in Carson to beef up patrols and find street racers. "It's a nightly occurrence and it's pretty much terrible," Sgt. Michael Downing, told CBSLA. Downing is in charge of the Traffic Services detail. He brought in five extra units on Fourth of July weekend to try and curb the chaos. "Every night. Pick a city, pick a date, it is everywhere," Downing said. Asked if the street racing sideshows are frustrating for him, Downing said it is, because without more manpower, the department can't really combat the problem. He added that the issue is only getting worse and more dangerous.
CBS 2
Glendale Police Arrest 3 After Finding Weapons, Ammo
Three men were arrested after officers discovered weapons and ammunition during a traffic stop in Glendale on Saturday. Just after midnight, officers stopped a car near Chevy Chase Drive and Colorado Street, where they discovered the driver, 19-year-old Alex Osegueda of Los Angeles, did not have a valid driver’s license, the Glendale Police Department said in a news release. After Osegueda and his two passengers, 18-year-old transient Erick Hernandez and 22-year-old Glendale resident Uziel Hernandez-Mendoza, got out of the car, police found two loaded handguns and a green-tipped rifle round — which could indicate armor-piercing capabilities — on Hernandez’s person, police said. Another loaded gun was found in the car, police added. All three men face charges of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle, and Osegueda will also be charged with driving without a license, police said.
KTLA 5
Gym Equipment For Kids With Special Needs Stolen In Culver City
A U-Haul truck full of gym equipment for children with special needs was stolen in Culver City. Inside the truck were some $8,000 worth of equipment – tools that the organization, EC Kids Fitness and Nutrition, were planning on using to educate kids about exercise and following healthy eating habits. The owners were able to use a tracking device to locate the U-Haul truck, but they couldn't recover all of the stolen equipment. A surveillance video showed the moment a suspect got into the truck and drove off.
FOX 11
Public Safety News
1 Dead, 1 Hurt As Car Hits Bus Stop In Elysian Park: LAFD
A person is dead and another was seriously hurt after a car crashed into a bus stop in Elysian Park on Wednesday. The car, which appears to be a dark-colored SUV, struck a bus bench at about 4:22 p.m. at 1001 North Broadway, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The person who was hurt was taken to a nearby trauma center in critical condition, the LAFD added.
KTLA 5
L.A. County Moves Into ‘High’ COVID Community Level, Triggering Possible Return Of Indoor Mask Mandate
Los Angeles County on Thursday moved from a medium community spread of COVID-19 to a “high” level, triggering the possible return of universal indoor masking in the region. If the county remains in the high community level for two consecutive weeks, through July 28, the masking mandate would return the following day, “to help slow the rate of transmission and protect those most vulnerable,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. The region is starting to see an increase in COVID-related deaths for the first time since the winter coronavirus surge, Ferrer said. There have been an average of 14 deaths per day over past week, she detailed. And based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s coronavirus community levels, the county entered the “high” section based on the number of new cases and hospitalizations in the region: The seven-day case rate has increased to 370 cases per week per 100,000 people, Ferrer said. As for the seven-day total on hospitalizations, the county is at 10.5 admissions per 100,000 people, representing an 88% increase since this time last month Ferrer said.
KTLA 5
