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Law Enforcement News

Argument Between Two Men Leads To Fatal Shooting In Downtown Los Angeles, Police Say
An argument escalated into a man shooting and killing another man in downtown Los Angeles Thursday evening, according to police. Los Angeles police say the shooting happened around 6:45 p.m. in the 700 block of S. Spring Street. Two men got into a verbal argument, leading to the suspect shooting the victim, police say. The victim, a man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the suspect ran away after the shooting. He is believed to be in his 30s. A handgun was recovered at the scene. Further details into the shooting were not immediately released.
ABC 7

Kansas City Chiefs’ Frank Clark Gets Probation, Community Service In LA Gun Case
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark has resolved his legal matter regarding gun charges stemming from two 2021 arrests in Los Angeles. Clark pleaded no contest on Wednesday to two counts of misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office media spokesman Matt Krasnowski. It was an open plea to the judge. With that, Clark was sentenced to one year of “informal probation” and also must complete 40 hours of volunteer community service. Krasnowski said Clark will be due in court on March 29, 2023, for a hearing where he will have to show proof that he completed his community service. Clark also previously fulfilled a request by the judge to host four free youth football camps, according to Krasnowski. The Chiefs had no comment Thursday, but said coach Andy Reid would be available Friday, per a team spokesman. Clark missed practice Thursday, with the team stating he was out because of an illness. He is an eighth-year pro in his fourth season with the Chiefs.
Yahoo! News

Woman Diagnosed With Alzheimer’s Disease Reported Missing
A 64-year-old at-risk woman who uses a walker and who authorities say has Alzheimer’s disease was reported missing Friday after she was last seen in the unincorporated area of Athens in South Los Angeles. Rita Samayoa was last seen at approximately 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the 89 block of Vermont Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol, which issued a Silver Alert on behalf of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Samayoa is Latina, 5 feet tall, weighs 140 pounds, has white hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a red and black robe, blue pants and a white hat. Samayoa is believed to be on foot. Anyone who sees Samayoa or knows of her whereabouts was asked to call the Sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
MyNewsLA

New Information To Be Released In Slaying Of 16-Year-Old In Lynwood
Detectives on Thursday planned to release new information they received about the 2016 slaying of 16-year-old Danah Rojo-Rivas in Lynwood. The information was received through an anonymous tip and will be shared during a 3 p.m. news conference that will be streamed on the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department's Facebook and Instagram accounts. Detectives also plan to release an image of what they believe to be the actual suspect vehicle, the LASD stated. Danah was in the backseat of her mother’s car, leaving a church function, as the suspects were in pursuit of an unrelated vehicle on Nov. 23. The intended target got out of his vehicle and ran across Euclid Avenue as the suspect opened fire several times. The shooter missed their target and instead struck the car Danah was in, fatally wounding her. The suspects and the intended target fled the scene immediately following the shooting.
KTLA 5

Homeless Man Arrested In Attempted Sexual Assault In Pasadena
A 45-year-old homeless man suspected of trying to sexually assault a female employee of a health spa at gunpoint was arrested Thursday by Pasadena police. The man entered the business in the 2000 block of East Colorado Boulevard, near Allen Avenue, on Sunday “and requested a massage from an employee,” the Pasadena Police Department reported. “Just prior to receiving his massage, the male suddenly initiated an assault on the female employee, which included brandishing a firearm,” police said in a statement. “During the lengthy assault, the suspect attempted to sexually assault the employee.” The man fled on a bicycle, and police were not able to locate him. Pasadena Police Department officers driving in the area of Walnut Street and Hill Avenue about 12:30 p.m. Thursday “observed a male walking with a bicycle and immediately recognized him as the suspect wanted for the attempted sexual assault,” according to the department. The officers made contact with the man and he allegedly fled the scene on foot, though the officers quickly apprehended him.
MyNewsLA

Police Find 7,000+ Fentanyl Pills, $1,000 Cash During Traffic Stop In San Bernardino
A man with more than 7,000 fentanyl pills and about $1,000 in cash was arrested during a traffic stop in San Bernardino, police tweeted Thursday. Narcotics officers recently identified the suspect as being involved in “transporting large quantities of fentanyl into San Bernardino,” SBPD said. Officers initiated a traffic stop and searched the suspect’s vehicle. During the search, officers found multiple packages containing over 7,000 fentanyl pills and about $1,000 in cash on the driver, the Police Department stated. The driver, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of multiple felony charges and booked in jail. “This is another example of the great work our Narcotics Unit is doing on a daily basis,” SBPD stated in its tweet.
KTLA 5

Sheriff: 2 Georgia Deputies Killed While Serving Warrant
Two suspects were taken into custody late Thursday after a shooting that killed two Cobb County Sheriff's Office deputies at a west Cobb home, Sheriff Craig Owens said. According to police, the suspects barricaded themselves in the home after the shooting. Following a lengthy standoff, they were apprehended peacefully, Owens said. The sheriff's office announced the death of the deputies around 9 p.m. Thursday, saying they were killed while serving a warrant. The shooting occurred in the Hampton Glen subdivision near the the intersection of John Ward Road and Irwin Road, close to Cheatham Hill Elementary School. At a press conference around 12:30 a.m. Friday, Owens said it was "a night of heartache for two families," describing the officers as "young, bright deputies." Owens said the names of the fallen deputies were still being withheld at the request of the families, who were still notifying relatives. Both men are survived by their wives, he said. The suspects, whose names have not yet been released, were being held for questioning by the Cobb County Police Department, which is handling the investigation.
Marietta Daily Journal

North Carolina Police Horse Recovering After Being Hit By Drunk Driver For 2nd Time
A police horse is recovering after being struck by an alleged drunk driver for the second time in his 16-year career on the force. ABC News reported Elton, who is 19 years old, was working patrol when the incident occurred in Wilmington. “We were just patrolling downtown Wilmington (in North Carolina) as we usually do on a Friday night,” said Aaron Mininger, a Wilmington Police Department Mounted Unit officer who has been partnered with Elton for five years. “A vehicle rear-ended me while I was riding my horse and it took us both by surprise,” Mininger continued in a post on social media. “Luckily, I was uninjured and Elton the horse, he has very mild injuries all things considered being struck by a drunk driver in a vehicle. As of now, we are just checking in on him and giving him some therapy and some medicine and, so far, it is a good prognosis and there are not any major injuries.” However, this isn’t the first time Elton has been struck by a drunk driver while on duty. Chief Donny Williams added that Elton was hit years ago when he was ridden by a different officer on the force. “This is his second time being struck by a drunk driver,” Williams added. “One of his previous riders made us aware that a drunk driver clipped him with a mirror of a car when he was downtown on patrol.”
PoliceOne

NYC Shootings, Homicides Drop In August; Other Major Crimes Continue To Spike
Shootings and homicides citywide dropped last month, even as other major crimes including robbery and grand larceny continued to spike, police said Tuesday. Shootings decreased last month by about 30% — there were 115 incidents, compared to 165 in August 2021 — with the Bronx, southern Queens and northern Brooklyn in particular seeing marked declines, cops said. For the year to date, shootings have dropped about 12%, according to the NYPD. Meanwhile, August homicides went down about 54%, with 27 people killed, stats showed. That’s compared to 59 murders in the same month in 2021. For the year to date, murders are down about 12%. Still, almost every other major crime category increased in August — continuing an alarming trend so far this year — according to NYPD stats. The Police Department classifies murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, grand larceny and car theft as major crimes. Overall, those categories increased by 26% with five of the seven major crimes seeing upticks, cops said. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell focused on the positive news in the latest stats — and took a shot at the controversial state bail reforms that Mayor Adams has blamed for the city’s crime woes.
New York Daily News

Forensic Scientists Are Generally Whiter, Less Diverse Than US Population They Serve, Study Says
A yearlong study examining ethnic and racial diversity in forensic science has found that the varying disciplines, which frequently work closely with law enforcement, are also generally whiter than the U.S. population it serves. The report, published Thursday in Forensic Science International: Synergy, is one of only a few that have looked at the relative representation of people of color in forensic science-related fields today. After an early energetic debate among the future authors, they quickly discovered one reason why so little had been done on the subject: There is next to no good data.
USA Today

Public Safety News

2 Dead After Small Plane Crashes In Santa Monica
Two people are dead after a plane crashed at the Santa Monica Airport, police said. Fire officials responded to the Santa Monica Airport around 4:25 p.m. Thursday. The FAA said the aircraft was a single-engine Piper Sport. The two people aboard, a flight instructor and a student, died at the scene. Images from SkyFOX show fire trucks on the tarmac, along with the remains of a burnt aircraft. It is unknown what caused the plane to crash. Officials have not released the names of the two people killed in the crash. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
FOX 11

LA County Public Health Officials Investigating Person's Death Possibly Caused By Monkeypox
Health officials on Thursday said they were investigating a death in Los Angeles County that was possibly caused by monkeypox. The investigation was announced by Dr. Rita Singhal, chief medical officer of the county Department of Public Health. "We are early in the investigation and do not have additional details available at this time," Singhal said. "As soon as details become available, we will share them while maintaining confidentiality and privacy." The death is the second in the United States being investigated as possibly caused by monkeypox, according to Singhal. She said the county will be working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state as it investigates the circumstances of the person's death. The U.S. leads the world with monkeypox infections - as of Wednesday, 21,274 cases had been reported - with men accounting for about 98% of cases and men who said they had recent sexual contact with other men about 93% of cases. Monkeypox, which can cause a rash, fever, body aches and chills, is spread through close skin-to-skin contact and prolonged exposure to respiratory droplets.
ABC 7

Public's Help Sought Regarding Three Patients At LAC+USC Medical Center
Authorities at LAC+USC Medical Center Thursday sought the public's help to identify two patients and to identify the family of a third. An unidentified man was brought to the medical facility by ambulance on Saturday from the 400 block of South Wall Street in downtown Los Angeles, according to the hospital. He is in his 50s, 6 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 260 pounds, is bald and has blue/gray eyes. He has tattoos with the letters “WS,” the number 23 and a cross. An unidentified woman has been hospitalized since Sunday. She is about 30, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds and has black hair. She has tattoos that include: two dots and a curved line near her right eye; a square near her left eye; a city skyline near her neck; the letters ``XC'' on her right hand; the word ``Jasmine'' on her right arm and the word “Laveah” on her left arm and the number 5 on her left middle finger. Jose Rodriguez, 58, has been hospitalized since Aug. 21 after being brought to the hospital from the Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles.
NBC 4

15 Tiny Houses For Veterans Go Up In Flames In West Los Angeles
Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed 15 tiny homes that were housing homeless veterans in west Los Angeles overnight. The fire was reported around 1 a.m. Friday at the Veterans Administration’s West Los Angeles Campus at 11301 W. Wilshire Boulevard. Fire crews arrived to find more than a dozen tiny houses ablaze, a Los Angeles Fire department spokesperson said. They later determined that 15 homes had been destroyed and several others sustained damage. All of the residents managed to escape unharmed. Firefighters believe the fire originated from a lithium battery charger, however, the cause remained under investigation. The tiny homes are part of the VA’s Care, Treatment, and Rehabilitative Services (CTRS) initiative.
KTLA 5

Even In 2022, L.A. COVID Death Rate Is Worse Than Car Crashes. Here’s Why
The Omicron coronavirus variant killed Angelenos at a higher rate than both the flu and car crashes during the early part of 2022, according to county health officials. An analysis of death certificates from January to April found that there were 31.8 deaths from COVID-19 for every 100,000 residents of all ages in Los Angeles County. That’s nine times the comparable rate for motor vehicle deaths and more than five times that of flu and pneumonia over the same time, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. During that period, there were 3.5 deaths from motor vehicle crashes for every 100,000 residents, and 5.9 deaths from the flu and pneumonia for every 100,000 residents. Much has been said about Omicron causing milder illnesses than earlier variants — though it’s also probable that higher vaccination rates, anti-COVID-19 drugs and increased immunity from past infections all played a role in blunting the severity of the latest fall and winter wave. While that’s true, COVID-19 continues to have deadly consequences.
LA Times

Local Government News

Bass And Caruso Trade Insults As L.A. Mayoral Race Turns Ugly
With less than eight weeks until the November election, both Los Angeles mayoral candidates are fighting fire with fire as they attack their opponent’s relationships to scandals at one of the most prominent private institutions in the city. Rick Caruso called on Rep. Karen Bass to provide more transparency Thursday on her dealings with an indicted USC administrator who gave the congresswoman a full-tuition scholarship before pushing for favorable legislation. The demands by Caruso came a day after The Times revealed that federal prosecutors consider the circumstances surrounding Bass’ $95,000 scholarship “critical” and “relevant” to their public corruption case against the former USC administrator, Marilyn Flynn, and former L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Meanwhile, Bass released a new digital ad that accuses Caruso of covering up sexual abuse at USC on Wednesday, tweeting the ad less than an hour after The Times story was published. Both candidates criticized their opponent’s ties to the university during separate news conferences Thursday. Flynn is charged for what prosecutors allege was a quid pro quo with Ridley-Thomas involving a scholarship awarded to his son in exchange for lucrative county contracts.
LA Times