Law Enforcement News
Carjacking Victim Dies After Being Dragged Under SUV By Murder Suspect Fleeing LAPD
A man wanted on suspicion of murder carjacked a person in South Los Angeles on Thursday evening and fled from police, dragging the victim under the SUV during the chase, police said. The incident began around 5 p.m. as gang and narcotics detectives surveilled a murder suspect in the 5900 block of 7th Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The suspect, described only as a man, got into the passenger seat of a Toyota Prius driven by a woman, said Officer Tony Im, a police spokesperson. Officers tried to stop the car, but the driver fled with units in pursuit, police said. The Prius crashed near Florence and Haas avenues after a short chase, Im said. Although the driver was taken into custody without incident, the murder suspect fled on foot and carjacked a person in a gray SUV, Im said. The carjacking victim ended up under the SUV and was dragged as the suspect fled with police in pursuit. The chase came to an end shortly after when the suspect rolled the SUV at Florence and Prairie avenues in Inglewood, Im said. The carjacking victim was pronounced dead.
LA Times
Police Arrest 13-Year-Old In Connection With Murder Of Highland Park Liquor Store Clerk
The Los Angeles Police Department said they arrested a suspect who allegedly murdered a man working as a clerk at a liquor store. The incident happened Oct. 6, at Tony's Market in Highland Park, according to investigators. Police said four teenagers went into the liquor store and tried to steal a six-pack of beer. "As he was kind of following them trying to get the product back, one of the individuals took an electric scooter and bashed him in the head," said Nelle Reyes, the victim's daughter. The victim, identified as, 69-year-old Steven Reyes, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Police were initially looking for two males and two females, whom witnesses said looked no older than teenagers. The suspect arrested Thursday is believed to be just 13-years-old.
CBS 2
Los Angeles Man Charged In Kidnapping, Sex Assault On Teen In El Sereno Park Bathroom
A 27-year-old Los Angeles man has been charged in the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy at an El Sereno park. Prosecutors allege Edward William Banks forced the teen into a park bathroom and sexually assaulted him Tuesday morning. Tips from the public helped police arrest him later that night. Banks is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 8. The District Attorney's Bureau of Victim Services has reached out to the victim's family to connect them with counseling and help in the healing process.
ABC 7
Police Seek Man Who Stabbed Wheelchair-Bound Man In Mar Vista
Police sought the public's help to locate a man who stabbed an 82-year-old wheelchair bound man in Mar Vista. Los Angeles Police Department officers were called about 6:55 p.m. on Oct. 3 to the 12000 block of Venice Boulevard and found the victim being treated by paramedics for stab wounds to the neck and shoulder, according to a department statement. The man was taken to a hospital and listed in stabled condition as of Thursday, according to police. LAPD investigators gathered surveillance video from the scene and discovered the suspect "attacked the man without provocation'' and fled the scene heading toward the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue. The attacker was described as a bald man between 20 and 30 years old, between 5 feet, 1 and 5 feet, 6; about 130 pounds. He also has a large tattoo on the back of his head and a smaller tattoo near his left eye. Anyone with information on the stabbing was asked to contact LAPD Detective Luis Jurado at 310-482-6369. Calls made during non-business hours or on weekends can be directed to 877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org.
NBC 4
Woman Stabbed In Head With Scissors By Stranger In North Hollywood, LAPD Says
A woman had a near-death experience when she was stabbed in the head with a pair of scissors by a stranger in North Hollywood earlier this week. Los Angeles police say the man's scissor was lodged in the victim's skull and narrowly missed her brain. The stabbing was one of two attacks allegedly committed by the man that day. Suspect Jonathan Lewis Cole, 30, was arrested after police say he threw a pickle jar at another woman just a few blocks away from the scene of the stabbing. LAPD says the two assaults happened Monday on Lankershim Boulevard, with the stabbing taking place in the 5700 block. The stabbing victim and the attacker were walking on the street when the suspect lunged toward her and shoved a pair of scissors into her head, according to the LAPD. Surveillance video captured the encounter. LAPD Lt. Cmder. Bob Toledo told Eyewitness News the victim stumbled into a restaurant, where she received help from people inside. The victim, identified as a woman in her 20s, was hospitalized with a fractured skull. She's now in stable condition.
ABC 7
Man In Custody After Removing Clothes, Allegedly Firing Gun In Lake Los Angeles
A man who removed some of his clothing at the Oso Meat Market in Lake Los Angeles was taken into custody after also allegedly firing a gun in the market’s parking lot. Deputies located the suspect when they responded to a potential man with a gun call at the market Wednesday evening, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Gilbert Borruel said. For unknown reasons the man was removing his clothes inside the store and “sweating profusely” before eventually going outside, Borruel said. An employee saw what appeared to be a gun in the man’s waistband and later heard three shots coming from outside the market. The unidentified suspect then ran from the parking lot but was apprehended by deputies about a block away from the market. Borruel said the man was not complying with officers when they caught up with him and “he did have to be Tasered at the time.”
KTLA 5
LAPD Program Offers Extra Bonus For New Hires To Help With Housing Costs
Captain Aaron McCraney unpacks the Los Angeles Police Department’s initiative to recruit more hires by offering housing bonuses as incentives.
Yahoo! News Video
LAUSD Accused Of Telling Teachers To Take Down GoFundMe Raising Money After Classroom Vandalized
The damage at a vandalized classroom for special needs students in Mulholland Middle School was overwhelming. Cell phone video by a teacher showed that just about everything in the room had been trashed. The Los Angeles Police Department confirms that Chromebooks were also taken, in addition to gardening tools and quite a few other items. The room was broken into several times this month, so teachers put together a GoFundMe, which was getting them some help until LAUSD asked that it be taken down immediately. "We are forbidden to speak with you, sorry," I was told again and again by several teachers at the school. The teachers we reached for comment say district officials are upset that they and the school are "looking bad" because of the publicity. The same publicity that is getting them monetary assistance and donations of all kinds of items seems to be problematic for LAUSD officials, who would not comment on camera about the allegation.
FOX 11
Compton Murder: Man Sentenced To 26 Years To Life For Killing His 19-Year-Old Ex-Girlfriend
A man convicted of murdering his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend in Compton last year has been sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. Before Victor Sosa was sentenced on Wednesday, Daisy De La O's parents had their chance to tell the court how he has devastated their family. "He knew my Daisy outgrew him. He knew my Daisy didn't want him anymore," the victim's mother, Susana Salas, said of Sosa during her victim impact statement. "All I ask today, your honor, is that this parasite should never, ever live a normal life, just like he took the possibility of me getting old without my baby." The 19-year-old was murdered in February 2021. According to her family, Daisy broke up with Sosa over what they allege was an abusive relationship. A month after their break-up, Sosa called Daisy to meet at the family's Compton apartment. Sheriff's investigators say that's where he killed her by slashing her throat, rolling her up in a rug and dumping her body next to the family's apartment complex. A bloody knife was found next to her. A search promptly ensued after he fled.
ABC 7
Man Wanted In Connection With Series Of Sexual Assaults In Southern California Arrested In Colorado
A man who had been wanted in a series of sexual assaults in Ventura and Los Angeles counties dating back to 2020 has been arrested in Colorado, authorities said Wednesday. Charles Gaines was arrested in Aurora, Colorado in August in connection with an extortion case investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to Simi Valley police. During that arrest, authorities obtained a DNA profile from Gaines that allegedly linked him to the rape cases in California. Los Angeles and Simi Valley police detectives then collaborated to file a sexual assault case against Gaines after he had been released from custody in the extortion case, authorities detailed in a news release. An arrest warrant for Gaines was obtained last week and Simi Valley police, with the help of detectives from the Aurora Police Department, took him into custody. Gaines was booked on suspicion of forcible rape, rape of a minor over 14, human trafficking with a minor, witness intimidation, forced oral copulation, sodomy, sexual battery while restrained and attempted rape, Simi Valley police said.
KTLA 5
Swatting Can Leave Psychological Trauma For Everyone, Experts Say
Various Bay Area police departments received false calls Wednesday that reported an active shooter at schools -- which turned out to be incidents of swatting. This is a trend nationwide, and many mental health experts say it can cause some serious problems.
Yahoo! News Video
2 Connecticut Police Officers Fatally Shot May Have Been ‘Lured' Into Deadly Ambush
Two police officers who were shot dead in Connecticut were apparently drawn into an ambush by an emergency call about possible domestic violence, authorities said Thursday. State police said in a release that the 911 call Wednesday night about a dispute between two siblings appears to have been “a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene” in Bristol. Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy were killed, and Officer Alec Iurato was wounded, during a week when at least 10 officers have been shot around the country. Police said 35-year-old suspect Nicholas Brutcher was also shot dead, and 32-year-old brother Nathan Brutcher was wounded. Nathan Brutcher was hospitalized, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he or his family have an attorney or someone else who can speak for them. Authorities said they were still working to answer many questions that remained about the confrontation. No video of it has emerged publicly. Witnesses said they heard three sets of gunshots, about 30 in all.
Associated Press
DNA Match Leads To Arrest In 1989 Double Murder Cold Case
A drop of blood that was subjected to modern DNA testing enabled Vermont State Police detectives to make an arrest in the 1989 murder of a Danby couple found stabbed to death in their home, police said. Michael Anthony Louise, 79, was arrested Thursday in Syracuse, New York, on two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of George Peacock, 76, and Catherine Peacock, 73, police said. The Peacocks were found dead on Sept. 17, 1989. There were no signs of forced entry or items of significance having been removed from the house. Louise, who was married to one of the Peacocks' daughters, was identified as a suspect about two weeks later. Investigators at the time developed circumstantial evidence tying Louise to the killings, police said. Detectives were unable to establish a conclusive link until forensic testing in May 2020 confirmed a DNA match to George Peacock in a spot of blood found inside Louise's car in October 1989. The blood sample had been tested previously, but earlier tests were inconclusive.
Associated Press
Public Safety News
Doctors, Medical Experts Warning About Spike In Flu, COVID-19 Cases
There are so many sick kids being admitted to Children's Hospital of Orange County that doctors there are starting to sound the alarm to parents. Cases of the influenza virus (flu) and COVID-19 are going up. On Monday, 418 patients checked into the CHOC emergency department, a record number of patients for the hospital. "So many patients everywhere we've never seen anything like this," Vice President of Patient Care at CHOC Dr. Melanie Patterson told CBSLA Orange County Michele Gile. "In fact I started at CHOC 35 years ago, I've not seen so many patients even during our busiest times during the winter." CHOC nurses told Gile that the majority of these young patients are battling the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID. Two-year-old Anthony Vasquez left CHOC this afternoon after being checked out for pneumonia. His parents took him to the hospital after his cough continued to get worse.
CBS 2
Local Government News
LA City Council Scandal: Acting President Frustrated Over Refusal Of De Leon, Cedillo To Step Down
Acting Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O'Farrell says he is frustrated at the refusal of Councilmen Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León to step down from their seats following racially charged remarks they made in an October 2021 meeting. Since the release of the leaked audio tapes, Nury Martinez has stepped down from her position as council president and has resigned from the city council. Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, who also took part in the recorded conversation, resigned from his post Monday night. Now, there are growing demands for de Leon and Cedillo to step down as well. "What our jobs are is to put our personal feelings and our personal ambitions and our egos to the side as elected officials and do what's best for the city," O'Farrell said during a press conference Thursday. O'Farrell said he had a lengthy conversation with Cedillo Wednesday who is "taking things into consideration"; however, O'Farrell hasn't been able to reach de León.
FOX 11
LA City Council Scandal: Acting President Frustrated Over Refusal Of De Leon, Cedillo To Step Down
Acting Los Angeles City Council President Mitch O'Farrell says he is frustrated at the refusal of Councilmen Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León to step down from their seats following racially charged remarks they made in an October 2021 meeting. Since the release of the leaked audio tapes, Nury Martinez has stepped down from her position as council president and has resigned from the city council. Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera, who also took part in the recorded conversation, resigned from his post Monday night. Now, there are growing demands for de Leon and Cedillo to step down as well. "What our jobs are is to put our personal feelings and our personal ambitions and our egos to the side as elected officials and do what's best for the city," O'Farrell said during a press conference Thursday. O'Farrell said he had a lengthy conversation with Cedillo Wednesday who is "taking things into consideration"; however, O'Farrell hasn't been able to reach de León.
FOX 11
