Law Enforcement News

LAPD: Possible Road Rage Shooting Under Investigation In North Hollywood
A possible road rage shooting investigation is underway Wednesday in North Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, it happened just before 8 a.m. in the area near Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Strathern Street. SkyFOX video over the scene shows a bullet hole on the front passenger door of the car. No one was injured, police said. Authorities are reportedly searching for a Porsche SUV that may be involved. The investigation remains ongoing.
FOX 11

Pedestrian Killed On 10 Freeway In DTLA Near San Pedro Street Off-Ramp
A pedestrian was killed after being struck by multiple vehicles on the 10 Freeway Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. California Highway Patrol officers responded a 3:34 a.m. to the eastbound freeway at the San Pedro Street off-ramp where they found the victim in the middle lanes of the freeway, CHP Officer Michael Nasir said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. CHP closed two lanes of the freeway while they conducted an investigation of the collision.
CBS 2

2 Arrested After Underground Drug Lab Discovered At Granada Hills Home, LAPD Says
Police discovered what they called an "elaborate underground illicit drug lab" at a home in Granada Hills, resulting in the arrest of two people. Officers made the discovery Wednesday night at the home in the 16000 block of Hiawatha Street. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, including the LAPD and the Department of Justice. Police released photos from inside the home, which show a hatch in the floor leading to a ladder that drops down into the room. Authorities reported finding ecstasy, fentanyl, date-rape drugs, hash oil and mushrooms in the lab, among other items. Eyewitness News was told that neighbors thought activity at the home was suspicious since it was bought. When police first arrived, they saw a marijuana growing operation so they returned with a search warrant and discovered the underground operation. A man and woman were arrested.
ABC 7

Final Defendant Gets Probation In Shooting Of Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker
The final defendant charged in connection with the shooting of Lady Gaga’s dog walker during the theft of two of the singer’s French bulldogs last year pleaded no contest Wednesday and was placed on two years probation. Jennifer McBride — who police said reported that she found the dogs and responded to a reward offer for their return — was originally charged with one count each of being an accessory after the fact and receiving stolen property. She pleaded no contest Wednesday to the charge of receiving stolen property with a value of $950 or more, and was immediately sentenced to two years probation. Authorities said the 52-year-old woman, who brought the dogs to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division, allegedly had a relationship with co-defendant Harold White, the 42-year-old father of another co-defendant who took part in the actual theft, Jaylin White.
LA Daily News

LAPD Seeks Public’s Help In Locating Missing Teen Last Seen In Cypress Park
The Los Angeles Police Department sought the public’s help Wednesday to locate a missing 14-year-old girl last seen in Cypress Park. Esperanza Raquel Garcia was last seen on around 11 p.m. Monday in the area of the 2900 block of Elm Street, near Rio De Los Angeles State Park, police said. Esperanza has no prior history of running away, according to the LAPD. Esperanza was described as being 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighing 135 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a black zip-up sweater, black “pro-club” sweat pants and black Vans shoes. Anyone with information about her whereabouts was encouraged to call LAPD Northeast Division juvenile detectives at 323-561-3421. Anonymous tips can be made by calling 800-222-8477.
MyNewsLA

LASD Investigating Fatal Shooting In Compton
Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting that took place in Compton on Wednesday. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the shooting occurred at around 2:10 p.m. in the 1400 block of Long Beach Boulevard. Deputies dispatched to the scene found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no information immediately available on either a suspect or motive in the shooting. Anyone with information was asked to contact investigators at (323) 890-5500.
CBS 2

Family Shot At While Attempting To Report House Fire In Compton; Mother's Head Grazed By Bullet
A family is on edge after a gunman shot at their vehicle in Compton Saturday night while they were trying to report a house fire in the area, and they're calling on the city to boost its safety efforts. It happened in 1200 block of Rosecrans Avenue. The parents told Eyewitness News they were with their daughter driving home from a Christmas Party when they came across a burning home. As the parents got the address of the house to report the fire, they said a car pulled up next to them. That's when two men got out of the vehicle and began shooting at the family, they said. "My mind was just like, 'I can't believe we're being shot at right now,'" said the mother, who did not wish to be identified. "As we were driving down the street away from the gunmen, they were chasing us down the street still shooting at us. I'm more than sure they both emptied their guns on us but eight of those bullets ended up hitting our car and the other ones were just free bullets."
ABC 7

Investigators Seek Man Who Exposed Himself To Juveniles In Westmont Area
Sheriff’s officials reached out to the public Wednesday for help identifying and locating a man who exposed himself to two juveniles in the Westmont area. According to the sheriff’s department, the man exposed his genitalia and fondled himself in front of the juveniles on Nov. 21 at a laundromat in the 9300 block of Normandie Avenue. A portion of the crime was captured on surveillance camera. The suspect was described as a 40- to 50-year-old man, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9 with a thin build, gray collar-length hair and a light complexion. He was last seen wearing black-rimmed glasses, a light gray long-sleeved shirt, dark gray pants, a gray baseball hat and a black surgical mask. Anyone with information was asked to contact the sheriff’s department Special Victims Bureau at 877-710-5273. Anonymous tips can also be made through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
MyNewsLA

$25,000 Reward Offered In The Murder Of A Los Angeles County Man
A $25,000 reward is being offered on Tuesday in the unsolved murder of a man in Pasadena. In November 2020, Ernesto Jimenez, 27, was found shot to death and lying on the sidewalk on the 200 block of Parke Street. Jimenez had left his home after dinner and was walking to Villa Park when he was shot multiple times, police said. He attempted to run back home, but collapsed before he could arrive. When officers arrived, they found Jimenez with multiple gunshot wounds on his torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Affectionately known as “Big Ernesto” in his local community, loved ones say Jimenez was known for playing music at the park. Officials say he had no gang affiliations. “It’s been more than two years since Ernesto’s life violently ended while he was walking to his neighborhood park,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who announced the reward. “I’m hopeful that this reward increase will encourage anyone with information to come forward. Every bit of information helps. Ernesto’s family and the community at large deserve answers, justice, and closure.”
KTLA 5

Harvey Weinstein Will Face 18 Years In California, Sentencing Enhancement Failed
Harvey Weinstein faces a shorter prison sentence in California after a Los Angeles jury failed to reach a verdict on whether the disgraced mogul planned his attack on a woman he was convicted of raping. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on the issue Tuesday after the panel reported it could not agree on special allegations that Weinstein planned his assault on a model-actor in 2013, and whether she was “particularly vulnerable.” If the jury had found that either circumstance applied, Weinstein would have faced an enhanced maximum term of 24 years when he is sentenced next year. Tuesday’s development means Weinstein, who was convicted of rape and sexual assault charges a day earlier, will face up to 18 years in prison. Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020.
NBC 4

California Judge Rejects New Murder Trial For Scott Peterson
A California judge on Tuesday rejected a new murder trial for Scott Peterson, nearly 20 years after he was charged with dumping the bodies of his pregnant wife, Laci, and the unborn child they planned to name Conner into San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002. Peterson alleged the resulting trial that gripped the world was tainted by a rogue juror who lied about her own history of abuse to get on the panel that initially sent him to death row. Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo found there was no evidence to support the defense claim that Juror No. 7, Richelle Nice, committed misconduct during jury selection. Nice did not intentionally conceal information about her life on the jury questionnaire or misrepresent her financial situation to stay on the jury, and did not appear vengeful toward Peterson in letters she later wrote him in prison, Massullo said. “The Court concludes that Juror No. 7’s responses were not motivated by pre-existing or improper bias against [Peterson], but instead were the result of a combination of good faith misunderstanding of the questions and sloppiness in answering,” the judge wrote in her decision.
LA Times

Video Shows Moment Cuffed Suspect Shot Denver Cop In The Neck Outside Jail
New bodycam video of a Denver jail shooting that nearly cost an officer his life was recently released by the Denver Department of Public Safety. Officer Jordan Archuleta was allegedly shot in the neck by Daniel Cheeseman as he was in the process of being booked into Denver’s downtown detention center last month. Bodycam videos from Archuleta, his partner, Alicia Martinez, and Cpl. Thomas Schmidt, who was parked inside a nearby marked police car when the shooting happened, show the incident beginning in the sally port of the detention center after Cheeseman had been arrested by Archuleta and Martinez for motor vehicle theft, drug possession and being a felon in possession of a gun. According to KDVR News, officers recovered a “high capacity handgun” and a “very large quantity of suspected fentanyl” inside a backpack owned by Cheeseman during the initial arrest. However, Cheeseman was also in possession of a second gun that officers were not aware of at the time.
PoliceOne

Florida Deputy, Dispatcher Save Choking Baby At 'Shop With A Cop' Event
An off-duty Flagler County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher and her deputy husband were attending a “Shop with a Cop” event when they noticed a baby choking and immediately jumped into action to save his life. JAX News 4 reported that dispatcher Lindsey Stanford and her husband, Deputy Richard Stanford, noticed the baby struggling to breathe as the child’s mother desperately tried to clear an obstruction from his throat. Using the Heimlich maneuver, the pair successfully forced a button from the baby’s airway. The baby made a full recovery, according to officers. “While there was a frightening moment, I’m very proud of everyone involved in this lifesaving event that could have had a much different outcome,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly told JAX News. “You never know when you may have to jump into action and save a life in this profession.”
PoliceOne

Public Safety News

COVID-19 Hospitalizations Up Slightly In LA County; 3,000 New Cases Reported
The number of COVID-19-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals rose slightly, while the county reported another 3,080 new infections and 23 more virus-related deaths in its latest data. According to state figures, there were 1,274 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Wednesday, up from 1,251 on Tuesday. Of those patients, 152 were being treated in intensive care units. Health officials have estimated that roughly 40% of patients with the virus were admitted for actual COVID-related ailments, while others were hospitalized for other reasons, with many only learning they were infected upon admission. The county has been closely monitoring hospital figures as it weighs whether to re-impose a universal indoor mask-wearing mandate.
MyNewsLA

Local Government News

Los Angeles County Extends Eviction Moratorium Until End Of January
Los Angeles County will extend its eviction moratorium and tenant protections until at least Jan. 31, with the possibility of stretching them through June and creating a financial relief program for small landlords, under a measure approved by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. "The purpose of my motion today is to align with the city of L.A.," said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who authored the motion calling for the extension of county protections -- which were set to expire at the end of the year -- until Jan. 31. The Los Angeles City Council has already voted to end the city's eviction moratorium and tenant protections on Jan. 31. Mitchell's motion also cited the surge of the "respiratory illness trifecta" of COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, that could create further burdens for renters during the winter. Tenant protections were enacted by the county and many other jurisdictions at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its public-health lockdowns that forced many people out of work.
ABC 7