Seeking Justice For Matthew Price: Killer Sought In Murder Of 27-Year-Old TikTok Star

He was on the verge of TikTok superstardom. At least, that’s what Matthew Price was hoping for as he raised his profile among magic and comedy circles around Los Angeles. But his sudden murder in South LA ended every dream he ever had. “I don’t know how I feel right now,” his mother, Danuta Richey says, after traveling from their hometown near Ft. Myers, Florida to 78th and Broadway, Los Angeles, where the 27-year-old Price died of a single gunshot wound. “You just never know how quickly life can end,” she says through tears. “And it changes everything. Everything.” LAPD South Bureau Homicide Officer Patrick Farmer was there the night Price was killed, Nov. 21, 2021. There happened to be a street festival happening nearby. Broadway was closed off for it. Price had gone to a nearby market for a few snacks and was walking back to his shared apartment. “There was people walking around, there was a street fair on Broadway in the area,” Officer Farmer says. "He was walking back to his house, we have the surveillance video but no indication why he was shot.” The surveillance video shows Price walking across 78th Street, a couple others walking on the sidewalk nearby. The flash from the gun is too faint to make out, but the collapse from Price is evident as he falls and writhes in pain. He was shot in the leg and would later bleed out. Paramedics took him to the hospital where doctors tried to save him.

NBC 4

Rise Of Drug Overdose Deaths And Crime Pushes Metro To Weigh More Security

With an upswing in drug use, rising crime and a growing number of drug overdose deaths on Metro trains and buses, transit officials are looking to increase security on the system. Twenty-one people have died on trains and buses in the Metro system so far this year. There was one homicide, but most died from apparent overdoses. That’s as many who died in all of 2022 and marks a significant departure from the previous years. Gina Osborn, the top safety officer of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, presented data to the Metro executive board on Thursday showing an alarming rise in crime and plans next month to ask for an increase in Metro transit safety officers riding the system. Complaints about drug use and sales reported on the Metro Transit Watch app skyrocketed nearly 100% last year, compared with the previous year, she said. During the same time, reports of serious crimes shot up 24%. And operators were being assaulted at a rate of about 14 every month. Among the deaths were a man stabbed at the Westlake/MacArthur Park station last month. At a downtown station, there was another stabbing on Valentine’s Day. Also last week, a female passenger was dragged from a Blue Line platform and assaulted before another passenger saved her.

Los Angeles Times

LAPD Seeks Driver In Pico-Union Hit-and-Run

The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for the driver of a car that hit a pedestrian in Pico-Union earlier this month. The pedestrian was crossing Hoover Street north of Washington Boulevard around 11:45 p.m. Feb. 9 when they were hit by a white, four-door Honda Civic from 2000-05, police said in a news release. The car has dark tinted windows and after-market wheels, police added. The driver fled the scene, police said. The victim, meanwhile, was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. They are currently in stable condition, police said. Anyone with information is asked to call 213-473-0234. During weekends and off-hours calls, should be directed to the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247).

KTLA 5

Mom, Boyfriend ‘Monsters', Prosecutor Says In Closing Arguments Of Trial In Boy's Death

A prosecutor told a judge on Thursday that a Lancaster woman and her boyfriend are “evil” and “monsters'' and should be held accountable for the murder and torture of her 10-year-old son, while the woman's attorney countered that her client should be acquitted of the most serious charges. Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta is hearing the case of Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37, as a result of a decision by both sides to waive their right to a jury trial. Barron and Leiva are charged with one count each of murder and torture involving the June 2018 death of Anthony Avalos, along with two counts of child abuse involving the boy's half-siblings, identified in court as “Destiny O.” and “Rafael O.” The murder count includes the special circumstance allegation of murder involving the infliction of torture. Over Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami's objection, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office dropped its bid for the death penalty against the two after the election of District Attorney George Gascón, who issued a directive that “a sentence of death is never an appropriate resolution in any case.”

NBC 4

Harvey Weinstein Gets 16 Years Tacked Onto Existing Prison Term After Conviction In LA Rape Case

A Los Angeles judge on Thursday sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in prison after a jury convicted him of the 2013 rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model. The sentence comes on top of the more than 20 years the 70-year-old Weinstein has left to serve for a similar 2020 conviction in New York, furthering the fall of the onetime movie magnate who became a #MeToo magnet. Weinstein directly appealed to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench, saying: "I maintain that I'm innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1." The woman who Weinstein was convicted of raping sobbed in the courtroom as he spoke. Moments earlier she had told the judge about the pain she felt after being attacked by Weinstein. "Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God," the woman, who was identified in court only as Jane Doe 1, said. "I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage."

ABC 7

L.A. Man Charged With Hacking Into Instagram Influencers’ Accounts To Obtain Money, Sexually Explicit Video Chats

A downtown Los Angeles man is being accused of “SIM swapping” to hijack social media influencers’ Instagram accounts in an effort to obtain money and engage in sexually explicit video chats with him, officials announced Thursday. Amir Hossein Golshan, 24, was charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, one count of accessing a computer to defraud and obtain value, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of threatening to damage a protected computer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California said. “SIM swapping” means fraudulently inducing a carrier to reassign a cellphone number from the legitimate subscriber or user’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by another without the legitimate subscriber or user’s authorization, officials explained. Between April 2019 and February of this year, prosecutors say Golshan schemed to defraud female influencers, models and their friends on social media. He allegedly targeted the influencers and caused the victims’ cellphone numbers to be SIM swapped, according to a federal grand jury indictment.

KTLA 5

Chatsworth Man Faces Sentencing In Stalking Cases

A San Fernando Valley man faces sentencing Friday in two cases involving stalking, including one in which he admitted cyberstalking two sisters by sending them text messages that threatened them with rape and murder. Alex Roberts, 27, of Chatsworth, pleaded guilty to one count of cyberstalking, and — in a separate case brought by federal prosecutors in Macon, Georgia, but transferred to Los Angeles — also pleaded guilty to one count of stalking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. According to his plea agreement in the Los Angeles case, in July and August 2020, Roberts used text messages and internet communications to place the two victims “in reasonable fear of death and serious bodily injury,” and that he intended to cause “substantial emotional distress.” After Roberts was told by the victim and her family that she did not want to communicate with him, he created a listing on Craigslist that offered a room for rent at her home and invited prospective renters to “stop by anytime,” according to the indictment filed in Los Angeles federal court.

MyNewsLA

Gunman Sentenced To Up To 60 Years In Prison For 2019 Killing Of Detroit Police Officer

A Detroit man was sentenced Wednesday to 46 to 60 years in prison for the fatal shootings of a Detroit police officer and two other men in the span of four days in 2019. JuJuan Parks, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the unrelated deaths of Detroit Police Officer Rasheen McClain and Nathaniel Loyd. Charges connected to the death of Dontez Calhoun were dismissed as a part of a plea deal. The plea agreement was made in consultation with the families of all the victims, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Penney said during Parks' sentencing Wednesday. Penney read a letter written by McClain's widow, Heidi McClain, who was present during the sentencing but did not speak. In the letter, Heidi McClain said Parks violently took away an amazing person from his family, friends and community and gave her a "lifetime sentence of pain and grief." "I will never understand or accept how a person can be so evil with so much hate in their heart that they can take a person's life," Heidi McClain wrote.

Detroit News

'Hold Your Heart Open': Officers, Community Members Attend Funeral For Kansas City Cop, K-9

A funeral and public visitation Wednesday honored a Kansas City police officer killed in the line of duty last week. Community members paid their respects to Officer James Muhlbauer, 42, and his police K-9 Champ at the visitation at Municipal Auditorium Wednesday morning. A funeral service, filled to capacity, followed the visitation. After the funeral, a procession transported the fallen officer from the Municipal Auditorium to the funeral home. Muhlbauer was patrolling with Champ on Feb. 15 when they were struck by another vehicle near Truman Road and Benton Boulevard. Both Muhlbauer and Champ were killed. Police said the impact caused a secondary collision that killed pedestrian Jesse Eckes, 52. A Tonganoxie man is facing charges in the crash. More than 100 people filtered through the auditorium to watch the procession to honor Muhlbauer and Champ. Everyone stood in silence for 10 minutes after gun shots rang out in honor of Muhlbauer’s service. A flag was folded and removed from his caskets. “He served with honor and distinction,” an officer said over a speaker as her voice cracked. “Jim and Champ rest easy, we’ve got it from here.”

Kansas City Star

Florida Gunman Allegedly Kills 3, Including Reporter Covering Initial Shooting

A gunman accused of killing a woman in the Orlando area returned to the neighborhood hours later and shot four more people, killing a journalist covering the original shooting and a 9-year-old child, Florida police said. Spectrum News 13 identified the slain reporter Thursday as Dylan Lyons. Photographer Jesse Walden was also wounded. The two were in an unmarked news vehicle on Wednesday afternoon covering the first homicide when a man approached and shot them, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a news conference. The man then went to a nearby home where he fatally shot a girl and critically wounded her mother. The sheriff said police have detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for all of the shootings. Mina said police didn’t immediately know the motive for the shootings. He said Moses was an acquainted with the first victim but did not appear to have a connection with any of the others. He said it was not clear if Moses knew that two of the people shot were journalists and noted their vehicle didn’t look like a typical news van or have the station’s logo on it.

Los Angeles Daily News

LA County Reports 18 More COVID-Related Deaths

Los Angeles County reported 18 new COVID-19 deaths in its latest data, while the number of virus-positive hospital patients rose past 700 again. The 18 new fatalities gave the county an overall death toll from the pandemic of 35,631. The majority of people who die with COVID-19 are elderly or have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. According to state figures, there were 726 COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals as of Thursday, up from 698 a day earlier. Of those patients, 71 were being treated in intensive care, down from 84 on Wednesday. Some of the patients were hospitalized for other reasons and learned they had COVID upon admission. Meanwhile, the county reported 1,753 new COVID infections Thursday, lifting the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 3,700,188.

MyNewsLA

Firefighters Extinguish Blaze At North Hollywood Commercial Building

Fighting in a defensive mode, firefighters contained and quickly put out a fire at a one-story commercial building in North Hollywood Friday. Fire crews were called at 12:27 a.m. to 6669 Lankershim Blvd. and Archwood Street where they found flames coming from the vacant building, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. It took 34 firefighters 24 minutes to extinguish the flames. No injuries were reported.

MyNewsLA

All LA County Trails Closed Friday, Saturday Because Of Bad Weather

All trails and dozens of parks are closed Friday and Saturday as Los Angeles County receives heavy rain and wind. Here is a list of the regional facilities and lakes closed during the weekend: Castaic Lake and State Recreation Area, Frank G. Bonelli and Regional Park, Blackwill Equestrian Park, William S. Hart Regional Park, Marshall Canyon Regional Park and Nursery, Kenneth Hahn Regional Park, Santa Fe Dam Recreational Area, Peter F. Schabarum Regional Park, and Whittier Narrows Recreational Area. Much of Los Angeles County is under a Flood Watch for the coming days and officials have issued a Phase 2 mudflow alert for Fish Fire burn scar area.

CBS 2

COVID-19 Deaths Top 100,000 In California: ‘Nobody ... Anticipated This Toll’

It was three years ago this month that California documented its first known victim of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the pandemic’s toll has breached a once-unthinkable level, with more than 100,000 deaths reported statewide, according to the California Department of Public Health. Unlike the first known victim — whose tragic brush with the coronavirus was recounted in detail during the pandemic’s early days — we may never know the identity of the individual who represents the latest grim milestone in an era marked with them. “The heartache of having so many people die weighs heavily on all of us here at public health,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “I think it weighs equally heavily on everybody who lives in our county, in our state and our country and the world. Nobody, I think, anticipated this toll. None of us wanted this to lead to so many people losing their lives, and it creates great sadness. It’s hard for our community to recover.” Even in a time of plentiful vaccines and therapeutics, when COVID-19 has been pushed to the back of many a mind, California is still tallying more than 20 deaths every day, on average.

Los Angeles Times

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.