Suspect Charged After Chicago Officer Dies After Shootout

A teenager was charged with first-degree murder and other counts Thursday after a Chicago police officer died from injuries suffered in a shootout, authorities said. Steven Montano, 18, of Chicago, also was charged with two felony firearms charges and misdemeanor counts of assault and interfering with reporting domestic violence, the Chicago Police Department announced in a news release Thursday night. Montano, who's in custody, is due in bond court Friday, the news release said. It wasn't clear whether Montano had an attorney who might comment on the allegations against him. The officer was shot several times Wednesday afternoon on the city’s Southwest Side, CPD Superintendent David Brown said. He was identified Thursday morning as Officer Andres Vasquez-Lasso, 32, by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. An autopsy Thursday classified his death as a homicide because multiple gunshot wounds.

Associated Press

Armed Man In Standoff With Police In Downtown Los Angeles

An armed man was barricaded in a building in the downtown Los Angeles area Friday, and a SWAT team was working to take him into custody, police said. Officers went to the 600 block of South Spring Street to serve a warrant about 3 a.m., the Los Angeles Police Department reported. The standoff was continuing more than four hours afterward, police said. No injuries were reported. Traffic was routed away from the area as a precaution. 

MyNewsLA

New: LAPD Officer Rashad Sharif Discovers A Murder Scene

As LAPD Officer Rashad Sharif is called to check on a home in posh Benedict Canyon with the back door left open, he is shocked when he happens upon a murder scene and a victim with Las Vegas Mafia connections. Blood & Money premieres Tuesday, March 7 at 10pm ET on CNBC.

CNBC Video

At Least Six Suspects At Large In Theft Of Armored Cars In L.A. Area, FBI And LAPD Say

A group of heavily armed robbers dubbed the “Chesapeake Bandits” is behind a series of heists targeting armored cars across the Los Angeles region, and authorities recently apprehended one of the alleged ringleaders, the FBI and local police announced Thursday. Federal prosecutors charged two of the key suspects involved in the five armed heists, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being stolen, authorities said. Deneyvous Hobson, 36, and James Russell Davis, 34, each face robbery and conspiracy charges. Hobson was taken into custody Feb. 21, while Davis remains a fugitive. At least five others believed to be part of the group — so called because investigators say they carefully planned the holdups at a home on Chesapeake Avenue in L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood — remain at large. “The defendants in this case and the other co-conspirators are heavily armed and pointed their weapons at the victims,” which in each case were security guards, U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said at a news conference at the FBI’s L.A. headquarters in Westwood. In one holdup, Estrada said, “a firearm was discharged” by a robber alleged to be Hobson. Video of one of the heists shows masked bandits welding an AR-style rifle with a short barrel, an optical sight and a large extended magazine. The bandits would force security guards to the ground at gunpoint, zip-tie them, and grab the money bags before fleeing.

Yahoo! News

Boyle Heights: Gunshot Victim Dropped Off At USC Medical; Driver Reports Shooting

Los Angeles police officers were investigating a reported shooting in Boyle Heights early Friday morning after a gunshot victim was dropped off at a hospital. Officers were called to USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights at 4:11 a.m. about a gunshot wound victim. The male adult victim was reportedly dropped off at the hospital at about 4 a.m., according to the LAPD. The unidentified person who dropped off the victim told medical staff the victim was shot near a Starbucks on Cornwell and Marengo streets. Officers found no evidence of a shooting at that location, police said. The victim was undergoing surgery and his condition was unknown. The incident was under investigation.

CBS 2

15 Arrested Across L.A. County In Crackdown On Fraudulent Benefit Cards

Local and federal authorities have arrested 15 people in Los Angeles County suspected of cloning Electronic Benefit Transfer cards and using them to drain the funds of Southern California’s poorest residents, the Justice Department said Thursday. More than 300 police officers and federal agents made the arrests early Wednesday while monitoring roughly 20 ATMs across the county, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. The arrests — part of a fraud crackdown dubbed Operation Urban Justice — led to the recovery of 429 fake EBT cards and $129,000 in cash, authorities said. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said in a statement that 11 of the 15 people arrested were Romanian nationals. The Romanian National Police were involved in the operation along with U.S. social services and law enforcement agencies. James Huse, special agent in charge with the L.A. field office of the Secret Service, said the arrests demonstrate “how a sophisticated and extensive criminal scheme can be disrupted and dismantled.”

Los Angeles Times

Man Reported Missing In San Pedro

A 79-year man who authorities say is dependent on medication and might be traveling with his wheelchair was reported missing Friday after he was last seen in San Pedro. Alfonso Salazar Rascon was last seen on Thursday at 9 p.m. on the 1400 block of Sixth Street, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said. Rascon is Latino, 5 feet, 8 inches tall, weighs 152 pounds, has gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a red and white beanie, a dark gray hoodie and gray pants. Authorities said Rascon has a possible destination of Long Beach. Anyone who has seen Rascon or knows of his whereabouts was asked to call the Sheriff’s Department’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or sent to lacrimestoppers.org.

MyNewsLA

California Woman In 'Looney Tunes' Shirt Suspected Of Robbing Grocery Store: Police

Northern California police officers are seeking a woman suspected of an armed robbery at a grocery store. The Smart and Final grocery store in Antioch, California was robbed by an armed thief on February 23. Police released photos of the suspect on Wednesday. The suspect was seen wearing a "Looney Tunes" t-shirt, a black fanny pack, light blue jeans and a mask. Officials also released a picture of the car associated with the suspect. "The pictured vehicle was also associated with her and is possibly a white Chevrolet Suburban with a black roof rack," the Antioch Police Department said. Officials believe she is between 190 and 200 pounds and stands between 5-foot and 5-foot-3. Authorities have not released any information about how the robbery occurred or how much merchandise was stolen. The Antioch Police Department urges anyone with information regarding the case to email [email protected] or call 925-481-8147. 

FOX News

Georgia County PD Solved 100% Of Homicides Over Last 2 Years

Over the past two years in Cobb County, Georgia, police have had 62 homicides and solved every single one of them – an unheard of 100% solve rate. Cobb County PD Chief Stuart VanHoozer said the average national homicide solve rate is around 54%, FOX5Atlanta.com reported. VanHoozer credits his officers’ tenacity to solve crime, as well as technology the department is utilizing like a real-time crime center, facial recognition and license plate readers. “We’ve had several cases that, at first, we thought we were never going to be able to solve this, but our guys stuck to it,” Lt. Tommy Noles, with the department’s homicide unit, said. The strongest technology tool the department has? VanHoozer says it’s license plate recognition technology: “We have Flock cameras all over the country.” But credits his detectives’ hard work, saying they sacrificed “hours and hours, with no sleep, and they exhausted all leads without fail.” Noles said their reward for the hard work is seeing families get justice.

PoliceOne

LAFD Station 62 Reunited With A Man Whose Life They Saved

Los Angeles City Firefighters and Paramedics responded to a man with a heart dysrhythmia, who then went into cardiac arrest in front of rescuers on scene. Their quick actions saved his life, and the patient, Anthony Taranto, was reunited with them on Wednesday at Fire Station 62 to say thank you. On August 6, 2022, at 11:00 AM, your LAFD received a 911 call to the 12500 block of Venice Boulevard, in the Mar Vista. Answering that 911 phone call was Firefighter/Dispatcher, Armando Diaz. Without delay, he acquired the necessary information and dispatched Engine 62 and Paramedic Rescue Ambulance 62 to the address of the emergency. Rescuers encountered the 52-year-old man sitting in his parked car inside an underground apartment garage. He was complaining of tingling in his arm, with symptoms including cool, pale and sweaty skin, but not experiencing chest pain.

Westside Current

Fire At Commercial Strip Near West Adams District Extinguished

A fire at a row of commercial buildings in the West Adams district was extinguished in 24 minutes by 39 firefighters, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported Friday. The fire was reported at 11:01 p.m. Thursday and firefighters responded to 5037 Exposition Blvd., near La Brea Avenue, where they encountered a unit heavily involved with fire and made their approach from the rear to get access to the flames, according to Nicholas Prange of the LAFD. No injuries were reported.

MyNewsLA

LAC+USC Medical Center Asking Public To Help Identify Patient 

The Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center is seeking the public’s help in identifying a male patient who has been hospitalized for one day. According to the hospital, the unidentified man is 60 years old, stands at 5’9” and weighs 163 pounds. He is of average build, and he has black and gray hair with brown eyes. Anyone with information is urged to contact the LAC+USC Medical Center Department of Social Work and speak with Cristol Perez, LCSW at 323-409-4317 or Brian Dillon, LCSW at 323-409-3134. 

KTLA 5

LA County Urges Continued COVID Precautions Despite Emergency Ending

With Los Angeles County’s local emergency declarations on COVID-19 set to end on the final day of March, the county health department is reminding residents the virus remains a concern — and that people should “continue taking sensible steps to protect themselves and others against severe illness and help keep hospitalization and death rates low.”“At Public Health, we are acutely aware that the pandemic is not over and that there are people within our county who continue to feel the hardships of COVID-19 every day,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health, said in a statement Thursday. “As we enter this new phase, residents of Los Angeles County are reminded that there is no change in their access to lifesaving tools. We will work with federal and state officials in the coming weeks and months to make sure this remains true. Vaccines, therapeutics and testing are the resources that got us to this place where there is less severe illness from COVID, and this is where we hope to stay.”

MyNewsLA

LA Gets Hit With $15M Claim After City Garbage Truck Kills Man

The City of LA has been hit with a $15 million wrongful death claim, filed by the mother of a 35-year-old man who was run over and killed by an LA Sanitation truck; it was the second fatal accident involving an LA garbage truck in two months. On January 25, according to the LAPD, the city truck was backing into an alley behind Burbank Boulevard and Noble Avenue in Sherman Oaks, to empty residential trash cans, when it ran over and killed 35-year-old David Soto-Toral. "Mr. Soto-Toral was seated in the middle of the alley, when he was struck and killed... [he] died from blunt head trauma immediately upon being struck," says the wrongful death claim, filed by attorney Robert Brennan on behalf of Sara Toral, David's mother. "He was a young man touched a lot of lives in a very positive way. He had a circle of friends which was huge," attorney Brennan told NBC4. "The day he died, a piece of me died. I cannot explain the pain," Sara Toral told the I-Team after the January accident. She says her son was a skateboarder so accomplished that he got sponsorships, and was building a career in the entertainment industry.

NBC 4

Homeless Crisis: Residents Voice Concern Over Idea Of Fence Around Echo Park Coming Down

In order to clean up homeless encampments, a chain-link fence was put around Echo Park in 2021. Now, LA City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez says the fence will come down at the end of March. The fence was criticized by activists as a form of division, but residents say they want the fence to stay up. Many Echo Park residents told FOX 11 that the fence has provided a safer and more peaceful and cleaner environment. At night the fence is locked, which prevents anyone from setting up a tent. In March of 2021, close to 200 unhoused people were removed from the park and offered housing. The park was briefly closed as city workers cleaned up encampments. The fence was then installed around the park. The park closure and removal of the homeless sparked days-long protests. During cleanup, crews removed 723.5 pounds of biological waste and 300 pounds of hazardous waste, which included ignitable, paint, sharp objects and drug paraphernalia.

FOX 11

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.