Metro Riders Concerned For Safety, Want More Security, After 3 Stabbings Occur Within 1 Week

Many Metro riders are concerned for their safety and are calling for more security after three separate stabbings have taken place on the mass transit system within one week. Last Thursday, two people were stabbed in separate incidents just hours apart from each other on the Red Line, and then a third person was stabbed on the Metro Blue Line in Long Beach on Wednesday. In Long Beach, police say investigators determined that the victim boarded the Metro train in an undisclosed area outside of Long Beach. At some point after the train entered Long Beach, three male suspects boarded the train and immediately approached the victim and physically assaulted him, police said. During the attack, one of the suspects pull out a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times, according to police. The suspects fled the scene on foot near First Street and Pine Avenue, police said. One Metro rider said the increase in crime is due to the number of people with severe mental problems who ride the Metro.

ABC 7

Boyle Heights Crash That Amputated 13-Year-Old's Leg Reignites Efforts For Speeding Ticket Cameras

It was on Boyle Heights' Whittier Boulevard where a security camera captured the moments a 29-year-old motorcyclist sped away from a horrific crash that claimed the leg of a 13-year-old boy. "I was in shock," said victim Josh Mora. "I know that detectives put a lot of work into finding its guy for me. Detective, he told us that he wouldn't sleep or eat just to find this guy." Detectives found their suspect in the case, Erwin Majano, two weeks after the collision. And while they found the guy they believed crashed into Mora, Los Angeles detectives are pleading with people to slow down. Most importantly, they asked that if you do hit someone, do the most basic thing and stop. "Please have these conversations," said an LAPD detective. "It's not just the moral imperative of remaining. It's the law." It's a hit-and-run like Mora's case, and countless others across Southern California and the state, that prompted state lawmakers to introduce legislation that would allow the installation of traffic safety cameras on dangerous roads. Burbank Assemblymember Laura Friedman co-sponsored the bill. 

CBS 2

LA business owner says nude homeless camp is deterring customers

A Los Angeles business owner is calling on officials to take action to remove a homeless encampment in her area that she says has nude inhabitants and is deterring customers. The woman, who asked to be identified only as “Debra,” told Eyewitness News that she has owned a hair business near San Vicente Boulevard in Beverly Grove for two decades, but issues with the nearby unhoused population increased more recently.

New York Post

LA small business owner forced to shut down after multiple thefts

A business owner in the San Fernando Valley is fed up and is closing shop after being victimized repeatedly by robbers. Evette Ingram, the owner of beauty supply stores across Los Angeles County, said she’s been burglarized and robbed twelve times. In some incidents, she was even threatened at knifepoint by shoplifters. 

Fox 11

Cyclist Hospitalized In South L.A. Hit-and-Run Collision

Officers responded to a hit and run at the intersection of Adams Boulevard and Trinity Street in South Los Angeles at about 3:40 a.m. Thursday. A vehicle reportedly struck a bicyclist on the 2500 block of Trinity, just north of Adams. The cyclist was hospitalized in serious condition. The vehicle did not stop to render aid and traveled from the scene in an unknown direction, according to police. Police said no description was available.

CBS 2

$58K Sofa Stolen From Beverlywood Furniture Store

A Beverlywood business was hit with the theft of a very expensive sofa, but now with a little help from some alert community members, the owners think they know who did it. Anyone who visits Merit in Beverlywood will notice they sell a lot of things, like "stuff that's hard to find" such as mid-century furniture, art, objects and taxidermy, owner Paul Bearman said. But early Monday, a burglar cut the video feed from a camera and broke into the business to steal a $58,000 sofa. “It’s called the Mah Jong Sofa. Missoni fabric -- it kind of looks like a woman’s dress. It’s just really pretty -- silk and corduroy -- a beautiful pattern,” Bearmn said. Marcos, the gallery director, described surveillance that shows a man backing up a white van in front of the business. He cut the video feed, then broke into the store and committed the crime. “The guy knew exactly what he was looking for. He didn’t take anything else. Broke in, took that one item and left,” Bearman said. The Los Angeles Police Department has not made an arrest and said its investigation is ongoing. 

NBC 4

Video Shows Thieves Stealing $25,000 Worth Of Wigs, Other Merchandise From Tarzana Beauty Store

A beauty supply store owner said she's been forced to shut down her shop in Tarzana after thieves broke into the business and stole about $25,000 worth of wigs and other merchandise - and she said this is one of the many break-ins she's experienced. It happened late Wednesday night at Evette's Beauty Supply located in the 18000 block of Ventura Boulevard. Owner Evette Ingram said a man and woman were caught smashing a window to get in the store before taking off with the merchandise in a getaway vehicle. Surveillance video shows the suspects inside the business, placing different pieces of merchandise in large black garbage bags. Ingram spoke with Eyewitness News on Thursday and said she's had to close all five of her stores in Los Angeles County due to the increase in thefts.

ABC 7

5 Arrested In L.A. County On Prostitution Charges

Five people were arrested on prostitution charges during an undercover operation in Pomona on Tuesday. The sting operation targeted sex purchasers and human trafficking in the area near East Holt Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard, according to Pomona Police Department. During the operation, undercover officers posed as sex workers and were “contacted by sex purchasers” in the area, police said. Five people were taken into custody on alleged prostitution charges: Timothy Macias, 34, from San Dimas, Mark Mendoza, 20, from Pomona, Juan Ramirezgonzalez, 40, from Rialto, Emmanoel Zakarian, 26, from Glendale, and Micaelo Duran, 26, from Rowland Heights. The operation was a joint effort by the Pomona Police Department Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department of Human Trafficking Team.

KTLA 5

Two Men Arrested In Home Depot Theft Ring In Southland

One man pleaded not guilty Thursday and another man is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in an alleged retail theft ring that operated out of Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties for about two years and netted more than $76,000. Luis Alberto Delasancha, 31, pleaded not guilty to 25 counts of grand theft and a count of organized retail grand theft, all felonies. He was ordered to return to court April 21 for a pretrial hearing in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. Co-defendant Agustin Garfiaz, 26, of Bellflower, was charged with organized retail grand theft and a count of receiving stolen property, both felonies. He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in the jail courtroom in Santa Ana. Both were arrested Wednesday. Co-defendants Jose Delasancha, 32, and Everado Carrillo-Avilez, 39, were both listed in court records as fugitives.

MyNewsLA

Watch: Florida Deputy Trapped In Flipped Cruiser After Driver Rams Into It On Interstate

A sheriff’s deputy was trapped in his flipped patrol car after it was rammed from behind on Interstate 75 in Florida, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. Good Samaritans rushed to help the deputy, who was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The other driver died in the crash, which remains under investigation. It happened late Monday, April 10, near Gainesville, as multiple deputies were trying to intercept a “reckless driver” creating havoc on the interstate, the sheriff’s office said. Gainesville is about 70 miles southwest of Jacksonville. “Callers reported that a gray SUV was swerving between all 3 lanes, driving at high speeds and had already struck a semi. ... The vehicle did not stop,” the sheriff’s office reported. “Deputy (Thomas) Sapundjieff was parked on the shoulder of I-75, just south of NW 39th Avenue, when he notified (a dispatcher) he could see the vehicle traveling up behind him. Within seconds of that transmission, the violator vehicle struck Deputy Sapundjieff’s vehicle.” Dash cam video shows the patrol car was sent spinning off the interstate, flipped onto its side and began smoking.

The Charlotte Observer

SoCal Child Tests Positive For Tuberculosis

A child tested positive for active tuberculosis in Riverside County on Thursday. The child attends Raymond Cree Middle School in Palm Springs and was briefly hospitalized, but is now receiving treatment at home, according to Riverside County officials. The student is expected to survive. Parents of around 50 students received an email from the Riverside University Health System-Public Health and the Palm Springs Unified School District informing them that their child may have been exposed to the illness. About 20 staff members who were possibly exposed were also notified. Another letter informing parents about the TB case is being sent out, but that letter is only informational. The children of parents who receive the informational letter are not considered at risk for exposure, officials note. A screening clinic for students will be held on April 18 in which parents were encouraged to have their children participate.

KTLA 5

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.