Suspect In Uber Crash That Killed 3 In South L.A. Was On Probation In Murder Case, LAPD Says

The man accused of killing three people — including two sisters — when he crashed into their Uber in South Los Angeles was out of jail on probation in connection with a murder case, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Los Angeles resident Gregory Black, 31, faces three charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, and if convicted could face up to 25 years in prison to life for each charge, LAPD Det. Ryan Moreno said at a Wednesday morning news conference in Los Angeles. Black, a “well-known gang member” in the area, was out on five-year probation, police said. At about 5:20 a.m. Saturday, Black was allegedly traveling north on Vermont Avenue in a white Mercedes-Benz when he ran a red light at Century Boulevard and T-boned a black Honda operating as an Uber and carrying four passengers, according to Moreno. Black was traveling “at an extremely high rate of speed,” Moreno said. The force of the crash spun the Honda around five times before it landed against a curb, Moreno said. The three passengers sitting in the back of the Uber were pronounced dead at the scene. They were identified as sisters Veronica Amezola, 23, and Kimberly Izquierdo, 27, and their friend, Juvelyn Arroyo, 23.

Los Angeles Times

Man Fatally Shot In South Los Angeles Identified

A 35-year-old man who was fatally shot in the South Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles was identified Thursday by county authorities. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Newton Division were called at 11:54 p.m. Tuesday to Broadway and 54th Street, west of the Harbor (110) Freeway where witnesses told them an unknown assailant approached the victim and shot him several times, an LAPD spokeswoman told City News Service. The victim, who the Los Angeles County Medical -Examiner’ office identified as Robert Pitts, was found on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced Pitts dead at the scene. There was no suspect information.

MyNewsLA

Authorities Searching For Guitar Thief In L.A. County

Authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help in identifying a woman whole stole a pair of guitars from a Westlake Village music store earlier this month. The theft occurred on Aug. 13 just before 4 p.m. at a Guitar Center located at 30730 Russell Ranch Rd. A female suspect entered the establishment and walked around the store looking at guitars, according to LASD’s bulletin. When store employees were distracted, the woman walked out of the store with two guitars and made no attempt to purchase the merchandise. One of the stolen instruments, valued at nearly $1,000, was an Epiphone 1959 Les Paul Standard Outfit electric guitar. The other, valued at more than $900, was a Fender Player Stratocaster HSS Plus. Anyone with information about this incident who may recognize the woman in the photo is urged to contact LASD’s Malibu/Lost Hills Station at 818-878-1808. Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or online at L.A. Crime Stoppers.  

KTLA 5

FBI Seeking Help Locating Man Who Robbed Armored Truck At Gunpoint In El Segundo

Federal investigators are seeking the public's help in identifying or locating a man who robbed an armored truck at gunpoint in El Segundo in February. According to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an unidentified man robbed an armored truck near a bank at 835 N. Pacific Coast Highway on Feb. 21. Investigators say that the man held the driver at gunpoint during the robbery. "The suspect was seen entering the passenger seat of a maroon-colored sedan," the statement said. He has been described as a man in his 40s who stands around 5-foot, 11-inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. He has a dark complexion with moles or skin tags behind his right ear. During the robbery, the suspect was wearing an orange reflective vest, a blue cloth mask, a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and black shoes. As they continue the investigation, the FBI is offering a reward of up to $15,000 leading to the arrest and conviction of the robber and the driver involved. Anyone with information is asked to contact their local FBI office. 

CBS 2

Pasadena Smash-and-Grab: Thieves Steal $500,000 Worth Of Jewelry, Owner Says

A group of thieves allegedly ran off with $500,000 worth of jewelry in a smash-and-grab robbery in Pasadena. The Pasadena Police Department responded to a call in the 400 block of South Lake Avenue a little after 1:45 p.m. Tuesday. Police were told four men in ski masks ransacked the jewelry store. At one point, one of the suspects pepper-sprayed the owner during the brazen afternoon robbery. Shortly after the robbery, FOX 11 caught up with the owner, Samuel Babikian, who was distraught by the incident. Babikian said the pepper spray briefly blinded him and gave him breathing problems, so he couldn't give a detailed description of the suspects. Babikian said he has owned the business for more than 40 years. He added he doesn't know what the future holds. "I don't even know what I would do tomorrow morning," Babikian said, holding back tears. No arrests have been announced.

FOX 11

Georgia Sheriff Killed In Car Crash While Responding To Call

The Wilcox County Sheriff was killed in a crash Tuesday afternoon while responding to a call, according to the county coroner. Sheriff Robert Rodgers crashed shortly after 4 p.m., Coroner Janice Brown told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The crash happened on Ga. 233 north of Rochelle, about 75 miles south of Macon. Rodgers died at the scene. “He was a good friend,” Brown said. “I just talked to him yesterday.” The Georgia State Patrol was investigating the crash. Brown said there was no indication the crash was weather-related. “The vehicle traveled off the roadway where it struck a tree and came to rest on the driver’s side,” the State Patrol said in an email late Tuesday. Numerous police agencies posted condolences to the sheriff’s family and his agency on Facebook. The Wilcox school system also posted about Rodgers. “Please remember the family of Sheriff Robert Rodgers and the Wilcox County Georgia Sheriff’s Office in your prayers,” the school system posted. “Robert was a diligent servant to our county and a huge supporter of the school system. He will be greatly missed!” Rodgers is the second member of the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Office to be killed in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page that tracks law enforcement deaths. A deputy sheriff was shot to death in 1965.

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Video: Off-Duty NYPD Officer Shot During Road Rage Incident

Video footage has surfaced showing the moment an off-duty police officer was wounded in an alleged road-rage-induced shooting in Queens on Wednesday. According to the NYPD, two suspects jumped the police officer and attempted to take the cop's service weapon. The 30-second clip — which was first obtained by the New York Post — appears to have been taken from a residence that faces the street, and shows two men wrestling on the asphalt. Two loud pops can be heard about 10 seconds apart. The NYPD said in a press conference the wounded officer was driving along Queens Boulevard and 70th Street in Elmhurst at approximately 12:45 p.m. when he got into a traffic feud with a minivan. When stopped at the intersection, a person associated with the minivan proceeded to smash the officer's back window with an unknown object, police said. The officer then got out of his personal vehicle to perform a lawful arrest of the two suspects, when the suspects began to fight the officer for his gun, discharging two rounds in the struggle, according to the NYPD. Emergency services transported the officer and one suspect to a nearby hospital. The officer sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the thigh. The suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the hand.

Staten Island Advance

Crews Knock Down Residential Fire In Lincoln Heights

A single-story house fire was quickly knocked down Wednesday in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. Firefighters responded to the 2300 block of North Lincoln Park Avenue near North Broadway at around 2:40 p.m. to a report of a residential fire, according to spokesman Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It took 36 firefighters some 23 minutes to fully extinguish the flames, the department said. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

MyNewsLA

Los Angeles Hospital Looking To Identify Man Hospitalized For More Than 2 Weeks

Los Angeles General Medical Center is asking for the public to help identify a man who has been hospitalized for more than two weeks. The patient has been in the Boyle Heights hospital since Aug. 14 when he was found at the intersection of Griffin Avenue and E. Avenue 31 in Lincoln Heights. The man is described as being about 60 years old with a medium build, gray hair and brown eyes. He’s 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 186 pounds, the hospital said. The hospital is unable to describe the extent of his injuries due to patient confidentiality laws, but images provided by L.A. General appeared to show the man unconscious. Anyone with information about the man’s identity is urged to contact licensed clinical social workers Daisy Rivera at 323-409-3754 or Nicole Crayon at 323-409-3877. 

KTLA 5

LA City Council Seeking Legal Action Against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott After 11th Bus Of Migrants Arrives

On a day when another bus of migrants from Texas arrived in Los Angeles, the City Council Wednesday approved a motion asking the City Attorney's Office to investigate whether Texas Gov. Greg Abbott committed any crimes when he sent 42 migrants on a 23-hour bus ride to downtown Los Angeles in June. The motion requests the office to begin proceedings on any potential legal action that could be taken against the state of Texas, Abbott, or any other entity involved in the planning and action of busing migrants to Union Station, where they arrived June 14. The council voted 13-0 to approve the motion, which was introduced by council members Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman, Monica Rodriguez and Hugo Soto-Martínez on June 16. Hernandez and Councilman Curren Price were absent during the vote. Texas has sent 11 buses of migrants to Los Angeles, beginning with the June 14 arrival, containing a total of 435 migrants. The latest bus arrived Wednesday and contained 35 asylum seekers from Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Russia and Venezuela, according to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

CBS 2

LA City Council Passes Mansion Tax Spending Plan

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday passed a spending plan supporters say will quickly move funds raised from the city's so-called mansion tax to programs designed to reduce the housing crisis in the city. Around $55 million has already been raised by Measure ULA, which went into effect April 1. L.A. voters passed the measure last November with the promise that funds it raised would be used to alleviate the city's homelessness problem and shortage of affordable housing. The plan approved by the council directs $150 million into six programs, including short-term emergency rental assistance, eviction defense, tenant outreach and education, direct cash assistance for low-income seniors and people living with disabilities, protections from tenant harassment and affordable housing production. The funding will be used "to stabilize tenants and keep them housed, to educate tenants about their rights, protect them from harassment, and to build as many more housing units as possible," said Ann Sewill, General Manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department.

ABC 7

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,900 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.