Suspect Arrested In The Ambush Killing Of A Newly Engaged Los Angeles Deputy. This Is What The Sheriff Wants The Public To Know

After an hourslong standoff, a 29-year-old man suspected of gunning down a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Monday. But the reason behind the killing remains a mystery. Kevin Cataneo Salazar is accused of ambushing and shooting Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, as the deputy waited at a red light in his patrol car Saturday, Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said. Cataneo Salazar surrendered after deputies deployed chemical agents at his home Monday. The sheriff has described the deputy’s killer as a “coward” who took Clinkunbroomer’s life “while he’s sitting at a red light, waiting to serve our community.” Clinkunbroomer, who got engaged just four days before he was killed, was found fatally wounded by a civilian around 6 p.m. Saturday near his sheriff’s station in Palmdale, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles. “He was murdered – ambushed – by a coward,” Luna said. “Our deputy left this station in uniform to serve. And he was shot and killed. Why? We don’t know yet. But we intend to find out.” Luna thanked the public for valuable information that led to Cataneo Salazar’s capture and praised his deputies for their hard work despite immense grief. “I ask all of you … to continue to support our deputies here at the Palmdale station, Lancaster station right next door, and really all of law enforcement,” Luna said outside the slain deputy’s station. “Our officers, our deputies go out and serve this community every day, putting their lives on the line. So we have a lot to be thankful for – that we have men and women who volunteered to do this, and families who kiss them goodbye and just pray that they come back home. And in this case, Ryan’s family will never see him again.”

CNN

LAPD Investigates Deaths Of 2 Models Whose Bodies Were Found Less Than A Mile Apart

Police are investigating another woman’s death after her body was found in her downtown Los Angeles apartment less than a mile away from where another woman was found dead in her home. The body of 32-year-old Nichole Coats was discovered Sept. 10 in her apartment on 8th Street and Grand Avenue, according to her loved ones. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said a cause of death has not been determined and it is not being investigated as a homicide, but Coats’ mother said she believes someone killed her daughter. Residents of the apartment complex where Coats resided said the building only sent a notice of a police investigation in their complex and never mentioned someone had died. “It’s terrifying. My heart goes out to the family,” said Nick Nguyen, who lives in the same building where Coats was found. “That’s so sad.” Two days after Coats’ body was found, 31-year-old Maleesa Mooney was found dead in her downtown LA apartment in the 200 block of South Figueroa Street – less than a mile away from Coats. Police in Mooney’s case did not detail how she died, but are investigating the case as a homicide. Both women were aspiring models. LAPD has not said if the two cases are connected, but their similarities have downtown residents feeling uneasy.

NBC 4

Pedestrian Killed In Hollywood Hit-and-Run; Suspect Arrested After Running From Scene, Police Say

A 57-year-old man was fatally struck in Hollywood Sunday night, and the driver attempted to flee the scene before he was arrested. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the suspect was driving southbound on Highland Avenue around 10 p.m. when he hit Elder Bardales. Bardales died at the scene. Police said the suspect, who has not been identified, ran from his vehicle but was eventually found and arrested. Further details on the collision have not been released. The incident remains under investigation. 

ABC 7

Armed Man Posing As US Marshal Arrested At Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Event In Los Angeles

Authorities Saturday released the name of an allegedly armed man accused of impersonating a U.S. marshal at a National Hispanic Heritage Month event at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre where Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke. Adrian Paul Aispuro, 44, was booked on a felony gun charge and was being held on $35,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Inmate Information Center. Aispuro was arrested at 4:40 p.m. Friday by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire station. Police received a call at around 4:30 p.m. regarding a disturbance at the theatre in the 4400 block of West Eighth Street in the Mid-Wilshire area, Officer Drake Madison told City News Service. Officers located Aispuro, who was allegedly impersonating a U.S. marshal and claimed to be part of Kennedy's security team. "He didn't threaten anyone and no one was injured," Madison told CNS. Police said the suspect was wearing a U.S. Marshals Service badge on a lanyard and was armed with two pistols. Madison said the FBI was contacted and it was decided that the LAPD would handle the arrest and the investigation.

Westside Current

Willowbrook Man Sentenced To Five Years In Jail For Robbing Three Banks

A judge sentenced a Willowbrook man to five years in federal prison for a string of bank robberies in 2019. At the time of the heists, 54-year-old Rickey Lewis was on supervised release after pleading guilty to another string of bank robberies in 2006. According to the United States Department of Justice, from Jan. 22 to Jan. 28, 2019, Lewis held up three banks in Gardena and Long Beach. He also tried to rob another bank in Downey. Prosecutors claimed that he threatened to shoot the tellers if they did not hand over the cash. It did not appear that Lewis actually had a firearm at the time of the robberies but did have "clear tape around his fingers," according to prosecutors. Nonetheless, fearing for their lives, the tellers obeyed Lewis' commands and handed over the money. In total, Lewis made off with $4,035. 

CBS 2

CHP Opens Fire On Driver Who Allegedly Tried To Ram Officers In Compton

A driver is being sought after allegedly trying to ram officers who then opened fire in Compton late Monday night. The incident occurred shortly after 11:30 p.m. as California Highway Patrol officers were in the area of Alondra Boulevard and South Maple Avenue. The officers opened fire on a white Kia that apparently tried to run them down, a CHP spokesperson said. The driver left the scene but the vehicle was found abandoned a short distance later near Cypress Street and South Aprilia Avenue. Video showed several bullet holes in the Kia, along with damage from some type of collision. Authorities have not located the driver who remains outstanding. The area of Alondra and Maple remained closed during the investigation. No officers were injured in the incident.

KTLA 5

2 Incarcerated Women Walk Away From Southern California Reentry Program 

Officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are seeking two women who walked away from the Custody to Community Transitional Reentry program Saturday night. According to a CDCR release, staff at the reentry program were alerted that two participants were seen leaving the San Diego-area facility around 10 p.m. Shortly after, CDCR officials received tamper alerts for the two women’s ankle monitors. Staff immediately conducted an emergency head count, which confirmed that two people were not present. The two escapees have been identified as 31-year-old Diana Sanchez and 32-year-old Janelle Rice. According to CDCR, Sanchez is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 230 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair. She was received from Los Angeles County in March to serve a five-year sentence for burglary and the use of an ID other than to obtain personal identifying information. Rice is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 206 pounds, and has hazel eyes and brown hair, officials said. She was received from San Bernardino County in February to serve a four-year sentence for robbery and burglary. 

KTLA 5

‘Piqui’s Law’ Passed After SoCal Boy Murdered By Father In Custody Battle

The tragic death of a South Pasadena boy during a contentious custody battle has now led to the creation of new legislation protecting children from abusive parents. In a unanimous vote on Friday, state assemblymembers passed “Piqui’s Law,” which was sponsored by Senator Susan Rubio of Baldwin Park. The law mandates domestic abuse training for judges, especially when dealing with child safety during custody battles with abusive parents. The law is named after Aramazd Andressian, Jr., a 5-year-old boy known as “Piqui,” who was killed by his father after a trip to Disneyland in 2017. The boy’s mother, Ana Estevez, had warned officials that the boy’s father, Aramazd Andressian, whom she was divorcing, was an abusive man. Despite her pleas, the man was granted joint custody of their son. The judge allowed Aramazd to take the boy on vacation. A week later, Aramazd was found dazed in a South Pasadena park, claiming Piqui had been abducted. Months later, he led detectives to Piqui’s body located in the woods above Santa Barbara near Cachuma Lake. He later pleaded guilty to the boy’s murder and is facing up to life in prison.

KTLA 5

Daughter Of Fallen South Carolina Deputy Follows In His Footsteps

The legacy of a fallen South Carolina Law Enforcement Division officer will live on through his daughter, WLTX reports. Following in her late father's footsteps, Catherine Jumper graduated from the South Carolina Justice Academy on Sept. 8 and will join SLED's alcohol enforcement team. Sergeant William "Conley" Jumper of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office died after he was hit while arresting a suspect in October 2020. He was a 28-year veteran of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and was assigned to the Interdiction Team. Jumper expressed that she has been consistently embraced and supported by the law enforcement community. She emphasized that her decision to become an officer wasn't merely a career choice, but rather a profound calling. "You can't run from the fear of what could happen," Jumper told WLTX. "You know, you embrace it. Coming from a law enforcement family, it is in your blood, it's in your DNA and you can't deny that fact. I knew it was my calling to join law enforcement."

PoliceOne

Fire At Lincoln Heights Fourplex Extinguished

A fire at a one-story fourplex with flames coming through the roof of one unit was extinguished Tuesday in Lincoln Heights. Firefighters were called at 12:19 a.m. to 2202 N. Thomas St., south of North Broadway where they launched an interior attack that contained the flames to the one unit, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart. The fire displaced six residents and the American Red Cross was contacted to assist them with temporary shelter, Stewart said. It took 50 firefighters 31 minutes to put out the flames.

MyNewsLA

Speed Cameras Could Be Coming To The L.A. Area

A bill that would introduce speed safety cameras in six California cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale, is now awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto. AB-645, which passed in both houses of the State Legislature this week, would allow speed cameras to be installed in school zones and in areas where people are prone to speeding. “According to the National Transportation Safety Board, speeding is a factor in 31% of all traffic fatalities,” Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Burbank), one of the bill’s sponsors, told KTLA in July. “If we want to stop traffic fatalities and injuries, we’ve got to slow people down.” The bill also targets speeders in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan explained his support. “We need to invest in technology, education and continued enforcement, and this is part of the enforcement strategy to hold people accountable for following our traffic laws,” he said.

KTLA 5

LA City Councilmembers Call For Moratorium On New Breeding Permits

With the hope of stemming the overcrowding in Los Angeles animal shelters, two city council members have called for an "immediate and indefinite moratorium" on new breeders. The motion, which Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez and Traci Park introduced, also ordered the Department of Animal Services to compile information on the number of illegal breeding operations cited this year and study the impacts of similar bans. "It is unacceptable for the City to continue issuing breeding permits while thousands of animals are suffering from overcrowded conditions in our animal shelters," Hernandez said in a statement. "While many factors have contributed to this crisis, halting the issuance of breeding permits is an immediate step the City can take to reduce the strain on the system." So far this year, L.A. Animal Services has issued over 1,100 breeding permits and believes that "many more" will be granted by the end of 2023, according to the motion. 

CBS 2

LA City Council To Honor Civil Rights Leader James Lawson

The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday will honor the 95th birthday of civil rights leaders Rev. James Lawson, and officially declare Friday as “Rev. James Lawson Jr. Day” annually in the city. The Council recently passed an official resolution commemorating Lawson, and a celebration will be in Council Chambers during Tuesday’s meeting at 10 a.m. Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez along with his colleagues Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Heather Hutt will lead the presentation, with a special appearance from state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo. According to the resolution, Dr. Martin Luther King described Lawson as the “architect of the Civil Rights Movement.” Lawson helped lead the historic 1960 Nashville sit-in campaign at Woolworth’s lunch counter, the Freedom Rides in 1961, and throughout the decade, and continued to organize nearly every major student sit-in, march and protest.

MyNewsLA

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.