Driver Of White Pickup Truck Suspected In Fatal Hit-and-Run In Pico-Union Area

Authorities Sunday were investigating a fatal hit-and-run crash involving in a pedestrian in the Pico-Union area. The incident was reported around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. It was there police say a white pickup truck was traveling southbound on Hoover Street and approaching the intersection with Pico Boulevard when it collided with a pedestrian. First responders reported to the scene and provided immediate medical care but the pedestrian died at a hospital. Police said the driver of the truck did not stay at the scene. The cause of the crash is unknown and remains under investigation. Anyone with more information was asked to call West Traffic Detectives at (213) 473-0234 or 1-877- LAPD24-7 (877-527-3247) during non-business hours or on weekends.

CBS 2

Corvette Strikes, Kills Pedestrian During Apparent Street Race

A pedestrian was struck and killed during an apparent street race early Sunday morning, authorities said. According to preliminary reports from the Los Angeles Police Department, officers responded to the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard around 1:24 a.m. on calls of a victim being hit by a car. Responding officers found the pedestrian, an unidentified man, on the road. LAFD paramedics who arrived a short time later declared the man dead at the scene. A newer blue Chevrolet Corvette – believed to be a 2022 or 2023 model – was possibly racing a white sedan southbound on La Brea when it hit the pedestrian, witnesses told police. The driver of the Corvette fled the scene in an unknown direction and did not stop to identify themselves or render aid to the victim. An investigation has been launched and remains ongoing. 

KTLA 5

Police Seeking Suspects In Hollywood Home-Invasion Robbery

Police Friday were seeking suspects in a home-invasion robbery in Hollywood. The crime occurred about 10:45 p.m. Thursday in the 8100 block of Mannix Drive, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. According to the preliminary investigation, three suspects described only as males were involved in the robbery, and they fled with an undisclosed amount of valuables, police said. One of three people inside the residence suffered a laceration, but no serious injuries were reported, police said. Surveillance video captured some of the incident, showing two masked suspects standing outside the front door. The victims said the suspects were armed and eventually gained access by breaking a side window. The surveillance video also shows the suspects running out of the home through the front door carrying several items. One of the victims was allegedly pistol-whipped in the face during the robbery.

MyNewsLA

Investigators Searching For 3 Suspects Who Used Mace While Robbing DTLA Jewelry Store

Police are searching for at least three suspects who allegedly robbed a jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. According to Los Angeles Police Department, officers were sent to the 700 block of Hill Street at around 3:30 p.m. after learning of the robbery. Upon arrival, investigators learned that the suspects sprayed mace inside of the store before fleeing from the scene in a white Mercedes-Benz. There was no word on how much jewelry the suspects stole. Detectives have described the suspects as: a male standing around 5-feet, 8-inches tall wearing a light blue hooded sweatshirt with dark blue jeans; a male standing around 5-feet, 9-inches tall wearing a white and blue hooded sweatshirt with white lettering; and a male wearing a black baseball cap and a black sweatshirt. No further information was provided by police. 

CBS 2

Burglars Hit Same Woodland Hills Pizza Shop Twice In One Week

Burglars targeted the same Woodland Hills twice this week, leaving business owners distraught and without an answer for the issue running rampant across Los Angeles County. Surveillance footage on both days, Monday and Wednesday, shows much of the same as hooded suspects use a hammer to smash the glass door of Pizza Pie Eatery before rushing inside. While Sal Zanan, the owner of the pizzeria, says they didn't make off with much, they left a trail of destruction behind in both instances as he had to have his front door replaced twice this week. “They came prepared, they tore up the store," said SOMEONE. "There's property damage, equipment damage. They just basically made a mess in here." Investigators believe that the same group hit another store, The Italian Ice Shoppe, just a few spots down. 

CBS 2

Inglewood Police Search For Dodge Driver Who Struck, Killed Woman In Hit-and-Run

Police in Inglewood are seeking the public’s help in identifying the driver who struck and killed a woman in a hit-and-run early Friday. A pedestrian was killed after she was struck by a car shortly after 5 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Maple Avenue and Century Boulevard, according to the Inglewood Police Department. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital but later died of her injuries. The vehicle in question is described as a gray Dodge Challenger with tinted windows. It’s believed the car involved in the fatality will have front-end damage as a result of the impact. Police did not release the name of the deceased as they wait to inform her family of her death. Authorities did, however, say she was a 28-year-old woman from Lennox. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact the Inglewood Police Department’s traffic investigator at 310-412-5134. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting 888-412-7463.

NBC 4

Community Mourns 18-Year-Old Stabbed To Death At Park In South Gate; Boyfriend Arrested

Heartbroken friends and family are holding a fundraiser this weekend after a teenager was stabbed to death in South Gate. Her boyfriend has been arrested in connection to her murder. Sarahy Bravo, 18, was preparing to start a new job when she was killed. The crime happened Sunday, Sept. 17 at Hollydale Park, according to the South Gate Police Department. Officers found Bravo suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was rushed to the hospital where she later died. Authorities say a good Samaritan witness helped officers track down and arrest her boyfriend, Brandon Galvan, shortly after. The 19-year-old is being held on $2 million bail. Devastated friends say Bravo had graduated from Lynwood High School in June. "I knew her since she was about 10 years old, and we were very good friends. She was always so kind and she would always bring a smile to you," said Cristal Turcios.

ABC 7

Suspect Bites Off Part Of NYPD Officer’s Finger After Bust In Wild Queens Pursuit

A Brooklyn man bit off the tip of an NYPD sergeant’s finger in a Queens police precinct holding cell after leading officers on a wild car chase, cops said Friday. The chaos began Wednesday just before midnight when officers in Jamaica noticed a blue Nissan Altima with bogus license plates driving on Liberty Avenue near Merrick Boulevard, police said. East Flatbush resident Lenni Rodriguez-Cruz, 28, was behind the wheel, and took off when officers tried to pull him over because his out-of-state plates were expired and registered to a different car, police said. Rodriguez-Cruz zoomed off with the officers in pursuit, flying down Liberty Avenue and then cutting through Rufus King Park in downtown Jamaica. Multiple people jumped out of the way of his car as he sped through the park before he went against traffic on Hillside Avenue, police said. The chase ended when Rodriguez-Cruz smashed into four cars, including a police vehicle, on Parsons Boulevard near the Grand Central Parkway service road. Cops arrested him there — but the mayhem continued in the holding cell of the 103rd Precinct. There, cops say, “while being lodged in the precinct cells, the individual (Rodriguez-Cruz) began to act disorderly and bit off a portion of a sergeant’s finger causing a serious physical injury.”

New York Daily News

Arizona Officer To Make 425-Mile Trek To Honor U.S. Army Friends Who Were Killed In Action

Recruit Training Officer Shawn Patterson with the Mesa Police Department will be making a 425-mile trek to honor his fallen friends. Selected as the 2023 Legacies Alive Challenger, U.S. Army Veteran Patterson is set to participate in tribute to his friends, Sergeant Tyler Holtz and Specialist Ricardo Cerros, Jr., who were both killed in action during a 2011 deployment in Afghanistan. Patterson will start his 425-mile journey on Sept. 24, the 12th anniversary of Holtz's death, from Holtz's hometown of Dana Point, Calif. He will finish the trip in Cerros' hometown of Salinas, Calif. "My mission is to honor, celebrate, and pay tribute to not just Tyler and Ricardo, but to all have died in service to our nation," Patterson stated in his bio. Legacies Alive's mission is to bolster and assist the Gold Star families of fallen heroes, according to the nonprofit's website. Its purpose is not just to provide support, but also to raise nationwide awareness about the life and unique characteristics of all service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. 

PoliceOne

Former USPS Worker Charged, Accused Of Stealing Nearly $1.7M In Checks From Mail

A former United States Postal Service worker has been charged with stealing checks from the mail — a scheme that netted him nearly $1.7 million over the course of 18 months, according to KTLA sister station WDCW. In a news release issued Friday, the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office said Hachikosela Muchimba, 43, of Washington, D.C., was charged with mail theft and bank fraud. Muchimba was accused of depositing checks from the mail into his own bank account between October 2021 and March 2023. Michimba had been working at a D.C. branch of the USPS since 2020. He was placed on off-duty status in March, following the launch of a federal investigation. Muchimba’s scheme involved the removal of the payee’s name from the checks, after which he would instead write his own name. Many of the checks were U.S. Treasury checks, and the complaint said that Muchimba was spotted on bank surveillance cameras taking the money out of ATM machines. The checks Muchimba deposited between Oct. 2021 and March 2023 totaled $1,697,909.52.

KTLA 5

Small Plane Crashes On Soccer Field In San Pedro; Flight Instructor, Student Critically Injured

A small plane crashed onto a soccer field in San Pedro Monday afternoon, leaving a flight instructor and a student critically injured, officials said. A single-engine Sling 4 TSI was involved in a "high-impact crash" shortly before 1 p.m. at the Field of Dreams soccer complex on Westmont Drive, just northwest of the 110 Freeway, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two bystanders who were at the scene when the plane came down were able to pull the passenger out of the aircraft, investigators said. The pilot was still inside the plane when firefighters arrived. Both the instructor and the student - who were identified only as a 45-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman by the National Transportation Safety Board - were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. While fuel did leak onto the ground, LAFD said no fire was reported and no one on the ground was injured. Firefighters worked with Watershed Protection to ensure safe mitigation of the hazard. The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) are leading the investigation.

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.