Rising Westside Burglaries Prompts LAPD To Host Second Town Hall

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is set to host a second town hall meeting via Zoom on January 3, 2024, at 6:30 P.M., focusing on the recent surge in burglaries in the West Los Angeles (WLA) area. The announcement, made by Brentwood's Senior Lead Officer, Matthew Kirk, follows an initial town hall that drew over 300 residents from Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Bel Air in December. The first meeting addressed the alarming 368 burglary incidents reported this year in the area. Senior Lead Officer Brian Espin highlighted the challenges faced by the police in patrolling the vast West LA area, noting a shortage of officers. Detective Hoebink from the LAPD's burglary unit shared insights into the department's strategy, including the use of heat maps for resource deployment. Detective Hoebink identified three primary groups behind the burglary spike: local transients, South LA gang crews, and South American theft groups, each with distinct operational methods. The Valley area has also been a target for these groups. To bolster community safety, the LAPD underscored the importance of vigilance among residents. They were urged to report any unusual activities, such as unknown drones or vehicles. The LAPD also stressed the significance of video evidence in solving crimes, contributing to about 70% of resolved cases.

Westside Current

1-Year-Old Girl Survives Horrific New Year's Eve Crash That Killed Sister And Parents

Family members and friends visited a memorial Tuesday night at the intersection where three members of a Los Angeles family of four were killed in a tragic New Year's Eve crash. A 1-year-old girl is the lone family member to survive the horrific collision around 11:30 p.m. Sunday in the Harvard Park area, where police said a speeding driver in a SUV slammed into the family's sedan. Her sister and parents were killed in the crash. A 22-year-old driver left the scene of a hit-and-run crash and ran a stop sign at 60th Place and Normandie Avenue before striking the family's car, according to the LAPD. The family's car was thrown through a street sign and fence before it ended up outside a nearby business. Several witnesses tried to help the victims, police said. The baby girl who survived the crash was just days from her second birthday. Hannah Sofia was in a rear-facing car seat behind her mother, who was in the passenger's seat. Family members identified the father as 49-year-old Jose Manuel Patagaza. "He was an extraordinary father," said Milena Villegas. "One-hundred percent for his daughters, for the world. Always present and always showing so much love to his daughter." Villegas was driving at the time of the crash. He died at the scene.

NBC 4

Pro Basketball Player From L.A., Ex Will Face Murder Charges Together

A prosecutor said Tuesday that separate murder, kidnapping and conspiracy cases will be combined so a former NBA developmental league player and his ex-girlfriend can be tried together in the killing of a woman whose body was found last month in southern Nevada. Chance Comanche, 27, a Los Angeles native who played for the Stockton Kings before his Dec. 15 arrest in Sacramento, California, made an initial court appearance Tuesday. He stood in shackles and responded, “Yes, ma’am,” to a judge’s questions about whether he understood the charges against him. Comanche’s defense attorney, Gary Guymon, did not immediately seek bail and declined to comment following the brief court appearance. But he said Comanche intends to plead not guilty during hearings to come. Comanche’s’ former girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, also is jailed in Las Vegas pending a separate hearing Wednesday on a theft charge related to the disappearance and death of Marayna Rodgers, 23, of Lynnwood, Washington. Prosecutor Kennedy Holthus told Judge Diana Sullivan on Tuesday that Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson intends to combine all the cases against Comanche and Harnden. Sullivan said Comanche will remain jailed without bail and set his next court date for Feb. 8.

KTLA 5

Police Searching For 13-Year-Old Girl Reported Missing While Vacationing With Family In LA

Police are asking the public's help to find a 13-year-old girl who went missing while vacationing with her family in Los Angeles. According to police, Valentina Morales Magana was last seen Tuesday around 2 p.m. near 98th Street and Airport Boulevard, close to the Los Angeles International Airport. Police say the girl got in some sort of verbal dispute and left after her mother noticed her putting on makeup. The girl and her parents are vacationing in L.A. from Mexico, according to investigators. Police say Valentina doesn't have a phone and has no relatives in the L.A. area. The teen is 5 feet, 3 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes and weighs about 145 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and black pants. Anyone with information is urged to contact Pacific Juvenile Detective Bruce O'Brian at 310-482-6366. You can also submit an anonymous tip by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.

ABC 7

More Than $120,000 Worth Of Gear Stolen From Tarzana Recording Studio

In a plot resembling "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," two people broke into veryspecial Studios on Ventura Boulevard early Christmas morning and stole more than $100,000 worth of equipment, according to the company's CEO Tharith Perera. Surveillance video shows the masked men get out of a black pickup truck, parked at the bottom of an outdoor staircase. One walks straight to a door downstairs. "They looked way too comfortable," said Perera. "When they first arrived here, they went downstairs and knew that they had to get our keys." They then went upstairs, spray painted the surveillance cameras and, with keys in hand, had the recording studio to themselves. Someone is typically there at all hours of the day, every day, but Perera closed his business on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. "My team called me at like 10 a.m. on the 26th and was like, 'Everything's gone,' and I was like, 'What do you mean?'" said Perera. Perera estimates more than $120,000 worth of gear was stolen, including microphones, compressors and computers. The thieves came back a few times that night, taking their time to get what they wanted.

ABC 7

1 Dead, At Least 4 Hospitalized In Shooting Outside Hawthorne Strip Mall

One person was killed and at least four people were hospitalized Sunday after an early morning shooting in Hawthorne. Details about what led to the shooting at about 12:30 a.m. in the 3100 block of Rosecrans Avenue were not immediately available. Evidence markers could be seen near a tow truck in a strip mall parking lot. One of the shooting victims, identified only as a woman, died at a hospital. Three additional victims were listed in stable condition and one victim was in critical condition. Witnesses said a bystander was shot, but did not appear to be seriously injured. No arrests were reported early Sunday. Anyone with information regarding the shooting was asked to contact the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

NBC 4

Dozens Of Burglars Swarm Compton Bakery After Ramming Kia Soul Into Entrance

A large group of thieves ransacked a Compton bakery early Tuesday after breaking into the business by ramming a vehicle into the entrance. Security camera video showed a white Kia Soul reversing into Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food. Dozens of people, many with their faces covered, streamed into the business, taking merchandise, lottery tickets, cash registers and other items. The burglary was less than a mile from where about 100 people gathered at about 3 a.m. Tuesday for a street takeover near El Segundo Boulevard and Santa Fe Avenue. No arrests were reported. "This is the livelihood for these people," said neighbor Loudes Gomez. "Mr. Ruben and his wife have been here for years." Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the sheriff's station at 310-605-6500.

NBC 4

Several Arrests Made In Fatal Shooting Of Oakland Officer, Including ‘Key Suspect’

The Oakland Police Department on Tuesday said it has made several arrests related to the killing of Oakland police officer Tuan Le, who was shot to death responding to a report of a burglary last week. “This is just the beginning of a lengthy legal process; we are hopeful that it will start the healing for Officer Le’s grieving family and our entire OPD family,” the department said in a Facebook post. “We are committed to keeping you all informed throughout the investigation.” While the department did not disclose the names of the suspects or how many arrests were made, it said its investigation is ongoing and that the arrests represent “significant progress.” Le, 36, was working with other officers in what police described as a burglary operation and responded early Friday morning to a call about a burglary in progress at a cannabis business in the 400 block of the Embarcadero. Police say one of the people leaving the business opened fire on the officers when they arrived. Le, who was in plainclothes and driving an unmarked vehicle, was struck by gunfire. He was transported to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he died from his wounds.

SF Gate

Arkansas Deputy Fatally Shot While On Duty

A deputy has been shot and killed in the line of duty, THV 11 reported. The Stone County Sheriff’s Office has not released details of the shooting or the name of the deputy, but has announced that a suspect is in custody, according to the report. Sheriff Brandon Long has stated that more information will be released as it becomes available, and asked that “prayers be lifted for family, friends, and colleagues of the fallen officer.” This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

PoliceOne

Kansas City Adopts New Program To Curb Rising Gun Crime

Wichita is taking steps to fight violent crime outside of the criminal justice system. Violent crime spiked in Wichita in 2020 and 2021, especially gun violence, surpassing homicide records set during the street-gang wars of the early 1990s. In 2021 alone, 207 people were shot in Wichita. Nearly half of those victims were under the age of 24. The number of killings has been trending downward but remains higher than historical averages for Kansas’ largest city. This month the Wichita City Council unanimously approved $1.27 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for a small-scale “violence interrupter” program run by Destination Innovation, a Wichita nonprofit led by Marquetta Atkins-Woods that also operates Progeny, an activist organization that seeks to reform the juvenile justice system and offers support to at-risk youth. Becca Johnson, who works in the city’s office of community services, said Wichita’s interrupter program — Community Restorative Innovation — will target two areas in Wichita that have been identified by the city as hot spots for gun crime: I-135 to Oliver between Ninth and 25th Street North and Broadway to Oliver in the Planeview and South City neighborhoods.

Wichita Eagle

LAFD Knocks Down Apartment Fire In Canoga Park

Firefighters knocked down a fire inside a two-story apartment building in Canoga Park Sunday. The blaze at 7909 Topanga Canyon Blvd. was reported at 5:43 p.m., according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. The department dispatched 32 firefighters to the scene. They needed 15 minutes to knock down the flames, Prange said. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation, Prange added.

MyNewsLA

Sick With COVID And The Flu: Double Infections Hit California Hard

California’s hospitals are getting busier with more COVID-19 and flu patients, some of whom are suffering from both viruses at the same time. The simultaneous sickness is another wrinkle in an already hectic respiratory virus season. Although hospitals are not nearly as crowded as during the emergency phase of the pandemic, they are becoming increasingly so — with Los Angeles County recently entering the “medium” COVID-19 hospitalization category outlined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the first time this winter. “Some of these patients are testing positive for more than one virus — influenza definitely likes to travel with COVID. [And] we’re seeing an outbreak of RSV,” said Dr. Daisy Dodd, an infectious disease specialist with Kaiser Permanente Southern California. The viral cocktail could also include coronavirus or flu with RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, simultaneously. Sometimes a common cold virus, like rhinovirus, is in the mix. 

Los Angeles Times

$68M In Rent Relief Available For LA County Landlords

Qualifying landlords in Los Angeles County have until Friday of next week to apply for a $68.6 million rent relief program designed to help offset the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and tenants who have fallen behind on their rent payments. The county's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs launched its Rent Relief Program on Dec. 12. It will offer grants of up to $30,000 per unit to eligible landlords for expenses dating from April 1, 2022 to the present. "This county investment to help mom-and-pop landlords get financial relief is, frankly, long overdue," L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the principal author of the motion that directed the DCBA to develop the relief fund, said in a statement Tuesday. "My heart goes out to property owners who have been left holding the bag as the pandemic spawned tenant relief measures at their expense. I've consistently advocated for balanced solutions, so I'm glad to see that we're ready to get these dollars out the door and into their hands without further delays."

FOX 11

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.