Security Guard Hospitalized After Being Shot At Encino $12 Million Home

A security guard is in the hospital Monday morning after he was shot outside a home in the Amestoy Estates area of Encino. The shooting occurred at 2:25 a.m. at 17528 Jayden Lane, according to Officer A. Delatorre at the Los Angeles Police Department's Operations Center. The security guard heard gunshots and realized he was wounded, Delatorre said. Paramedics took the 37-year-old man to a hospital in unknown condition, he said. The suspects who ran away were described as three males, Delatorre said. The house is listed for sale for $11,995,000 and according to Zillow it has seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, gated, hedged and is "equipped with a state-of-the-art security system."

NBC 4

Echo Park Gang-Related Shooting Leaves 1 Injured, Police Say

A 30-year-old man was wounded in what police said was a gang-related shooting in Echo Park and authorities Saturday are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Northeast Division responded at approximately 11:40 p.m. Friday to Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street regarding a shots fired call. Upon arrival, the victim told them he was walking down Sunset when an unknown assailant approached him on foot, shot him and ran away, said an LAPD spokesman. The victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition. There was no suspect description available. No further information is available at this time. 

FOX 11

Dangerous L.A. Street Takeover Included Illegal Fireworks, Near-Misses

The Los Angeles Police Department shut down an illegal street takeover that featured plenty of fireworks early Sunday morning. Authorities responded to the intersection of South Figueroa Street and West Vernon Avenue in South L.A. during the overnight hours. A large group convened at the intersection for over an hour. Attendees were seen setting off fireworks and driving erratically, in a video obtained by stringer-service Onscene.TV. When officers arrived to the area, many people from the group began fleeing the scene in their vehicles, resulting in numerous near-collisions. Illegal street takeovers have risen in Los Angeles in recent years. L.A. City Council put together a plan to combat the gatherings and street racing in February. LAPD says a woman was seriously injured, or killed after being struck by a vehicle at an illegal street takeover in South L.A. earlier this month.

KTLA 5

USC Closes Campus As Anti-War Protesters Return; LAPD Is On Alert

Campus protests over the war in Gaza are intensifying at the University of Southern California as the LAPD Saturday declared a tactical alert. Pro-Palestinian protesters returned to the school. A few hours after the protest started, dozens of police squad cars responded to the school with lights and sirens on, resulting in the LAPD issuing a tactical alert, which is used by police to beef up its force and presence in anticipation that an event may grow in strength or pose a risk to public safety. Dozens of protesters gathered near a vandalized fountain, which included graffiti, and the Tommy Trojan statue was also covered with graffiti. It seemed that fireworks were lit near the campus during the protest. USC said on Saturday it had temporarily closed its University Park Campus to nonresidents, without providing details of the closure or possible enforcement measures. Paul McQuiston of USC Media Relations said in a statement that USC property was vandalized by members of a group "that has continued to illegally camp on our campus." 

CBS 2

L.A. Gangsters Used Painter Suits, Assault Rifles And Zip Ties For Brazen Armored Car Heists

The driver had stepped out of the Brinks truck to make a cash delivery at a Taco Bell when he saw the gun. The man holding the AR-15 wore a white painter suit. He fumbled for the driver’s keys and handed them to a similarly dressed accomplice, who climbed inside the armored car. A minute ticked by. The driver stared down the muzzle of the rifle. Then a shout from the truck: “Hey, let’s go!” Police found the getaway car abandoned half a mile away. The cash and the suspects were gone. The heist last June in Reseda was the work of a crew that targeted armored cars in a series of sophisticated robberies across Los Angeles County that netted six-figure hauls, authorities say. After casing their targets and studying routines for weeks, the crew waylaid drivers as they picked up or delivered bulk cash at banks, credit unions, markets, fast-food restaurants and a check-cashing business, according to a search warrant affidavit reviewed by The Times. The crew was composed of ex-convicts from the West Boulevard Crips, East Coast Crips and Black P Stone gangs, some of whom had met while serving time in state prison, according to court records.

Los Angeles Times

Suspect Arrested For Southern California Homicide

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has made an arrest after a man was found dead on Monday. Authorities responded to a call around 6:54 p.m. on April 22 in the area of Winchester Road and Thompson Road in Winchester. When deputies arrived, they found a man suffering from a possible stab wound. The victim — identified as 29-year-old Boris Stepanyuk of Winchester — died at the scene. Investigators arrested 60-year-old Joseph Mokate of Hemet in connection with the homicide. No further details have been provided about the incident or a possible motive. Mokate has been charged with murder. There are no outstanding suspects in this investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Investigator Anderson with the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955–1700 or Investigator Gasparini with the Southwest Sheriff’s Station at 951-696–3050.

KTLA 5

Florida Jury Recommends Death Penalty For Convicted Cop Killer

A jury recommended the death penalty for the man who admitted to the 2021 killing of a Florida officer, News4Jax reported. Patrick McDowell pleaded guilty in the shooting death of Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers at a traffic stop in 2021, according to the report. He was recommended for the death penalty on April 25 following a jury vote of 11 to 1. The decision comes after the jury unanimously found that five aggravating factors were met, indicating the murder was cold, premeditated and committed to avoid arrest while Moyers was performing his duties, according to the report. During the hearing, McDowell read a lengthy statement against the advice of his attorney. “Make no mistake, I am sorry and I hate myself for what I did, but that’s simply not enough to outweigh the aggravators by any imaginable standard…” McDowell said. “I can’t take away the pain I’ve caused, but I can pay for it. So make me pay for it.” Following the jury’s decision, a Spencer hearing has been scheduled, which will allow McDowell’s defense to have one final chance to argue against the death penalty recommendation. “Lord willing when this death sentence is carried out, I’ll be sitting on the front row with a box of popcorn, eagerly waiting for him to take his last breath,” Sheriff Bill Leeper stated. “It just ripped the guts out of our agency, out of our employees. The dispatchers who had to hear the cries for help on the radio, the deputies who responded, who tried to save Josh’s life. That’s something to live with forever.”

PoliceOne

Suspect Killed By Police Sniper After Wounding 3 Louisiana Officers In Standoff

Three Louisiana police officers were wounded by gunfire Sunday in a standoff with a man who was later killed by a police sharpshooter, authorities and news reports said. Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said a sniper from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office shot and killed the suspect at a house in Kenner where he had held off police and fired shots at law enforcement authorities after shooting three officers who tried to enter the home, WGNO-TV reported. The injured officers were taken to a hospital after being shot Sunday morning in Kenner, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of New Orleans, Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley said. The man was wanted in a shooting earlier Sunday in which two people were wounded, Kenner police spokesman Capt. Michael Cunningham said. The three police officers and the other two victims were all listed in stable condition, WGNO reported. The man also was a suspect in a holdup and shooting Tuesday that left a man in critical condition, Cunningham said.

Associated Press

Man Found Dead After Fire At 101-Year-Old Home In Florence Neighborhood

A grim discovery was made after firefighters put out a fire at a 101-year-old home in the Florence neighborhood of Los Angeles. The fire started around 6:30 p.m. Sunday on E. 71st Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The body of a 52-year-old man was found inside the home after firefighters extinguished the flames that were contained to just one room within the home. It's unclear when and how the man died. Fire officials say there were no working smoke detectors and the building did not have any fire sprinklers. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

ABC 7

CDC Says It’s Identified 1st Documented Cases Of HIV Transmitted Through Cosmetic Needles

Three women who were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles, federal health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its Morbidity and Mortality Report last week that an investigation into the clinic from 2018 through 2023 showed it apparently reused disposable equipment intended for one-time use. Although HIV transmission from contaminated blood through unsterile injection is a well-known risk, the report said this is the first documentation of probable infections involving cosmetic services. Many popular cosmetic treatments are delivered with needles, such as Botox to iron out wrinkles and fillers to plump lips. A “vampire facial,” or platelet-rich plasma microneedling procedure, involves drawing a client’s own blood, separating its components, then using tiny needles to inject plasma into the face to rejuvenate the skin. Tattoos also require needles.

KTLA 5

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.