2nd Toddler Dies After Suspected Overdose In Canoga Park

The other 3-year-old child sickened in an overdose in Canoga Park last week has died, police said. The twin boys of 22-year-old Jestice James were in cardiac arrest when first responders found them late Thursday morning in the 20100 block of Sherman Way, police said, and one of the twins, Josiah James, died at the hospital later that day. The other boy, whose name has not been released, was initially in critical condition but died on Saturday, according to Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Norman Eisenman. Police have thus far only identified the suspected narcotic that caused the overdose as an “unknown substance.” Jestice James was booked into the Valley Jail in Van Nuys on suspicion of murder after the first child’s death and her bail was set at $2 million. Jail records indicate James is due to appear in court on Monday. 

KTLA 5

Pedestrian Killed In Hit-and-Run Crash In DTLA

A search is underway Tuesday for a driver that hit and killed a pedestrian in downtown Los Angeles. It happened around 3:30 a.m. near Fourth and Wall streets. According to police, the victim was walking in the street near Wall when the car turned left on Fourth and hit him. The victim died at the scene. A suspect vehicle description was not released. The LAPD's Central Traffic will be handling the investigation of the fatal collision.

FOX 11

Encino Home Targeted By Burglars For The Second Time In A Week

An Encino home was targeted by burglars for the second time within the same week, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police responded to the call at around 10:30 p.m. on Monday to a home on the 4900 block of Edgerton Avenue near Moorpark Street. No one was home at the time. At least two men are believed to be responsible for the attempted burglary. It was not clear what was taken from the home. The home was targeted for the first time on Thursday, two children were home with their babysitter when the three people smashed a sliding glass door around midnight. Once inside, they realized people were home and they ran out. It did not appear anything was taken and no one was injured. It was not clear if the burglars were the same in both incidents. Officers continue investigating it as a burglary. No arrests have been made.

NBC 4

Richard Simmons' death is under investigation, pending cause of death, LAPD says

The death of Richard Simmons is under investigation pending a cause of death from the medical examiner, the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday, two days after the fitness icon was found dead at his L.A. home. Simmons died Saturday, the day after his 76th birthday. "We are awaiting the final cause of death ruling from the coroner's office before we can officially close the case," Norma Eisenman, public information officer for the LAPD said Tuesday.

NBC News

$800K Worth Of Stolen Power Tools Recovered In Compton

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recovered $800,000 worth of stolen construction equipment. In July 2024, detectives identified three "fence" operations in the city of Compton where booster crews took stolen merchandise which included power tools, construction equipment and Apple electronics to those locations where they were resold. After warrants were issued at multiple locations, two people were arrested and several items were recovered. Officials with the sheriff's department said approximately $8000,000 worth of stolen items were recovered. The suspects were arrested for Receiving Stolen Property and were booked at Lakewood Sheriff Station. Anyone with information on this case is urged to contact the Organized Retail Theft Task Force at [email protected], or 562-946-7270. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

FOX 11

Former Inglewood Teacher Linked By DNA To Cold-Case Killing Is Convicted Of Murder, Kidnapping

A former Inglewood teacher has been convicted of murdering one woman and kidnapping, then sexually assaulting, another nearly two decades ago, prosecutors said. Charles Wright, 58, is expected to be sentenced to 50 years to life in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. “I am pleased that this day has finally come for the victims of this horrendous crime,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. “It is particularly egregious that these crimes were committed by someone who was in a position of trust and authority. This conviction sends a clear message that we will not tolerate violence in our community.” Wright, then a middle school teacher in the Inglewood Unified School District, was arrested in early 2022 after DNA and fingerprint evidence linked him to the killing of Pertina Epps. The 21-year-old was found strangled in a carport in Gardena on the afternoon of April 26, 2005. Her killing remained unsolved for years, until homicide investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reviewed the case in 2021 and resubmitted some of the evidence for forensic testing. When the newer technology came back with a match to Wright, the Sheriff’s Department got a warrant to arrest the Hawthorne man.

Los Angeles Times

Investigators Seize Large Drug Stash From Suspected Southern California Narcotics Dealer 

A drug dealer who is alleged to have imported a large amount of narcotics into Ventura County was arrested this week, authorities said. The investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office’s Fentanyl and Overdose Crime Units (VC FOCUS) into a drug pipeline from the San Gabriel Valley to Ventura County began this past April and almost immediately resulted in an arrest of someone in Oxnard, authorities stated. “Through diligent follow-up investigation, detectives were able to determine the source of supply for this drug dealer was Christian Tran of Temple City,” VCSO said. “Over the next several months, detectives conducted multiple surveillance operations and confirmed that Tran was actively selling large amounts of narcotics.” Tran was arrested as he left his Temple City residence on Thursday. He was arrested on a variety of charges, including possession for sales of controlled substances, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and sales of controlled substances. 

KTLA 5

Texas Sheriff’s Office Arrests Second Suspect In Ambush Killing Of Deputy

A second man has been arrested and charged with capital murder in the shooting death of Deputy Fernando Esqueda, KHOU reported. The second suspect, a 26-year-old man, has been booked into the Harris County Jail, according to the report. The first suspect, Ronnie Palmer, was arrested following a manhunt. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez stated that on July 11, Esqueda was searching for Palmer after Palmer reportedly assaulted a pizza shop worker. During this search, Esqueda was ambushed. A witness reported hearing two different guns, and investigators found 41 shell casings from two different types of firearms at the scene, according to the report. The second suspect has also been charged with tampering with evidence. Prosecutors stated that after the shooting, Palmer gave the second suspect a pistol and a mini Draco firearm, instructing him to dispose of them, according to the report. A witness confirmed that the second suspect disposed of the firearms in a black trash bag, describing them as “hot.” Deputy Esqueda, 28, was a five-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and a member of HCSO’s Violent Person Task Force, which targets child rapists, homicide suspects and other violent offenders.

PoliceOne

Pedestrian Hit And Killed By Metrolink Train In Northridge

A pedestrian was fatally hit by a Metrolink train in the Northridge area early Monday morning. The person was walking in a "non- pedestrian area" between the Chatsworth and Northridge stations around 5:30 a.m. when they were hit by Ventura County Line train 100, according to Scott Johnson of Metrolink. Authorities were sent to the area of the 19700 block of Bahama Street, where the person died for their injuries, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Information was not immediately available on the identity or gender of the victim. The southbound train was headed from Moorpark to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. The 60 passengers were assisted off of the train and received alternate transportation through ride-sharing services. Rail service was interrupted on the Metrolink's VC Line and Pacific Surfliner trains, but all service was restored by 9:39 a.m., said officials with Metrolink.

CBS 2

Los Angeles Hospital Seeks Help Identifying 2 Patients

Do you recognize these two people? Officials are seeking the public's help in identifying two patients: Jane Doe and a man possibly known as Carlos, according to the hospital. The woman was found on July 3 around 1:10 p.m. in the area near Magnolia Avenue and Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles' Pico Union neighborhood and then brought to the hospital. The woman had no ID with her. A general description provided by the hospital said she was African American, in her 40s, with brown hair, 5'6 tall, and around 290 lbs. Anyone with information on the woman's identity is advised to call (213)507-5495 or (213)742-5515. As for the man, he was initially found on the side of a freeway in a homeless encampment at Maple Avenue and 16th Street in downtown Los Angeles. He is described as a Hispanic man in his mid-30s and was listed at 5-foot-3 and weighing about 100 pounds with brown eyes and black hair. Anyone with information on the unidentified man is asked to call 213-507-5495 or 213-742-5510.

FOX 11

LAFD Knocks Down Attic Fire In Granada Hills Home

Firefighters knocked down an attic fire in a Granada Hills home Sunday. The blaze at 10612 N. Monogram Ave., near the Granada Hills Recreation Center, was reported about 5:25 p.m. and extinguished in under 20 minutes, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz. Firefighters primarily doused the flames through roof access, Lantz said. After the blaze was extinguished, firefighters performed a salvage operation on the owners’ belongings on the first floor, Lantz said. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, she said.

MyNewsLA

California Reports First Wildfire Death Of The 2024 Season As Fires Persist Across The West

Wildfires fueled by strong winds and an extended heat wave have led to the first death in California of the 2024 season, while wind-whipped flames in Arizona have forced hundreds to flee from what tribal leaders are calling the “most serious” wildfire on their reservation in decades. The fires were unfolding as authorities in Western states warned of the rising risk of wildfires amid this month’s protracted heat wave that has dried out the landscape, set temperature records and put lives at risk. In eastern California and Nevada, the parched conditions also prompted officials to increase staffing in order to better monitor “deteriorating conditions forecasted for this weekend,” the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest announced Friday. California’s first death of the fire season was reported after Mendocino County officials said they found human remains in a home that burned in a fire that started Monday. The coroner’s office was working to identify the body, but it may be that of a 66-year-old woman whose family reported her missing. There have been other wildfires deaths in the West this season, including three people who were killed in New Mexico’s Ruidoso blaze. In Arizona, more than 400 residents on the San Carlos Apache Reservation were told to leave after a wildfire spilled into the downtown area on Thursday and destroyed at least 13 homes, officials said.

NBC 4

LA City Councilman Hires Security To Address Safety Concerns

A private security company will begin operating Monday in Wilmington following an increase in public safety concerns among property owners along Avalon Boulevard between Opp and Water streets. L.A. City Councilman Tim McOsker, who represents the 15th District, which includes Wilmington, announced the city has contracted with Peak Security using funds from his office and AB 1290 -- state money specific for redevelopment and community services. Peak Security will provide services from 8 a.m. to midnight Monday and Tuesday, and 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday. "Safety and security along Avalon Boulevard is crucial to the well- being and prosperity of our community," McOsker said in a statement. "By partnering with Peak Security, we are taking the steps to ensure residents, businesses and visitors feel safe and protected in this important corridor in the Wilmington community." Peak Security will maintain a presence within the Avalon Merchant Business Improvement District.

Westside Current

LA Council Committee To Hear Update On Payroll Transition Project

A council committee Tuesday is expected to discuss the status of a project to update the city of Los Angeles' payroll system -- a process that has been slow, cost millions of dollars and caused some legal troubles. The Los Angeles City Council's Personnel, Audits and Hiring Committee is set to convene in a special meeting early Tuesday. The three-member committee will hear from City Controller Kenneth Mejia and the Information Technology Agency on the matter. The payroll upgrade project began in 2020 when the council at the time agreed to spend about $62.1 million for several contracts to migrate the city's outdated, custom-built payroll computers known as "PaySR" to a new program developed by Workday. The new system is intended to merge payroll and human resources data, according to city documents. According to a report filed in April by the city's Information Technology Agency, the Human Resources and Payroll Project is intended to replace the 22-year-old payroll system, known as PaySr, with Workday. The change is necessary because PaySr is outdated, and prone to cybersecurity issues.

Westside Current

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.