SDPD officer killed in fiery crash following pursuit was ‘one of a kind’

A San Diego police officer was killed and a second officer was seriously injured in a fiery crash following a brief pursuit in Clairemont late Monday that also killed the fleeing driver, officials said. Officer Austin Machitar, 30, a 5 1/2-year veteran of the department, died at the scene while his partner, Zachary Martinez, 27, who had been riding in the passenger seat, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police officials said.

San Diego Tribune

Man Sentenced For Kidnapping, Raping 16-Year-Old Girl

A probationer convicted of kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old girl after they got off a bus in South Los Angeles was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Terry Edward Scott Jr., who will turn 48 Wednesday, was convicted April 30 of one count each of rape and kidnapping to commit rape in connection with the Sept. 27, 2021, attack on the teenager. Scott initially approached the girl as she sat on a bench at a train platform in Long Beach and tried to talk to her, got onto the same Metro Blue Line train and then the same bus as the victim, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by Deputy District Attorney Catherine Mariano. The defendant approached the teen from behind after she exited the bus at San Pedro Street and Vernon Avenue, placed her in a chokehold, pushed her to the ground, threatened to kill her and walked her about two blocks to the back of an apartment complex, where he raped her, according to the prosecutor’s court filing. Scott — who left the location after the attack — was on probation at the time in a drug case and had prior convictions for criminal threats and preventing or dissuading a witness from attending or giving testimony at a court proceeding, Mariano noted in her filing.

MyNewsLA

Motorist Flees After Fatally Striking Bicyclist In Los Angeles Neighborhood

Authorities are searching for a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a bicyclist in the Florence area of Los Angeles early Wednesday. The crash was reported around 1 a.m. near Alameda and Nadeau streets. Video showed crime scene tape blocking the roadway where the victim, an adult male, was struck. The unidentified man was hit so hard that he was found on a sidewalk several feet from where his bike went down in the street. The driver involved in the crash fled the scene before authorities arrived. Investigators have not released a description of the driver or the vehicle involved in the crash.

KTLA 5

Months Before L.A. Doctor Was Killed At His Clinic, Three Men Beat Him With Baseball Bats

Several months before he was fatally shot outside his Woodland Hills medical practice, Dr. Hamid Mirshojae was jumped by three men who beat him with baseball bats, an employee and police told The Times. After the attack, the employee said, Mirshojae told her he was in fear for his life. “They came and they beat him with baseball bats. ... They were some strangers that we didn’t know,” said the employee, who requested anonymity out of concern for her safety. No arrests have been made in the case, and the investigation is ongoing, said police, who did not reveal precisely when the attack occurred. It is not clear whether the beating was related to Mirshojae’s killing last week. Los Angeles police Det. Christine Moselle said detectives are aware of the earlier attack, which remains unsolved. The revelation of the earlier violence against the doctor, who was mourned by the community as a caring and beloved practitioner, raised new questions about the shocking slaying that has left the Woodland Hills community reeling. As police continued their investigation Tuesday, they said that Mirshojae was the victim of a targeted killing and that a sole gunman had taken the doctor’s life. Video showed the fatal shooting.

Los Angeles Times

Suspect Arrested In Marketplace Stabbing, One Person Injured

A person was stabbed in a marketplace in Angelino Heights, and a suspect was taken into custody. Officers responded to the 1300 block of West Sunset Boulevard around 4:15 p.m. regarding reports of a possible robbery, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The extent of the victim’s injuries was unknown. The suspect was apprehended around 4:30 p.m. and booked on suspicion of attempted robbery, police said. The person’s name was not immediately released. No further information was immediately available.

MyNewsLA

Los Angeles Cracks Down On Copper Wire Thefts, Warns Of More Arrests

Several people have been arrested and tens of thousands of pounds of copper recovered as part of a crackdown by Los Angeles police and staff on thieves and rogue recyclers that at times have left the city paralyzed and dark in the last few years, officials announced at a Tuesday news conference. Flanked by members of the Los Angeles Police Department and Caltrans, City Council President Paul Krekorian announced that 16,000 pounds of copper wire valued at $40,000 has been recovered during a recent two-month crackdown. “The consequences to the taxpayers of Los Angeles are far, far greater than that,” he said of the copper’s value. “The cost of repairs to replace that copper wire are estimated to be over a half-million dollars already.” As part of the push in enforcement, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said eight East Valley recyclers have been fined and arrests made, but he did not provide details on how many or for what charges. Police also made arrests at other facilities on suspicion of theft, failure to report and receiving stolen property. “We are aware of and have observed some of our businesses being less than honest brokers,” Hamilton said, adding that some area recyclers have been purchasing stolen wire from outside the city as well.

Los Angeles Times

Suspected Serial Groper Terrorizes Los Angeles Women In Grocery Store Aisles

While shopping at a South Los Angeles location of Ralphs on 2600 South Vermont Avenue, a young woman was browsing the spice aisle on Sunday morning, August 25, when a stranger allegedly grabbed and squeezed her buttocks before quickly walking away. "I felt angry," she said. "I felt violated. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me." The woman who asked us not to give out her name says she let the Ralphs employees know she had been touched inappropriately. Security told her the man was still in the store. The woman then waited by the exit to confront him. "It happened so fast that I remember just punching him in the eye. He never said a word to me," she says. The alleged groper got into a car with another man and left before police arrived. It turns out there was a second victim. "There was an elderly woman who was crying who said he had hit her on her chest," said the first victim. The woman who spoke with Fox 11 News took a photo of the man as he walked away. She’s hoping someone can identify the man.

FOX 11

Police Raid In Granada Hills Targets Organized Retail Crime

In an attempt to fight organized crime, multiple police raids occurred Wednesday morning. SkyFOX was over a house in Granada Hills near San Fernando Mission Blvd. and Balboa Blvd. as law enforcement went in and out of the home removing boxes of evidence. There were multiple locations targeted with search and arrest warrants this morning. The raids are being led by the LAPD, U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI. Task forces in Orange County and Ventura County were also involved. Authorities say today's raid targets people providing the logistical support to burglary crews. They are not only going after the actual criminals themselves, but also those who are supporting them in organized crime rings. The U.S. Attorney and other law enforcement agencies are planning to announce developments related to the raids during a 10:30 a.m. press conference. 

FOX 11

Feds Take Action Against Suspected Tourist Burglars In Southern California

Federal authorities in Los Angeles were expected to announce Wednesday arrests and prosecutions of foreign nationals suspected of taking part in so-called 'tourist burglary' rings, in which organized groups of thieves visit the United States on easy-to-get tourist visas and break into homes, law enforcement sources told NBC4's I-Team. The scope of the arrests was not immediately available. The 10:30 a.m. news conference will include U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada and other members of law enforcement. These types of tourist burglary rings are suspected in a series of recent home burglaries in the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles, other law enforcement officials have said, based on specific tactics used by the thieves and other evidence. Earlier this year the LAPD announced it was forming a South American Theft Group task force to focus on these groups and the methods they use to resell stolen goods. Local law enforcement agencies have complained for years that the easy availability of tourist visas in certain countries in Central and South America was being abused by organized criminal groups, and urged federal lawmakers to restrict visits or require criminal background checks before issuing the visas.

NBC 4

‘One Of A Kind': California Officer Killed In Fiery Crash Following Pursuit Identified

A veteran San Diego police officer was killed and a second officer was seriously injured Monday night when their vehicle was involved in a crash while responding to a high-speed pursuit that also killed the other driver, authorities said. Police Chief Scott Wahl, visibly emotional, identified the officers at a Tuesday news conference. Austin Machitar, a five-year member of the department, died in the incident, he said. His partner, 27-year-old Zachary Martinez, was critically injured. Wahl said the 30-year-old Machitar was a field training officer and his partner was one of his former trainees. “Austin had a very infectious smile and a character that made him one of a kind,” the chief said. Martinez has been with the department for a little over a year, Wahl said, and is a Navy reservist from Texas. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the officer was “fighting for his life.” “His wounds are extremely grave,” Gloria said. The identity of the driver of the car police were chasing has not been released. In Monday night’s incident, police said officers had tried to pull over a speeding driver on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard , but the driver refused to pull over and instead led them on a brief pursuit before they called off the chase because of the high speed.

Los Angeles Times

Michigan PD Escorts Brother Of Fallen Officer To First Day Of Third Grade

The Melvindale Police Department continued a tradition set by fallen Officer Cpl. Mohamed Said by escorting his 7-year-old brother, Yousef, to his first day of third grade, FOX 2 Detroit reported. The department’s officers, along with Melvindale Mayor Nicole Shkira, accompanied Yousef to class at Allendale Elementary School on Aug. 26, according to the report. Yousef wore his brother’s police badge as a symbol of the connection they shared. Officer Said was killed on July 21 while responding to a suspicious person call near a car wash in Melvindale. The suspect in his killing faces 12 charges, including the murder of a police officer, according to the report. Ahmed Said, Mohamed’s 22-year-old brother, expressed gratitude for the continued support from the police department and community. “I have a lot of officers texting me every other day, checking on me. The whole department’s like second family – the chief, the mayor,” Ahmed Said said.

PoliceOne

Man Dies While Working At Construction Site In Bel Air

A man was killed while working at a construction site in Bel Air on Tuesday. It happened at around 10:10 a.m., when firefighters were dispatched to a hillside residential construction site in the 10600 block of W. Chalon Road, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. They say that the man was gravely injured while working near heavy equipment at the site, possibly an auger and a skip loader. "Despite the quick response of LAFD crews, his injuries proved fatal," the statement said. The man's name and company that he was affiliated with have not been released. 

CBS 2

LA Councilmember Calls For Testing To Address Lead Contamination In Watts Water

Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker Tuesday called for immediate testing, reporting and remediation to address alarming levels of lead contamination in drinking water found in homes in the Watts area. The councilman, who represents the 15th District, encompassing Watts and other Harbor neighborhoods, introduced a motion Tuesday that, if approved, would instruct the Department of Water and Power and the city's Housing Authority to investigate and address the contamination issues. LADWP personnel would also be tasked with identifying the sources of lead exposure and to repair all affected areas in Watts. Additionally, the Housing Authority would create a strategy to communicate with residents about any efforts and progress being made to ensure their safety. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Heather Hutt, and it is expected to be heard by the Energy and Environment Committee at a future date.

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.