Good Morning. Join us on Saturday, June 4th for LAPD's 19th Annual "Still Saving Lives" Car Show sponsored by Fusion Motor Company. The event will take place from 9am - 3pm at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills. Click here for more information.
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Man Stabbed To Death In His Vehicle In Carson; Suspect Sought
Detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify the person who fatally stabbed a man sitting his car in Carson. Around noon on May 5, patrol officers responded to a radio call of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 5300 block of South Main Street, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. The officers arrived to find a victim suffering from a stab wound to his neck, according to LAPD. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the scene and transported the man to a local hospital, where he died. The victim was identified as 70-year-old Dal Lee, LAPD said. A preliminary investigation revealed that a man was in the parking lot where the victim’s vehicle was parked. The victim walked to his van and sat in the front seat. The suspect approached from behind, stabbed the victim in the neck, then fled on foot. The suspect, identified only as a Black man, was observed wearing a “distinctive” sweatshirt and a surgical mask, according to LAPD. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Detective Abundis or Detective Pintado at 213-996-4117. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-527-3247. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or go to www.lacrimestoppers.org.
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Burglary Suspect Throws Rocks At Officers From Abandoned Sandpit In Pacoima
A burglary suspect was throwing rocks from an abandoned sandpit while attempting to evade officers Tuesday afternoon. Officers responded to the 12000 block of Branford Street around 9 a.m. on a report that a man wanted in a recent burglary was seen in the area, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Views from SKY9 showed the suspect throwing large rocks at the LAPD officers. The suspect, possibly armed with a knife, was then struck by officers by a less-lethal tool. Police were seen taking the suspect into custody at 1:22 p.m.
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West Hills Mother Accused Of Murdering 3 Children Is Charged
The mother of three West Hills children, ages 8, 10, and 12, was charged with three counts of murder in connection with their deaths over the Mother's Day weekend, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced Tuesday. “We all grieve for these children. The loss of their young lives is a tragedy that has affected our entire community,” District Attorney Gascón said. “My prosecutors are working to hold accountable those responsible for their deaths.” The Los Angeles County coroner's office identified the victims Tuesday as Natalie Flores, 12, Kevin Yanez, 10, and Nathan Yanez, 8. The cases have been placed on a security hold, and no other information is being released, including their cause of death, according to the coroner's office. Angela Dawn Flores, 38, was being held in lieu of $6 million bail. She is expected to be arraigned in the LA County Superior Court's Van Nuys branch Wednesday. Police responded to the home in the 22500 block of Victory Boulevard Sunday, on Mother's Day after a 911 call came in about a reported assault with a deadly weapon. Paramedics were called to the scene and determined the children were dead. An unidentified 16-year-old also was arrested in connection with the slayings.
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Boyfriend Pleads Not Guilty To Murdering Sherman Oaks Woman
The boyfriend of a Sherman Oaks woman who managed the affairs of celebrities and was found dead last year in Simi Valley pleaded not guilty Tuesday in connection with her killing. Jason Barker, 49, was charged last Dec. 28 with one count each of murder and torture in connection with the death of Angela Kukawski, 55. The criminal complaint alleges that the crimes occurred on or between Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 and that Barker personally used a knife in the commission of the crime. Los Angeles police detectives believe Barker killed Kukawski inside their Sherman Oaks home, placed her body inside her vehicle and drove it to Simi Valley, where it was abandoned, police said shortly after his arrest. According to Variety, Kukawski worked as a business manager at Boulevard Management in Woodland Hills, with clients including Nicki Minaj, Offset, the Kardashians and Kanye West. She was a mother of five.
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Police Investigate Shots Fired Call In North Hills
Sky9's Desmond Shaw reports from over North Hills where officers with the LAPD were investigating reports of gunfire in a recreational vehicle. One person was taken into custody and there were no reports of injury.
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Case Dismissed Against Former D.A. Jackie Lacey’s Husband, Who Pointed Gun At Protesters Outside Home
A misdemeanor firearms case against the husband of former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey has been dismissed, his attorney said Tuesday, after he finished a diversion program to resolve charges that he had aimed a gun at three unarmed protesters in March 2020. The criminal case against David Lacey was set to be dismissed after he performed 100 hours of community service and attended anger management and gun safety classes, according to the terms of the agreement approved by Superior Court Judge David Stuart last year. He was also barred from possessing a firearm for the duration of the agreement, which was slated to last 18 months. But the case was dismissed early after Lacey completed the program’s terms, his attorney, Samuel Tyre, told City News Service. Tyre did not reply to a phone call or emails from The Times requesting confirmation and comment.
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Rodney King's Youngest Daughter, Tristan, Turns Up In Jail aAfter Being Reported Missing By Her Family
Rodney King's youngest daughter, Tristan King, who was believed to be missing for 10 days, has been in custody for nearly two weeks after being arrested on suspicion of burglary by the LAPD. King, 29, was reported missing by her family on Friday, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Her family had been working to publicize her disappearance when the LAPD confirmed she was in their custody. King was arrested by the LAPD on April 28 on suspicion of residential burglary. She is being held on $25,000 and was being housed at Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's jail records. King is scheduled to make her next court appearance on May 16. The family told Santa Monica police King was last seen in Las Vegas on April 26 and had been planning to visit the beach in Santa Monica and family in Fullerton. King last contacted her family on April 27, when she told them she lost her cell phone and was using a stranger's phone, according to Santa Monica police.
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Sentencing For Panorama City Man In Internet Drug Case Delayed
A sentencing hearing was postponed Tuesday for a Panorama City man who admitted his role in a three-person scheme that used a hidden internet network to obtain illegal narcotics and then shipped methamphetamine to buyers in the Philippines, New Zealand and Poland. Michael Goldberg, 36, previously pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A new sentencing date was not immediately announced. Prosecutors said Goldberg ran the drug-trafficking ring and continued to do so even after being taken into federal custody in 2018 for an unrelated fraud case for which he was sentenced to 42 months in prison. Goldberg’s wife, 33-year-old Donnica Rabulan, also pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy charge and was sentenced in January to 92 months behind bars. The third defendant, James Kueker, 43, of the Hollywood Hills, pleaded guilty to helping operate the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.
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Third Person Pleads Guilty In Nationwide ‘Grandparent Scam’
A North Hollywood woman has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges for her role in operating and facilitating a large-scale “grandparent scam” that authorities say took more than $2 million from senior residents across the United States. A “grandparent scam,” or “relative scam,” involves someone impersonating a grandchild, other close relative or friend of the victim and falsely convincing the victims that their relatives are in legal trouble. This includes money to pay for bail, for medical expenses for car accident victims, or to prevent additional charges from being filed. Anajah Gifford, 23, of North Hollywood, was part of a network of individuals who persuaded elderly Americans to pay thousands of dollars each to purportedly help their grandchild or other close family relative, according to the 2021 indictment. Two other members of the network — Timothy Ingram, 29, of North Hollywood, and Jack Owuor, 25, of Paramount — already had pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in March.
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Video: DUI Driver Slams Into California Police Cruiser At Intersection
Video captured the moment a DUI suspect ran a red light and slammed into a cruiser at an intersection. According to KTVU, the Alameda County sheriff's deputy was returning to a police station Sunday when suspect Gregorio Bautista Garcia, 21, ran a red light and broadsided the deputy. The crash sent Garcia's car into a lawn outside a church and started a fire inside the deputy’s vehicle. Garcia was charged with misdemeanor DUI. The deputy is expected to be OK. "We're lucky that our deputy survived this accident. A few more feet and he would have been severely injured, if not killed in that crash," Sheriff Greg Ahern told KTVU.
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Iowa Police Chief Shot During Struggle With Suspect
A police chief was shot Tuesday morning during what authorities are calling a “rolling standoff.” Perry Chief Eric Vaughn was shot in the leg as officers attempted to arrest suspect Jeremiah Messner, according to 5 News. Messner allegedly shot out the back window of a vehicle, prompting a police response that led to a multi-hour search and standoff. Messner put down a handgun during the standoff after officers offered him a lighter. As they moved to make an arrest, a struggle ensued and Vaughn was shot in the leg. He is expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday. Charges against Messner are pending.
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Gun Deaths Surged During The Pandemic’s First Year, The C.D.C. Reports.
Gun deaths reached the highest number ever recorded in the United States in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, as gun-related homicides surged by 35 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. “This is a historic increase, with the rate having reached the highest level in over 25 years,” Dr. Debra E. Houry, acting principal deputy director of the C.D.C. and the director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said at a news briefing. More than 45,000 Americans died in gun-related incidents as the pandemic spread in the United States, the highest number on record, federal data show. The gun homicide rate was the highest reported since 1994. That represents the largest one-year increase in gun homicides in modern history, according to Ari Davis, a policy adviser at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, which recently released its own analysis of C.D.C. data. Cities from coast to coast have seen bloody episodes of gun violence since the pandemic began, but the new report is official confirmation of something that many Americans had already sensed: Amid the stress and upheaval, citizens turned to guns in numbers rarely seen.
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Greater-Alarm Fire Hits Woodland Hills Commercial Building
A greater-alarm fire burned a commercial building in Woodland Hills early Tuesday morning. The Los Angeles Fire Department sent 74 firefighters to 6421 Independence Ave., south of Victory Boulevard and west of De Soto Avenue. The blaze was extinguished in 69 minutes, said LAFD spokesman Nicholas Prange. There were no injuries in the firefight at the single-story concrete-walled structure. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Prange said.
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Public's Help Sought Identifying Patient At LAC + USC Medical Center
Authorities sought the public’s help Tuesday identifying a patient at the LAC + USC Medical Center who has been hospitalized for two weeks. The patient identifies himself as Jerry Armstrong and said he was born on December 9, 1963. However, he did not have any identification on him when he was found by paramedics near the intersection of West Third Street and South Pacific Avenue in San Pedro. He was described by health officials as an African American man who is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 168 pounds with a large build, and has black hair with hints of gray and black eyes. Anyone who recognizes him is asked to contact Ileana Galvez at LAC+USC Medical Center Department of Social Work by calling 323-409-4295.
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‘Significant Uptick’ In California Coronavirus Outbreaks Brings New Warnings
Coronavirus conditions are likely to worsen, with case rates continuing to rise and hospitalizations starting to increase, according to the top health official in the San Francisco Bay Area’s most populous county. “We are also seeing a pretty significant uptick in reports of outbreaks, from schools, work sites and other congregate facilities,” Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County public health director and health officer, said at a news conference Tuesday. “Many of them are related to social gatherings. It’s spring — school is ending and people are gathering, and COVID is spreading.” Caution is especially needed as it’s becoming clear that the latest Omicron subvariants that are circulating can reinfect people who survived the first strains of the Omicron variant back in December or January. Experts had said that the first Omicron subvariant, BA.1, likely conferred immunity against a newer subvariant, BA.2. But some experts say that surviving BA.1 may not confer a high likelihood of avoiding infection with an even newer subvariant, BA.2.12.1, which is more infectious than BA.2.
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LA Councilman Calls For $1,500 In Parking Ticket Relief For Homeless
Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson introduced a resolution Tuesday to support a state Assembly bill that would require cities to create a parking ticket relief program for unhoused people. The state bill was introduced by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, in January. If passed and signed into law, the bill would require processing agencies to offer qualified people payment plans for unpaid parking citations. It would also require the agency to forgive at least $1,500 in parking fines annually for people experiencing homelessness. In compliance with the California Constitution, the state would reimburse local agencies for state-mandated costs. Harris-Dawson noted in his motion that 10,300 people were living in their vehicles throughout Los Angeles in 2020, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s count.
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City Council Builds On Justice Fund With New Immigrant Legal Services Program
Building on the Los Angeles Justice Fund created in 2017, the City Council Tuesday adopted a new framework to provide free legal services to immigrants in partnership with Los Angeles County, the Weingart Foundation and the California Community Foundation. According to the framework’s proposal, the program will prioritize unaccompanied children, immigrants experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status, asylum seekers, human trafficking and violent crime victims, fraud victims, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals participants and individuals eligible for new immigration relief opportunities. Immigrant-rights advocates with the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, CARACEN-Los Angeles and the UCLA School of Law Center for Immigration Law and Policy spoke during the meeting to urge the City Council to adopt the framework. Gloria Cruz, policy director of CHIRLA, told council members the city’s immigrants pay nearly $15 billion in taxes and “held more than $38 billion in spending power in 2019,” citing a report from CHIRLA in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.
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