Law Enforcement

LAPD Seeks Additional Victims of Convicted Pimp Who Forced 2 Teen Girls Into Prostitution
Los Angeles police on Thursday asked for help in identifying possible additional victims of a Compton man who was convicted of forcing two 16-year-old girls to work for him as prostitutes. Huston Hughes, 27, a self-admitted gang member, pleaded guilty to human trafficking of a minor, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
KTLA 5

LAPD Cracks Down On Distracted Drivers At 5 Valley Intersections
LAPD officers were out in force Thursday at some of the Valley's busiest intersections. Thursday's directed traffic enforcement task force took place at several Valley intersections – Tampa Avenue and Victory Boulevard, Chatsworth Street and Reseda Boulevard, Balboa and Burbank boulevards, Sherman Way and Woodman Avenue, and Devonshire Avenue and Reseda Boulevard.
CBS Los Angeles

Police Search for Man Who Assaulted Woman With Concrete Rock
Police were searching for a man who allegedly threw a large concrete rock that injured a woman in downtown Los Angeles Thursday night. Los Angeles police said the woman was in a car going west on Temple Street around 10 p.m. When she stopped at an intersection near Spring Street, someone threw a large piece of concrete at the car, which hit the woman in the head, police said.
NBC Los Angeles

Help Sought Locating Suspect Who Allegedly Killed Young Father After Running Over Dog in Lancaster
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has asked for the public's help in locating a man suspected of fatally shooting a young father following a dispute over the victim's dog in Lancaster late last month. The suspect, identified on Wednesday as Demonte Antone Thomas, allegedly shot and killed 22-year-old Michael Davis on June 26, hours after he was accused of running over the young man's poodle in a parking lot, according to a sheriff's news release.
KTLA 5

Help Sought Identifying Man Suspected in Multiple Armed Robberies in O.C.
Police asked the public for help Thursday in identifying a man suspected in multiple armed robberies in Orange County. The latest robbery took place at a Ralphs store located at 10081 Adams Avenue in Huntington Beach at about 11:30 p.m. on July 7, the Huntington Beach Police Department posted on Facebook.
KTLA 5

San Jose, public safety unions reach tentative pension deal
San Jose has reached a tentative deal with its public safety unions over pension cuts approved by city voters in 2012. The San Jose Mercury News reports that Wednesday's deal would keep many of the cuts in place. Bonus checks for retirees would be eliminated and pensions would be scaled back for new employees.
The Sacramento Bee

Police officer's killer gets life without parole
Throughout the sentencing of Thomas Johnson III on Thursday, his life was often contrasted with that of the man he murdered: Rochester police Officer Daryl Pierson. Johnson, 39, has lived a life of crime and was a parole absconder when he fatally shot Pierson.
USA Today

Tennessee shootings, which kill 4 Marines, to be investigated as terrorist attack
A gunman opened fire on two military centers more than seven miles apart on Thursday, killing four Marines and wounding three other people in what authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack. A police officer was among those injured in the brazen daylight shooting, in which a man identified by federal authorities as Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, sprayed dozens of bullets at a military recruiting center, then drove to a Navy-Marine training facility and opened fire again before he was killed.
Los Angeles Times

State Government

Bill barring grand juries in use-of-force cases clears California Assembly
Legislation that would prohibit California from turning to grand juries after police officers use lethal force squeaked out of the California Assembly on a 41-33 vote Thursday. One of several California police violence-related bills prompted by a spate of nationally watched slayings, Senate Bill 227 reflected a rising distrust of the grand jury process after it failed to yield charges against the officers who killed Eric Garner in Staten Island and Michael Brown in Missouri. Among the bill's supporters was the state organization representing public defenders.
The Sacramento Bee

New California Law Bars Consent Defense In Child Sexual Abuse Cases
California defendants accused of sexually abusing children will no longer be able to use a consent defense in civil cases. Gov. Jerry Brown announced Thursday he signed legislation introduced after Los Angeles Unified School District avoided liability for a teacher having sex with a 14-year-old girl.
CBS Los Angeles