Los Angeles police and city leaders on Thursday said the arrests of more than two dozen alleged members of a drug ring that's plagued Skid Row for 30 years was the culmination of a months-long operation. In a sweeping pre-dawn raid Thursday, 20 search warrants were served simultaneously at multiple locations, netting cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, guns, $1.8 million and the arrest of the alleged ringleader, Derrick Turner.  LAPD Senior Lead Officer Deon Joseph has patrolled Skid Row for 18 years. He points to the $600,000 in one dollar bills in this case as proof the predators preyed on the weak. "You'll have an addict trying to benefit from a drug problem and sometimes you have the drug dealer outside or slipping inside the drug program, and the temptation to fail in Skid Row is too great," Joseph said.
Los Angeles Times

LA leaders vow to step up police patrols to target Skid Row drug trade
Los Angeles officials said Thursday they've taken down the majority of a drug ring that has exploited the homeless on Skid Row for years.  “Los Angeles will not tolerate anyone who preys on the most vulnerable in our city,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who joined L.A. Police Chief Charlie Beck in announcing the arrests.  “As of today we've taken down the majority of that organization and have identified the remaining, and have indictments of an additional 10 people who have not been arrested,” Beck added.
Los Angeles Daily News

Funeral Plans Announced For Former LAPD Chief Willie Williams
Funeral services were announced Thursday for Willie Williams, who became the first black chief of the Los Angeles Police Department in the aftermath of the L.A. riots.  Williams, 72, died Tuesday night at his home in Fayetteville, Georgia. A relative said he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  According to the LAPD, there will be two viewings for Williams. The first viewing will take place Monday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral home at 180 Jeff Davis Dr. in Fayetteville Georgia. Willaims' body will then be flown to Philadelphia for burial at the Zion Baptist Church at 3600 N. Broad St. at 11 a.m. on May 7. The funeral will be preceded by a viewing from 8 to 11 a.m.
KCAL 9

Pursuit Ends in Fatal Crash in North Hollywood
A suspected drunken driver was killed Thursday in a crash with a big rig while being pursued by officers in North Hollywood and police were investigating the possibly that the suspect shot himself, authorities said.  The three-minute pursuit ended about 1:25 p.m. at Magnolia Boulevard and Satsuma Avenue, Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations office said.  Eisenman confirmed the suspect was killed, but offered no other details. A gun was found in the suspect's car, according to LAPD Capt. Stephen Carmona.
NBC 4

LAPD: Guns, Internet Crime Against Children and Human Sex Trafficking
The Los Angeles Police Department held a Town Hall meeting on April 21 titled “Human Trafficking and Internet Crimes Against Children.” The town hall, held on April 21 at the John C. Argue Swim Stadium in Exposition Park, was attended by nearly 300 gang interventionists, local pastors, community leaders and youth workers.  “In the past 15 years, 507,000 people have been impacted by crime in this community,” observed LAPD Deputy William Scott. “These numbers are real. Everyone here has known somebody who has been impacted by violent crime. That number of crime victims could fill up the Los Angeles Coliseum six times.”
Los Angeles Sentinel

Man Accused Of Fatally Shooting Son Because He Was Gay Now Additionally Charged With Killing Wife
Authorities said the 69-year-old man North Hills man accused earlier this month of fatally shooting his son because he was gay has been additionally charged with the fatal stabbing of his wife. Shehada Khalil Issa had reportedly told officials he came home and discovered his son killed his wife and that he shot his son in self-defense. Deputy DA Emily Cole said Issa faces two counts of willful, deliberate and premeditated murder with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.
CBS 2

Homeless man could face death penalty in 7-Eleven stabbings that killed clerk
A homeless parolee pleaded not guilty Thursday to murdering a Valley Village convenience store clerk and to trying to kill the clerk's girlfriend after allegedly trying to steal a sandwich and beer from the store. Hasaan Blunt, 42, is charged with murder in the March 25 stabbing of Washi Uddin Ahmed, 55, of North Hollywood, along with the attempted murder of Ahmed's girlfriend, also a clerk at the 7-Eleven store at Laurel Canyon and Chandler boulevards. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Blunt. He also is charged with two felony counts of second-degree robbery and three misdemeanor counts of vandalism of vehicle tires with under $400 damage.
Los Angeles Daily News

South LA woman has been missing for a month
Police asked for the public's help today to find a 23-year-old woman who went missing in South Los Angeles. Alia Marie Littlefield was last seen about 9 p.m. on March 28 in the 700 block of West 109th St., near Hoover Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Littlefield is black, about 5 feet 7, around 125 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
She was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and a black sweater when she was last seen. Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts was urged to call the LAPD's Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800. After-hours or weekend calls can be directed to (877) LAPD-24-7 and anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
City News Service

Strict state gun-control measure close to making November ballot
Californians will vote in November on far-reaching new restrictions on firearms, including the nation's first requirement of background checks for buyers of ammunition, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday. Declaring a “historic opportunity to recapture our leadership nationwide on this issue,” Newsom said supporters will submit 600,000 signatures on petitions to qualify an initiative that would strengthen California's gun-control laws, already some of the strictest in the nation. They need 365,880 signatures of registered voters to make the ballot. Besides the checks for ammunition purchases — like those already in place for guns — the measure would ban possession of large-capacity rifle magazines, require gun owners to notify police when their weapons are lost or stolen, and enact rules for courts to confiscate guns from criminals who are prohibited from possessing them.
San Francisco Chronicle

A Lawyer Explains Where Police Shooting Settlement Cash Actually Goes
To the average American, the aftermath of police shootings might seem morbidly routine. After angry calls for a criminal conviction of the cop responsible, a local district attorney usually decides not to indict. That's when protests heat up, if they haven't already. Then, the Department of Justice is called upon to conduct a federal civil rights probe, which sometimes happens, but similarly tends to produce no criminal charges. Finally, the family, or the estate of the victim, files a wrongful death lawsuit against the city or police department behind the incident. This happened most recently in the Tamir Rice case in Cleveland, Ohio. The 12-year-old boy was shot and killed on a playground in November 2014 by an officer who mistook his toy gun for a real one. Over a year later, a grand jury decided not to indict the officer or his partner, sparking protests in Cleveland and nationwide. The Rice family brought a civil lawsuit, though, and, on Monday, they reached a settlement to the tune of $6 million. (An investigation by the feds, who recently imposed a consent decree to rein in excesses by Cleveland cops, is still pending.)
Vice.com

FBI arrests brother of San Bernardino terrorist and 2 others on marriage fraud charges
On the surface, it seemed like a happy marriage.  There were smiling photographs of the blissful couple. They appeared to be sharing a home in Corona. The bride had even picked out her groom's wedding ring.  But federal authorities say the union was sham.  The wedding ring was a $50 bargain-bin item, purchased more than a year after the purported marriage ceremony, prosecutors allege. The photographs were staged, and the husband was growing more anxious by the day. Privately, he told friends he was worried the couple weren't clicking. On social media, he published a desperate post admitting he was involved in terrorist plots and might go to prison for fraud, court records show.
Los Angeles Times