Man Shot After Trying to Escape LAPD Custody Charged in Kidnapping, Rape of Teen Girl: DA's Office
A man who was shot by police after trying to escape LAPD custody following his arrest earlier this week has been charged in the kidnapping and rape of a teenage girl, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Friday. Freddy Bailon, 36, faced 10 felony counts, including kidnapping, making criminal threats, forcible rape and lewd act on a child, the DA's office stated in a news release.
KTLA 5

LAPD reassigns elite cops after killings fall in South L.A. but crime jumps in other parts of L.A.
With homicides declining steadily after a large spike earlier this year, the Los Angeles Police Department has scaled back an emergency crime-fighting operation that had flooded South Los Angeles with officers from the elite Metropolitan Division. Starting on Saturday, more than half of the Metro officers who were deployed in South Los Angeles were assigned to other areas, though they will still be dispatched to crime hot spots as needed.
Los Angeles Times

LA task force arrests 20 people wanted for murder, attempted murder
The Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force has arrested 20 people wanted for murder or attempted murder in the past two months, according to the FBI. The task force, which has been around for more than two decades, specializes in finding fugitives who are suspects in Los Angeles-area crimes or suspects who flee from other locations to the Los Angeles area, according to an FBI news release issued Friday. 
Los Angeles Daily News

LA's Most Wanted: Killing of Edwin Morales in Norwalk
Edwin Morales loved to play basketball with his friends.  The 23-year-old especially liked to play basketball at Gerdes Park in Norwalk which was about two blocks from where he grew up. But on Saturday night, July 11, 2015, Edwin played his last game. 
Fox 11

LAPD Issues Citywide Tactical Alert After Protests Erupt In South LA Over Fatal Police Shooting
Protests erupted at a South Los Angeles intersection Sunday night not far from where a teenager died in an officer-involved shooting after police say he fled from a suspected stolen vehicle. Shortly before 10 p.m., authorities issued a citywide tactical alert and asked protesters standing at the intersection of Western Avenue and 108th Street to disperse or they would be arrested.
ABC 7

Man Killed in Second Officer-Involved Shooting in South LA in 2 Days
One man was killed today in the second officer-involved shooting in South Los Angeles involving the Los Angeles Police Department in as many days, police said. The shooting was reported just before 5 p.m. at 45th Street and Ascot Avenue, according to an officer at the LAPD Newton Station.
City News Service, Los Angeles Times

Mayor Garcetti's House Egged Following Fatal Police Shooting of 18-Year-Old
A crowd of ardent demonstrators rallied in South Los Angeles and outside Mayor Eric Garcetti's Hancock Park home into Sunday morning after a Los Angeles police officer fatally shot an 18-year-old man following a stolen vehicle pursuit.
KTLA 5

Alleged Naked Man Barricades Self Inside West Los Angeles Apartment
Los Angeles police tried to persuade a man, who was allegedly naked, to peacefully surrender after he barricaded himself inside a West Los Angeles home. Authorities received a call around 4:50 p.m. Saturday regarding a naked man walking around an apartment complex in the 1900 block of Pelham Avenue. Police said he may have mental issues.
ABC 7

3 Men With Knives Attack Fairfax Restaurant Customers
What started as a normal brunch in Los Angeles' Fairfax district ended in knives and shattered glass Sunday after three men started attacking restaurant staff and customers. The attack started around 3 p.m. at an Italian restaurant called Spartina, witnesses told NBC4. 
NBC 4

Pedestrian Dies In Harvard Heights Hit-And-Run
A man died Saturday morning in Harvard Heights after he was struck by two vehicles, one of which fled, while crossing the street. The hit-and-run was reported at 12:10 a.m. at the intersection of Western Avenue and Cambridge Street where the man was struck while crossing in an unmarked crosswalk, according to Sgt. Dennis Diviak of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Traffic Division.
CBS 2

Trial Underway in Beating Death of USC Engineering Grad Student
Opening statements took place Friday in the trial of an 18-year-old girl who is one of four people accused of violently beating USC grad student Xinran Ji to death. The 24-year-old engineering student from China was attacked in July 2014 while returning from a study session after what appears to be an attempted robbery. A train of blood led to his 30th Street apartment near the university, police have said.
KTLA 5

Prosecutors announce charges against man seen kidnapping and beating store clerk with hammer
A man seen on a convenience store security camera kidnapping the clerk as she tries to fight him off in Exposition Park has been charged with a host of felonies and faces life in prison if convicted, prosecutors said Friday. Jose Eduardo Gaxiola Caro, 29, was armed with a hammer when he grabbed the woman and dragged her out of the store to his idling car Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Los Angeles Times

Metro combats sexual harassment with 'Off Limits' campaign
Every six months, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has asked its passengers if they are enjoying the ride. The questions are not just about whether the trip was bumpy. The last few surveys have asked about a different kind of discomfort, like unwanted sexual comments or contact.
Fox 11

More than 1,500 bodies await testing at backlogged LA County morgue
Six months after the head of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner abruptly resigned because of funding cuts and staff shortages, bodies continue to pile up at the morgue as they await testing. There are 1,548 pending toxicology cases — a 28 percent reduction since May — when there were 2,166 pending cases.
Los Angeles Daily News

Video shows crowd in Fresno attacking CHP cruiser with officer inside
Video captured a crowd attacking a California Highway Patrol vehicle in Fresno with an officer inside last week.  The incident took place last weekend, and three men have since been arrested in connection with the case.
Los Angeles Times

California toughens laws against rape after Brown signs bills inspired by Brock Turner case
Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation that expands the legal definition of rape and imposes new mandatory minimum sentences on some sexual assault offenders -- measures inspired amid national outcry over the sexual assault case of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner.
Los Angeles Times

California offenders are no longer eligible for early release in the deaths of police officers
California offenders will no longer be eligible for early release if they have been convicted of murder in the death of a police officer. Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed legislation that exempts offenders from consideration for compassionate or medical release. 
Los Angeles Times

Realignment 5 years on: Counties building 10K cells for inmates with mental illness
Five years removed from one of the most sweeping criminal justice reforms ever implemented in the state, California's 58 counties are still coming to grips with the effects of the plan known as Public Safety Realignment.
KQED

Man sentenced to 30 years for shooting at Texas officers
A 23-year-old Lubbock man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to three violent first-degree felonies, one of which includes shooting at police officers investigating him two years ago for two armed robberies. Ruben Salazar pleaded guilty to first-degree felony charges of aggravated assault of a public servant, aggravated robbery and burglary of a habitation with intent on another felony in exchange for the punishment recommended by the Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal