Philadelphia Police Officer Shot, Killed Serving Warrant

A Philadelphia SWAT officer was shot and killed while executing a warrant early Friday, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Cpl. James O’Connor, 46, was a 23-year veteran who served his last 15 years on the SWAT team. Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Cpl. O'Connor was shot in the shoulder when officers entered a building. The subject of the warrant for a 2019 homicide was taken into custody. “We just want everybody to know it’s a very sad day, not just for officers here, but it’s a very sad day for the family who is here and who is mourning and is still trying to stomach all this,” Outlaw said. This is the third incident in 18 months in which police officers were wounded serving warrants.

LAPD Makes Arrest In One Family’s Tragic Hit-and-Run But Needs Help In Many More

Every time Wendy Granados called a Los Angeles Police Department detective for an update, she would receive the same response. There were no leads in the search for the person who had killed her 38-year-old sister, Kiesha Saravia, and her unborn child in a South L.A. hit-and-run in July. She shouldn’t lose hope, officers told her, but it could take months or years to solve a case. Eventually, Granados began checking in less frequently. Then about two weeks ago, while she was on the freeway, a detective called. They had arrested a 21-year-old man who had confessed to be the driver of the vehicle. “I was just driving and crying,” Granados said. “I told myself, ‘gracias a Dios.’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, my God, he’s so young.’” The arrest reflects the challenging and tedious work that goes into solving hit-and-run collisions. Many leave few clues to go on, and families can wait for long periods of time while officers work to identify the suspects. The crashes often occur late at night with no witnesses, and video footage showing a car flash by may be too grainy to decipher a license plate.

Mother Booked On Murder Charge In Head-On Crash That Killed Baby Boy

After a 4-month-old baby boy was killed and two other children hospitalized following a crash, the children's mother was booked on a murder charge into Van Nuys Valley Jail. She was suspected of driving drunk. The head-on crash was reported at about midnight Monday in the 15200 block of West Nordhoff Street in the west San Fernando Valley community. A white sport utility vehicle driven by the children's mother, later identified as Irlanda Sanchez, 23, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a black SUV, police said. The white SUV then crashed into parked cars, police said. Sanchez was accused of being behind the wheel of the white SUV, traveling with her three children -- two 4-month-old twins and a toddler -- who were hospitalized in the crash, police said. Jacob Sanchez, one of the twins, later died at the hospital. The 4-month-old twin girl and the 2-year-old were in critical condition that evening. They were later listed as having severe to moderate injuries. The driver of the black SUV was hospitalized with moderate injuries. Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of murder and DUI. She remained jailed Thursday.

Police Arrest LA Man In Serious Hit-and-Run That Injured 92-Year-Old

A 21-year-old man suspected in a hit-and-run that severely injured a 92-year-old pedestrian in the Westlake district was arrested Thursday. Juan Jesus Ajanel-Perez, of Los Angeles, was arrested after confessing to the crime in an interview with Central Traffic Division investigators, police said. Ajanel-Perez was driving a black 2004 Honda Accord near James M. Wood Boulevard and Burlington Avenue, one block north of Olympic Boulevard, about 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 7 when it struck the man, knocking him over, police said. Witnesses made contact with the driver, but he sped off without rendering aid or identifying himself as required, police reported. Jang Lim sustained a small skull fracture and bruising throughout his face and knees, police said. Police had the car’s license plate number. Its discovery this week led to the suspect’s arrest, police said. The vehicle’s registration had expired, police reported.

Pimping Suspect Arrested In North Hollywood May Have Been Linked To Nationwide Network, LAPD Says

The arrest of a man accused of pimping a woman in North Hollywood last month touched off a multi-state investigation into what Los Angeles police detectives call an expansive human-trafficking and prostitution ring. Christopher Moss, 33, who police said goes by “Daddy Cash,” was arrested Feb. 3 after a friend of the victim called police. Moss and the woman were in an argument, the friend reported, and she could be in danger. When officers arrived in the 3600 block of Barham Place at around 7:30 p.m., they talked to her and determined she was pimped out to clients around the San Fernando Valley. “They run these like a business,” Detective Cynthia Gonzales said. “We believe there could be between four and eight victims.” Searches online turned up social-media accounts and profiles Moss allegedly set up on dating websites that he used to contact women across the country over the last two years. Detectives said he first posed as a modeling scout in messages to the women.

Man, 55, Last Seen In Stevenson Ranch, Missing

A 55-year-old man who was last seen in Stevenson Ranch was missing Thursday evening. John Anthony Kern was last seen in the 25000 block of Steinbeck Avenue about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Deputy Marvin Crowder of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Kern is white, 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds with hazel eyes and short brown hair and a goatee. He was last seen wearing a tan shirt and orange shorts, Crowder said. Kern drives a gray 2016 Ford F-150 pickup truck with black wheels, California license plate number 0FNSIV2. Anyone with information about Kern’s whereabouts was asked to call the Sheriff’s Missing Persons Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.

Robert Durst Murder Trial: Witnesses Testify To Abuse Of First Wife

More than 40 years ago, in a tavern on the east side of Manhattan, James McCormack met his little sister’s boyfriend. Even then, Robert Durst seemed odd, McCormack recalled on the witness stand Thursday. Intelligent, if disengaged. A dry, almost cruel sense of humor. “If someone tripped,” McCormack said, “he would laugh.” Beginning with her childhood on Long Island and ending with her disappearance in 1982, McCormack led the jury through the life of his youngest sister, Kathleen, who married Durst in 1973 and vanished nine years later. But in this murder trial, McCormack’s sister is not the victim. Los Angeles prosecutors are trying to pull off a Russian doll set of a case, nesting the murder of Susan Berman, Durst’s close friend and confidante, within the disappearance of Kathie Durst. They allege Durst killed his wife in 1982, then, years later, eliminated the only person who could tie him to the crime — Berman.

Sacramento Judge OKs More DNA Tests From Golden State Killer Suspect

A Northern California judge on Thursday approved prosecutors’ request to take more DNA samples from a man charged with being the infamous “Golden State Killer” who eluded arrest for decades. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Steve White also told prosecutors to informally decide who is empowered to consider defense attorneys’ offer have Joseph James DeAngelo plead guilty in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. So far, prosecutors have not wavered from their intent to seek DeAngelo’s execution if he is convicted. The 74-year-old former police officer is suspected of at least 13 murders and more than 50 rapes across California in the 1970s and 1980s. Six counties have consolidated their cases in Sacramento County, and four of those counties are seeking the death penalty.

3 L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputies, 5 Firefighters Quarantined Amid Coronavirus Concern

Three L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies and five firefighters have been quarantined after responding to the death of a woman this week with coronavirus, the sheriff said on Thursday. The 60-year-old woman tested positive for the novel coronavirus after her death in Pomona on Monday, March 9. She had been visiting a family in Walnut, officials have confirmed. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the woman had an underlying medical condition and had traveled internationally, including a long layover in South Korea. The woman died shortly after she was hospitalized in full cardiac arrest, according to Ferrer and officials at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. In a health alert shared to its website Thursday, the city of Walnut said the woman’s travel history included a stay at a residence there. Los Angeles County public health officials have said the woman did not circulate around the community and stayed primarily at the residence.

Emergency Rooms Bracing For Explosion Of Coronavirus Cases In Coming Weeks

Emergency room physicians nationwide are preparing for a surge in patients infected with the coronavirus, said Dr. William Jaquis, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, in a call with reporters on Thursday. “COVID is very serious and we’re treating it as such,” he said. “We understand this is going to be a fairly tremendous strain on our health system.” Jaquis said case counts of COVID-19 in the United States are likely to explode in the coming weeks. “As testing increases, we’re going to see that number is going to grow,” he said. “Hopefully giving us a better idea of the true incidence of the disease, as well as the severity.” UC Davis ER physician Dr. Aimee Moulin said doctors are typically dealing with high patient volumes this time of year, as it is flu season. “To some level, this is something that we are used to regularly dealing with and it is something we are trained to take care of,” she said.

LA Mayor Garcetti Calls For Events Of More Than 50 People To Be Postponed Or Canceled Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Los Angeles will take broad new steps to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and mitigate the economic impacts that are bound to be massive, city and county officials announced Thursday, March 12. Mayor Eric Garcetti, at a press conference Thursday alongside county leaders and public health officials, recommended postponing or canceling events that attract more than 50 people. The city will also restrict travel by the city’s employees, among other measures. City Hall will close to all non-employees, he added. “We are entering a critical period and I’m confident we will go through this together but it will require all of us making the right decision,” Garcetti said “The coronavirus curve is steep. The question is how steep will that curve be,” the mayor added.