1 Officer Killed, 1 Injured In Seattle Suburb; Suspect In Custody

A man who killed one police officer and wounded another while fleeing from a traffic stop in a Seattle suburb was found hiding on a nearby rooftop and arrested without incident early Tuesday, police said. A tweet from the Bothell Fire Department around 11 p.m. PST said two Bothell officers were “down” following a pursuit. Bothell police Captain Mike Johnson later announced that one of them was killed. For most of the night, Bothell police said they were searching for a male suspect who was armed and wearing a gray tank top and baggy sweatpants. They eventually found him nearby, police said: “Subject was located hiding on a rooftop near the scene.” It’s unclear what sparked the pursuit and subsequent shooting.

16 Additional LAPD Employees Test Positive For COVID-19 Bringing Total To 386

The Los Angeles Police Department reported Tuesday an additional 16 employees have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the department’s total to 386. Of the employees, 233 are at home recovering or self-isolating due to possible exposure, and 207 employees have returned to work. The increase in cases comes nearly two weeks after LAPD announced its first employee death from the coronavirus. On July 3, Senior Detention Officer Erica McAdoo died from coronavirus complications.

4 Arrested On Suspicion Of Assaulting A Police Officer During Downtown L.A. Protest

Four people were arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer Tuesday afternoon during a downtown Los Angeles protest, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The four men were near protesters on Wilshire Boulevard and South Figueroa Street about 3:45 p.m., said Officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the LAPD. “Officers were in the area when they observed a couple individuals who they decided to talk to,” he said. “I guess there were some protesters there in the area and they apparently were getting involved with the officers.” Lopez could not confirm whether the four people arrested were the protesters themselves. He said he doesn’t know what they did to the officer.

Officials: Remains Of 2 People Found Near Lake Los Angeles

Homicide detectives are investigating after the skeletal remains of two people were uncovered in the Antelope Valley east of Lake Los Angeles, officials said Tuesday. A hiker first alerted authorities to the discovery around 6:30 p.m. Monday in the area of 230th Street East and East Avenue P-3, near the Gary Butte Field Airport, L.A. County sheriff’s officials said in a news release. Because it was growing dark, deputies secured the scene but did not conduct further investigation Monday night. When homicide detectives and coroner’s investigators returned Tuesday morning, they say they found the remains of the second victim after searching the surrounding area. Coroner’s officials are now working to determine the pair’s identities and causes of death.

Arraignment Postponed For Two Defendants In Pop Smoke’s Killing

Arraignment was postponed Tuesday to Aug. 24 for two young men charged with killing rapper Pop Smoke during a robbery at a Hollywood Hills home nearly five months ago. Corey Walker, 19, and Keandre Rodgers, 18, are charged with capital murder in connection with the Feb. 19 killing of the 20-year-old New York-based rapper, whose real name was Bashar Jackson. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation that the murder was committed during the commission of a robbery and burglary. Prosecutors will decide later whether to pursue the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole for the defendants, who are also facing gang and gun allegations.

Woman Sentenced To 21 Years In Prison For Landlord’s Killing

A woman was sentenced Tuesday to 21 years in state prison for killing her landlord in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles. Kristen Olson, 41, pleaded no contest June 25 to voluntary manslaughter with a gun use allegation in connection with Royce Leon Lanham’s September 2018 shooting death. Lanham’s body, wrapped in a tarp, was found in the back yard of his home, where Olson rented a room, on Sept. 12, 2018. The 62-year-old victim was left near a shovel and a grave that had been freshly dug in the back yard of the home, said Deputy District Attorney Brianna Peden. Lanham — who may have been killed as much as a week earlier — had been shot multiple times. Authorities believe he may have wanted to evict Olsacon because of her erratic behavior, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

42-Year-Old Man Missing From Harbor City Area

Authorities Tuesday circulated a photo of a 42-year-old man who went missing in the Harbor City area more than a month ago. Ashraf Ahmed “Ashton” Shah was last seen about noon on June 10 at the intersection of West Lomita Boulevard and South Vermont Avenue, near the border of Los Angeles and the unincorporated West Carson area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He was wearing a blue shirt, black shorts and Vans shoes. Shah is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 150 pounds, with brown eyes and short brown hair, the sheriff’s department reported. Anyone with information about his whereabouts was encouraged to call Detective D. Morris with the sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500.

2 Arrested In Fatal Glendale Restaurant Shooting

A man and a woman were behind bars Tuesday in connection with a Glendale restaurant shooting that killed a 20-year-old man and injured a 10-year-old child, police reported. The shooting occurred about 9 p.m. May 20 at El Sauz Tacos in the 4400 block of San Fernando Road, according to Sgt. Christian Hauptmann of the Glendale Police Department. The man, Teodik Atanes, was taken to a hospital, where he died, and the 10-year-old, who was shot in the arm, was treated at a hospital and released, Hauptmann said. David Rodriguez, 20, and Liana Mkrtchyan, 21, were arrested last Thursday on suspicion of murder, Hauptmann said.

Police Searching For Woman Who Assaulted Bus Driver Over Long Layover In Culver City

Police are searching for a woman who assaulted a bus driver over a long layover in Culver City, officials said Tuesday. Surveillance video of the Sunday incident shows a woman making her way through the bus, toward the driver and then pulling the driver out of her seat and striking her repeatedly as the driver tries to push her away. The woman called the driver an obscenity then began hitting her, the Culver City Police Department said. It was around 1:45 p.m. The bus was parked while the driver waited for her scheduled departure time. “The female suspect was upset due to an extended layover,” police said. After attacking the driver, the woman went outside to the front of the bus and vandalized the windshield wipers, police said. Video that captured the woman’s face very clearly shows her twisting the wipers out of shape.

Ex-Rehab Center Operator Sentenced For Sexually Assaulting Patients

The former owner and operator of more than a dozen Southland drug-treatment and rehabilitation centers was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 53 years in state prison for sexually assaulting or exploiting seven patients and offering controlled substances. Christopher Bathum – who owned and operated Community Recovery of Los Angeles and other entities in Southern California and Colorado – was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Bathum was convicted in February 2018 of 31 counts, including forcible rape, sexual penetration by a foreign object, forcible oral copulation, sexual exploitation and offering controlled substances, including methamphetamine and heroin. Jurors acquitted Bathum, now 58, of a dozen other charges and deadlocked on three remaining counts.

Public Safety News

LA County Reports Record Numbers Of Coronavirus Cases, Hospitalizations

Potentially moving the region closer to renewed stay-at-home orders, Los Angeles County reported a single-day record number of coronavirus cases on Tuesday, while the volume of people hospitalized due to the virus reached its highest point of the pandemic. The county Department of Public Health announced another 4,244 cases of the coronavirus, raising the cumulative total from the start of the pandemic to 140,307. The county also reported 73 additional deaths, although two of those fatalities were actually announced Monday by health officials in Long Beach. As of Tuesday afternoon, the county's death toll from the pandemic stood at 3,894. More concerning is the continuing rise in hospitalizations, with the number climbing to 2,103.

California Sets New Priorities For Who Is Tested For Coronavirus As Demand Surges

State officials adopted new guidelines Tuesday outlining who should be prioritized for COVID-19 testing in California as cases surged and counties reported delayed lab results. The new rules mark a move away from the Newsom administration‘s plans for anyone, including those without symptoms, to be tested for the virus in California. The guidelines instead adopt tiers that prioritize the testing of hospitalized patients with coronavirus symptoms, other symptomatic people, and then higher-risk asymptomatic individuals, according to state health officials. “Today’s testing guidelines ... set priorities — Tier 1 and Tier 2 priorities — that look to really focus our initial testing on people who have symptoms,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s secretary of Health and Human Services, during a briefing on Tuesday. Through such testing, he said, “we can make really important efforts in suppressing disease transmission.”