Mentees Of LAPD Officer Now In College

As the city of Los Angeles announced a new push for community policing, one Los Angeles Police Department officer says the rewards are already in play.

13 Additional LAPD Employees Test Positive For Coronavirus, Totaling 471 Cases

Thirteen additional Los Angeles Police Department employees have tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Wednesday. The announcement comes after the death of two LAPD employees from coronavirus complications. 39-year-old non-sworn senior detention officer Erica McAdoo died earlier this month and a sworn police officer, 45-year-old police officer Valentin Martinez, died last week. To date, there have been 471 LAPD employees who have tested positive for coronavirus. Of those, 228 are at home recovering or self-isolating and 283 have returned to work, according to the city’s Emergency Operations Center.

Person Dies In Hit-And-Run Crash Between Motorcycle And Vehicle In Chatsworth

A person was killed Wednesday afternoon in a hit-and-run crash involving a motorcycle and vehicle in Chatsworth. The collision was reported shortly after 1 p.m. near the intersection of De Soto Avenue and Chatsworth Street, according to Officer Jader Chaves of the Los Angeles Police Department. The unidentified victim died at the scene, said Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The LAPD was investigating the crash as a hit-and-run, but no other details were immediately released.

Texas Man Pleads Not Guilty In Shooting Death Of 17-Year-Old Girl At Hollywood Street Race

A Texas man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges related to a fatal shooting in Hollywood early Sunday morning that killed a 17-year-old girl. Ramon Roque Monreal, 33, of El Paso, was charged Tuesday with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder, along with gun and great bodily injury allegations. Monreal has been accused of pulling out a gun during a physical altercation that erupted early Sunday morning at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue following an illegal street racing sideshow. Some of the fight, which broke out shortly after midnight, was caught on cell phone video in which shots can be heard. Prosecutors alleged Monreal fired multiple shots when people in the crowd attempted to disarm him. At least one of the bullets struck 17-year-old Alejandra “Ale” Estrada of Huntington Park, who died at the scene.

Charges Dropped Against Man Accused Of Assaulting Realtor During Open House; Ruled Mentally Incompetent

After being ruled mentally incompetent, all charges have been dropped against a man after he was caught on video allegedly assaulting and groping a local realtor during her open house last fall. On September 25, 2019, LAPD arrested Alen Karaboghosian and charged him with felony assault with intent to commit rape in connection to the sexual assault of that realtor, and four counts of misdemeanor sexual battery in connection with the alleged assaults of four other women. The realtor, who asked FOX 11 for anonymity, said she recently got a call from the District Attorney’s office, notifying her that all charges against Karaboghosian were being dropped. “He just told me that the judge felt this person was incompetent to be on trial and he dropped all the charges,” she said. “I went crazy because I feel justice was not served. I’m very scared, and I’m very upset.”

4 Sentenced For Their Role In Voter Fraud Scheme That Bribed People On Skid Row With Money, Cigarettes

Four more men were sentenced after admitting to their involvement in a large-scale scheme to bribe homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for forged signatures on ballot petitions and voter registration forms, prosecutors said Wednesday. Richard Howard, 64, and Louis Thomas Wise, 37, both pleaded no contest Friday to subscribing a false name to a petition and registration of a fictitious person, both felonies, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Christopher Joseph Williams, 41, and 45-year-old Nickey Demelvin Huntley also pleaded no contest Friday to one felony count of circulating an initiative containing false, forged or fictitious names, the DA’s office said. Howard was given a suspended sentence of three years in state prison and three years of probation, while Wise was given a suspended sentence of 16 months in state prison and three years of formal probation.

Police Search For Glendale Hit-and-Run Suspect Who Injured 13-Year-Old Girl

A 13-year-old girl remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Glendale, and authorities are seeking public help to locate the suspect. The vehicle struck the pedestrian about 3:15 p.m. Friday in the 800 block of East Garfield Avenue, between Mariposa and Adams streets, according to the Glendale Police Department. The motorist stopped the car “momentarily before speeding off” eastbound on Garfield, police reported. Authorities do not have a suspect description, but the vehicle was a black 2019 or 2020 Lexus GX460, police reported. The SUV likely has damage to its right front headlight assembly or right front bumper. Anyone with information about the suspect was encouraged to call the Glendale Police Department at 818-548-4911.

Gardena Man Sentenced To Over 10 Years In Prison

An alleged member of a Gardena street gang was sentenced to 123 months in prison for firearm- and drug-related charges after two separate attempts to flee from law enforcement, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced Wednesday. Jonathan Gregory Wheeler — also known as Johnny Boy or Stix — pleaded guilty last year to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, according to the ATF. He was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles federal court by U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. In October 2017, Wheeler, a convicted felon on post-release community supervision at the time, was stopped by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Gun Sales Soar Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Redstone Firearms in Burbank is the only black-owned gun shop on the West Coast. Every day it is buzzing with new gun buyers. People who for the first time in their lives are looking to arm themselves. Compton resident Valerie Burks says, “Never thought I would need a gun but with everything going on; everything is crazy! I just feel like I need more protection.” That’s how many people feel. The FBI reported a record-high 3.9 million background check applications just in the month of June. “A lot of folks who are fed up with becoming victims, not necessarily from police but violence in general, are arming themselves in order to protect themselves and their families,” says Jonathan Solomon, the owner of Redstone Firearms.

California Considers Strict ‘George Floyd’ Law To Punish Police Who Fail To Intervene

Outraged that Minneapolis officers stood by while their colleague killed George Floyd, California lawmakers are considering a tough law to punish police who fail to intervene when witnessing potential excessive force — including possible criminal charges and being banned from law enforcement. If enacted, the proposed law would put California at the forefront of legal efforts to criminalize the “blue code of silence” that many say contributed to Floyd’s death. But the bill, authored by Assemblyman Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), has set off a fight with law enforcement agencies around the state who contend the rule is largely redundant but places a criminal penalty on officers during situations that often involve split-second decisions. “This misguided proposal criminalizes officers who may not have a complete understanding of the incident and have different viewpoints. Strong policies, robust training and fair discipline is far more appropriate than criminal sanctions,” said the board of directors of the Los Angeles Police Protective League in a statement.

Border Patrol Agents Find $200,000 Of Fentanyl Disguised As Groceries

It looked like a bag of groceries in the trunk: laundry detergent, a couple of cans of food, bags of flour, a box of instant mashed potatoes. But the drug-sniffing dog was not fooled. Tucked inside that benign packaging was $200,000 worth of fentanyl. U.S. Border Patrol agents based in San Diego discovered the drugs Monday in the trunk of a car at the checkpoint on Interstate 8 near Pine Valley, the agency said Tuesday in a media release. At about 2 p.m., a woman in a blue 2013 Chevrolet Malibu pulled up to the checkpoint, the agency said. As agents questioned the 28-year-old driver, the dog went to work smelling the vehicle and got a hit. A search of the car turned up a bag of groceries in the trunk. But hidden inside the otherwise unremarkable items were 39 packages that tested positive for fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and perhaps 100 times more potent than morphine.

Public Safety News

L.A. County Reports 91 Deaths From COVID-19, The Most In A Single Day

Los Angeles County reported 4,825 new coronavirus cases and 91 deaths Wednesday — a new daily record for fatalities. The numbers, which were affected in part by a backlog of cases and deaths being reported from last Thursday through Sunday, bring the county’s total number of infections to more than 180,000 and the death toll to more than 4,500. Three of the newly reported deaths were among people between the ages of 18 and 29. Two of those people had underlying health conditions. That age group accounts for 0.6% of the county’s total deaths. Health officials said that roughly 8% of all cases are among children under the age of 18. No child has died from the virus, but a total of 16 children have developed MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome), also known as PIMS (pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome) — a disease of inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported may be linked to the novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus: California Breaks Single-Day Death Record, With Fatalities All Over The State

or the third time in the past week, California set a new record for daily deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, sparing few corners of the state. Six counties reported at least 10 fatalities, including 51 in Los Angeles, while two others recorded their most yet in a single day on the state’s path to 164 deaths on Tuesday, according to data compiled by this news organization. That seven-day average climbed higher than it has ever been, 119 deaths per day over the past week, even as the number of new cases has plateaued around 9,215 per day, with another 10,006 reported on Tuesday. The state previously set a daily record with 155 fatalities last Wednesday, then broke that mark the next day, with 156 fatalities.

Local Government News

L.A. Councilman Calls For City To Issue Fines Of Up To $500 On Those Who Don’t Wear Masks In Public

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz called Wednesday for the city to issue financial penalties to those who fail to wear masks in public — starting with $100 for the first violation. Koretz, who represents a district stretching from the Westside north to Encino, wants his colleagues to approve an ordinance imposing an escalating series of fines for those who fail to comply with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s three-month-old emergency mask order. Under the proposal, those who are caught in public without a face covering a second time would be fined $250. A third violation would cost $500.

L.A. City Council Votes To Resume Cleanups Around A Bridge Home Sites

The City Council voted Wednesday to resume cleanups by CARE Plus teams around A Bridge Home site zones, where homeless people are temporarily housed, after the cleanups were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the regular CARE teams have continued to do spot cleanups, but the council temporarily suspended cleanups of large bulky items at homeless encampments and shelters, which are handled by CARE Plus teams. That was done so homeless people could socially distance without fear of losing their belongings or becoming infected with the virus.