LAPD Takes Murder Suspect Into Custody After Hourslong Barricade In Lynwood

A murder suspect was taken into custody late Wednesday after she barricaded herself for hours inside a Lynwood apartment building. An LAPD SWAT team surrounded the apartment building in Lynwood around 6 p.m. and shut down surrounding streets as officers attempted to take the suspect into custody or convince her to surrender. The woman was accused of shooting and killing a man. She had hidden inside an apartment complex on the 3300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Lynwood near Long Beach Boulevard, police say. LAPD officers shut down MLK Boulevard in the area during the barricade. Shortly after 11 p.m., officers reported the suspect was in custody.

Investigation Underway After Body Discovered On Street In Van Nuys

Police are trying to determine the circumstances around the discovery of a body on a Van Nuys street early Wednesday morning. Officers received a man down call in the 6100 block of Sepulveda Boulevard about 2:30 a.m., Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Jim Gavin said. Fire department personnel pronounced the person, described only as a male, dead at the scene. Investigators are trying to determine if the person died at the location, or if the body may have been dumped there, Gavin said. Multiple surveillance cameras believed to be in the area could provide investigators with some answers, Gavin said. Authorities are searching for any witnesses in the case.

2 Surrender In Mid-Wilshire After Leading Police Pursuit In Bentley Spilling Cash

Two men are in custody after leading police on a chase in a white Bentley that ended in the Mid-Wilshire area. The chase started just after 2 p.m. on the 10 Freeway at Rampart. Police said one of the suspects was wanted for assault with a deadly weapon. Several patrol cars followed the luxury vehicle from the 10 Freeway to the 110 Freeway and then onto surface streets in the West L.A. area. At one point, he was spotted driving onto the playground of a school, and at another moment in the chase, what looked like money was seen flying out from behind the vehicle. The chase ended near Ninth Street and Highland Avenue in the Mid-Wilshire area. Cash was seen falling out of the vehicle as the two suspects complied with police orders to get out and lie down on the street.

Woman Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison After Pleading To Hit-and-Run Crash That Killed Man In DTLA

A 59-year-old woman was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to a hit-and-run crash that killed a man in an industrial area of downtown Los Angeles in May. Maria Perez, of Bell Gardens, pleaded no contest to hit-and-run driving resulting in death in connection with the May 7 incident that left Byern Smith, 51, dead, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Perez hit Byern near Seventh and Lawrence streets, officials said. Surveillance video released by the Los Angeles Police Department a week after the crash captured the driver of a white Scion xB striking the victim and swerving, but not stopping to help. The driver then pulled over at Gladys Avenue and Sixth Street and exited the vehicle, but went back inside and drove off.

Driver, 17, Arrested For DUI In Violent Metro Bus Collision In East LA

A 17-year-old DUI suspect has been arrested after a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus collided with a car in East L.A. Wednesday, leaving 12 people injured, including two critically. The crash involving a Metro Rapid bus and a Volkswagen Beetle occurred at about 10:45 a.m. in the 4200 block of Whittier Boulevard, near South Downey Road. SKY2 footage appeared to show the car nearly cut in half. In total, 12 people were injured, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson told CBSLA. Two people were critically hurt and another 10 sustained minor injuries. The 17-year-old driver was taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said Wednesday afternoon.

2 Boys Who Went Missing In Van Nuys Found Safe

Two brothers, age 10 and 8, were located Thursday morning after being reported missing in Van Nuys. The family of Michael and Makiy Burks and the LAPD's Van Nuys Division asked for the public’s assistance in finding the two boys who went missing on Wednesday evening. The children were last seen heading westbound on Vose Street from Sepulveda Boulevard after leaving their home. There was no evidence of foul play, police said. Their mother told FOX 11 she was trying to get the boys to bed on time to prepare for another day of online learning. Her efforts included taking the boys' beloved video games away. Makiy and Michael got upset with their mother and left their home while their mother was taking a shower, she said. Just before 5 a.m., police said they received a tip from someone in the Crenshaw District and shortly after, the boys were found safe. 

Garcetti Authorizes Utilities Shutoff At Hollywood Hills Party House

Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday he authorized the city to shut off utilities to a Hollywood Hills home where several large parties were hosted despite the COVID-19 pandemic and Safer at Home orders as well as multiple warnings from law enforcement.

"Mayor Garcetti wants to reimagine policing. He should send his civilian staff to turn off people's electricity & cut off their water," the Los Angeles Police Protective League tweeted Aug, 9. "Let officers deal with the rise in shootings and killings in L.A. We need a leader and not a political contortionist."

42-Year-Old Woman Missing From Atwater Village

Los Angeles police put out a call for public help Tuesday to locate a 42-year-old woman who suffers from an unidentified mental illness. Reina Salvador was last seen Aug. 10 in the 3400 block of Larga Avenue, near Tyburn Street, in Atwater Village, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Salvador is described as Asian, 5 feet, 2 inches tall and 95 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is encouraged to call the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 213-996-1800, or during non-business hours, 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Those wishing to report anonymously can call 800-222-TIPS.

Customs And Border Protection Officers Seize Hundreds Of Counterfeit Shoes At LAX

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said Wednesday its officers seized over 1,700 pairs of counterfeit Nike and Adidas shoes estimated to be worth $207,000 that had arrived at LAX via express air cargo from Hong Kong. Approximately 597 pairs of Nike Air Force One shoes, as well as 918 pairs of other counterfeit Nike shoes, 48 pairs of Adidas Mickey Edition shoes, and 192 pairs of other counterfeit Adidas shoes, were seized, according to the agency. If genuine, the seized merchandise would have had an estimated manufacturer's suggested retail price of $207,000, the agency said. Customs and Border Protection import specialists with the agency's Apparel Center confirmed that the shoes were in violation of the Nike and Adidas registered trademarks, the agency said. CBP officers assigned to LAX discovered the goods while conducting an enforcement check on a shipment of 22 boxes that arrived on July 3.

FBI Launches Election Messaging Campaign In Los Angeles

With fewer than 80 days to go until Election Day on Nov. 3, the FBI in Los Angeles has launched a public awareness campaign about election security at fbi.gov and across the agency’s social media platforms. The goal is to increase public awareness about threats to the upcoming election and to inform Americans how they can help the FBI ensure security. The threats include crimes the FBI has been investigating for decades, including campaign finance crimes, voter/ballot fraud, civil rights violations, and unique cyber threats targeting the election process. The campaign also cites the potential for foreign influence on the democratic process, elected officials and institutions. 

Victims Want Golden State Killer Sent To Toughest Prison

Victims of California serial killer and rapist Joseph DeAngelo want him locked away in a distant maximum security prison with other inmates since he isn’t going to spend the rest of his life on death row. But they may not hold much sway over where the 74-year-old former police officer known as the Golden State Killer is imprisoned after he is sentenced Friday. State corrections officials said they must make their own evaluation about where and how DeAngelo can be housed. Still, survivors and family members of victims have made recommendations during an ongoing sentencing hearing. “You should be sent to the toughest prison in California. What a despicable piece of humanity you are,” Dolly Kreis, the mother of rape victim Debbie Strauss, who died in 2016, told DeAngelo in court. Strauss’ sister urged Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Bowman to send DeAngelo to California’s notorious supermaximum Pelican Bay State Prison.

Public Safety News

“I’m dying right here”: Injured L.A. Firefighters Recount Narrow Escape From Downtown Blast

Los Angeles firefighter Andrew Tom hadn’t been inside the downtown building long when he heard the boom. Other firefighters said it was like a jet engine rocketing to life. Tom just knew it meant something terrible was about to happen. Seconds later, as flames consumed the room and lapped at his LAFD gear, Tom thought about his fire academy training and what he’d been told about a “flash over” — the amount of time that combustible materials will take to ignite during an enclosed fire. “They always say five seconds, or you’re gonna die. Five seconds went by. Ten seconds went by ... I was like there’s no way I’m getting out, at all,” Tom said. “That’s where my mind went into: It’s over. I’m gonna die in here.” One of 11 firefighters who narrowly escaped a May explosion inside a downtown L.A. warehouse, Tom and several others spoke about the hellish experience Wednesday as they were reunited with the staff who helped heal their injuries at the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills.

LA County Reports 60 Additional Coronavirus Deaths, 1,956 New Cases

Los Angeles County health officials reported another five dozen deaths from COVID-19 Wednesday while addressing racial disparities in the impact of the virus. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced 61 deaths, but five of those fatalities were actually reported Tuesday by health officials in Long Beach. Long Beach added four more deaths Wednesday. Since the pandemic began, 5,396 people have died from the virus in Los Angeles County. The county also reported 1,956 new cases bringing the total number since the start of the pandemic to 225,910. Of the cases reported Wednesday, about 100 were from a statewide reporting backlog and “a few hundred” from a large testing lab that provided delayed results from earlier in the week. 

California Firefighting Resources ‘Stretched’ By 23 Major Wildfires, Newsom Says

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that resources to fight wildfires are “stretched” as more than 23 major fires scorch California, burning homes, forcing evacuations and raining ash across the northern part of the state. Governors in Nevada, Arizona and Texas have agreed to send engines or crews to support California, but the call for mutual aid from other states is complicated by a historic heat wave across the West, Newsom said. The high temperatures have strained the state’s energy grid and resulted in power outages for hundreds of thousands of residents. “We are challenged right now by the number of new fires all over the state of California,” the governor said during a midday briefing. “We’ve put out every resource we have.”