Two Killed, Sheriff’s Deputy Wounded In Shootout Near Sacramento

A gunman shot and killed a woman inside her home before critically wounding a sheriff’s deputy outside in a wild shootout at a Northern California mobile home park, authorities said. The shooter, described only as a 29-year-old man, was killed by Sacramento County deputies in the exchange of gunfire Saturday evening in Rancho Cordova, the Sacramento Bee reported. The wounded deputy, who was not identified, was struck twice and was in critical condition before surgery late Saturday, said Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones. There were no immediate updates Sunday. “Officers responding to a routine call for service were met with gunfire and returned fire,” Jones said at a news conference, according to the Bee.

LAPD Resumes Enforcement To Clear Tents In Venice Beach

In an abrupt turnaround, LAPD will resume enforcing a ban on homeless people pitching tents and lean-tos on the beach and grass areas around the Venice boardwalk. On Wednesday, LAPD Chief Michael Moore emailed Venice homeowner and activist Mark Ryavec that he and Westside City Councilman Mike Bonin had decided police would not enforce an anti-camping law in Venice in light of concerns from health officials that displacing homeless people could spread the novel coronavirus. But the next day, Moore said in a follow up email to Ryavec that Bonin had decided to leave the decision to the LAPD. Department officials chose to reverse course, saying officers will begin cracking down on camps on the sand immediately and those on grass areas after the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has had a chance to find spots in shelters for people.

Veteran LAFD Firefighter Francisco Aguilar Missing After Trip To Mexico, FBI Assisting In Investigation

A 20-year veteran firefighter with the Los Angeles Fire Department is missing abroad after a weekend trip to Mexico. Francisco Aguilar was last heard from on Friday, August 21 after going to his condo in Rosarito, Mexico. Loved ones say when Aguilar is away he usually checks in with them, but he has not answered any calls since Friday morning. Aguilar’s mother Martha Carmona said the three days since she has heard from her son have felt like a “nightmare.” Aguilar’s brother Gabriel went to Mexico to help search but only found Aguilar’s condo in disarray as if it had been ransacked and his brother’s cars missing.

Man Stabbed To Death Outside Venice Apartment Building

 A 22-year-old man was stabbed and killed outside an apartment complex in Venice Sunday night. The victim was in an argument with the suspect in 500 block of North Venice Boulevard when he was stabbed at around 9:30 p.m., Los Angeles police said. The suspect fled, and officers arrived to find the victim dead at the scene. He was not immediately identified. There was no description of the suspect or a motive in the attack. It is not believed to be gang-related, police said.

Photos Show Passenger In Vermont Square Hit-and-Run That Left Pedestrian Critically Injured, LAPD Says

The Los Angeles Police Department released images Friday showing a woman believed to be the passenger in a vehicle that struck and critically injured a man in Vermont Square. Around 7:40 p.m. Aug. 14, James Stokes was crossing southbound on West Vernon Avenue at South Harvard Boulevard when a black Honda Civic traveling at a high speed struck him, according to police. The driver fled eastbound on Vernon without stopping to help Stokes, police said. Stokes was taken to a nearby hospital with critical injuries, police said. In a statement, police described the crash as a “severe felony” hit-and-run. According to LAPD, the newly released photos were taken by a witness to the crash who reported following the vehicle and confronting its occupants. Police said the woman in the photos got out of the front passenger seat of the Honda holding an open bottle of alcohol when the witness confronted her and the driver near Normandie Avenue.

‘Shame On You’: Family Of Straight-A Student Gunned Down Outside South LA Home Have Message For His Killer

The family of a teen shot to death outside of his South Los Angeles home hope someone will help police find his killer. On Wednesday evening, 17-year-old Oz’Taz Massey was skateboarding outside of his home when a car pulled up and shot him. His family says Massey was not involved in a gang and believe it may have been a case of mistaken identity. His aunt says Massey was a straight-A student and had plans to go to college. “Whoever done that, shame on you, because you are going around killing innocent people and you’re killing innocent kids,” said Veronica LaRose, Mossy’s aunt. Family members plan to hold a vigil Sunday.

Gunman Sought After Early Morning Westwood Shooting

A man in his 40s was critically wounded outside a cafe early Saturday morning in Westwood. The shooting happened a little before 3:40 a.m. in the area of Broxton and Le Conte avenues, said Officer Jeffrey Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section. The shooting victim was talking with the suspect, as he stood outside the suspect's vehicle, Lee said. The suspect drove away, returned to where the victim was standing and fired multiple rounds striking the victim, he said. Paramedics rushed the man, in critical condition, to an area hospital. The gunman fled in an unknown direction and police have no description of the suspect's vehicle.

Shooting Victim Shows Up At Downtown Fire Station

A shooting victim showed up at a downtown fire station Sunday, which police believe could be related to an incident that occurred several streets over. It wasn’t clear whether the victim walked or was dropped off at 2:10 a.m. at the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Fire Station 9, located at 430 7th St., said Sgt. Kevin Ahlemeir, of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Station. The LAPD’s Newton Division was tasked with handling the investigation because the original shooting occurred in their jurisdiction, he said. That incident happened around 2 a.m., according to the LAPD Department Operation’s Center. The shooting was reported to have occurred on 15th Street near San Pedro Street, according to the LAPD Department Operation’s Center.

Trump Supporters And Counter Protesters Face Off In Tujunga, Two Arrested

Police arrested two anti-Trump protesters, one who assaulted a Trump supporter with a pipe, during a clash between the two groups at a rally in Tujunga. Trump supporters rallying in the 6200 block of Foothill Boulevard, near Lowell Avenue, were confronted by activists around 3 p.m. Friday when the group of about 200 counter protesters began to clash with Trump supporters demonstrating on a sidewalk, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The activists were with Against Bigotry Responding With Action. “At some point during this altercation, a counter-protester struck a Trump supporter with a pipe,” the department said in a statement. “While officers were attempting to take the suspect into custody for an assault with a deadly weapon, a second counter-protestor began to interfere with officers to prevent them from making the arrest.” Police ultimately took both suspects into custody.

Conviction Upheld For Lake Los Angeles Man Who Murdered Wife

A state appeals court panel this week upheld a man's conviction for murdering his wife at their Lake Los Angeles home about 2 1/2 years ago. Michael Daniel Mayberry was convicted in February 2019 of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon, and is serving a 50-year-to-life sentence for brutally gunning down his wife, Sandy, after an argument. The three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal found that the evidence that Mayberry committed first-degree murder on Feb. 25, 2018, was “based on the execution-style shooting when defendant returned to shoot the prostrate Sandy in the head.” “This occurred after the initial shots had been fired in the house, after defendant had followed Sandy outside of the house with the gun in his hand, after his mother and (a neighbor) pleaded with him to put the gun down, after defendant repeatedly said that ‘she made me do this,’ after defendant had withdrawn into the house, and after Sandy had tried to crawl away,” the justices noted in their 19-page ruling.

Criminal Charges Filed In Boyd Street Fire

The owner and operators of four buildings and three businesses face over 300 criminal charges for alleged fire code and safety violations following a large fire and explosion that occurred in the Toy District of downtown Los Angeles in May that left 12 firefighters injured, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced Friday. The city attorney’s office is filing the charges after inspections conducted by the Los Angeles Fire Department, LAFD’s Arson Unit, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Department of Building and Safety. "The Boyd Street Fire was a devastating incident that could have easily turned into an epic tragedy for the LAFD," said LAFD Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas. "Thanks to the work of our arson investigators, the Fire Prevention Bureau, the LAPD and the City Attorney’s Office, we are one step closer to holding accountable the individuals who may have contributed to the circumstances that precipitated this fire and, hopefully, be able to prevent similar incidents in the future."

LA Insurance Exec Agrees To Plead Guilty In College Admissions Scandal

An L.A. insurance and private equity executive agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge alleging he used fraud and bribery to cheat on a college admissions exam on behalf of his daughter, prosecutors announced Friday as two high-profile defendants were sentenced to prison time in the case. Mark Hauser, 59, would be the 29th parent to plead guilty and the 42nd person overall to plead guilty in the college admissions case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. TV actress Lori Loughlin and her clothing designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were sentenced Friday to federal prison terms of two and five months, respectively, for paying $500,000 in bribes to get their daughters admitted to USC as crew team recruits, even though neither girl played the sport. The “Full House” star and her husband were ordered to report to prison on Nov. 19 to begin serving their sentences.

Golden State Killer Given Life In Prison For Rapes, Murders That Terrorized A Generation

All that now awaits the Golden State Killer is an end of his days in prison. A Sacramento County judge Friday sentenced 74-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. to life without parole for killing 13 people and raping 50 in a series of break-ins that terrorized the state. Judge Michael Bowman handed down the sentence in the ballroom at Sacramento State University, where DeAngelo, a former police officer, graduated nearly 50 years ago with a degree in criminal justice. Among those in attendance for the filled-to-capacity proceedings were victims, family members, prosecutors from nearly a dozen counties — including Ventura, Orange, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Contra Costa and Tulare, the six prosecuting DeAngelo — former case detectives, and even newspaper reporters who covered the first of the crimes in the 1970s.

Gun Sales Have Hit Record Highs. Will It Change How Americans Vote?

Their lives upended by a pandemic and mass unemployment, facing societal fracture and political tumult, anxious Americans have been buying guns this year in unprecedented numbers. The National Rifle Association and like-minded groups describe the sales surge as a vindication of their message and a decisive inflection point in the gun debate. These groups see legions of new gun owners becoming allied to their cause and the demise of gun regulation. However, according to interviews with academics, several of whom are gun rights defenders or critics of what they consider the sometimes patronizing approach of gun safety advocates, the sales are unlikely to produce huge shifts in public opinion on gun control or a string of legislative victories. In part, the researchers said, that’s because of the already extreme political polarization in the country and misconceptions about attitudes among gun owners toward firearms safety proposals.

Public Safety News

LA County Reports 48 More COVID-19 Deaths But Hospitalizations, Positivity Rates Continue Declines

Los Angeles County reported another 1,644 cases of COVID-19 and 48 more deaths Saturday, bringing the county's totals to 230,662 cases and 5,537 fatalities. Officials have hailed declining hospitalization numbers and testing-positivity rates in recent weeks as signs that the county has been successfully slowing the spread of COVID-19. Those numbers continued to trend in the right direction Saturday, with hospitalizations falling from 1,347 on Friday to 1,280, and 33% percent of those in intensive care. An average of roughly 2,200 hospital patients were seen in mid-July. Testing results were available for 2,168,595 individuals as of Saturday, with 10% of all people testing positive. Officials noted that despite the encouraging trends, the virus is far from under control.

National Guard And U.S. Military Helping To Fight California Fires

The National Guard and U.S. military have sent assistance to the site of massive fires in Northern California that have burned hundreds of homes and spurred the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents. The help comes amid a staffing shortage on the fire lines that has caused officials to make wrenching decisions about what areas to save and which ones to let burn. The Guard is providing helicopter support along with a dozen 20-person crews to fires throughout the state, and the military has sent several C-130 aircraft specially equipped to act as air tankers, said Jeremy Rahn, public information officer for the LNU Lightning Complex fire in Northern California.

In Just A Week, Wildfires Burn 1 Million Acres In California

Firefighters in California were racing to slow the spread of wildfires that burned nearly one million acres in a week and destroyed hundreds of homes as weekend weather threatened to spark new fires and overwhelm the state's firefighting ability. Responding to the emergency, President Donald Trump issued on Saturday a major disaster declaration to provide federal assistance. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the declaration will also help people in counties affected by the fires with crisis counseling, housing and other social services. Two clusters of wildfires in the San Francisco Bay Area broke old records to become the second- and third-largest wildfires in recent state history by size. Light winds, cooler and more humid nighttime weather helped fire crews make a bit of progress, but their efforts could be hurt by warm, dry weather, erratic wind gusts and lightning in the forecast, state fire officials said.