Murders, Shootings Continue To Rise In Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday an alarming increase in street violence had continued in recent days, with at least 50 people shot and more than a dozen murdered. "We haven't seen that type of week in over 10 years," said LAPD Assistant Chief Robert Arcos. According to police data the number of murders has increased 21% year-to-date in 2020, when compared with the same time period last year. The number of shooting victims is up by at least 18%. Much of the last week's violence took place between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 and was linked to what Arcos described as a historic gang feud. "That was reheated up over an incident in 77th Division, and that is what we attribute the back and forth to that violence," Arcos said Tuesday. In one shooting he said a gunman drove by a gathering, leaned out of a car window with an AK-47 style rifle, and sprayed bullets at the crowd. "Fortunately, none of them were killed but four victims were hit on the street there, so that level of violence again and that trajectory is very concerning to all of us," Arcos said.

Man Smashes Patrol Car Window, Pepper-Sprays Portland Cop, Police Say

A heavily armed Oregon man smashed the window of a parked patrol car in broad daylight Sunday and pepper-sprayed an officer who was doing paperwork inside, authorities said. The cop was sitting in the vehicle around 9:40 a.m. when 41-year-old John Russell broke the back window, deployed his pepper spray and ran to his own car in a random and disturbing attack in Portland, according to police. The officer managed to broadcast the suspect’s description through his radio and the assailant was caught just six blocks away, the Portland Police Department said in a news release. Inside Russell’s car, police found throwing knives, rocks, a laser pointer, a slingshot, window punch tools, pepper spray and other items, according to the release. The Portland resident was arrested and charged with assaulting a public safety officer, aggravated harassment and first-degree criminal mischief, all felonies. He was released hours later after posting bond, jail records show.

592 LAPD, 194 LAFD Employees Have Tested Positive For COVID-19 Since Pandemic Began

A total of 592 Los Angeles Police Department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. According to Jessica Kellogg of the Emergency Operations Center, 82 employees are at home recovering or self-isolating due to exposure, and 543 have returned to work. In July, 45-year-old Valentin Martinez, a sworn-officer, and Erica McAdoo, a 39-year-old non-sworn senior detention officer died from coronavirus complications. As of Monday, 194 Los Angeles Fire Department employees have tested positive for the virus. Kellogg said 14 are recovering at home in isolation, 173 have returned to work, and six are no longer quarantining but remain at home. So far, LAFD has reported one virus-related death. A 44-year-old firefighter-paramedic, Jose J. Perez, died from coronavirus-related complications on July 25.

South Los Angeles Shooting Victim Taken To Hospital

A person was taken to a hospital Tuesday afternoon after being shot in South Los Angeles. The shooting occurred shortly before 4 p.m. near 80th and San Pedro streets, according to Officer Mike Lopez, who could not provide further information. KCAL9 reported from the scene that the victim was sitting in a vehicle when another person drove up and shot into the car. Lopez could not confirm the report. 

3 Arrests Made After Van Nuys, Northridge Pursuit Of Possible Armed Robbery Suspect

Three people were detained near the campus of California State University, Northridge on Tuesday night after a short-speed pursuit. The pursuit started in the Van Nuys area and maintained speeds of around 40 to 50 mph Sky2 cameras caught the suspect running several red lights and cutting a vehicle off. According to police, the driver was a possible armed robbery suspect. Toward the end of the encounter, the suspect’s vehicle pulled into a parking lot at the corner of Roscoe and Reseda, followed by several police cars. Another vehicle that appeared to be a taxi cab had already been in the lot and what looked to be two other occupants exited and began interacting with the driver police were pursuing. That driver eventually surrendered to police and was taken into custody, along with the two other individuals who were at the scene.

LAPD Opens Leak Investigation Into Police Station Attack Video

The LAPD said Tuesday that an internal investigation had been opened into the leak of police station security video that showed a Harbor Division officer being attacked and a second officer exchanging gunfire with the attacker. "A formal complaint has been initiated by professional standards bureau," Assistant Chief Robert Arcos told members of the Board of Los Angeles Police Commissioners. The video, first published online by the Los Angeles Times, shows the moment a uniformed officer was struck by a man in the lobby of the Harbor Station on the night of Sept. 26. The man is able to remove the officer's handgun from its holster and, according to LAPD officials, appears to try to shoot the officer in the chest. The pistol didn't fire, possibly because its safety was switched on. The video then shows a second officer emerge from an office and exchange shots with the man, who was apparently able to remove the safety. The man was arrested after a short car chase and the officer's gun was found inside the man's car, police said.

Woman Found With Fatal Gunshot Wound Following Crash In Paramount; Search For Gunman Underway

Authorities are searching for a gunman following a crash and shooting that left a woman dead in Paramount early Tuesday morning. The incident was initially reported about 1:50 a.m. as a crash into an embankment just off the 710 Freeway at Rosecrans Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol’s traffic incident log. Arriving officers found an adult woman with an apparent gunshot wound, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Barry Hall said. The victim, described as a woman in her 20s or 30s, was removed from the vehicle by officers who attempted life-saving measures. Paramedics later arrived at the scene and pronounced the woman dead, the Sheriff’s Department stated in a news release. A witness told investigators a male was seen running from the scene. Authorities believe the driver was traveling north on the 710 Freeway when an altercation between the suspect and victim occurred inside the vehicle.

Fugitive Arrested In Burbank More Than A Year After Allegedly Murdering Girlfriend And Her 4-Year-Old Son In Arkansas

One of the U.S. Marshals' 15 most wanted fugitives has been arrested in Burbank, authorities said. Jory Worthen of Camden, Arkansas, is accused of killing his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son in that city on June 23, 2019. Worthen was wanted on two counts of capital murder, and a $25,000 reward had been offered for information about his whereabouts. Whether anyone was eligible for the reward was not immediately clear. U.S. Marshals apprehended Worthen in Burbank on Monday evening after confronting him at a motel, according to a statement from the agency. He was being held without bail in a Los Angeles County jail. Authorities said Worthen had been living under a stolen identity for the past five months.

Chatsworth Trucking School Owner Sentenced To 4 Years In Federal Prison For Cheating Veterans Affairs Out Of $4.1 Million

The owner of a San Fernando Valley trucking school was sentenced Monday to four years in federal prison for orchestrating a scheme that siphoned more than $4 million from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, officials said. Emmit Marshall, 53, of Woodland Hills was also ordered to pay $4.1 million in restitution, according to a release from the U.S. attorney’s office. Marshall, who was the owner and president of Alliance School of Trucking, pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud last July. Co-defendant Robert Waggoner, 57, of Canyon Country also pleaded guilty last February to five counts of wire fraud and is expected to be sentenced next year. While president of the company, Marshall and Waggoner, who was vice president, recruited over 100 eligible veterans to take classes paid for by the Post-9/11 GI Bill, prosecutors said.

Border Patrol Confiscates Nearly $1 Million In Drugs Near Salton Sea

U.S. Border Patrol agents confiscated more than $800,000 worth of drugs from a checkpoint near the Salton Sea in the last two weeks, the agency announced. The El Centro Sector of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said multiple drug busts at the Highway 86 checkpoint between Salton City and Westmoreland found methamphetamine, heroine, cocaine and fentanyl. Three incidents were logged over the weekend, according to a release from Border Patrol. In one, agents said a 21-year-old man was found with roughly $88,000 worth of cocaine and fentanyl. Two other seizures involved a 35-year-old man found with roughly $58,000 worth of heroin and a 53-year-old man found with nearly $360,000 worth of cocaine and methamphetamine, the agency said.

California Voters To Decide Whether To End Cash Bail System With Proposition 25

A growing national discussion about inequities in the criminal justice system spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement has focused new attention on Proposition 25, a referendum on the November ballot to decide whether California’s money bail system is unjust and should be replaced. The bail industry is seeking to overturn a 2018 state law that replaces the current cash bail system with one allowing pretrial release from jail based on a determination of public safety or a defendant’s flight risk. The measure also restricts pretrial detention for most misdemeanors. The referendum vote comes more than two years after a bitter legislative fight that pitted the multibillion-dollar bail industry, criminal defense attorneys and some civil liberties advocates against Democratic leaders, including then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed the law saying it will make sure “rich and poor alike are treated fairly.”

Public Safety News

LA County Eases Coronavirus Rules, Allows Breweries And Wineries To Open With Food

Los Angeles County has officially revised its coronavirus health order, authorizing breweries and wineries that don’t have their own food kitchens to reopen for outdoor sit-down service if they partner with a caterer or food truck. The revised language includes some peculiar requirements such as purchasing alcohol with food in the same transaction, and customers must make a “prior reservation for a table at least one day in advance.” The news was nonetheless welcomed among the roughly 70 breweries in the county that have been closed for months like thousands of bars that don’t serve as well. Up until Monday, county health officials said they were consulting with legal staff over excluding bars from the amended health order. Meanwhile, the county on Tuesday reported 1,846 new coronavirus cases and 30 associated deaths, bringing the total number of people who have died in L.A. County from the coronavirus to 6,681 and total cases to 275,856.