Homicide Investigation Underway In South LA, Police Say

A homicide investigation is underway in South Los Angeles Thursday night. The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call a little before 7:45 p.m. at the intersection of West 84th Street and South Hoover Street. LAPD said the shooting left a female victim dead. Officials have not released the deceased person's name. Police are unsure if the deadly shooting was gang-related.

LAPD Investigating Double Fatal Shooting At Dodgers Celebration In Sylmar

Two people were fatally shot during an outdoor celebration in Sylmar after the Dodgers’ World Series win Tuesday night, spurring calls from Los Angeles police for the public’s help in identifying suspects. One victim was a man. An LAPD spokesman said the second victim was also male, but that he did not know his age as of Thursday. Neither was publicly identified, pending notification of their families. According to the LAPD, the shooting occurred shortly before midnight Tuesday, at a time when 30 to 40 people were gathered near the intersection of Polk Street and Glenoaks Boulevard to celebrate the Dodgers’ victory over the Tamp Bay Rays. A preliminary investigation by detectives determined that drivers were doing doughnuts in the street when two individuals approached and smashed out the windows of one of the vehicles with baseball bats before fleeing north along Glenoaks. They were followed by “several members of the crowd and the vandalized vehicle,” police said. “Gunshots rang out and two victims were struck by the gunfire.”

629 LAPD, 211 LAFD Employees Have Tested Positive For COVID-19

A total of 629 Los Angeles Police Department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. According to Jessica Kellogg of the Emergency Operations Center, 79 employees are at home recovering or self-isolating due to exposure, and 576 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 Tuesday, 211 Los Angeles Fire Department employees have tested positive for the virus. Kellogg said three are recovering at home in isolation, 198 have returned to work, and nine 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.

Suspect Arrested In Fatal South LA Hit-And-Run That Killed Father

A suspect was behind bars Thursday, nearly three months after a South Los Angeles father was killed in a hit-and-run. “This is definitely 100% preventable,” Bibiana Diaz, the victim’s step-daughter said. Diaz’s step-father, Jorge Guerra, was killed July 8 in a hit-and-run that was caught on security camera. Guerra and his two young daughters were out riding their bikes on Wadsworth Avenue, just north of 88th Street. “A stolen 1997 Honda accord traveling at a high rate of speed struck all of them from behind,” Officer Gerald Chavarria, with the Los Angeles Police Department, said. “Although the children were not seriously injured, unfortunately Mr. Guerra sustained fatal injuries and died about a week later.” Evidence at the scene led officers to suspected driver Moises Iscaya who was allegedly caught on video running from the crash. He is now facing a string of charges, including murder.

2 Drivers Wanted In Koreatown Hit-And-Run That Killed 87-Year-Old Man

Help is needed Thursday to identify the drivers who ran over an elderly man in Koreatown. Chan Wook Park, 87, died after he was hit by two cars on Feb. 22 in the area of 8th Street and Westmoreland in Koreatown. Witnesses told the LAPD that two cars hit Park – a white 4-door BMW and a white sedan. Police shared surveillance images of the two cars, and a composite sketch of one of the suspects. A $50,000 reward was offered for information leading to the identification of both drivers.

LAPD Responds To Street Takeover In Downtown Los Angeles

Dozens of vehicles and hundreds of people have taken over a downtown Los Angeles intersection and parking garage, but no arrests were immediately reported. The vehicles and crowd moved into the area of Eighth and Hill streets about 8:45 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department, which was monitoring the activity. Video from the scene showed a large crowd in the street, surrounding vehicles in the intersection and other vehicles and a crowd on top of a nearby parking structure.

Mayor, LAPD Chief Say L.A. Is Ready For Election, Angelenos Should Feel Safe Voting

Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore say the city is prepared for next week’s election — come what may — and that Angelenos should feel confident that the polls are safe. “I don’t want to buy into a narrative that there’s going to be chaos during our election,” Garcetti said Wednesday. He said there is “no intelligence” suggesting any sort of plot to carry out violence or voter intimidation at L.A. polls, but the city is “very prepared” to protect voters who will be casting ballots. “We prepare for the worst, but we are hoping and expect generally the best,” he said.

Sherman Oaks Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison For Stabbing Adoptive Parents Multiple Times

A Sherman Oaks man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years and four months in state prison for stabbing his adoptive fathers multiple times, officials said. Matthew Boulet, 23, pleaded no contest last month to two counts of attempted murder and admitted allegations of causing great bodily injury, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. On July 24, 2018, Boulet stabbed one of his fathers multiple times on the neck, torso, arms, face and ears, officials said. Then when the victim’s husband tried to intervene, he was also stabbed multiple times on the arms, torso and face. The victims, both in their 50s, were initially hospitalized but survived the attack. The incident occurred after an argument, the Los Angeles Times reported. At the time of the incident, Boulet was on summer break from college and was staying at his adoptive parents’ home, according to the Times.

Ron Jeremy Charged With 7 More Sexual Assault Charges Dating Back To 1996

Former adult film star Ron Jeremy pleaded not guilty Wednesday to seven additional sexual assault counts involving six women for incidents that date back to 1996, prosecutors announced Wednesday. The 67-year-old – whose legal name is Ron Jeremy Hyatt – now faces a total of 11 counts of forcible rape and other charges involving 23 victims that span from 1996 to 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said. The new charges span a 17-year period and the victims range in age from 17 to 38. In October 1996, a 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped by Hyatt during a photo shoot in the San Fernando Valley, according to prosecutors. Another 14 cases were declined Wednesday because they were outside the statute of limitations, prosecutors said. He was first charged with rape and sexual assault against four women in June. In August, prosecutors introduced sexual assault charges involving 13 additional women.

Deputy uses CPR to save baby with COVID-19

A baby with the coronavirus was waiting for medics when a South Carolina deputy stepped in to help save the child's life, officials say. The infant was unresponsive when Shawn Gopaul got to the scene and started performing CPR on Tuesday, the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

Hit-And-Run Suspect Arrives In U.S. After Being Extradited From Australia

A woman who allegedly struck and killed a bicyclist in Whittier in 2017 and then fled the country for Hong Kong, and then Australia, arrived back in the U.S. Thursday after a yearlong extradition process. Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes was allegedly behind the wheel of a white Lexus sedan that struck Agustin Rodriguez Jr. while he was biking in the area of Calmada Avenue and Flomar Drive on Jan. 30, 2017, according to Laura Eimiller of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. Rodriguez, 46, was dragged “under the car for a long distance,” Eimiller said. He died at the scene of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the coroner’s office. Authorities found the Lexus in a residential garage in Idaho, according to Eimiller, who added that additional information was found in Nevada. Reyes fled the U.S. and was living in Hong Kong when the FBI obtained an international arrest warrant, Eimiller said. As the investigation continued, the FBI found that Reyes was living in Australia, and with cooperation from law enforcement in that country, she was taken into custody. The date of her arrest was not released.

Public Safety News

New Spike In L.A. County Coronavirus Cases Not Associated With Backlog

There were new alarming signs that COVID-19 was spreading again in Los Angeles County, with officials announcing the highest one-day increase in cases not connected to a reporting backlog since August. The county reported 1,745 new cases Thursday as well as 19 new deaths. It’s the latest evidence that after declining for several months, the novel coronavirus may be on the rise again in L.A. County and other parts of Southern California. If the region does see another spike like the one it experienced during the summer, it would threaten efforts to reopen schools and businesses. Already, Southern California has fallen behind the Bay Area when it comes to slowing the infection rate, allowing places such as San Francisco and Silicon Valley to reopen more quickly. “The high numbers of daily cases are very concerning because, as we have seen in the past, increases in cases lead to increases in hospitalizations and deaths,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “These increases impede our ability to move forward with reopening additional sectors and getting more children back to school.”

Smoke Advisory In Effect As Unhealthy Air Quality Lingers In Parts Of SoCal Due To Blue Ridge, Silverado Fires

Smoky air lingered over a large swath of Southern California Thursday as firefighters aided by calmer weather increased containment of two large blazes that forced widespread evacuations. A smoke advisory was in effect following the two fires that broke out in brushy hillsides of Orange County Monday amid fierce winds and extremely dry weather conditions. A thick haze blanketed much of the area and officials urged people to stay indoors if they smelled smoke or saw falling ash. The air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups across much of heavily-populated Orange and southern Los Angeles counties on Thursday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said.

Local Government News

Dodger Stadium, Hollywood Pantages Among Several LA Landmarks Opening As Vote Centers Friday

Iconic landmarks across Los Angeles County will open their doors Friday to serve as vote centers where Angelenos will be able to cast their ballots. The likes of Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium, Banc of California Stadium, the Hollywood Pantages, the Hollywood Palladium, the Magic Castle and USC’s Galen Center will open Friday, and remain open daily through Election Day. Staples Center, the Hollywood Bowl, the Music Center, the Hammer Museum, Universal Citywalk and The Forum are among vote centers which have been open for several days now. In total, about 650 vote centers are opening Friday across L.A. County, in addition to the 100 which opened last week.