Woman Killed In Shooting Near Venice Beach Boardwalk

A woman was killed Tuesday evening in a shooting near the Venice Beach Boardwalk. The shooting occurred at about 5:25 p.m. in the area of Ocean Front Walk and 17th Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police said the shooting was believed to be gang-related with five male suspects last seen fleeing northbound on Ocean Front Walk.

Shooting Investigation Underway Near 118 Freeway In Pacoima

Authorities Wednesday were investigating a shooting near the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway in the Pacoima area. Officers were sent to the eastbound freeway near Glenoaks Boulevard at about 3:30 a.m., where a man was found “unresponsive,” according to the California Highway Patrol. Traffic was routed away from the area while an investigation was conducted.

Police Chief Association Releases Number Of Officers Injured During Violent Riots

More than 2,000 law enforcement officers were injured in the first weeks of protests over the summer following the police killing of George Floyd, according to a report released in October. The Major Cities Chiefs Association, a professional association comprised of local law enforcement heads from the 69 largest police agencies in the United States and nine in Canada, detailed the unrest and compiled data from protests between May 25 and July 31 in MCCA member cities. During that period, there were 8,700 protests nationwide; 574 were declared riots with violence and other criminal acts. The violence was limited to 7% of protests, the report said. "Nonetheless, the sheer volume of protests, combined with the level of civil disobedience and existence of some ultra-violent events, created an extraordinarily challenging environment for law enforcement agencies," the MCCA stated. The report is primarily based on law enforcement accounts of the protests from each jurisdiction. The largest numbers of protests occurred in New York City and Los Angeles County, with each having over 1,000 gatherings. 

Public's Help Sought Finding 12-Year-Old Boy Missing From Panorama City

Authorities are seeking the public's to find a 12-year-old boy who went missing in Panorama City. Hugo Martinez was last seen about 8:30 a.m. Monday at his home in the 8800 block of Tobias Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Hugo is Hispanic, 4 feet 11 inches tall, weighs 115 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black hoodie, gray/white/blue pajama pants, a blue hat, and white Nike shoes. "Hugo suffers from ADHD and has not taken his medication,'' according to an LAPD statement. "Hugo has also made suicidal statements in the past. Hugo left his residence without his cell phone or any of his belongings." Anyone knowing his whereabouts was urged to call detectives at (818)838-9810.

Study: Online Shopping Scams Up 80% As Pandemic Fuels More People To Shop From Home

Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw a record number of online shoppers, fueled by more people opting to stay home during the pandemic. But, as retailers are cashing in, so are scammers. A new study by Check Point, a cyber security company, found an 80% increase in malicious phishing campaigns aimed at online shoppers, compared to last year. “Phishing is the process of a bad actor tricking you, usually by way of an email, into clicking on something and ultimately giving up your credentials — username and password — all for the purpose of them profiting from it,” said Brian Linder, a threat prevention expert at Check Point. He said scammers are trying new and creative ways to impersonate reputable companies and get shoppers’ information. “(They’re) sending you an email, appearing to be a tracking of a package you were waiting or hoping for, tricking you into clicking on a link in that email which is bogus, takes you to a bogus website and now we get you to put your credentials in and we steal them,” he said.

2 Arrested In Glendale Had 10 EDD Cards In Other People’s Names: Police

A man and woman were arrested in Glendale after officers found that they had 10 cards from the state unemployment agency that were in other people’s names, police said. Officers saw 34-year-old Stephan Morgan of Canoga Park standing between two cars in a parking lot in the area of San Fernando Road and Alameda Avenue and noticed that one of the vehicles had an expired registration, the Glendale Police Department said in a news release. Officers approached and spoke to the driver, 34-year-old Zenia West of Valley Village, discovering that she was on probation for vehicle theft and had a suspended driver’s license, police said. They searched her car and Morgan’s car, which were parked next to each other. Inside Morgan’s car, officers found a loaded, semi-automatic “ghost gun” with no serial numbers and a wallet that had nine Employment Development Department cards belonging to other people, police said.

18-Year-Old Arrested In Deadly Northern California Mall Shooting

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a Black Friday shooting at a Sacramento mall that killed two brothers, police said Monday. Damario Beck is being held for the attack at the Arden Fair Mall that killed 17-year-old Sa’Quan Reed-James and 19-year-old Dewayne James Jr. The shooting erupted after a “verbal altercation” between two groups of people who knew each other, police tweeted. Other details weren’t immediately provided. But the Sacramento Bee reported that video footage it reviewed Monday showed one person in each group had a handgun and they fired at each other as bystanders ran. Beck was booked on two counts of murder and remained jailed. It wasn’t immediately known whether he has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. At a news conference, relatives of the slain brothers said the family had moved to Sacramento a year ago from Monroe, La., to find a better life.

California Paid $400 Million In Jobless Benefits To Inmates

California sent about $400 million in fraudulent unemployment benefit payments to state prisoners, a state official said Tuesday, nearly triple the amount disclosed last week and a number that could grow as a criminal investigation continues. Nine county district attorneys and a federal prosecutor are investigating unemployment fraud involving payments from the California Employment Development Department, which was under intense pressure to quickly process millions of claims as the economic impact from the coronavirus intensified last spring. Criminals took advantage by submitting numerous fraudulent claims, many of which were approved by the state. Prosecutors discovered the fraud included inmates working with people outside the prisons and last week estimated $140 million was paid to about 20,000 prisoners between March and August. But Crystal Page, spokeswoman for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency that oversees the unemployment office, said a review of records now pegs the figure at about $400 million.

Video: Texas LEOs Save Sleeping Family From Fire

Police officers were in the right place at the right time to save a family from a fire this week. Lake Worth Police said in a Facebook post that officers were passing through a neighborhood just after 1 a.m. Monday when they saw flames rising from the roof of a home. Officers woke the sleeping family and helped them evacuate. Fire crews arrived on the scene soon after to extinguish the flames. No one was injured, according to police. Bodycam video obtained by local news shows an officer sweeping through the house as the family scrambles to get out.

Public Safety News

Fire Guts Commercial Building In South LA

Firefighters quickly contained a blaze which tore through a commercial building in South Los Angeles early Tuesday morning. The fire sparked a little before 5 a.m. at a one-story building in the 11600 block of South Main Street. L.A. Fire Department crews responded to find flames and black smoke engulfing the 50-by-50-foot building. During the firefight, the roof collapsed. It took 22 minutes to bring the flames under control. No one was hurt. It’s unclear what businesses the building contained. The building was the site of a previous blaze, the fire department said. There were no immediate details on that fire. The cause is under investigation.

L.A. County Shatters Daily Coronavirus Record As Infections Reach Alarming Levels

Los Angeles County recorded a dramatic one-day rise in coronavirus cases Tuesday, shattering the single-day record and confirming some of the most dire forecasts about infections spreading ferociously as the holiday season gets underway. The surge in cases renewed worries about how the healthcare system will handle a crush of new patients, with some hospitals already approaching capacity. The numbers put more pressure on state and local officials to enact a tougher stay-at-home order in hopes of slowing the spread. Officials feared the Thanksgiving holiday period would bring a flood of new cases, and there are growing concerns the spike is far from over. L.A. County is now forecasting up to 8,000 new coronavirus cases a day by the end of this week and potentially 9,000 a day by the middle or end of next week, according to a source who listened to a briefing given by county health officials. L.A. County on Tuesday reported more than 7,500 new cases — the most in a single day, which the director of public health called “the worst day thus far” of the pandemic. The previous single-day high for all of L.A. County was recorded on Nov. 23, according to The Times’ independent tally, with 6,186 cases.

Local Government News

Major Encampment Cleanups Resume At 3 Sites In San Pedro, Harbor City

Comprehensive encampment cleanups are expected to resume at three sites in the San Pedro and Harbor City areas, under a motion approved by the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Such cleanups, which require people to remove their tents and belongings for an area, were suspended in March at the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, in response to public health guidelines that discouraged displacing people living on the streets, and not allowing them to shelter-in-place. In July, some cleanups were resumed in certain “enforcement and cleaning” zones around homeless shelters. The approval of the motion on Tuesday adds three encampments in the 15th City Council District that are outside of those areas, where comprehensive cleanup operations can happen. The goal of the cleanups are to maintain public health standards, according to council aides. Kvartuc says the cleanups, known as CARE+, are needed to remove bulky items that cannot be moved without resuming cleanups.

Los Angeles County Restaurants Can Apply For Up To $30,000 In Financial Relief Amid New Closure

Restaurants that have lost business due to coronavirus health regulations in Los Angeles County, which recently cut off in-person dining due to surging COVID cases, can apply this week to receive up to $30,000 in aid. The Keep Los Angeles County Dining Grant Program officially begins Thursday, allowing eligible eateries -- excluding those in the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena -- to receive up to $30,000 in assistance for employee payroll, capital to continue operations, payment of outstanding business expenses and adaptive business practices needed to remain open. A total of roughly $5.6 million is available, split among the county's five supervisorial districts. Preference will be given to restaurants that provided outdoor dining as of Nov. 24, according to the county. The program will be operated by the Los Angeles County Development Authority. LACDA officials said restaurant owners who apply must demonstrate that their business was impacted by COVID-19 through hardship due to closure and a reduction in revenue.