LACP.org
..
Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
 

Los Angeles
Police Protective League
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the union that represents the
rank and file LAPD officers

  Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League

October 22, 2021
Law Enforcement News

On Front Lines Of L.A.'s Homicide Spike, These Detectives Race To Solve Mounting Caseloads
When the calls about new killings come in, often after dark and on weekends, Los Angeles homicide detectives John Meneses and Jason Sharman rush out to meet the dead. Getting to L.A.'s bloodiest crime scenes quickly is crucial, not just because clues and firsthand accounts fade fast in neighborhoods where many are transient and gang retaliation is a constant threat, but because the next killing is always around the corner — especially now. “You try to solve them as quickly as you can,” Sharman said, “because you know you're going to get hit again.” In the last 18 months, L.A.'s body count from homicides has increased far faster than it did for a decade prior, while the rate at which such crimes are being solved in some areas has dropped. Other cities across the country have experienced similar trends, and police officials and criminologists nationwide are trying to figure out why — considering factors as disparate as the economic toll of COVID-19, the shuttering of social services during lockdowns, and the scope and intensity of recent anti-police protests. Los Angeles Times

Teen Driving Lamborghini That Killed Woman In West LA Sentenced To 9 Months In Juvenile Detention Center
A teenage boy who was speeding in a Lamborghini SUV that slammed into and killed a woman in West Los Angeles was sentenced Thursday to seven to nine months in a juvenile detention center with four years of probation. The accident happened February 17, 2021 at about 5 p.m. on Olympic Boulevard and Overland Avenue. LAPD says the teenager, who was 17-years-old at the time of the crash, was speeding in a Lamborghini SUV, lost control and crashed into Monique Munoz' Lexus. Munoz died on scene, the teenager sustained serious head injuries. The teenager pled guilty to felony vehicular manslaughter as a juvenile in April. Family members and friends of Munoz urged the judge to impose the maximum punishment against the driver. Following Thursday's sentencing the Munoz family told FOX 11 that this sentence doesn't provide any justice to them. "When you take a life, you got to give a life and that's not the case here. It's more of a lollipop sentencing and that's what he got. Nine months and four years probation, I don't agree with that. Like I stated before, rehabilitation absolutely... if your kid is incorrigible then he needs that rehabilitation, but not when they have committed a heinous crime like this, which is murder," Munoz' uncle Richard Cartier told FOX 11. FOX 11

Motorcyclist Killed In Pacoima Hit-and-Run Identified By Family
The man who died in a hit-and-run collision in Pacoima on Saturday has been identified as Eduardo Silva, according to his family. Silva was ejected off of his blue 2012 Kawasaki Motorcycle when he collided head-on with a gray 2015 Toyota Corolla on Laurel Canyon Boulevard near Judd Street, according to the LAPD. After that collision, Silva was struck by a white sedan traveling south on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, police added. That car did not stop, and police are looking for the driver. The victim's brother, Fabio Silva, said Eduardo Silva loved helping others, and the night he died, he was returning from taking a homeless friend to run errands. A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family pay for funeral expenses and to add to the $50,000 reward for information about the hit-and-run driver. Anyone with information is asked to contact Valley Traffic Division Detective Buenaventura at 818-644-8035 or Officer Reyes at 818-644-8114. KTLA 5

3 Charged In LA With Stealing Public Funds Meant To Help Homeless
Three people have been charged with fraud and embezzlement for an alleged scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds meant to help California's homeless residents, the state's attorney general said Thursday. Two of the three defendants worked for the Los Angeles-based nonprofit People Assisting the Homeless, or PATH, which in 2016 received a hefty contract from the LA Homeless Services Authority. The trio stole hundreds of thousands of dollars by submitting fraudulent referrals and assistance requests for people who were not actually homeless, Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. The defendants, all women in their 40s, face a total of 56 felonies between them. All have entered not-guilty pleas and are due back in court next month, the Los Angeles Times reported. PATH reported the alleged misconduct to police and cooperated in the investigation, the Times said. "As an organization dedicated to ending homelessness for individuals, families, and communities, we are appalled that people would take away valuable resources from vulnerable, unhoused people," the organization said in a statement issued by Tyler Renner, its media director. FOX 11

Woman, 91, Reported Missing In Highland Park Area
Police Thursday were searching for a 91-year-old woman last seen in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. Lai Chun Kwan Seto was last seen Tuesday in the area of Springvale Drive and North Figueroa Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Seto is Asian, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds and has white hair and brown eyes. She was last seen possibly heading toward the Chinatown area. Anyone with information on her whereabouts was asked to contact the LAPD at 213-996-1800. Calls made during non-business hours or on weekends can be directed to 877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org . MyNewsLA.com

Police Investigate Reports Of Sexual Assault At USC Fraternity House
The Los Angeles Police Department Thursday was investigating reports of sexual assaults at a USC fraternity house. The university announced Wednesday it had received reports “of drugs being placed into drinks during a party… leading to possible drug-facilitated sexual assaults” at the Sigma Nu fraternity house located at 660 W. 28th St. USC reported the incidents, which occurred last Friday, to the LAPD last Friday morning, NBC4 reported. The university also placed the fraternity on interim suspension, which forbids Sigma Nu from hosting or organizing any activities, parties or other social gatherings at the fraternity house. The Virginia-based fraternity released a statement Thursday acknowledging the reports and subsequent suspension. Anyone with information on the alleged assaults was asked to call the LAPD Southwest Division at 213-485-6571. Calls made during non-business hours or on weekends can be made to 877-527-3247. MyNewsLA.com

Man, 20, With Diminished Mental Capacity Reported Missing In Los Angeles
Police Thursday were searching for a 20-year-old man with diminished mental capacity last seen in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ariel Ramirez was last seen Oct. 4 near San Pedro Street and East 89th Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Ramirez is Hispanic, 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds, with brown eyes black hair. He has the mental capacity of a 6-year-old and is without his medication. Anyone with information on Ramirez's whereabouts was asked to contact the LAPD 213-996-1800. Calls made during non-business hours or on weekends can be directed to 877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or submitted online at lacrimestoppers.org . MyNewsLA.com

Daina Monroe, 18, Shot And Killed Outside Her Inglewood Home Monday, Police Searching For Gunman
Police are on the hunt for a gunman who shot and killed an 18-year-old volleyball player outside her home in Inglewood late Monday night. Family members of the victim, Daina Monroe, are shattered and grieving. “She was just a bright spirit. She loved everybody and everybody loved her,” Derrick Summerville, Monroe's brother said. The 18-year-old was sitting in a car with her older sister and two guy friends in front of her Inglewood home when a vehicle pulled up next to them and opened fire, killing Monroe, police said. “It was definitely random, definitely random. My daughter was an extremely popular volleyball player,” Darrin Monroe, the victim's father said. “This isn't anything other than wrong place, wrong time. It's not anything related to her or any of the people she was with.” Her father said she recently graduated from Culver City High School, where she was a stellar volleyball player who had a gift for drawing. The group had been discussing what movie they wanted to see when the car pulled up next to theirs, shot at them and then took off. CBS 2

Police Searching For Suspect Who Set Homeless Man On Fire As He Slept In Santa Monica's Ozone Park
Police asked for help Thursday in catching whoever set a sleeping homeless man on fire. The incident happened last Saturday at about 11:35 p.m. at Ozone Park, 727 Ozone St., according to Santa Monica police. A homeless man who was sleeping was doused with an unknown liquid, then set on fire, police said. The man, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital. He suffered burns to about 50% of his body and a 2-inch cut to the top of his head from possible blunt force trauma. Police are investigating this incident as an attempted murder and are looking to identify a man who was seen in the area. He is described as a man between 5-feet-6 and 5-feet-8 with a medium build, wearing a hat, long-sleeved white shirt, and dark shorts. Anyone with information about this incident can contact Detective Tavera at (310) 458-22256 or the Santa Monica police watch commander at (310) 458-8427. CBS 2

Man Gets 11 Years In Prison For Drowning Daughter In Northern California Church
A Northern California man was sentenced to 11 years in prison for the 2016 drowning of his 4-year-old daughter in the baptismal pool of a Catholic church. Gerardo Mendoza, 47, had been smoking methamphetamine for three days and began believing his two youngest children were "being attacked by evil" when he took them to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in the small California wine country city of Healdsburg on Nov. 20, 2016, authorities have said. The 11-year sentence issued by a judge Wednesday was predetermined, part of a negotiated plea to manslaughter that Mendoza agreed to as he was facing trial on murder charges, which could have put him in prison for 25 years to life, the Press Democrat reported. Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Robert LaForge told Mendoza that several statements he made to probation officers before Wednesday's hearing were objectionable. "Certainly, I'm going to give you the maximum allowed by law based on what I read," LaForge said. "There were a couple things that were concerning. Your statement was concerning, minimizing. I want you to know that."  FOX 11

Utah Teen Girl Arrested For Planning Columbine-Like Mass Shooting
A 15-year-old Utah girl was plotting a mass shooting and bombing at her high school, posting “terroristic threats” on Instagram, according to police. The teenager, who has not been publicly identified, has been charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction, KSL reported Tuesday. Weber County sheriff's deputies were warned in late September about the girl's social media posts, which “referenced acquiring firearms, and described the act that she was about to perform ‘Like Columbine,'” according to the arrest warrant. Columbine High School seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 students and one teacher in April 1999 before dying by suicide in the school library. Another post talked about planning to “shoot up” Weber High School, where she was enrolled, as her way to “make my mark on society.” “I need guns. And I need bullets. And I need alcohol. And I need bombs,” she allegedly wrote in a digital diary. “And I need to kill all of these (people).” New York Daily News

Rise In Fentanyl Could Overwhelm Idaho LEOs,
Governor Says Idaho is seeing an increase in fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control. "The magnitude of this problem is almost unbelievable," said Gov. Brad Little. In the last six to eight months, the problem has gotten dramatically worse, he said during a press conference Monday afternoon at Idaho State Police District 4 headquarters in Jerome. The methamphetamine and fentanyl found in Idaho have a direct tie to Mexico, Gov. Little said. To combat the problem, he sent five ISP troopers on a 21-day mission in July to assist the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The officers helped make arrests and learned new detection techniques. "We also saw the use of new technology, again the details are law enforcement sensitive, however, it provided examples of how new technology is being used to intercept drug traffickers," said ISP Sgt. Curt Sproat who was part of the team sent to the border. Sproat has been with ISP for 10 years and said fentanyl is one of the most dangerous drugs he has seen in his career. The Times-News

Public Safety News

One Person Dead, Firefighter Injured In Harvard Heights House Fire
Los Angeles Fire Department crews responded to a two-story house fire in the Harvard Heights neighborhood on Thursday morning, around 6:30AM. One of the occupants, a 22-year old male, was found dead at the scene in an upstairs bedroom. The four other occupants escaped uninjured. It took LAFD approximately 30 minutes to put out the fire on the 2800 block of West 14th Street. In the process of extinguishing the fire, a firefighter was injured. However, LAFD reports that the injuries are not life-threatening. The cause of the fire is under investigation. CBS 2

LA County's COVID Infections Less Severe, But Still Widespread, Ferrer Says
As COVID-19 infection rates fall and hospitalizations decline, some Los Angeles County residents may wonder if they'll soon be able to shed face masks indoors and in other settings, but the public health director said on Thursday, Oct. 21, that virus transmission remains substantial, and loosening restrictions too early could prompt another dangerous winter case surge. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the latest numbers show the county has seen a roughly 18% drop in the number of average daily new COVID cases and a 14% drop in hospitalizations over the past week. Average daily deaths have finally fallen below 10, reaching about eight per day. In the early days of the pandemic, between 15% and 30% of people who contracted COVID-19 wound up hospitalized, but that rate is now about 5-6%, reflecting the impact of vaccines, improved outpatient care and more widely available testing, Ferrer said. She said most of the COVID infections now occurring are “relatively mild or moderate, especially for people who are fully vaccinated.” Los Angeles Daily News

Local Government News


L.A. City Council Redistricting Panel Finalizes Map Without Defining Raman And Krekorian Districts
The citizen commission charged with creating new political boundaries in Los Angeles finalized its City Council map Thursday but declined to say which areas should be represented by Paul Krekorian and Nithya Raman. The proposed map, which heads to the council at the end of next week, would significantly redesign the Krekorian and Raman districts. The 21-member commission left it to the council to decide which of the two would be assigned to represent a new district proposed for the west San Fernando Valley, which would include Winnetka, Reseda and other neighborhoods. The other would be assigned to a district encompassing the Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park, North Hollywood and other areas. The map was approved on a 15-6 vote. Krekorian, who won reelection last year to his third and final term, currently represents the east San Fernando Valley's 2nd District. Raman, who took office in December, represents the 4th District, which stretches from Hancock Park to Silver Lake and north to Sherman Oaks.  Los Angeles Times
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the LAPPL - Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,900 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at:

www.LAPD.com


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~