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Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch
LA Police Protective League

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

  Daily Local & Regional NewsWatch

Daily News Digest
from LA Police Protective League

March 30, 2022
Law Enforcement News

LAPD Warns Residents About the Dangers of Wearing Expensive Jewelry in Public
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is warning residents to leave their expensive jewelry at home to avoid making themselves targets amid a surge in violent crime across the city.  “In the event a person is approached during a robbery, especially when armed with a firearm, the department encourages victims not to resist. No property is worth the risk of loss of life,” the advisory said. The Epoch Times

Over 100 Pounds Of Meth, Heroin Off SoCal Streets Thanks To Help From LAPD K-9 'Keisa'
More than 100 pounds of methamphetamine and heroin are off Southern California streets all thanks to one very good girl. Los Angeles Police Department K-9 Officer Keisa, along with detectives from the FBI Los Angeles, made the bust. LAPD's Gang and Narcotics Division Commanding Officer Lillian Carranza tweeted photos saying, "Oops, she did it again!" Authorities said the drug bust resulted in 104 pounds of heroin and meth seized, and added that the bust not only helped reduce overdoses, but it also helped to save lives.  ABC 7

Shooting At El Sereno Apartment Leaves Woman Dead
Police are investigating a shooting at an apartment building in El Sereno that left a woman dead Tuesday night. The gunfire was reported around 10:30 p.m. at the building located in the 5300 block of Hyde Street. The victim was found on a landing outside the front door of the apartment, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Larry Burcher said. Details about the shooting are still very unclear, and investigators are still “determining if it's actually a homicide or an accidental shooting,” Burcher said. The unidentified victim was pronounced dead at the scene. KTLA 5

LAPD Recruitment Ad Showcases Officers' Personal Side "See yourself in blue."
It's a line in an LAPD recruitment ad that captures the personal side of a male and female officer. In it you see young kids transform into police officers. One officer in the ad is real-life officer Danielle Lopez. In the video, you see an off-duty Lopez in sweats working out, in blue jeans returning a lost wallet, with friends celebrating a birthday. Lopez says the ad shows "We can relate to the community. We are more than just this uniform. We're also from the community as well." Lopez graduated from the police academy in 2013. She is now an instructor for new academy recruits on law. She comes from a law enforcement family. Not only are her father and brother LAPD officers, but so were her mother and aunt. With this being Women's History Month we note that the LAPD is now 18% female. Captain Aaron McCraney is the Commanding Officer of Recruitment and Employment Division and marked a milestone with an academy class last year that was 50% female. Meanwhile, the LAPD is saying goodbye to Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala. She is the first woman to oversee the department's entire patrol division. Girmala is retiring at the end of the month after 37 years.  FOX 11

Suspects On The Run After Armed Robbery In Lake Balboa
Authorities are investigating an armed robbery in Lake Balboa overnight. According to police, three armed men wearing masks robbed two to three victims in an alley near 6805 Louise Avenue. The getaway car is described as a Lexus. A purse and three phones were stolen, police said. It's unclear at this time if the victims were followed home. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call police. FOX 11

Suspects Arrested After Pursuit In Woodland Hills
Multiple suspects were taken into custody Wednesday in Woodland Hills after a brief police pursuit. Officers from the California Highway Patrol responded at 5:06 a.m. to a call regarding a speeding vehicle on the eastbound Ventura (101) Freeway and located a speeding 2009 Toyota, said a CHP spokesman. The suspects were taken into custody at approximately 5:11 a.m. just off the 101 Freeway and the Fallbrook Avenue exit. There were no further details. MyNewsLA.com

Five Men From San Francisco Arrested In Connection With Beverly Hills Robbery
Five men from San Francisco suspected of robbing a store on Rodeo Drive and assaulting a security guard were arrested Tuesday. Multiple suspects entered the store in the 200 block of North Rodeo Drive, near Wilshire Boulevard, shortly before 7 p.m. Monday, removed store property and ran away, according to Lt. Giovanni Trejo, the Beverly Hills Police Department's public information officer. As the suspects were running away, one of them assaulted a store security guard who attempted to stop them. The suspects ran to an awaiting vehicle and drove out of the area, Trejo said. BHPD investigators obtained the suspect vehicle's license plate number and, with the help of the California Highway Patrol, attempted to stop the wanted vehicle Tuesday morning, Trejo said. The suspects abandoned the vehicle following a short pursuit and ran away. Four suspects were immediately arrested by Beverly Hills Police Department detectives in Windsor Hills, Trejo said. MyNewsLA.com

3 Women Arrested In Connection To Attack Of Driver In Bell Post Bail, Released From Custody
The three women who were arrested in connection to a vicious attack on a driver in Bell are back on the streets after posting bail. Last week, FOX 11 reported on the shocking video that showed three women appearing to smash the car's windows. The 22-year-old victim, a working student, was on her way to pick up her sister on Thursday, March 24 when she noticed an unfamiliar car following her, according to the victim's family friend. According to the Bell Police Department, the violent incident broke out in the 4700 block of Florence Avenue. The victim's family friend told FOX 11, a suspect car hit the victim's car, then made a U-turn on Florence Avenue to ram it again. By that point, a bystander started recording the brewing incident, and the video showed three women attacking the victim's car. The suspects took off in a light-colored Audi sedan before Bell PD arrived, police said Tuesday. Two of the three suspects turned themselves into police on Saturday, March 26 and a third suspect was later arrested at her home. All three women, later identified as 19-year-old Maritza Vega, 20-year-old Joceline Vega and 19-year-old Evelyn Lopez, were charged with assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism and child endangerment.  FOX 11

Santa Monica Woman Comes Home To Find Homeless Man With Stick In Her Living Room: Police
A man experiencing homelessness is facing charges after the Santa Monica Police Department says he was confronted by a woman in her own home. Raymond Harry Purnell was charged with burglary after allegedly breaking into a home on Warwick Avenue in Santa Monica and ransacking the place. According to police, a woman who lived there came home Monday night and confronted Purnell, 36, in her living room. Purnell was apparently holding a stick, according to the victim. Police say Purnell broke into the home through a window, and that a neighbor saw someone matching Purnell's description leave the home, jump off the roof and run away. Officers then detained Purnell near 34th Street and Exposition Boulevard and say they found cards belonging to one of the home's residence on Purnell's person. FOX 11

Smash-and-Grab Robbers Hit Paramount Jewelry Store; 2 Arrested
Authorities are investigating a smash-and-grab robbery that took place a Paramount jewelry store Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department received a call about the robbery just after 10:30 a.m., Lt. Ron Ridley told KTLA. Deputies responded to Don Roberto Jewelers, located at 16239 Paramount Blvd. E. They detained two people who were in the area leaving the crime scene, Ridley said. The two were armed with sledgehammers, according to the Sheriff's Department. Video from the scene showed shattered glass windows with items knocked around broken jewelry display cases. The exact amount of property taken is unknown at this time, though authorities were able to recover some of the stolen items. There were employees in the store at the time it occurred, the department said. No further details were immediately available. KTLA 5

Investigation Underway After Man Found Dead In Malibu Parking Lot
An investigation is underway after a body was found near Zuma Beach in Malibu Tuesday morning. The body was found in the parking lot of a shopping center on the 30000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Authorities say the body was discovered just after 7 a.m. by an employee who works in the area. The victim was described as a 58-year-old man who worked as a security guard overnights at the shopping center, officials said. He was wearing a security uniform at the time his body was discovered. Sheriff's detectives say the victim suffered blunt force trauma to his upper body and head, but they don't know what caused the injuries because a weapon has not been found. "We don't know exactly what happened here. We don't know if it was possibly an accident. We don't know if it's at the hands of another. So we're looking at all aspects," said Lt. Vincent Ursini with the L.A. County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau. "We need to monitor, take a look at all the surveillance video that may be in the area, which may have captured some of the incident, and there's also, maybe some individuals that work in the area that need to be interviewed." ABC 7

Armed Suspects Hit 2 More Mini-Marts Amid Series Of SoCal Robberies
Police are searching for the armed robbers responsible for a pair of mini-mart holdups Monday night in the Eastside region of Los Angeles. A clerk at an El Sereno 7-Eleven store located in the 5500 block of Valley Boulevard said two males entered the location around 10:40 p.m. The men were armed with at least one handgun and got away with an unknown amount of cash from the store, according to the clerk. The suspects are believed to have fled in a vehicle after running into a nearby alley. No description of the suspects or their vehicle was immediately available. A similar robbery took place at an Arco mini-mart in the 2700 block of East Olympic Boulevard in Boyle Heights less than an hour later. Police could be seen inside the store shortly after the robbery but did not provide details. The store's manager said two men entered the market and approached the cashier with guns and demanded money from the register. It was unclear if the robberies were connected. These incidents come just days after another mini-mart was robbed on March 24 in Culver City near the intersection of Overland Avenue and Braddock Drive. Surveillance video of that incident showed the robber taking cash from a register while holding a gun. KTLA 5

Man Sentenced To Prison For Selling Meth While On Supervised Release After Terrorism Conviction
An Orange County man was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison Monday for selling methamphetamine to an undercover FBI employee while he was on supervised release following a 2009 terrorism conviction. Ahmed Binyamin Alasiri, 45, of Garden Grove received a 15-year, eight-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney as well as a two-year sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. The two sentences will run concurrently. Alasiri pleaded guilty in October to one count of distribution of methamphetamine, prosecutors said, the most recent case in a criminal history that stretches back over three decades. According to a sentencing memo filed March 14, Alasiri sold 1.7 kilograms of meth to an undercover FBI employee on three occasions about a year after he was released from prison on the terrorism charge. In 2007, Alasiri, who was known at the time as Kevin Lamar James, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to levy war against the United States government through terrorism, according to a criminal complaint for the meth case, which was filed Aug. 20, 2020. Los Angeles Times

California Man Who Kidnapped 26 Children, Buried Them Alive Is Recommended For Parole
A California man who kidnapped 26 children on a school bus in 1976 was recommended for parole. Frederick Newhall Woods was one of three gunmen who hijacked a school bus with 26 kids and their bus driver in Chowchilla, California, in 1976. The men transferred the driver and children to vans and drove them 12 hours before they were buried alive in an underground truck trailer, CBS News reported. It is considered the biggest kidnapping in U.S. history. Woods had attempted to earn parole 17 times since his conviction, and was granted a recommendation by a panel of two commissioners during his 18th attempt this year. The full parole board, the board's legal division and Gov. Gavin Newsom still need to approve the recommendation. Woods and the two other kidnappers, James and Richard Schoenfeld, had wanted $5 million in ransom during the kidnapping. The driver and some older children, however, managed to escape by digging out of the trailer while their captors slept. The children and driver did not suffer from life-threatening injuries but reported psychological harm following the incident.  FOX 11

New Mexico Deputy Honored For Saving Fellow Officers, Taking Down Cop Killer
A deputy with the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office was honored over the weekend for his heroic actions on the job, KOB 4 reports. Deputy Diego Herrera was one of the responding officers last year after a suspect shot and killed New Mexico State Police Officer Darian Jarrott and then led officers on a high-speed pursuit. After another officer used a PIT maneuver to bring the suspect's vehicle to a stop, Herrera was one of three officers who approached as the gunman once again opened fire, wounding Las Cruces Police Officer Adrian De La Garza. Herrera and the other officers returned fire, striking the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene. In front of thousands of spectators at Saturday's Professional Bull Rider's Invitational in Albuquerque, Deputy Herrera was recognized for his selfless actions. "Because of his bravery and his duty on that day," the event's announcer said as he was awarded an honorary plaque, "he was able to save his fellow police officers." PoliceOne

Illinois Police Officer Shot, Seriously Wounded After Pursuit
A Tennessee man has been arrested on an attempted murder charge after a shooting in which a Chapin Police officer was seriously wounded. The unidentified 39-year-old officer remained in the hospital late Sunday. According to initial reports, a Meredosia Police officer conducted a traffic stop late Saturday but the driver fled the scene. A pursuit involving multiple law enforcement agencies went through Pike County and into Brown County, where the driver crashed about 11:14 p.m. on Illinois Route 107 north of County Road 410 North, according to Illinois State Police. As police approached the disabled vehicle, the driver fired on officers and the Chapin officer was struck, according to state police. Officers returned fire and the driver surrendered. Daniel B. Payne, 29, of Greenbrier, Tennessee, was treated for injuries suffered in the crash and then charged with attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. He was being held Sunday in the Schuyler County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. Chapin Village President Rex Brockhouse said in a statement Sunday that "our prayers and well wishes go out to the officer and his family." "We ask that everyone pray for the health and speedy recovery of this most dedicated police officer and outstanding individual," Brockhouse said. Jacksonville Journal-Courier, Ill.

Florida Cops Seize ‘Small Army' Of Firearms As Spring Break Crowds Devolve Into Chaos
Florida law enforcement officials say they arrested 78 people from Alabama in Panama City Beach, Fla., over the weekend and confiscated 75 guns as spring break revelry devolved into chaos. “What we saw this past weekend is absolutely unacceptable,” Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said in a multi-agency press conference held late Monday morning. “The behavior of these pathetic cowards that came to our beach and committed these crimes, their actions will not be tolerated.” The weekend apparently started on a rowdy note before coming to a head on Sunday afternoon, when a 21-year-old from Alabama was shot in the foot. In a report aired before the shooting, Panama City-based ABC affiliate WMBB-TV reported that some beach roads had been shut down and some businesses had closed voluntarily, including a Walmart, due to gridlock and rowdy behavior. Interviewed at the time, Talamantez told the station that people were “acting a fool” but that there had been no violence and that he would not characterize any of the activity as a riot. On Sunday, the Majestic Towers Beach Resort posted on Facebook that things had been “extremely eventful, to say the least.” PoliceOne

Public Safety News

LAFD Crews Rescue Woman Trapped In A Trash Chute Of Koreatown Apartment
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters managed to safely rescue a woman that became trapped in a concrete trash chute of an apartment building in Koreatown. Crews responded to the building located in the 800 block of S. Hobart Boulevard shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. LAFD says the 40-year-old woman was located about 20 feet down from the roof. Crews used a rope system from the roof to securely attach a harness to the woman and lower her down to the ground, according to officials. LAFD says the woman had no signs of any injuries when firefighter paramedics inspected her at the scene. It was not known how the woman ended up in the trash chute. No further details were immediately available. ABC 7

Crews Battle Large Commercial Building Fire In Pacoima
A large fire burning in a commercial building in Pacoima drew a heavy response by Los Angeles firefighters Tuesday night. The fire was first reported around 9:10 p.m. at a commercial building located at 13281 W. Van Nuys Blvd. Firefighters arrived on scene and found large flames and smoke billowing from the structure. The fire spread to at least two commercial units and destroyed a portion of one's roof, officials said. Firefighters initially entered the building to battle the blaze from inside but had to empty the building briefly as the fire grew in size. Crews continued to put water on the fire from the ground and atop nearby buildings until it was safe for firefighters to resume their offensive attack inside the building. Early reports indicated there may have been someone trapped inside of the building as the fire broke out, LAFD said, but that person was located safe at the scene. KTLA 5

These LA County Sites Will Offer Additional COVID Vaccine Boosters
Second booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine will be offered, starting Wednesday, to eligible residents at Los Angeles County vaccination sites. Federal regulators approved additional COVID-19 vaccine shots Tuesday. The additional boosters of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for people who are 50 and over, and who received their last booster shot at least four months ago. Here's what to know. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health vaccination sites will begin offering the second doses to eligible residents Wednesday at the following sites: Obregon Park in East Los Angeles, Ted Watkins Park in South Los Angeles, Balboa Sports Complex in Encino, Commerce Senior Citizens Center in Commerce, Market Street Center in Santa Clarita, Palmdale Oasis Recreation Center, and Norwalk Arts and Sports Complex. NBC 4
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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


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