Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Koreatown, Pacoima and seven other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in nine L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Seven neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Koreatown was the most unusual, recording 23 reports compared with a weekly average of 9.8 over the last three months. Pacoima topped the list of three neighborhoods with property crime alerts. It recorded 32 property crimes compared with its weekly average of 25.3 over the last three months.
Los Angeles Times

Truck scam targets Northeast L.A. residents
The theft of Toyota Tacoma trucks is fueling a scam that is bilking Northeast Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley residents out of thousands of dollars, according to Detective Jeana Franco at Northeast LAPD's auto theft unit. According to Franco, the perpetrators of the scam are stealing the trucks from northeast neighborhoods, swapping their license plates with other vehicles and then advertising them for sale for $6,000 to $8,000 on major streets in the valley.
Echo Park Patch

Stow beating: Getaway driver didn't know of attack, prosecutors say
The woman who drove the getaway car for suspects in the Bryan Stow beating will not be charged because she apparently did not witness the beating and did not know about the attack at the time, according to court documents. Dorene Sanchez, the sister of suspect Louie Sanchez and the girlfriend of suspect Marvin Norwood, drove the men from the stadium after they allegedly beat Stow at Dodger Stadium. But prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to charge her. She has testified before the grand jury.
Los Angeles Times

Shotgun blast misses CHP officers near Harbor Freeway
Police searched Wednesday for a man who fired a shotgun near California Highway Patrol officers as they were driving in South Los Angeles west of the Harbor (110) Freeway. Several people reported seeing a man walking around with a shotgun about 1 a.m. near South Figueroa Street and West Florence Avenue, said CHP Sgt. Scott Hawkins. As two CHP officers were travelling westbound on Florence Avenue from the Harbor (110) Freeway, they heard a shotgun blast and saw a muzzle flash, Hawkins said. They were not hit.
Torrance Daily Breeze

When you tolerate bad behavior . . .
What is perhaps just as disturbing as the (London) rioting is what will surely follow: the orgy of “outreach” and “understanding” and “communication” and all the other non-judgmental drivel that some will attempt to substitute for the public condemnation the rioters deserve. The lesson of the riots, whether in Los Angeles or London, is a simple one: When you tolerate bad behavior, you get more of it.
Jack Dunphy/National Review

What explains the flash mobs of 2011 and is LA prepared for the next?
Professor Howard Rheingold calls the flash mob a hybrid of the personal computer, Internet, and mobile phone, and says, "it's a vast dissemination of the power that used to be held by only a few." He's talking about a time before smart phones, Twitter, Facebook, and email, when instantaneous communication was reserved for the privileged or wealthy. Despite recent violent mobs, like last month's incident in Hollywood, Rheingold and the Los Angeles Police Department's Michel Moore say social media's power can be used to better society, but as with anything, great power comes with great responsibility.
Southern California Public Radio

Victim dies after apparent road rage incident
A pizza delivery driver who was shot in the head after a suspected road rage incident has died, according to police. Juan David Vasquez Loma was driving two of his co-workers home on Silver Lake Boulevard early Sunday when a suspect pulled alongside his car and began shooting, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Vasquez was struck in the head and crashed into a parked Mercedes-Benz, according to Lt. Steve Flores. He died at 9:55 a.m. Tuesday at LA County USC Medical Center, the LAPD said.
NBC4

Playa del Rey: Unruly cyclists hold up traffic, 6 cited
About 150 unruly cyclists, some of whom may have been drinking, held up traffic in Playa del Rey, and six were given citations, police said. Officers arrived in the 300 block of Culver Boulevard about 10:20 p.m. Tuesday to disperse the crowd, said Officer Marian Adams of the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Station. Six cyclists were given stop sign-violation citations and a photographer taking photos along the ride had his vehicle impounded, Adams said. It allegedly had been obstructing traffic.
Torrance Daily Breeze

LAPD arrests six robbery suspects
The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested three people suspected of robbing a medical marijuana facility at gunpoint on Eagle Rock Boulevard in March, plus three burglary suspects allegedly responsible for a rash of robberies in Eagle Rock and Highland Park. The recent arrests, including those pertaining to three robberies in Eagle Rock and four in Highland Park, were announced to the board of the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council at its monthly meeting Tuesday night by LAPD Senior Lead Officer Craig Orange, who is in charge of controlling crime in Eagle Rock.
Eagle Rock Patch

LAPD mentoring center to celebrate grand opening
The LAPD does not always get publicity for all the good they quietly do in the community, but they are about to open a unique youth Mentoring Center unlike anything else in the Hollywood area and they are receiving high praise for this innovative undertaking. The new facility, funded by community donations, will provide a permanent location in the Santa Monica / Western corridor where officers of the LAPD, spearheaded by Captain Beatrice Girmala, Commanding Officer of the Hollywood Division, will provide daily mentoring and other services to local youth at a location close to their schools and homes.
PCD News