Law Enforcement

USC students' slayings: $75,000 reward to be offered by city
The city of Los Angeles plans to offer a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who fatally shot two USC graduate students outside a home near campus. The office of L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks announced the reward Tuesday morning, according to City News Service. Calls to Parks' office were not immediately returned. The reward comes in addition to a $125,000 reward already offered by USC.
Los Angeles Times

Police seek man who attacked 13-year-old girl in Boyle Heights
Police sketch of suspectLos Angeles police detectives are asking for the public's help in finding a man who attempted to kidnap a 13-year-old girl off the street in Boyle Heights. The incident occurred about 2 p.m. April 10 on the 1900 block of East 4th Street as the girl walked home from Hollenbeck Middle School. A Latino about 5-feet-9 with short-cropped hair, a pockmarked face and a tattoo of a dragon or a snake on his left forearm approached her and blocked her path, police said in a news release.
Los Angeles Times

Report: Police consolidation would save Los Angeles $2.9M a year
Consolidating the city's law enforcement agencies would save Los Angeles $2.9 million a year and increase operating efficiencies, according to a report released Tuesday. The report by Miguel Santana, the city's top budget analyst, recommends merging the Department of General Services' Office of Public Safety with the Los Angeles Police Department to maximize both operations and savings. The additional officers would also help LAPD grow from 9,963 officers to 10,023 officers, according to Santana.
Los Angeles Daily News

Autopsy pending for porn actor Sledge Hammer after fatal LAPD clash
An autopsy could be performed as early as Tuesday on the body of a porn actor who died in an altercation with police as more details emerged about the incident last week. The girlfriend told officers Anderson tried to hurt himself with the knife and she pried it away from him, Neiman said. An officer was riding in the ambulance with paramedics when Anderson became extremely agitated, Neiman said. Neiman said Anderson tried to stand up but moved with such force that he broke the gurney free from a floor lock and broke the handcuff.
Los Angeles Times

County Jail

Twin Towers jail inmate dies while receiving medical treatment
An inmate at the Twin Towers jail died in Burbank while receiving medical treatment, authorities said Tuesday night. The inmate was pronounced dead at the scene in the 1200 block of North San Fernando Boulevard, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Rescuers from the Burbank Fire Department responded to the medical facility about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday after the inmate was reported unconscious, the department said in a statement.
Los Angeles Times

The Courts

56 courtrooms in L.A. County -- 9 in San Fernando Valley -- to close, more than 168 workers to be laid off
A state-ordered cut of $30 million to the L.A. Superior Courts budget will prompt the closure of 56 courtrooms countywide, and result in the "erosion of access to justice," an official said Tuesday. The cuts, the largest in memory, will mean the closure of 24 civil, 24 criminal, three family law, one probate and four juvenile delinquency courtrooms, according to Judge Lee Edmon, presiding judge of L.A. County Superior Court.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Government

L.A. mayor to urge Measure R tax extension in today's State of the City speech
Building on one of his major successes in office, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will once again ask voters in Los Angeles County to tax themselves to build new rail, subway and bus lines in today's State of the City speech. In his seventh annual address, the mayor will announce a November ballot measure to extend Measure R. The half-cent sales tax, passed by voters in 2008, is expected to generate about $36 billion for transit, road and other transportation improvements through 2039.
Los Angeles Daily News

Cummings: LAFD response times will always lag in some areas
Fire Chief Brian Cummings, offering a new explanation of response times for firetrucks and ambulances, said Tuesday there are some areas of the city that the department will never be able to respond to in less than five minutes. "If it takes you that long to get to a fire station from your house, that's how long it will take for us to respond," Cummings said during a lengthy City Council hearing. "If we were going to respond to every call within four minutes, we would need another 89 stations."
Los Angeles Daily News

Politics

Statewide police group endorses two in L.A. County D.A. race
The state's largest law enforcement group has weighed in on the election for Los Angeles County district attorney, giving a boost to the campaigns of Alan Jackson and Jackie Lacey in an unusual joint endorsement. Officials with the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California were divided in their support for the two candidates but decided to endorse both rather than stay on the sidelines, said Marshall McClain, director of the association's Los Angeles-South chapter.
Los Angeles Times

Immigration

Number of unaccompanied children crossing US-Mexico border up dramatically
Since 2009, an average of 7,000 minors have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally every year, without a parent or a guardian. Many end up in California, often in search of a family member, and that number has grown exponentially since last October. No one can say exactly why so many kids are crossing the border, mainly along Arizona and Texas. But 5,000 of them, most of them teenage boys from Central American countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, have made it to the U.S. in the past six months alone.
KPCC