Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Valley Village, Playa del Rey, 7 other L.A. areas
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. Six neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Valley Village was the most unusual, recording three reports compared with a weekly average of 0.8 over the last three months. Playa del Rey topped the list of four neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Couple suspected of attempted murder surrender after 2-hour standoff
A man and his wife were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after the man swung a machete at his brother and barricaded himself inside the couple's South Los Angeles home until early Monday morning. According to authorities, the incident started as a landlord-tenant dispute between two brothers and their wives at outside an apartment on 57th Street and McKinley Avenue. The argument escalated when Marcos Ayala, 40, swung a machete at his brother, hitting him on the head.
ABC7

Man in party shooting near USC gets 25 years
A man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in state prison for opening fire during a party near the USC campus, injuring two students, after being accused of theft. Tyson Tyree Smith, 22, was sentenced immediately after pleading no contest to one count of attempted murder with a special allegation of personally and intentionally discharging a handgun. Another attempted murder count and a charge of assault with a semiautomatic firearm were dismissed as part of the plea deal, which was finalized on his scheduled trial date.
City News Service

Van Nuys man fatally shot by LAPD is ID'd
The L.A. County coroner's office Monday released the name of a man shot and killed by Los Angeles police officers in Van Nuys when he allegedly approached them with a gun. Alexander Nestoiter, 49, of Van Nuys died from multiple gunshot wounds, said coroner's Investigator Kelli Blanchard. Officers Thursday responded to a report of a man with a knife or machete who police said was threatening some construction workers near an apartment complex in the 13800 block of Oxnard Street, near Woodman Avenue.
City News Service

Downtown L.A. streets closed by protest at LAPD headquarters
Los Angeles police Monday evening cordoned off streets near City Hall as dozens of protesters marched against police brutality. The protesters were gathering in front of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on 1st Street, between Main and Spring streets. Spring Street near City Hall and 1st Street were blocked off. "Hey, hey, ho, ho, police brutality's got to go!" they shouted as they walked past the LAPD headquarters. A truck and marchers with megaphones led the procession.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD remembers Northeast Officer struck in Silver Lake
A car heading west on Riverside Drive struck Officer Landon Dorris near Hyperion Avenue in Silver Lake on Oct. 22, 2006. The car also bounced him into another vehicle entering a Golden State Freeway onramp. Dorris died soon after in the hospital. The man who struck him was never charged. Dorris, who helped patrol an infamous Glassell Park gang house, was 31. The Facebook page for the LAPD's Northeast Division posted an item about his death late Monday.
Echo Park - Silver Lake Patch

Prisons

Prison reform one year later
The brutal beating of Brandy Marie Arreola - allegedly by a man released from jail just days before the attack - has become a key example for critics of a law shifting responsibility for thousands of convicted felons from the state to the counties in October of last year. But others, including some noted criminal justice experts, say that understanding the effects of the new law will take careful analysis beyond looking at a few headline-grabbing case.
California Health Report

Education

More than 2 dozen L.A. Unified magnet schools are under-enrolled
Although Los Angeles magnet schools have long been seen as an elusive and exclusive club, more than two dozen of them are under-enrolled and actively looking to fill classroom seats. At Montara Avenue Elementary in South Gate, for example, the math, science and technology magnet can accommodate 220 students; last year just 76 applied.
Los Angeles Times