Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Los Feliz and 12 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 13 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Five neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Los Feliz was the most unusual, recording five reports compared with a weekly average of 1.6 over the last three months. Highland Park topped the list of eight neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Shooting renews worries about security at USC
The Halloween party was going strong at the heart of the USC campus. Inside the student center, about 400 people danced to a DJ under rave lighting while more than 100 milled around outside trying to get into the event, which boasted tight security. "Strict off-duty officers plus campus [police] = no worries," one online ad for the party said. But about 11:45 p.m., gunshots were fired in the crowd outside, not far from the university's Tommy Trojan statue.
Los Angeles Times

Police probe Halloween shootings in Hollywood, Pacoima
Los Angeles police were continuing their investigations Thursday into two Halloween night shootings that left one man dead and a woman injured in Pacoima and three young men injured in Hollywood. Officers were searching for four suspects in the Hollywood shooting -- three men and a woman -- whom witnesses reported seeing flee from the scene at Hollywood Boulevard and Whitley Avenue on foot about 10 p.m., said Sgt. Andrew Chao of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles Times

Man found dead in Beverly Grove home in apparent homicide
A man found dead inside a Beverly Grove home is believed to be a homicide victim, Los Angeles police said Thursday. Officers were called to the home in the 300 block of N. Laurel Avenue around 11 p.m. Wednesday after a caller reported hearing a scream coming from the location, said LAPD spokeswoman Wendy Reyes. When they arrived, they found a trail of blood inside and the body of a man who was not immediately identified.
Los Angeles Times

Shooting at Koreatown high-rise leaves 1 person wounded
One person was critically wounded in a shooting at a Koreatown high-rise Thursday afternoon, L.A. police said. One possible suspect was detained after the incident was reported about 4 p.m. at the building at 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, the Los Angeles Police Department said. The building was on lockdown as officers swarmed the scene. Detectives were investigating whether the violence was due to a dispute that broke out in an office.
Los Angeles Times

Man who pointed Laser at police helicopter gets 1 year in jail
A Los Angeles man who pointed a laser at a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter was sentenced Thursday to one year in county jail and two years probation. Superior Court Judge Clifford Klein also ordered Floyd Atkins, 24, to pay about $200 in fines and fees. "I hope you learn from this," Klein told the defendant. Co-defendant Alvaro Jimenez, 22, pleaded no contest earlier this year and was sentenced in September to 60 days of Caltrans service and three years probation.
City News Service

LAPD was wrong to omit shooting details, chief says
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Thursday that LAPD officials made an error when they chose to omit from a news release the fact that a suspect shot by officers was handcuffed at the time. "We should have included it," he said in a brief interview. "We got it wrong." The mea culpa came after a Times report on the shooting and the department's decision not to include the information in the release.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD announce reward for information on Tillett murder
The Los Angeles Police Department and city of Los Angeles announced a $50,000 reward on Thursday for anyone with information about the individuals responsible for the murder of Dennis Tillett, 24, on July Fourth in South Los Angeles. "We need assistance on this," said Sgt. Rudy Lopez. "We're not calling it a cold case, but it's still active." Lopez said the announcement of the reward at a press conference was made in hopes of reminding the community of what took place and emphasized that tipsters would have their identities protected.
Intersections South LA

LAPD: North Hills travel agency ripped off dozens with fake trips, insurance
A brother and sister who owned a North Hills travel agency were accused Thursday of defrauding at least 30 people by pocketing money meant to purchase insurance and plane tickets. Los Angeles police said Adriana Ramirez, 44, of Sylmar and Carlos H. Ramirez, 41, who was staying with family in Santa Clarita, were booked on suspicion of grand theft. They were being held Thursday afternoon on $70,000 bail, Lt. Paul Vernon said. They owned San Fernando Valley Travel, which police said had been in business at least five years but closed its small Parthenia Street storefront a month ago.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prison Realignment

More room opens up in Los Angeles County jails
With the federal government pulling out the last of its immigration detainees from a Los Angeles County jail on Wednesday, the Sheriff's Department gets additional room to address the overcrowding brought on by realignment. The Sheriff's Department is planning to use Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster for inmates with non-serious, non-violent, non-sex offender crimes - N3s - after upgrades are made to the facility, said Sheriff's Department Chief Alexander Yim, the commander of the correctional services division.
Los Angeles Daily News

Ballot Propositions

Many death row inmates oppose bid to halt executions
Police and death row inmates agree on one thing, a law enforcement group told its members: They both oppose next week's ballot measure to replace the death penalty with life without parole. That statement, in a newsletter from the Los Angeles Police Protective League opposing Proposition 34, highlighted what some California criminal defense lawyers have been saying for months. Many death row inmates who are years away from execution would rather gamble on being executed than lose their state-paid lawyers, a preference that seems to be confirmed by a limited, informal survey of some on California's death row.
Los Angeles Times

Labor mounts massive effort to get out vote and defeat Prop. 32
Facing a ballot measure that could sharply rein in its political clout in California, organized labor is fighting back with a massive operation to get millions of union voters to the polls next week. In the process, the intense effort to defeat Proposition 32 could make the difference in a number of tight contests up and down the ballot, including that of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-hike initiative, Proposition 30. Proposition 32 would eliminate unions' primary political fundraising tool: deductions from members' paychecks.
Los Angeles Times