Law Enforcement

West Hills murder suspect caught in Yucca Valley motel room
A Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school teacher accused of stabbing and killing his estranged wife has been arrested after nearly two days on the run. Authorities said Monday that Michael Rodney Kane, 46, was arrested shortly after midnight at Desert View Motel in Yucca Valley. He was booked for murder. Police say he stabbed ex-wife Michelle Ann Kane, 43, outside a home in West Hills Saturday and fled the scene before officers arrived.
ABC7

LAPD says it tried hard to protect woman killed in West Hills
Los Angeles police officials said Monday they did what they could to protect a woman who investigators said was hunted down by her estranged husband at a friend's home and stabbed to death on a quiet West Hills street. Officers with the Topanga Area station took two reports five hours apart in which the victim, Michelle Ann Kane, 43, said Michael Rodney Kane had broken the law, first by violating a temporary restraining order and then by vandalizing her home, police officials said.
Los Angeles Times

Police investigate anti-gay hate crime in South L.A.
Police on Monday were investigating a hate crime that took place in South Los Angeles over the weekend. A 28-year-old man found his vehicle vandalized with the word "gay" etched on its sides and roof, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The vehicle's windows were smashed out and its tires were flattened. The incident happened on Sunday morning in the 2100 block of West 108th Street in unincorporated Los Angeles. The vehicle was parked outside the victim's house when the incident occurred.
KTLA5

Officials remove 2 injured suspects from vehicle following pursuit, crash
Two armed suspects were taken into custody Monday after they barricaded themselves inside a vehicle following a pursuit in South Los Angeles. Police were in pursuit of the two men who were in a stolen gray Pontiac when the driver crashed into a van around 11:35 a.m. near Holmes Avenue and 60th Street. Los Angeles Police Department SWAT teams and armored vehicles surrounded the car after the suspects refused to exit the vehicle.
CBS2

Ex-USC teacher on FBI Most Wanted list for alleged child sex crimes
A former USC professor was named Monday to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitives list after he was indicted for sex crimes against children abroad, FBI officials said. Walter Lee Williams became the 500th person to make the FBI's top list, officials said. Federal authorities believe the 64-year-old fled the United States in 2011 after agents questioned him, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
Los Angeles Times

Prisons

California's prison crowding is growing, state report says
In the state's monthly progress report to federal judges, California acknowledges prison crowding has again begun to creep upward while Gov. Jerry Brown promises to seek legislative solutions "shortly." The state's 33 prisons are now at more than 150% capacity, according to Monday's report to the U.S. District courts. Three prisons -- North Kern, the Central California Women's Facility, and Wasco -- are at or near 175% crowding.
Los Angeles Times

Sesame Street goes to jail: PBS helps kids talk about incarcerated parents
Through its "Little Children, Big Challenges" toolkits, "Sesame Street" has sought to help kids understand and cope with tough issues facing families from hunger to divorce to military deployment. The most recent issue being tackled by the PBS staple: kids with jailed parents. They did, and a "TODAY Show" story about it caused "Sesame Street" to trend nationally on Twitter for short time on Monday.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Government

L.A. mayor-elect Eric Garcetti favors low-key over glitz
When it comes to glitz and showmanship, L.A.'s next mayor is taking things down a notch. Since his victory last month, Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti has made few major announcements. He abandoned the idea of a transition team studded with big civic names. And he has ruled out plans for a black-tie inaugural ball, opting instead for a public party in Grand Park with music and food.
Los Angeles Times

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveils new downtown L.A. park
Before a throng of office workers and scruffy-faced hipsters, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday opened Spring Street Park in the heart of the city's rapidly evolving downtown, telling the crowd that there were more parks to come, including the conversion of a coveted 2-acre parcel across from City Hall. "Not since the late 1940s have you seen the resurgence of downtown, the activity downtown that you see today," Villaraigosa said.
Los Angeles Times

How much would a new L.A. city health department cost? $330 million, says budget analyst
Creating a new Los Angeles city health department could take between one and two years and cost at least $333 million a year, with only about $75 million of that made up in fees, the city's top budget analyst said in a report. City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said the proposal from the AIDS HealthCare Foundation to create a separate city agency apart from the county Department of Public Health would create a number of other problems for the city, which still has a deficit of more than $100 million, by prohibiting any contracting with the county for assistance.
Los Angeles Daily News