Law Enforcement

Driver ordered to stand trial in electrocution deaths
A 19-year-old driver who crashed into a utility pole in Valley Village has been ordered to stand trial for manslaughter in the deaths of two women who tried to come to his aid, only to be electrocuted by downed power lines. Arman Samsonian of Glendale slammed his sport utility vehicle into a light pole and nearby fire hydrant last Aug. 22. After the violent crash, two women ran toward the SUV to render aid, officials said.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. visitor pleads guilty to pointing laser at helicopters
A man awaits sentencing after pleading guilty this week to pointing a green laser at two helicopters in Los Angeles, officials said. The man, Isaias Gonzalez, is the second to be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Central District of California office under new a federal law that President Obama approved in 2012, which made it a federal crime to deliberately point a laser at aircraft, according to an FBI news release.
Los Angeles Times

70-year-old man held in Panorama City hit-and-run that injured mother and toddler
A 70-year-old man was in custody Thursday, with police saying he failed to stop after hitting a woman and her toddler with his SUV in Panorama City on Wednesday night. Witnesses told officers that the pink car-shaped stroller with the 14-month-old inside was pushed by the car for about a block before bystanders flagged down the driver. Both victims were transported to local hospitals.
Los Angeles Daily News

Attempted robbery suspect, 75, faces other charges
A 75-year-old Chatsworth man who once lived in the exclusive gated community Hidden Hills and now stands accused of trying to rob his neighbors at gunpoint appeared in court briefly Thursday, and was sent back to jail pending another hearing next month. Ronald Snyder was dressed in a blue county jail jumpsuit, and the man appeared frail as he sat next to his public defender, James Gates, at the Superior Court hearing in Van Nuys. Snyder has pleaded not guilty to 14 counts related to the attempted home-invasion and several other burglaries in the wealthy community.
Los Angeles Daily News

I'm a homicide detective in the LAPD. What do you want to know?
Christopher Barling has been working with the Los Angeles police department's homicide division since 1993. He's now the homicide supervisor for the 77th division in south LA, which has historically had one of the highest murder rates in the city. As a part of our 'A day's work' series , Detective Barling agreed to open up about his life and his work with Guardian readers, and answer questions.
The Guardian UK

Captain Snell of the LAPD holds Town Hall at Audubon
In the wake of the Travon Martin Trial and George Zimmerman's acquittal, many in Los Angeles and around the country rallied together in protest and marched, spurring a criminal element to engage in negative behavior including vandalism, assaults, theft and other illegal acts. These activities have garnered the attention of the LAPD who sponsored a town hall meeting at Audubon Junior High School, to discuss with the media and public what they plan to do in response and to promote the proper procedure for groups to follow when planning and conducting legal rallies and marches.
Los Angeles Sentinel

Consumer Alert

Southern California Edison alerts customers to rash of phone scams
Southern California Edison warned its customers Thursday to be aware of a telephone-based scam in which the caller asks for immediate payment for supposedly past-due bills. Impostors have been calling SCE customers and telling them they must pay overdue bills immediately or have their electric service disconnected, according to the utility. The callers demand payment via a prepaid cash card to cover their tracks.
City News Service

Prisons

Brown scuttled prison bond haunts inmate release order
Six years ago, California lawmakers shook hands on a $7.4 billion deal to build lockups for 53,000 prisoners to reduce overcrowding that was so severe a federal judge threatened to set thousands of convicts free. On Thursday, just a fifth of the money has been spent, violent crime is rising in the most-populous U.S. state and Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, risks contempt charges for resisting a court order to lower inmate numbers still further.
Bloomberg

The Courts

California Superior Courts in crisis
Thousands of Californians must wait up to four times as long as normal to get their day in court. Some residents now wait five years or longer to have their civil complaints heard by a judge or jury. Some residents are dying while waiting for their day in court. An NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit analysis of state Superior Court data shows delays in every one of California's 58 Superior Court systems.
NBC Bay Area

City Government

Nury Martinez, sole woman elected to L.A. City Council, is a toughie
Los Angeles wags had pre-ordained that the sole woman on L.A.'s all-male City Council would be insider Cindy Montanez. But the CW crowd has no grip on how East San Fernando Valley voters think. Voters instead chose Nury Martinez on Tuesday, a big upset. Martinez joins 14 males -- seven of them transplants from the ossified legislature, often helped by L.A. Times backing. Maybe she'll light a fire under a few butts.
L.A. Weekly