Law Enforcement

Crime alerts for Boyle Heights and 14 other L.A. neighborhoods
Crime reports are up significantly for the latest week in 15 L.A. neighborhoods, according to an analysis of LAPD data by the Los Angeles Times' Crime L.A. database. Nine neighborhoods reported a significant increase in violent crime. Boyle Heights was the most unusual, recording 21 reports compared with a weekly average of 8.0 over the last three months. Fairfax topped the list of six neighborhoods with property crime alerts.
Los Angeles Times

Notorious Pillowcase Rapist to be released in L.A. County
A man who raped 38 women over decades throughout California is coming back to Los Angeles - the scene of many of his crimes - after the state Supreme Court late Wednesday denied prosecutors' attempts to keep him under lock and key at a state mental hospital. Christopher Hubbart, dubbed the "Pillowcase Rapist" because he muffled his victims' screams by placing pillowcases over their heads, could be released within weeks, though the exact date is unknown.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prowler strikes 9 times at Harbor City apartment complex
A "hot prowler" has broken into nine units at a Harbor City apartment complex, slipping into residents' homes while occupants are home or asleep to steal cash from their wallets, pants pockets and purses. In one case, a male resident awakened to find the young man standing over his bed staring at him. "The tenant was scared," Los Angeles police Detective Thomas Baran said. "The tenant didn't even move. A minute passed and the suspect ran out."
Torrance Daily Breeze

Koreatown LAPD officer-involved shooting kills suspect
Two officer-involved shootings were reported in the area of Pico and Mariposa in Koreatown Wednesday afternoon. The first shooting occurred during a pedestrian stop when a suspect fired on an officer. The officer fired back. No one was hit in the exchange of gunfire, according to police. A large perimeter was set up while police searched the area. A second officer-involved shooting occurred. A suspect was struck and killed. It was not immediately clear if it was the original suspect sought or another person.
ABC7

Reward offered in killing of 21-year-old man who pulled over to look at a map
A $50,000 reward is being offered for information in the Mid-City slaying of a 21-year-old man, who apparently pulled over to look at a map and was gunned down, police said. Dejon Ward was shot and killed on July 12 at 12:45 p.m. in Arlington Heights as he was sitting in his parked car, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He found himself lost near Crenshaw and Venice boulevards and pulled over to look at a map when he was approached by a pair of men.
NBC4

San Pedro couple beaten up in home invasion robbery
Two men forced their way into a San Pedro home Wednesday morning, battered a man and woman inside and then fled with money, police said. The woman was sent to a hospital for treatment of injuries she suffered during the home invasion robbery, which was reported at 2 a.m. at 327 N. Mesa Street, said Sgt. Jerry Davila of the Los Angeles Police Department's Harbor Station.
Torrance Daily Breeze

Two teens killed by gunfire in South L.A. are identified
Police on Wednesday released the names of two teenagers killed in a gang-related shooting in Hyde Park. Trayvon Jackson, 16, and Antonio Riley, 18, were standing in the 2700 block of West 64th Street at about 4 p.m. Tuesday when a light-colored, four-door sedan pulled up and at least one person began shooting, said LAPD Det. Chris Barling. A third person was critically injured. Police were searching Wednesday for the light-colored car and the suspects believed to be involved, Barling said.
Los Angeles Times

Guns, equipment stolen from CHP vehicle during training exercise
Several guns and other equipment were stolen from a California Highway Patrol vehicle this week, officials confirmed Wednesday. The weapons were stolen while CHP officers conducted a training exercise Monday afternoon at Stevenson Ranch in Santa Clarita, said CHP spokesman Saul Gomez. The thief or thieves made off with two AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, two shotguns and two Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handguns, the Santa Clarita Valley News reported.
Los Angeles Times

SD takes step toward keeping cops
San Diego police officers will receive roughly $2 million toward the cost of buying and maintaining their uniforms in a move Wednesday by the City Council to address recruiting and retention issues in the Police Department. The city has struggled to keep its most seasoned officers - half of the roughly 1,800-member force is eligible to retire in the next four years - and its best young recruits in recent years. Some are being lured by other law-enforcement agencies that are promising more take-home pay and offering $5,000 signing bonuses.
U-T San Diego

Prisons

Dems spar over plan to reduce Calif inmate count
In a direct slap to Gov. Jerry Brown, his fellow Democrats in the state Senate on Wednesday rejected his plan for dealing with California's prison crisis, throwing the state's response to a federal court order into chaos. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Brown's proposal to move inmates to private prisons and vacant county jail cells was essentially dead on arrival and that his chamber would not pass it.
Associated Press

City Government

Los Angeles moves to lift decade-old ban on public murals
Artists predicted a renaissance of public muraling across Los Angeles as the City Council voted 13-2 Wednesday to lift a decade-long ban on the large outdoor artworks. "We owe it to our next generation to reclaim our legacy as a mural capital of the world," said Isabel Rojas-Williams, executive director of the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles. The action represents a culmination of years of hearings on a new regulatory scheme for murals.
Los Angeles Times