Law Enforcement

LAPD, family seek missing 19-year-old woman
Los Angeles police and the family of a 19-year-old from East Hollywood are seeking help finding the young woman, who was last seen Saturday. Janet Ji Young Choi was last seen at her home just before noon Saturday and never arrived at her art school class later that day, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department. "This is very unusual for Ms. Choi," the LAPD release stated. "Ms. Choi's family is extremely worried and concerned for her safety."
KTLA

Bomb hoax on Metro bus in San Fernando Valley keeps police busy
A Styrofoam cup with protruding wires and a message left on a Metro bus kept the sheriff's Bomb Squad busy for about two hours Monday morning, a sergeant said. The cup was left about midnight on a Metro bus at San Fernando Road and Van Nuys Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, said Metro sheriff's Sgt. Andrew Bedogne, adding that "it was not left there by accident." On the cup were written the words: "911. Remember."
City News Service

LAPD detains 3 near 110 Freeway offramp, snarling downtown area traffic
Three people were being detained Thursday afternoon near an offramp on the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles, snarling rush-hour traffic in the area. Los Angeles police detained the three near the northbound 3rd Street offramp after 5 p.m., authorities said. The California Highway Patrol said agency patrol officers were planning to shut down the busy offramp. Earlier, police were pursuing carjacking suspects west of downtown, the
Los Angeles Police Department said.
Los Angeles Times

Police have possible getaway car description but little else in case of gardener shot in backyard
Aside from a possible description of the shooter's getaway car, Los Angeles Police Department detectives have been unable to uncover any promising leads in the case of a gardener who was shot while working in the backyard of an Eagle Rock house on Aug. 31. Police are looking for an American-made sedan possibly 2007-2009 model, gray or silver in color, with a large dent in the right front passenger door, according to Det. Joe Rios of the LAPD Northeast Division.
Eagle Rock Patch

New commanding officer for Hollenbeck division on community policing, connecting with Latino culture
After 24 years with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Captain Martín Baeza has returned to the Hollenbeck division, where he first started his career. Captain Baeza took over as commanding officer in late June when the division's previous captain, Anita Ortega, left for a new position in the department's recruitment and employment division. Baeza joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1989. He has worked in several divisions, including Hollenbeck, North Hollywood and Northeast, as well as on different assignments ranging from patrol to detective trainee. Baeza became a captain three years ago.
Boyle Heights Beat

Young players on the Watts Bears are part of a larger team effort
The Watts Bears might be the only football team in the Pop Warner league run by men with guns and badges. The squad of 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds is drawn from housing projects in Watts and coached by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department. For the cops it's part of community policing, aimed at building neighborhood bonds and reducing gang-related crime. For the boys it's a chance to hit somebody, with police officers cheering them on.
Los Angeles Times

DA targets auto insurance fraud with $6.9 million grant
As thousands of unsuspecting drivers in Los Angeles County are victimized by auto insurance fraud each year, District Attorney Jackie Lacey says her office will be going after those who cause crashes to rake in a big payday with renewed vigor. Lacey is now armed with $6.9 million in grants from the California Department of Insurance, provided as part of a statewide effort to help district attorneys combat insurance fraud.
Los Angeles Daily News
CBS LA

Prisons

California seeks 3-year delay in inmate releases
Gov. Jerry Brown asked federal judges on Monday for a three-year delay in their requirement that the state release thousands of inmates by year's end to ease prison overcrowding. If the judges reject his request, the administration would spend $315 million this fiscal year to house the inmates in private prisons and county jails instead of turning them loose. The state had a court-ordered Monday deadline to report on its progress for reducing the prison population by about 9,600 inmates by the end of the year. Its response is based on a law enacted last week in the closing hours of this year's legislative session.
Associated Press

Inmates' health care a critical piece of new reforms
As it turns out, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), known popularly as "Obamacare," could be a boon to the California budget. Given how the ACA is structured, the state could end up spending less on an unlikely source - prison inmates. The ACA is designed to expand healthcare coverage to low-income people, and its threshold for coverage applies to a lot of people now behind bars or about to be released back into society.
Capitol Weekly

New Law

Jerry Brown signs bill giving prisoners convicted as juveniles shot at parole
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring special parole hearings for prisoners who were prosecuted as adults and sent to prison for crimes they committed as juveniles, his office announced late Monday. Senate Bill 260, by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, will make inmates imprisoned for crimes they committed before turning 18 eligible for parole during their 15th, 20th, or 25th year of incarceration, depending on the severity of their sentences.
Sacramento Bee