Law Enforcement

LAPD, US Customs battle counterfeit goods market, multi-billion dollar industry more lucrative than drugs
In an era when terrorism and illegal narcotics pose a clear and present danger in urban America, why should U.S. law enforcement spend precious resources policing luxury handbags? Because, authorities say, those fake handbags - and other counterfeit goods - are practically an ATM machine for organized crime.
ABC News

Court of Appeal reinstates union suit challenging LAPD disciplinary practice
The Court of Appeal for this district Friday reinstated a union lawsuit challenging Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck's alleged policy of issuing “involuntary conditional Official Reprimand(s)” to officers accused of disciplinary violations. Division Three reversed the lower court's dismissal of a suit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from the policy. The Los Angeles Police Protective League alleges that the conditional reprimands, or CORs, violate officers' rights by imposing “a predetermined minimum disciplinary penalty which will be imposed in the event of a future commission of the same or similar misconduct by the officer.”
Metropolitan News-Enterprise

Craigslist cellphone ad was used to lure father, son in slaying
Police searched Monday for two men who ambushed and fatally shot a father in front of his teenage son in South L.A. Father and son had been lured by a Craigslist ad for a cellphone. Rene Balbuena, 41, and his 15-year-old son were in Gramercy Park near 92nd Street and Gramercy Place about 7:40 p.m. Saturday when police say two men walked up to their vehicle from behind and demanded Balbuena's money. Balbuena got out of the car and one of the men
opened fire, police said.
Los Angeles Times

Woman allegedly kidnapped by ex-boyfriend in East L.A. remains missing
Police continued searching for a missing 22-year-old woman three days after she was allegedly kidnapped in East Los Angeles by her ex-boyfriend. Karen Pineda was last seen Friday around 7 p.m. near the 4000 block of Huntington Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. "Karen Pineda was seen asking the suspect, ex-boyfriend Jose Luis Marin, to leave the area because the police had been called," according to a news release from the LAPD.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD sets up perimeter in Mid-City after driver crashes, flees
Police had set up a perimeter in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles on Monday evening after a man suspected of driving a stolen car crashed into another vehicle and took off running, authorities said. The collision took place at Redondo and Washington boulevards, where two people were injured, according to Erik Scott with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
KTLA

Second suspect charged in LAX dry-ice bomb case
A second suspect -- the supervisor of the first -- was charged Monday in connection with a string of dry-ice bombs left at Los Angeles International Airport, prosecutors said. Miguel Angel Iniguez, 41, was charged with one felony count of possession of a destructive device near an airplane, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office announced. If convicted as charged, prosecutors said, the Inglewood man faces a maximum of six years of prison. Iniguez was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
Los Angeles Times

How FBI brought down cyber-underworld site Silk Road
Criminals who prowl the cyber-underworld's "darknet" thought law enforcement couldn't crack their anonymous trade in illegal drugs, guns and porn. But a series of arrests this month, including the bust of the black market site Silk Road, shows the G-men have infiltrated the Internet's back alley. Computer experts suspect the government simply beat the cyber-pirates at their own game: hacking.
USA Today

Prisons

Federal judges extend Gov. Brown's prison crowding deadline - again
A panel of federal judges has given Gov. Jerry Brown an additional 28 days to come up with long-term solutions to the state's prison crowding problems. In an order issued Monday, the judges moved the deadline for California to remove about 9,600 inmates from state lockups to Feb. 24, adding almost a month to their last deadline of Jan. 27. It previously was Dec. 31. They also ordered the state to continue negotiating for solutions with lawyers representing California's 134,000 prisoners.
Los Angeles Times

California prison policies under legislative scrutiny
California lawmakers continued their review of the state's troubled prison system on Monday as Gov. Jerry Brown's administration received more time to negotiate ways to reduce overcrowding behind bars. The state is under court order to reduce its prison population by thousands of inmates because a panel of three federal judges determined that overcrowding was preventing access to adequate medical care.
Los Angeles Times

City Government

Disability director latest city manager to leave under L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti
The head of the city Department of Disability became the fourth manager to leave under Mayor Eric Garcetti. Regina Houston-Swain, who has been GM for nine years, said she has decided to retire after 32 years with the city. "I am looking forward to pursuing my personal endeavors and spending time with my aging and ill parents," Houston-Swain wrote in a letter to her staff, adding she will be working with the mayor's office during the transition period.
Los Angeles Daily News

Garcetti: Sexual-harassment prevention 'mandatory' for managers
Amid revelations that Los Angeles city managers are failing to take state-required courses on sexual-harassment prevention, Mayor Eric Garcetti said he will seek to push for "100 percent participation." "This isn't an optional training - this is something that's mandatory," said Garcetti, speaking with the Daily News at an event Saturday at City Hall. "Those who haven't taken it are out of policy with the city."
Los Angeles Daily News