Law Enforcement

Police make arrest in string of North Hollywood sexual assaults
Police have arrested a man they say is responsible for a string of sexual assaults against women in the North Hollywood area and possibly throughout the San Fernando Valley. Investigators allege Irvine Perez, 30, of North Hollywood, has accosted at least seven women walking alone in the neighborhood, sometimes groping and in other instances exposing himself. One woman was allegedly attacked in two separate incidents by the same man.
Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD looks for man who tried to kidnap 13-year-old girl in Venice
Los Angeles police on Wednesday released a sketch of a man who tried to kidnap a 13-year-old female in Venice earlier this month. The victim told investigators the incident began as she approached Milwood Avenue while walking north on Lincoln Boulevard around 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 2, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The suspect drove up in a white four-door sedan, asking the teen if she needed a ride. She said no and continued walking, the LAPD said.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD looks for woman who disappeared after leaving nightclub
Los Angeles police on Wednesday were seeking leads in the disappearance of a 30-year-old mother outside a nightclub earlier this month. Iya Sloan stepped out of the nightclub in the 200 block of South La Brea Avenue about 1 a.m. on Nov. 2 after spending time with friends inside, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. "Since that time," police said, "it seems she has vanished." Sloan is the mother of 5-year-old twins and has never been missing before. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (213) 996-1800.
Los Angeles Times

Woman shot by police arrested, investigation continues
The woman shot by Los Angeles Police Department officers at the St. George Hotel in Downtown last month has been arrested, but remains at County USC Medical Center, authorities said. The investigation continues into the Oct. 11 shooting of Evonne Mitchell, a resident of the permanent supportive housing facility at 115 E. Third St., according to LAPD's official blog. It could take another six to eight months, said LAPD Commander Andrew Smith. He would not say where she was shot or how many gunshot wounds Mitchell suffered.
Downtown News

String of South LA slayings contrast LA's decreasing homicide rate
A teenager who was shot and killed walking blocks away from his own home is just the latest victim in a string of killings to galvanize residents of South Los Angeles. At a vigil on Tuesday for Elawnza Peebles, 14, family members and South LA residents called for action. Peebles was shot and killed while walking home from his uncle's house in his new neighborhood. "Don't let this candle ceremony be the end, let it be the beginning," said Peebles' relative Lucy Howard. "Let your child be able to walk home."
NBC4

Costa Mesa hit-and-run suspect arrested after Sherman Oaks chase
A man wanted in connection with a hit-and-run in Costa Mesa was arrested in Sherman Oaks on Tuesday night after leading police on a foot chase and evading officers for more than two hours. Armand Manoukian, 19, was formally arrested on an unrelated outstanding felony warrant but may face additional charges of evading police and pending investigation by the Costa Mesa Police Department. "Officers received information from Costa Mesa police that a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run was registered in our area," said Lt. Jim Gavin of the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Division.
Los Angeles Daily News

Editorial: Coming to L.A.: 'cop cams'
In less than two months, new Police Commission President Steve Soboroff has persuaded private donors to put up $1.2 million to buy 600 video cameras that Los Angeles police officers will wear on the job. The money is the first step in a project that could dramatically change policing in the city by increasing the accountability of both officers and the people they come into contact with. This technology holds great promise for police and the public, with the right protections. No camera should begin recording until a public policy is in place.
Los Angeles Times Editorial Board

The Courts

Supreme Court appears to support a warrantless police search
In a case that could narrow legal protections against police searches, a majority of Supreme Court justices sounded ready Wednesday to reject an appeal from an imprisoned Los Angeles gang member who contended that after he objected to a search and was then taken away under arrest, police unconstitutionally entered his apartment. Justices appeared to agree with attorneys for the Los Angeles Police Department, who defended the search as legal because the gang member, Walter Fernandez, was not present and his girlfriend gave police permission to enter their home.
Los Angeles Times

Gun groups lose challenge to weapons bans in parks
The California Supreme Court rejected a challenge by gun groups Wednesday to the authority of San Mateo County and other local governments to ban firearms in public parks. The National Rifle Association and the gun owners group Calguns argued that the San Mateo County ordinance conflicted with state law, which allows people to carry firearms in public if they have a concealed-weapons permit from the county sheriff.
San Francisco Chronicle

Sentencing

California sentencing commission could be coming, Ammiano says
The prospect of a renewed push for a statewide sentencing commission surfaced during a Wednesday hearing on California's criminal justice system. Under a federal court order to reduce crowding in California's prisons, Gov. Jerry Brown last year introduced a bill to buy the state time by allocating $315 million for new inmate facilities. Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, D-Los Angeles, backed that plan, while Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg rallied his caucus behind an alternate proposal calling for an advisory sentencing commission.
Sacramento Bee