Law Enforcement

LAPD officer plus one other wounded in Reseda, suspect in custody
A Los Angeles police officer was injured Monday when a suspect who had allegedly shot and wounded another man fired at the officer's patrol car as he was responding to the scene in Reseda. Officers went to the 7100 block of Yolanda Avenue about 9:40 a.m. on a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
City News Service

LAPD officer injured in 2 Freeway collision
An LAPD officer was hospitalized after crashing into a car on the 2 Freeway in Eagle Rock early Monday morning. The officer was responding to another collision when the crash occurred. The driver of the other car says she pulled to the side of the road after being involved in a collision on the freeway. It was reportedly difficult to see her car. That's when the responding officer crashed into the vehicle. The extent of the officer's injures was not immediately released.
ABC7

1 homeless man stabs another in the face at downtown L.A. shelter
An argument between two men living at the Weingart Center for the homeless downtown turned violent, with one man stabbing the other multiple times in the face, police said Monday. The stabbing occurred about 10:25 p.m. Sunday at 515 East 6th St., said Sgt. Ruben Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Station. "Two guys at Weingart got into a dispute, one guy produced a knife and stabbed the other multiple times in the face," Lopez said.
City News Service

In spite of recent crime spike in Boyle Heights, L.A. continues downward trend; Hollenbeck Division to host town hall
When Boyle Heights residents heard shots fired in their neighborhood three days in the same week last month, many of them took to Facebook. Comments flooded the All Roads Lead to Boyle Heights Facebook page after news of the frequent shootings were posted. It's s not uncommon to see reactions posted by residents on social media platforms, which have become new age community forums.
Boyle Heights Beat

Fugitive sought in Griffith Park arrested in San Francisco
A registered sex offender who allegedly stabbed to death a man in a South Los Angeles motel room was arrested in San Francisco and en route on Monday to the Southland to face justice. Oscar Bridges, 54, was arrested about 12:45 p.m. Saturday, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies. Bridges will be booked at the sheriff's station in Norwalk on suspicion of killing Robert Brewer, 21, of Texas, in a motel room in the 10400 block of South Vermont Avenue on Jan. 23.
City News Service

Missing 12-year-old Northridge girl found with boyfriend, 17
A 12-year-old Northridge girl who was reported missing and last seen in Reseda on Saturday was located late Sunday at her boyfriend's house in Canoga Park, police said Monday. Guadalupe Regalado, 12, was taken into custody and turned over to child protective services Sunday night, said Sgt. David Madof of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Valley Division. Madof could not say whether the girl had been returned to her family.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prisons

California gets 2 more years to reduce prison population
Federal judges on Monday gave California two more years to meet a court-ordered prison population cap, the latest step in a long-running lawsuit aimed at improving inmate medical care. In doing so, the judges said they would appoint a compliance officer who will release inmates early if the state fails to meet interim benchmarks or the final goal. The order from the three-judge panel delayed an April deadline to reduce the prison population to about 112,000 inmates. California remains more than 5,000 inmates over a limit set by the courts, even though the state has built more prison space and used some private cells.
Associated Press

Prison-crowding order renews talk of sentencing changes
Talk of a sentencing commission to review whom California sends to prison and for how long helped Gov. Jerry Brown win a two-year grace period from federal judges who want crowding reduced to a safe level. But there is no official move by the governor's office or Legislature to create one. Brown's office was quick to point out Monday's federal court order giving the state until early 2016 to reduce crowding notes that the state only "will consider the establishment of a commission to recommend reforms of state penal and sentencing laws."
Los Angeles Times

City Government

State lawmaker presses for audit of troubled DWP billing system
A Los Angeles-area lawmaker is pressing for a state audit to determine how a new billing system beset with errors was rolled out at the city Department of Water and Power, a week after the agency acknowledged a $200-million shortfall in collections. In a statement, Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) called the new system "a boondoggle from the start," citing as many as 70,000 customers billed late or erroneously under the new system.
Los Angeles Times