Law Enforcement

Person of interest held in murder of 60-year-old Tujunga man
Authorities on Thursday held a person of interest in the murder of a 60-year-old man in Tujunga, police said. The body of Reynaldo Yuan was found with a gunshot wound in his apartment in the 10400 block of Plainview Avenue in Tujunga around 4 p.m. Tuesday. Los Angeles police Sgt. Derek Brown said a firearm was recovered in the area Wednesday evening.
City News Service

One dies after group of men shot at in Harbor City parking lot
A 21-year-old man was killed and another critically wounded after three men were fired upon Wednesday at close range in a Harbor City parking lot. Shailo Leafa of Torrance died at the hospital after he was struck at least once, said Los Angeles police Lt. Eric Holyfield. Another man who was also hit remained in critical condition Thursday. The third person was not hit.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. federal prosecutors indict men who beat Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium
A federal grand jury has indicted the two men who nearly beat San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow to death outside Dodger Stadium on gun possession charges, according to a court document obtained on Thursday. Marvin Norwood and Louie Sanchez, both of Rialto, are charged with one count each of felon in possession of firearms/ammunition, which carries a maximum 10-year federal prison sentence upon conviction.
City News Service

Family mourns man, 26, gunned down in South LA
A family is mourning a 26-year-old man who was shot to death in South Los Angeles Thursday morning. Douglas Wooley was walking near the corner of 97th and Main streets around 10:30 a.m. when gunfire erupted. "He was walking to the store, minding his own business," a female relative said. LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera added, "We do know that he had earplugs in. He was just walking down the street listening to music when the gunshots rang out."
CBS LA

Pre-marathon bike race poses public safety threat, LAPD says
Los Angeles police say the city ramped up restrictions on a popular nighttime bicycle race along the Los Angeles Marathon route because it posed a danger to public safety. Since 2009, hundreds of cyclists have gathered in the dark along Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, waiting for road closures to begin along the marathon route, which stretches from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica.
Los Angeles Times

Sequestration over, FBI scrambles to fill new agent classes at Quantico
The FBI is scrambling to fill instructor positions and restart classes at its training academy after the lifting of a sequestration-forced hiring freeze that quieted the famed facility at Quantico, Va. The bureau is short dozens of instructors who oversee a range of courses, as many were reassigned to other FBI offices when Congress imposed mandatory budget cuts. But with funding flowing again, the bureau wants to hire hundreds of special agents and analysts this fiscal year.
Washington Post

Drones

Judge strikes down small drones ban
A federal judge slapped down the FAA's fine for a drone operator, saying there was no law banning the commercial use of small drones. The judge's decision could open up the skies below 400 feet to farmers, photographers and entrepreneurs who have been battling the FAA over the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles. NTSB Administrative Law Judge Patrick Geraghty ruled Thursday that the policy notices the FAA issued as a basis for the ban weren't enforceable because they hadn't been written as part of a formal rulemaking process.
Politico

State Budget

Calif. analysts doubt Highway Patrol aircraft need
The California Highway Patrol's fleet of airplanes and helicopters may be getting old, but state lawmakers should not fund the purchase of replacements until the state police force justifies why it needs 26 new aircraft, according to the independent Legislative Analyst's Office. The recommendation came Thursday, when the office released its review of Gov. Jerry Brown's 2014-15 transportation budget proposal. .
Associated Press

City Government

Los Angeles triples pothole payouts
In direct response to an NBC4 I-Team report, payouts from the city of Los Angeles have more than tripled to drivers whose cars were damaged by the thousands of potholes on city streets. And the payouts are coming a lot quicker than in years past. It was in October 2013 that the I-Team revealed how less than 1 in 10 drivers who filed claims with the city for pothole damage received any kind of payment. "You brought this to our attention," LA City Attorney Mike Feuer, who office handles all claims, told NBC4. "It enabled us to change a system."
NBC4