Law Enforcement

Drug lab fumes send 5 LAPD officers, suspect to hospitals
Five Los Angeles police officers exposed to chemical fumes from a narcotics lab in a Van Nuys apartment were recovering early Monday, Los Angeles police said. The officers responded to a radio call reporting a man screaming at 14839 W. Sherman Way shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday, LAPD Sgt. J. Hensley said. On arriving, police found the door to the man's apartment open and discovered beakers and other lab materials, Hensley said.
Los Angeles Times

DNA links inmate to 1980 homicide of Silver Lake woman, LAPD says
More than three decades after a woman was sexually assaulted, beaten and stabbed to death in a Silver Lake apartment, Los Angeles police cold case detectives Friday said they have arrested the man responsible. Harold Anthony Parkinson was taken into custody Wednesday at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe, where he already was serving a life sentence for murdering his roommate seven months after the August 1980 slaying of the young woman, said Robbery Homicide Det. Michael Pelletier.
Los Angeles Times

'Cowboy Bandits' charged with robbing 8 businesses in L.A. region
Two men dubbed the "Cowboy Bandits" pleaded not guilty Friday to robbing eight businesses, including a bank, at gunpoint throughout the Los Angeles region, authorities said. Dominic Dorsey, 46, of Hollywood, and Reginald Bailey, 69, of Los Angeles appeared in U.S. District Court on charges that they violated the Hobbs Act by using force or fear to extort, and used a firearm while committing the robberies, according to a U.S. attorney's office statement.
Los Angeles Times

LAPD warns public about new LADWP phone scam
The Los Angeles Police Department is warning the public about a new scam targeting LADWP customers. Officials say the scam artist calls and says the customer needs to send an immediate payment or face an immediate service shut off. The LAPD offered the following reminders to consumers: LADWP employees will never ask for personal payment information over the telephone. They will never ask you to purchase pre-paid cash cards from a convenience store to pay your utility bill.
CBS LA

Peace March held at housing project after firebomb attack
Dozens of community members turned out Saturday for a protest calling for the end of violence at a Boyle Heights housing project after a firebomb attack that may have been racially motivated. The peace march was held at Ramona Gardens, where four apartments were damaged in the May attack. Sgt. Ken Edwards of the LAPD's Community Safety Partnership program said the attack does not reflect what the department has seen in the community since 2011.
NBC4

‘Synthetic' ID theft emerging as fastest-growing type of consumer fraud
A Marina del Rey man has been convicted on charges related to a rapidly-growing high-tech crime known as synthetic identity theft, according to an exclusive KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO report. KNX 1070's Charles Feldman reports the prosecution is believed to be a first for Los Angeles and only the second such prosecution in the nation.
CBS LA

Election 2014

November runoff likely in sheriff's race
The race for Los Angeles County's next sheriff will likely be decided in November, as vote tallies released Friday make it nearly impossible for Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell to claim an outright victory in the primary election held earlier this month. McDonnell handily defeated six opponents in the June 3 primary, scoring 49.36 percent of ballots counted so far but still short of the 50 percent plus 1 majority needed to avoid a runoff in November's general election.
Los Angeles Daily News

Prisons & Jails

Gov. Jerry Brown's prison reforms haven't lived up to his billing
Nearly 15 months after launching what he called the "boldest move in criminal justice in decades," Gov. Jerry Brown declared victory over a prison crisis that had appalled federal judges and stumped governors for two decades. Diverting thousands of criminals from state prisons into county jails and probation departments not only had eased crowding, he said, but also reduced costs, increased safety and improved rehabilitation.
Los Angeles Times

Men's Central Jail overcrowding crisis could cost $1.7 billion to fix
Sheriff's Capt. Daniel Dyer, commanding officer of the downtown Men's Central Jail, couldn't help but grimace during a recent inspection of Dorm 9500. More than 200 low-security inmates were crammed inside the room, every now and then tripping over each other's bunks spaced a foot apart. The space was not originally intended to serve as living quarters, so toilets were an afterthought, installed haphazardly in the middle of a row of bunks in the 1980s.
Los Angeles Daily News

The Courts

New California budget fails to ease court woes, chief justice says
California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said Friday the new state budget will mean "more disappointment, service reduction and delay for those who need our courts." The budget signed by Gov. Jerry Brown contains less than half the money Cantil-Sakauye said would be needed for trial courts "just to tread water" after years of courthouse closures, layoffs and other cutbacks.
Los Angeles Times

L.A. prosecutor's work goes beyond the courtroom
In a push to make city government more responsive, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer has expanded a network of on-the-street attorneys like Feiman, who tackle all manner of quality-of-life menaces across nearly 469 square miles of neighborhoods. Neighborhood prosecutors like Feiman, a vivacious lawyer with Israeli roots and a Valley upbringing, do battle outside the courtroom as often as in it.
Los Angeles Times

Air Shows

American Heroes Air Show in Lake View Terrace honors first responders
The American Heroes Air Show, held at the Hansen Dam Recreation and Sports Complex, drew hundreds of visitors for a first-day-of-summer celebration of helicopters, firefighters and law enforcement. Where sheriff's airmen rappelled from search-and-rescue choppers. Where Los Angeles County and CalFire firefighters demonstrated water drops during what may be the riskiest fire season on record.
Los Angeles Daily News

City Government

Garcetti taps San Francisco official as transportation head
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti picked a San Francisco official known for her focus on innovation, bicycle use and traffic safety to run the city's Department of Transportation on Friday. Assigned to the "Livable Streets" office of San Francisco's transportation agency, Seleta Reynolds played a major role in carrying out that city's Vision Zero project, which is seeking to cut traffic fatalities to zero by 2024.
Los Angeles Times