Law Enforcement

Kamala Harris: Slain Pomona SWAT officer's sacrifices 'will live on'
Hundreds of law enforcement officials gathered Thursday to honor slain Pomona police SWAT officer Shaun Diamond, who was killed last month while helping to serve a search warrant. "Please know that the California Department of Justice and entire law enforcement family are here for you as you grieve in this difficult time," state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris said during a ceremony at Ontario Citizens' Bank Arena.
Los Angeles Times

Suspect arrested in connection with fatal shooting in Panorama City
A suspect was arrested Thursday in connection with a fatal shooting in Panorama City last month that left a 22-year-old man dead and police said the killing may have resulted from a personal insult. Esli Garay was shot multiple times about noon Oct. 12 in the 14600 block of Novice Street, east of Van Nuys Boulevard, by a passenger in a Gold SUV that the victim had just exited, according to Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon. Garay died at the scene, Vernon said.
City News Service

Northridge man arrested; charged with solicitation, attempted child exploitation
A Northridge man has been arrested on suspicion of trying to arrange a meeting with a juvenile to engage in a lewd act and investigators were seeking possible additional victims, police said Thursday. The suspect's name has not been released and it was unclear when and where he was taken into custody, but the investigation began after someone reported "an Asian male in the Northridge area was soliciting teens near a local elementary school for employment in pornographic videos," according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement. City News Service

Tujunga teen missing for five days turns up in Palmdale, reunited with parents
An 18-year-old Tujunga woman whose family reported her missing to Los Angeles police early last week turned up Saturday night at the Los Angeles County sheriff's station in Palmdale and has reunited with her parents, authorities said Sunday. Verdugo Hills High School senior Lena Donabedian was reported missing after she had last been seen Oct. 27 getting into a light colored four-door sedan driven by two males after school in Tujunga, officials and family members said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Man arrested in fatal stabbing in Koreatown
A 24-year-old man was arrested in connection with a fatal stabbing early Wednesday in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles in a crime that created conflicting accounts of what happened. The victim, identified as 32-year-old Luis David Lazcano, was stabbed around 3:15 a.m. on Serrano Avenue near West Third Street. He was rushed to a local hospital and later pronounced dead, according to LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman.
KTLA

Man stabbed in the neck while parked outside Cathedral High School: LAPD
A possibly homeless man was in custody after he allegedly stabbed a parent in the neck outside a Catholic boys high school just north of downtown Los Angeles on Thursday, police said. The incident occurred at Cathedral High School, located at 1253 Bishops Road in the Elysian Park neighborhood near Dodger Stadium.
KTLA

Authorities know 'how and why' Fox movie exec Gavin Smith was killed
Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said Thursday that detectives believe they know "how and why" Fox movie executive Gavin Smith was killed, saying that the discovery of his remains brought them closer to an arrest in the case. Investigators have served dozens of warrants and collected hundreds of pieces of evidence in the investigation, which began when Smith, 57, was reported missing May 2, 2012, Sheriff's Lt. Dave Dolson told reporters.
Los Angeles Times

Proposition 47 Consequences

California is about to learn that "tough on crime" is tough to undo
Californians voted to send fewer criminals to prison on Tuesday, approving a ballot measure that classified check forgery, possession of some drugs, and theft of property worth less than $950, among other crimes, as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Thad Kousser, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, told The Washington Post last week that the measure "would officially end California's tough-on-crime era." California's criminal justice system has long been among the most punitive, and the Supreme Court has ordered the state to deal with its inhumanely crowded prisons. But the reforms might prove tougher to implement than many expect.
Washington Post

City Government

City attorney creates strike force to combat illegal dumping in L.A.
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer announced Thursday the creation of a strike force to combat illegal dumping in the city's most notorious sites for such activity. The team, which includes members of city, county and regional agencies, will initially target nine sites throughout the city. Strike force members will conduct inspections, prosecute violators and clean up the sites, Feuer said.
Los Angeles Times

More than 40% of Los Angeles water pipes graded C or worse
More than 40% of water pipes in the city of Los Angeles are graded C or worse, a Times analysis of the L.A. Department of Water and Power's pipe inventory data reveals. More than 118,000 of the city's roughly 275,000 pipes received a C or lower grade based on their likelihood to fail and the potential consequences of a break, according to the data, which The Times obtained through a public records request.
Los Angeles Times

Valley holds month-long book drive for LAPD's “Little Free Libraries”
City Councilwoman Nury Martinez began a month-long book drive to help re-stock the police department's growing number of Little Free Libraries. New and slightly used books can be dropped off until Nov. 30 at donation bins around City Hall, as well as at Martinez's district offices in Van Nuys and Sun Valley. The books donated through Martinez's “Love of Reading Book Drive” will help fill the Little Free Libraries at police stations around the city. The books can be borrowed for free from the library and kept for any length of time.
City News Service