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Fremont gunman: Violent criminal history led to fatal clash with police The man who shot two Fremont police officers was a Norteño gang member with a violent criminal history, wanted for methamphetamine possession and identity theft charges when he was pulled over Wednesday in a stolen pickup truck. But Gerald Villabrille, 44, wasn't going back to jail. Almost immediately after the officer called in the traffic stop, San Jose resident Villabrille slammed his truck into the patrol car and opened fire, hitting the officer once, police said. The shooting set off a chaotic, 18-hour chain of events in the normally quiet Irvington District neighborhood, including the shooting of the second officer and culminating in a fiery climax as police lobbed tear gas and flashbang grenades that set fire to a nearby bungalow where Villabrille hid inside.
Mercury News
Man Charged with Attempted Murder in Shooting of West Covina Police Officer
A 47-year-old man suspected of shooting a West Covina police officer last month was charged with attempted murder, officials said Thursday. Jose R. Chavez, is accused of shooting a West Covina officer multiple times near the intersection of North Yaleton Avenue and Badillo Street on May 20 as the officer was trying to detain him. Chavez fled on foot and allegedly opened fire on the officer who suffered non-life threatening injuries. Chavez, who was also wounded by gunfire from the officer, was arrested almost a week after the incident.
NBC 4
LAPD Chief: UCLA gunman also killed woman on found 'kill list'
The man who fatally shot a UCLA engineering professor then killed himself was a Minnesota resident who appears to have also killed a woman in that state whose name was on a "kill list" found in the gunman's residence, authorities said Thursday. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said the list found in Mainak Sarkar's home included three names: the woman in Minnesota; UCLA professor William Scott Klug, who was killed Wednesday; and another UCLA professor, who was not injured. Beck declined to give the names of the woman or the other professor.
FOX 11
2 Dead In Tarzana Shooting After Woodland Hills Drug Deal
Two people were shot to death in Tarzana after police said a drug deal went bad in Woodland Hills on Thursday. The Los Angeles Police Department said the incident started at about 4:30 p.m. at Tiara and Oxnard streets in Woodland Hills. "Something happened at that transaction, an altercation and shooting occurred. The suspects began chasing the victims," Det. Richard Wheeler with the LAPD said. The chase lasted all the way until Calvert Street and Corbin Avenue in Tarzana. That's when police said shots rang out. As the two cars slowed down, authorities said one of the suspects exited the vehicle and walked over to the victims.
ABC 7
Woman shot in Exposition Park drive-by attack isn't cooperating with cops
A woman was shot and wounded early this morning by someone in a car as she walked with two other people on a street in the Exposition Park area of Los Angeles, police said. The shooting took place near the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Denker Avenue about 12:45 a.m., according to a desk officer at the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division. Someone in a passing car fired two shots at the group and the woman was hit once in the arm, the officer said. The other two people were not hit. The woman was transported to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening wound, the officer said. Neither the wounded woman nor her companions would cooperate with police
Los Angeles Daily News
North Hollywood woman is fatal victim in Victory Boulevard hit-and-run
Authorities today released the name of a woman who was struck and killed by a vehicle whose driver later turned himself in. Elena Zaytseva, 47, of North Hollywood, died at the scene of the hit-and- run crash, which occurred at 11:40 p.m. Sunday at Victory Boulevard and Odessa Avenue in Van Nuys. Detective Bill Bustos of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division said the driver did not stop to call 911 and provide assistance and information. But about 90 minutes after the crash, he surrendered to officers at the Valley Traffic Division, Bustos said. “Had that driver stopped and remained at the scene, called 911 and given information, the investigation would continue and he would have been allowed to leave,” Bustos said. “Now it's a felony.”
City News Service
1 Arrested In Rash Of South LA Gardener Robberies
Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department said an arrest was made in a rash of armed robberies targeting gardeners in the South Los Angeles area. Authorities said surveillance video helped lead to one arrest, but stated a second suspect was still at large. The video showed a man walking up to a gardener, shoving a gun into the victim's side, patting him down and then robbing him before running away. Investigators said there have been nearly 20 such robberies between South L.A. and Inglewood since March. Detectives believed the robbers could be targeting the victims believing some may be undocumented immigrants and not willing to report the crimes.
ABC 7
Gang feuds to blame for recent Compton violence, officials say
Compton City officials along with federal representatives gathered in Compton on Thursday to reiterate their commitment to fighting and preventing violence in the city of nearly 100,000 after a particularly violent May. Through Thursday, the number of homicides in the city has tripled compared with last year, according to statistics provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. This year, 15 people have been killed in the city, two more than all of 2015. Mayor Aja Brown stressed that the 2015 figure was a record low for a city that once saw more than 70 killings a decade ago.
Los Angeles Times
Police Officer Pepper Sprays Students After Fights Break Out at South L.A. High School
Multiple students were pepper sprayed after at least two fight broke out at John C. Fremont Senior High School in the Florence neighborhood of South Los Angeles on Thursday, according to school police. The incident occurred just before noon at the school, which is located at 7676 San Pedro Street, according to a Los Angeles Fire Department alert. Two "spontaneous" physical altercations between students broke out on campus, prompting an officer to use the pepper spray "in an effort to quickly end the fights," Los Angeles School Department Police Chief Steven Zipperman said in a statement.
KTLA 5
Ruling suspends the social worker license for a man charged in an 8-year-old boy's death
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gustavo N. Sztraicher issued a ruling Thursday that suspends the social worker license for one of the former child protective services workers who handled the case of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. “You are ordered not to engage in any business that requires use of your California social worker license,” Sztraicher told Kevin Bom, 36, of Phelan. Bom has worked as a child custody evaluator in the San Bernardino courts following his firing from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. In his job, he is required to possess a social worker license.
Los Angeles Times
Bear found near L.A. with paws, gallbladder removed from body
When a highway maintenance crew in Canyon Country came across the dead body of a young bear early Thursday, it was an unfortunate but routine part of the job: another animal struck by a passing driver. Then, a state game warden inspected the 2-year-old bear and found something more gruesome. The 150-pound bear's paws had been removed and its gallbladder was harvested, according to Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Investigators suspect the bear, which was found near Highway 14 at Sand Canyon Road, was struck by a vehicle sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, then mutilated by the driver or someone related to him.
Los Angeles Times
Drug crime sentence reduction passes California Senate on second try After initially falling short in April, a bill to repeal sentencing enhancements for certain drug crimes passed the California Senate on Thursday. Senate Bill 966, by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, removes automatic three-year augmentations given to someone convicted for the sale, possession for sale, distribution or transportation of drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and PCP if they have previously been convicted of those crimes. The measure was amended slightly to maintain sentencing enhancements if the prior conviction was for manufacturing or using a minor in a drug crime. Opponents had maintained that the policy would embolden drug dealers by waiving responsibility for their prior actions.
Sacramento Bee
Needle Stealing Highlights Issue Tracking Health Workers
The latest public health scare involving a Colorado surgical technician has revealed states have more work ahead in trying to prevent needle-stealing hospital workers from getting hired. Authorities say an HIV-positive surgical tech stole syringes with fentanyl and endangered patients at a suburban Denver hospital - the third incident of this type in the state in less than a decade. Colorado lawmakers are trying to tighten regulations but experts say it is a national concern. There should be a national registry for all medical workers with access to drugs and patients, experts say, because having requirements vary from state to state leaves room for criminals to slip through the cracks.
Associated Press
City Government News
Ballot plan would expand DWP board and allow its members to get paid
The board that oversees the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would have more members, shorter terms and be harder for L.A.'s mayor to fire, under a ballot proposal backed Thursday by a City Council panel. The council's Rules, Elections, Intergovernmental Relations and Neighborhoods Committee voted to put together a ballot measure for the Nov. 8 election that would rework the way DWP board members are chosen and removed. Under the plan, the DWP's board would go from five members to seven. Board members' terms would be scaled back from five years to three. And for the first time, DWP board members — who are chosen by the mayor and currently serve as volunteers — would be eligible for a monthly stipend.
Los Angeles Times |
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State Government News
Lawmakers Demand Action After CBS2 Exposes Deceased Voters Somehow Casting Ballots Across LA County
State lawmakers are demanding action after a CBS2 investigation uncovered hundreds of deceased voters somehow casting ballots across Los Angeles County. The move comes a week after David Goldstein, investigative reporter for CBS2 and KCAL9, uncovered 265 dead voters in Southern California, of which 215 were in LA County; people like Julita Abutin, who died in 2006. But after the investigation, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder now confirms someone fraudulently used a mail-in ballot to cast a vote in Abutin's name in 2014 and 2012. Now, state senators like Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) and Ben Allen (D- Santa Monica) are calling on Secretary of State Alex Padilla to launch a voter fraud investigation.
CBS 2
Bill to expand Metro board is shelved in Sacramento
Sacramento lawmakers shelved a bill Thursday that would have added eight members to the agency that oversees Los Angeles County's buses and growing rail network, citing unresolved concerns over the legislation. The bill, authored by Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), would have added Metropolitan Transportation Authority representatives from Long Beach and other cities across the Southland. Highlighting one of Metro's longest-running tensions, Mendoza said many of the county's 88 cities are underrepresented on the agency's board, leading to planning and funding decisions that favor Los Angeles at the expense of farther-flung cities. “It's so blatant, and so disappointing,” Mendoza said. He said he plans to iron out concerns with the bill, including those from Los Angeles, and try again later this year or next year.
Los Angeles Times |
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2024 Olympics News
LA2024 Committee Begins Work On Legal, Funding Issues
The bid to bring the Summer Olympics back to Los Angeles has advanced to the second stage, with the candidacy committee now expected to present plans on how the games will be funded by this fall. The International Olympic Committee's executive board has signed off on the LA 2024 committee's application package for the first stage, which focused on the vision, concept and strategy of hosting the Olympics in Los Angeles. The next stage requires the bid committee to provide the IOC with its plans for handling the governance, legal and venue funding issues for an LA-based Olympics.
CBS 2 |
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