Dump truck driver accused in crash that killed LAPD officer in court
The driver of a dump truck that collided with an LAPD cruiser in Beverly Hills, killing a veteran training officer, waived his right Wednesday to a hearing to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to proceed to trial on a felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter. Roberto Maldonado, 47, of Pacoima, was ordered to return to a San Fernando courtroom for arraignment June 22 after giving up his right to a preliminary hearing and instead proceed to trial. Maldonado, who owns a dump truck company, is charged in the March 7, 2014, crash that killed Officer Nicholas Choung Lee near Robert Lane and Loma Vista Drive.
Los Angeles Daily News
LAPD Can't Use Radar to Enforce Speed Limits Until Surveys Done
The Los Angeles Police Department is "crippled" in its ability to enforce safe speeds on Los Angeles City streets due to budget cuts. By law, the city must conduct surveys of city streets to determine safe speeds and set speed limits which allows officers to use electronic devices like laser to enforce speed limits. Budget cuts have resulted in 75% of the needed surveys expiring. In 2010, the City wrote over 99,000 citiations for unsafe speed, last year the number was just over 16,000. Fatal colisions during the same period of time increased 20 percent.
NBC 4
Random Koreatown parking garage attack: Woman stabbed, attacker shot
A woman was stabbed in a random attack in a Koreatown parking garage by a man who was fatally shot by the victim's boyfriend, police said Wednesday. Officers responded about 5:25 p.m. Tuesday to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 600 block of South Berendo Street and found a man dead from a gunshot wound and a woman who had been stabbed, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The woman was hospitalized in intensive care but is expected to recover from her injuries, police said.
MyNewsLA.com
Life Sentence Issued in 2011 Series of Robberies, Murders That Left MTV Music Coordinator Dead
A 31-year-old Los Angeles man was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a series of robberies that left two men dead in 2011, including an MTV producer who was shot execution-style just feet from his front door. Jabaar Vincent Thomas received two consecutive life terms for the first-degree murders of Gabriel Ben-Meir and Marcelo Aragon, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.He was also convicted of multiple counts of second-degree robbery and attempted robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
KTLA 5
Charges Dropped Against Venice Hotel Owner In Homeless Man's Death
Charges have been dropped against a Venice hotel owner who had been accused of ordering the shooting death of a transient on the boardwalk last August. Sris Sinnathamby was arrested shortly after the death of Jascent-Jamal Lee Warren. Authorities said he ordered a security guard to shoot homeless people sitting next to his Cadillac Hotel. But a judge on Wednesday dropped Sinnathamby from the case citing insufficient evidence. Security guard Francisco Guzman was ordered held for trial on one count of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Warren was shot on Aug. 30 and a second man was shot in the leg.
ABC 7
Employees Lucky To Be Alive After Car Slams In Church's Fried Chicken Store In South LA
Some Church's Fried Chicken store employees watched as chickens flew Wednesday after a driver careened her car into the restaurant in South LA. “I said ‘Whoa!, Whoaa!, Whoa!,” said one witness as he saw the car about to slam into the restaurant's kitchen at Florence and Vermont. Judith Uriazr told Lopez her brakes on her Hyundai Sonata failed after she was hit by the driver of a white Chevy. The Chevy driver declined to talk, Lopez said. “Because I just lost control of my car,” she said. She said she didn't see any employees as she was about to crash into the eatery.
KCAL 9
No death penalty for accused robber-murderer of South LA market owner
The prosecution announced Wednesday that it won't seek the death penalty against a man charged with the robbery-murder of a market owner in South Los Angeles nearly 26 years ago. Marcus Perkins, 45, will face a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the July 24, 1990, shooting death of Timoteo Pena. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery. Perkins is also charged with robbing Pena, who was the owner of Sinaloa Meat and Grocery Market in the 5600 block of San Pedro Street.
MyNewsLA.com
L.A. activists sentenced to probation for 2015 protest of police shootings
Two Los Angeles activists who were facing possible jail time for their roles in a downtown protest against police shootings that blocked a Metro rail line last year were sentenced to probation Wednesday morning. Anthony Johnson, 58, and William Bannister, 44, were convicted of disorderly conduct and trespassing on a railway during a 2015 protest days after the police-involved killings of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and Walter Scott in South Carolina. Despite a city prosecutor's call for them to serve time, Superior Court Judge Lynne Hobbs sentenced both men to two years' probation. Both must also perform community labor, Hobbs ruled.
Los Angeles Times
Burglary Suspect Caught On Video Stealing Cash, Personal Checks From La Cañada-Flintridge Church
Authorities Wednesday sought the public's help in identifying a man suspected of stealing cash and other items from a Crescenta Valley church. The suspect – described as a black male – broke into an unnamed local church on May 27 around 4:40 p.m. and stole a cashbox, U.S. currency and an envelope containing numerous personal checks, according to Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station detectives. Authorities say the suspect was also caught on surveillance video committing two burglaries in an adjacent parking lot, where he gained entry by throwing rocks at vehicle windows.
CBS 2
LA jail inmates phone home for less?
Los Angeles County jail inmates will have to wait until next week to find out if they'll be charged less to make phone calls from behind bars. The Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote Wednesday on a plan to cut fees to comply with an order issued by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015. That order was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit this March and is set to take effect June 20. At Supervisor Sheila Kuehl's request, the board postponed the vote until next week. Officials don't want to make too much of a cut in about $15 million of county phone revenues from those calls.
City News Service
Security Guards at San Onofre, 5 Other Nuclear Power Plants Now Allowed to Carry Assault Rifles
U.S. nuclear regulators have granted Southern California Edison permission to arm private security guards at the defunct San Onofre power plant with assault rifles and “ammunition feeding devices.” The Nuclear Regulatory Commission granted Edison and five other nuclear power plants the special exemptions as a way to secure the facilities and the spent nuclear waste they store on-site. The Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the last nuclear generating station operating in California, got the exemption, as well as four plants in New York state.
KTLA 5
Criteria to become LASD watchdog
The Board of Supervisors Wednesday approved a set of criteria for choosing candidates for the Civilian Oversight Commission, established to oversee the Sheriff's Department. Members, who will not be paid, must be available to spend as much as 20- 25 hours per week to serve on the commission. Candidates should also plan to complete training on the use of force and firearms; defensive tactics; mediation techniques; and constitutional policing. Training could also include ride-alongs and simulations. In addition to a record of “substantial community involvement,” candidates should have a “reputation for integrity, honesty and character,” according to board documents.
MyNewsLA.com
Stanford Tops Federal List With 5 Sexual Violence Investigations
When the U.S. government released its tally of investigations into sexual violence on college campuses in 2014, Stanford wasn't on the list. But in the new list that's out this month, Stanford has the most cases, with five — and the figure doesn't include the notorious assault that's been making headlines. That crime, committed by former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, generated outrage after a judge sentenced Turner to six months in the county jail after he was convicted of three felony counts related to his sexual assault of an unconscious woman on Stanford's campus in January of 2015.
KQED
San Jose police arrest 3 more anti-Trump protesters; a fourth is being sought
Police have arrested three more people in connection with last week's violent demonstrations after a Donald Trump rally in San Jose. A fourth person is being sought. Two San Jose teens, 16 and 17, were booked on a felony count of assault with a deadly weapon. They were not identified because they are minors. A third teen, age 16, of Milpitas, a city north of San Jose, was booked on a misdemeanor count of battery, according to a police statement. Police released photos of a fourth person they are searching for and asked the public's help in identifying him.
Los Angeles Times
What to disclose when an abused child nearly dies How much information should be available to the public in cases of severe child abuse California lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Jerry Brown have been at odds over that question for the last two years. Legislators recently rejected a proposal to limit public access to reports on abuse so extreme that children nearly die. The schism reflects a fight between advocates for children and foster youths, on the one hand, and, on the other, the government agencies and workers tasked with protecting them from harm. At stake is about $5 million in federal funds and the outcome of a debate pitting privacy arguments against revelations of what social workers knew about a family situation before it grew almost deadly.
Calmatters
New book breaks down anti-police protest movement's narrative distortions
In a new book that seems certain to resonate with most street officers, author Heather Mac Donald relentlessly pillories the narrative distortions that she says are propelling the virulent anti-police movement in the U.S. The culprits she calls out are agenda-driven activist groups, opportunistic politicians, and a flawed national mainstream media whose pervasive propaganda obscures the documented realities — the hard statistical data — of today's law enforcement challenges and practices.
PoliceOne.com
City Government News
L.A. city workers will be driving BMWs
Most public employees would never dream of driving a BMW -- at least on the job. But that's what going to be happening in Los Angeles, thanks to deal to lease 100 of BMW's small i3 electric cars in a bid to enhance the city's sustainability efforts. The Los Angeles Police Department has taken out a three-year lease on the the fleet. It will pay $387 per month per car, including maintenance. Even though the leased i3s are BMWs, city and BMW officials went to lengths to dispute that, at least in this case, they would be considered luxury cars. The cars will be driven by detectives and police staff, often for follow-ups to criminal cases. They won't be used as black-and-white patrol cruisers. And they say they're hoping to get electric-powered patrol cars in the next few years.
USA Today
Beware Of Street Closures Ahead Of LA Pride In West Hollywood
Getting around parts of West Hollywood will be a little more difficult beginning Thursday night as street closures begin for this weekend's LA Pride Celebration. The 3-day event begins Friday and runs through Sunday, featuring musical headliner Carly Rae Jepsen and parade grand marshal Jewel Thais-Williams, a longtime activist who founded one of the area's first clubs for black LGBT residents. The city of West Hollywood and Christopher Street West are hosting the event.
CBS 2 |
Los Angeles County Election News
L.A. County supervisor races yield surprises and uncertainty
A political newcomer running for a seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors staged an election-night surprise, inching past several better-known and better-funded opponents and possibly securing a spot in the Nov. 8 runoff, according to initial results. Darrell Park, a Democrat running to replace retiring Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, placed second behind Antonovich's chief of staff, Kathryn Barger. Park, waging his first race for elected office, outperformed more seasoned politicians, including Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander. Park, who runs a start-up and advises green energy companies, raised about $200,000, much less than the Republicans in the race.
Los Angeles Times |
State Government News
Why California's record voter registration failed to result in record turnout
It had the makings of a surge in turnout for the California primary: a competitive Democratic presidential contest with no sitting incumbent, record numbers of registered voters and massive media coverage of candidate rallies throughout the state. And when California's secretary of state Wednesday revealed the preliminary turnout numbers, they were, in fact, considerably higher than 2012. But they were well short of 2008 and the two previous election cycles before that. Los Angeles County accounted for the highest number of ballots cast with more than 1.4 million. But the turnout rate so far stands at 29.3 percent, higher than the paltry 21.8?percent in 2012, when President Obama was up for re-election, but well below the 2008 primary turnout totals of 55.2 percent.
Los Angeles Daily News
New Smoking Age To Take Effect In California
Andrew Rodriguez was 15 years old when he smoked his first cigarette. He knows how addictive smoking can be and hopes a new California law raising the smoking age will discourage young people from taking up the habit. “I think it's better,” said the 21-year-old chef-in-training from Los Angeles. “I just hope they don't raise the drinking age.” Beginning Thursday, smokers have to be at least 21 to buy tobacco products in California. The nation's most populous state joins Hawaii and more than 100 municipalities in raising the legal smoking age from 18 to 21. Anyone who sells or gives tobacco to people under 21 could be found guilty of a misdemeanor crime.
Associated Press |
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