Cop Receives Congressional Badge of Bravery For Actions During Carjacking Gun Battle
Troy Officer Joshua Comitale received the Congressional Badge of Bravery from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer Thursday for his actions in a fatal 2015 gun battle with a carjacking suspect in Lansingburgh. Comitale became the first police officer in New York state to be honored with the federal award. Previously, Comitale has declined to talk about the night of Aug. 22, 2015 when he and Officer Chad Klein were severely wounded in a shootout with Thaddeus Faison, 39, of Albany who died after he was shot five times. But he spoke briefly Thursday afternoon. Comitale said the Congressional Badge of Bravery means a lot to his family, who had to endure what he suffered through as he recovered.
Times Union

Family Confirms Body Found In LA River Is Missing Pacoima Boy
The family of a Pacoima boy who went missing earlier this month confirmed Sunday that his body was found on an island in the Los Angeles River. Elias Rodriguez's family told CBS2 that the body pulled Saturday from a wash near Los Feliz Boulevard was that of the missing 14-year-old. The body was found sometime before 1:15 p.m. Saturday in the 3500 block of West Los Feliz Boulevard, near Interstate 5. Relatives said it was a family member who helped to spot the body in the river. 
CBS 2

Body Found in Burned Vehicle in Chatsworth, Homicide Investigation Underway: LAPD
A body was found inside a burned car in Chatsworth early Sunday and a homicide investigation is underway, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.  A neighbor in the 20600 block of Celtic Street reported a car fire about 1:40 a.m. Los Angeles firefighters put out the blaze and found the body in the backseat of the car, said LAPD Detective Dave Peteque.  Authorities have only been able to determine that the victim was a man, but officials from the coroner's office will investigate exactly how the person died.
KTLA 5

LAPD Searching for Women Who Left Scene of Fatal Hit-and-Run in South LA
Los Angeles police were searching Saturday for two women who allegedly left the scene of a hit-and-run crash that killed a 64-year-old woman in South Los Angeles. The victim, Brenda Joyce Scott of Carson, was driving a silver Mercedes south in the 9500 block of Hoover Street when a silver Jeep Renegade ran a stop sign at 95th Street and slammed into Scott's car just before 6 p.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Scott died at the scene, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The driver and her female passenger fled the silver Jeep they were traveling in after the crash, police said. They were last seen running north on Hoover.
Los Angeles Daily News

58-Year-Old Army Veteran Reported Missing Near Downtown LA
Los Angeles police on Sunday were asking for the public's help in locating a 58-year-old Army veteran last seen near downtown L.A.  Mary Virginia was last spotted Feb. 1 in the area of the 1800 block of Main Street, according to authorities from the LAPD. She is described as having gray hair and brown eyes. She is 4 feet 8 inches tall, weighs about 140 pounds and was wearing a dark-gray, hooded sweatshirt, black jeans and white tennis shoes.
ABC 7

LAPD Releases New Sketch of Hyde Park Man's Suspected Killer
Demicha Lofton-Thomas says she remembers the day her son died vividly. "He was 21. He was murdered on Jan. the 25, 2016, which was a Monday." A frantic 911 call and surveillance video are all police have at this point, with one new added element they've released to NBC4 for the first time. LAPD South Bureau Criminal Gang Homicide Division Detective Connie Zych says a new sketch shows the face of the man she believes killed Gerrik Mykal Thomas one year ago.
NBC 4

Neiman Marcus Smash-and-Grab Robbery May Have Involved at Least 11 Suspects
Customers and employees fled the Westfield Topanga mall's Neiman Marcus Friday morning as an organized crew of nearly a dozen shoplifters stormed into the store in a brazen attempt to steal expensive items, police said. Video obtained by the Los Angeles Police Department shows the suspects entering the store wearing all black or gray-hooded sweat shirts, said Officer Carlos Valdivia of the LAPD's Topanga Community Police station. “I counted at least 11 but there might have been more,” he said. “They came in a single file as they entered the front door and scattered all over the store. They were cutting the wires off expensive items like purses and they were approached by security guards.”
Los Angeles Daily News

Cameras Capture Entire Burglary at Chatsworth Home
Homeowners in Chatsworth remained frightened Friday night after burglars broke into their home. The entire crime, from start to finish, was captured on multiple surveillance cameras.  Video shows brazen bandits creep to the front door of the home. One of them peers into the window, making sure no one is inside. Seconds later, the hooded trio heads toward the back, easily scaling a 6-foot wall.  The homeowners, who did not want to be named, weren't there when the burglars broke in around 8 p.m. on Feb. 7, but some of their 16 security cameras caught the whole thing.
ABC 7

County Officials Seek Watts Residents' Testimony on Police Relations as 25th Anniversary of Civil Unrest Looms
Nearly 25 years after the unrest sparked by the acquittal of the Los Angeles Police Department officers involved in the beating of Rodney King, violent confrontations between law enforcement and citizens remain a major concern.  The L.A. County Commission on Human Relations on Saturday held a forum at the Watts Labor Community Action headquarters to hear residents' testimony of their experiences with police in hopes of soliciting concrete ideas on how to improve relations between communities and law enforcement agencies.  The Los Angeles Police Department inspector general was also present at the three-hour meeting as residents shared their stories of the pain of racism and alleged police brutality.
KTLA 5

Man Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering Two Men in Chinatown Social Club
A man accused in the stabbing deaths of two men, who were attacked last month while playing mah-jongg in a private social club in Chinatown, pleaded not guilty Friday to capital murder charges. Vinh Dao — who prosecutors allege has a 2002 conviction for manslaughter — is charged in the Jan. 26 deaths of Tony Young and Kim Kong Yon at the Hop Sing Tong Benevolent Association at 428 Gin Ling Way, near the 900 block of North Broadway. The murder charges include the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders, along with the allegation that the 37-year-old defendant personally used a knife in the commission of the crimes.
MyNewsLA.com

An ATF Special Agent on Joining Forces With the NYPD, How Tech Is Solving Armed Robberies, and the Case He'll Never Forget
Two years ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives formally teamed up with the New York City Police Department to pursue high-profile armed robbery cases. Since then, the 17-member team has used surveillance video and other evidence to track down thieves who had been assaulting overnight security guards and stealing cash, electronics, and tools; solved a jewelry store heist after finding fingerprints on an envelop left behind by a thief; and tracked one of the three men accused of stealing 20 Rolex watches at gunpoint in midtown Manhattan all the way to California, according documents in the case.
The Trace