Authorities Arrest 10 L.A. Gang Members And Cohorts On Narcotics, Weapons Charges
Ten members and associates of one of the largest Los Angeles street gangs were arrested Thursday in a two-day operation targeting the distribution and sale of narcotics and the unlawful sale of weapons. The cooperative effort by the Department of Homeland Security, LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began Tuesday and progressed into Wednesday with the arrests of eight suspects. The remaining two will be extradited from Honolulu and Indianapolis. Three others who are facing similar charges were already in local custody, and there is an ongoing search for five additional suspects, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Federal prosecutors said the indictments covering federal narcotics and weapons offenses followed a more than two-year investigation.
Los Angeles Times

3 Knock-Knock Burglary Suspects Caught In Valley Village
Two men and a boy were arrested Tuesday in connection with a  series  of knock-knock burglaries in the San Fernando Valley. The suspects were arrested Tuesday while attempting to burglarize a  home  in Valley Village, Los Angeles police said. The arrests occurred after the juvenile suspect knocked on the front door of a  home  near Colfax Avenue and Hatteras Street. When a resident answered, the boy claimed he was at the wrong door and left quickly. He then walked to a nearby home where he met with the two other suspects, police said. The three suspects knocked on the door, got no answer and walked to the side of the  house . They were arrested by officers as they were attempting to break in.
CBS 2

LAPD Pursue Suspected Stolen Car Near Granada Hills
Los Angeles police pursued a possible stolen vehicle Thursday night. The pursuit began around 6:52 p.m. in the area of Hayvenhurst Avenue and Chatsworth Street. The car is described as a silver Ford Mustang. The driver stopped the car and surrendered around 8 p.m. in Sierra Madre. He was taken into custody without incident about ten minutes later.
KTLA 5

Tagger Killed By Train In North Hollywood, LAPD Says
A man who was vandalizing railroad property was killed when he was struck by an Amtrak train in North Hollywood Wednesday night, officials said. The man was trespassing and tagging the railroad property before he was struck by the train around 9:20 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The incident happened near Sherman Way and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Train service was shut down for several hours, but resumed by Thursday morning. The identity of the man has not been released.
ABC 7

Moped Theft Caught On Camera; Veteran Asking For Public's Help
A U.S. army veteran is burglarized and asking for your help to catch those responsible. Hotel surveillance video shows two guys stealing a red moped. They struggle with the locked front wheel but are eventually able to take it away. Duff Bennett is an Army veteran who's out of work while undergoing treatment at the V.A. The scooter is his primary form of transportation. He primarily used his moped to get to and from his doctors appointments. On Sunday morning, it was stolen. The men in the surveillance video can be seen taking it from the back alley of the Elan Hotel, where Bennet was temporarily staying. "It's such a distinct vehicle, I know somebody is going to know these people and put a stop to it because today's it's me," said Bennett. 
FOX 11

Burglars Of A Feather 'Flock' Together In LA's Wealthy Enclaves
The gang members start their days in the impoverished neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, but their real work begins in some of the city's wealthiest enclaves. Each day, the gang hand-picks teams of burglars, who ditch their usual attire for button-down shirts and hop into shiny luxury sedans to blend in as they search for prime targets: homes with no one inside and lots of jewelry and other valuables on hand. Celebrities including Nicki Minaj and Alanis Morissette are among the suspected recent victims of a crime trend known as "flocking," so named because gang members flock like birds to areas where residential burglaries provide the biggest payoff.
KPCC

LA Police Commission Clears 2 LAPD Officers In Fatal Panorama City Shooting
The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners cleared two officers who were involved in the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding domestic violence suspect in Panorama City last year, according to documents released by the commission Thursday. The commission agreed with LAPD Chief Charlie Beck by a 3-1 vote at its meeting on Tuesday that the shooting was within the department's policy. According to Beck's report on the incident, the officers — who are not identified by name in the report — responded to a domestic violence call at 10 p.m on April 30 of last year in the area of Parthenia Street and Orion Avenue. The officers entered the residence and found a woman lying on the floor who appeared to have been beaten in the face, the report said. 
Los Angeles Daily News

Repeat Drunken Driver Kills Married Couple: Prison For 30 years From Arleta Crash
A Van Nuys man with two prior DUI convictions was ordered to spend 30 years to life in state prison for a DUI crash that killed a married couple in Arleta. Arsen Panasian, who was sentenced Wednesday, has been behind bars since the June 20, 2015, crash, that killed Alfred Chacon, 62, and his wife, Alma. Panasian, 43, drove through a red light at the intersection of Branford Street and Dorrington Place and crashed his Chevrolet Astro van into the couple's Toyota Camry as they were heading home from a birthday party. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Panasian had a blood-alcohol content of 0.23 percent — nearly three times the legal limit considered impaired — at the time of the crash, according to evidence presented at his trial.
MyNewsLA.com

Former 'Power Rangers' Actor Sentenced For Fatal Sword Stabbing
An  actor  who appeared in the children's television series ``Power Rangers Samurai'' was sentenced Thursday to six years in state prison for fatally stabbing his roommate with a sword during an argument over the defendant's girlfriend. Ricardo Medina, 38, pleaded guilty March 16 to voluntary manslaughter for the Jan. 31, 2015, killing of Josh Sutter, 36, at the  home  the two shared in Green Valley.  The two men had gotten into an argument about Medina's girlfriend and the dispute turned physical, with Medina stabbing Sutter multiple times with a sword, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's  Office .  Medina was initially arrested shortly after Sutter's killing, then released after prosecutors asked for further investigation into the man's death. He was re-arrested in January 2016 on a murder charge, which was dismissed as a result of his plea.
FOX 11

Calif. sergeant attacked by man he was trying to help
A police sergeant was punched by a belligerent man he was trying to help, after finding him in the middle of a busy street on Wednesday night, authorities said. Richmond police Sgt. D. Nelson suffered a broken nose when he was punched by the man, who had been laying in the 700 block of 23rd Street at about 10:15 p.m., according to police. Nelson also suffered other cuts but will be OK, police said. The man he was trying to help was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
East Bay Times

For Some California Sheriffs, It's Not Politics Stopping Them From Fully Helping ICE: It's The Legal Risk
Adam Christianson makes no bones about helping federal immigration agents nab people for deportation. The three-term sheriff of Stanislaus County, east of the Bay Area, gives agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement unfettered access to his jails, where they interview inmates and scroll through computer databases. The information allows the agents to find and take custody of people they suspect of living in the country illegally before they are released from jail. There is a line, however, Christianson won't cross. ICE officials routinely ask local jailers and state prison wardens to keep inmates behind bars for up to two days longer than they would otherwise be locked up. Christianson refuses to honor the requests — detainers in ICE parlance.  He is hardly alone. None of the sheriffs in California's 58 counties are willing to hold inmates past their release dates for ICE, The Times has found.
Los Angeles Times

New Amendments To 'Sanctuary State' Bill Will Allow Police And Sheriffs To Contact ICE About Violent Felons
California Senate leader Kevin de León has amended his “sanctuary state” bill to provide greater flexibility for law enforcement to notify and work with federal immigration officials on cases involving serious and violent felons. The move, amid national debate over “sanctuary city” policies, comes days after a rowdy welcome in Sacramento for the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a forum meant to address the role of police officers and sheriff's deputies in immigration enforcement.  
Los Angeles Times

Trump supporters demand hate crime probe after clashes at LA, OC rallies
Supporters of President Donald Trump are calling on authorities to investigate violence against them under state civil rights laws, after clashes erupted over the weekend at pro-Trump rallies in Hollywood and Huntington Beach. “They threw bottles at us,” Matthew Woods, a Hollywood protest organizer, said Thursday. “We were surprised at the violence directed against ... and we're not going to take it anymore.”
Los Angeles Daily News