Law Enforcement News

U.S. Marshal Fatally Shot While Serving Arrest Warrant
A deputy U.S. marshal serving a fugitive arrest warrant has been shot and killed outside a Tucson house. The U.S. Marshals Service in Washington said Friday that Chase White, 41, sustained gunshot wounds while serving the warrant Thursday night. White died later at a hospital. The suspect was arrested after an hour-long standoff at the home. Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said the Marshals Service was serving a warrant for Ryan Schlesinger, 26, at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday on the city's north side when the suspect fired at agents. Marshals returned fire, but the suspect was not wounded. Associated Press

LAPD Launches Pedestrian Safety Initiative
The Los Angeles Police Department announced last week that officers will distribute reflective vests and LED clip-on lights to pedestrians who are stopped for violating traffic laws, in a bid to reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities. Farmers Insurance Group donated 1,200 vests and 700 lights to the LAPD as part of the collaborative safety effort, said LAPD Chief Michel Moore. “Approximately half of all traffic fatalities each year involve pedestrians,” Moore said in a news conference at LAPD headquarters. “Many of them — in fact, over half of those fatalities — are individuals that are outside crosswalks.” So far this year, 107 of about 200 people killed in traffic crashes in Los Angeles were pedestrians, Moore said. “This is common sense,” Moore said. “This really should become part of the arsenal of every walker, of a cyclist, of a person who is moving around the city … We have `defensive driving' (and should have) ‘defensive walking,' as well.” Los Angeles Daily News

LAPD Hosts Toy Drive And Baseball Game In Elysian Park
Los Angeles police officers got into the holiday spirit Sunday as they hosted a toy drive in conjunction with a baseball game pitting LAPD officers against the Polish national baseball team. KTLA 5 Video

Police Investigating Death Of 4-Year-Old Girl In South LA
A 4-year-old South Los Angeles girl is dead and police Sunday night were trying to determine if it was a case of child abuse. The home is being treated as a crime scene by Los Angeles police. Earlier in the evening, police escorted the child's father into the home on the 1500 block of East 42nd Street in South L.A. The father was only being questioned. He was not being called a suspect. Paramedics were called there around 11:17 a.m. Sunday for a medical issue. When they got there they found the 4-year-old girl in the bathroom. Investigators say that the child's father was inside the home at the time along with two other relatives. CBS 2

Suspects Slash Throat Of LA Auto Shop Owner In Brutal Attack
A Los Angeles auto shop owner is fighting for his life after his throat was slashed in a vicious attack and robbery. The attack happened Friday around 6:20 p.m. at N&W Auto repair near Pico Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. Police and family members say two men burst into the shop and attacked and robbed owner Walter Samson. His throat was slashed and he was stabbed several times. He is now in critical condition in the hospital fighting to survive. Friends and longtime customers are stunned, saying Samson is well-liked and known for helping those in need. ABC 7

LA Police Seek Public's Help In Locating 2 Men Accused In Series Of Street Robberies
Los Angeles police have asked for the public's help in locating two suspects in a series of street robberies. Nye Lee, 31, and Dijon Cooper, 21, are accused of targeting pedestrians at gunpoint. According to police, the suspects made off with wallets, jewelry and cellphones. Police say the suspects were driving a late-model white Toyota Camry with paper plates possibly with the word “Glendale” written across. The 13 robberies happened over the last month in Culver City and Los Angeles. CBS 2

Robbery Suspects Who Led Police On A Chase Through LA Area Are Charged
Criminal charges have been filed against two robbery suspects accused of leading police Tuesday on a wild high-speed chase that wound across three Los Angeles-area freeways and downtown streets until the vehicle they were in slammed into a bus stop. Christian Manuel Cuevas, 35, of Las Vegas, and Enrique Edward Rugelio, 30, of Highland Park, allegedly took a car battery from an auto repair shop in Highland Park Tuesday without paying and one of them pointed a gun at the proprietor, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Los Angeles Daily News

Man Sentenced To 12 Years In DUI Crash That Killed 3-Year-Old Walking With His Mom In South L.A.
A 33-year-old man accused of fatally running over a toddler in South Los Angeles was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading no contest to a charge connected with the DUI collision, prosecutors announced Friday. George Edward Milton Jr. of Gardena entered his plea to one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Milton was behind the wheel when he lost control of the vehicle, drove up on a sidewalk and hit 3-year-old Eidan Cortez, who was walking with his pregnant mother near 92nd and Figueroa streets on May 20, the release stated. KTLA 5

Court Reverses Conviction In Hollywood Homeless Killing Spree
The California Supreme Court Monday reversed the convictions of an accused killer from Los Angeles because the jury trial wasn't stopped -- even after the defendant showed signs he had returned to a state of mental incompetence. The opinion means Domingo Linares Rodas could receive a new trial, so long as he is deemed competent to stand trial. The high court's decision noted Rodas' long history with mental illness. "We conclude the trial court erred in failing to suspend the criminal trial and initiate competency proceedings at the time counsel declared a doubt as to her client's competence," Justice Leondra R. Kruger wrote. NBC 4

FBI: Inmate Confessed To 90 Killings In Effort To Move Prisons
A 78-year-old inmate who says he killed more than 90 people as he moved around the country for nearly four decades offered his confessions as a bargaining chip to be moved from a California prison, authorities say. The FBI said in a statement Tuesday that Samuel Little offered the deal in exchange for being moved from California State Prison in Los Angeles County, but it didn't say why he requested the transfer, where he asked to go or whether his offer was accepted. It did say that Little, in poor health and reliant on a wheelchair, will likely stay in jail until his death in Texas, where he was brought in September to face charges in the 1994 killing of a woman in Odessa. Associated Press

Firefighter Injured Battling Commercial Building Fire In Van Nuys
A firefighter suffered a non-life-threatening injury while battling a fire Sunday at a two-story commercial building in Van Nuys, where flames extended through the roof of the structure. Firefighters dispatched at 5:12 a.m. near the Van Nuys Airport to 16141 W. Covello St. had the stubborn fire out an hour and 54 minutes after their arrival, said Amy Bastman of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The blaze forced firefighters into a defensive mode, utilizing “heavy streams to extinguish flames which had extended through the roof,” Bastman said. “The fire was contained to the building of origin and there were no reported civilian injuries,” she said. Los Angeles Daily News

Metro Opens New Public Plaza At Red Line/Orange Line North Hollywood Depot
Metro officials opened a new landscaped plaza Wednesday in front of the historic Lankershim Depot in North Hollywood. The 8,500-square-foot site is designed as a gathering place for residents and Metro passengers who transfer from Metro Orange and Red Line transit stations. It features olive trees, drought-tolerant plants, some outdoor seating and walkways. The park is a re-creation of the public space that was originally opened at Lankershim Depot more than 100 years ago, Metro spokesman Dave Sotero has said. The space had been used for a variety of purposes as the Lankershim Depot was redeveloped. Los Angeles Daily News