Shooting That Wounded 5 Houston Officers Started With Warrant Attempt
It started as an attempt to serve a search warrant at a suspected drug house and quickly turned into a gun battle that killed two suspects and injured five officers, including four who were shot, Houston's police chief said. The suspects were killed Monday after firing at narcotics officers who were trying to enter a home on the city's southeast side where authorities allege black tar heroin was being sold, Chief Art Acevedo said. Four of the officers were shot and a fifth suffered a knee injury. Acevedo said two of the officers who were shot were hit in the neck by gunfire and were in critical but stable condition at a Houston hospital. "We're hopeful that they will recover," Acevedo said. Two other officers, including the one who injured a knee, were in good condition at the hospital Monday night. Another officer who was shot was released after being treated for a shoulder wound.
Associated Press

Los Angeles Sees Crime Reductions In Every Major Category
Crime dropped in Los Angeles in every major category in the city in 2018, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Monday. Homicides were down 8.2 percent, violent crime was down 4.5 percent and property crime was down 1.8 percent. Homicides totaled 259, down from 282 in 2017. Garcetti, joined by Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore and Police Commission President Steve Soborff, credited an increase in patrol hours and an expansion of an anti-gang initiative called GRYD as key reasons for the reductions. “This was the second-lowest number of homicides that we've had in over 50 years, and when you compare to how it looked in 1992, a year of turbulence and unrest here, it's pretty remarkable. Violent crime is down 67 percent since then,” Garcetti said, referring to the 1,092 homicides recorded in 1992. Moore, who was sworn into office last June, said “the real story is that this is one of the safest times to live in Los Angeles in all of our history.”
MyNewsLA.com

Homicide Detectives Search For Suspect In Harbor City Shooting That Left 20-Year-Old Dead
Homicide detectives are reaching out for the public's help in finding the suspect in a Harbor City shooting that left a 20-year-old man dead, police said Monday. Officers responded to a call about a shooting in the 1500 block of Anaheim Street just before 2 p.m. on Saturday, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. K'Len Grandberry was found suffering from a gunshot wound when officers arrived. A preliminary investigation has indicated he was with a group of friends at an apartment complex and unknown suspects had approached the group from the south side of the complex before opening fire, according to LAPD. Grandberry had tried fleeing the scene but was struck by gunfire and collapsed, officials said. Paramedics rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries. Two other people were also shot and injured but are currently listed in stable condition and expected to survive, officials said.
KTLA 5

Woman Suspected Of Assault Arrested After Chase Through San Fernando Valley
Police chased a woman suspected of assault at high speeds through the San Fernando Valley Monday afternoon. The chase began just before 1 p.m. A woman in a tan four-door Nissan tried to flee police and struck a police car, officers reported. Officers pursued the driver on the 170 Freeway and then into the Arleta area on surface streets. She fled on surface streets for about 10 minutes before pulling over in the area of Haskell and Devonshire in North Hills and attempting to flee on foot. Her dog jumped out of the car and ran with her as she tried to hide in a neighborhood. Officers quickly caught up with the woman and she stopped running. They took her to the ground and into custody without further incident. 
ABC 7

Pursuit Ends In Fiery Crash On The 101 Freeway In Hollywood
A police pursuit ended in a fiery crash Monday evening on northbound U.S. Highway 101 at Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. The crash, which started in the area of 3rd Street and Hoover Street in Hollywood, forced the closure of the 101 freeway northbound in the area. It reopened at about 8 p.m. The suspect vehicle caught on fire after the crash. The driver was able to get out and police took him into custody. Los Angeles police say the suspect was driving an SUV stolen out of Santa Monica and may have been possibly armed during the pursuit. They say the driver was trying to exit the car when he crashed into the center divider of the 101 freeway. It's unclear if anyone was seriously injured in the crash. The investigation is ongoing.
FOX 11

Suspect In Ax Attacks, Burglary Of LAPD Vehicles At Union Station Faces Attempted Murder and Other Charges
A man accused of attacking L.A. Metro security officers after burglarizing several vehicles at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, including two LAPD patrol cars, was charged with four counts of attempted murder and other charges Monday, according to prosecutors. Max Verdi, who has been described as a transient, is now facing four counts of second-degree burglary of a vehicle and one count of vandalism resulting in more than $400 in damage, in addition to the other four charges. He is being held on $4.18 million bail and is expected to be arraigned on Monday, prosecutors said. Verdi, 31, allegedly left two police cars at the transportation station with smashed windows on Jan. 23 as he burglarized other vehicles, states a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
KTLA 5

Woman Charged After Allegedly Killing Pedestrian While Texting And Driving In Westlake
A woman accused of fatally striking a pedestrian while texting and driving in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles could spend a maximum of six years in prison, authorities announced Monday. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office charged Rosario Maximilia Valdezinda, a 38-year-old East Hollywood resident, with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter. ‘ According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Valdezinda was looking at messages on her phone around 8 p.m. on Jan. 23 when she hit 65-year-old Yong Do Kim in a crosswalk at Grand View and Sixth streets, just north of MacArthur Park. The impact threw the victim about 30 to 50 feet, LAPD Detective Supervisor Moses Castillo previously told KTLA. The man, who lived in a nearby assisted living facility and was apparently trying to catch a bus, was declared dead at the scene after suffering severe head trauma, the officer added.
KTLA 5

L.A. Man Arrested On Suspicion Of Hitting Pedestrian In Monterey Park, Then Leaving The Scene
A 52-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested Friday afternoon on suspicion of leaving the scene of a crash earlier this month that left a pedestrian critically injured. The Monterey Park Police Department said Monday that Thomas Potter is the man suspected of leaving the site of a crash on the 100 block of W. Newmark Avenue on Jan. 18 at around 7:30 p.m. He left the scene after hitting a woman crossing Newmark Avenue between Garfield and Ramona avenues, police alleged. The department released footage of two people who were declared persons-of-interest, but police could not immediately be reached to determine if Potter was one of the people in the footage. Officials did not immediately release the current condition of the woman who was hit. Potter was arrested at around 3:05 p.m. without incident on Friday on suspicion of hit and run traffic accident with injuries after an investigation by the department's traffic bureau, police said.
Los Angeles Daily News

California PD Testing All-Electric Tesla Cruiser
Here in the home of Teslas, the police department soon will be hitting the streets with a customized black-and-white version of the all-electric Model S. “If Teslas are going to become police vehicles, it would be pretty cool if Fremont could have one of the first ones,” police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said in an interview Tuesday. The Tesla manufacturing plant, after all, is Fremont's biggest employer with roughly 10,000 employees. But that isn't the main reason police have chosen the trendy earth-friendly vehicle, she and other police officials insist. “If we happen to be the first, OK, that's great, but really, that's not what this is about,” police Capt. Sean Washington said. “This is about really developing a pilot program to see if this is a feasible alternative to gas-powered vehicles in a police environment,” he said.
PoliceOne

Woolsey Fire Recovery Deadlines Approaching For LA County Residents
Important disaster recovery deadlines are coming this week for those affected by the Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles County. Residents and businesses whose homes or property were damaged by the Woolsey Fire have until Thursday, Jan. 31 to apply for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Small Business Administration. FEMA grants do not have to be repaid and are non-taxable. They do not affect eligibility for any other federal benefits. In addition to funds for home repairs, residents may be eligible for rental assistance and other benefits. Find more information here.
CBS 2

‘No-Burn' Alert Issued For Most Of Southern California
Indoor and outdoor wood burning is prohibited Tuesday in most of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties because of weather conditions conducive to concentrated pollution, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The agency issued a mandatory “no-burn” alert that will be in effect until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday for everyone living in the South Coast Air Basin, including Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It does not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet, the Coachella Valley or the High Desert, or homes and low-income households that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, according to the AQMD. The order bans burning wood or manufactured fire logs in fireplaces or any indoor or outdoor wood-burning device.
Los Angeles Daily News

LA Metro Launches $2.5M Ridesharing Pilot Program With Private Ride-Hailing Company Via
What's the main barrier to increasing mass transit ridership? LA Metro calls it the First/Last Mile problem and is dedicating resources to solving it. Here's an example: A white sedan circled the parking lot of the El Monte Bus Station for 10 minutes around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28, unable to find an empty space. Simply put, people find it difficult to get to and from public stations to ride buses and trains. That's why LA Metro launched a one-year pilot program Monday with a private ride-hailing service called Via. The program will offer those living near the El Monte, Artesia and North Hollywood Metro stations a ride similar to those from Uber or Lyft but at a fraction of the cost. The idea is to put more people in bus and train seats who cannot afford to take Uber and Lyft to the stations, or are without the means to participate in such first-mile, last-mile ride-hailing services that link up riders with mass transit.
Los Angeles Daily News