Texas Inmate Set To Be Executed For Houston Officer's Death

A 61-year-old Texas inmate was set to be executed Wednesday for killing a Houston police officer more than three decades ago during a robbery. Robert Jennings was condemned for the July 1988 slaying of Officer Elston Howard during a robbery at an adult bookstore. Jennings would be the first inmate put to death this year both in the U.S. and in Texas, which is the nation's busiest capital punishment state. His attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the execution, arguing Jennings' trial attorneys failed to ask jurors to fully consider evidence — including details of his remorse for the officer's shooting, troubled childhood and possible brain damage — that might have spared him a death sentence. Jennings got an execution stay in 2016. Lower appeals courts have rejected his request to delay Wednesday's execution and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has turned down Jennings' request to commute his sentence.
Associated Press

Georgia Rookie Killed In Two-Car Crash While On Duty

A 19-year-old Glascock County deputy died in a car wreck Tuesday, authorities confirmed. Deputy Joshua Ryer Jr. of Gibson was on duty Tuesday afternoon when he was fatally injured in a two-car wreck on Spring Street and Andrew Drive in Washington, Augusta-based news station WJBF reported. He had only worked at the sheriff's office for about six months. A woman in the other car was taken to Augusta University Medical Center for treatment, the news station reported. Her condition was not provided. “Please be in prayer for the sheriff's office as we mourn the loss of one of our beloved sheriff deputies,” Glascock County Sheriff Jeremy Kelly posted on Facebook.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Why Police Are Not the Answer to Every Challenge on America's Streets

Robert Harris, a member of the Los Angeles Police Protective League board of directors, discusses with POLICE contributing web editor Doug Wyllie the fact that too often police are the first to be called to all manner of matters, when other city services are far more well-equipped to address the issue at hand. When police are called upon to do the jobs better done by other providers, they are necessarily not doing their core jobs as law enforcers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey6va7kmiVk&feature=youtu.be

Hate Crimes Rise In Los Angeles, Other Largest U.S. Cities For 5th Year In A Row, CSUSB Report Says

Hate crimes in the nation's largest cities increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2018, according to a report released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism in Cal State San Bernardino. Many cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Seattle and San Francisco saw the highest number of hate crimes in a decade, and cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia saw pronounced increases in the second half of the year, particularly around the time of the November mid-term elections. In Los Angeles, hate crimes rose by 13 percent in 2018 compared to 2017. New York saw a 6 percent increase while Chicago and Houston saw 26 percent and 173 percent spikes respectively. In New York, the Jewish community was the most targeted. While Los Angeles, New York and Chicago saw declines in crime overall, hate crimes rose. In Los Angeles members of the LGBT community, African Americans and Jews were the most frequent hate crime targets in 2018, the report said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Suspect Sought After Man Injured In Hollywood Stabbing

A suspect is being sought after a man was stabbed in Hollywood early Wednesday evening, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers got a call about the stabbing about 4:22 p.m. when the victim's sister reported the incident, LAPD Officer Tony Im said. The suspect has been described by police as a Hispanic man who stands about 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs roughly 200 pounds. The victim was rushed to medical treatment, police said, and a knife was used in the attack. No details about a suspected motive or other circumstances in the shooting have been released by LAPD.
KTLA 5

LAPD Looking For Suspect In West LA Armed Robberies

Police are looking for the public's help finding an armed suspect who took cash and lottery scratchers from two stores in West Los Angeles. The robbery suspect hit two stores on Santa Monica Boulevard the morning of Jan. 27. In both cases, he lifted his shirt to reveal the handle of a gun in his waistband and then demanded money and lottery scratcher tickets. Around 1:15 a.m., he walked into a store near Santa Monica and Wellesley Avenue. He walked up to the register, lifted his shirt to show the gun, put a plastic bag on the counter and then demanded money from the clerk, police say. The clerk put cash into the bag and the suspect then demanded lottery scratcher tickets. He took them and fled on foot. Later that same morning around 6:15 a.m., police say the same suspect walked into a gas station store at Santa Monica and Beloit Avenue.
ABC 7

Police Arrest Man Accused Of Punching Women Near Los Angeles Hot Dog Stand

A man accused of punching two women at a hot dog stand in downtown Los Angeles was taken into police custody, authorities said Wednesday. Arka Sangbarani Oroojian turned himself in Tuesday into the Los Angeles Police Department Central Station, the LAPD said. Oroojian was booked for assault with a deadly weapon and bail was set at $90,000, authorities said. The incident, reported Jan. 26 in the 600 block of South Spring Street, was captured on video and shared on social media. The two female victims reportedly overheard the suspect arguing with a nearby hot dog vendor over the price of a $6 hot dog. In an effort to defuse the situation, they said another vendor stepped in to offer the man a free hot dog. The women said the man continued to harass the vendor, so they stepped in and a verbal argument ensued. The suspect was captured on cell phone video punching two women in the face before fleeing.
FOX 11

Police Look For Man, Woman Who Allegedly Robbed People At Koreatown-Area Businesses

Police are looking for a man and a woman who allegedly robbed people at a church supply store and a shoe store in the Koreatown area earlier this month. The first robbery occurred about 1:25 p.m. on Jan. 5. The pair browsed merchandise in a Catholic church supply store in the 3600 block of West Olympic Boulevard in Arlington Heights before the man pointed a gun at the clerk and forced her into a room at the back of the store. The woman then forced a customer into the office. The man held the victims in the office while the woman removed jewelry and placed them in her bag. Both suspects then left the store with the stolen goods, police said. The second incident occurred on Jan. 17 at a shoe store in the 4200 block of 3rd Street. After entering the store about 12:20 p.m., the man pointed a gun at the clerk and forced the person into a storage area at the back of the store. The woman removed items from the clerk as the man held her at gunpoint, police said. Both suspects then left the store with the victim's property.
KTLA 5

New Charges Filed Against Man Accused In Alleged Hate Crime Attack

Los Angeles County prosecutors filed two new attempted murder charges this week against a Seattle resident who allegedly tried to run over two men last November outside a synagogue in a Jewish neighborhood in the Wilshire area while yelling anti-Semitic remarks. Mohamed Abdi Mohamed — who is due in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Thursday — was initially charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime allegation for the alleged attack Nov. 23. The additional charges, filed Tuesday, involve the same two alleged victims. At a hearing earlier this month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil denied the defense's motion to lower Mohamed's bail or to release the 33-year-old man on his own recognizance. The two men — who escaped injury — were walking on a sidewalk when they were targeted about 9:30 p.m. Nov. 23 near La Brea and Oakwood avenues.
MyNewsLA.com

San Francisco — Where Drug Addicts Outnumber High School Academics

San Francisco has more drug addicts than it has students enrolled in its public high schools, the city Health Department's latest estimates conclude. There are about 24,500 injection drug users in San Francisco — that's about 8,500 more people than the nearly 16,000 students enrolled in San Francisco Unified School District's 15 high schools and illustrates the scope of the problem on the city's streets. It's also an increase of about 2,000 serious drug users since 2012, the last time a study was done. “There is an opioid epidemic in this country, and San Francisco is no exception,” Deputy Director of Health Dr. Naveena Bobba said. The problem is particularly visible in the Tenderloin, where police reported more than 600 arrests for drug dealing last year. And where 27 suspects were booked into County Jail for dealing drugs in the first 20 days of the new year.
San Francisco Chronicle

States Are Funding the Gun Violence Research the Feds Won't

Garen Wintemute estimates that from the time he started studying gun violence in the early 1980s until a few years ago, there were maybe 15 researchers in the entire country who were focused on the issue. “There weren't nearly enough of us,” he said. “What's 15 people up against a problem of this magnitude?” But several years ago, Wintemute, an emergency medicine physician, got an opportunity to fill that gap. He was appointed the director of California's gun violence research center, the first state-funded effort of its kind. The Firearm Violence Research Center opened at UC-Davis in 2017, with $5 million in government dollars to use over five years. Today, Wintemute heads a staff of about 20, which includes post docs, analysts, students, and administrators.
The Trace

Public Safety News

Thursday Is Application Deadline For Woolsey Fire Victims

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, is the deadline for Woolsey fire victims to apply for federal grants, small business loans and debris removal. Residents have until Thursday to: Submit right-of-entry forms to opt in for state workers to remove debris from properties or to opt out of the program, apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency grants, and apply to the Small Business Administration for home or business loans. Right-of-entry forms can be found online at www.lacounty.gov/lacountyrecovers or by calling (626) 979-5370. FEMA can be reached at www.disasterassistance.gov or (800) 621-3362. Residents can contact SBA at (800) 659-2955 or visit https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Los Angeles Daily News

Coming Southern California Storms Raise Focus On Need For Less Speed

For those of you (and there are many, admit it), who will drive in the upcoming rain storms as if the roads were as dry as desert highways, here's an English lesson: Hydroplane (noun, good in rain) – A light, fast motorboat designed to skim over the surface of the water. Hydroplane (verb, bad in rain) – To lose traction and slide one's vehicle uncontrollably on the wet surface of a road. Please, public safety officials beg, slow down to give yourself a chance to avoid a collision if your vehicle turns into a hydroplane. “Water over the roadway reduces traction on tires. It takes twice as long to stop on a wet highway than a dry one,” Caltrans says. “Visibility is also reduced in the rain.” The heaviest rain is expected Thursday and Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Bruno Rodriguez said Wednesday.
Los Angeles Daily News

Local Government News

City Council To Consider Downtown Emergency Homeless Shelter With 115 Beds

City Councilman Jose Huizar introduced a motion Thursday calling for the finalization of a property lease that would clear the way for about 115 emergency homeless shelter beds to be opened in the downtown Los Angeles area. Huizar said the shelter site at 1426 Paloma St. could be opened within three months and become the third facility to be operational under Mayor Eric Garcetti's A Bridge Home program, which aims to open a temporary shelter in every City Council district while the city works to build more permanent supportive housing through Measure HHH, a $1.2 billion bond measure approved by city voters in 2016.
NBC 4