Lookout Man For 'Texas 7' Set For Execution
He's one of the last surviving members of the notorious ‘Texas 7' prison escapees. Pending final appeals, Patrick Murphy, who was convicted under the controversial law of parties after playing lookout during a deadly store robbery, is set to be executed on Thursday at the Huntsville “Walls” Unit. Murphy would be the sixth member of the 'Texas 7' group to die, and fifth to be put to death by the state of Texas. Court testimony shows that once the group of inmates escaped the South Texas prison they committed numerous robberies, including the one in which they shot Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins 11 times, killing him. Testimony shows that Hawkins had just finished Christmas Eve dinner with his family when he responded to the call about the robbery at a sporting goods store and was ambushed.
The Huntsville Item, Texas

Georgia Man Accused Of Shooting At Officer Captured
A man accused of shooting at a Georgia officer was caught Tuesday morning. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the officer confronted the man on Monday while investigating an incident in a nearby neighborhood. “He actually recognized the suspect and was attempting to interrogate him or question him about that previous incident when the suspect actually pulled a gun and fired on him,” police spokesman Sgt. Wayne Delk told reporters at the scene. The man ran from the officer after the officer returned fire. The officer was not hurt. SWAT locked down the neighborhood overnight to search for the man, but called off the search early Tuesday morning. Four hours later, the man was found with multiple gunshot wounds. He was arrested and transported to a local hospital, but his condition is unknown.
PoliceOne

Valley Village Barricade Ends
A suspect with an outstanding fugitive warrant was barricaded Tuesday in the Valley Village area before being taken into custody. A SWAT team was called just before 11 a.m. to the 5500 block of Carpenter Avenue, near Burbank Boulevard, to try to get the suspect into custody, according to Officer Tony Im of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section. No description of the suspect was immediately available and it was unclear why the person was wanted. Police later reported the suspect was in custody, but it was unclear when that occurred.
Los Angeles Daily News

Pickup Driver At Large In Deadly Hit-and-Run In Westlake; LAPD Releases Video Of Suspect Vehicle
The driver in a hit-and-run crash in Westlake that killed a pedestrian early Tuesday morning remained at large as authorities released video of the crash hours later. The victim had parked his Nissan Xterra SUV on a westside curb of South Bonnie Brae Street near West Sixth Street earlier that morning and walked across the street to get a hot beverage when he was struck by a passing vehicle, according to Los Angeles Police Department Detective Felix Padilla. He was later identified by police as Leonides Rivas, 30. LAPD Detective Calvin Dehesa said Rivas was walking toward vendors crowded along the other side of the street at the time of the crash. He had stopped in the middle of the street to wait for another vehicle to pass when the suspect vehicle hit him from behind, according to Padilla. The vehicle then fled down Bonnie Brae, running a red light at the intersection with Wilshire Boulevard, Dehesa said. Officers were called to the scene about 6:19 a.m. and Rivas was transported to a nearby hospital, LAPD officials said.
KTLA 5

Woman Struck And Killed After Vehicles Collide In North Hollywood
A pedestrian in her late 70s was killed Tuesday when she was struck by a vehicle that was involved in a collision in North Hollywood. Two vehicles collided about 3:05 p.m. at the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Vineland Avenue and one of them struck the woman, who was rushed to a hospital and later pronounced dead, according to Officer Tony Im of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section. Two other people were also taken to a hospital, but their conditions were not immediately available. A third vehicle was also involved after the initial collision, Im said.
Los Angeles Daily News

Law Enforcement Agencies To Hold 2-Day Active Shooter Drill At LAX This Week
Around 300 people including law enforcement officers and volunteers will take place in an active shooter drill at Los Angeles International Airport over two days this week, federal authorities said. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations at LAX will conduct the drill at Terminal 4 from 3 to 11 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. The airport does not expect the exercises to cause any delays, Los Angeles World Airports spokeswoman Becca Doten said. “The training won't be out in the open or visible to travelers,” she said.
KTLA 5

Natalie Portman's Alleged Stalker Arrested Outside Her LA Home
An alleged stalker of Natalie Portman was taken into custody outside the actress' Los Angeles home Tuesday afternoon. Police received a call around 3:25 p.m. and arrested a suspect. The suspect, 23-year-old James Edward Pearce, is facing charges of violating a restraining order to stay away from her. In March, a judge granted Portman a permanent restraining order against an alleged stalker. In that case, detectives say a man traveled from Colorado to try and meet Portman, claiming he had conversed with her several times telepathically.
ABC 7

L.A. Man Scheduled To Plead Guilty In $300K Theft From Dunbar Cash Vault
A former Dunbar Armored employee is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to federal charges stemming from the theft of $300,000 in cash out of the armored truck company's storage facility in Vernon. Eric Miranda, 38, of East Los Angeles is named in a four-count indictment filed in Los Angeles federal court charging him with conspiracy to commit bank theft from the Dunbar cash storage facility. He also is charged with three counts of bank theft. It is not clear what charge or charges Miranda will plead guilty to if the scheduled hearing goes forward. The November indictment alleges that Miranda stole cash from the Dunbar vault by using dummy stacks of $100 bills that he switched out for genuine stacks.
MyNewsLA.com

Newsom Seeks To Halt Parole For Some Murderers And Serious Offenders. What Does That Signal?
Trenton Veches liked to suck on the toes of young boys and has spent the last 16 years in prison because of it. A jury convicted him in 2003 at age 32 in a case that shook Newport Beach, where he was a supervisor in the city's youth recreation program. He was tried on multiple counts of child molestation and sentenced to two concurrent life terms after being caught in the act by a co-worker. Last week — despite an attempt by Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop it — Veches won parole. Veches' impending release is one of 33 cases in which Newsom, since taking office, has attempted to stop a serious offender from receiving parole, according to documents provided by the governor's office. Parole hearings usually take place in front of a two-person panel. The governor can't revoke these paroles but can ask the state's 15-member Board of Parole Hearings to review them. Newsom also has stopped 46 paroles for murderers, a different process that allows him to act unilaterally through executive powers.
Los Angeles Times

With Fentanyl Deaths On the Rise Nationally, California Is Taking Precautions
Deaths from a synthetic opioid called fentanyl have been on the rise nationally, and last week's findings from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show this could be the third wave of the nation's opioid epidemic. Though the spike in death rates has largely affected the Northeast, the trend is starting to worry health experts in California, who are already taking precautions to reduce overdoses. “We should be worried,” said Kelly Pfeifer, an opioid policy expert with the nonprofit California Health Care Foundation. “We may experience the type of fentanyl epidemic that the East Coast has experienced. But we have some real advantages in California.” She's referring to a shift in the way providers and health officials see opioid addiction, from an illicit transgression to a treatable disease
Capital Public Radio

Public Safety News

Man Burned In Explosion At Koreatown Apartment
One man was injured after being burned in an explosion at a Koreatown apartment early Tuesday. The explosion just after midnight caused a fire that was contained to one apartment in the 800 block of South Ardmore Avenue in Koreatown. Police say the explosion was an accident, after initial reports that it was caused by a drug lab. No criminal elements or evidence of a drug lab were found at the scene. The sole resident of the apartment was treated at the scene for light burns and he was not arrested. A stretch of South Ardmore Avenue was closed for a short time during the investigation.
CBS 2

L.A. County Expands Ban On Smoking In Unincorporated Areas
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance expanding prohibitions on smoking on county property and in and around bars and restaurants in unincorporated areas. The ordinance includes e-cigarettes and cannabis and will take effect in 30 days. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who championed the effort to update county codes, said last week the ordinance was written to cover yet-to-be-developed technologies that deliver nicotine, cannabis or tobacco. The ordinance aims to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. In unincorporated areas, the ordinance prohibits smoking on public beaches, in public elevators, at bus stops, in museums and libraries and the public areas of theaters.
FOX 11

Local Government News

Supportive Housing Development Opens In East Hollywood
The first phase of a supportive housing development for individuals who previously experienced homelessness opened Tuesday in East Hollywood. "Homelessness is the humanitarian crisis of our time, and we will only end it by building as much supportive housing as we can, as quickly as we can," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said at the grand opening of PATH Metro Villas. "We will overcome this challenge -- project by project, and door by door -- and days like this remind us what's possible when everyone works together." The David T.C. Ho Family Building now open at 345 N. Westmoreland Ave. includes 33 studio apartments, 31 one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom manager apartment, community rooms, counseling and case management offices, and a Veterans Connections Center for veteran services.
NBC 4

$10.5 Million Approved For West Valley Improvements, Including Theater, Park And Street Projects
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved four projects Tuesday that Councilman Bob Blumenfield said will successfully grow economic opportunities in parts of the West San Fernando Valley. The council signed off on an expansion of the Aliso Creek Confluence Park, streetscape enhancements on Sherman Way in Reseda, improvements to the Madrid Theatre as part of the Canoga Park Arts Hub, and a new traffic signal. All of the projects are being funded with Community Redevelopment Agency excess bond funds. “For over a decade, I have worked with residents, business owners and community organizations on ways to help the West Valley become an engine for economic growth and a destination for commerce, art and culture,” Blumenfield said. “These projects are critical to achieving that goal in Canoga Park and Reseda.”
Los Angeles Daily News