‘We're Talking A Quarter-Inch From Tragedy': California Deputy Survives After Being Shot In The Head
A California deputy is recovering after being shot in the head by a suspect who was attempting to break into cars last week. According to KGET News, Kern County Sheriff's Office Deputy Michael Valdez, who just finished field training five weeks ago, received a call about a suspect allegedly trying to open car doors at a mobile home park. The suspect was later identified as 19-year-old Edgar Rojas. “Deputy Valdez saw the suspect, engaged him,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told KGET. “The suspect turned and ran.” Valdez and his partner, deputy Danielle Henderson, pursued Rojas, losing sight of him at one point. They eventually located the man in an alley and that's when Rojas opened fire, hitting Valdez with a gunshot to the forehead. Rojas fired multiple rounds before Valdez could return to his cruiser to get a shotgun. The exchange of fire did not last long, according to Youngblood. “This round actually went in here and circled the head and exited the rear. And the round was actually recovered from the hat he was wearing,” Youngblood told the news platform. “We're talking a quarter-inch from tragedy.” PoliceOne

FBI Reward: Suspect Wanted For Killing Man In L.A. Bar In 2006
The FBI announced a $5,000 reward Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of a convicted felon accused of killing a man in a Los Angeles bar in 2006. Carlos Vasquez Serrano is suspected of shooting a man to death in a Los Angeles bar on Feb. 1, 2006. Serrano allegedly then broke into the bar's office and stole video-recording equipment, according to the FBI, then allegedly kidnapped a woman and fled to Mexico with her. Carlos Serrano has been charged in California with murder, kidnapping, assault with a firearm and second-degree commercial burglary. A warrant for his arrest was issued on Oct. 10, 2012. Carlos Vasquez Serrano, nickname "Cuate," is described as standing about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 220 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He previously lived in Bellflower. The FBI believes Serrano may currently be living in Mexico.CBS 2

Brianna Kupfer Murder: New Charges Filed In Stabbing Death Of UCLA Student
New charges have been filed in connection with the stabbing murder of UCLA student Brianna Kupfer, who was brutally attacked and killed in January at her job in Hancock Park. According to a new indictment unsealed in court Monday, the suspect, 32-year-old suspect Shawn Laval Smith, now also faces two special circumstance allegations - lying in wait and use of a knife. The indictment was filed Nov. 15 and replaces earlier charges, bypassing the need for a preliminary hearing. Shawn Laval Smith, 31, is accused of fatally stabbing Kupfer on Jan. 13 while she was working inside the Croft House boutique furniture store in the 300 block of North La Brea Avenue. An autopsy released in August showed Kupfer suffered 46 sharp force injuries, consisting of 26 stab wounds and 20 incised wounds. She suffered 11 stabs to the chest, two in the abdomen, one to the pelvis, two on her right arm, five on her left arm, two on her right leg and three on her left leg. All the stab wounds were said to be about five inches deep.FOX 11

LAPD Chase Pickup Truck Through The San Fernando Valley
A driver in a pickup truck led Los Angeles police on a chase through the San Fernando Valley late Tuesday night. The suspect drove erratically on surface streets during the course of the pursuit - ignoring red lights, speeding and weaving past cars amid light traffic. AIR7 HD was over the pursuit around 11:20 p.m. as the driver was fleeing LAPD in Van Nuys. Police chased the driver across multiple neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley, including North Hills, Canoga Park and Mission Hills. California Highway Patrol officers later took control of the pursuit when the driver got onto the freeway. When the chase reached Granada Hills, it appeared law enforcement disengaged and switched to "tracking mode" on Rinaldi Street. CHP kept following the driver, who eventually pulled over and surrendered. ABC 7

Father Arrested On Suspicion Of Murder After Daughter, 1, Found Dead In Los Angeles River
A man was arrested on suspicion of murder this week after his 1-year-old daughter was found dead in the Los Angeles River, Inglewood police said. Inglewood police were called Sunday evening to the 300 block of North Market Street regarding a missing girl identified as Leilani Burley. Leilani's grandmother had called police when her son who lives with her — Jayveon Burley, 22, the girl's father — returned home with only one of his two children after picking them up from their mother in Long Beach, police said. The other child, a 3-year-old boy, was unharmed, KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported. “During the course of the investigation, with the assistance of Long Beach Police Department, Leilani's remains were recovered in the Los Angeles River below the Ocean Boulevard Bridge,” at the river's southern end in Long Beach, Inglewood police said in a release. Jayveon Burley was arrested Monday on suspicion of murder and child endangerment and was booked into the Inglewood Police Department jail. Los Angeles Times

Woman Shot, Killed In South Los Angeles
A woman in her early-to-mid-30s was shot and killed in the Florence-Firestone area of South Los Angeles Tuesday evening. The woman, who has not been identified, was shot in the 6600 block of South Central Avenue just after 6 p.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a press release. After being wounded multiple times, she was pronounced dead at the scene. No suspect information is available. Anyone with information is asked to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit lacrimestoppers.org. KTLA 5

$20,000 Reward Offered In Woman's Disappearance In Los Angeles County
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information on a woman who disappeared near Lake Los Angeles. Gloria “Jessica” Huerta, 27, went missing on Aug. 3, 2020. She was last seen on the 14700 block of East Avenue Q-14, according to Los Angeles County officials. The reward is being offered by L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger in a motion that was approved by the County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “Jessica has been missing for more than two years,” said Barger. “My heart is breaking for this young woman's family, who are desperately pleading for the public's help so she can be found and brought home.” Huerta was staying in a trailer on a property near Lake Los Angeles where an altercation allegedly took place, authorities said. KTLA 5

Travel Agent Charged With Embezzling More Than $400,000 From Southern California Parents For Canceled School Trips
A San Diego-based travel agent has been charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from Orange and Los Angeles county parents for eighth grade school trips to the East Coast that were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marie Colette Martin, 52, pleaded not guilty on Monday, Dec. 5, to 27 felony counts of grand theft and seller of travel violations, according to the state Attorney General's Office. She is accused of embezzling more than $415,000, spending the funds on personal expenses rather than refunding parents after the trips were canceled. In 2019, Martin solicited funds from more than 150 parents at nine schools that were planning trips to Washington D.C. and other East Coast locations during the 2020 school year. Los Angeles Daily News

Atlanta Officer Hit By Suspected Drunk Driver During Foot Pursuit
A police officer chasing an armed man on a southeast Atlanta street was hit by an alleged drunk driver Monday night, authorities said. Both the officer and the gunman were struck and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where the officer is stable Tuesday after initially considered to be in critical condition. The driver accused of hitting them was arrested. Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum pledged the full support of his agency for the officer, whom he said was protecting his community when he was injured. “The Atlanta Police Department will be here, with the family, until he makes a full recovery,” he told Channel 2 Action News from outside the hospital. According to police, officers were sent to an Exxon gas station in the 3800 block of Jonesboro Road just before midnight after it was reported a man had threatened a woman with a gun. When they arrived, they located a suspect matching the man's description and tried to speak with him. The man rain into a nearby wooded area, police said, and the officers established a perimeter. They spotted him as he ran into the road. Atlanta Journal Constitution

‘Terrifying': Mountain Lion Surprises Man And Dog In Hollywood Hills Neighborhood
A home security camera captured video of a mountain lion on an evening stroll through a Hollywood Hills neighborhood and the big cat's too-close-for-comfort encounter with a resident and his dog. The video showed a homeowner and his dog leave home for a walk when the dog appears to freeze at the sight of the large mountain lion. The mountain lion paced in front of the home, its eyes glowing in the darkness. The man said they were about 6 feet away from the mountain lion. At first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing in the dim evening light. "Terrifying," said the homeowner, who asked not to be identified. "I was looking at him. 'Is that a dog? What is that?' "It kind of took me a second to realize it was a lion. It was not being aggressive. The dog had stopped barking, and they were just like staring each other down." The unsettling encounter happened at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday near Lake Hollywood Drive off of Barham Boulevard. The neighborhood of narrow winding streets is above the Lake Hollywood Reservoir below the Hollywood sign. NBC 4

COVID Surge Continues Building In Los Angeles County As Indoor Mask Mandate Looms
Another 3,125 COVID-19 infections were reported in Los Angeles County Tuesday, while virus-related hospitalizations rose again as a long-feared winter surge in cases continued to materialize. The new infections lifted the county's overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,565,418. The number, however, is believed to be an undercount of actual COVID activity in the county, since many residents use at-home tests without reporting the results and many others don't test at all. The county Department of Public Health reported 10 new virus-related deaths on Monday, giving the county an overall death toll of 34,251. According to state figures, there were 1,270 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Tuesday, up from 1,205 reported on Saturday. Of those patients, 151 were being treated in intensive care units, up from 123 on Saturday. ABC 7

Los Angeles City Council Votes To Ban Sale, Distribution Of Styrofoam Products
The Los Angeles City Council voted to ban the sale or distribution of Styrofoam products Tuesday. The ordinance prohibits the sale and distribution of expanded polystyrene products -- commonly referred to as Styrofoam -- for businesses with more than 26 employees beginning in April 2023, and for smaller businesses in April 2024. "Today, the second largest city in the nation will send a clear message that expanded polystyrene has no place in our city's future," Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said at a briefing before Tuesday's meeting. Los Angeles joins more than 150 other cities that have similar ordinances in place, and advocates believe it can set an example for more cities to follow suit. "L.A. can lead the pack," said Craig Cadwallader, policy coordinator with Surfrider South Bay. "What happens in L.A. doesn't stay in L.A. It's seen worldwide. So this is a really big deal, and makes a big difference not just here in Los Angeles, but beyond -- perhaps in other countries as well." ABC 7

Recall Petition Against Kevin de León Approved By LA City Clerk
A recall petition against embattled City Councilman Kevin de León was approved by the Los Angeles City Clerk Tuesday, allowing organizers to begin collecting signatures. Organizers must collect 20,437 signatures from registered voters of the 14th District by March 31, according to the city clerk's office. An intent to recall de León was filed in October by five residents of the 14th District, including Pauline Adkins, who led two prior unsuccessful recall attempts of de León. De León, along with Councilman Gil Cedillo, has defied fierce and widespread calls to resign for taking part in a recorded 2021 conversation that involved racist comments and attempts to manipulate the redistricting process. Under the statement of reasons in the notice of intent, the organizers cited de León's refusal to resign over the scandal. De León released a statement in response to the proposed recall petition. NBC 4

Despite Bonin Objections, LA Council Votes To Move Forward on Westside ‘Green Hydrogen' Plan
The Los Angeles City Council voted today to move forward with a controversial plan to shift the Scattergood Generating Station, a power plant in Playa del Rey, to be powered by green hydrogen instead of natural gas. The council voted 8-3 to approve a competitive bid proposal process for the estimated $800 million plan, over the objections of some environmental groups concerned about the impact of green hydrogen on the climate and lack of transparency from officials. The ordinance still needs a second vote for approval next week -- when five new council members will have taken their seats. Two of the members who voted in favor and two who voted against it will be off the council by then. The council's vote came after a 2-1 approval by its energy committee. Council members Paul Koretz, Nithya Raman and Mike Bonin voted against the proposed ordinance, which authorizes the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to award a contract for the project. Westside Current