In One Year, LA Police Arrested Over 120 People In Connection With Follow-Home Robberies
In one year, since the creation of LAPD's Follow Home Task Force in November 2021, over 120 arrests have been made and over 320 cases have been investigated. Follow-home robberies became a growing crime trend in 2021. A suspect, or group of suspects, would follow the victim from a restaurant or store to their home where they would then rob them of their expensive watches or jewelry. According to LAPD, these robberies occurred mainly in the Hollywood and Wilshire areas. Due to the alarming increase in these types of crimes, the Los Angeles Police Department created a task force consisting of 16 detectives. From November 2021 to December 1, 2022, the task force identified328 follow-home robberies and arrested 122 people. Of the 122 arrests, five included murder, nine for attempted murder, 88 for robbery, and various other charges. According to a statement from police, the LA County District Attorney's office added gun enhancements on the violent armed robberies. Within a year, police say they've seen a 77% decrease in follow-home robberies.  FOX 11

Arkansas Officer Killed, Trooper Wounded In Shooting; Suspect Dead
An Arkansas police officer was shot and killed, and the suspect later died in a shootout with a state police SWAT team that wounded a state trooper, Arkansas State Police said Thursday. Jacob Cole Barnes, 31, fatally shot Stuttgart police Sgt. Donald Scoby, 45, late Wednesday, police said in a news release. Barnes, of Mountain View, was shot and killed early Thursday during a standoff at a home near Stuttgart, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Little Rock, police said. Stuttgart police attempted to stop the vehicle Barnes was driving about 11 p.m. Wednesday, state police said. The statement did not explain the reason for the attempted traffic stop. A pursuit ensued, then Barnes abandoned the car and he shot Scoby during a subsequent foot pursuit, police said. Barnes forced his way inside a home. A female resident hid from Barnes inside the home and was later freed by state police, unharmed, according to the police statement. Associated Press

This Is The Photo Of A Staged Murder By L.A. Federal Agents, Fake Blood And All
In the photo, the seemingly lifeless body of a well-dressed, gray-haired banker is splayed out on a patch of grass. There is an apparent bullet wound by his right ear and blood has stained his white shirt. But the man was alive and well. The photo, filed in court by federal prosecutors last month, was of a staged murder — the coup de grace in a ruse federal agents used to catch a Los Angeles real estate developer whom they suspected of plotting to kill two men. “That's him,” the developer, Arthur Aslanian, said when his assistant, who was secretly recording the conversation for investigators, showed him the phot o as proof one of the men had been killed. Aslanian then told the assistant to destroy the photograph and never speak about the murder again, according to federal prosecutors. Aslanian was arrested the same day, charged with planning to kill the business associate in the photograph, as well as an attorney who had once represented him in a bankruptcy case. Proseculors allege Aslanian opted to have the men killed instead of paying the millions of dollars he owed to the associate and a smaller debt to his former lawyer. Los Angeles Times

Police Investigating 3-Car Crash And Shooting In Hyde Park
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a three-car accident in Hyde Park on Thursday where three people were injured, including one who was suffering from a gunshot wound. Calls about the traffic collision, at the intersection of 67th Street and Van Ness Avenue, came in around 9:30 p.m., police said. Authorities also confirmed that one of the victims involved in the crash had been shot, though it's unclear where the shooting took place. Aerial footage of the scene from Sky5 showed one vehicle on its side on 67th Street, while another vehicle was on the sidewalk and a third was in the middle of Van Ness Avenue. First responders with the Los Angeles Fire Department took at least one of the victims to the hospital in critical condition. The condition of the other two victims is unknown. No further details were provided.   KTLA 5

LA County Man Faces Sentencing In 7-Eleven Store Robberies
An Inglewood man faces sentencing Friday for committing multiple armed robberies of 7-Eleven stores and another business during a six-week crime spree last year. Kyle Williams, 26, admitted in July to all counts against him: one count of conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. From mid-November to Dec. 30, 2021, Williams traveled by car to businesses — usually 7-Eleven convenience stores — to commit the robberies. He entered the stores, brandished a semi-automatic handgun at employees and demanded money. A co-defendant waited in the vehicle parked outside the stores. The businesses robbed during the spree included six 7-Eleven stores in the Hollywood, East Hollywood and Mid-City neighborhoods of Los Angeles as well as in West Hollywood. One smoke shop in the Mid-City area also was robbed, according to the indictment. Williams also attempted to rob a 7-Eleven store in El Segundo last Dec. 30. MyNewsLA

Authorities Look For Missing Compton Teen
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office is looking for a missing 16-year-old teen in Compton. Samiyra Laytice White was last seen on Tuesday, December 13th in the 800 block of North Grandee Avenue around 11 p.m. White suffers from anxiety and depression and it is unknown if she has her medications. Authorities said she is Black, around 5 feet tall, weighs 140 pounds, and has black braided hair and brown eyes. She also wears glasses, has a scar above left eye on her forehead, and possibly has a nose piercing. Anyone who has seen her, please contact the the Compton Sheriff's at 310-605-6500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. CBS 2

Detectives Identify Slain SoCal Teen Known Only As ‘John Doe 1978' For Decades
A teen boy known only as 'John Doe 1978' for more than 40 years has been identified by police. The Southern California cold case dates to June 3, 1978, when the teen was found dead on the pavement near Division Street and Corona Avenue in Long Beach. On Wednesday, Long Beach police announced that advances in investigative genealogy helped investigators finally identify the victim as 15-year-old Kenneth Nevada Williams. "A teenager who was murdered in the 1970s has been known only as 'John Doe' for decades until recent technology and dogged investigators led to his true identity," said Donald Alway, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "Justice delayed doesn't have to be justice denied in this case. Kenneth Nevada Williams is now a known victim and identifying his killer is the next step in solving this case." No arrests have been reported in the decades-old mystery that spans several generations of Long Beach homicide detectives. The investigation expanded throughout Southern California and other countries in an effort to identify the victim before the case went cold. NBC 4

Gang Members Arrested In 2021 Shooting Death Of Toddler Jasper Wu On I-880
More than 13 months after toddler Jasper Wu was killed in a freeway shooting in Oakland, authorities on Thursday announced three gang members had been arrested in the case. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said Thursday that the November 6, 2021 shooting involved two rival gang members shooting it out on Interstate Highway 880 in the middle of the day. "How could this horrific tragedy have happened? It happened because two rival gangs were having a rolling gun battle on Highway 880 ... across the freeway at 2 o'clock in the afternoon," said O'Malley. The three suspects were identified as Trevor Green, 22, of Richmond; Ivory Bivins, 24, of Vallejo; and Johnny Jackson, 28, of Richmond. Each has been charged with murder, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. O'Malley said Bivins and Green were also charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and criminal street gang conspiracy. CBS 2

COVID In LA County: New Infections Drop, But Deaths Rise, Officials Call It Sign Of What Could Come
It's a major concern for health officials: despite a recent drop in cases, Los Angeles County is reporting a jump in the number of COVID-19 infections of more than 100% in the past month. Plus, the average number of daily deaths has doubled in the past two weeks. L.A. County remains in the "high'' COVID activity category with an average daily new case rate of 204 per 100,000 residents. We could go back to the "medium" level if that number drops below 200 per 100,000 residents. That, however, depends on us. L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer credits a 7% drop in daily hospital admissions to COVID medications and booster shots, which can significantly reduce serious illness. Yet in the big picture, hospital bed space remains a critical concern. ABC 7

L.A. County Health Officials Worried As ‘Tripledemic' Surges This Holiday Season
Health officials are worried as millions prepare to travel for the holiday season and gather with loved ones amid a “tripledemic” of infections hitting Southern California. The “tripledemic” is what health experts describe as a trio of COVID-19, influenza and RSV infections spiking concurrently. Experts are concerned that holiday gatherings will only exacerbate illnesses and hospit alizations across the nation. As infections continue surging, available hospital beds across Los Angeles County have hit an all-time low according to health officials. Officials estimate around 200,000 people could pass through Los Angeles International Airport every day beginning Friday, Dec. 16 through Jan. 3, 2023 for holiday travel. “It's the flu, COVID and the RSV,” Dr. Diana Lev, an attending physician at Dignity Health Northridge explains to KTLA's Mary Beth McDade. “And RSV has been historically a childhood disease and now it's hitting adults here.” KTLA 5

'The Words That You Say Matter:' LA City Leaders Vow To Combat Antisemitism As Hate Crimes Rise
As the first night of Hanukkah approaches, Los Angeles city leaders are speaking out against antisemitism as recent reports show an increase in hate crimes across the county. Mayor Karen Bass along with other city leaders met at Grand Park Thursday morning as part of the national Shine A Light campaign, which uses the uses the story of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, to spread awareness on antisemitism. Bass, who was recently sworn in as the city's first Black female mayor, vowed to work on initiatives that will combat all forms of hate. She said the number of reported hate crimes in L.A. County is at its highest level since 2002. A recent report by the L.A. Commission on Human Relations shows the number of reported hate crimes grew 23%, jumping from 641 to 786 in 2021. ABC 7

L.A. Confirms End Of COVID Eviction Rules, While Other Tenant Protections Remain In Limbo
Landlords in Los Angeles can resume evicting tenants for unpaid rent and other reasons come Feb. 1, the City Council confirmed in a vote last week. The decision will end some of the longest-lasting tenant protections in the nation, first passed in March 2020 as part of the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, landlords have not been allowed to evict their tenants for most reasons, including if the owners wanted to move into their own homes. The emergency rules have also prohibited landlords from raising the rent in more than 650,000 rent-controlled units in the city, nearly three-quarters of L.A.'s apartment stock. Rent increases in such units will continue to be barred until February 2024. The city's emergency protections started amid fears that the deep job loss at the beginning of the pandemic could lead to a tsunami of evictions and worsen the spread of COVID-19. Federal, state and other local political leaders put into place similar anti-eviction rules and offered billions of dollars in financial assistance for those behind on rent.Los Angeles Times

LA Council Members Seek Temporary Permits For Street Vendors
Several City Council members are seeking to provide street vendors awaiting approval to operate under Senate Bill 972 with temporary permits. SB 972, authored by state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, streamlines the process for vendors to apply for health permit and was signed into law in September. But it will take “significant time” for the county to update its permitting process, according to the motion filed on Tuesday by Council members Hugo-Soto Martinez, Curren Price and Eunisses Hernandez and seconded by Nithya Raman. The council members requested a report on potentially creating a Provisional Sidewalk Vending Permit for street vendors awaiting to apply for their permit due to SB 972. Los Angeles has 10,000 food vendors, but only 204 of them have been legally allowed to operate as of earlier this year, according to the motion. “It's going to take months, if not years, for the county to fully update their processes,'' Hernandez said in a video posted to Twitter.  NBC 4