Shooting In Kohl's Parking Lot In Sun Valley Leaves 1 Dead
A 20-year old man was fatally shot Monday night, Dec. 19, in a Kohl's parking lot in Sun Valley. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division responded at 9:58 p.m. to a shots-fired call at the Kohl's department store at 8501 Laurel Canyon Blvd. near Roscoe Boulevard. They learned the victim was shot while sitting in a Chrysler van, LAPD Officer Lizeth Lomeli said. Police said a female passenger drove the victim to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. NBC 4 reported witnesses said a Dodge Charger was seen driving away from the scene. Los Angeles Daily News

Teen Dead, Boy Hospitalized In South Los Angeles Motor Bike Crash: LAPD
A teen is dead and a child was hospitalized after their small motor bike collided with a vehicle in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of South Los Angeles on Tuesday. The crash at 92nd Street and Orchard Avenue was reported at about 5:40 p.m., according to Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison. A teen boy who was driving the motor bike was declared dead at the scene, while his passenger, an 11-year-old boy, was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition, police said. The teen, whom police said was 16 years old, was identified by family as 15-year-old Esquire Hood. A GoFundMe has been set up to help his family with funeral expenses. “Esquire, who was only 15 years old was the most loving, funny, had a beautiful soul, and meant the world to us! He was very influential to those whom he crossed paths with,” his sister, Ambre Carter-Earl, wrote on the GoFundMe page. KTLA 5

Suspect Accused Of Shooting Tourists In Venice Arrested In West Virginia
Police have arrested a man accused of shooting two tourists outside of a Venice bar in July. After serving several search warrants in an effort to track the man down, a task force consisting of United States Marshals finally found suspect Brandon Manyo Dixon staying at a home in West Virginia. On Dec. 16, Marshals accompanied by a local SWAT team arrested Dixon without incident despite being armed with "several high-power firearms," according to police. Police have been searching for Dixon for nearly five months after he allegedly shot two tourists from the United Kingdom on the 20 block of Windward Avenue on July 30. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Dixon and his friend got into a verbal argument with the two tourists outside of a "heavily populated bar" before it escalated into a physical fight. CBS 2

Armed Man Breaks Into Woman's Venice Home And Refuses To Leave, Leading To Lengthy SWAT Standoff
A man allegedly armed with a knife and sword broke into a woman's Venice home and refused to leave, prompting an hours-long standoff with an LAPD SWAT team Monday. The incident was first reported at 12:26 p.m. in the 400 block of Santa Clara Avenue, near Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Marcia Davalos said she found a man inside her home and when she confronted him, he claimed to be the owner and told her to leave. "I was shocked to find some guy in the living room watching TV with all his stuff all over the place," Davalos said. "My immediate reaction was 'Oh my God! Who are you?' And he immediately said 'I live here.'" She grabbed her cellphone and began shooting video of him shutting the door on her. Footage showed a large sword and butcher knife that he allegedly brought with him on a table right by the door. ABC 7

Heartbroken Mother Wants Justice For Daughter Who Was Shot And Killed In South LA
A heartbroken mother is speaking out after her 31-year-old daughter was shot and killed in South Los Angeles earlier this month. "I don't understand - why did you do that to my baby? I mean why?" Bedella Barber cried out as she talked about her daughter's death. "Why Ruby? She wasn't nothing but 31 years old." Ruby Bowgen died in a shooting that happened in the 6600 block of South Central Avenue just after 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. Barber is horrified about why anyone would brutally gun down her daughter. Detectives have no information on a suspect. Barber remembered her daughter as she gazed at her photos on her cellphone. "She didn't bother nobody... All she did was go to work, come back. Go to work, come back," Barber said. Barber hopes the public can help her get justice for her daughter. ABC 7

Jury Finds Harvey Weinstein Guilty In L.A. Sexual Assault Trial
After 10 days of deliberation, a Los Angeles jury has found disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein guilty of one count of rape. "The women whom Harvey Weinstein victimized in Southern California deserved to have their day in court," said attorney Gloria Allred. "I'm glad that they received that in this criminal case." Weinstein, 70, was charged in LA with seven sexual assault counts involving four women: three counts of forcible rape, two counts of sexual battery by restraint, one count of forcible oral copulation, and one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. In addition to the one count of rape, Weinstein was found guilty of forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count relating to one of the four victims. The charges can carry a sentence of up to more years 24 years in prison.  CBS 2

Police Investigating Death Of 69-Year-Old South Pasadena Man
Police are investigating the death of a man inside of a South Pasadena home on Friday. They were dispatched to a home in the 1600 block of Meridian Avenue at around 7:50 p.m. after receiving reports of an unconscious man. When they arrived, they found the man, 69, in medical distress. First responders performed lifesaving measures, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was withheld due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. While investigating, detectives found "several items of evidentiary value" and contacted Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to assist in the investigation. There was no further information provided.  CBS 2

Virginia Police Chief Fatally Struck On Side Of Road
A police chief was struck by a vehicle and killed near South Hill Friday night. Brodnax Police Chief Joe Carey, 66, had pulled off to the right side of the road on Route 58, in the 200 block of Piney Pond Road, to recover the remains of an animal that had been struck in the roadway. As Carey was returning to the side of the highway, an eastbound Ford F-150 pickup truck struck Carey, according to a press release from the Virginia State Police. Carey's vehicle lights were activated while it was parked on the side of the highway, state police said. Carey was transported to Community Memorial Hospital in South Hill where he succumbed to his injuries. Brodnax is Mecklenburg County, about 100 miles southwest of the Hampton Roads area. The Virginian-Pilot

Massachusetts Man Tried To Break Into Police HQ With Chainsaw, Took Children Hostage
A Cohasset man is in custody after attempting to break into the town police department headquarters using a chainsaw before barricading himself at his home with two small children, authorities said. Cohasset Police said officers rushed to the front of the department headquarters Sunday afternoon as a man, later identified as 35-year-old Brien Buckley, “was chopping at the security door” with a chainsaw. He drove home as police arrived, shuttered himself inside, and dangled a pair of young children from a second-story window, the police department said — kickstarting an hours-long standoff with hostage negotiators. Hours later, police said they stormed the home, tased and arrested Buckley. He is expected to appear in Quincy District Court on Monday on a dozen charges. Around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, a civilian desk attendant at the police department headquarters made a “frantic” call to officers, Cohasset police said — a man had driven a truck over the building's lawn, hit a tree and carried a chainsaw into the headquarters lobby. He was cutting at the security door between the lobby and where the attendant sat, attempting to break past the barrier, police said. PoliceOne

2 Charged In Nationwide ‘Swatting' Spree Where Criminals Allegedly Took Over Ring Doorbells
Two men were indicted in a nationwide "swatting" spree in which the criminals called in fake police complaints, took over Ring doorbell cameras at the homes, livestreamed the responses, and in some cases even mocked law enforcement through the cameras, officials announced Monday. Kya Christian Nelson of Wisconsin, and James Thomas Andrew McCarty of North Carolina were indicted by a Los Angeles grand jury Friday for a string of "swatting" calls — in which people call in fake emergencies — between Nov. 7, 2020 and Nov. 13, 2020, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. According to the indictment, Nelson and McCarty were able to access people's Ring doorbell accounts through compromised Yahoo email accounts. They allegedly cross-referenced the Yahoo accounts with Ring accounts that had the same email addresses and passwords. Once they had access to the cameras, officials said, the two called in false emergency reports in the areas near where those cameras were active, and streamed the audio and video of the police response on social media. FOX 11

Firefighters Rescue Two Elderly People After Solo-Vehicle Crash
Two elderly people were rescued after a solo-vehicle crash Sunday in San Pedro. The crash was reported about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at 1500 S. Gaffey St., said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange. A man and a woman, both described by the fire department as about 90 years old, were trapped and required extrication. They were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries. It was unclear which of the two had been at the wheel, but Prange said there was no indication anyone else was in the vehicle. The cause of crash was under investigation. MyNewsLA

Firefighters Battle Fire At Two-Story Home In Hollywood Hills
Firefighters on Sunday were battling a fire at a Hollywood Hills home. The blaze is reported to have broken out just after 5 p.m. in the 2400 block of N. Jupiter Drive. According to a release from Los Angeles Fire Department, the flames were contained to the second floor of a "two-story descending hillside home." Firefighters battled the fire in offensive mode, meaning they were taking direct action to extinguish the flames from the inside. It took 30 firefighters just about 25 minutes to extinguish the flames by "coordinating interior fire attack with rooftop ventilation." All of the homes occupants were able to evacuate unharmed.CBS 2

LA County Reports 6,800 New COVID-19 Cases
Los Angeles County reported more than 6,800 new COVID-19 cases today covering a three-day period, along with 61 new virus-related deaths. The county Department of Public Health reported 21 deaths on Saturday and 20 each on Sunday and Monday. Health officials recently noted an uptick in virus-related death numbers, following a recent spike in hospitalizations. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said last week she feared the fatality numbers could increase in the coming weeks due to that rise in hospital patients infected with the virus. The new deaths gave the county an overall pandemic death toll of 34,471. The 6,807 new infections -- 3,770 from Saturday, 1,819 from Sunday and 1,218 from Monday -- raised the county's cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 3,605,228. The county does not release COVID numbers on the weekends. Health officials have stressed that the number of COVID infections reported each day is actually an undercount, due to the number of people who use at-home tests or don't test at all. NBC 4

LA Councilwoman Hernandez Seeks To Address Services Backlog In First District
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez is seeking to quickly address what she described as a backlog of city services in her district as she takes over this week for Gil Cedillo, who was rarely seen in his capacity as a council member over his last two months in office after refusing to resign over his involvement in the City Hall racism scandal. Hernandez filed a motion on Tuesday seeking for a report on the status of all open 311 cases in the First District, which is in northeast Los Angeles. Residents can dial 311 to request city services. “I've been hearing from lots of folks who have had trouble accessing basic services like street repairs, bulky items pickup and broken street lights,” Hernandez said in a video posted on Twitter. In the motion, seconded by Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the district is described as being “without an active council member for many months, leaving residents of an already historically under-resourced and underserved (community) without an elected representative to address their needs.” MyNewsLA