Law Enforcement News

Police Arrest Suspect Connected To Fatal Shooting In South Los Angeles
A man who allegedly shot and killed another man during an argument in South Los Angeles was behind bars on Saturday. According to Los Angeles Police Department, the shooting occurred late Thursday evening at around 11:45 p.m. on Denker Avenue, just south of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Officers dispatched to the scene found a man, identified as 35-year-old Christopher Lowe, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Multiple witnessed detailed the incident to investigators, claiming that the suspect, only identified thus far as a 57-year-old man, pulled the handgun during the argument and shot Lowe multiple times before running from the area. He was located at a later time near the scene and taken into police custody.
CBS 2

Woman Shot In Westmont Area Of South Los Angeles
A 20-year-old woman was listed in critical condition after she was found shot in the Westmont area of South Los Angeles Tuesday night. South Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a shooting on the 11200 block of S. Mariposa Av. at 8:31 p.m. Tuesday. Arriving deputies found a 20-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to her upper torso. She was hospitalized in critical condition, and was not expected to survive, according to the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. Witnesses told investigators they heard a single gunshot and saw the victim lying on the ground. No further details were available.
CBS 2

Man Wounded Following Shooting In Downtown Los Angeles; Suspect At Large
A man was wounded following a shooting in Downtown Los Angeles Saturday evening. The scene unfolded a little after 7 p.m. at the intersection of Seventh Street and Spring Street, when a shooting was reported to Los Angeles Police Department. Officers dispatched to the scene found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he is said to have been in stable condition. The victim, a man between 20-and-30-years-old, told police that he was standing at the intersection when a man in his early-30s approached him and fired two shots before running from the scene on foot. There was no further information available.
CBS 2

4 East Hollywood Armed Robbery Suspects At Large: LAPD
Police were searching for four suspects in an armed robbery in East Hollywood early Wednesday morning. Three victims were reportedly assaulted on the 4800 block of Melrose Ave, according to the Los Angeles Police Dept. At least one victim was reportedly pistol-whipped. A total of four suspects fled the scene, according to police. A female suspect was last seen driving a black Range Rover eastbound on Melrose. One male suspect wearing all black was last seen on foot traveling westbound on Melrose. Two other suspects were last seen traveling eastbound on Melrose. No further descriptions were available. Police said the stolen property included jewelry and cash. The suspects were reportedly armed with handguns. At least one victim was reportedly hospitalized in unknown condition.
CBS 2

Man Shot To Death In East Los Angeles Alley
A man was shot to death in East Los Angeles, authorities said Monday. The shooting was reported at 11:06 p.m. Sunday in the 5400 block of Via Corona Street, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Arriving deputies found the man lying in an alley with an apparent gunshot wound, officials said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, sheriff’s officials said. Suspect information and motive were not available. Homicide detectives were conducting a crime scene investigation, officials said. Anyone with information was asked to call homicide detectives at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
MyNewsLA

1 Arrested After Fatal Shooting In Compton Parking Lot
A man in his mid-to-late 20s was fatally shot in Compton Thursday night, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has arrested the person they believe was responsible. The shooting was reported a few minutes after 9:30 p.m., and deputies found the man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in a parking lot in the 1700 block of North Long Beach Boulevard, authorities said in a news release. He was declared dead at the scene, but a witness gave deputies a description of the shooter and the vehicle he was driving. “A short time later, Compton Deputies stop a matching vehicle,” the release said. “The driver lived at the location where the crime occurred, and was in possession of a weapon similar to the one used to kill the victim. The driver was taken into custody.”
KTLA 5

Elderly Couple Zip-Tied For Hours As Home-Invasion Robbers Ransack San Marino Home: Police
An elderly San Marino couple is recovering after they were held at gunpoint, zip-tied for more than three hours and robbed in a home invasion Friday night. Four robbers in ski masks broke in through a locked French door at the home in the 1700 block of Oak Lane at about 9 p.m. and restrained the residents, then forced them to lie near the front door while they ransacked the home for an hour and a half, the San Marino Police Department said in a news release. The bandits disconnected telephones, internet and security cameras and left at about 10:30 p.m., police said. The victims, meanwhile, were left restrained, though the husband managed to crawl to the garage, where he screamed for help until a neighbor heard him at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. The neighbor freed the couple, who suffered minor injuries. Police did not find any robbers remaining at the home, but the investigation is ongoing. If anyone has additional information, they should contact Detective Ruiz at 626-300-0726.
KTLA 5

SoCal Father Intentionally Drove Tesla Off NorCal Cliff With His 2 Kids, Wife In Car, CHP Says
A Pasadena father has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse after authorities say he intentionally drove a Tesla off a cliff as his two children and wife were still in the vehicle. The Tesla plunged more than 250 feet off a Northern California cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway near an area known as Devil's Slide that's known for fatal wrecks. Dharmesh A. Patel of Pasadena will be booked into San Mateo County Jail after he's released from a hospital, the highway patrol said in a statement. It wasn't immediately known if Patel has an attorney. "CHP investigators worked throughout the night interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene," the highway patrol statement said. "Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act." Authorities say they weren't able to determine the Tesla's driving mode the during the crash, however, they say it does not appear to be a contributing factor in this incident.
ABC 7

Pennsylvania Police Chief Shot Dead, Second Officer Injured
A Pennsylvania police chief was reportedly killed in a shooting that left a second officer injured outside Pittsburgh on Monday afternoon. The slain officer was Brackenridge, Penn., Police Chief Justin McIntire, according to KDKA-TV, which reports another officer was shot in the leg and hospitalized in stable condition. McIntire, a former sergeant who became the town’s chief of police in 2018, reportedly died at the scene. Police were searching for a suspect driving a silver 2014 Subaru Legacy. They say he was injured in the exchange of gunfire that ensued during an altercation late Monday afternoon in the 3,200-person steel town. That man is also accused of carjacking a vehicle. WPXI reported shortly before 7 p.m. that a suspect was in custody in the Homewood area of Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said the shooting happened around 4 p.m. on Brackenridge Ave., which was being treated as a “very active” crime scene when the evening began.
NYY Daily News

Chicago PD Faces Stark Number Of Officer Deaths By Suicide
Three Chicago police officers died by suicide in the past week, bringing the total number of suicides this year within the Chicago Police Department to seven, according to WTTW News. Police union representatives believe heavy workloads, canceled days off and an anti-police climate are contributing factors to officers’ mental health concerns. Robert Sobo, director of the Professional Counseling Division and Employee Assistance Program for the Chicago Police Department, and Alisha Warren, assistant commissioner of mental health for the Chicago Department of Public Health, spoke on “Chicago Tonight” to detail the challenges police officers are facing, which can weigh substantially on their mental health and available resources to help.
PoliceOne

X-Ray At Airport In Mexico Reveals Human Skulls In Package Bound For U.S.
Authorities in central Mexico said Friday they found a strange holiday-season package at a local airport: four human skulls being shipped to the United States. Mexico’s National Guard said its officers were called to an airport in the city of Queretaro after an X-ray detected strange shapes in a cardboard box. The box was being sent from the southern city of Apaztingan, in Michoacan state, to an address in Manning, South Carolina. When the Guard officers opened the box, they found four human skulls wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil. The Guard said the shipment, regardless of how the skulls were obtained or whether the items were meant for medical study, may violate Mexican laws on the handling of corpses. Michoacan is one of Mexico's most violent states, and the city of Apatzingan has long been dominated by the Viagras drug cartel.
NBC 4

Public Safety News

LAFD Extinguishes House Fire In Boyle Heights
Firefighters knocked down a house fire in Boyle Heights Monday. The blaze at 2706 E. Fourth St. was reported at 3:22 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart. The department dispatched 26 firefighters to the scene. The fire was extinguished in 17 minutes, Stewart said. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remained under investigation.
MyNewsLA

Investigation Underway After 65-Year-Old Man Dies In RV Fire In Exposition Park
A homeless man is dead after witnesses say someone threw an object at his RV, causing it to catch fire in Exposition Park. Officers responded to Budlong Avenue just before 11:30 p.m. Monday after receiving a call about the fire, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim, identified by family as 65-year-old Jerry Israel, died at the scene. Eyewitness News was told he lived in the RV with the woman who owns it. Witnesses reported seeing someone throw something at the RV right before it caught fire, police said. The suspect was last seen running away on foot. Neighbors also recalled hearing a commotion outside before the RV went up in flames. "Some people were arguing. Some guy came out of the motor home, chasing him with a stick... The guy must've came back again, called the police... they cuffed the guy, I didn't see much what happened after that," said Lionel Urbina. "A couple of hours after that, the whole camper was on fire."
ABC 7

Hepatitis C Is A Slow-Moving Killer That Can Be Stopped. What’s Getting In The Way?
Michael Mendez said that when learned he had hepatitis C, “I didn’t even know what it was.” Mendez, 47, had been homeless for years in Los Angeles, and said he hadn’t gone to a doctor the entire time he was living on the streets. When Mendez got a roof over his head, at the Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village, he decided to stop at the UCLA Health mobile clinic that rolled weekly to the Highland Park site — and soon learned about the infection that could jeopardize his life. Hepatitis C, which spreads through infected blood, causes roughly 14,000 deaths annually across the country, according to federal figures. Doctors describe it as slow and stealthy killer that can take years to show any symptoms. In some cases, the virus may clear on its own, but if left untreated, an infection can also lead to liver disease and cancer.
LA Times