Good morning! On April 15, 2023, Officer B. Jerry Sandoval was killed in a traffic collision. Please consider donating to the Blue-Ribbon account established for Jerry to support his wife, Christine and twin sons, Logan and Jacob. Click here for more details.

Man Shot During Argument Outside Hollywood Restaurant

A man was hospitalized Saturday after being shot in the abdomen during an altercation in Hollywood. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division responded at approximately 2:37 a.m. to the 7400 block of Sunset Boulevard, near Gardner Street, where they learned a man and a woman were arguing outside the El Compadre restaurant when another man tried to intervene. The man who was arguing with the woman drew a gun and shot the victim, an LAPD spokesman told City News Service. The suspect ran away from the scene. Paramedics dispatched rushed one person to a hospital, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The person’s condition was not immediately known.

MyNewsLA

Police Arrest 5 In Double Stabbing Outside Los Angeles High

Five people have now been arrested in connection with the stabbing of two teenagers near Los Angeles High School earlier this week, police say. But one of those suspects — the only one whose name has been publicly disclosed — was released from jail Friday after not being formally charged within the required time period, according to authorities. The Los Angeles Police Department on Friday announced that Danny Ramon Lopez Sanchez, 23, of Los Angeles, had been arrested two days earlier on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with Monday’s violent altercation outside L.A.’s oldest public high school. However, jail records kept by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department showed Lopez Sanchez was released at close of business Friday, without being required to post bail that had been set at $1 million. A sheriff’s department spokesman confirmed the release was required because Lopez Sanchez had not been arraigned within 48 hours, as mandated by state law. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

Los Angeles Times

Man With Dagger In Pink Comb Arrested In LA City Council Meeting Disruption

A man with a knife concealed in a pink comb was arrested after a disruption at Friday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting. The arrest was the third at a LA City Council meeting this year, said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Dennis Clark. The 30-year-old man, a regular protester at council meetings, was repeatedly asked to remain silent during a Cinco de Mayo presentation by Councilman Kevin de León. The protester was heard shouting at de León during the presentation. Council President Paul Krekorian asked officers in the chamber to escort him out in accordance with council rules. He was eventually ejected from the council chambers, but as he and members of a group of protesters were walking out, a door was shoved shut, injuring a Security Services Sergeant, the LAPD said. The protester was arrested on suspicion of battery on a police officer and disturbing a public meeting. Los Angeles Fire Department personnel treated the sergeant for his injuries, which did not require hospitalization. When he was booked, officers found what looked like a pink comb, but the handle concealed a dagger inside, police said. 

NBC 4

LAPD Seeks Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Elderly Man In South Los Angeles

Police are searching for a driver who killed a pedestrian in a South Los Angeles hit-and-run late Thursday night. At about 11:50 p.m., a vehicle — possibly a motorcycle — struck a 72-year-old man at Western Avenue and 79th Street in the Manchester Square neighborhood, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. Instead of stopping to help, the driver continued south on Western Avenue, police said. The man, who has not been identified, was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Anyone with any information is encouraged to contact South Traffic Division Detective Geitheim at 213-713-9579 or 323-421-2500. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).  

KTLA 5

LAPD Upgrades Car Cameras To Increase Transparency In Police Interactions, Chief Says

The Los Angeles Police Department is updating the cameras in its patrol cars to capture wider angles with higher resolution and allow for video to upload from the field to a station, in hopes of increasing transparency in police interactions, Chief Michel Moore announced. The LAPD partnered with Axon, a private company based in Scottsdale, Ariz., to install the new Axon Fleet 3 in-car camera system, which will be rolled out on all vehicles over the course of a year, Moore said. “We recognize [our current systems] are based on technologies that sometimes are more than a decade old or more,” Moore said at a news conference Thursday. “We know that when that happens with technology you are falling behind … Technology is constantly improving.” The cameras will also record high-quality video within the squad cars, according to the LAPD, and feature “knee-to-head” video in the passenger area and “enhanced night view capabilities.” The new Axon Fleet 3 will also allow LAPD officers to use their body cameras as a microphone, meaning they no longer have to carry separate microphones, which could become dislodged during interactions with civilians.

Los Angeles Times

3 Arrested, More Than A Dozen Ticketed After Task Force Breaks Up Street Takeover In Sylmar

Dozens of people were arrested overnight when a task force broke up a street takeover in Sylmar. The takeover, which was being held at the intersection of Bradley Avenue and Bledsoe Street, was well underway with drivers performing dangerous stunts Friday evening when it came to an abrupt end as Los Angeles Police Department's Street Racing and Takeover Task Force units arrived. Officers say that they were able to lineup around 20 different drivers and spectators at the event. They took suspect names and impounded at least 10 vehicles. On top of that, those that they caught performing stunts will not be able to access their vehicles for up to 30 days, while those others in attendance had theirs held for 24 hours. Of those they detained, three were actually arrested while the rest received tickets. Another person was arrested for possession of a firearm. 

CBS 2

UFC Fighter Tony Ferguson Arrested For DUI In Los Angeles

UFC veteran Tony Ferguson was arrested early Sunday for DUI after he allegedly crashed his truck into parked cars in Hollywood, according to police. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a rollover crash around 1:45 a.m. in the 1400 block of N. Wilcox Avenue. Police said the driver, later identified as Ferguson, struck two parked cars that were unoccupied. No one was injured. Ferguson is facing a misdemeanor DUI charge and possibly other charges because he allegedly refused to take a field sobriety test, TMZ reports. One of the cars damaged, according to TMZ, belonged to rapper Cash Gotti. Ferguson is a former lightweight interim champion. Since 2011, he has fought exclusively in UFC and has been one of the top 155-pound fighters over the past decade, according to ESPN. He fights out of Ventura and is currently on a five-fight skid. 

FOX 11

SoCal Pair Accused Of Stealing $800,000 Worth Of Equipment From Home Improvement Stores

A Southern California man and woman are accused of stealing more than $800,000 worth of rented high-value equipment from nearly 200 home improvement stores in a retail theft scheme, according to federal prosecutors. The 27-year-old Santa Monica man and 25-year-old Los Angeles woman were arrested this week on an indictment that charges them with conspiracy and ten counts of wire fraud. Details about the arrests were not available. “Organized retail theft has exploded across the country, due in large part to the growth of an online resale marketplace,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. "In this case, we allege the co-conspirators hatched a scheme to rent high-value construction equipment and then fail to return it. They allegedly sold the stolen goods on websites such as OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace." A group that included the two suspects traveled around the country and stopped at home improvement stores in 23 states, where they rented two types of construction equipment -- jumping jack tampers, used for compacting soil, and vibratory plate compactors valued between $1,500 and $2,000 apiece. 

NBC 4

Chico Mass Shooting: 17-Year-Old Girl Killed, 5 Others Wounded

Chico police are investigating a mass shooting in which a 17-year-old girl was killed during the community’s third violent incident early Saturday. Six people were shot at a party on the 1000 block of Columbus Avenue just off the campus of California State University Chico, police said. Officers responded to the shooting at 3:26 a.m., about 30 minutes after responding to an altercation at the same address in which they arrested one suspect for brandishing a firearm, police said. The 17-year-old girl was taken to a hospital, where she died. The survivors are a 17-year-old girl and men ages 19 and 21, all hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and men ages 18 and 20 treated at a hospital and released, said police, who did not identify the victims.  The shooting, while related to two earlier altercations, posed no ongoing threat to the community, police said at a briefing. They released no information on the shooter.

San Francisco Chronicle

'We Started Running': 8 Killed, 7 Wounded In Texas Outlet Mall Shooting

Hundreds of terrified shoppers fled in panic after a gunman stepped out of a silver sedan and opened fire at a Dallas-area outlet mall, killing eight and wounding seven before being killed by a police officer who happened to be nearby, authorities said. Police did not immediately provide details about the victims at Allen Premium Outlets, a sprawling outdoor shopping center, but witnesses reported seeing children among them. Some said they also saw what appeared to be a police officer and a mall security guard unconscious on the ground. A 16-year-old pretzel stand employee, Maxwell Gum, described a virtual stampede of shoppers. He and others sheltered in a storage room. “We started running. Kids were getting trampled," Gum said. "My co-worker picked up a 4-year-old girl and gave her to her parents.” Dashcam video circulating online showed the gunman getting out of a car and shooting at people on the sidewalk. More than three dozen shots could be heard as the vehicle that was recording the video drove off.

Associated Press

Firefighter Injured Putting Out Fire At Venice Home

A Los Angeles firefighter was retrieved via litter basket after being injured putting out a fire at a two-story home in Venice Saturday evening. The blaze at 2214 S. Glyndon Ave., less than two blocks north of Venice Boulevard, was reported shortly after 10 p.m. and knocked down within about half an hour, according to the LAFD. The injured firefighter was described as a male, who sustained a non-life-threatening injury and was not able to descend a ladder. He was transported to a hospital.

Westside Current

Firefighters Quickly Handle House Fire In Echo Park

Firefighters quickly handled a fire at a single-story home in Echo Park on Friday. It took Los Angeles Fire Department crews just 15 minutes to extinguish the fire, using what a department spokesperson called a "transitional attack" which means that crews applied water to the outside of the building to provide a "break of the fire triangle" in order to cool the environment and return to an offensive attack. They said that the building is not occupied and no other surrounding structures were damaged. The blaze was first reported at 10 p.m. in the 1200 block of W. Court Street. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.

CBS 2

Council Declares May 5 Miguel Contreras Day

In commemoration of the life and legacy of Miguel Contreras, executive secretary of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, for his leadership and helping to establish the labor movement, the Los Angeles City Council declared May 5 “Miguel Contreras Day.” Councilman Pro Tem Curren Price, who led Friday’s presentation, acknowledged Contreras’ work in welcoming African American, Jewish and LGBTQ communities into the federation and cementing it as a political structure. He also noted Contreras’ efforts in transforming and diversifying politics by electing people of color and women — many of whom, Price described, as warriors. “Here’s to the legacy of a trailblazer who helped diversify the political and economic landscape of the greater Los Angeles area and California politics,” Price said. Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta joined Price in recognizing Contreras legacy. Huerta recalled when she and a 19-year-old Contreras participated in the famous grape strike in the Central Valley of the state.

MyNewsLA

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.