LAPD Honoring Fallen Officers With ‘A Ride To Remember’

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Mission Area Station is hosting the 3rd Annual Memorial Bike Ride known as “A Ride to Remember, In Honor of All Fallen First Responders” on Sunday. Over 100 bikers will be riding 25 miles through the northwestern parts of the San Fernando Valley. The event raises funds for the families of Mission Area’s fallen officers, Officer Val Martinez and Officer Nicholi Darkus, in addition to raising funds for Mission’s youth programs. Officer Martinez was exposed to COVID-19 while on duty and passed away due to complications in July 2020. He never got the chance to meet his newborn twin boys, LAPD said. Officer Darkus was diagnosed with cancer shortly after graduating from the Police Academy and died just last month. He leaves behind a wife and three children, police confirmed. “This is very important,” said one rider participating in the event with his daughter, who works at the San Fernando Police Department. “We want to support all our fallen officers because it hurts all of us.” 

KTLA 5

Man Wanted For Multiple Assaults On Women In Los Angeles ‘Threat To The Public': LAPD

The search continues for a man wanted in connection with several assaults in Los Angeles, including the brutal beating and attack of an elderly woman in East Los Angeles last last weekend. The suspect, 21-year-old Sergio Andrew Garcia, is linked to several assaults in the LA area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The most recent happened Saturday. The victim, 67-year-old Rosalina Martinez, was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted as she was gardening outside her East Los Angeles home. According to authorities, Garcia is also wanted in connection with assaults reported between July 10 and July 15. Details of those assaults are listed as below: July 10: Garcia allegedly followed the victim walking near Olympic Boulevard and Albany. He is accused of sexually assaulting her and trying to remove her clothes as she walked under the 110 Freeway at Olympic Boulevard and LA Live Way. July 11: Garcia allegedly approached a woman from behind, slapped her back, then ran away in the area near Chick Hern Court and Georgia Street. 

FOX 11

21-Year-Old Woman Dead After Being Struck By Hit-and-Run Driver In South Los Angeles

A 21-year-old woman was fatally struck by a vehicle in South Los Angeles late Friday evening. According to Los Angeles Police Department officers, the crash happened at around 10:25 p.m. near the 3300 block of S. Hill Street, when a car traveling northbound collided with the female pedestrian crossing the street eastbound. Police say she was walking across in an "unmarked crosswalk," when the collision occurred. The victim, who has not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators were unable to provide any information on the driver or car connected to the fatal hit-and-run collision. 

CBS 2

Teen Girl Shot At Northridge House Party

A 15-year-old girl attending a house party in Northridge was wounded when a shot was fired, authorities said Sunday. The shooting occurred about 10:10 p.m. Saturday at 8523 Oak Park Ave., according to a dispatcher at the Los Angeles Police Department's Operations Center. The girl heard a gunshot and realized she was struck by a bullet, the dispatcher said. Witnesses saw a male believed between the ages of 16 and 19 fleeing on foot, the dispatcher said. The girl was hospitalized with stable vital signs, she said. The girl reportedly suffered a leg wound and the gathering was a graduation party attended by more than 80 people. 

FOX 11

20-Year-Old Hospitalized After Being Shot During Street Takeover In South LA

Authorities are investigating a shooting that occurred at a street takeover in South Los Angeles early Saturday morning. According to Los Angeles Police Department, the sideshow, which was ongoing near San Pedro Street and Manchester Avenue, quickly erupted into chaos when an undisclosed suspect got out of his car and fired shots at the victim, who was in a different car, before driving away. Officers arrived at the scene just before 2 a.m. to learn that the victim had driven himself to a hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. There was no further information provided on a suspect or a motive in the shooting. 

CBS 2

2 Men Arrested Following Altercation At Controversial Makeshift RV Park In Sylmar

Tensions ran high Saturday as residents of a makeshift RV lot in Sylmar at the center of controversy scrambled to find a place to stay after being ordered to vacate. Tempers flared in the evening when two men who were at the property got into a fight. Police said both men got into a verbal argument "for unknown reasons" around 6:40 p.m. "He's pushing towards him trying to fight him and I'm like, 'Dude,'" said one of the men in video obtained by Eyewitness News. It's unclear if the men were residents of the RV lot and details surrounding what may have sparked the altercation were not immediately available. They were ultimately arrested for battery. This comes after a a judge ordered the property needed to be vacated by Sunday due to electrical and sewage problems. The order included Cruz Godoy, who owns the property and lives in the main home. With a heat wave bearing down Southern California this weekend, some of the residents are still looking for a place to go. Some were spotted packing their belongings and loading them into vehicles on Saturday.

ABC 7

Man Diagnosed With Dementia Reported Missing Near Koreatown

A 63-year-old man who authorities said has been diagnosed with dementia was reported missing Saturday after last being seen west of Koreatown. Bruce Weisel was last seen at 9:50 a.m. Thursday on the 4000 block of Olympic Boulevard west of Crenshaw Boulevard, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Weisel is White, 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 220 pounds, has gray hair, hazel eyes and gray whiskers on his neck. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and brown camouflage pants. Anyone with information about Weisel or knows of his whereabouts was asked to call the Sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tipsters can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or send tips to lacrimestoppers.org.

MyNewsLA

Real Estate Developer In Huizar Bribery Case Sentenced To Six Years In Prison

A federal judge on Friday sentenced a downtown Los Angeles real estate developer to six years in prison for providing cash bribes to former City Councilmember Jose Huizar, then attempting to hide the transaction from investigators. Dae Yong Lee, who also goes by David Lee, was found guilty last year of giving $500,000 in bribes in exchange for the approval of a 20-story residential tower on Olympic Boulevard and Hill Street. He was also convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice. Lee, appearing before the judge, apologized for his actions, saying he had created “much pain and heartbreak” for his wife, his family and the people around him. “Due to my greed and ambition, I did something I will regret for the rest of my life,” the Bel-Air resident told the court. U.S. Dist. Court Judge John F. Walter said he took into account letters sent to the court from Lee’s family and supporters, particularly his wife’s characterization of him as “a good man who made a huge mistake.” But Walter said Lee’s crimes — bribing an elected official and then ordering a subordinate to falsify his company’s internal record of that transaction — merited a sentence that would serve as “a warning to others.”

Los Angeles Times

California Just Released Its Biggest Report On The Rise Of ‘Ghost Guns.’ Here’s What It Shows

California continues to struggle with a flood of privately made, difficult-to-trace firearms known as “ghost guns,” according to a new report by the Attorney General’s Office.  The report found that annual law enforcement seizures of guns without serial numbers have risen 16-fold over the last decade, going from fewer than 1,300 in the early 2010s to more than 20,000 in both 2021 and 2022. The rise in ghost guns has happened alongside a pandemic-era surge in gun violence in California and the nation as a whole. Violence prevention advocates and police alike have sounded the alarm about ghost guns’ proliferation for two main reasons: They’re easier to buy as they’re designed to worm through loopholes in California’s strict purchasing laws, and harder to trace. Guns without serial numbers have streamed into communities already facing higher rates of gun violence and shootings, further endangering at-risk teens and other vulnerable groups. The term “ghost gun” generally refers to guns manufactured without serial numbers (the technical term is privately manufactured firearms, or PMFs). The Attorney General’s data on unserialized guns includes some weapons that don’t fall under the traditional definition of “ghost guns” — guns that have had their serial numbers drilled off or otherwise removed, for instance. The data may also include antique guns manufactured before 1968, when the government began requiring manufacturers to stamp serial numbers on all new firearms. 

San Francisco Chronicle

Texas Deputy Shot, Killed While Responding To Domestic Fight Call

An Eastland County Sheriff’s deputy was killed in the line of duty Friday night when he responded to a domestic disturbance, officials said. Deputies from the Eastland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a domestic fight in progress around 9 p.m. at a home on Highway 183, according to the news outlet Eastland County Today. Deputy David Bosecker was the first to arrive at the scene. The suspect opened fire immediately, killing Bosecker. Other deputies took the suspect into custody before anyone else was injured. The suspect, 42-year-old Cody Douglas Pritchard, is being held in the Stephens County Jail and charged with capital murder of a peace officer, according to Stephens County Jail records. Bosecker served in law enforcement for more than 21 years. He began his career as a deputy in Wise County. He also served with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, as a game warden for Texas Parks and Wildlife and as an officer for the Comanche Police Department. The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting, according to Eastland County Today.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Report: Homicide Rate Declines In U.S. Cities After Pandemic-Era Spike

Homicides are declining in a cross-section of American cities, though their numbers remain higher than before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, according to a new report analyzing data from 30 U.S. cities. Homicides on average dropped 9.4% during the first half of 2023 as compared to the same period last year, the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice found in a report released this week. The numbers remained about 24% higher than they were in 2019, and motor vehicle thefts were up sharply in the analyzed cities. “We’re seeing a continuing decline in homicides, but most cities are not back to levels that prevailed prior to the pandemic,” said Richard Rosenfeld, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and co-author of the report. The report is based on crime data posed online by police departments in 37 cities of varying sizes around the country. Several of the nation's largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, are represented, but researchers didn't have immediate access to data for others, like Houston and San Diego. Of the cities that did post crime data online, 30 included homicide numbers and 20 of those showed declines.

Associated Press

1 Dead, 6 Injured After Grisly Multi-Car Crash In Agoura Hills

One person was killed and six others injured in a multi-car crash in Agoura Hills, near Calabasas, on Saturday. According to Los Angeles County Fire Department, the crash happened at Los Virgenes Road and Lost Hills Road at around 6 p.m. The deceased victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Circumstances leading up to the crash remain unclear, though with SkyCal over the scene, mangled vehicles that included a Tesla, BMW and a Toyota could be seen in the road. The area was expected to be blocked for some time as investigators surveyed the scene of the crash. 

CBS 2

L.A. County Parks Opens Cooling Centers For Relief From Heat

The Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation opened several cooling centers throughout the area to provide relief from extreme heat. The cooling centers will be open Saturday, July 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. L.A. County Parks is encouraging the community to visit Splashpads, Lakes, and Parks After Dark programming for additional cooling options. As temperatures reach triple digits amid a blistering heatwave in Southern California, residents without access to air conditioning or shelter are advised to seek the nearest cooling center. Here is a list of cooling centers throughout the county: Jackie Robinson Park, Stephen Sorensen Park, Val Verde Community Regional Park, Castaic Regional Sports Complex, George Lane Park, Pearblossom Park, Col. Leon H. Washington Park, Amelia Mayberry Park, Adventure Park, Mary M. Bethune Park, Lennox Park, Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, Earvin “Magic” Johnson Recreation Area, and Del Aire Park.

KTLA 5

Emergency Room Visits Increase In California On Excessive Heat Days 

Extreme heat means hundreds of additional visits to local emergency rooms, impacting communities all over Southern California. At Olive View UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, they are preparing for people who are feeling the effects of the heat. Dr. Greg Moran, Chief of the emergency department at Olive View UCLA Medical Center and professor of clinical emergency medicine at UCLA, says they have equipment that can be used to cool down people, including a blanket with tubing that circulates hot water. The blanket is often put under the patient. “We haven't seen, thankfully, any really severe heat stroke cases yet at our hospital. That will likely change at some point over the summer because it's supposed to be a hot summer,” Moran said. “Sometimes people just get over-heated, they get a little bit dehydrated. They can experience syncope, which is fainting sometimes. That is definitely more common in the heat. We'll see a lot of people who maybe if it wasn't so hot, might have had the physiological reserve to not get to that point,” he added. 

NBC 4

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.