Man Shot After Argument In Westlake

A man in his 60s was hospitalized Saturday after he was shot during a verbal confrontation with three assailants in the Westlake neighborhood in what police believe was a gang-related shooting. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were called just after 11:30 p.m. Friday to 1230 W. Seventh Street south of Wilshire Boulevard where they learned that after the argument, the suspects left, but two returned to the scene and shot the victim multiple times, an LAPD spokesman told City News Service. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics took the victim to a hospital, where he underwent surgery. The suspects ran in an unknown direction.

MyNewsLA

White Supremacist Calling For The Mass Murder Of Jews Arrested In Reseda Raid

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested an alleged white supremacist calling for the mass murder of Jews following a joint task force raid of his Reseda home. "As alleged, this convicted felon affiliated with a violent white supremacist group who espouses horrific acts of violence against Jews appears to be manufacturing firearms and possessing an improvised explosive device," said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. "The potential danger to the community cannot be overstated. We will continue to investigate this matter to ensure that this defendant is held accountable for his crimes, and to keep our community safe from acts of violence motivated by racist and hateful ideology." According to the United States Department of Justice, Ryan Scott Bradford was affiliated with the "racially motivated violent extremist group" called the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods. The Peckerwoods originated in California state prisons and have been part of racially motivated violence, drug and illegal firearms trafficking and fraud. "The defendant is a self-described anti-Semite associated with a white supremacist group which espouses the hatred of Jews and other minorities," said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. "Hateful rhetoric that crosses the line into violence will get the attention of law enforcement and those who engage in such extremism will be held accountable should they act upon their violent rhetoric."  

CBS 2

Stolen Vehicle Pursuit Ends After Suspect Crashes Into Hydrant

A high speed pursuit ended after a suspect driving a stolen car crashed into a fire hydrant Friday afternoon. Authorities said the pursuit lasted around 30 minutes before coming to an end near 29th Street and Vineyard Avenue in West Adams. The suspect took off on foot after crashing into the hydrant and is possibly hiding in the backyard of a home in the area. Police described the suspect as a man wearing a blue shirt. LAPD set up a perimeter around the neighborhood as they search for the man.

CBS 2

16 Arrested During Prostitution Sting In Los Angeles County

Officials with several different law enforcement agencies teamed up with a hotel chain to conduct a sting operation on a prostitution ring in Claremont, leading to the arrest of 16 individuals. Officers with the Claremont Police Department were assisted by the Monterey Park Police Department, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation and the Claremont Motel 6 to seek individuals looking to engage in prostitution, Claremont PD said in a release. During the operation, seven undercover officers posed as prostitutes and solicited subjects – who police referred to as “Johns” – who sought to engage in commercial sexual acts in the area of Indian Hill Boulevard and the 10 Freeway. “After the officers were solicited for sex acts, the ‘Johns’ were arrested by additional undercover officers in the area,” Claremont Police Department said. The majority of the suspects were from the local area, including Montclair, Pomona, Ontario, Riverside, San Dimas, Chino, Chino Hills, Hesperia, Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga, Lennox and Upland. One of the 16 suspects was from Fort Wayne, Indiana, authorities said. Each suspect was booked and later released on citations with a pending court appearance at the Pomona Superior Court.

KTLA 5

More Than $12 Million Of Drugs Seized Around Central Valley In Week Span Of Busts

Within a week span during July, more than $12 million of drugs and drug monies were confiscated by the California Highway Patrol around the Central Valley. The massive drug busts were a result of four CHP traffic stops, with three vehicles pulled over in Fresno County. The biggest seizure among them took place in Merced County. On July 21, CHP pulled over a Kia Soul for a traffic violation in Merced County. The officer ended up seizing 161 pounds of fentany-laced pills, 133 pounds of methamphetamine and 37 pounds of cocaine. Combined, the confiscated narcotics from that incident alone totalled $10.5 million. More drugs would try to be moved in the Valley in the coming days. Authorities said $1.3 millions of drugs were seized Monday in Fresno County after CHP stopped a vehicle and found 25 pounds of cocaine. The drugs had been hidden inside a Ninja blender box located inside the vehicle, according to CHP. On Wednesday, a CHP traffic stop in Fresno County led to a sergeant finding $120,000 in cash believed to be from the sale of narcotics. CHP said the money was located in a “sophisticated hidden compartment constructed of a Jeep’s transmission tunnel.”

Fresno Bee

$600,000 In Stolen Wine: Inside One Of California’s Biggest High-End Alcohol Heists

The masked man dropped down into darkness, the light from his mobile phone illuminating the bottles that lined the cellar walls of Lincoln Fine Wines. 2001 Sine Qua Non “On Your Toes” Syrah. 2006 Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes. 2009 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac. 2012 Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella. The climate-controlled cellar housed the Venice store’s priciest vintages. There were about 1,500 bottles — mostly French, Italian and California wines that had taken decades to assemble. It was after midnight on June 30. The store was closed, its security system activated. But this man had gained access to the trove without setting off the alarm. He did so unconventionally: by cutting a hole in the roof above the cellar. The thief — who dressed in black and wore a red-billed baseball cap — worked efficiently, deftly moving among the crates and racks to gather up much of the choicest wine. He kept his phone in hand, training its light on the bottles, which featured handwritten price tags, and occasionally raising it to his ear. In about 3½ hours, the burglar managed to commit one of the biggest California wine crimes in memory, making off with about 800 bottles — a haul worth around $600,000.

Los Angeles Times

South Carolina Officer Killed In Collision While Responding To Call

A lieutenant with the Newberry Police Department was killed in a collision on Wednesday evening, according to Corporal David Jones with S.C. Highway Patrol. The wreck happened on the intersection between S.C. 395 and S.C. 34. Newberry Police Department Lieutenant Michael "Mike" Woods, 48, of Prosperity, was killed in the crash. Woods was responding to a call, headed southbound on S.C. 395, when he and the driver of a 2022 Freightliner Tractor Trailer, that was eastbound on S.C. 34, collided. Woods was transported to the hospital by EMS where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer was taken to the hospital by EMS, sustaining injuries. Woods began his career with the City of Newberry in 2003 as an officer with the department, rising through the ranks and was promoted to corporal in 2006, sergeant in 2008 and lieutenant in 2017. The collision is under investigation by S.C. Highway Patrol. Police Chief Kevin Goodman asks that the officer's family and the community be lifted in prayer as we try to find peace in this tragedy.

The Newberry Observer

Arizona Teen Missing For Nearly 4 Years Shows Up Safe At Montana Police Station

An Arizona teenager who disappeared days before her 15th birthday nearly four years ago is safe after walking into a small-town police station in Montana this week, authorities announced Wednesday. Alicia Navarro, now 18, showed up alone this week about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Canadian border and identified herself to authorities there as the missing teenager, according to police in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb. Her disappearance in 2019 sparked a massive search that included the FBI. Glendale police spokesperson Jose Santiago said over the years, police had received thousands of tips. Her mother, Jessica Nunez, raised concerns that Navarro, who was diagnosed as high-functioning on the autism spectrum, may have been lured away by someone she met online. The name of the town wasn't immediately disclosed, but Montana is more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Arizona. “She is by all accounts safe, she is by all accounts healthy, and she is by all accounts happy,” Santiago said at a news conference. Investigators were trying to determine what happened to Navarro after her disappearance at age 14 on Sept. 15, 2019. Police Lt. Scott Waite said they were investigating all the possible scenarios that could have led to Navarro’s disappearance, including kidnapping.

Associated Press

Three People, Including Firefighter, Hospitalized After East Hollywood Fire

Three people, including a firefighter, were hospitalized Monday after a fire at a duplex in East Hollywood. Firefighters responded to the fire around 6:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Lyman Place. The fire at the two-story duplex was knocked down in 17 minutes. During a search of the building, they found one person on the first floor of the residence who was transported to the hospital in critical condition. A second person who was inside the building also was hospitalized, but details about that individual's condition were not immediately available. A firefighter was hospitalized with non-life-threatening burn injuries. Details about a cause of the fire were not immediately available.

NBC 4

County Health Department Issues Ocean Water Warning For Nine L.A. Beaches

As the heat wave continues, Southland residents might be inclined to cool off at the beach -- but the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Monday issued an Ocean Water Use Warning for nine area beaches, advising people to avoid swimming, surfing or playing in waters due to high bacteria levels. The affected beaches are: Avenue I storm drain at Redondo County Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast from the storm drain; Bluff Cove at Palos Verdes Beach, entire swim area; Hermosa Beach pier, 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier; Malaga Cove Creek at Palos Verdes Beach, entire swim area; Manhattan Beach pier, 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier; Marie Canyon storm drain at Puerco Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast from the public access steps; Malibu Lagoon State Beach at Surfrider Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast from the public restrooms; Sapphire Street Extension at Redondo County Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast of Sapphire Street; and Santa Monica pier, 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier. The health department Monday also lifted an earlier warning for Topanga Canyon Beach in Malibu, where the agency said recent sample results were within state standards.

Westside Current

California Fire Crews Battle ‘Fire Whirls’ In The Mojave Desert

Crews battled “fire whirls” in California’s Mojave National Preserve this weekend as a massive wildfire crossed into Nevada amid dangerously high temperatures and raging winds. The York Fire was mapped at roughly 120 square miles (284 square kilometers) on Monday with no containment. The blaze erupted Friday near the remote Caruthers Canyon area of the vast wildland preserve, crossed the state line into Nevada on Sunday and sent smoke further east into the Las Vegas Valley. A smoky hazy blotted out the sun midday on the Las Vegas Strip, and obliterated views of mountains surrounding the city and suburbs. Because of low visibility, the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas reported departure delays of 45 minutes or more, as well as slight delays for arrivals. A fire whirl — sometimes called a fire tornado — is a “spinning column of fire” that forms when intense heat and turbulent winds combine, according to the National Park Service. The vortexes — which can be anywhere from a few feet tall to several hundred feet high, with varying rotational speeds — were spotted Sunday on the north end of the York Fire.

KTLA 5

Why California Is Having Its Best Wildfire Season In 25 Years

It’s nearly August, but one familiar summer trend has been very scarce this year: wildfires. California is off to its slowest start to fire season in 25 years. A state traumatized by huge fires over the past decade that have burned millions of acres — killing more than 200 people, and generating choking smoke and apocalyptic orange skies — has seen almost no major fire activity so far in 2023. As of Thursday, just 24,229 acres had burned in California since Jan. 1, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That’s 82% less than the state’s 10-year average and is the lowest of any year since 1998. Only four structures have burned statewide in wildfires so far this year and there have been no fatalities, reports Cal Fire, the state’s main firefighting agency. By comparison, one fire in July 2018, the Carr Fire near Redding, destroyed 1,614 structures and killed eight people, including three firefighters. 

Mercury News

LA City Council To Reconvene After Summer Hiatus; Padilla Set To Be Certified

The Los Angeles City Council returns from its three-week summer recess Tuesday, and on the agenda will be certifying results of the Sixth District special election and officially welcoming Imelda Padilla as a voting member. The council appointed Padilla — who held a lead of more than 1,700 votes over council aide Marisa Alcaraz in the runoff — as a temporary voting member on July 5 while final results of the election were being certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office. Padilla took the oath of office at the time, joined by her family — saying the Sixth District is “ready to have a voting member” and “to have someone advocate on their behalf.” A community relations manager, the 35-year-old Padilla will fill out the remainder of former Council President Nury Martinez’s term, which ends in December 2024. Martinez resigned in October after she was caught making racist comments in a meeting that was secretly taped and posted online.

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.