Police Investigate Deadly Stabbing On Metro Train In LA

A passenger on a Metro E Line train was stabbed to death Tuesday. Police responded to the 300 block of West Adams near the University Park area around 3:40 p.m. on a report of a stabbing on the train, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. "The suspect was on the E line train northbound passing (Los Angeles Trade Technical College)," according to the LAPD. Police said there was no description of the suspect or a motive for the stabbing. An investigation remained ongoing Tuesday evening. Metro officials said E Line trains stopped running in the area to accommodate the investigation. Trains were turning back at the Pico and Jefferson stations, according to the transit agency.

CBS 2

Police Hope Surveillance Video Of Sunset Strip Shooting That Nearly Killed Man Will Lead To Arrests

Police have released new surveillance footage of a violent robbery on the Sunset Strip in which a former UC Davis athlete was shot in the head while trying to protect his friends. More than a year after that shooting, Christopher Martin continues to defy the odds in his miraculous recovery from the near-fatal injury. The musician and former UC Davis football player was in Los Angeles on April 16, 2022, celebrating a friend's birthday. The group had left a nightclub on the Sunset Strip when two masked men tried to rob them around 3 a.m., targeting them for their jewelry. Martin yelled at the robbers in an effort to save his friends, including Detroit Lions running back Jermar Jefferson. One of the suspects opened fire, hitting Martin in the skull and leaving him for dead in the parking lot in front of Pink Taco. He was brought to the hospital that night in critical condition. "The suspects stalked all the victims as they left the nightclub on Sunset Boulevard at Crescent Heights. They followed them to their car," said LAPD Det. Daryn Dupree.

ABC 7

Family-Run LA Fruit Vendor Robbed At Gunpoint; Nearby Taco Stand Also Targeted

The family running a fruit stand in South Los Angeles is devastated and shaken after they were robbed at gunpoint. Mari Suarez was operating the stand near the corner of East 103rd Street and Clovis Avenue when two young men pressed their guns at her stomach, demanding money. She said the incident has left her considering giving up street vendor for good. As two Los Angeles Police Department officers were putting together a report, they got another call of a robbery just a few blocks away – a nearby taco stand. The taco stand workers gave descriptions similar to the two men who robbed Suarez at gunpoint. As of Tuesday night, no arrests have been announced in connection to the two robberies. The suspects are believed to have taken off in a white Honda, but their license plates remain unknown. 

FOX 11

Culver City Police Seek Public Assistance In Identifying Suspect In Sexual Assault Of Juvenile

Police sought the public's help Tuesday in locating a man suspected of sexually assaulting a juvenile in Culver City. Officers arrived in Blair Hills at around 7:45 a.m. Dec. 2 to a report regarding a sexual assault that occurred between 2 and 3 a.m., hours before the suspect left the residence on foot at approximately 7 a.m., according to the Culver City Police Department. Responding officers immediately canvassed the area for evidence, where they recovered surveillance of the suspect allegedly leaving the location after the assault. Anyone with information regarding the sexual assault was urged to call Lt. Ryan Thompson at 310-253-6302. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can email tips at [email protected].

Westside Current

9 Arrested In L.A. County Prostitution Bust

Nine people were arrested during a prostitution bust in Pomona on Tuesday. The sting operation targeted sex purchasers and human trafficking in the area near East Holt Avenue and Indian Hill Boulevard, according to the Pomona Police Department. During the operation, undercover officers posed as sex workers and were “contacted by sex purchasers” in the area, police said. Nine people were taken into custody for allegedly soliciting prostitution: John Vazquez, 19, from Riverside; Cesar Barrios, 24, from Covina; Edwin Alberto, 25, from Ontario; Jorge Gallegos, 26, from Baldwin Park; Anthony Trinh, 28, from Chino; Carlos Ponce, 33, from Wildomar; Jeronimo Munozpastrana, 38, from Pomona; Martin Carrillo, 42, from Lennox; and Jess Maldonado, 82, from Pomona. The operation was a joint effort by the Pomona Police Department Special Investigations Unit and the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Team. “The Pomona Police Department takes a proactive approach to combating human trafficking and utilizes the assistance of other agencies to provide a victim-centered approach,” authorities said.

KTLA 5

2 SoCal Suspects Accused Of Stealing Millions From Elderly Victims

Two L.A. County residents are accused of stealing over $2 million through “grandparent scams.” The suspects were identified as James Wesley Jackson III, aka “Imperial,” 42, and Christopher Fagon, 45, who used several aliases, mostly variations of “Christopher Broker,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “Grandparent scams” typically involve convincing elderly victims to send money to help their relatives. Oftentimes, the victims are told their grandchildren are in legal trouble. Victims are told to send the money to bank accounts, business entities and addresses provided by the scammers through interstate wires and cashier’s checks, according to court documents. The stolen money is then handled by “money mules” who allow their addresses or bank accounts to be used to receive or negotiate cashier’s checks. Fagon was allegedly a manager of money mules, including Jackson, who then recruited his own money mules, officials said. Fagon is accused of creating businesses and opening bank accounts using stolen information from identity theft victims.

KTLA 5

Video Shows Shootout That Wounded Minnesota Officer, Killed Suspect

Seconds after a St. Paul police officer exited his squad car, a man ducked behind a car before shooting at the officer and the officer fired back, videos released by the police department Tuesday show. Officer Michael Tschida was shot and wounded in his leg. The officer shot Brandon Daleshaun Keys, 24, in the head and he died at the hospital early Friday. A 911 transcript, along with Tschida’s body-worn and squad dash cameras, show a woman’s desperate call for help and the intensity of the situation on a busy street in the city’s Merriam Park neighborhood. The woman called 911 Thursday afternoon and reported the father of her child was chasing her, that she had a current order for protection against him, and that he had a gun. “He just hit my car,” the woman reported, saying they were in separate vehicles. “… Oh my God. Please, I need help. … I’m trying to get away from him.” She reported he “just busted my windshield” and a male could be heard saying, “Open the door,” the 911 transcript shows. “I’m not calling the police,” the woman said and the man replied, “I just saw you.” “Brandon, I’m not,” the transcript continued. She reported she was in a silver van and he was in a blue Impala, and that the man was ramming her vehicle. “He’s gonna kill me,” she said. “God no, Brandon,” the woman could be heard saying on the call. “… No. You’re not going to jail. … Brandon, please go, leave.”

Pioneer Press

‘It’s Dangerous': St. Louis PD Staffing Numbers Reach Historic Low

The St. Louis Police Department’s staffing has hit its lowest levels on record after it lost another 17 cops — almost 2% of its commissioned workforce — over the past month. The city is budgeted for 1,224 officers, but just 912 of those positions were filled as of the first week in December. After years of staffing woes, that number marks a low point in recorded history for the department. “I’ve never heard of anything that low,” said Joe Steiger, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers Association. “When I started back in 1995, there were closer to 1,600 officers, and now they’re down under 1,000. That’s just crazy.” The agency’s current 25% vacancy rate has strained the rank-and-file as they try to cover three patrol shifts in the city’s six districts. In September, only two police officers were initially assigned to a district just south of downtown, when they both called in sick, leaving the department scrambling. “If it just takes two or three people being off work to shut a district down, that’s a problem,” Steiger said. “It’s dangerous, not to mention the size of the districts comparative to when there were nine districts. They’re so much bigger now, to have two or three people covering them, it’s just not enough.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

6,000 L.A.-Area Buildings In Need Of Retrofitting: L.A. Times Study

We all know the “big one” is coming to Southern California but we don’t know when that massive earthquake will strike. A new study by the Los Angeles Times found that 6,000 Los Angeles-area buildings are in need of retrofitting. The Times constructed an interactive map that shows residents the status of the buildings they live and work in. “A retrofit strengthens earthquake-vulnerable buildings to better withstand shaking, making them less likely to collapse or be damaged,” the article stated. The research showed that most of the buildings awaiting improvement were described as “soft-story” structures. About 200 soft-story structures collapsed during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Only 6% of the area’s “non-ductile” concrete buildings – similar to those that crumbled in a recent massive earthquake in Turkey – are retrofitted, according to the study. For concrete buildings, mostly in downtown L.A., the retrofit process can take five to six years, the study said.

KTLA 5

L.A. City Council To Vote On Digital Signs For Convention Center

The Los Angeles City Council will vote Wednesday on a plan to allow large-scale digital signs on the city-owned Convention Center in downtown L.A., a plan embraced by politicians eager for new revenue streams and opposed by foes of the blinking displays. Under the ordinance, bright digital signs and other types of advertisements could rise inside and outside the Convention Center. The displays would be allowed in a 68-acre site bounded by Chick Hearn Court, Figueroa Street, Venice Boulevard and the 110 Freeway. The vote follows the council’s approval last week of more than 70 digital billboards across L.A. as part of a revenue-sharing agreement with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The new ordinance for the Convention Center would allow animated digital signage along Figueroa Street and Chick Hearn Court, as well as digital signage with non-moving images along the back of the Convention Center facing the 110 Freeway, according to the city’s Planning Department. Money raised by the digital signs on the Convention Center will help pay for renovations to the center, city officials said. Doane Liu, the city’s chief tourism officer, told The Times that one estimate predicted $14.8 million in annual revenue from the signage. He didn’t provide details about when the estimate was completed or who performed it.

Los Angeles Times

LA City Council Looks To Reinstate Policy To Ensure Tenants Can Keep Pets

The City Council moved forward on Tuesday on a proposal to codify and reinstate a COVID-era policy to ensure tenants can keep pets in their rental units without fear of eviction. Council members voted 14-0, with Councilman Curren Price absent during the vote, in favor of the proposal. The recommendation calls for the City Attorney's Office to prepare an ordinance amending the city's pet laws as they pertain to rental units. Specifically, the law, if approved, would require landlords and building managers to allow any pet residing in a rental dwelling unit until the tenant moves or relocates the animal. Additionally, tenants would be required to inform their landlords about any pets that were obtained during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daniel Yukelson, CEO of the Greater Apartment Association of Los Angeles, told City News Service that he felt concerned about the implications the law would have on landlords. He said pets may cause issues for other tenants in the building who may be allergic to them, scare them or perhaps result in a “bad incident.” Yukelson added, “Especially, when you turn over a unit, there's often some damage left behind such as stained carpeting or other destruction of property.”

NBC 4

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,900 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.