Man Sentenced To 12 Years For Killing Nurse In Unprovoked Attack At Downtown LA Bus Stop

A man pleaded no contest Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter for fatally striking a 70-year-old nurse in an unprovoked attack at a downtown Los Angeles bus stop last year. Kerry Bell, who admitted he had a prior strike for assault in Texas, was immediately sentenced to 12 years in state prison. He waived credit for 698 days he had already served behind bars since his arrest shortly after the Jan. 13, 2022, attack on Sandra Shells. Prosecutors say 70-year-old Sandra Shells was waiting for a bus to take her to her job as a nurse at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Bell assaulted her in an unprovoked attack. The attack happened at a bus stop at Vignes Street and Cesar Chavez Avenue, near Union Station. Shells fell and hit her head. She died three days later at the same hospital where she had worked for 38 years. Bell pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. In exchange, a charge of murder was dropped.

ABC 7

Suspect In Deadly L.A. Metro Stabbing Turns Self In

A man suspected in a deadly stabbing at a South Los Angeles Metro station earlier this week was arrested after turning himself in Thursday, authorities said. Carlos Carrillo-Martinez, 19, of Los Angeles was taken into custody at the 77th Area Police Station, the Los Angeles Police Department stated in a news release. “Carrillo-Martinez admitted being the suspect on the flyer and was interviewed by detectives,” the news release stated. He was booked for murder following the interview and had bail set at $2 million, police said. The stabbing occurred Tuesday afternoon at the Metro train station in the University Park area. The victim, identified as 27-year-old Jalil Sosa Illera, had been involved in a fight on the train before being stabbed multiple times, police said. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived. Authorities released surveillance video on Wednesday of the suspect walking on the train platform in hopes of finding him. Illera was able to drive himself home after the stabbing and was then transported to the hospital by paramedics. He later died from his injuries. Anyone with further information was asked to call LAPD detectives John Meneses or Justin Howarth at 213-996-4144. The public can also call the LAPD at 310-726-7700 or 1-877-527-3247.

KTLA 5

75 Arrested In Protest On 110 Freeway That Stopped Traffic In Downtown LA

A protest on the 110 Freeway brought morning traffic to a halt for more than an hour Wednesday in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters linked arms at about 9 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway near Third Street. California Highway Patrol officers were at the scene, where the morning drive ground to a halt. Backups extended to nearby streets and freeways. Traffic on the southbound 110 Freeway was jammed for miles, well past the 5 Freeway. CHP officers began taking people into custody just before 10 a.m. Most of the protesters were removed by 10:30 a.m., but several cars appeared to have stalled due to mechanical problems, adding to traffic headaches. Tow trucks removed the vehicles. The CHP said 75 people were arrested, but it was not immediately clear whether all were protesters. The 110 Freeway connects downtown LA with Long Beach to the south and San Gabriel Valley communities to the northeast. The protest was organized by a group calling for a lasting Israel-Hamas War ceasefire in Gaza. In November, dozens of protesters shut down lanes on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge for roughly four hours, demanding that President Joe Biden call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

NBC 4

Marina Del Rey Woman's Death Ruled A Homicide As Investigation Unravels Disturbing Details

The death of a woman whose body was found on a boat in Marina del Rey a week ago has been listed as a homicide, authorities said Thursday, while the death of a man believed to have lived aboard the vessel and who was found in a nearby vehicle the same day was a suicide. Deputies from the Marina del Rey Sheriff's Station were called at 11:12 a.m. Dec. 7 to the 14000 block of Tahiti Way regarding a welfare check at a boat in the marina, where they found the woman's body, said Lt. Steven De Jong of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. During the course of their investigation, a resident who knew the people who lived on the boat alerted the Los Angeles Police Department to a vehicle parked nearby in the 100 block of Via Marina, where the body of 33-year- old Kelvin Nelson Jr. was found, the sheriff's department reported. A few days later, Nelson's death was listed by the Los Angles County Department of Medical Examiner as a suicide by strangulation. On Thursday, the sheriff's department released an update that said, in part: "Local residents advised that the male resided on the boat that was being investigated by homicide investigators. The investigation into the deceased female is ongoing."

Westside Current

String Of Commercial Burglaries Hit Encino And Woodland Hills

At least four businesses were burglarized overnight in the Encino and Woodland Hills area. And for one luxury shoe store located on Ventura Blvd in Encino, that means thefts of thousands of dollars in merchandise. The robbery at Equavalence shoe store was caught on surveillance camera. When police arrived, the suspects fled – leading authorities on a pursuit which allegedly hit speeds of up to 130 miles per hour. According to the shoe store's owner, the burglars stole product, some of which retail at approximately $6,000. The problem is, many of the shoe boxes stolen contained only one shoe in them, essentially making them worth nothing. "That makes it sting just a little bit more," the shoe store's owner told FOX 11's Gigi Graciette. Some of the shoe store's Bearbrick statues were also among the merchandise stolen, and these can range in price from $800 to $100,000. In addition to Equavlence, Bliss Pharmacy and Bliss Nail Salon, located just a little further down Ventura Blvd in Woodland Hills, were both also broken into, according to authorities. It is not yet known what, if anything was taken there.

FOX 11

South LA Gang Member Faces Sentencing For Running Drug Ring

A gang leader faces sentencing Friday for running a crack cocaine ring in and around the Nickerson Gardens public housing projects in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Damion “Fatts” Baker, 45, of Compton, pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Baker is the lead defendant in an April 2021 indictment filed in Los Angeles federal court targeting members and associates of the street gang for drug- and firearm-related crimes. According to his plea agreement, from August 2019 to May 2020, Baker organized and led a drug trafficking ring in which he and his accomplices agreed to distribute cocaine. Specifically, Baker arranged to obtain powder cocaine from at least two drug suppliers. He then directed his co-conspirators to cook, and would himself cook, the powder cocaine and manufacture it into crack cocaine to sell to customers, including back to his powder cocaine suppliers to sell in crack form.

MyNewsLA

Parolee Accused Of Breaking Into Multiple West Hollywood Mailrooms

Deputies need help finding a parolee accused of breaking into multiple mailrooms in West Hollywood. Investigators identified the suspect as 37-year-old Christian Wood. He's accused of breaking into three mailrooms throughout the city between September 2023 and November 2023. He allegedly started a fire during one of the burglaries, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Wood was arrested multiple times in the past for burglary, mail theft, identity theft, robbery and other theft-related violations. He currently has an active arrest warrant for violating his parole. Deputies urged anyone with information leading to Wood's arrest to call Detective Zeff at (310) 855-8850. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the LA Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or through their website. 

CBS 2

Four Men Indicted In $80 Million ‘Pig Butchering' Scheme

Los Angeles federal prosecutors said four indictments and two arrests had been made in an international "pig butchering" scheme. So-called pig butchering is an increasingly prevalent scam that preys on isolated individuals to bilk their life savings with promises of friendship and love. Victims often take out loans or tap into savings to send funds to scammers they believe are their friends or romantic partners. Federal prosecutors have disrupted a so-called pig-butchering scheme that cost victims more than $80 million, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday. Four men have been indicted and two arrests have been made in one of the most sweeping enforcement actions yet on a type of scam that costs U.S. citizens hundreds of millions every year. Lu Zhang, Justin Walker and Joseph Wong, all California residents, allegedly conspired with Illinois resident Hailong Zhu to launder the illicit proceeds of their scam, according to prosecutors. Zhang and Walker were arrested and appeared in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday.

NBC 4

LA County Buries Almost 2,000 Unclaimed Individuals Who Died At The Height Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

An estimated 1,937 unclaimed individuals who died in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic were laid to rest Thursday. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, along with the Department of Health Services, Office of Decedent Affairs and the Los Angeles General Medical Center Chaplains, held a non-denominational interfaith burial ceremony Thursday for the county's unclaimed dead at the L.A. County Cemetery. "We don't know enough about the people we are bearing here today to really do them justice," Supervisor Janice Hahn said during the ceremony. "But we know many of them were unhoused. Some are children. Some were immigrants to this country, far from families who loved and missed them. Almost all of them were very poor." She added, "For one reason or another, they had no loved ones who could claim their bodies when they passed." Hahn recognized the pain, disappointment and loneliness these individuals were likely to have felt. In a solemn moment, Hahn recognized that most people can understand the same loneliness and isolation these individuals felt because of the pandemic -- to be separated from home as health orders advised everyone to stay apart.

FOX 11

L.A. City Council To Consider Motion Addressing Hateful Flyers

The City Council is expected Friday to vote on a motion calling for a report on threatening flyers and antisemtic messages with the intent of introducing harsher penalties for that crime. Council members Bob Blumenfield and Nithya Raman introduced a motion on Oct. 20, asking the Los Angeles Police Department and city attorney to consider an increase in penalties rather than a misdemeanor for any person to litter “in mass” as a method to disseminate hate speech. The council’s Public Safety Committee previously approved the matter in late November. The motion came amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and as the U.S. has seen an increase of hate speech and attacks on the Jewish community and Palestinian people as well. “The deliberate mass dissemination of flyers, pamphlets and letters as litter to deliver antisemitic messaging is sadly becoming a common occurrence nationwide with recent incidents locally in Culver City, Brentwood, Beverly Hills and Huntington Beach,” the motion reads.

MyNewsLA

LA Councilwoman Declares Dec. 13 "Depeche Mode Day LA"

Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez shared her favorite LA commute song, "But Not Tonight" by Depeche Mode, and later in the day Wednesday, she welcomed band members to City Hall steps, officially declaring Dec. 13 "Depeche Mode Day LA." "This band has been transformative around the world. Their music has connected us and transcended generations because of musical lyrics and a music style that has healed so many of us, and met us where we are," Rodriguez said. As KROQ-FM ushered in the 80s British invasion of music, Depeche Mode exploded on LA's airwaves with devoted fans emerging immediately -- and LA love for the band has not slowed since. Wednesday afternoon, fans converged on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall, where the councilwoman was joined by Dave Gahan and Martin Gore as they happily and humbly accepted the honor of DM Day LA. "We humbly accept DM Day … thank you" Martin Gore said as he bowed to the cheering crowd. Dave Gahan also thanked LA fans. "I just wanted to add, uh, thank you very much as well, and I could have done with this support in the early 90s as well. It would have been very helpful," Gahan said.

CBS 2

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.