Inmate Who Killed Off-Duty LAPD Detective In Front Of 6-Year-Old Son Dies In Prison

A 68-year-old man convicted of murdering an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department detective in 1985 was found dead inside his cell Monday, April 29, while incarcerated at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, officials said. The death is being investigated as a suicide after Daniel Jenkins, the inmate condemned to death, was found unresponsive in his individual cell and pronounced dead by emergency services around 7 a.m. His official cause of death is yet to be determined, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement. In 1988, Jenkins was convicted of first-degree murder armed with a firearm and conspiracy to commit a crime for the killing of Detective Thomas C. Williams, who was fatally shot outside Faith Baptist Church School in Canoga Park in front of his 6-year-old son as he picked him up from daycare. Jenkins was also convicted of first-degree attempted murder for a separate case. Jenkins, along with two other men, plotted to kill Williams after he testified against Jenkins in a robbery case. The two other conspirators were sentenced to life in prison without parole with an additional 25 years to life, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Williams had been with the Los Angeles Police Department for 13 years and worked as a detective in the North Hollywood Division. He was awarded the Medal of Valor after his death for the actions he took to protect his son during the shooting, officials said.

Daily Breeze

LAPD Officers, Nonprofit Remodel Home For Watts Family

It may be a rare sight when a bunch of cops pour over Ikea furniture instructions, but that's what members of the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast division, along with volunteers, did when they made over the home of the Johnson family in Watts. After the makeover, the nonprofit The Healthy Room Project team delivered and assembled furniture for the seven kids, whose family moved to LA from New Orleans last fall. The children's dad is the sole income while their mom returns to college. "Things are expensive," mother Samiyah Selmon said. "Without this, it would've gotten done, but it would have been done in portions." The family recently met Officer Gabriel Perez when he came to their home during a call for service. He noticed the children only had air mattresses and bags instead of dressers to store their clothes. "When I was a kid growing up, I called myself the couch kid because I did not have a bedroom. I was always in the living room," Perez said. Through his supervisor, he learned about the Healthy Room Project and nominated the Johnsons to furnish the kids' rooms with beds, dressers, and desks.

CBS 2

LAPD Officer Suffers Injury To Finger During Arrest

A Los Angeles Police Department officer suffered a finger injury during the arrest of a man suspected of assaulting a fellow resident in South Los Angeles while possibly armed with a knife, police said Tuesday. LAPD Southeast Division officers responded to the 200 block of West 105th Street, between Main and Spring streets, on Saturday around 12:10 a.m. to reports regarding an assault with a deadly weapon, the LAPD reported. Dominique Langlois, 34, was located by officers, immediately became combative, and retreated to his bedroom. “Officers broadcast a backup request and awaited additional resources as officers continued to issue verbal commands to Langlois, who then complied and was handcuffed,” police said in a statement. Langlois once again became uncooperative and, at one point during the arrest, spat at officers, resulting in the use of force by law enforcement. He was taken into custody and taken to a hospital for evaluation. Langlois sustained no injuries, and hospital staff subsequently cleared him for booking, police said. Langlois was taken to the jail at the 77th Street Community Police Station where he was booked on suspicion of battery of a police officer.

MyNewsLA

LAPD Chases Down Four Shooting Suspects During Pursuit Through Downtown Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Police Department was in pursuit of several shooting suspects recklessly evading them in Downtown Los Angeles. The driver struck several vehicles while on the freeway. The suspect continued to drive recklessly around the busy downtown streets, blowing through red lights and veering on the wrong side of the road while reaching speeds as high as 80 mph. After colliding with another car, four suspects jumped out of the car near a Westlake school. Two tried to run away from the police but surrendered on a nearby sidewalk. Officers searched for the two outstanding suspects near the school. 

CBS 2

Violence Stuns UCLA As Counterprotesters Attack Pro-Palestinian Camp

Violence broke out early Wednesday at the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, hours after the university declared that the camp “is unlawful and violates university policy.” Just before midnight, a large group of counterdemonstrators, wearing black outfits and white masks, arrived on campus and tried to tear down the barricades surrounding the encampment. Campers, some holding lumber and wearing goggles and helmets, rallied to defend the encampment’s perimeter. Videos showed fireworks being set off and at least one being thrown into the camp. Over the next few hours, counterdemonstrators threw objects, including wood and a metal barrier, at the camp and those inside, with fights repeatedly breaking out. The violence is the worst on campus since counterprotesters, who support Israel, set up a dueling area near where the protesters were camping. Some tried to force their way into the camp, and the pro-Palestinian side used pepper spray to defend themselves. A group of security guards could be seen observing the clashes but did not move in to stop them.

Los Angeles Times

New Details Emerge In String Of Armored Car Heists In Los Angeles

New details are emerging in a string of armored car heists in Los Angeles that seemingly couldn't be stopped. More than two years after the first robbery, most members of the crew are either behind bars or dead. Detectives dubbed the crew the "Chesapeake Bandits" because investigators believe they planned their six-figure heists at a home on Chesapeake Avenue in the West Adams neighborhood. For Zeff Rocco, a suspect believed to be part of the "Chesapeake Bandits," a daring leap from his third-floor balcony turned deadly. Rocco was holed up in his Reseda apartment last month when a SWAT team closed in on him. In footage recently released by the LAPD, Rocco is seen leaping from a balcony amid a tense standoff. While on the ground, he is shot and killed by police as he reaches for a rifle. Police say officers at the scene found an assault rifle, multiple high-capacity magazines and body armor. Last year, the FBI offered a $25,000 reward for information that would lead to arrests. James Russell Davis and his half-brother Deneyvous Hobson are believed to be the masterminds behind the heists. After authorities nabbed the half-brothers, they zeroed in on other members of the crew. One was found murdered in a field.

ABC 7

Narco That Sold Crack, Meth Out Of South L.A. Storefront Gets 12 Years

A 54-year-old man, a member of what federal prosecutors referred to as the “Hoover Criminals Gang,” has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of running a drug trafficking enterprise that distributed methamphetamine and crack cocaine, among other narcotics, out of his South Los Angeles storefront, authorities announced Tuesday. From June 2017 to May 2018, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Central District of California Office, Andrew “Batman” Tate engaged in drug sales out of his store, TNN Market, and directed his employees to do the same. He and a co-defendant, 59-year-old Bobby Lorenzo Reed, also known as “Zo” and “Z,” who owned a South L.A. store called H&E Smoke and Snack, supplied each other with narcotics and were implicated in dozens of illegal drug transactions and referrals. Reed is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in this case after pleading guilty to federal narcotics charges in June 2022. The 54-year-old was the lead defendant in an indictment targeting the gang’s members and associates in an investigation dubbed, “Operation Hoover Dam,” the release noted. Prosecutors secured 10 convictions in the case, with Tate being the last defendant sentenced.  

KTLA 5

Two Arrested In Santa Monica For Series Of Vehicle Burglaries And Grand Theft

Two men were arrested and charged with multiple felony counts of burglary from a vehicle and grand theft, following a series of thefts in Santa Monica, authorities said. Raul Santino Lopez and Agustin Jesus Vega, both of Richmond, California, allegedly committed the crimes on April 24, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. Lopez, born on December 27, 2003, and Vega, born on February 23, 2003, were taken into custody with assistance from the Hawthorne Police Department. Police reported that around 12:24 p.m. on April 24, a dark-colored Nissan Altima with three occupants was seen at a Chevron gas station at 1344 Santa Monica Boulevard. Surveillance footage shows one suspect exiting the vehicle and stealing a purse from an adjacent car. Minutes later, at about 12:30 p.m., the same vehicle was recorded at a Sinclair gas station at 1944 Pico Boulevard, where another purse was taken from a vehicle at the gas pumps. Approximately 30 minutes following the second theft, the suspects allegedly shattered the window of a car parked at a Shell station at 1866 Lincoln Boulevard, stealing a laptop, iPad, and other personal items.

Westside Current

CHP Crime Crackdown In California City Yields 211 Arrests, 127 Stolen Vehicle Recoveries

Authorities in Bakersfield made 211 arrests, recovered 127 stolen vehicles and seized four firearms in the first six weeks of an enforcement effort between local police and the California Highway Patrol to reduce crime in some California cities, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Tuesday. Newsom announced last week that he was sending California Highway Patrol officers to Bakersfield as part of an expansion of an anti-crime campaign that began in the Bay Area earlier this year. It turns out they were already in town and had been for several weeks. In February, he sent 120 CHP officers to Oakland to address an uptick in theft and violence amid increasing concerns about crime across the state. Officials identified Kern County — home to Bakersfield — as the second location for the crackdown in part because the region has higher rates of violent and property crime and more arrests compared with the statewide average. “Working alongside local law enforcement, the state will continue to step up to take down criminals and make Bakersfield safer for everyone,” Newsom said in a prepared statement. In the last six weeks, officers have focused on reducing car theft, tamping down retail crime and bolstering traffic enforcement — a key aspect of crime reduction, Chief Rodney Ellison , CHP’s Central Division Commander, told The Times.

Los Angeles Times

Hospital Needs Help Identifying Man Found In Downtown Los Angeles

A local hospital needs help identifying a patient found in downtown Los Angeles. The injured man was discovered on San Pedro Street on April 29 and remains hospitalized at Los Angeles General Medical Center. He is around 65 years old. He stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs around 136 pounds. He has white hair, brown eyes and a thin build. The man has no personal belongings, documentation or ID cards to help hospital staff identify him. He has not been able to communicate his personal information to staff either. No tattoos or other distinct physical markings were observed, staff said. Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6884.

KTLA 5

LA Officials Approve Leave For Reproductive Loss

To comply with state law, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday giving all city employees up to five days of leave following a reproductive loss. Council members voted 12-0 in favor of the ordinance without prior discussion. Council members Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Bob Blumenfield and Katy Yaroslavsky were absent during the vote. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 848 allowing leaves of absence for reproductive-related losses. The law went into effect Jan. 1, 2024. After 30 days of employment, city workers and sworn employees will be eligible for up to five days of leave within a 12-month period for a failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage, stillbirth or an unsuccessful assisted reproduction, such as intrauterine insemination. According to the law, these leaves would be taken on assigned work days using the number of hours the employee is usually scheduled to work on those days, and may be taken as consecutive or nonconsecutive days off. Employees could use their unpaid leave, accrued unused sick leave, accrued unused vacation time or accrued compensatory time off, or any combination, for their reproductive loss leave. The time off also needs to be taken within three months of a reproductive loss event.

FOX 11

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.