BWC: Suspect vehicle nearly strikes LAPD officer at high speeds, man arrested

The LAPD released body-worn camera footage showing a suspect speeding toward officers in a vehicle before being pursued and arrested, according to a critical incident release. The Feb. 19 incident began when Wilshire Area Gang Enforcement Detail officers assisting on a burglary task force spotted passengers inside a stopped vehicle who matched the description of possible burglary suspects, according to the release. When officers approached the vehicle, the driver sped away. Officers called for backup and initiated a pursuit. Video of the pursuit shows the suspects driving recklessly at high speeds. As officers continued to pursue the suspects, the driver turned and drove down a road that ended in a cul-de-sac. Upon reaching the end of the cul-de-sac, the driver turned around and drove directly at the pursuing officers. Body camera video shows an officer getting out of the passenger side of the stopped cruiser while the suspect vehicle made a three-point turn in the cul-de-sac. After the suspects turned around, they drove toward the cruiser at a high rate of speed. In order to avoid striking the cruiser head-on, the suspects drove toward the passenger side, speeding past the officer standing on the road. The officer then fired two shots as the vehicle continued to flee. The driver was not struck by the gunfire, according to the report.

PoliceOne

Youth soccer coach charged with murder in death of 13-year-old boy

A youth soccer coach has been charged with the murder of a 13-year-old Los Angeles boy whose body was found along a road in Oxnard last week. Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino, 43, was charged with murder with special circumstances Monday. “Mr. Garcia Aquino murdered 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez on March, 28,” Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference. Garcia Aquino was a youth travel soccer coach with the Hurricane Valley boys soccer club in the Sylmar area, and worked with different age divisions, according to authorities. Los Angeles Police Department detectives working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation recovered the teen’s body beside a desolate stretch of Ventura County roadway on Wednesday. Authorities declined to state the manner in which the boy was killed. However, the charges against Garcia Aquino include a special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission or attempted commission of lewd acts with a child, making him eligible for the death penalty. “We have recently instituted a new death penalty policy in which we will be evaluating whether or not the death penalty is appropriate for this particular case,” Hochman said.

Los Angeles Times

Person dead after shooting in Koreatown, police search for alleged suspects

One person is dead after being gunned down in Koreatown Monday morning. The Los Angeles Police Department said they received calls around 2:15 a.m. near Council Street and Normandie Avenue about a shooting. Police claim two men approached the victim before firing shots. It is unclear what led up to the shooting. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The alleged suspects fled the scene in a car heading southbound on Normandie Avenue. No arrests have been made. 

CBS 2

Body reported in big rig prompts death investigation in Downtown L.A.

A death investigation is underway after someone reported seeing a body inside a big rig in Downtown Los Angeles late Sunday night. Authorities learned of the discovery near Mill and Wholesale streets just after 11 p.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed. Police have not released any details regarding the investigation or the identity of the deceased person. There was also no immediate word on a possible cause of death. The truck was discovered in the Arts District west of the 101 Freeway and north of the 10 Freeway on the eastern edge of Downtown L.A.

KTLA 5

LAPD investigates fatal hit-and-run involving pedestrian in Mission Hills

Police are investigating a deadly hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian in the Mission Hills area of Los Angeles Sunday night. Officers responded to the 14700 block of Devonshire Street after the incident was reported shortly before 9:30 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. LAPD said a vehicle hit a pedestrian and then fled the scene. Investigators believe the suspect is a woman driving a Honda. No other description was provided. The pedestrian, whose identity has not been released, died at the scene. Residents say cars tend to speed in that area of Mission Hills. "It's always pretty fast, there's no regulations. I always see so many accidents. So many cars going above the speed limit. I've seen people take red lights. I've seen way too many issues living here, and honestly, waking up to car accidents almost on a weekly basis," said one area resident. No further details were immediately known.

ABC 7

Beverly Grove business owner says thieves stole $150k in goods after using pickup truck to ram store

A group of thieves used a pickup truck to ram their way into a well-known luxury eyewear store in Beverly Grove early Sunday, making off with more than $150,000 worth of merchandise, according to the store's owner. House of Frames, located in the 400 block of Fairfax Avenue, has been visited by some big names like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Cardi B over the years, but Sunday's visitors were very unwanted. It happened a little before 5 a.m., and security footage shows the moments that a large pickup truck repeatedly reverses into the store's metal gate. It eventually opened a tiny gap, just big enough for the four suspects to get inside. Video from inside of the store shows as the masked and gloved thieves ransack the store. One uses a baseball bat to break open cases, while the others sweep the high-end eyeglasses into bags. They then ran into a waiting car and fled from the scene by the time police arrived. Simon Babouchian, the general manager of the store, says that it all happened in about five minutes. During that small window of time, they took off with six figures worth of product and left thousands of dollars of damage behind. 

CBS 2

LAPD investigating string of burglaries at Boyle Heights strip mall 

Authorities are investigating a string of burglaries at a strip mall in Boyle Heights that occurred early Monday morning. According to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson, officers responded to the 3400 block of Whittier Boulevard around 5:12 a.m. on a burglary call. The officers, who believe there are multiple suspects involved, were unable to locate anyone when they arrived at the scene. Several officers and patrol vehicles remained in the strip mall parking lot for over an hour searching for evidence and conducting their investigation. While the spokesperson was unable to provide many more details, the front doors of three of the businesses – a Little Caesars, a Subway and BobaNJoy – were smashed in; the door to the Little Caesars was boarded up by 8:30 a.m. Other establishments in the strip mall, including a Wingstop, were left alone.  

KTLA 5

Video: Man opens fire on Ohio officers, leads multiple agencies on pursuit

New dash cam and body camera video shows a dramatic pursuit of a suspect who fired multiple times at officers, WOIO reported. According to the Wooster Police Department, the incident began on April 2 following a report of a stolen license plate. Investigators entered the license plate into the Flock Safety camera system and traced it to to a silver Honda Pilot, according to police. An officer located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, dash cam video shows. The suspect immediately exited the vehicle and fired several rounds at the officer, striking the windshield of the cruiser. The officer returned fire, and the suspect fled the scene in the vehicle. Due to gunfire damage to the police cruiser, Wooster police did not continue the pursuit, according to the report. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol later located the suspect’s vehicle, prompting a second pursuit. Dash cam footage from the highway patrol shows the suspect leading officers through residential areas and eventually onto a highway. The suspect then fired more rounds at officers, but officers did not return fire during this part of the pursuit, the Wooster Police Department stated.

PoliceOne

Maternal Homicide Is Very Common — Particularly in These States

When epidemiologist Maeve Wallace first began publishing national data on pregnancy-associated homicide and suicide nine years ago, she knew that more granular numbers would be essential to implementing effective prevention. Her findings set her on a path toward addressing incomplete state-level data, and nearly a decade later, she and her team are finally on equal footing with nationwide research. In February, they published a landmark study calculating pregnancy-associated violence by state, and the report suggests a strong connection to firearm legislation and reproductive protocols. “I think the vast variation that we see across states in terms of their health outcomes, especially maternal mortality or pregnancy-associated death, speaks to the difference in policy,” said Wallace, a perinatal epidemiologist at the University of Arizona. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to use nationally available data to calculate state-specific rates of pregnancy-associated violence, or violence during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. The researchers analyzed violent and substance-related pregnancy deaths between 2018 to 2022 and found that 76 percent of pregnancy-associated homicides were attributed to firearms, while 37 percent of suicides involved a firearm. 

The Trace

Truck shears hydrant, floods South L.A. roadway

A pickup truck slammed into a fire hydrant in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles Sunday night, sending a towering spray of water into the sky and flooding nearby roadways. The crash at East 74th Street and South Central Avenue was reported at about 11 p.m. Video from the scene shows that a silver pickup came to rest next to the spraying hydrant. The Los Angeles Police Department did not have any information as to the cause of the crash, and it’s unknown if anyone was hurt.

KTLA 5

Dryer Fire Quickly Knocked Down at LA Strip Mall

Firefighters Monday quickly knocked down a dryer fire at a laundromat in a strip mall in South Los Angeles. Crews arrived about 10:45 a.m. and saw smoke coming from the roof vents at 7217 South Figueroa Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire was extinguished in 14 minutes, and crews remained on scene to make sure the fire did not spread into the structure’s walls or attic, authorities said.

MyNewsLA

Public Heath Week Kicks Off with Grand Opening of Family Support Center in Van Nuys

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Monday marked the start of National Public Health Week by opening a new office in the San Fernando Valley dedicated to the health of workers in high-risk industries. County and city officials, labor groups and health advocates gathered at the Zev Yaroslavsky Family Support Center in Van Nuys for the opening of the Office of Worker Health and Safety, which has already started supporting workers impacted by wildfires and those at risk of silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease caused by exposure to silica dust. “Words cannot express my excitement and gratitude to be standing here today among friends, allies and leaders to make it clear that we stand with working people in the wake of disasters, in the midst of attacks on our community, and we are committing to building infrastructure that is a reflection of what workers in this county need,” Office of Worker Health and Safety director Alice Berliner said.

MyNewsLA

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.