Email from Los Angeles Police Protective League Daily News & Updates Law Enforcement News 2 LAPD officers injured in fight with suspect Two officers with the Los Angeles Police Department called for backup after getting into an altercation with a suspect in the Florence neighborhood of South L.A. Thursday afternoon. The fight was reported at about 2:45 p.m. at 74th Street and Broadway, according to LAPD. Initial reports indicated the two officers were hospitalized with minor injuries, according to Sky5 reporter Gil Leyvas. Their conditions were unavailable. The suspect was taken into custody, police said. Broadway was closed between 73rd and 74th streets for the investigation. KTLA 5 Jury Deliberations Resume for Wife Charged in Murder of Hairdresser Husband Jurors wrapped up deliberations for the day Thursday in the trial of a woman accused of masterminding the murder of her husband — a prominent hairdresser — at the home they shared with their two daughters in Woodland Hills. The 10-man, two-woman jury — which was handed the case Wednesday against Monica Sementilli — has deliberated just over eight hours. Jurors are due back at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse Friday morning to continue their discussions about the case. The 53-year-old Sementilli is charged with murder and conspiracy in connection with her husband Fabio’s Jan. 23, 2017, stabbing death in the family’s backyard, shortly before the couple was set to celebrate its 20th wedding anniversary. The murder charge includes the special circumstances of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait. Her lover, Robert Baker, now 62, pleaded no contest in July 2023 to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and admitted the two special-circumstance allegations. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — the same sentence Sementilli could face if she is convicted as charged. MyNewsLA Weezer bassist's wife fired her weapon at officers, LAPD says Authorities said the wife of a Weezer band member fired her weapon at officers while ignoring the order to put down her weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said Thursday, shedding more light into Wednesday’s shooting in Eagle Rock. Jillian Shriner, wife of Weezer bassist Scott Shriner, became injured after she was shot by police officers, who were searching for three people involved in a hit-and-run crash on a freeway. "Our investigation revealed evidence such as a shell casing and video footage showing she repeatedly ignored police commands to disarm and that she fired her weapon at LAPD officers,” Jennifer Forkish, LAPD Director of Communications, told NBC News. After being booked for attempted murder of a peace officer, Shriner was released Thursday morning on $1 million bond. Her next court hearing is set for April 30. The chaotic chain of events began after authorities responded to a three-vehicle crash on the 134 Freeway in Eagle Rock near Figueroa Street Wednesday afternoon. in the San Gabriel Valley community east of Los Angeles. When a driver and passengers abandoned the car following the collision and ran into a neighborhood near Eagle Vista Drive and Figueroa Street, officers began scouting around. During that search, Shriner came out of her home and began firing her weapon, the LAPD said. NBC 4 Police Seek Help Locating Koreatown Hit-and-Run Suspect Police sought the public’s help Thursday in locating a hit-and-run driver who severely injured a 29-year-old man in Koreatown. The pedestrian was struck by a northbound newer-model white sedan around 2:35 p.m. Dec. 22 on Catalina Street near Wilshire Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The driver fled the scene, police said. Detectives released a video clip of the hit-and-run in hopes of generating public assistance in locating the driver. “Motorists are reminded that if they become involved in a collision, they should pull over and stop as soon as it is safe to do so, notify emergency services, and remain at the scene to identify themselves,” police said in a statement. The city of Los Angeles has a standing reward offer of up to $25,000 for information that leads to a driver involved in an injury hit-and-run crash. Anyone with information regarding the hit-and-run collision was urged to contact the LAPD West Traffic Division Detective Holmes at 213-473-0238. MyNewsLA Two Missing Teens in Green Meadows Area Police sought the public’s assistance Thursday in locating two teenage girls last seen in the Green Meadows area near Watts. Giselle Montez, 13, and Kimberly Hernandez, 14, were last seen around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday at Alliance Jack Skirball Middle School in the 600 block of East 115 Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Giselle was described as a 4-foot-11-inch tall Hispanic girl, weighing 97 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing her school uniform, consisting of a black shirt and pants. Kimberly was described as a 4-foot-11-inch tall Hispanic girl weighing approximately 100 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She was also last seen wearing her uniform of the same color and design. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Giselle and Kimberly was urged to contact LAPD Southeast Detective Patsenhann at 213-709-3784. MyNewsLA One of the dark web’s largest drug-dealing networks was run by four L.A. County men, feds allege Four Los Angeles County men were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of operating one of the dark web’s biggest drug distribution networks, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors have accused the men of operating 10 virtual storefronts on 17 different dark web marketplaces from September 2018 through February, the department said in a statement. The vendors had names like JoyInc, LaFarmacia and WhiteDoc. Three 35-year-old men from Glendale and a 43-year-old man from Sherman Oaks were indicted April 1 and also accused of 116 overt acts to further the alleged conspiracy, authorities said. Agents also allegedly found large quantities of cash and suspected drugs while serving several search warrants, but the Justice Department declined to provide further details about those activities and seizures, saying the information was under seal. The men — Davit Avalyan, Hrant Gevorgyan, Hayk Grigoryan and Gurgen Nersesyan — pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. If convicted, each could face life in prison. The indictment alleges that the men sold cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA — also known as ecstasy — and ketamine in exchange for cryptocurrency, then used the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the drugs. Los Angeles Times Robbers smash jewelry store displays at Westfield Fashion Square Mall in Sherman Oaks, LAPD says A robbery was reported at a jewelry store inside the Westfield Fashion Square Mall in Sherman Oaks on Thursday, according to police. Los Angeles police said four men in dark hoodies, armed with an unknown object, smashed glass counters at the store and snatched an unknown amount of jewelry shortly after noon. They reportedly fled the scene in a gray/silver Audi A6 with a yellow covering over the license plates, according to Officer Drake Madison of the LAPD Media Relations Division. Madison said a man was pepper-sprayed during the incident. He was taken away from the scene in an ambulance. ABC 7 Man shot and killed by New York state police after he opened fire on their barracks A man was fatally shot by troopers Wednesday after he fired several rounds at a State Police barracks in upstate New York, authorities said. The man opened fire with a “hunting-style rifle” shortly before 2 p.m. at the Saratoga barracks in Malta, located about 30 miles (48 km) north of the capital city of Albany, police said in a statement. After receiving a report of shots fired near the barracks, troopers left the building and “engaged the suspect, fatally wounding the individual,” according to the statement. Roads surrounding the barracks were closed about two hours later as police investigated. Police said the shooting posed no ongoing threat to public safety. Associated Press Public Safety News Griffith Park hiker airlifted to hospital for snake bite Los Angeles firefighters airlifted a hiker after a snake bit him along a Griffith Park trail Thursday afternoon. It happened at roughly 5 p.m. along a remote section of Toyon Trail, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters said LA City Park Rangers escorted the hiker to the trail's designated helispot in fair condition before handing him over to the flight crew. Paramedics treated the patient while flying him to a local hospital that had antivenom for the snake bite. It's unclear what kind of snake bit the hiker. Griffith Park said that there are a variety of snakes in the area, including gopher snakes and western rattlesnakes. LAFD said that they receive the most snake bite reports during the spring, after the animals emerge from their hibernation-like state. During the winter, snakes enter a low-energy state called brumation to endure the cold weather. They typically come out when warmer weather comes around in the spring, typically in March and April, according to North Carolina State University. CBS 2 LAFD firefighter speaks out after his wife dies from serious complication during childbirth A husband, father and Los Angeles firefighter is speaking out and raising awareness about a serious pregnancy complication after his wife died after giving birth to their first child. Matthew Okula, 34, told "Good Morning America" that his late wife Hailey Marie Okula, who was an emergency room nurse and a popular influencer behind the "RN New Grads" online platform for nurses, died on March 29 at the age of 33. Okula, a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said his wife's death occurred after about three days of laboring and after she underwent a Cesarean section at Ocean Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. The couple's son, named Crew, was born healthy, weighing just over 9 pounds, Okula said. While he was spending time at their newborn's side after his birth, Okula said he learned his "very healthy" wife's condition had deteriorated. ABC 7 Hantavirus caused three recent deaths in California. Here’s what to know about the virus Three people in Mammoth Lakes died recently after contracting hantavirus, the same infection that killed Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa earlier this year. The cases have heightened concerns among public health officials about the spread of the rare, but deadly disease that attacks the lungs. At a news conference last month, Dr. Heather Jarrell, chief medical examiner at the New Mexico medical investigator’s office, said that the mortality rate is between 38% and 50% among those infected in the American Southwest. It wasn’t on many people’s radar until New Mexico’s chief medical examiner confirmed Arakawa, 65, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in March. The virus can spread through the urine, feces or saliva of wild rodents, including deer mice, which are common in many parts of California, according to the California Department of Public Health. All three individuals who contracted and died from the virus in Mammoth Lakes experienced symptoms beginning in February. Of the three, only one had numerous mice in their home, according to health officials — however, there was evidence of mice in the places where all three had worked. Los Angeles Times Local Government News LA Leaders to Consider Appointment of Personnel Department Chief The City Council Friday will consider the appointment of Malaika Billups as the next general manager of the Personnel Department, a role in which she would receive a $7,000 pay bump compared to her predecessor. Mayor Karen Bass nominated Billups to serve as the general manager on March 24. Billups would be taking over the position from Dana Brown, who retired Sept. 21, 2024. Grayce Liu has served as interim general manager. City officials said that Brown’s annual salary upon retirement was $352,475, and Bass has recommended an annual salary of $359,532 for Billups, an increase of about $7,000. If her nomination is approved, Billups would assume her new role upon confirmation by the City Council. On Friday morning, the Personnel and Hiring Committee will consider BIllups’ nomination. The matter is also scheduled for a vote by the City Council the same day. MyNewsLA LA City Council Continues Work for Convention Center Modernization Project The City Council Wednesday advanced plans for a proposed modernization of the Los Angeles Convention Center, with conditions aimed at mitigating risks and lowering costs as the city grapples with fiscal concerns. In a 14-1 vote, the council authorized city staff to continue negotiations with APCLA, or AEG Plenary Conventions Los Angeles, the joint venture that would oversee construction of the project, to finalize an agreement under a so-called “phased delivery.” Council members authorized $27 million for further pre-construction work and consultation services as part of an early works agreement with APCLA — on top of $54 million the city spent for the same purpose in 2024. The council approved a phased delivery option for the project, which aims to connect the South Hall and West Hall above Pico Boulevard with a new hall building. Under a preliminary timeline, construction would start in September with work being paused from May 31 to Sept. 30, 2028, for the 2028 Olympics. The project would be completed in March 2029. 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. Listen To Our Podcast Los Angeles Police Protective League | 1308 W 8th St | Los Angeles, CA 90017 US Unsubscribe | Our Privacy Policy | Constant Contact Data Notice