Email from Los Angeles Police Protective League Daily News & Updates Law Enforcement News With motive still a mystery, judge moves L.A. Live homicide case to trial A Los Angeles County judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors can proceed with murder charges against two men accused of killing a university administrator, despite authorities presenting no motive for the brazen homicide at L.A. Live. Sidney Barrett Morris, 43, an official at Cal State Northridge, was eating dinner alone two years ago when a masked man shot him in the back of the head. Prosecutors charged two men, Santana Kelly and Phillip Clark, with murder based on surveillance videos, phone records, jail calls and other evidence. They allege Clark was the shooter and that Kelly orchestrated the killing. Lawyers for Kelly and Clark asked a judge to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, arguing prosecutors hadn’t established a connection between their clients and Morris. Deion Benjamin, Kelly’s attorney, said prosecutors had proved only that his client helped destroy the getaway car, which would mean he was only an accessory. “He’s called to burn up the car, if you believe the evidence,” he told Superior Court Judge David Herriford. Clark’s attorney said it was only a detective’s “speculation” that his client was the masked gunman. “It sounds like they have a theory,” said Zino Osehobo, who represents Clark. “Without supporting, corroborative evidence.” Herriford disagreed, ruling he’d seen enough to allow the case to proceed. Los Angeles Times Fatal Shooting in Vermont Knolls A man was fatally shot Friday in the Vermont Knolls neighborhood of South Los Angeles and an investigation is underway. Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to 5200 block of Hoover St. and 52nd Place at 2:22 a.m. Friday regarding a shots fired call. When they arrived at the scene, officers found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds, LAPD Officer Charles Miller told City News Service. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. MyNewsLA LA man lured into ambush robbery by woman he met on dating site Detectives need help finding a handful of suspects after an LA man was robbed at gunpoint after a woman he met on a dating site led him into an ambush. The armed robbery happened in the early morning hours of April 28. After her date picked her up, the female suspect directed him to drive to a secluded area and park his car in the 100 block of South Occidental Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The block is roughly 1,400 feet away from the LAPD Metro Station, which houses SWAT and the K-9 unit. Two of the woman's alleged accomplices, one man and another woman, arrived in a newer-model black Dodge Charger or Challenger shortly after the victim parked his car. The man opened the victim's door, pointed a gun at him, and demanded that he hand over his belongings, detectives said. The woman's accomplices ransacked the vehicle and took more of the man's property. They also forced him to unlock his phone and give them the entry code. While the robbery crew ran away, the male suspect shot at the victim while he was still sitting in his car. After the gunfire, the victim ran away and left his car in the secluded area. The suspect eventually returned to the scene a couple of hours later and stole his vehicle, according to LAPD. Investigators said the suspects used the victim's phone to buy several items and tried to transfer money, totaling over $20,000. CBS 2 LAPD Seeks Four Suspects in Rampart Village Armed Robbery Police sought the public’s help Thursday in identifying four suspects wanted in connection with an armed robbery and attempted wire fraud that began with a dating app setup in the Rampart Village area of Los Angeles. The incident occurred around 12:05 a.m. on April 28, when a woman arranged to meet a man she had connected with through a dating app, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. She allegedly lured him to a secluded area in the 100 block of South Occidental Boulevard. Shortly after, a man and another woman arrived in a black, newer-model Dodge Charger or Challenger, police said. The man opened the victim’s unlocked vehicle, brandished a gun and demanded his property, according to police. The suspects ransacked the vehicle and forced the victim to unlock his phone, police said. “As the three suspects fled the scene, the male suspect shot once toward the victim, who was still seated in his vehicle,” police said in a statement. No injuries were reported, and the victim fled on foot, leaving his vehicle behind. MyNewsLA Tarzana man finds home burgalrized while away on business trip A homeowner in Tarzana is shaken up after his house was ransacked by thieves during a business trip, where he was unable to do anything to stop them. Brock Covington was 3,000 miles away when his ring camera captured two men walking back and forth outside of his Tarzana home on Tuesday night. "It was just like a disturbed feeling, like to know that someone’s in your home when you’re not there," said Covington. In the surveillance video, one of the thieves is seen crouching down and breaking the glass on the front door before heading inside. Once inside, the thieves knocked down one of the cameras. "Seems like they went straight into the third floor to my bedroom and hit my closet," said Covington. "They just grabbed my you know my designer duffel bag and all my designer bags, used my pillowcase to put stuff in there and yeah they just made off with a bunch of stuff." Covington estimates the thieves stole about $9,000 worth of property, including a small safe, in under three minutes. "At first, I was just in shock. Like it was one of those things, like it’s never gonna happen to me," said Covington. LAPD says the men broke in around 8:20 pm and could only describe them as wearing dark clothing and baseball hats. NBC 4 4 sentenced for organized retail theft ring targeting Home Depot stores in Southern California Four men were sentenced for their involvement in an organized retail theft ring that targeted Home Depot stores across Southern California. The group conspired to steal merchandise from over 60 Home Depot stores across Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties, according to the California Attorney General’s Office. The thieves were identified as: Jose Delasancha, 34; Luis Delasancha, 33; Agustin Garfiaz, 28; and Everardo Carillo-Avilez, 42. From October 2021 to February 2023, brothers Jose Delasancha and Luis Delasancha would visit Home Depot stores and head straight to the hardware department. They used theft tools to unlock security devices that were securing the most expensive power tools, prosecutors said. Oftentimes, they would clear an entire shelf of merchandise, placing all the tools inside a shopping cart and exiting the store without paying, court documents said. Authorities said the brothers had stolen over $82,000 worth of merchandise over the years. KTLA 5 CHP’s Memorial Day Weekend Anti-DUI Enforcement Campaign Friday evening California Highway Patrol officers Friday evening will begin concentrated operations on highways, freeways and roads throughout Riverside County as part of a Memorial Day weekend campaign to snare drunken and other unsafe drivers. Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, the CHP will begin its holiday weekend “maximum enforcement period,” during which all available officers hit the streets to catch impaired motorists, as well as other traffic violators. The crackdown will conclude at 11:59 p.m. Monday. “Our top priority is keeping the public safe, not just during the holidays but daily,” agency Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “Buckling up is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect yourself and your passengers in a crash. Our officers will be out in force to help everyone arrive at their destination safely.” Officers from the Beaumont, Blythe, Indio, Riverside and Temecula CHP stations will be part of the deployment. During last year’s Memorial Day weekend enforcement operations, the CHP arrested roughly 1,100 motorists on suspicion of drunken or drug-impaired driving, comparable to the number taken into custody in 2023. Forty-two vehicle occupants were killed in collisions investigated by the CHP and other agencies during the 2024 effort — four below the number who died in 2023. MyNewsLA Public Safety News LA Metro to hire more security, cleaning staff as part of approved $9.4B budget The LA Metro Board on Thursday adopted a $9.4 billion budget for fiscal year 2026, which prioritizes safety improvements, expanded cleaning operations and other large-scale infrastructure upgrades. The plan adds 400 new full-time positions, bringing Metro’s total workforce to 11,821 employees, the report shows. New hires will support customer service improvements, rail line expansions, and maintenance efforts aimed at improving cleanliness, reliability and accessibility across the system. Metro says this approved budget will provide noticeable improvements for its riders. Reflecting a 2% increase from last year, the budget includes funding for shorter rail headways to reduce wait times, “smart” restrooms that are ADA-accessible and monitored remotely for safety and cleanliness, expansion of the “tap-to-exit” system at select stations, and taller fare gates to crack down on fare evaders. Other programs include upgraded lighting, weapons detection technology, and more elevator and escalator refurbishments. Metro said these investments were shaped by public feedback gathered through outreach campaigns and telephone town halls. KTLA 5 Local Government News LA City Council approves $13.9 billion budget that reduces layoffs to 600 The Los Angeles City Council approved a $13.9 billion budget, which has revisions that spared 1,000 jobs while also closing the city's nearly $1 billion deficit. Tensions at City Hall boiled over in the heated debate leading up to the 12-3 vote as council members expressed their anger and frustration over the situation. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson described the spending plan as "the least bad we could do," while Councilwoman Traci Park called it "a bottomless pit and taxpayer boondoggle that doubles down on failure." "The idea of cutting a billion dollars, there's just not a good way to do that," Harris-Dawson said. "You can try to be responsible. You can try to be forward-looking. You can try to do harm reduction. But, there isn't a good way to do that." Mayor Karen Bass' original proposed budget included 1,647 layoffs and the elimination of 1,074 vacant positions. However, the revised plan that the council approved reduced the number of layoffs to roughly 600, in part by slowing down police hiring. The Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments will not receive increases in their budgets either. 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. 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