Man Pleads Not Guilty to Shooting at LAPD Officer

A man who allegedly used an untraceable “ghost gun” to shoot a Los Angeles Police Department officer during a chase in the Exposition Park area pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Ernesto Sepulveda, 26, was charged Tuesday with two counts of attempted murder involving the wounded officer and another uniformed LAPD Gang Enforcement Detail officer, along with one count of carrying an unregistered firearm. The attempted murder charges include allegations that Sepulveda personally and intentionally discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury to one of the officers. The shooting occurred at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at 39th Place and Western Avenue, at or near Martin Luther King Jr. Park, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Charles Miller told City News Service. The two officers were patrolling along the Western Avenue corridor near Martin Luther King Park when they spotted a man, later identified as riding a bicycle north on the sidewalk, according to an LAPD statement.

MyNewsLA

Teen driver hits LAPD officer, slams vehicle into popular bagel shop: officials

An 18-year-old driver was arrested after authorities said he clipped an officer and proceeded to slam his pickup truck into a 24-hour bagel shop in the San Fernando Valley overnight. Officials with the Los Angeles Police Department Traffic Division said around 2:15 a.m. Thursday, a Nissan Frontier was spotted driving erratically. The driver of a tow truck attempted to intervene. At the same time, two officers had just arrived and were walking toward a bagel shop when the suspect accelerated and lost control of his vehicle, clipped one officer, nearly hit a second officer, and proceeded to plow his pickup truck into Western Bagel. Investigators said four teens – two boys and two girls – were located inside the truck. The driver was subsequently arrested and the passengers, ages 16 and 17, were cited for curfew violation. The incident is being investigated as an assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer. The officer who was hit was not seriously injured and did not require hospitalization. 

FOX 11

Police seek victims of in-home care nurse accused of sex offense

Police released the photos of a licensed nurse who provided in-home care in the greater Los Angeles area and San Fernando Valley after arresting the man on an unlawful sexual conduct charge. The Los Angeles Police Department said Francisco Gallegos Loaiza is being investigated on the allegations that he acted unlawfully while taking care of “incapacitated” patients under his care. Police did not say which kind of offenses Loaiza allegedly committed, but in the state of California, unlawful sexual conduct can include sexual activity without consent. LAPD Foothill Detectives are asking anyone who may be a victim or has additional information regarding Francisco Gallegos Loaiza to please contact LAPD Foothill Detectives at (818) 834-3115. Anonymous reports can also be made on www.lacrimestoppers.org.

NBC 4

Playa del Rey home of WWE stars Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch burglarized

Burglars made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from the Playa del Rey home of World Wrestling Entertainment stars Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch early Tuesday, according to multiple reports. LAPD officers responded to a burglary call at a Playa del Rey home shortly before 3 a.m. and after the suspects were gone, police officials confirmed Tuesday. Rollins and Lynch were 3,000 miles away at the WWE Monday Night Raw show at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. The incident is the latest in a long string of burglaries at the homes of prominent athletes and entertainers when they are known to be on the road. Many of the crimes have been attributed to South American theft groups, although authorities have no indication that is the case with the home of Rollins and Lynch, who have been married since 2021 and share a 4-year-old daughter. 

Los Angeles Times

Police searching for arson suspect who lit downtown Los Angeles business on fire

Authorities are searching for a suspected arsonist who set fire to a business in the popular Santee Alley shopping district in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. Firefighters were dispatched to 315 E. 11th Street at around 6 a.m. after learning of the fire, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Public Information Officer Bryan Humphrey. They arrived and found a fire outside of the business, HM Hormiguitas Beauty. It took them just under 20 minutes to contain the fire, which extended inside of the store. Though there were no injuries reported in the fire, owners say their family-run business sustained considerable damage. "It's just devastating, since fire damaged the products we're not able to use them," said Valerie Mendez, an employee of the beauty supply store. "We're not able to resell them, and we also don't have insurance to cover the damages that were made by the fire."

CBS 2

Baby dies after California mom leaves him in car to get lip filler on 101-degree day, police say

A baby died after his mother left him and his 2-year-old sibling inside a car while she was getting lip filler at a Bakersfield medical spa on a 101-degree day, authorities said. Bakersfield Police criticized Maya Hernandez for “placing the value of her appearance over the safety and well-being of her children” in a report filed in Kern County Superior Court. It is estimated that Hernandez’s children were in the vehicle without air-conditioning for 90 minutes, wrote Det. Kyle McNabb, noting that the internal temperature of a car can rise to a blistering 143 degrees in just one hour of 100-degree weather. Hernandez told police she found her baby foaming at the mouth and having an apparent seizure after emerging from her procedure at Always Beautiful Medical Spa, according to the police report. She frantically dialed 911, and both her children were transported to a hospital for treatment. By the time her 1-year-old arrived at Adventist Health hospital, he wasn’t breathing, had no pulse, his lips were blue, and he had an internal body temperature of 107.2 degrees, according to the police report. He was pronounced dead around an hour after the 911 call and identified as Amillio Gutierrez by the Kern County coroner’s office.

Los Angeles Times

BWC: Murder suspect produces gun, shoots at NYPD, N.J. officers before fatal OIS

The New Jersey Attorney General’s office has released body-worn camera footage of a shootout between officers and a New York murder suspect last year in the lobby of a Middlesex County hotel. The murder suspect, Karl Gregory, 46, of New York, New York, was killed during the exchange of gunfire and Woodbridge Police Officer Justin Nerney and New York Police Detective Matthew Mauro were injured, according to a statement from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. On June 12, 2024 , detectives from the New York City Police Department were searching for Gregory in Woodbridge near the Royal Albert’s Palace, a complex that also houses the Raritan Hotel, when an automatic license plate reader identified his car, the office said. Police from Edison and Woodbridge responded to the hotel and found Gregory’s car unoccupied in the parking lot, authorities said. The NYPD was notified about the car and responded to the scene where police from Woodbridge were briefed about the criminal investigation in New York. Investigators have not released details on the murder investigation.

PoliceOne

BWC: Man arrested after shooting flare gun at Florida deputy, taking off his pants

A man was arrested after firing a flare gun toward a Marion County sheriff’s deputy and refusing to comply with commands, ClickOrlando.com reported. The July 8 incident occurred when the deputy had stopped to check on a man when the man fired a flare gun in the direction of the deputy’s patrol vehicle, body-worn camera video shows. “He just shot a flare gun at me,” the deputy reported on the radio. Officials said Caldwell walked away and continued to ignore commands to stop. He then removed his pants, threw money at the deputy and displayed other erratic behavior before being subdued with a TASER. Caldwell was arrested and faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. No injuries were reported.

PoliceOne

Firefighters rescue 31 workers after tunnel collapses in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Fire Department rushed to Wilmington after a tunnel collapsed and trapped 27 people inside. Four other workers went in after the collapse to help the others. The construction workers inside the underground tunnel were rescued roughly an hour after the collapse, according to L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area. "Every day that he goes in there, we don't know if he's going to come out. It's a dangerous job for anyone who goes down there," said Chelsea Fernandez, the wife of one of the workers rescued. None of the 31 construction workers rescued in the tunnel sustained visible injuries, according to LAFD. Firefighters said construction workers climbed over a roughly 12 to 15-foot pile of dirt to escape. "I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped," Mayor Karen Bass wrote in a post to X. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately. You are L.A.'s true heroes.

CBS 2

LA County issues beach warnings due to high bacteria levels

As hot temperatures hit Los Angeles this week and residents flock to the coast to cool off, the LA County Health Department is warning the public to avoid ocean waters at several beaches due to high bacteria levels. The affected beaches are: Solstice Creek at Dan Blocker County Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast from the creek; Walnut Creek at Paradise Cove, 100 yards up and down the coast from the creek; Ramirez Creek at Paradise Cove, 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier; The Bel Air Bay Club at Will Rogers State Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast from the club border fence; Mothers Beach in Marina Del Rey, entire swim area; Castlerock Storm Drain at Topanga County Beach, 100 yards up and down the coast from the storm drain; and Santa Monica Pier, 100 yards up and down the coast from the pier. Meanwhile, a warning has been lifted for the following beach area where recent sample results identified water quality levels within state standards: Avalon Beach at Catalina Island, 50 feet west of the pier. Recorded information on beach conditions is available 24 hours a day on the county's beach closure hotline, 1-800-525-5662.

NBC 4

Sizzling Southern California temps to peak Thursday

The second day of a brief heat wave is expected to bring the hottest temperatures of the week to Southern California. “So, another day of triple-digit heat in some places, but don’t worry, this is going to be the last day you’re going to have to deal with this,” KTLA’s Kirk Hawkins said during his Thursday morning forecast. Afternoon highs are expected to be between about 10 degrees above normal for most areas, including the San Fernando Valley, where afternoon highs will top out around 103. A heat advisory for temperatures as high as 107 degrees remains in place through 8 p.m. for portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Gusty winds across the mountains and interior, along with warm temperatures and fairly low humidities, will bring an increase in fire weather danger, the National Weather Service (NWS) stated.

KTLA 5

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,800 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.