Email from Los Angeles Police Protective League Daily News & Updates     Law Enforcement News Mayor Bass, LAPD to address crime after double murder, break-ins in Encino Mayor Karen Bass will join the Los Angeles Police Department and Encino leaders at a virtual meeting Thursday to address the recent residential break-ins across the community. The meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m., comes after the murders of an "American Idol" executive and her husband, as well as a slew of other home invasions and burglaries in the San Fernando Valley. In one of those incidents, the Encino home of former "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Teddi Mellencamp was targeted by burglars in an attempted break-in earlier this month. Ahead of the meeting, Encino officials are expected to present a formal, written request calling for more action from the L.A. City Council. During another meeting held in the wake of the shocking murders, more than 200 residents expressed their safety concerns to police and Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. Shortly after, the LAPD launched a major crackdown on crime in the area, boosting patrols on foot, by air and on horseback - especially at night. Investigators from different departments are also joining the crime prevention efforts, which include license plate readers. ABC 7 Homicidal cousins and the Hillside Stranglers case: A trial that nearly did not happen Angelo Buono was the elder of the killers. He was wiry and foul-mouthed, a swaggering 44-year-old high school dropout who ran a solo auto-upholstery business out of his Glendale garage. A sometime pimp, he fancied himself a ladies’ man. He flew an Italian flag at his yellow house. His cousin, Kenneth Bianchi, was the more outwardly polished of their cruel partnership. Detectives would call him “Slick Ken.” He was 27, an aspiring cop with a Hollywood apartment and a glib patter that reminded people of a used-car salesman. He had a closetful of bogus diplomas and liked to pose as a sex therapist. To lure girls and young women back to Buono’s house, the cousins posed as vice officers and flashed fake badges. They raped, tortured and killed their victims between October 1977 and February 1978, and left them to be found in ways that seemed designed to taunt police and maximize public terror. Their targets included runaways and aspiring actresses. Some were waiting at bus stops. Some were working as prostitutes. Some were college students. Los Angeles Times Thieves target LAPD salvage yard in downtown Los Angeles Thieves targeted a Los Angeles Police Department salvage yard early Thursday morning in downtown Los Angeles. Power tools used to cut through metal, possibly catalytic converters, were found at the property. The lot is mostly used for vehicles in need to repair. LAPD officers entered the yard with weapons drawn after someone called at about 3 a.m. to report unusual sounds. It was not immediately clear how the thieves entered the yard. Two people were taken into custody at the scene. What police described as a possible getaway vehicle also was found at the location. Catalytic converters are sought by thieves for the high-value metals found within the car parts. A state bill that took effect in January 2024 requires all catalytic converters to be marked with the vehicle identification number, but some older cars may not have this label. During the COVID-19 pandemic, catalytic converter theft surged, growing close to 293% nationwide in terms of number of claims filed, compared to the year prior, according to data from State Farm. NBC 4 Fed gambling indictment has a possible link to the disappearance of West LA mom Heidi Planck The associates of some of the people indicted Wednesday on suspicion of running an underground gambling ring in the San Fernando Valley were previously suspected of involvement with an illegal poker room in a downtown LA high rise -- the same building where Heidi Planck was last seen, several law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation told NBCLA. The sources said there was information Planck may have met up with one or more of the people attending the poker game that day or had visited the apartment where it was being held before she vanished. Planck, who was 38, vanished on Oct.17, 2021 after attending her son’s football game in Downey. She was later seen on security video near the apartment building at 12th and Hope Streets, and her dog was found wandering on an upper floor. The indictment unsealed Wednesday did not address the alleged downtown gambling room, and no arrests have been made in Planck’s disappearance. In late November 2021 the LAPD began a massive search of the Chiquita Canyon landfill near Castaic after detectives developed other information that Planck’s remains might have been buried with trash removed from the downtown high-rise. NBC 4 Driver accused of ramming into crowd outside East Hollywood nightclub appears in court An Orange County man accused of plowing into a crowd outside an East Hollywood nightclub, injuring more than three dozen people, appeared in court Wednesday. Fernando Ramirez, 29, of San Clemente, is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Sept. 4 for arraignment. He remains jailed in lieu of roughly $37 million bail. Ramirez is facing 37 counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence. The crash occurred outside the Vermont Hollywood nightclub near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue around 2 a.m. July 19. Prosecutors say Ramirez intentionally drove his car onto the sidewalk near the venue before hitting a crowd of pedestrians. A total of 37 people were injured in the crash, with injuries ranging from minor abrasions to serious fractures, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office. Following the crash, Ramirez was attacked by bystanders and shot by a suspect who remains on the loose. Ramirez has an extensive criminal history for several violent crimes in Orange County, including two stints in state prison. ABC 7 Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto's Hollywood Hills home was target of an attempted break-in, authorities say At least one suspect attempted to gain access to the home of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto early Wednesday morning, authorities said. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers responded to the 9200 block of Nightingale Drive for an attempted burglary around 5 a.m. No suspects were at the scene by the time officers arrived, but they found a shattered window at the home. Police say they don't believe any suspects actually entered the home, but that the got onto the property by jumping a gate. Officers said that private security was already on scene when they arrived. As of Wednesday evening, any suspects remain outstanding. It's not clear why the home wasn't entered, and it's not believed that anything was stolen. It's not clear if anyone was at the property at the time. Neighbors say that the area is a constant target for burglars. CBS 2 Ex-NBA Star Free on Bond in Illegal Gambling Case Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, who played high school basketball in Los Angeles, was free on bond Thursday following his arrest along with five others, including a suspected high-level member of an Israeli organized crime group, in connection with an alleged illegal gambling business involving high-stakes poker games in Encino. Arenas, 43, of Woodland Hills, is charged with one count each of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business, and making false statements to federal investigators, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. At his arraignment Wednesday in federal court in downtown Los Angeles, Arenas pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian set a tentative trial date of Sept. 23. MyNewsLA Southern California police warn of foreign burglary crews using hidden cameras Police in Los Angeles’ South Bay region are advising local residents of a spike in residential burglaries that may be perpetrated by South America-based organized theft groups who use hidden cameras and other technology to stake out victims. Photos released by the Torrance Police Department show crudely designed hidden cameras made from pieces of fake grass and powered by external battery packs. The cameras are placed outside the homes of potential victims so that thieves can track their movements and determine the best time to strike: when they are not home. Some of the incidents, however, do occur when people are there, such as one where residents – who had just returned to the home unexpectedly – chased away a trio of thieves in the 2200 block of Torrance Boulevard on Saturday. “[My mother and I] started following them – my mom started chasing so I started chasing right behind her – and they ran away to the getaway car [with a] fake license plate,” said burglary victim Jose Sanchez. KTLA 5 Video: Suspect drags Texas officer while trying to steal cruiser following pursuit A man is facing multiple felony charges after leading police on a pursuit in a stolen pickup truck, attempting to flee in a patrol car and dragging a Seagoville officer during the struggle, WFAA reported. The incident began on July 27 when a Seagoville officer attempted to stop a Chevrolet truck that was reported stolen. According to police, the driver entered the eastbound lanes of I-20 traveling the wrong way, prompting the officer to terminate the pursuit for safety reasons. A second officer later located the truck on the I-20 service road. Police said the driver veered off the road, drove across a grassy area onto another road and collided at low speed with another vehicle. No injuries were reported. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. An officer attempted to deploy a TASER but was unable to, police said. The suspect then entered the driver’s seat of a marked Seagoville patrol car. As an officer tried to stop him, the suspect placed the vehicle in gear and hit the stolen truck before reversing and dragging the officer outside the vehicle. PoliceOne Local Government News L.A. City Council bans N-word and C-word at meetings Speakers at Los Angeles City Council meetings will be banned from using the N-word and the C-word, the council decided Wednesday. The ban comes after years of tirades by a few speakers who attack officials’ weight, sexual orientation or gender and who sometimes use racial slurs. Speakers will now receive a warning for using either word — or any variation of the word. If they continue with the offensive language, they will be removed from the room and possibly banned from future meetings. Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who is Black, has said that the use of the words during public comment has discouraged people from coming to meetings. “It is language that, anywhere outside this building where there aren’t four armed guards, would get you hurt if you said these things in public,” he said earlier this year. The council’s decision to ban the words could be challenged in court, with some legal scholars saying it could violate speakers’ 1st Amendment free speech rights. Los Angeles Times About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,700 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