2 gang members convicted of teens' double murder in Montecito Heights a decade later

Two men have been found guilty of the murders of two teenage girls in Montecito Heights ten years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday, Sept. 30. On October 27, 2015, Jose Antonio Echeverria, also known as Klepto, and Dallas Stone Pineda, also known as Trippy, lured 17-year-old Brianna Gallegos and 19-year-old Gabriella Calzada to a secluded area of Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Montecito Heights. Officials said the two men then shot and beat the teenage girls to death with a large rock. The victims' bodies were found the next day near a hiking trail in the park. Both Echeverria, 28, and Pineda, 27, were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstance allegations, including lying in wait and that the killings involved multiple victims. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman commented on the verdict, stating, "These brutal killings cut short the lives of two teenagers and left their families devastated. This verdict delivers justice for the victims, and I want to thank our Gang Homicide Division in particular, Deputy District Attorneys David Ayvazian and Stephen Lonseth for their tireless work in pursuing this case."

FOX 11

Hit-and-run driver caught, ID’d in deadly San Fernando Valley scooter crash

A man sought in a San Fernando Valley hit-and-run crash that left a scooter rider dead over the weekend has been captured and identified, police announced Tuesday. Investigators say 30-year-old Daniel Casillas of Arleta was behind the wheel of the Honda Accord that struck a man riding a motorized scooter on Woodman Avenue near Strathern Street in Panorama City around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. “Both the vehicle and the scooter were traveling northbound on Woodman when the driver struck the person on the scooter, fleeing the scene without rendering medical aid,” a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said following the crash. The impact caused the rider to be ejected and hit the ground, where he was struck by a second vehicle, the LAPD stated in a news release. The victim, who was identified only as a man in his early 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene. “The driver in the second collision is cooperating with the investigation,” police said shortly after the crash.

KTLA 5

Man in Los Angeles arrested after running across 101 Freeway during dangerous police pursuit

A man was arrested after leading the Los Angeles Police Department on a dangerous pursuit through Los Angeles County on Wednesday morning. The pursuit ended around 6:12 a.m. near Mariposa and Melrose Avenue when the driver abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot. SkyCal flew over the scene where the driver could be seen running across the northbound 101 Freeway. The LAPD said they began pursuing the possibly stolen vehicle around 5:50 a.m. near the intersection of Ninth and San Pedro Street. During the pursuit, the driver could be seen traveling at high rates of speed on surface streets and the freeway. The driver ran through several intersections, nearly hitting other vehicles on the street. No injuries were reported. 

CBS 2

Feds charge alleged hired guns in conflict between reputed L.A. Armenian crime figures

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged four reputed members of a Latino street gang with acting as hired guns in a dispute between two rival Armenian organized crime figures. The two-year conflict between Robert “Fish” Amiryan and Ara Artuni at times turned suburban streets in the San Fernando Valley into war zones, federal authorities said. Shooters opened fire from pickup truck beds and atop ladders, used drones to spy on targets and maintained caches of automatic weapons in storage units. In May, federal agents and local police arrested Amiryan, 47, and Artuni, 41, on suspicion of kidnapping, fraud and attempted murder. With both held in custody in the same unit, a Los Angeles Police Department detective wrote, Amiryan charged at Artuni, declaring in Armenian he would “have” Artuni’s wife. The initial takedown in May targeted the higher-ups who allegedly called hits and equipped shooters with guns and cars, federal authorities said, while the suspects arrested Tuesday actually pulled triggers on Artuni’s behalf. Four reputed members of a small North Hollywood gang, the Vanowen Street Locos, were charged with murder for hire and racketeering.

Los Angeles Times

6 people arrested for attempting to hang banner on Hollywood sign, police say

Six people were arrested over the weekend for trying to hang a banner on the Hollywood sign, police said. According to an Instagram post shared by the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division, the suspects tried to attach the banner on the letter "O." It's unclear what the banner said. All six people, who weren't identified, were taken into custody without incident. The sign is protected with gates and sensors and entering the property is considered trespassing. Trespassers have managed to alter the sign on a few occasions in the past, including changing it to read "Hollyweed" in 2017 and "Holywood" for a visit by the pope in 1987.

ABC 7

Pacoima Train Accident Survivor Recovering in Hospital

A man in his mid-20s was reportedly hit by a train Wednesday morning, but survived and was taken to a hospital. Los Angeles Fire Department rescue crews were sent at 8:12 a.m. Wednesday to the 12700 block of Osborne Street, near Whiteman Airport, and took the man to a hospital. He was reported to be in fair condition according to the LAFD. Los Angeles police were at the scene investigating.

MyNewsLA

LA City Council unanimously approves plan for 12,915 new homeless beds

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a plan to have 12,915 beds available to homeless people by June 2027. The plan stems from a federal lawsuit filed by a coalition of Skid Row-area business owners and residents, known as the L.A. Alliance, in March 2020. It claimed that the city and LA County were not doing enough to address the homelessness crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, the city and county settled the lawsuit, with the city leaders agreeing to provide 6,000 more beds by 2021. Five years later, U.S. District Judge David Carter, who presided over the 2020 hearings, determined that the city had failed to meet the settlement requirements. He ordered local leaders to create a new plan that would create 12,915 beds for homeless residents within two years. As of June 30, the city currently has 11,216 beds, with 7,440 available and an additional 3,776 beds expected to open soon, according to City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo. 

CBS 2

LA council calls for higher penalties for people who harm trees

The City Council today asked city counsel to update and strengthen penalties for individuals who harm trees in Los Angeles -- a move that comes after a man used a chainsaw to cut down a dozen trees in downtown earlier this year. In a 13-0 vote, council members approved a motion introduced by Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents downtown neighborhoods. Council members Adrin Nazarian and Marqueece Harris-Dawson were absent during the vote. City officials have proposed tiered penalties based on the age, extent of injury and percentage of tree canopy lost, as well as the creation of an outreach plan to boost awareness of the city's regulations protecting trees. Council members requested the report within 15 days for their consideration. In May, Jurado joined conservation groups and residents to plant new trees in the areas where they were cut down by the perpetrator, who was captured on camera toppling trees at Grand Avenue and Wells Fargo Center, Olympic Street and Figueroa Boulevard, Broadway and Cesar Chavez Avenue, and at Grand Avenue and Fifth Street.

NBC 4

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.