The high-tech tools used to track down Nick Reiner after his parents’ slayings

It didn’t take long for police to focus on Nick Reiner after his parents were found fatally stabbed in the master bedroom of their Brentwood home Sunday afternoon. The challenge became finding him. Reiner lived in Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner’s guesthouse but was not there when police arrived around 3:30 p.m. Prosecutors now allege he killed his parents sometime early Sunday. Detectives got a break in the case when they determined Reiner had checked into the Pierside Santa Monica hotel sometime after 4 a.m. Sunday. But when they arrived in the afternoon, according to sources familiar with the investigation, he was gone. So authorities turned to digital geolocation to determine his whereabouts, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment to the media. Police began looking at Reiner’s movements across Los Angeles around 7 p.m. Sunday using location data from his cellphone, along with other electronic devices, app footprints and a network of cameras. The sources said Reiner moved quickly across the city during that period, eventually ending up in the Exposition Park area near USC, and was arrested around 9:15 p.m. by L.A. police gang and narcotics detectives as part of a fugitive task force. Officers filmed the arrest, which was also captured on gas station cameras.

Los Angeles Times

Hit-and-run driver kills pedestrian in Studio City, police say

A driver hit and killed a pedestrian in Studio City early Tuesday morning before fleeing the scene, according to authorities. The Los Angeles Police Department said reports of a collision came in at 5:44 a.m. on the 12900 block of Ventura Boulevard. Upon arrival, officers found a man who had been hit by a vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the man was trying to cross the street when he was struck by a black SUV. The driver fled the scene in an unknown direction before authorities arrived. No additional details were immediatley made available.

CBS 2

Attempted robbery leads to deadly shooting in Baldwin Hills

Police are investigating a deadly shooting that happened in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of South Los Angeles on Sunday. Firefighters and officers were called to the 3700 block of S. La Brea Avenue at around 3:15 p.m. after learning of the incident, according to officials with the Los Angeles fire and police departments. They arrived and found one person, only identified as a 25-year-old man, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, firefighters said. LAPD detectives said that the incident stemmed from an attempted robbery. They believe that three people attempted to rob a man, who shot one of the suspects. The other two suspects are believed to have run from the area following the shooting. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation. 

CBS 2

LAPD seeks additional victims in child exploitation case involving after-school employee

Los Angeles police are asking the public for help identifying additional victims in a child exploitation investigation involving a 25-year-old after-school program employee. On December 22 Julian Kurt Perez, a Los Angeles resident who worked at schools and after-school programs throughout the San Fernando Valley, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Juvenile Division and Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. Perez was booked on one count of possession of child or youth pornography, according to the LAPD. Investigators said Perez created artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material involving at least two identified minor victims. Authorities believe he may be responsible for additional, unreported victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward. “Detectives and special agents are seeking the public’s assistance with information about this crime,” the LAPD said. Perez is described as a Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes, standing 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. Police said he primarily targeted minor-aged females.

KTLA 5

Sherman Oaks woman crashes into burglar's car after they tried to steal from her home

Intense security camera video shows the moments that a Sherman Oaks woman slams into an alleged burglar's car after they tried to steal from her home in broad daylight on Saturday afternoon. A man, only wishing to be identified as David, says that his wife had left to get coffee a little before noon and was on the phone with her mother, who was still at home with their three young children. "All of a sudden, her mom started screaming, 'Help, help, help,'" David said. "They jumped the front gate, they came to the back to probably broke the sliding door to go in and they faced my mother-in-law, and they run away." Before they could get off the property, David said his wife was already on her way back home. The dramatic video shows her Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon speeding down their street and slamming into the alleged suspect's white sedan before coming to a stop in the front yard. "At that time those two guys was trying to run away and then she's just, she was in panic. She lost control and 'boom' she hit them from the side," David said.

CBS 2

Group of teen bicyclists attack and rob person near USC

A group of teen bicyclists swarmed and robbed a person near USC, campus police said. USC's Department of Public Safety said the robbery happened near the intersection of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard on Sunday night. The suspects assaulted the victim and stole the victim's phone, according to USC. Campus police said the robbery could be linked to a similar incident at Adams and Hoover Street, less than a mile away. USC said about 30 minutes before the robbery on Figueroa Street, teen bicyclists swarmed another person and tried to steal their phone. Investigators did not have a description of the suspects. They urged anyone with information about the cases to call the Department of Public Safety at (213) 7400-6000 or the Los Angeles Police Department's Southwest Division at (213) 485-6571.

CBS 2

130 detained at illegal gambling ‘casitas' after multi-agency operation, FBI says

Federal authorities and local law enforcement agencies have teamed up for 36 joint operations, resulting in over 200 arrests and the seizure of a massive amount of drugs, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) announced Monday. The FBI’s Los Angeles office said it added more resources for Operation Coast to Coast in the month of December. The operation, which is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative following an executive order by President Donald Trump, aims to eliminate “criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad,” according to the FBI. During the operation, 92 criminal complaints were filed after 223 people were arrested in the Los Angeles area, the FBI said. After executing eight search warrants, including one in Mexico, agents confiscated over 102 kilograms of fentanyl, 470 kilograms of methamphetamine, 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, as well as 29 firearms. About $3,000 in cash was also seized, the FBI said. 

NBC 4

FBI searching for man allegedly involved in LA drug trafficking ring

Federal investigators are looking for a man who was allegedly involved in a drug trafficking operation in Los Angeles, the FBI said Friday. Christian Garcia, 34, is accused of being one of several individuals who allegedly supplied a large amount of drugs to the area, the FBI said. According to the agency, a federal warrant was issued for Garcia’s arrest after he was charged with crimes relating to the alleged drug distribution conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms. If you have any information about Garcia, the FBI asks you to call them at 310-477-6565.

NBC 4

Brazen high-volume mail theft attacks becoming more common, data shows

As the U.S. Postal Service continues to work through their busiest month of the year, thieves are busy, too. In fact, high-volume mail theft attacks are becoming more common. The Postal Police Officers Association shared data it received through a federal records request with Eyewitness News, and it shows that in the government's 2024 fiscal year, there were 52,000 high-volume mail attacks across the country, which is up from the year before. In 2010, there were only around 2,000 reported cases. Earlier this month, a video went viral that shows a group of thieves running from a U.S. Postal Service office on Beverly Boulevard in the Fairfax District. The FBI has since offered $100,000 for information leading to arrests in that case. "The criminals are getting more and more brazen, I mean, you see it in that video," said Postal Police Officers Association President Frank Albergo. "They literally don't care. They don't think they are going to be caught because they probably won't be caught."

ABC 7

BWC: Houston officer shoots man holding store employee hostage at gunpoint

The Houston Police Department released body camera footage showing an officer-involved shooting of a man holding a store employee hostage at gunpoint. The Dec. 1 incident began when officers responded to the scene of a panic alarm call at a check cashing store, according to the release. When the first officer arrived at the scene, he saw a store employee walking toward the front door with a man following closely behind her. The man had a gun pointed at her back, according to the release. As they walked out the door, the officer issued instructions for the man to show his hands. Upon seeing the man’s gun, the officer fired shots, striking the suspect. As the suspect turned and tried to flee, the officer continued to fire shots until the man fell to the ground. The officer told the man he would get help as dispatchers radioed that an ambulance was on the way. Once another officer arrived, they secured the scene, kicking the fallen gun away from the man and placing him in handcuffs. The officers then began to provide medical aid. Neither the officer nor the store employee were injured in the shooting, according to the release.

PoliceOne

Evacuation warnings issued for L.A. burn areas ahead of holiday storm

Residents near two recent wildfire burn scars in Los Angeles are being told to prepare for possible evacuations as a powerful storm approaches Southern California, promising several inches of rain. The Los Angeles Fire Department on Monday issued evacuation warnings for neighborhoods near the Sunset Fire area south of Runyon Canyon and the Palisades Fire area near Pacific Palisades and Mandeville Canyon. The warnings are in effect from 11 a.m. Tuesday through 11 p.m. Thursday. Meteorologists say the storm will bring heavy rain and strong winds, creating dangerous conditions for hillside communities. “Widespread urban flooding will be likely along with mud and debris flows (with the threat not just confined to burn areas),” the National Weather Service warned. “The combination of increasingly saturated soil and the strong winds will bring the potential for downed trees and power lines.” Homes identified as high-risk will receive door-to-door visits from LAPD officers with evacuation orders if conditions warrant, officials said. Residents are urged to pack essentials now and monitor official alerts.

KTLA 5

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.