Good Morning. Officer Al Martinez needs our help. Following a bout with COVID, Al’s wife has been receiving very expensive cancer treatment. Officer Martinez was recently in an on-duty traffic accident which has left Officer Martinez in need of our help. A taco plate fundraiser is being conducted at VTD on 6/16 and 77th on 6/17 to raise money for his family. Click here for more information.
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LAPD Seeks Van In Los Feliz Hit-and-Run That Severely Injured 15-Year-Old Boy
Police on Monday released surveillance video of a van being sought in connection with a hit-and-run collision that left a 15-year-old boy severely injured in Los Feliz last week. The teen was struck while crossing southbound on Prospect Avenue at Talmadge Avenue around 11:25 p.m. last Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The force of the collision “caused the pedestrian to be catapulted into the air,” an LAPD news release stated. The van then fled eastbound on Prospect without stopping to help the teen, police said. Witnesses who rendered aid to the victim told KTLA that he was thrown more than 20 feet into the air and ended up across the street. Authorities have released footage of the suspect vehicle, describing it as a white, full-size cargo van with dark horizontal molding right above the tires. The van’s front end and hood likely have some type of damage from the crash. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact LAPD Central Traffic Division detectives by calling 213- 833-3713.
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Public Help Sought To Find 12-Year-Old Los Angeles Girl Missing Since February
A 12-year-old Los Angeles girl has been missing since late February, and a school psychologist who works with students in public schools in the downtown area pleaded on Monday for help in finding her. Hazel Palacio went missing on Feb. 28, said Sarah Kim, with the Los Angeles Unified School District's Psychological Services division. She said the girl is believed to have been seen on March 31 at Slauson and Vermont avenues in the South Los Angeles area. Palacio may have been with a man in a white car. Palacio is Hispanic, 5-feet-2 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. "We're desperate for any leads and/or help with not getting Hazel's case going cold," Kim said. A missing persons report was made to the Los Angeles Police Department, Officer Rosario Cervantes of the LAPD Media Relations Division confirmed. Palacio's photo and other information about her can be found on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.
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To correct protest failures, LAPD says it needs more money and officers
Los Angeles police officials want nearly $67 million more in funding and about 50 additional officers to comply with dozens of recommendations for improving its response to protests and other civil unrest. The estimates, which were detailed in a report from LAPD Chief Michel Moore and are expected to be discussed by the civilian Police Commission on Tuesday, drew a quick backlash from LAPD critics. The protests that exposed the LAPD's shortcomings, they pointed out, were in large part fueled by demands that police funding be reduced, not increased.
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Man Caught On Camera Vandalizing Van Nuys Church
A masked man armed with a sledgehammer was caught on camera Wednesday bashing in the face of a Virgin of Guadalupe statue multiple times at a Van Nuys church. Father Vito Di Marzio with St. Elisabeth Catholic Church was inside when he thought he heard a few loud knocks. “I went to my window to see what was happening, but it was all gone,” he said, adding that the devastating news was confirmed to him that morning. “I was speechless and it was unbelievable.” The mural was hand painted 35 years ago and served as a symbol of unity. Inoferio said she’s devastated but instead of being angry, she used the act of hate as a lesson. Still, she’s asking for police to find the person responsible for desecrating the blessed mother. The suspect was seen wearing all black and had a yellow or light green gaiter mask around his neck and face. Anyone who recognizes the suspect is asked to call Los Angeles police.
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Woman Arrested In Caught-On-Video Attack On Flower Vendor Outside Inglewood Cemetery
A woman was arrested after allegedly attacking and then stealing from a man selling flowers on the streets of Inglewood over the weekend. The assault Sunday morning in front of Inglewood Park Cemetery, at the corner of Florence and Prairie avenues, was partially captured on video. It shows the vendor, Ernesto Francisco, was trying to save his flowers from a woman when she violently shoves him to the ground, picks up a bouquet and storms off. Bystanders can be heard telling her to stop. “What’s wrong with you?” someone asks her. Speaking to KTLA in Spanish Monday, the 28-year-old Francisco said he was still in shock. Francisco said he was selling flowers when the woman jumped out of a bus and began assaulting him for no reason. The assailant first yelled slurs at him before getting physical, with the entire ordeal lasting about 10 minutes, Francisco said. After she grabbed his flowers, Francisco says she used them to strike him while he tried to keep his back towards her to protect his face. Inglewood police on Tuesday said they arrested the woman seen in the video, but officers could not be reached for further details on her arrest or identity.
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Catalytic Converter Theft Trend Continues In LA County
Thefts of catalytic converters continue to rise in Los Angeles County. A man in Santa Fe Springs told FOX 11 that he's fallen victim to the crime. Sam Kurd said he uses his white van for his delivery business. He parked his van in front of his warehouse when a thief pulled up in the middle of the night and stole the catalytic converter. Catalytic converters, which are attached to the exhaust system of a vehicle, can cost thousands of dollars to replace. They contain precious metals and can be "scrapped" for quick profit. Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise in Southern California. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported that catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed 400% in 2020. LASD recently arrested nearly 20 people in connection with catalytic converter thefts and recovered 250 catalytic converters -- a total value estimated at $750,000. LASD shared the following tips on how to avoid getting your catalytic converter stolen: park in well-lit areas with surveillance cameras, weld the bolts on your catalytic converter shut, engrave or etch the license plate number onto your catalytic converter, and always report suspicious activity – If you see something, say something.
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L.A. County Board Of Supervisors Offers $10K Reward To Find Killer Of Mt. Baldy Hiker
LA County Board of Supervisors approved a $10,000 reward on Friday for information leading to the arrest of whoever killed Gerald “Myles” Purdue on Mt. Baldy last month. Purdue, 63, of San Bernardino, was found shot to death at Mile Marker 3.09 Mount Baldy Road, North of Claremont, just before 2 p.m. on March 25. He is survived by an adult son and daughter who do not live in the area. Two people who had stopped in the same turnout found the body in a culvert less than 60 yards from where Purdue’s car was parked. “We knew something wasn’t right because you see someone laying on the ground,” a woman who found the body, along with her boyfriend, told CBSLA’s Nicole Comstock. “We didn’t know where he was from, we didn’t know anything. All we knew is that he died here by himself. And no one was there to help him.” The shooting appears to have been an isolated incident, with no other shootings reported in the area in the past six months, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Barry Hall, who also added a warning to other hikers.
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Westminster Man Arrested In Connection With Capitol Attack
A 61-year-old Westminster man has been arrested at his home in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Kevin Louis Galetto was arrested just after 6 a.m. Friday as federal authorities were executing a search warrant at his residence, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Dalton said. Galetto is charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, obstruction of justice, entering a restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. An affidavit from FBI Special Agent David DiMarco alleges that Galetto was first seen on video surveillance at the Capitol about 2:40 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Lower West Terrace tunnel entrance wearing a black baseball cap in support of former President Donald Trump. Body-worn camera footage from police show the defendant “with his arms extended and pressed up against (Metropolitan Police Department) officer shields,” DiMarco wrote. The body-worn cameras also show him in a “scuffle” with one officer, who was injured, DiMarco said. The officer was “knocked to the ground,” and the defendant can be seen pushing on the officer's shield, DiMarco said.
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Colorado Mass Shooting Suspect, Now Charged With 54 Crimes, Could Face Even More Counts, DA Says
The 21-year-old Arvada man charged with 54 crimes in connection with the March mass shooting at a Boulder King Soopers could face even more charges in the future, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Thursday. The district attorney’s office late Wednesday added 43 counts to the 11 charges Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa faced for the March 22 attack at the grocery store on Table Mesa Drive that killed 10 people, including a responding police officer. The new charges included 32 counts of attempted first-degree murder and listed 11 police officers and seven civilians as victims. The amended charging document now lists the victims in the order they were killed and fired upon, Dougherty said, with two distinct entries by police. The first entry into the store by police included Officer Eric Talley, one of the 10 people killed, and two other Boulder police officers. “They charged in,” Doughtery said of the first three officers, “and less than 30 seconds after Officer Talley was tragically shot and killed, a second wave of officers… charged back into the King Soopers.”
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California Has Opened Hundreds Of Investigations Into Unemployment Fraud Involving Prisoners
A California task force formed five months ago to investigate fraudulent unemployment claims involving incarcerated people said Monday that there have so far been 68 arrests and it has opened 1,641 other inquiries. The report by the statewide task force comes after local prosecutors warned that potentially tens of thousands of fraudulent claims have been filed involving people in prison and jail that could total $2 billion. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in November that he was asking state officials to form a task force with federal prosecutors and county district attorneys who had already begun investigating improper claims filed in the names of people behind bars, including those on death row. The Newsom administration released an update on its investigations Monday shortly after Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber reported there were sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot an effort to recall the governor. “This coordinated and targeted partnership between government and law enforcement has been very successful so far in detecting and disrupting COVID-19-related fraud schemes,” Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said in a statement.
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15 People Shot In NYC Saturday — Compared To 1 On Same Day A Year Ago
Fifteen people were shot in New York City Saturday, compared to just one person on the same day a year ago, police said. And the city has seen 395 people shot so far this year through Saturday compared to 238 people shot by the same time last year, police said. The startling numbers show that shootings have not slowed down as COVID-19 restrictions loosen across the city. Eugene O’Donnell, a former NYPD cop who is now a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the gunplay has less to do with the pandemic and more to do with changes in criminal justice policy. “The reasons are quite clear, police are paralyzed and prosecutors give excuses. It’s a gold era if you want to pick up a gun in New York City,” said O’Donnell, who believes many police officers are afraid to make arrests and prosecutors want to keep people out of jail. “The system won’t put blame on people. The word is out that the risk of carrying a gun are really negligible at this point.” 2020 saw a 97% increase in shootings and a 45% increase in homicides, levels of carnage not seen in over 14 years.
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Man Found Dead Beneath San Pedro Coastal Cliff
A man was found dead after apparently falling off a cliff at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro Monday afternoon, officials said. Crews were on scene at the park at 1 Point Fermin, known for its lighthouse, by 4:15 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert. Firefighters found the man halfway down the precipice and set up a high-angle rope rescue in an attempt to bring him back up, LAFD said. But as officials reached the man near the bottom of the cliff, they realized he was dead. Rescuers hoped to still use the high-angle rope method to recover his body before the tide came in. The deceased man was not immediately identified. No one else was hurt.
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LA County Reports Decrease In Cases And Hospitalizations As More Residents Get Vaccinated
Los Angeles County reported 408 new cases of COVID- 19 and five additional deaths Sunday, though health officials said the relatively low numbers may reflect delays in weekend reporting. The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals dropped from 444 Saturday to 407, according to state figures, while the number of those patients in intensive care rose from 101 to 103. Sunday's numbers brought the county's totals to 1,231,532 cases and 23,773 fatalities since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “This virus has caused havoc and pain in our county for too long. However, we now have a way forward to end the pandemic,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said on Saturday. “It is more important than ever for everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated to look over the information about vaccine safety and make an appointment as soon as you can. When you do, you'll be protecting yourselves and just as importantly, you'll be keeping yourselves healthy so you can continue to support those you love.”
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California Is Primed For A Severe Fire Season, But Just How Bad Is Anybody’s Guess
At this point, it seems like almost a given that California will see another historic fire season. A meager rainy season is in the rearview mirror. Snowpack is depleted. Vegetation and soils are parched. “All the indications are that we are heading into another really bad fire year,” said Safeeq Khan, assistant cooperative extension specialist of water and watershed sciences at the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. But there are still some key variables that haven’t yet taken shape. Weather events, human behavior and even luck will dictate whether 2021 goes down in the record books like 2020, when California wildfires burned an area larger than the state of Connecticut. “We like to cite the Swiss cheese model,” said Nick Nauslar, fire meteorologist at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. “You have to have enough holes in the cheese line up for us to get a season like we did last year.” Dryness typically predicts a very active summer fire season in Western U.S. forests, said Park Williams, bioclimatologist and professor at UCLA.
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'Destruction Of Community ' Prompts del Rey Resident To Launch Bonin Recall Efforts
Efforts to recall Councilmember Mike Bonin are in full motion. Bonin is the Councilmember for the 11th District (CD 11) of the City of Los Angeles. He first won the CD11 seat in 2013--and then again in 2017. Bonin has filed the necessary paperwork to run in the 2022 CD 11 race. The recall efforts emerged in the wake of the controversy surrounding a motion submitted by Bonin in early April that calls for looking into the feasibility of bringing temporary housing options at several local beaches and parks. Those include Mar Vista Park, Fisherman's Village in Marina Del Rey, Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey, Westchester Park, Will Rogers State Beach and the West LA Municipal Building. Although a notice to recall hasn't officially started the clock on California's cumbersome process to unseat an elected official—a lot of time and effort is happening behind the scenes. Alan Resnik, a Marina del Rey resident who grew up in Mar Vista, is spearheading the efforts and says he is appalled by what he calls Bonin's "destruction of the community." Also working on the Recall is Venice resident Heidi Roberts, the founder of Haavan—a shared housing initiative that has provided a room and services for more than 200 formerly unhoused Angelenos.
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