Law Enforcement News Violent LA Crime Wave, Jacqueline Avant Killing Result Of Liberal Justice Reforms: Critics A day after a career criminal was arrested in the fatal shooting of philanthropist Jacqueline Avant at the lavish Beverly Hills home she shared with her husband Clarence, a 90-year-old music producer inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, her family issued a statement that read in part, “Now, let justice be served.” But in Los Angeles, where left-wing lawmakers and activists have pushed a litany of progressive reforms that help violent criminals spend less-time behind bars, justice is not only fleeting — it’s twisted, critics say. “It’s a s–t show over here,” said LAPD Det. Jamie McBride, a director of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, a police union. “Bad guys are released quicker than we can finish the paper work, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” New York Post DAs, Retailers Say California Needs Tougher Retail Theft Law After Smash-and-Grab Streak Spurred by a recent run of large-scale smash-and-grab robberies, prosecutors and retailers are pushing back on assertions by California's governor and attorney general that they have enough tools to combat retail theft in the wake of a voter-approved easing of related laws. “We cannot function as a society where we have told people over and over again that there is no consequence for stealing other people’s property," said Vern Pierson, immediate past president of the California District Attorneys Association and El Dorado County's district attorney. The complaints came as authorities on Friday announced what they said was “one of the largest retail theft busts in California history,” a haul of $8 million worth of merchandise stolen from San Francisco Bay Area retailers including CVS, Target and Walgreens, along with $85,000 in cash and nearly $1.9 million from various bank accounts. While shoplifting has been a growing problem, recent large-scale thefts in California and elsewhere in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight are ”raising it to a whole new level,” said California Retailers Association President and CEO Rachel Michelin. “We feel a little bit like we’re under assault,” she said. National retail groups last month estimated the annual losses to be in the tens of billions of dollars. Some states’ attorney generals are supporting a congressional bill that would require more prevention efforts by large online marketplaces, where experts say many of the stolen goods are fenced. PoliceOne Woman Shot To Death In Car In Florence Area A woman was shot to death Sunday in the Florence area of south Los Angeles and a man who was sitting with her inside a vehicle is the suspected shooter. The shooting was reported just after 4 p.m. in front of 136 E. 68th St., according to officer A. Delatorre of the Los Angeles Police Department's operations center. Witnesses heard multiple gunshots and the unknown suspect fled on foot, Delatorre said. The 27-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. Her name was not released pending notification of next of kin. NBC 4 Man Found Dead In Dumpster In South Los Angeles The body of a man was found today inside a trash bin in the Vermont Square area of South Los Angeles. The discovery was made about 1:10 p.m. at 4222 S. Figueroa St., according to Officer A. Delatorre of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center. The man was believed to have been between 20 and 25 years old, Delatorre said. There was no word whether there were signs of foul play, he said. CBS 2 Male Wounded In Brentwood Shooting A male was hospitalized this morning following a shooting on a Brentwood street. The shooting occurred about 3:50 a.m. in the 100 block of North Church Lane, said Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison. The male was conscious and breathing when officers arrived at the scene, Madison said. He was taken to a hospital by paramedics and his age and condition were not available, the officer said. No suspect or vehicle description was available, Madison said. WestSide Current 2 Diamond Rolex Watches Taken In Valley Village Follow-Home Robbery Two suspects are on the loose Friday morning after committing what police believe is a follow-home robbery in Valley Village. The victims were returning home from a club in Hollywood about 2:45 a.m. Friday and on their way to drop off someone on the 12000 block of Albers Street when a vehicle with two men pulled in behind them and robbed them at gunpoint, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison told City News Service. The victims told Fox 11 the robbers took two diamond Rolex watches, an iPhone, at least $2,000 in cash and pistol-whipped a female passenger. “They take everything. They put a gun in my face and said if you don’t shut up I’ll put a bullet in your head,” one victim told Fox 11. The suspects were described as a Black male between 20 and 25 years old wearing a black jacket and a Black male between 35 and 40 with a beard. Both suspects were wearing gloves, police said. Madison said the suspects drove away in a late model white Toyota. Los Angeles Daily News Fairfax Robbery: 2 Men Wearing ‘Police-Type' Vests Attack Victims And Stole Money, Jewelry, LAPD Says The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating another surveillance video appearing to show an armed robbery in what's believed to be the Fairfax area Thursday. In the video, three people appear to be returning home when two men approach them, demanding they open the front door, and telling the victims they are with the DEA. When the victims appear to struggle opening the front door, punches and curse words are slung. Following the attack, three other suspects entered the scene and started stealing property, LAPD said in a press release Friday. On Friday, LAPD released the following description of the suspects: Suspect 1: Described as a Black man between the ages of 20 and 25, listed at about 6-foot-1, medium build, black hoodie, black "police-type" vest with a "police" badge. He was armed with a gun. Suspect 2: Described as a Black man between the ages of 20 and 25, listed at 6-foot-1, medium build, black hoodie, black "police-type" vest with a "police" badge. He was armed with a rubber mallet. Suspect 3: Described as a male, but no other details were provided. Suspect 4: Described as a male, but no other details were provided. Suspect 5: Described as a male, but no other details were provided. Anyone with information on the robberies was asked to contact LAPD Rampart Robbery Det. A. Trimino at 213-484-3631 or Det. E. Ignacio at 213-484- 3627. FOX 11 Armed Robbers Break Into Palisades Home During Holiday Party An outdoor holiday party in the Pacific Palisades came to a crashing halt Friday night when two armed robbers broke into the residence and stripped guests of jewelry, phones and a watch, according to the homeowners. The robbery happened on the 1200 block of Rimmer Avenue at around 7:40 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said. The owner of the home, who asked to not be named, said two party-goers came inside the house to retrieve their purses and were confronted by two men with guns. The men took jewelry, iPhones and an Apple watch from the women and then left, the owner said. “It’s more frustrating than it is scary,” the owner told The Times. “I feel lucky that no one got hurt.” The victims of the robbery, however, were quite shaken, he said. An LAPD public information officer who declined to provide his full name said the suspects fled the scene by the time police arrived. The spokesman had no information on whether the suspects had been identified or apprehended, he said. The robbery is one in a recent wave of property crime in affluent areas of Los Angeles, including upticks in robberies in upscale corridors like Melrose Avenue and a spate of follow-home robberies on the Westside. Los Angeles Times Two-Year Investigation Into Drug Dealing In Skid Row Nets 50 Arrests A two-year investigation into narcotics dealing in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles has resulted in 50 arrests and the seizure of various quantities of drugs, including more than 46,000 fentanyl pills, according to authorities. The multi-agency operation included personnel from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and targeted those responsible for ``sales and distribution of narcotics in the Skid Row area, primarily to the homeless population,'' the LAPD reported. “Many of the individuals living in the Skid Row area are also narcotics users,'' an LAPD statement said. ``The street dealers prey on the homeless when they receive their public assistance at the beginning of the month. It is well known that gang members and associates from areas throughout Los Angeles County have traditionally controlled narcotics sales in the Skid Row area.'' To date, authorities have seized five kilograms of cocaine, 857 pounds of methamphetamine, five pounds of heroin, one kilogram of fentanyl, more than 46,000 fentanyl pills, six firearms and about ``$250,000 in cash from narcotics sales,'' police said. WestSide Current Beverly Hills Stepping Up Police Presence Amid Rise In Crime Beverly Hills is adding more police and security officers to its streets amid a spike in crime that has residents on edge. Five new officers are joining the Beverly Hills Police Department on Monday, and the city will be deploying additional armed, private Covered-Six security officers for street patrols. The department is also recruiting “lateral and pre-service police officers.” Interested candidates are asked to visit JoinBHPD.org. Beverly Hills and Los Angeles have seen an uptick in violent crimes of late, including a rash of smash-and-grab retail robberies and a concurrent wave of so-called “follow-home” robberies, in which criminals target people with high-end merchandise, sometimes following them to their homes. Beverly Hills was rocked by Wednesday morning's death of Jacqueline Avant, wife of music executive Clarence Avant, who was killed during an apparent break-in at the couple's Trousdale Estates home. A 29-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested on suspicion of killing Avant following an unrelated burglary in the 6000 block of Graciosa Drive in the Hollywood Hills, committed roughly an hour after Avant's shooting, according to BHPD Chief Mark Stainbrook. NBC 4 Flash Mob Robbery Attempted In Compton: Sheriff’s Department A group of people tried to rob a business in Compton Saturday afternoon, but employees prevented anything from being stolen, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The attempted robbery occurred shortly after 3 p.m. in the 2100 block of North Long Beach Boulevard, according to Lt. Rose of the Sheriff’s Department. “Numerous suspects” entered the business and “displayed firearms” but the business’ employees prevented anything from being stolen, Rose said. The would-be robbers then fled in multiple cars, but “a shooting took place as a result,” Rose added. It remains unclear who was shot and who shot them, though Rose said shooter was not a Sheriff’s Department deputy. The extent of the victim’s injuries are unknown, and the incident is still under investigation, Rose said. KTLA 5 Are Soaring Murder Rates Here To Stay In California, Local Communities? Through the long lens of history, violent crime is a fraction of what it was in the early 1990s. But homicides have surged from historic lows over the past several years in many California cities — and across the nation — and no one’s sure if it’s a pandemic-inspired spike, or if it’s here to stay. The city of San Bernardino recorded the highest per-capita murder rate among California’s larger cities in 2020 — 30.6 murders for every 100,000 residents, according to federal data collated by Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that supports education and research about firearms in America. In similarly sized Moreno Valley, there were just 7 murders per 100,000 residents. Homicides more than doubled in some Southern California cities from 2016 to 2020, including Riverside (10 to 24), Anaheim (7 to 16), Hemet (5 to 14), Pasadena (2 to 7) and Torrance and Glendale (1 to 3 in both). Meanwhile, murders in the city of Los Angeles climbed from 293 in 2016 to 352 last year; while Oakland saw murders jump from 86 to 102; and Long Beach, from 33 to 36. OC Register Crime Reform Is Here. Do You Feel Safer? If a conservative is a liberal who got mugged, California is about to have a bumper crop of right-wingers as the social compact is crumbling in the Golden State and beyond. California retailers are under siege as smash-and-grab gangs raid stores with impunity. Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, has likened the flash robberies to "domestic terrorism." In Oakland during Thanksgiving week, two men died fighting what progressives have styled as petty crimes. Kevin Nishita, a former cop who was working as a security guard for a news crew covering a gang robbery, was shot and killed. Within days, a man who confronted someone trying to steal his car died in the same manner. Californians are angry and scared. Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to relate to them when he revealed his business had been broken into three times in the last year. "I have no empathy, no sympathy for these folks, and they must be held to account," Newsom said. You'd never guess he endorsed Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that softened sentences for shoplifting and other crimes. Or that he opposed a 2020 initiative to enhance the sentences for organized retail crime and firearm thefts. Blue cities and many states are experiencing similar lawlessness as, in the name of reform, progressives reduced penalties for repeat offenders. Real Clear Politics Texas Officer Killed In Shooting Identified The Mesquite Police Department announced Saturday afternoon that Richard Houston was the officer who was fatally shot while responding to a disturbance call Friday in the 1500 block of S. Belt Line Road. Houston was a 21-year veteran of the department. The department said his assignments included serving in the operations bureau as a patrol officer, on the SWAT team for over 10 years and in criminal investigations handling burglary and theft, homeland security, and juvenile and gang cases. The disturbance call at around 1:40 p.m. led to a shootout between Houston and a male suspect after the suspect pulled a gun, authorities said on Friday. Both Houston and the suspect were transported to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Dallas. At the time, both were in critical condition. The department said Houston died from his injuries at 2:11 p.m. Houston was married with three children. "This was a senseless act of violence," Mesquite Police Chief David Gill said in a statement. "Richard was a great officer, friend, father and husband. Please keep his family and our family in your prayers." Fort Worth Star-Telegram Public Safety News Firefighters Rescue Infant, Two Adults From Fire At Two-Story Home Two adults and an infant were rushed to a hospital Saturday from a fire at a two-story home in the Florence community of unincorporated Los Angeles County, authorities said. Their conditions were not immediately known, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher. Firefighters dispatched at 9:35 a.m. to the 8100 block of Lou Dillon Avenue had the blaze out at 9:44 a.m., the dispatcher said. No damage estimates were immediately available. The cause of the fire was under investigation. CBS 2 LA County's COVID Hospitalizations Climb Back Above 600; More Than 100 Patients Currently In ICU The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals surged past 600 Saturday amid concern over another possible autumn and winter surge in infections and the presence of the new omicron variant in Los Angeles County. There were 610 COVID patients at county hospitals as of Saturday, up from 572 on Friday, according to the latest state figures. Of those, 146 were in intensive care, up just one from Friday. The county also reported 2,307 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and 20 additional deaths associated with the virus, raising its cumulative totals to 1,534,720 cases and 27,442 fatalities since the pandemic began. The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 1% as of Friday. Meanwhile, a rapid-testing site opened at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday to offer free -- but voluntary -- COVID tests for arriving international passengers. The COVID testing at the Tom Bradley International Terminal is being offered strictly on a voluntary basis, since there is no federal requirement for inbound passengers to be tested. ABC 7 No-Burn Order Extended For Much Of Southland Through Monday The South Coast Air Quality Management District has extended a mandatory prohibition on indoor and outdoor wood burning in much of the Southland through Monday night due to a forecast of high air pollution in the area. The residential wood-burning ban was extended for a 10th consecutive day Sunday, and now will be in effect at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday. It affects all those in the South Coast Air Basin, including the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and all of Orange County. The order does not apply to mountain communities above 3,000 feet, the Coachella Valley or the high desert. Homes that rely on wood as a sole source of heat, low-income households and those without natural gas service also are exempt from the requirement. The no-burn rule prohibits burning wood as well as manufactured fire logs, such as those made from wax or paper. Gas and other non-wood burning fireplaces are not restricted, the SCAQMD said. Fine particles in wood smoke, also known as particulate matter or PM2.5, can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems such as asthma. NBC 4 Local Government News LA City Council Approves Games Agreement Ahead Of 2028 Olympics The Los Angeles City Council Friday approved a Games Agreement with the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games -- providing a framework for an array of details, including insurance for disasters and ticket loss and the city's financial liability in the event of a deficit. The council unanimously voted in 2017 to approve L.A.'s bid for the 2028 Olympics. The Games Agreement serves as a roadmap for the games as the city prepares to host the estimated $6.9 billion event. According to the agreement -- which passed by an 11-2 margin -- the games are paid for by the nonprofit Los Angeles Organizing Committee, or LA28. In the event of a deficit, the city is on the hook for the first $270 million owed, with the state taking over for the next $270 million. After the state's portion of the costs, the city would be on the line for all additional costs. City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo and Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso briefed council members about the agreement before the vote Friday, saying that while it is impossible to eliminate all risk, the city has done its best to mitigate risk. 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