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California Central Valley Police Officer Shot And Killed

A police officer in California’s Central Valley was shot and killed Tuesday and a suspect was arrested. The Selma officer was patrolling in the small Fresno County city shortly before noon when someone flagged down his patrol car and said there was a suspicious person in a yard, KFSN-TV reported. As the officer left his car, he was shot several times. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital. His name wasn’t immediately released. A 23-year-old man was later found and arrested and a gun believed to have been used in the shooting was seized in the area, police said. “I’m absolutely outraged. I am horrified right now,” Selma Police Chief Rudy Alcaraz during a press conference. The motive for the shooting was under investigation but may have been gang-related, Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said. The man arrested had a criminal record that included robbery and gun possession charges and he was wanted by probation officers, authorities said.

Associated Press

LAPD Chief Michel Moore Receives Second Term

The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday reappointed Chief Michel Moore to a second term as head of one of the nation’s largest police departments. The five-member commission reached its unanimous decision during a closed-door meeting knowing that Mayor Karen Bass, who in her role wields considerable power over the chief and department, supported the move — albeit with some caveats. In a letter sent to the commission on Monday, Bass, who took office in December and campaigned on the promise of bringing more police accountability and transparency, said she believed Moore shared her desire to see the department improve its recruitment of “reform-minded” officers and change how it responds to calls involving the mentally ill. She added that she expects the department to deliver on “[s]pecific actions toward” other goals, such as partnering with a new community safety office she’s launched and streamlining the hiring process to ensure that new officers get out on the streets more efficiently.

Los Angeles Times

Cities Are Thinking About Police Staffing All Wrong

Law enforcement, police unions and politicians nationwide are rallying behind demands for more officers on the streets, tying those calls to rising crime while warning of a future hiring crisis. But a Bloomberg News analysis shows that even as staffing levels dropped during the pandemic, nationally, police department headcounts exceed those of 15 years ago, when crime was higher. In major cities, staffing levels rose and fell over that period, with some changes corresponding to economic downturns and local crises. But between 2011 and 2019, police staffing levels in more than half of the 20 largest US cities grew, according to FBI data, and across the country the total number of sworn local law enforcement officers increased 15% from 2001 to 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The pandemic introduced new challenges to police hiring and to retention. Police agencies were not immune to the labor market crunch created as workers sought more flexibility, better pay and greater work-life balance. Baby boomers aging out of the workforce are driving retirement turnover. Public sentiment toward law enforcement deteriorated following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, and is again under intense scrutiny following the brutal beating death of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers earlier this month. That makes the job less attractive to some would-be recruits.

Bloomberg

2 Innocent Motorists Killed When Vehicle Pursued By Police Hits Their Car In Panorama City

Two innocent people are dead after a violent crash following a police pursuit in Panorama City on Tuesday evening, Jan. 31, officials said. Around 8 p.m., officers from the Foothill Division of the Los Angeles Police Department started pursuing a stolen vehicle occupied by two people, according to Valley Bureau Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton. The stolen vehicle — aerial photos showed it was a pickup — was traveling westbound off of Woodman Avenue approaching Cantara Street off of Lanark Street as an LAPD helicopter was trying to get overhead when the vehicle struck a car going northbound on Woodman. An innocent driver and their passenger, whose identities were not immediately released, died at the scene. The suspect driving the stolen vehicle was taken into custody after they briefly attempted to flee from the crash. Officers tased and tackled the suspect in the process of apprehending them. The driver and another suspect were being treated for minor injuries.

Los Angeles Daily News

One Dead In Westlake/MacArthur Metro Station Stabbing; Suspect At Large

Authorities were searching for a suspect who fatally stabbed a person inside of a Metro station near MacArthur Park Tuesday night. According to Los Angeles Police Department, officers were dispatched to the station just after 9 p.m. upon receiving reports of an assault at the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro rail station located in the 600 block of S. Alvarado Street. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives said that they were searching for a suspect Tuesday night. A description of the suspect was not released. 

CBS 2

2 French Bulldogs, Boxer Puppy Stolen In LA

Authorities are searching for three dogs stolen from their owners in Los Angeles recently, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. In three separate bulletins, the LAPD detailed the grand thefts of Dodger, a 1-year-old French bulldog, and Havoc, also a French bulldog, as well as the theft of Boxer puppy Rocker, who was stolen during a burglary. Anyone with information is asked to contact Mission Area Burglary Detectives at (818) 838-9882. 

FOX 11

Marina Man Sentenced In Identity Theft Case

Kristopher Brent Cobb, 41, of Marina del Rey, has been sentenced to 45 months in federal prison for identity theft. In September, 2019, Eric Lertzman, a Los Angeles deputy city attorney, shot his wife and son before killing himself. A daughter escaped. Two days later, Cobb started emptying their accounts through hacking their cell phones. He withdrew from their bank accounts, retirement accounts and credit cards. The trial proved he took more than $137,000 from these accounts. He pled guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Sentenced by U-S District Judge John Walter, Cobb was also ordered to pay restitution of the stolen amount. The judge says Cobb's crimes caused ``immense grief'' to the couple's surviving child.

Westside Current

LASD Searching For Man Accused Of Sexually Assualting Woman At Culver City Park

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is seeking the public's help in finding a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a park in Culver City. Investigators said the assault happened on Dec. 22 at Kenneth Hahn Park on La Cienega Boulevard. The victim was walking at the park when the suspect sexually assaulted her. The sheriff's department released a sketch of the man, who's being described as a 5-foot-7 Hispanic man with a medium build and "possible skin discoloration on the right side of his face." He could be anywhere between 20 to 25 years old. The suspect was last seen wearing a black beanie, a black hoodie and black joggers. Anyone with information is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Special Victims Bureau toll free tip line at (877) 710-5273 or by email at [email protected].

ABC 7

Man Sentenced In Connection With 1978 Murder At El Monte Motel

A 63-year-old man linked by DNA evidence to a man's stabbing death at an El Monte motel more than four decades ago was sentenced Monday to seven years to life in state prison. The sentence for Anthony Davis was imposed under sentencing guidelines that were in place at the time of the Jan. 7, 1978, slaying of Rudolfo Chavez, according to Deputy District Attorney Sarika Kim. The 42-year-old victim had been stabbed 45 times and was found dead by a motel employee in a room at the Spic and Span motel the next day, the prosecutor said. Investigators linked Davis to semen found on a bedspread that also contained the victim's blood, along with a fingerprint on the inside of the motel room door, although the defendant denied ever being at the motel, Kim said. The prosecutor said that the victim was found naked, and that authorities believe some sort of sexual activity had occurred just before he was killed. The motive for the attack was not clear, Kim said. Davis was arrested in February 2021 by Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.

NBC 4

SoCal Man Charged With Molesting Children For Nearly A Decade

A Ventura County man was charged Tuesday for the molestation of two young children for nearly a decade. The suspect was identified as Aristeo Rivera Ramos, 70, from Oak View, by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Ramos is facing 11 counts of forcible lewd acts on minors under the age of 14, officials said. If convicted, he could face up to 275 years to life in prison. Authorities say the victims were 6 years old when Ramos began molesting them in 2011, abuse that lasted until 2020. The children were Ramos’ family members as well, officials said. Ramos was arrested on Jan. 24 and then released on Jan. 27 under special conditions. “Terms of his release include staying away from the two victims, all children under 18, and not coming within 10 yards of the fence line his residence shares with an elementary school,” according to arrest documents.

KTLA 5

California Tesla Driver Caught On Video In Suspected Road Rage Attack Arrested

The Tesla driver allegedly behind a road rage attack that was caught on video on a Southern California freeway has been arrested, authorities announced. Officials with the California Highway Patrol identified the suspect as 36-year-old Nathaniel Walter Radimak of Los Angeles. He was arrested by CHP’s Major Crimes Unit in Torrance on Sunday. The CHP said Radimak is the pipe-wielding man who was seen on video in the Jan. 11 incident that occurred while he was driving his black Model X Tesla on the southbound lanes of Highway 2 near York Boulevard in Glendale. That morning, the driver of a Chevrolet pickup truck observed a road rage incident involving the black Tesla and began recording with his cellphone. A few minutes later, the driver of the Tesla attempted to merge into the left lane and bumped into the Chevrolet, hitting the front passenger side. Both cars continued driving and a few seconds later, the Tesla driver stopped in the middle of the freeway, got out of his car with a "pole-like object" and hit the Chevrolet's door and window multiple times.

FOX 11

COVID-19 Pandemic Enters A New Phase But Remains A ‘Threat' In Los Angeles

Three years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the virus remains a threat to millions of people around the world, but it is reaching a "tipping point," according to the World Health Organization's Emergency Committee (WHO). The organization added that “achieving higher levels of population immunity globally, either through infection and/or vaccination, can limit the impact of SARS-CoV-2 ( COVID-19) on morbidity and mortality, but there is no doubt that this virus will remain a permanently established pathogen in humans and animals for the foreseeable future." Measures to counter the pandemic have allowed mortality rates to drop. However, in the past 8 weeks, "more than 170,000 have lost their lives to COVID-19, and these are just the reported deaths, we know the real number is higher," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said.

NBC 4

Proposed South LA Hotel Clears LA City Council's Planning Committee

A proposed 168-room Marriott hotel in South Los Angeles cleared the City Council's planning committee Tuesday and is expected to be reviewed by the full council on Friday. The proposed seven-story building would be located on a 34,000-square-foot, city-owned site that has been vacant since 2010. It was formerly the site of the Bethune Library and is located near USC. The council voted 12-1 on Jan. 17 to override the denial of a permit for the hotel by the South Los Angeles Area Planning Commission. On Tuesday, three members of the council's planning committee recommended approval of the item, with two absences. In 2019, the City Council entered into an agreement with a developer to build the Marriott on the site. The local planning commission sided with the city's zoning administrator in denying a conditional use permit and site plan review amid concerns that the lot should be used to provide affordable housing last month.

NBC 4

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