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LAPD Credits Observant Hollywood Residents For Bust Of Man With Arsenal Of Guns

A man who allegedly made threatening comments to neighbors and staff at a Hollywood residential high-rise was charged Friday with criminal threats and possession of illegal weapons, and police credited residents with alerting authorities, leading to the discovery of an arsenal of weapons in his 18th-floor apartment. “There is a high chance that the officers, and obviously, security staff and the people who called, prevented a mass shooting from happening,” Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Leonid Tsap told reporters. Braxton Johnson, 25, was charged Wednesday with two counts of possession of an assault weapon, one count of criminal threats and one count of solicitation of murder, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Johnson was arrested late Tuesday night, with bail set at $500,000. The LAPD released a statement Thursday regarding the investigation and said, “there are no indications that any persons were threatened with a firearm, nor have we identified any intent by Johnson to plan a mass shooting incident.”

MyNewsLA

25-Year-Old Hollywood Man Arrested With Cache Of Weapons Pleads Not Guilty

A 25-year-old man pleaded not guilty after officers seized an arsenal of weapons from his Hollywood high-rise apartment. The suspect Braxton Johnson was charged with two counts of possession of an assault weapon, one count of criminal threats and one count of solicitation of murder. Officers seized two assault rifles, a sniper rifle, a shotgun, three pistols and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from Johnson's home. None of the firearms were registered to the suspect, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Two of the weapons were reported to be illegal in the state of California. They also found several high-capacity magazines, scopes and body armor in the apartment. During Johnson's first court appearance on Thursday, detectives said they found new "items" in the suspect's apartment. They did not specify what the "items" were. Johnson also asked if his father could take his personal items from the apartment. The court allowed him to do so, once LAPD's investigation finishes.

CBS 2

LAPD Seeks Public Help Finding Missing Woman, 32

Authorities Thursday were asking for public help to find a missing 32-year-old woman. Priya Kanwar was last seen in San Pedro near 2300 South Pacific Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Kanwar is described as 5 feet, 2 inches tall and 170 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a blue hoodie, gray shorts and black shoes. Anyone with information regarding Kanwar’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 213-996-1800.

MyNewsLA

Dad Of 3 Severely Beaten After Road Rage Incident From 110 Freeway In South LA

A family is pleading for justice and an arrest after a road rage incident left a father of three beaten and bloody. The California Highway Patrol called the violent incident as a "road rage" encounter and pledged to continue investigations. On January 25, Sandra Tocohua said she was in the car with her husband, Adrian Burgos Herrera, 33, when a road rage incident started with another car at the 110 Northbound Freeway and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the South Los Angeles area. "Before we exited, he [the other driver] was already trying to hit us for no reason. We're not sure what exactly got him angry or what was his problem. As we were exiting, he got in front of us and then he was driving slow to get us pissed off but we kind of ignore it but then once we were exiting onto the exit, again he tried to hit us there and then he got in front of us again," said Tocohua. Tocohua said Burgos got out of the car and the other driver got out of the car too. They were parked at the traffic light.

FOX 11

Two Half-Siblings Testify About Alleged Abuse Before 10-Year-Old Boy's Death

The half-siblings of a 10-year-old boy who died in 2018 testified Wednesday that they had been forced to undergo punishment, including kneeling on uncooked rice, wrestling each other and watching each other be disciplined in their Lancaster home, and that they saw their mother's boyfriend repeatedly dropping their half-brother on the bedroom floor shortly before his death. The testimony of Anthony Avalos' half-sister, identified in court only as Destiny O., and his half-brother, Rafael O., came during the non-jury trial of their mother, Heather Maxine Barron, and her live-in boyfriend, Kareem Ernesto Leiva. Barron and Leiva are charged with one count each of murder and torture involving Anthony's June 2018 death, along with two counts of child abuse involving Destiny and Rafael.

NBC 4

List: California Mass Shootings Of The Past Decade

In 2023 across the United States, the number of mass shootings nationwide so far this year has outpaced the number of calendar days. And in 2023, it was the worst January yet for mass shootings. The deadliest of all mass shootings in the New Year took place in Southern California, in a neighborhood called Monterey Park. Monterey Park has been listed as one of America's best places to live and raise a family, not only by a Time/Money Magazine ranking, but by the people who live in the community. During a Lunar New Year celebration at a dance hall frequented mostly by older patrons, a 72-year-old shooter opened fire, ultimately killing 11. Within 48 hours, another mass shooting in Northern California left at least seven dead. By Jan. 25, some 40 shootings have occurred in the nation, with six of those being classified as mass murders by Gun Violence Archive. Of the six this year, three of those have been in California. In California, with some of the strictest gun laws in the country, the state has a troubled and bloody past when it comes to mass shootings. Mass shootings are defined by the Gun Violence Archive as at least four people being killed or injured in a shooting, not including the shooter.

NBC 4

Officer In ‘Extremely Critical Condition' After Shooting At Memphis Library; Suspect Dead

A shooting at a Tennessee library left one person dead and a police officer critically wounded, authorities said. Officers were called to the Poplar-White Station Public Library around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, where they encountered a man who had been the subject of a trespassing call in the same neighborhood about thirty minutes earlier, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Keli McAlister said. The man had started a confrontation with another person inside the library, and when officers attempted to talk with him, he pulled out a weapon and shot one of them, McAlister said. The other officer drew his weapon, shooting and killing the man. McAlister did not identify the officers, but the man killed was identified as Torence Jackson Jr., 28, of Indianapolis. The officer was taken to a hospital “in extremely critical condition,” McAlister said. There were employees and patrons inside the library at the time of the shooting, but no one else was injured, McAlister said.

Associated Press

'An Ugly Criminal Act': Portland Memorial Dedicated To City’s Fallen LEOs Vandalized

Portland leaders on Thursday condemned the apparent act of vandalism that defaced the city’s memorial to fallen police officers this week. The Portland Police Memorial in Tom McCall Waterfront Park honors officers who died in the line of duty and includes the names of 29 officers who died between 1867 and 2002. Former President George H.W. Bush dedicated the memorial in May 1993. A vandal or vandals on Tuesday destroyed the marble tiles and glass plates that lists the officers’ names and the dates they died, police said. The plates are built into a curving brick wall, which cost $200,000 to build 30 years ago. “This is a senseless, destructive and intentional act,” said Police Chief Chuck Lovell in a press release. “This memorial honors heroes — people who had the courage to give their lives while serving the City of Portland. No amount of destruction can erase their legacy. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the people named on the memorial. There are spouses, children, grandchildren and more who suffered greatly by the loss of their loved one. To see a cowardly act such as this done in an attempt to dishonor that memory is disgraceful.”

PoliceOne

Some Pharmacies In Mexico Passing Off Fentanyl, Meth As Legitimate Pharmaceuticals

If you walk down the right side street, the offers are plentiful, even in broad daylight. Young men in plain T-shirts draw near and call out their wares: Pills. Cocaine. Guns. But if you wave them away and go just a few feet farther, you can walk into a pharmacy where you might get something just as dangerous. You just won’t know it. A Los Angeles Times investigation has found that pharmacies in several northwestern Mexican cities are selling counterfeit prescription pills laced with stronger and deadlier drugs and passing them off as legitimate pharmaceuticals. In Tijuana, reporters found that pills sold as oxycodone tested positive for fentanyl, while pills sold as Adderall tested positive for methamphetamine. Testing conducted farther south in Cabo San Lucas and nearby San José del Cabo bore similar results, although there, even weaker painkillers — including pills sold as hydrocodone — also tested positive for fentanyl. Many are nearly indistinguishable from their legitimate counterparts. In total, the Times investigation found that 71% of the 17 pills tested came up positive for more powerful drugs.

Los Angeles Times

Man, Woman Seriously Hurt In Sunland Crash

Two people sustained serious injuries in a two-car crash in Sunland Thursday morning. Rescue crews pulled a 45-year-old man and 75-year-old woman from their cars following the wreck on the 8600 block of West Foothill Boulevard, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The man was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, while the woman was in serious condition. NBC4’s NewsChopper4 helicopter showed the aftermath of the wreck, which happened just before 10 a.m. Two sedans could be seen with major front-end damage, both near a bus. Authorities said the bus was not involved in the crash and that no one aboard was hurt. Foothill Boulevard was closed between Newhome and Sherman Grove avenues.  

NBC 4

Woman Rescued From Home During Hollywood Flooding

A broken water main caused flooding and a roof collapse in Hollywood Thursday night, and a woman was rescued from the affected home. Firefighters were called about 9:31 p.m. to the 6000 block of Fountain Avenue near Beachwood Drive where they found water from the broken main shooting approximately 30 feet into the air, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. A woman was rescued by firefighters from a nearby two-story residence where the roof collapsed due to water damage from the flooding, NBC 4 reported. The property was red-tagged by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. As a precaution, several homes in the area were evacuated, Prange said. Representatives from the Department of Transportation and Department of Water and Power were requested to the scene. A sinkhole appeared to be forming, Prange said.

Los Angeles Daily News

LA County Logs 1,354 New COVID-19 Cases

Los Angeles County health officials reported 1,354 new COVID-19 infections and 14 more virus-related deaths in their latest data. The new infections increased the county’s overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,679,170. The daily case numbers released by the county’s Department of Public Health are undercounts of actual virus activity, due to people who use at-home tests and don’t report the results, and others who don’t test at all. County health officials also reported 14 new COVID-related deaths, raising the death toll to 35,308. According to state figures, there were 707 COVID-positive patients hospitalized in the county as of Thursday, down from 747 a day earlier. Of those patients, 77 were being treated in intensive care units, down from 80 on Wednesday.

MyNewsLA

COVID Emergency Declarations Are Ending. What Does That Mean For California?

Three years following the emergence of COVID-19, authorities at state and federal levels are preparing to lift emergency declarations originally issued to marshal pandemic responses. While the moves will undoubtedly be cheered in some circles, such steps aren’t merely symbolic. Transitioning out of the emergency phase could eventually spell the end of universal access to free vaccines, treatments and tests. But plans to rescind the emergency declarations also illustrate a turning in the years-long global battle against COVID-19. “My sincere hope is that we’re entering a new phase with less devastation, less severe illness and, particularly, with less death,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. 

Los Angeles Times

LA City, County Receive $60 Million To Battle Homeless Crisis

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is celebrating after receiving $60 million from the federal government to fund her efforts to end the homeless crisis in not only the city but the entire county. "It is very, very nice to begin my day with a $60 million check," said Bass. The incoming head of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority Va Lecia Adams Kellum said the federal grant will be used in a variety of ways in to help the unhoused. "The $60 million will go to outreach," she said. "Funding of motels and immediate shelter. That's part of the model and it will fund that as well and permanent housing." In the past month, Bass has amassed about $110 million to fight the homeless crisis: $60 million from the federal government and $50 million from the L.A. City Council. The mayor acknowledged that a lot of money has been thrown at this crisis in the past with little results, but she says her administration is on a different path. 

CBS 2

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 9,200 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.