Author: City News Service

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County reported more than 1,300 new COVID-19 cases in its latest data, along with seven new virus-related deaths. The 1,332 new cases lifted the county’s overall total from throughout the pandemic to 3,491,716. The number of cases released by the county each day is an undercount of actual COVID activity, due to the widespread use of at-home tests, the results of which are generally not reported to the county. With seven new fatalities, the county’s cumulative number of virus- related deaths rose to 33,992. According to state figures, there were 419 COVID-positive patients in county…

LOS ANGELES – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County dropped Friday for the 30th consecutive day since rising to a record, decreasing nine-tenths of a cent to $5.529. The average price has dropped 96.5 cents over the past 30 days, including 2.8 cents Thursday, to its lowest amount since Sept. 23, according to figures from the AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. It is 15 cents less than one week ago and 96 cents lower than one month ago, but 93.9 cents more than one year ago. The Orange County average…

LOS ANGELES – Former Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges pleaded no contest Thursday to a felony charge of injuring a child’s parent stemming from an altercation with his wife in front of their two children in West Los Angeles. Bridges was immediately sentenced to three years probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, one year of parenting classes and 100 hours of community service, according to the District Attorney’s Office. He will also be subject to a 10-year criminal protective order and will face weekly drug and marijuana testing. A hearing on restitution for the victim is scheduled for Jan.…

LOS ANGELES – A man who sued Los Angeles County and two sheriff’s deputies, alleging he was left paralyzed during a deputy-involved shooting in 2021 at his Cudahy home, is not entitled to an expedited trial within 120 days, a judge ruled Thursday. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Thomas D. Long said plaintiff Isaias Cervantes’ attorneys had not shown sufficient justification to have his case go to trial sooner than its current scheduled date of next May 15. “If the interests of justice would indeed be served by merely allowing the plaintiff a timelier opportunity to obtain the remedy he…

LOS ANGELES – County Sheriff Alex Villanueva accused District Attorney George Gascón Thursday of intentionally withholding the results of investigations into three shootings involving deputies and a highly publicized deputy use-of-force case in an effort to impact the outcome of Villanueva’s re- election bid, and to derail the recent effort to recall Gascón. But the District Attorney’s Office issued a statement denying any wrongdoing and saying “many lies” were told during Villanueva’s downtown Los Angeles news conference on Thursday. Villanueva told reporters that the District Attorney’s Office Justice System Integrity Division had completed its review of all four cases –…

LOS ANGELES – A person was shot in South Los Angeles Thursday, and police were searching for the suspect. The shooting was reported about 2:50 p.m. in the area of Vermont Avenue and West Colden Avenue, near Bret Harte Preparatory Middle School, said Officer Rosario Cervantes of the Los Angeles Police Department. Details on what led up to the shooting were unclear, though one victim was taken to a hospital in unknown condition. No suspect description was immediately available. Anyone with information on the shooting was asked to contact the LAPD at 877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be called in to…

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – CBS and former president/CEO Les Moonves will pay $30.5 million for conspiring to conceal sexual assault allegations against Moonves from investors, regulators and the public — an effort that was abetted by a Los Angeles police captain, the New York Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday. The bulk of the money will be distributed to CBS shareholders, according to New York prosecutors. As part of the resolution of the case, the network will also be required to overhaul its policies on sexual harassment reporting and training. “As a publicly traded company, CBS failed its most basic duty…

CASTAIC, Calif. – A man was taken into custody Thursday after allegedly stealing a big rig cab that burst into flames on the Golden State (5) Freeway in Castaic. California Highway Patrol units began pursuing the truck cab — which was reported stolen from Kern County — about 2:40 p.m. in the Gorman area. The driver refused to yield to authorities and fled at slow speeds on the Golden State Freeway through the Newhall area into Castaic, at one point driving over a spike strip. The front tires of the truck eventually fell off the rims, which began sparking against…

LOS ANGELES – A man accused of engaging in a gunfight with police that resulted in the death of an assistant manager at a Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake in 2018 will be allowed to act as his own attorney, a judge said Thursday. Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench noted that the case has “some very complicated legal issues” and that she thought it was a “really bad idea” for Gene Evin Atkins to represent himself. The 32-year-old defendant responded that he still wanted to go forward with representing himself. Mural of Melyda “Mely” Maricela Corado near entrance of…

LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Rob Bonta Thursday released a report finding insufficient evidence to support criminal charges against two Los Angeles Police Department officers who shot and killed a 48- year-old man holding a butane lighter resembling a gun on a crowded stretch of Hollywood Boulevard last year. Matthew James Sova was shot and killed on July 15, 2021. Along with the California Department of Justice report, Bonta issued specific policy and practice recommendations related to the incident, as required by a new state law. Bonta said that while there is insufficient evidence to support criminal charges, there…

COMPTON, Calif. – A man was shot and killed by Sheriff deputies in the city of Compton on Thursday. Residents reached out to us to say a shooting occurred at the Gateway Towne Center around 12:25 pm and that the man was armed with they described as an ax but was determined to be a hatchet. Photos posted in Facebook group Eye Witness News in Compton Deputies were told by a victim at the scene that he was attacked by a man armed with a hatchet. The deputies conducted a search and found the armed man near the Compton Town…

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – A 21-year-old motorist suspected of causing a fiery crash in Woodland Hills that left two people dead has been booked on suspicion of murder, authorities said Thursday. Kevin Gonzales was hospitalized following the crash that occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 23100 block of Mulholland Drive, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was held on $4 million bail, police said. According to police, Gonzales was driving a Toyota Camry eastbound at a high rate of speed when the car rear-ended a Ford Mustang, killing its two occupants. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office…

By Terri Vermeulen Keith LOS ANGELES – A defense attorney for the man convicted of gunning down rapper Nipsey Hussle in front of the musician’s South Los Angeles clothing store said Thursday he plans to ask a judge to reduce his client’s conviction from first-degree murder to voluntary manslaughter. Defense attorney Aaron Jansen told reporters outside a downtown Los Angeles courtroom that he will ask that the murder count be “reduced to voluntary manslaughter to be consistent with the other two verdicts” in which Eric Holder Jr. was convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter — rather than the more serious charge…

LOS ANGELES – Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday he is pausing the third round of grants to local jurisdictions from a $1 billion state program addressing homelessness, saying current housing plans across the state are “failing” to adequately address the crisis. Newsom plans to convene local leaders later this month to review the state’s “collective” approach to homelessness and identify new strategies. Until then, the third round of Homelessness Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grants, which provide a share of the $1 billion to local jurisdictions, will be paused. One condition of the grants is that each jurisdiction must submit…

ORANGE, Calif. – Thousands of Orange County bus riders found themselves without service Thursday, with the union representing Orange County Transportation Authority maintenance workers striking over what it calls stalled labor negotiations. The union called the walkout Wednesday — setting up picket lines at the agency’s Santa Ana and Garden Grove yards and forcing a shutdown in bus service beginning Thursday. The agency alerted commuters to find alternate means of travel and check the agency’s website at octa.net for any updates. Despite the warnings, people unaware of the disruption were still seen Thursday morning at various bus stops, waiting for…