A former state legislator, a La Jolla-based developer and an attorney — who are charged along with a former Industry city manager — pleaded not guilty Monday to charges stemming from what prosecutors contend was a corruption scheme. Former Sen. Frank Hill, R-Whittier, 68, pleaded not guilty to a newly filed count of misappropriation of public funds, along with two counts filed last August accusing him of having a financial interest in a contract or a purchase made in an official capacity. Developer William Joseph Barkett, 63, pleaded not guilty to 44 newly filed counts of forgery, along with one…
Author: City News Service
The seizures of prohibited meat products from China continue at levels never seen before at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex, authorities said Monday. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in first quarter of fiscal year 2022, which ran from October through December of 2021, agriculture specialists intercepted 262,237 pounds of prohibited pork, chicken, beef and duck products — a 33% increase from same period the year before. The increase began intensifying in fiscal year 2021, when in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of prohibited animal products seized at the LA/LB seaport reached a record 786,514…
INDUSTRY – A woman pedestrian was struck and killed in the city of Industry but detectives have now ruled out homicide, authorities said Monday. The fatal crash occurred about 9:40 p.m. Sunday in the 1600 block of Azusa Avenue, according to Deputy Tracy Koerner of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. The woman was taken by paramedics to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, Koerner said. Detectives investigating at the scene determined the pedestrian’s death was not a homicide, he said. No further information was immediately available.
LOS ANGELES – A man stabbed to death in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles was a resident of Oakland in the San Francisco Bay area, authorities said Monday. Justin Dumas was 30 years old, according to the coroner’s office. He died in a hospital. Los Angeles Police Department officers were called about 2:55 a.m. Friday to the area of Washington Boulevard and La Brea Avenue on reports of a hit-and-run collision and found two vehicles in the street, according to a department statement. Police discovered two occupants who were not seriously injured in one car, and found that the…
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County coroner’s office Monday has identified the man who was found dead at a Woodland Hills residence. Jeffrey Howe was a 42-year-old resident of Woodland Hills, according to the coroner’s office, which reported the location of his death was a hotel/motel. Los Angeles Police Department officers were called to the residence in the 20200 block of Ventura Boulevard, near Taft High School in Woodland Hills, at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday on reports of a battery. They found the man dead at the scene with his feet tied together and his hands cuffed behind his back,…
MISSION HILLS (CNS) – Patrons of a bar in Mission Hills discovered a man suffering from a fatal gunshot wound on a sidewalk in front of the establishment Sunday morning, authorities said. The victim, a 26-year-old man, was not a customer at the bar, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Officers were dispatched at about 3:10 a.m. to the 15400 block of Chatsworth Street regarding a battery that had just occurred in front of the bar. They found the victim lying on the sidewalk, unconscious and not breathing. Arriving paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. LAPD Valley Bureau homicide…
LOS ANGELES – “The Batman” comfortably kept its hold atop the box office, raking in $66 million in its second weekend at North American theaters, according to industry estimates released Sunday. Warner Bros.’ nearly 3-hour reboot of its caped crusader franchise was directed by Matt Reeves and stars Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano and Colin Farrell. It made $128.5 million last weekend for the second-biggest opening of any film in the pandemic era, trailing only “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which made about $260 million in its opening weekend in December. The film’s grosses are being goosed a bit by…
GARDENA – A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and injured Saturday evening in Gardena. The crash was reported at 6:17 p.m. at South Vermont Avenue and West 149th Street, according to the California Highway Patrol. Paramedics transported the injured pedestrian to a hospital at 6:17 p.m., according to Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Melanie Flores. The pedestrian’s condition was not immediately available. The California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert at 6:20 p.m. for southbound Vermont Avenue at 149th Street indicating the crash was possibly fatal.
NORTHRIDGE – A man fatally shot during an confrontation in Northridge was from Mission Hills, authorities said Saturday. Denis Bravo Jr. was 31 years old, according to the coroner’s office. Police were called to an apartment in the 18400 block of Dearborn Street, near the Cal State Northridge campus, at 12:30 a.m. Friday regarding a shots fired call. They found the victim lying on the floor of a bedroom suffering from gunshot wounds, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Bravo was pronounced dead at the scene. An investigation revealed Bravo and a suspect became involved in a confrontation in…
LOS ANGELES – A man was wounded Saturday evening in a drive-by shooting in the Vermont-Slauson area of Los Angeles. The 23-year-old man was walking in the 5800 block of South Figueroa Street, near Slauson Avenue, about 5 p.m. when two young men drove by and fired gunshots at him, according to a dispatcher at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center. The wounded man was taken by paramedics to a hospital, where his vital signs were stable, she said. No additional information was immediately available.
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 7% in January, up from a revised 6.8% in December 2021, according to figures released Friday by the state Employment Development Department. The 7% was below the rate of 10.9% during the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2021. Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8% in January, down from the 8.8% rate from January 2021. The comparable estimates for the nation were 4% during this past January. According to the EDD, total nonfarm employment in Los Angeles County decreased by 75,100 jobs between December 2021 and January to…
LOS ANGELES – A man was fatally stabbed Friday in the Mid-City area of Los Angeles, and police are investigating. The crime occurred about 3 a.m. near Washington and Crenshaw boulevards, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. Information was not immediately available on the identity of the fatally wounded man, who died at a hospital. No description was released of the suspect, who was being sought. Washington Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and La Brea Avenue was closed while an investigation was conducted. Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 877-LAPD-247.
LONG BEACH – A suspect in a shooting spree and a carjacking and kidnapping in Long Beach fatally shot himself in a church in Carson during a standoff with a police SWAT team, authorities said Friday. Authorities withheld the name of the 29-year-old Long Beach man, who died at a hospital, pending notification of his relatives. The series of events began about 7:15 p.m. Thursday, when officers went to the 200 block of East 57th Street in Long Beach on a report of a shooting, the Long Beach Police Department reported. According to police, investigators believe the suspect committed the…
LOS ANGELES – One person was shot in a parking lot in South Los Angeles Thursday evening. The shooting was reported just before 7:25 p.m. at the parking lot near a shopping complex in the area of Slauson and Vermont avenues, near the Harbor (110) Freeway, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim was taken to a hospital in unknown condition, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. No suspect description was immediately available, and authorities were on scene to investigate the shooting.
LOS ANGELES – People can begin applying for Los Angeles County’s guaranteed income program March 31. The “Breath: LA County’s Guaranteed Income Program” will give 1,000 randomly selected residents $1,000 a month for three years. To qualify, people must be at least 18 years old, have a household income under $56,000 for a single person or $96,000 for a family of four and have experienced negative impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants will receive the money through a debit card, and there are no strings attached or conditions to the income. “The financial uncertainty and varying depths of poverty…