LOS ANGELES – A lawsuit for alleged child sexual exploitation brought by a Los Angeles man pictured as a naked infant over 30 years ago on the cover of the groundbreaking Nirvana album “Nevermind” has been dismissed, according to court papers obtained Wednesday. Spencer Elden sought millions of dollars in personal injury damages from the now-defunct group’s company, various record companies and art directors on the grounds that he was a victim of child pornography when, as a 4- month-old baby, he was photographed naked in a pool for the cover of the multimillion-selling 1991 album. He filed suit almost…
Author: Fred Shuster
LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors Tuesday moved to dismiss the indictment and vacate the judgment in the case of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy whose original felony conviction for assaulting and pepper-spraying a suspect was reduced to a misdemeanor by a judge who then sentenced him to four months behind bars. The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed its unopposed motion in Los Angeles federal court for a judge’s order to dismiss the indictment, vacate the judgment and exonerate Trevor Kirk’s bond. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson last month granted in part the government’s motion to dismiss the allegations in…
LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The Trump administration Monday sued the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council over L.A.’s so-called “sanctuary city” policies, alleging in federal court that the ordinance violates the Constitution by “thwarting” immigration enforcement. The lawsuit contends that the sanctuary laws — in which local law enforcement officials refuse to assist immigration enforcement efforts — are illegal, and expressly designed to “obstruct the federal government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal…
LOS ANGELES – A federal court judge has determined that the city of Los Angeles failed to meet its obligations under a settlement agreement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights and must provide an updated plan detailing how it will create almost 13,000 shelter beds for homeless residents by the end of June 2027, according to court papers obtained Wednesday. In an order filed Tuesday by U.S. District Judge David Carter, he wrote that the city has shown “a consistent lack of cooperation and responsiveness — an unwillingness to provide documentation unless compelled by court order or media scrutiny.”…
LOS ANGELES – UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium on the VA’s West Los Angeles campus was locked down Thursday after a federal judge ordered the facility closed until the university submits a proposal for the stadium grounds to be used primarily for the benefit of the military veterans for whom the land was originally deeded. The shut-down order came at the conclusion of a daylong hearing Wednesday in which U.S. District Judge David O. Carter voiced frustration at UCLA and other ex-leaseholders at the VA’s West Los Angeles campus for not offering satisfactory uses for land that he ruled has been…
LOS ANGELES – In a hard-hitting, sometimes-shocking ruling that blasts the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for “turning its back” on the disabled veterans it was designed to help, a federal judge Friday ordered additional housing for veterans on the agency’s West Los Angeles campus. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also determined that the department has been illegally leasing portions of the campus to a private school, UCLA’s baseball team, an oil company, and other private interests. In the 125-page ruling, Carter wrote that the “cost of the VA’s inaction is veterans’ lives.” The judge’s findings were issued Friday…
LOS ANGELES – Disgraced former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar was granted a delay in the start of his 13-year prison term — previously scheduled for Friday — due to confidential medical matters, according to new court filings. Huizar had been ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no later than noon Friday. However, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter granted a five-week continuance on Thursday for “good cause.” Huizar must now surrender to the BOP no later than Oct. 7, the result of convictions for accepting bribes from downtown developers and cheating on his taxes. Papers filed…
LOS ANGELES – Seven defendants face federal criminal charges in an indictment alleging a Santa Clarita Valley man orchestrated a “crime tourism” group that targeted stores and private homes throughout Southern California and elsewhere, then laundered millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, officials announced Wednesday. The indictment, unsealed in Los Angeles federal court, charges the defendants — six of whom were arrested Wednesday in a series of raids in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties — with multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and structuring transactions to avoid financial reporting requirements. “These criminals were running a burglary…
LOS ANGELES – Convicted former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar is seeking to extend the date he must report to federal prison to begin his 13-year term for accepting bribes from downtown developers and cheating on his taxes, according to a court filing obtained Tuesday. Huizar was ordered at sentencing to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no later than April 30. However, new papers filed in Los Angeles federal court indicate he is seeking to continue that date to Aug. 30 for medical reasons. In a filing Monday seeking to have his request be filed under seal, Huizar’s…
LOS ANGELES – Raymond Chan coordinated bribes for himself and convicted ex-city councilman José Huizar in a scheme to soak developers in exchange for getting building projects approved at City Hall, a prosecutor told a federal criminal jury in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, but the defense countered that the former deputy mayor was motivated only by “love of his adopted city” and did nothing illegal. Chan, 67, of Monterey Park, is facing a dozen federal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, two types of bribery and lying to federal agents for his alleged role in a pay-to-play scheme that prosecutors say monetized…
LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass said Friday the city would foot the bill for an independent audit of her signature Inside Safe initiative to combat homelessness in answer to a Los Angeles federal judge’s questions about the program’s transparency in light of alleged missed deadlines by the city in moving homeless residents out of the city’s largest encampments and under a roof. Bass, who is currently in France, spoke to U.S. District Judge David Carter by telephone early Friday, agreeing that the court will have final say in choosing an auditor, the judge said during the brief resumption of…