FBI probes slaying at VA campus
The body of Jose Luis Plascencia, 56, was found by a groundskeeper June 30. Authorities say he may have died a week earlier. Veterans advocates say the VA downplays incidents on the campus.
By Richard Winton and Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times
July 17, 2011
For a week, the patient's body lay undiscovered at the sprawling West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.
Then, just before noon on June 30, a groundskeeper found the decomposing remains of Jose Luis Plascencia while trimming foliage near Jackie Robinson Stadium, officials said.
Initially, investigators did not consider the grisly discovery to be foul play. The body was taken to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
There, medical examiners discovered something the investigators had apparently overlooked: a "sharp force injury to the neck." The coroner ruled the 56-year-old's death a homicide. "His neck had been cut," said Ed Winter of the coroner's office.
read more here
FBI probes slaying at VA campus
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles. Show all posts
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Homeless veterans numbers rise in Los Angeles
Homelessness In Los Angeles Drops -- But Rises 24 Percent Among Veterans
Matt Sledge
msledge@huffingtonpost.com
Homelessness in Los Angeles was on the decline over the last two years, even in the teeth of the recession -- but at the same time, homelessness among veterans has shot up 24 percent since 2009, according to a report the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released Tuesday.
That statistic, based on a count conducted in January, could provide ammo for organizations suing the Department of Veterans Affairs over the lack of supportive housing in the county.
"This data really confirms the theory of our case," said ACLU staff attorney David Sapp. "What the VA is currently making available is not working."
The VA of Greater Los Angeles said it could not confirm the Homeless Services Authority's estimate. According to the VA Northeast Program Evaluation Center, the number of homeless veterans served in the L.A. area went up from 6,397 in Fiscal Year 2009 to 6,641 in Fiscal Year 2010.
read more here
Matt Sledge
msledge@huffingtonpost.com
Homelessness in Los Angeles was on the decline over the last two years, even in the teeth of the recession -- but at the same time, homelessness among veterans has shot up 24 percent since 2009, according to a report the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority released Tuesday.
That statistic, based on a count conducted in January, could provide ammo for organizations suing the Department of Veterans Affairs over the lack of supportive housing in the county.
"This data really confirms the theory of our case," said ACLU staff attorney David Sapp. "What the VA is currently making available is not working."
The VA of Greater Los Angeles said it could not confirm the Homeless Services Authority's estimate. According to the VA Northeast Program Evaluation Center, the number of homeless veterans served in the L.A. area went up from 6,397 in Fiscal Year 2009 to 6,641 in Fiscal Year 2010.
read more here
Friday, May 20, 2011
Four buses crash in LA, three of them with military personnel
Multiple bus crash shuts down 5 Freeway in L.A.; one bus transporting inmates
May 19, 2011 | 12:53 pm
Four buses -- including at least one carrying inmates for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department -- collided with one another other in a chain-reaction crash that has shut down the northbound 5 Freeway in Commerce, Channel 9 news is reporting.
[Updated at 1:05 p.m.: Authorities said that three of the buses were carrying military personnel.
Eight people suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals. One of the crash victims sustained potentially more serious injuries.
Two of those injured were inmates; the other six were military personnel.
At about 12:45 p.m., authorities shut down the entire freeway -- all northbound and southbound lanes. A new Sheriff's Department bus also arrived to collect the inmates, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Matt Levesque.
The accident occurred just south of Washington Boulevard at 11:50 a.m. Officials believe that a car slowed suddenly in front of the Sheriff's Department bus. The bus driver slammed on his brakes, leading to a chain-reaction crash with the three buses following closely behind him in the fast lane, Levesque said.]
Video from the scene shows the damaged buses and the northbound highway entirely shut down. Southbound traffic is backed up and moving slowly.
At least one inmate was transported from the scene by ambulance and other inmates suffered at least minor injuries, the station reported.
-- Howard Blume
check here for updates on this
Multiple bus crash shuts down 5 Freeway
May 19, 2011 | 12:53 pm
Four buses -- including at least one carrying inmates for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department -- collided with one another other in a chain-reaction crash that has shut down the northbound 5 Freeway in Commerce, Channel 9 news is reporting.
[Updated at 1:05 p.m.: Authorities said that three of the buses were carrying military personnel.
Eight people suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals. One of the crash victims sustained potentially more serious injuries.
Two of those injured were inmates; the other six were military personnel.
At about 12:45 p.m., authorities shut down the entire freeway -- all northbound and southbound lanes. A new Sheriff's Department bus also arrived to collect the inmates, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Matt Levesque.
The accident occurred just south of Washington Boulevard at 11:50 a.m. Officials believe that a car slowed suddenly in front of the Sheriff's Department bus. The bus driver slammed on his brakes, leading to a chain-reaction crash with the three buses following closely behind him in the fast lane, Levesque said.]
Video from the scene shows the damaged buses and the northbound highway entirely shut down. Southbound traffic is backed up and moving slowly.
At least one inmate was transported from the scene by ambulance and other inmates suffered at least minor injuries, the station reported.
-- Howard Blume
check here for updates on this
Multiple bus crash shuts down 5 Freeway
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
LAPD get well music video for LA Cop injured in Afghanistan
Hollywood-style get-well greeting for an L.A. cop in Afghanistan
A fellow police officer and his musician friend make a music video, complete with footage shot from an LAPD helicopter, for the Marine reservist injured by a bomb blast.
By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
August 20, 2010
Enthusiasm was sky high when Los Angeles police officers decided to cheer up a colleague injured by an Afghanistan bomb blast.
Co-workers and strangers joined to create a music video that aims to boost the spirits of Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins.
In civilian life, the Marine reservist is a police officer assigned to the downtown area.
Cullins, 28, is also an explosive ordnance disposal specialist assigned to a unit in Marja, in Afghanistan's dangerous Helmand province.
He was disarming a 15-pound roadside bomb when it blew up July 16. He suffered a concussion in the blast.
When word of the injury reached the Police Department's Central Division, officers decided to send Cullins their best wishes. But instead of just signing a get-well card, they set out to record personal messages to him on video.
read more here
Hollywood style get well greeting for an LA cop in Afghanistan
A fellow police officer and his musician friend make a music video, complete with footage shot from an LAPD helicopter, for the Marine reservist injured by a bomb blast.
By Bob Pool, Los Angeles Times
August 20, 2010
Enthusiasm was sky high when Los Angeles police officers decided to cheer up a colleague injured by an Afghanistan bomb blast.
Co-workers and strangers joined to create a music video that aims to boost the spirits of Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins.
In civilian life, the Marine reservist is a police officer assigned to the downtown area.
Cullins, 28, is also an explosive ordnance disposal specialist assigned to a unit in Marja, in Afghanistan's dangerous Helmand province.
He was disarming a 15-pound roadside bomb when it blew up July 16. He suffered a concussion in the blast.
When word of the injury reached the Police Department's Central Division, officers decided to send Cullins their best wishes. But instead of just signing a get-well card, they set out to record personal messages to him on video.
read more here
Hollywood style get well greeting for an LA cop in Afghanistan
The completed two-part video was being posted Thursday evening on YouTube for Cullins and his Marine buddies to see. It's labeled "Hunter Ackerman — Welcome Home."
Sunday, April 11, 2010
From hard life in LA teen heading to West Point
LA Teen Beats Odds to Earn Admission to West Point
Mara Gay
Contributor
(April 9) -- This is what it looks like to beat the odds.
Tyki Nelworth, 18, was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point last week after enduring a lifetime of obstacles that would have stopped most people from accomplishing much of anything.
Nelworth's mother is in jail, his father is dead and he has had no permanent home.
At one point, he was taken from his mother because of suspected child neglect, and his sister told him he was a "crack baby."
read more here
LA Teen Beats Odds to Earn Admission to West Point
Mara Gay
Contributor
(April 9) -- This is what it looks like to beat the odds.
Tyki Nelworth, 18, was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point last week after enduring a lifetime of obstacles that would have stopped most people from accomplishing much of anything.
Nelworth's mother is in jail, his father is dead and he has had no permanent home.
At one point, he was taken from his mother because of suspected child neglect, and his sister told him he was a "crack baby."
read more here
LA Teen Beats Odds to Earn Admission to West Point
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Vietnam vet is awarded Silver Star after 43 years
Vietnam vet is awarded Silver Star after 43 years
The Boyle Heights man hadn't received the medal for heroism because of lost paperwork. When the officer who recommended him found out, he doggedly worked to correct the oversight.
By Esmeralda Bermudez
October 4, 2009
It took 43 years, but Marine Pfc. Daniel Hernandez finally got his medal.
And when he did Saturday morning in Boyle Heights, the Vietnam veteran stood up straight and proudly puffed out his chest, his eyes glistening with emotion.
"His immediate and fearless actions, while himself painfully wounded, undoubtedly saved many lives," said Marine Lt. Jim Lupori, reading from the Silver Star medal citation that, because of lost paperwork, was never awarded to Hernandez by the secretary of the Navy after he left Vietnam in the late 1960s.
The four-decade wait only made the honor more meaningful to Hernandez, 63, as several hundred relatives, friends and fellow veterans gathered for a ceremony in his honor at the Hollenbeck Youth Center. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-East Los Angeles) and a host of other state and city leaders attended.
They came in support of a man they had known for decades as a community youth leader and president of the Hollenbeck Youth Center, which provides after-school programs to keep children away from gangs and drugs.
Few knew Hernandez also was a war hero.
"There's a difference between action heroes in movies and action heroes in real life," said Schwarzenegger, who has long collaborated with Hernandez on youth issues. "Danny is a real action hero."
read more here
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-medal4-2009oct04,0,3123760.story
The Boyle Heights man hadn't received the medal for heroism because of lost paperwork. When the officer who recommended him found out, he doggedly worked to correct the oversight.
By Esmeralda Bermudez
October 4, 2009
It took 43 years, but Marine Pfc. Daniel Hernandez finally got his medal.
And when he did Saturday morning in Boyle Heights, the Vietnam veteran stood up straight and proudly puffed out his chest, his eyes glistening with emotion.
"His immediate and fearless actions, while himself painfully wounded, undoubtedly saved many lives," said Marine Lt. Jim Lupori, reading from the Silver Star medal citation that, because of lost paperwork, was never awarded to Hernandez by the secretary of the Navy after he left Vietnam in the late 1960s.
The four-decade wait only made the honor more meaningful to Hernandez, 63, as several hundred relatives, friends and fellow veterans gathered for a ceremony in his honor at the Hollenbeck Youth Center. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-East Los Angeles) and a host of other state and city leaders attended.
They came in support of a man they had known for decades as a community youth leader and president of the Hollenbeck Youth Center, which provides after-school programs to keep children away from gangs and drugs.
Few knew Hernandez also was a war hero.
"There's a difference between action heroes in movies and action heroes in real life," said Schwarzenegger, who has long collaborated with Hernandez on youth issues. "Danny is a real action hero."
read more here
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-medal4-2009oct04,0,3123760.story
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
L.A. firefighters escape as truck sinks into hole
L.A. firefighters escape as truck sinks into hole
Story Highlights
Los Angeles firetruck nearly swallowed by sinkhole Tuesday morning
Firefighters in truck were responding to flooding call when incident happened
Two firefighters escaped truck through windows; no injuries reported
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Los Angeles firefighters and city crews worked for several hours Tuesday to rescue one of their own: a 22-ton firetruck that was nearly swallowed by a water-logged sinkhole.
Two firefighters crawled out of the truck's windows after it sank Tuesday morning. No one was injured.
The incident happened after four firefighters took the truck to the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Valley Village, where flooding had been reported after a water main break, just before 6 a.m. PT.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/08/california.stuck.fire.truck/index.html
Story Highlights
Los Angeles firetruck nearly swallowed by sinkhole Tuesday morning
Firefighters in truck were responding to flooding call when incident happened
Two firefighters escaped truck through windows; no injuries reported
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Los Angeles firefighters and city crews worked for several hours Tuesday to rescue one of their own: a 22-ton firetruck that was nearly swallowed by a water-logged sinkhole.
Two firefighters crawled out of the truck's windows after it sank Tuesday morning. No one was injured.
The incident happened after four firefighters took the truck to the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Valley Village, where flooding had been reported after a water main break, just before 6 a.m. PT.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/08/california.stuck.fire.truck/index.html
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wildfire with 'mind of its own' doubles in size
Wildfire with 'mind of its own' doubles in size
A fast-moving wildfire more than doubled in size on Monday and has burned through 164 square miles in Southern California since it started. Fire officials ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of 10,000 homes, and five people who refused to evacuate were trapped by the fire. The blaze "has a mind of its own," U.S. Forest Service official Mike Dietrich said. full story
Schwarzenegger: Heed fire warnings
Explainer: All about fighting wildfires
Fire time-lapse mirrors volcano eruption
A fast-moving wildfire more than doubled in size on Monday and has burned through 164 square miles in Southern California since it started. Fire officials ordered mandatory evacuations for residents of 10,000 homes, and five people who refused to evacuate were trapped by the fire. The blaze "has a mind of its own," U.S. Forest Service official Mike Dietrich said. full story
Schwarzenegger: Heed fire warnings
Explainer: All about fighting wildfires
Fire time-lapse mirrors volcano eruption
Two firefighters die battling blaze in Los Angeles County
Two firefighters die battling blaze in Los Angeles County
Story Highlights
NEW: Two dead firefighters identified
Fast-growing Los Angeles County wildfire has become 42,000-acre conflagration
So-called Station Fire threatens up to 10,000 homes and 2,000 other structures
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Fire officials late Sunday identified two firefighters who died accidentally while battling a fast-spreading wildfire in Los Angeles County.
Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, and Spc. Arnaldo Quinones, 35, were in a vehicle that "went over the side" on Sunday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Country Fire Department.
They were fighting what is known as the Station Fire, which had spread to 42,000 acres by late Sunday.
Hall was with the department for 26 years and Quinones for eight years.
The accident happened near Acton, about 25 miles north of central Los Angeles, during "intense fire activity that was occurring near Mount Gleason," Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bryant said.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/31/california.wildfires/index.html
UPDATE
LA firefighters killed trying to save inmate crew
By CHRISTINA HOAG and JACOB ADELMAN, Associated Press Writers
Monday, August 31, 2009
18:21 PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) --
As the roaring wall of flame raged through the Angeles National Forest, firefighters Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones worked feverishly to protect their fire-crew camp, made up mostly of prison inmates.
read more hereLA firefighters killed trying to save inmate crew
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
15,000 Homeless Veterans in LA Alone!
If you ever wanted to know why I do what I do, read this! PTSD is the bulk of the homeless problem with our veterans and my husband was almost one of them.
Living with PTSD in the house is hard, even if you know what it is. It once got so bad that I wanted him to go to the homeless shelter in Boston, but they didn't have the room for him. This was before Iraq. It was before Afghanistan. It was not before I knew what PTSD was. I've been doing this since 1982 and I've been trying so hard to open the eyes of the people in this country before it was too late for too many with no place to go, but no one listened and now, just in LA alone, there are 15,000 homeless veterans!
Living with PTSD in the house is hard, even if you know what it is. It once got so bad that I wanted him to go to the homeless shelter in Boston, but they didn't have the room for him. This was before Iraq. It was before Afghanistan. It was not before I knew what PTSD was. I've been doing this since 1982 and I've been trying so hard to open the eyes of the people in this country before it was too late for too many with no place to go, but no one listened and now, just in LA alone, there are 15,000 homeless veterans!
Veterans of two wars work together
Story Highlights
Sergio Arias' Marine unit served in Iraq in 2003
He says he has post-traumatic stress disorder, became addicted to drugs
Vietnam vets mentor other former service members in New Directions programs
Number of homeless veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq is increasing
By Paul Vercammen
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- When Sergio Arias returned to civilian life in Oxnard, California, visions of war still haunted him.
The former Marine, who served a tour of duty during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Even now, it's not something I want to relive," says Arias, who left the military as a corporal in August of that year.
After his release from the service, Arias became addicted to methamphetamines and landed in jail.
Arias, 28, says he has cleaned up at New Directions, a program for addicted and homeless vets in Los Angeles.
Arias is getting by with a lot of help from newfound friends, veterans of the war in Vietnam who also were homeless, addicted and have been incarcerated.
John Keaveney started New Directions in 1992 after he came home from Vietnam and served nine years in prison on a stabbing conviction.
The 60-year old former Army infantryman says combat can erode a veteran's self worth.New Directions says there are more than 15,000 homeless vets in Los Angeles, the largest such population in the United States. Most of the vets are from the Vietnam War era. A small but growing number of veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq are starting to hit the streets.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/19/homeless.vets.newdirections/index.html
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
LAPD Officer committed suicide at Sheriff's Station
LAPD mourns suicide of veteran narcotics detective
Colleagues say Susan J. Clemmer, 41, was 'always smiling' and showed no troubling signs. She shot herself in the head at a Santa Clarita sheriff's station Monday night, police say.
By Richard Winton and Joel Rubin
July 8, 2009
Officers throughout the Los Angeles Police Department grieved Tuesday as news spread that a veteran detective had killed herself in the lobby of an L.A. County Sheriff's Department station Monday night.
Susan J. Clemmer, a well-regarded officer assigned to the LAPD's Gang and Narcotics Division, walked into the Santa Clarita sheriff's station about 9:15 p.m. and spoke to the sheriff's deputy at the front desk, according to sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore and LAPD officials.
Clemmer, 41, placed a box of personal items on the counter and asked to speak to a different deputy. After a brief conversation with a second deputy, when Clemmer was briefly left unattended, staffers heard a gunshot and rushed out to find her with a single gunshot wound in her head, police said.
No one else was injured.
What Clemmer said to the deputies, and whether she identified herself as a police officer, remained unclear Tuesday.
The death of the 19-year LAPD veteran left officers throughout the tightknit department stunned.
"We're in shock. It came as a complete surprise," said Capt. Kevin McCarthy, one of the commanders of Clemmer's unit. "She was always smiling and easy to work with. There was no indication that anything was wrong."
read more here
LAPD mourns suicide of veteran narcotics detective
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Son killed by LA gang, Sgt. Anita Shaw was serving in Iraq
The Saga of Sgt. Anita Shaw
Soldier Reflects on the Killing of Her Son by Gang Member
New America Media/Our Weekly , News feature, Shirley Hawkins, Posted: Jun 12, 2009
Editor's Note: In its commitment to ethnic and communities of color and to developing new coverage models, New America Media, supported by the McCormick Foundation, is using Los Angeles to tell the emotional and often wrenching stories of what happened when veterans came home and found no jobs, red tape and their own demons and inner turmoil.
As a pioneer in forging ethnic-mainstream media partnerships, NAM brought together reporters from three ethnic media -- Sing Tao Daily, La Opinion and Our Weekly -- and the Los Angeles Daily News. This is one of their stories.
A year has passed since the death of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., the promising high school athlete who was gunned down by a gang member in South Los Angeles.
A popular young man with a charismatic personality, Jamiel Shaw Jr.’s trophies and medals still adorn the mantel of the quiet 5th Street Avenue home in Arlington Heights. A day before the anniversary of his son’s death, Sgt. Anita Shaw, a veteran of two tours of Iraq, and her husband, Jamiel Shaw Sr., reflected on their son whose future held so much promise.
Soldier Reflects on the Killing of Her Son by Gang Member
New America Media/Our Weekly , News feature, Shirley Hawkins, Posted: Jun 12, 2009
Editor's Note: In its commitment to ethnic and communities of color and to developing new coverage models, New America Media, supported by the McCormick Foundation, is using Los Angeles to tell the emotional and often wrenching stories of what happened when veterans came home and found no jobs, red tape and their own demons and inner turmoil.
As a pioneer in forging ethnic-mainstream media partnerships, NAM brought together reporters from three ethnic media -- Sing Tao Daily, La Opinion and Our Weekly -- and the Los Angeles Daily News. This is one of their stories.
A year has passed since the death of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr., the promising high school athlete who was gunned down by a gang member in South Los Angeles.
A popular young man with a charismatic personality, Jamiel Shaw Jr.’s trophies and medals still adorn the mantel of the quiet 5th Street Avenue home in Arlington Heights. A day before the anniversary of his son’s death, Sgt. Anita Shaw, a veteran of two tours of Iraq, and her husband, Jamiel Shaw Sr., reflected on their son whose future held so much promise.
For Sgt. Anita Shaw, the irony of serving her country in war torn Iraq while her son was killed on the streets of Los Angeles is still a painful memory.
“When the military told me my son had been killed, my mind went blank,” recalls Anita. “My commander had gotten a message from the Red Cross that my son had been killed. I was given emergency leave. I boarded a flight on Kuwait International and cried all the way home.”
go here for more
The Saga of Sgt. Anita Shaw
Friday, June 5, 2009
Former Marine's New Mission: Helping Iraq War Vets
Former Marine's New Mission: Helping Iraq War Vets
New America Media/Los Angeles Daily News, News feature, Tony Castro, Posted: Jun 05, 2009
When he was discharged from the Marines in 2001, Christopher Duarte of Chatsworth felt lost and unsure of his future, especially in the wake of 9/11 and the United States gearing up for an invasion of Iraq.
“I didn’t know if I should re-enlist -- I was just looking for a mission where I could best serve,” he recalls.
Duarte soon found his mission: helping returning veterans like Ramon Contreras of Pacoima navigate through the seemingly endless red tape of a vast government bureaucracy to get the benefits they were promised for serving their country.
“We still have cases where a lot of guys come out of the military, and they really come out with no clue. There’s no real guidance from the military,” says Duarte, 31, a benefits counselor with the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
New America Media/Los Angeles Daily News, News feature, Tony Castro, Posted: Jun 05, 2009
When he was discharged from the Marines in 2001, Christopher Duarte of Chatsworth felt lost and unsure of his future, especially in the wake of 9/11 and the United States gearing up for an invasion of Iraq.
“I didn’t know if I should re-enlist -- I was just looking for a mission where I could best serve,” he recalls.
Duarte soon found his mission: helping returning veterans like Ramon Contreras of Pacoima navigate through the seemingly endless red tape of a vast government bureaucracy to get the benefits they were promised for serving their country.
“We still have cases where a lot of guys come out of the military, and they really come out with no clue. There’s no real guidance from the military,” says Duarte, 31, a benefits counselor with the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
“In the end, it’s going to take veterans looking out for other veterans,” he said. “What troubles us is to see so many not getting the help they need.”
go here for more
Helping Iraq War Vets
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Off-duty LAPD officer is shot, in serious condition
Off-duty LAPD officer is shot, in serious condition
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
By Ruben Vives and Richard Winton
February 1, 2009
A 49-year-old off-duty Los Angeles police officer was in serious condition Saturday night after being shot in the shoulder during a struggle with two assailants who approached him as he was leaving his City Terrace home, police said.
The 14-year-veteran, Anthony Razo, is assigned to the Hollenbeck division and previously worked with the station's gang detail. He was leaving his house in the 800 block of North Gage Avenue about 5 a.m. Saturday to play golf when he was attacked near his SUV.
The motive for the assault, and whether the officer was targeted or a random victim, is under investigation.
Police said Razo and one attacker were armed with handguns.
During the struggle, Razo's weapon dropped and was picked up by one of the assailants and used to shoot the officer in the upper region of his right shoulder, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said.
Razo was found in his front yard, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Gil Carrillo. Razo was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
click link for more
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
By Ruben Vives and Richard Winton
February 1, 2009
A 49-year-old off-duty Los Angeles police officer was in serious condition Saturday night after being shot in the shoulder during a struggle with two assailants who approached him as he was leaving his City Terrace home, police said.
The 14-year-veteran, Anthony Razo, is assigned to the Hollenbeck division and previously worked with the station's gang detail. He was leaving his house in the 800 block of North Gage Avenue about 5 a.m. Saturday to play golf when he was attacked near his SUV.
The motive for the assault, and whether the officer was targeted or a random victim, is under investigation.
Police said Razo and one attacker were armed with handguns.
During the struggle, Razo's weapon dropped and was picked up by one of the assailants and used to shoot the officer in the upper region of his right shoulder, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said.
Razo was found in his front yard, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Gil Carrillo. Razo was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.
click link for more
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Distraught Father Kills Wife, 5 Kids, Self
Distraught Father Kills Wife, 5 Kids, Self
By THOMAS WATKINS, AP
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 28) - In one upstairs bedroom, the bodies of twin 2-year-old boys were found beside their dead mother. In another bedroom, 5-year-old twin girls and their 8-year-old sister lay next to their lifeless father.
Officers discovered the horrific scene after rushing to a home in Wilmington, prompted by the father's distraught letter faxed to a TV station describing a "tragic story" and a call to authorities.
Police believe Ervin Lupoe, 40, killed his five children and his wife before turning the gun on himself. Both adults were recently fired from their hospital jobs.
"Why leave our children in someone else's hands?" Lupoe wrote in his letter faxed to KABC-TV. The station posted the letter on its Web site with some parts redacted.
The station called police after receiving the fax, and a police dispatch center also received a phone call from a man who stated, "I just returned home and my whole family's been shot." Police are unsure who the male caller was, but they suspect it was the father.
Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, a small community between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and found the bodies.
All the victims were shot in the head, some multiple times, coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. The killings may have occurred between Monday evening and early Tuesday, based on neighbors' accounts of firecracker sounds, he said.
Although the fax — addressed to "whom it may concern" and explaining "why we are dead" — asserted that the wife, Ana Lupoe, planned the killings of the whole family, police Lt. John Romero said Ervin Lupoe was the suspect. A revolver was found next to his body.
click link for more and please pray for the family and friends left behind to cope with this.
By THOMAS WATKINS, AP
LOS ANGELES (Jan. 28) - In one upstairs bedroom, the bodies of twin 2-year-old boys were found beside their dead mother. In another bedroom, 5-year-old twin girls and their 8-year-old sister lay next to their lifeless father.
Officers discovered the horrific scene after rushing to a home in Wilmington, prompted by the father's distraught letter faxed to a TV station describing a "tragic story" and a call to authorities.
Police believe Ervin Lupoe, 40, killed his five children and his wife before turning the gun on himself. Both adults were recently fired from their hospital jobs.
"Why leave our children in someone else's hands?" Lupoe wrote in his letter faxed to KABC-TV. The station posted the letter on its Web site with some parts redacted.
The station called police after receiving the fax, and a police dispatch center also received a phone call from a man who stated, "I just returned home and my whole family's been shot." Police are unsure who the male caller was, but they suspect it was the father.
Officers rushed to the home in Wilmington, a small community between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and found the bodies.
All the victims were shot in the head, some multiple times, coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. The killings may have occurred between Monday evening and early Tuesday, based on neighbors' accounts of firecracker sounds, he said.
Although the fax — addressed to "whom it may concern" and explaining "why we are dead" — asserted that the wife, Ana Lupoe, planned the killings of the whole family, police Lt. John Romero said Ervin Lupoe was the suspect. A revolver was found next to his body.
click link for more and please pray for the family and friends left behind to cope with this.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
L.A. County mental health chief says he will try to rely less on police
Marvin J. Southard's office can't force crowded hospitals to accept its emergency patients, so it sends them to law enforcers who can. He tells county supervisors he's looking for other options.
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
November 26, 2008
Los Angeles County's chief mental health official said Tuesday that he is working to reduce the number of times his staff forwards emergency assistance calls involving the mentally ill to police, a practice that has grown over the last year as fewer hospital beds have been available to treat such patients.
Marvin J. Southard, called before the Board of Supervisors after news reports highlighted the problem, told the board he is in talks with county health officials to find better options.
"This issue is really an issue of indigent care at the county hospitals," Southard told Supervisor Mike Antonovich during questioning. "We contract with private hospitals to provide indigent care, but there are some patients only county hospitals will accept."
Mental health workers have increasingly turned to law enforcement officials to handle emergency calls because hospitals are required by law to take emergency mental health patients transported by police. If a county mental health worker brings people in for treatment, facilities are not compelled to accept them.
As of last month, there were 2,562 beds available for mental health patients in Los Angeles County, records show, and only about 200 of them were at county hospitals, which are required to admit poor and uninsured patients.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Sword-Wielder Killed At Scientology Center
Sword-Wielder Killed At Scientology Center
Security Guard Shoots Man Waving Pair Of Samurai Swords At Hollywood Building, LAPD Says
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24, 2008
(AP) Police said a man who waved a pair of Samurai swords on the grounds of a Hollywood Scientology building had a "previous relationship" to the church, but released little other information about the man shot and killed by a security guard.
The unidentified man, described as being in his 40s, approached three guards Sunday in the parking lot of the Scientology Celebrity Centre, Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara said.
The man was "close enough to hurt them" when one of the guards shot him, Hara said, and after questioning the guards and looking at surveillance tape decided the shooting was justified.
"The evidence itself, it's very, very clear," Hara said. "The security officers were defending their safety."
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Security Guard Shoots Man Waving Pair Of Samurai Swords At Hollywood Building, LAPD Says
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 24, 2008
(AP) Police said a man who waved a pair of Samurai swords on the grounds of a Hollywood Scientology building had a "previous relationship" to the church, but released little other information about the man shot and killed by a security guard.
The unidentified man, described as being in his 40s, approached three guards Sunday in the parking lot of the Scientology Celebrity Centre, Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara said.
The man was "close enough to hurt them" when one of the guards shot him, Hara said, and after questioning the guards and looking at surveillance tape decided the shooting was justified.
"The evidence itself, it's very, very clear," Hara said. "The security officers were defending their safety."
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Obama acts presidential even as he lays low
Obama acts presidential even as he lays low
Posted: 03:15 PM ET
From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart
President-elect Obama called California's governor and the mayor of Los Angeles to express concern about the wildfires raging in Southern California.
(CNN) – The man once referred to by a rival campaign as “the biggest celebrity in the world” has intentionally been keeping a very low profile in the awkward limbo period between Election Day and his inauguration on January 20.
But on Monday President-Elect Barack Obama stepped out a little and acted decidedly presidential in the middle of a disaster in California.
Obama called Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villraigosa “to express his concern over the wildfires and to receive an update on the situation,” according to a statement released by the Obama transition team Monday.
In the nearly two weeks since Election Day, Obama has taken great pains to make it clear that President Bush remains in charge of the country and its affairs until Obama’s swearing in two months. At his first press conference as president-elect, Obama stressed that the country only has one president at a time and, Obama did not participate in the recent economic summit of world leaders convened to discuss a coordinated response to the financial crisis that has roiled global securities and credit markets.
Update 3:15 p.m.: The Web site of President-elect Obama's presidential campaign, barackobama.com, was altered after Obama's calls to Gov. Schwarzenegger and Mayor Villaraigosa in order to encourage visitors to the site to donate to relief efforts for the victims of the Southern California wildfires. Click here to read a blog post on the Web site.
Posted: 03:15 PM ET
From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart
President-elect Obama called California's governor and the mayor of Los Angeles to express concern about the wildfires raging in Southern California.
(CNN) – The man once referred to by a rival campaign as “the biggest celebrity in the world” has intentionally been keeping a very low profile in the awkward limbo period between Election Day and his inauguration on January 20.
But on Monday President-Elect Barack Obama stepped out a little and acted decidedly presidential in the middle of a disaster in California.
Obama called Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villraigosa “to express his concern over the wildfires and to receive an update on the situation,” according to a statement released by the Obama transition team Monday.
In the nearly two weeks since Election Day, Obama has taken great pains to make it clear that President Bush remains in charge of the country and its affairs until Obama’s swearing in two months. At his first press conference as president-elect, Obama stressed that the country only has one president at a time and, Obama did not participate in the recent economic summit of world leaders convened to discuss a coordinated response to the financial crisis that has roiled global securities and credit markets.
Update 3:15 p.m.: The Web site of President-elect Obama's presidential campaign, barackobama.com, was altered after Obama's calls to Gov. Schwarzenegger and Mayor Villaraigosa in order to encourage visitors to the site to donate to relief efforts for the victims of the Southern California wildfires. Click here to read a blog post on the Web site.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Firefighters rescue 13 in burning South Los Angeles building
Firefighters rescue 13 in burning South Los Angeles building
By Rong-Gong Lin II
Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:16:21 AM
Thirteen people trapped by smoke and fire on the second story of an apartment building in South Los Angeles were screaming for help through windows this morning before they were rescued by firefighters, officials said.
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By Rong-Gong Lin II
Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:16:21 AM
Thirteen people trapped by smoke and fire on the second story of an apartment building in South Los Angeles were screaming for help through windows this morning before they were rescued by firefighters, officials said.
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Friday, October 24, 2008
LA:$75,000 reward in homeless man's death
$75,000 reward in homeless man's death
Police are still looking for the man who set John Robert McGraham on fire, killing him.
By Ruben Vives
3:15 PM PDT, October 24, 2008
The Los Angeles City Council today approved a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed a homeless man by setting him on fire.
Police are still looking for the killer. They have only a vague description of him that they pieced together from witnesses.
"We urge anyone who knows what went on that night to come forward and help us find closure for this man's family and friends," Councilman Tom LaBonge said on his website.
John Robert McGraham was killed Oct. 9 when someone doused him with gasoline and set him on fire. He had been sitting on the sidewalk in front of a boarded-up dental office at Third and Berendo streets.
People from nearby stores and homes rushed over to extinguish the flames, but it was too late.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-reward25-2008oct25,0,4135598.story
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