Second wave of rain expected Tuesday night in L.A. County

A second wave of wet weather is expected to hit the Los Angeles area about 10 p.m. Tuesday, causing possible isolated thunderstorms with some heavy bursts of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Overall, however, the rainfall is not expected to be as intense as the downpours that hit the region Tuesday afternoon and prompted the weather service to issue flash-flood warnings in mountain areas where wildfires had stripped away protective vegetation.

"There won't be as much rain," said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service's Oxnard office.

By Tuesday evening, 0.4 inches of rain had been recorded in Santa Monica and 0.56 inches had fallen in Burbank, according to the weather service. At the San Gabriel Dam, 1.3 inches of rain was recorded.

In Wrightwood, 8 inches of snow had fallen by Tuesday evening. Three to 4 inches of snow had been recorded at Mt. Baldy, the weather service said.

In mudslide-prone areas, crews continue to monitor rain-swollen debris basins.

"They are holding their own, but they are fast reaching capacity," said Bob Spencer, a spokesman with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Kiesha Harris of Victorville gets pelted after stopping at a turnout off Interstate 15 in Hesperia to experience the snowfall. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times )

Photos: Storms pound the Southland

11 students arrested after disrupting Israeli ambassador's speech at UC Irvine

Soon after Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren began his speech Monday night at UC Irvine, the first student rose.

“Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech,” the student in a gray hoodie yelled.

The remainder of his words were drowned out by an uproar of cheering and clapping from students sitting around him before he was led away by university police. It was the first of 10 interruptions throughout the speech, and by the end of the night, 11 UC Irvine and Riverside students were arrested and cited for disturbing a public event.

The students were held in a nearby room until Oren finished his speech and were then released, said university spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon.

They could face misdemeanor charges as well as university disciplinary hearings that could result in suspensions or dismissals, Lawhon said.

After the fourth disruption, Oren took a 20-minute break before he returned.

Prosecutors ask for 27-month prison sentence for man who spied on ESPN's Erin Andrews

The Illinois man who spied on an ESPN reporter through her hotel room door and posted nude videos of her on the Internet may face time in federal prison and more than $300,000 in restitution, according to a sentencing document filed Monday.

Prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles are seeking a 27-month prison term for Michael David Barrett, 49, who they said secretly filmed reporter Erin Andrews at three different hotels in three states as she showered and dressed for work. They said he removed the peephole device from her hotel room doors and use his cellphone to capture video of her in the nude.

Over the course of nine months, according to a sentencing document dated Monday, Barrett tracked Andrews across the country, running Internet-based background checks on her, calling several hotels to see where she would be staying and then deliberately requesting hotel rooms adjoining hers so he could access the door to her room with ease.

The sentencing document calls Barrett’s conduct “part of a long-term obsession involving Victim Andrews, as well as a significant number of other women.” After attempting to sell the cellphone videos to Los Angeles-based entertainment news website TMZ, prosecutors wrote, Barrett posted several videos of the sports reporter online, with such titles as “Erin Andrews in a Pink Thong” and “Sexy and Hot Blonde Sports celebrity shows us her all.”

In July 2009, the document states, the videos topped Google’s “most searched items” list. The court filing shows that the U.S. attorney’s office is seeking $334,808.27 in restitution on behalf of Andrews and her family members.

“The emotional distress caused to her and her family cannot be overstated,” said the filing document, calling Barrett’s actions “very horrific.”

Andrews was not the only woman the former insurance company employee targeted, prosecutors said. Barrett also filmed 16 other women similarly to the way he filmed Andrews. He ran Internet background checks on more than 30 women, including a number of other female sports reporters and television personalities.

Barrett pleaded guilty to one federal count of interstate stalking in December.

Reached at his Westmont, Ill., home, Barrett declined comment, and his attorney did not return calls.

--Amina Khan

CHP to investigate Riverside police chief’s early-morning car crash

Riverside Police Chief Russell Leach crashed a city-owned vehicle about 3 a.m. Monday, going off the road and hitting a light post and a fire hydrant, authorities said Tuesday.

"Chief Leach was driving on Central Avenue and allowed his car to drift off the road," said California Highway Patrol Inland Division Chief Jeff Talbot. "I understand that two of the tires were down to the rim."

The CHP is investigating the incident, but Talbot said it was too early in the investigation to determine the cause of the accident or whether alcohol was involved.

"As far as any impairment, I have no idea. We will have to rely on statements from the Riverside police officers who were at the scene. There was no arrest," he said. "We will have the vehicle in here tomorrow, and I have some officers going out to the scene."

Riverside's city manager put out a brief statement Tuesday saying Leach had been involved in a single-car, non-injury crash. Leach has been placed on medical leave, the statement said.

Billi Gordon couldn’t fit into an MRI machine – until now

Most people who get an MRI scan don't arrive at the imaging center with two lifestyle coaches and a videographer in tow. But for Billi Gordon, simply having the usually routine procedure was a triumph.

Gordon, who was profiled in The Times last fall, had entered Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in September weighing 701 pounds and lugging around a huge and mysterious mass of skin that had been growing from his upper right thigh.

Too large to fit into an MRI machine for a scan of that mass, he embarked on a serious diet.

Five months of dieting later and 175 pounds lighter, Gordon, 55, finally had an MRI scan Tuesday at UCLA's radiology center in Manhattan Beach. The bore of the machine accommodated the whole of Gordon's 526-pound body.

Lancaster mayor apologizes for his "Christian community" remark

Members of Los Angeles-area Islamic organizations said Tuesday they welcomed an apology from Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, who drew criticism after telling an audience of mostly Christian ministers that he was “growing a Christian community.”

"This episode demonstrates that we must all come together as Americans to uphold the constitutional principle of separation of church and state, and to maintain the values of inclusiveness and fair treatment," Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement.

Parris touched off a firestorm after saying in his Jan. 27 “State of the City” address that Lancaster was “growing a Christian community, and don't let anybody shy away from that.” The mayor added that he needed the community to stand up and say “we're a Christian community, and we're proud of that."

On Monday, Parris acknowledged to a group of local leaders, including representatives of Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish communities, that his remarks might have caused a lot of people to feel left out.

Kamal Al-Khatib, founder and president of the American Islamic Institute of Antelope Valley, said in a statement that he accepted Parris’ regret, and hoped the mayor would now “work with the rest of the community to help heal the division and tension that his remarks caused over the last 16 days."

-- Ann M. Simmons

Today on PolitiCal: Poizner vs. Whitman; Madam governor; Lawmakers ready to vote their wallets?

Here are some of the stories we're following today on PolitiCal, our blog on all things California politics:

Find out which former madam is making a run for governor.

The Internet ad wars between Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner continue. Demon sheep not included.

Abel Maldonado once lobbied to cut lawmakers' pay. Now, those same lawmakers have his political fate in their hands.

A new study looks at last year's $266 million in state political contributions.

Get the latest on these stories and more from the world of California politics on PolitiCal.

Storm brings new evacuations; snow level dropping

Southern California was pummeled this afternoon by a powerful rainstorm, prompting flash-flood warnings and new evacuations in the Sierra Madre area [Updated at 6 p.m.: The mandatory evacuations in Sierra Madre were lifted).

The storm brought thunder storms, lightening, hail and snow in both the Cajon Pass and the Grapevine. The snow level was expected to drop below 4,000 feet this evening.

The Sierra Madre evacuations apply to all streets above Churchill Road and Old Ranch Road, all streets above Woodland Drive and Sturtevant Drive, all streets above Lotus Lane at Camillio Street, the private sections of Auburn Avenue above Elm Street.  The Community Recreation Center on Sierra Madre Boulevard has been established as an evacuation center.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for foothill areas burned in the Station fire just after 1 p.m, saying trained weather spotters had recorded very heavy rainfall and hail around La Cañada Flintridge. The warning is in effect until 5 p.m.

Man on probation in assault case is charged with randomly attacking three people

A 36-year-old man was charged Tuesday with allegedly attacking three people at random near downtown Los Angeles and slicing one's man ring finger off just two days after he was placed on probation for another assault.

Daryl Barnett faces felony charges of mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest as well as two counts of assault in connection with the attack, prosecutors said. He is being held in lieu of $265,000 bail.

If convicted he could receive up to 12 years in prison, prosecutors said.

On Saturday, shortly before midnight, Barnett allegedly ran up to a man in the 1400 block of West 37th Street and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious, authorities said.

A few minutes later, Barnett allegedly punched a woman in the face outside of a house in the 1600 block of West 35th Street, authorities said.

When a man came to the woman's aid, Barnett pulled out a knife and cut off the man’s right ring finger, authorities said. When police responded, Barnett allegedly fought with officers before he was taken into custody.

Barnett had been convicted in January of felony battery on a police officer. He was sentenced in that case Thursday to three years probation.

-- Richard Winton

L.A. County to pursue more federal aid for poorest residents [Updated]

With Los Angeles County facing record levels of unemployment, and with more state welfare cuts looming, the Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday to begin shifting responsibility for helping some of the most destitute to the federal government.

County officials set aside $7.2 million in this year’s budget to help general relief recipients though the difficult process of applying for federal disability assistance or finding work. They plan to use the funds to help beneficiaries get into stable housing, locate medical records and obtain the detailed health assessments they need to apply for supplementary security income or veterans’ benefits.

County officials say the program will be mutually beneficial. Instead of getting $221 a month in county-funded general relief, people with qualifying disabilities and little or no income could get up to $850 in supplemental security income. Instead of relying on county emergency rooms, they would become eligible for Medi-Cal.

L.A. County is projected to have nearly 100,000 general relief recipients by June, the highest level in more than a decade, as more jobs are lost and unemployment benefits run out. Faced with a persistent budget gap, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing cuts to state welfare programs that could increase the general relief rolls even further.

Even with one of the lowest cash-assistance rates of any urban county in the nation, payments to this population are expected to reach $200 million by the end of this fiscal year. Nearly $800 million more will be spent on other services for general relief recipients, including healthcare and law enforcement costs, according to county projections.

“That’s not some small potatoes,” said Supervisor Don Knabe, who submitted a motion in April calling for a restructuring of the general relief program. “While the effort is to save net county costs and to get them into the right program...at the end of the day the people who need these programs are going to get better treatment. So I think it’s a win-win.”

City sprinklers on full blast as rain falls in Mid-City

Workers in the businesses along the 5100 block of Venice Boulevard in Mid-City complain that the sprinklers on a city-owned median have been watering the grass during recent rain storms.

Early Tuesday afternoon,  the sprinklers were spraying as rain was falling. 

"It happens all the time," one worker said as he darted into his pickup truck and left.

During an afternoon deluge last month, a Times reporter saw the sprinklers watering the median as sheets of rain blanketed the street and sidewalk.

Under a mandatory water-conservation ordinance enacted in June, it is illegal to use sprinklers on any day other than Monday and Thursday, according to the Department of Water and Power. Sprinklers cannot not be used between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

A spokesman for the DWP, Joe Ramallo, said the agency would investigate the matter. If people see watering violations, he said, they should report them by calling (800) DIAL-DWP.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Sprinklers watering a public median as rain fell Tuesday afternoon. Credit: Robert J. Lopez / Los Angeles Times

Disney hotel workers to launch hunger strike in dispute over healthcare benefits

Hotel and restaurant workers engaged in a two-year labor dispute with Disney centering on heathcare benefits plan to launch a public hunger strike Tuesday afternoon outside Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

Seven Disney staffers, two solidarity workers from the same union and the son of a Disney worker injured on the job will participate in the fast, according to Unite Here Local 11, which represents the workers. The hunger-strikers say they plan to take only water as they camp on the street outside the hotel.

Among those expected to attend a march and rally to mark the beginning of the hunger strike, the union says, are religious leaders, Disney employees, an Anaheim city councilwoman and Dolores Huerta, legendary co-founder of the United Farm Workers of America.

Union demonstrators will begin the rally outside Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and march to the nearby Grand Californian, said Leigh Shelton, a Local 11 spokeswoman.

The nasty dispute pits image-conscious Disney against Local 11, an activist union known for its high-profile pressure tactics and street theater protests, often on behalf of low-wage immigrant workers.

After millions in payouts, L.A. County to get $1.5-million settlement for bungled computer system

After a bungled computer system caused Los Angeles County to lose millions of dollars, the information technology company that created the system is expected to pay the county $1.5 million under the terms of a settlement approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors.

The dispute stems from a computer system, created by Sierra Systems, that processes claims for reimbursement by mental health clinics. Once received by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, the billing requests are supposed to be forwarded to the state of California, which oversees Medi-Cal, the government insurance program for the poor.

But when the system was turned on in 2004, problems started immediately. Mental health clinics complained they weren’t getting paid by the county and state. Billing problems continued through 2006.

Eventually, 18 mental health clinics sued the county and state, accusing them of owing $25 million. In the summer of 2009, a settlement was reached in which more than $12 million was paid to the mental health clinics. The county paid out $5.8 million and forgave outstanding debt the clinics owed to the county, and the state chipped in $3 million for the settlement.

The extensive litigation was costly, and the county paid more than $800,000 in attorney fees before the initial settlement with the clinics was reached.

Law enforcement strip-search practice constitutional, appeals court rules

Blanket strip searches of incoming jail inmates are constitutional and necessary to prevent the smuggling of contraband into detention centers, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The decision by a full 11-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals replaces a smaller panel’s ruling in 2008 that strip searches are so dehumanizing that they violate a person’s constitutional rights if conducted without good reason to suspect that the individual is carrying drugs or weapons.

The ruling undermined one of several civil rights violations that antiwar protester Mary Bull and eight others alleged in their class-action lawsuit against the city and county of San Francisco. The protesters alleged they were mistreated by authorities when arrested during a November 2002 demonstration.

“This is not a final defeat at all. It opens the case to move forward,” attorney Mark E. Merin said of Tuesday’s fractured ruling, noting that the arrestees’ complaint was headed for trial by jury in federal district court.

Writing for the majority, Judge Sandra S. Ikuta, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the court had found the strip-search policy “reasonable under the 4h Amendment.” She pointed out that the searches had produced hundreds of caches of drugs, money, shanks, knives and other items that can pose risk to jail personnel and other inmates.

Four separate opinions were filed by the 11 judges, including a dissent written by Judge Sidney R. Thomas and joined by three fellow appointees of President Clinton.

Thomas had written the 2008 ruling against strip searches without probable cause, saying that “the intrusiveness of body-cavity searches cannot be overstated.”

In his dissent, Thomas recounted that Bull had been arrested at a peaceful protest, slammed to a concrete floor during booking, stripped and subjected to a body-cavity search, then left naked in a cell for 11 hours. She was subjected to a second strip search before being released without charges.

-- Carol J. Williams

Man plunges 14 stories to his death in Westwood

Authorities were investigating Tuesday why a 40-year-old man apparently plunged 14 stories to his death from a high-rise condominium in Westwood.

Los Angeles police detectives were called to the 10600 block of Wilshire Boulevard about 12:30 p.m., department officials said. It was not immediately clear how the man, who had not yet been identified, ended up falling.

Police said they were looking at all possible scenarios, including accident, suicide or homicide.

-- Andrew Blankstein

Former Tustin Hospital executive agrees to guilty plea in skid row patient scheme

A former top executive at Tustin Hospital and Medical Center agreed in court papers filed Tuesday to plead guilty to charges of paying illegal kickbacks for homeless patients recruited from Los Angeles' skid row.

Vincent Rubio, 49, was the chief financial officer when authorities raided the hospital two years ago while investigating a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud taxpayer-funded healthcare programs by using thousands of patients rounded up from skid row for unnecessary medical tests and procedures.

Rubio, who faces up to 15 years in prison, is the fifth person charged in the scheme. Federal prosecutors and investigators are pursuing several other targets in the probe.

"Mr. Rubio is cooperating with the ongoing investigation," said assistant U.S. attorney Consuelo Woodhead.

Rubio is due in court next month. He admitted in the plea agreement that he helped orchestrate payments to a skid row center operator, Estill Mitts, and another unnamed person, who recruited homeless people and arranged their transportation to Tustin Hospital.

Rain intensifies as storm moves toward burn areas

 
Intense thunderstorms were moving toward the foothills north of Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon after a flash flood warning was issued for the mudslide-prone burn areas, authorities said.

The winter storm, which has brought intermittent showers and some hail to Southern California, has started to travel northeast from Los Angeles and was expected to reach the Station fire burn area about 2:30 p.m., forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for foothill areas burned in the Station fire just after 1 p.m, saying trained weather spotters had recorded very heavy rainfall and hail around La Cañada Flintridge. The warning is in effect until 5 p.m.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders Monday night for more than 500 residences in mudslide-prone areas in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Acton. Sheriff's deputies ordered residents to leave their homes by 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Villaraigosa tells L.A. council that layoffs are only way to avoid 'financial tailspin'

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday made a rare address to the City Council to urge quick action on proposals to lay off workers and cut departments, warning any delay could force the city into a “financial tailspin.”

The mayor, greeted by boos from the audience of mostly city workers, said layoffs this year and next are unavoidable. He dismissed arguments from some council members that the city’s $212-million deficit — and a $485-million shortfall forecast for 2010-11 — could be addressed without sending out pink slips.

“There just aren’t unlimited options here,” Villaraigosa told the council. “I have profound respect for the difficulty of the decisions you have to make, but I want to say this. We can’t continue to say no to everything. We can’t say no to layoffs, no to furloughs, no to department eliminations. ... The fact is we can’t sustain this business model.”

Villaraigosa acknowledged that if the city became insolvent -- unable to pay its bills -- he could be held personally liable.

The mayor fielded polite questions from council members for close to two hours, just days after publicly expressing frustration about the council’s inability, during budget hearings last week, to take quick action to shave the city’s shortfall, including his call to eliminate 1,000 city jobs.

Earlier in the hearing, Council President Eric Garcetti defended its actions, saying it “didn’t slow down one day on the layoffs.” Last week, the council unanimously approved a motion instructing “that no layoffs of city personnel take place in the next 30 days,” although members directed the city personnel agency to identify 1,000 positions that could be eliminated.

Serial murder suspect takes the stand and questions himself in 1979 Huntington Beach murder case

Serial murder suspect Rodney James Alcala took the stand Tuesday and in a soft-spoken tone methodically asked himself detailed questions about his whereabouts the week in 1979 when 12-year-old Robin Samsoe was kidnapped from the streets of Huntington Beach and murdered.

A packed Orange County courtroom watched as Alcala, acting as his own attorney, sat in the witness stand and answered his own questions.

Alcala has twice been convicted in the girl's murder and sentenced to death, but each conviction was ultimately overturned. With the passage of time and the development of DNA testing, detectives said they tied Alcala to the murders of four Los Angeles County women in Malibu, Santa Monica and Hollywood between 1977 and 1979.

During the monthlong trial, Alcala has repeatedly demonstrated that he is most concerned with defending himself against charges in the Samsoe case.

In the first two hours of testimony Tuesday, Alcala, dressed in a tan sports coat and jeans, asked himself a series of broad questions such as “What was the next thing you did, Mr. Alcala?” and “After that, what did you do, Mr. Alcala?”

Rain hits Southland, prompting fears of more mudslides

A winter storm is dousing Southern California with intermittent showers and some hail this afternoon, keeping hillside residents on guard for possible mud flows.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for foothill areas burned in the Station Fire just after 1 p.m, saying trained weather spotters have recorded very heavy rainfall and hail around La Cañada Flintridge. The warning is in effect until 5 p.m.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders Monday night for more than 500 residences in mudslide-prone areas in La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Acton. Sheriff's deputies ordered residents to leave their homes by 10 a.m. today.

Few African Americans vaccinated at L.A. County H1N1 flu clinics

Few African Americans were vaccinated at Los Angeles County H1N1 flu clinics, despite outcry from county leaders last fall and a million-dollar county-funded public outreach campaign.

“We did not reach the number of African Americans we would like to,” said Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county’s public health director.

African Americans, who make up 9% of the county population, received 2.96% of the 200,000 vaccinations the county distributed at 109 public clinics through Dec. 8,  according to figures released last week by the county’s Public Health Department.

At the same time, Asians were “over-represented” at county clinics, Fielding said, receiving 27.62% of the vaccinations, although they make up about 13% of the county population.

The figures surprised Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who had complained in December that too few African-Americans were getting vaccinated. At his urging, on Dec. 15 supervisors approved plans to double the public health department’s contract with Clear Channel Communications to $1 million to increase H1N1 flu outreach to minorities, especially African Americans.

Public health officials designed H1N1 billboards, public service announcements that aired on HOT 92.3 FM and Black Entertainment Television, and H1N1 presentations for churches, schools and community groups like Black Women for Wellness. After Dec. 31, those efforts were ramped up.

Glendale feeling an identity crisis, bringing in consultants

A firm hired to develop a strategy to promote Glendale as a destination for businesses, visitors and potential residents expects to begin a research effort this month that may last until October and involve a series of surveys and focus groups, an executive said.

City officials agreed to terms with the firm, North Star Destination Strategies, in November, hoping it would help give Glendale a recognizable identity or brand.

“It’s basically trying to put us back on the map,” Deputy Development Services Director Emil Tatevosian said of the planned marketing effort.

Glendale’s mix of business districts and its urban expansion in recent years has left it without a clear identity to the outside world, something that an organized marketing plan could change, officials say.

Read the full story here.

-- Zain Shauk

Photo: The Americana mall in downtown Glendale. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Sen. Dianne Feinstein seeks moratorium on expansion of toxic-waste landfill in Kettleman City

Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday called for a moratorium on expanding a toxic-waste landfill in the impoverished Central Valley enclave of Kettleman City, where residents have reported a handful of rare birth deformities over a recent 14-month period.

The California Democrat also directed her staff to examine the feasibility of securing federal funds to address the town's drinking water, which contains high levels of arsenic.

“I am very concerned about the surge in birth defects occurring in Kettleman City,” Feinstein said in a statement. “It is my view that there should be no expansion of the toxic dump site until we know with certainty whether it is a cause of this serious situation.”

Read more at www.latimes.com/greenspace.

San Diego County man to pay $18,000 for stealing electricity to grow pot

A San Diego County marijuana farmer has been ordered by a court to fork over $18,000 for the electricity he stole to secretly grow his plants in a rented La Mesa home.

Yeng Vang, 23, of La Mesa was sentenced to 60 months in custody and five years of supervised release in connection with the theft of power he used from 2006 to 2008 to grow about 100 plants in two bedrooms. He also was ordered to repay San Diego Gas & Electric.

Vang pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. He admitted to installing a bypass around the home’s power meter so that he would not be billed for using high-intensity grow-lights.

“We’re pleased with the court’s ruling,” said Denise King, a spokeswoman for the utility. “Not only is energy theft against the law, it is unsafe and potentially dangerous.”

Police arrest teenage tagger suspected in fatal shooting of veteran L.A. gang outreach worker

Los Angeles police said Tuesday that they have arrested a teenage tagger suspected of fatally shooting a veteran gang interventionist after he confronted the youth over graffiti.

The suspect, who is 16, is a Los Angeles resident but police declined to identify him, citing his age. Police noted the boy was not affiliated with a street gang, contrary to a department news release that stated investigators believed the shooter belonged to a gang.

"He's a tagger, not a gang member," said Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Andrew Smith, who said investigators received help in identifying the suspect by Los Angeles Unified School police.

Police said the boy fatally shot Ronald Lamonte Barron, who worked for the interventionist organization Amer-I-Can.