Hit-and-run driver who injured pedestrian sought in Lancaster

Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspected hit-and-run driver they say fled after striking a woman as she crossed a street in Lancaster.

The accident occurred Tuesday about 7:45 p.m. when the driver, who was headed east on Avenue L, ran into a female pedestrian as she crossed the street, according to a statement from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.

The driver did not stop to help the victim, authorities said. The make of the car is unknown. The victim, whose identity has not been released, was taken to a hospital with “serious injuries,” authorities said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station’s Traffic Enforcement Team at (661) 948-8466. Tips can also be reported anonymously to LA Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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Attorney sentenced for trying to smuggle drugs to client

An attorney who authorities said tried to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine to his client at a jail holding facility in downtown Los Angeles -- and was later caught at another courthouse with rock cocaine -- was sentenced to jail Friday, authorities said.

Kenneth Roger Markman, 49, was sentenced to a year in County Jail and a one-year residential treatment program as part of three years of supervised probation, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Last month, Markman pleaded no contest to conspiracy and drug charges, authorities said.  

Markman was first arrested Oct. 21, 2011, after trying to smuggle 26 balloons containing heroin and methamphetamine into a jail holding facility at the criminal courts building in downtown Los Angeles. The drugs were intended for Markman’s client, Jorge Zaragoza, 36, a suspected gang member scheduled to appear in court that day in connection with an attempted carjacking case, authorities said.

The attorney was arrested a month later at the Antelope Valley Courthouse after a security officer spotted suspicious items as Markman went through security, authorities said. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, who prevented Markman from grabbing his belongings and fleeing the building, discovered “drug paraphernalia and two bindles of rock cocaine” in Markman’s wallet, prosecutors said.

The State Bar of California has suspended Markman. A decision is pending on whether he will be allowed to continue to practice law, authorities said.

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12-year-old arrested in vandalism of middle school

A 12-year-old boy has been arrested on charges of causing thousands of dollars in damage to a Quartz Hill middle school on New Year’s Day, authorities said.

According to a statement Wednesday from the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lancaster station, the boy vandalized Joe Walker Middle School at 5632 West Ave L-8  in Quartz Hill, which borders Lancaster, by spray painting “gang-style graffiti” over the campus. Authorities estimated the destruction at more than $20,000.

Sheriff’s deputies located the boy in Bakersfield. He was arrested March 7 and transported to Lancaster station for booking on felony vandalism charges, authorities said. The boy’s name was withheld because he is a juvenile.

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Human remains found in Lancaster

Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of human remains in a nonresidential area of Lancaster.

A passerby found the remains around 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Division Street and East Avenue H in Lancaster, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Los Angeles County Coroner officials will collect the remains and try to determine the cause of death, officials said. The gender of the individual was unknown and no further information was available, they said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Tips can also be reported anonymously to L.A. Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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Antelope Valley gang suspects arrested in assault case

Two suspects who authorities believe were among about a dozen gang members who assaulted three victims earlier this year have been arrested, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

The arrests were made after gang units and other teams from the department served five warrants across the Antelope Valley, according to a statement from the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station. The warrants were related to a Jan. 17 incident in which authorities said 10 to 12 gang members attacked two people and beat a third victim “to near unconsciousness” when that person tried to help the first two.

David Holmes, 21, was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property following the search of a home in the 3100 block of Tourmaline Lane in Palmdale, authorities said. Investigators found a stolen computer, a rug and a lockbox containing identification of the assault victims, officials said. They suspect Holmes was involved in the January assault.

During the search of another Palmdale residence in the 37600 block of Harvey Street, authorities said they found evidence indicating a second suspect’s ties to a local gang. The person’s name was withheld because the suspect is a minor.  

Lt. Larry Gregg, coordinator for  the Antelope Valley Crime Fighting Initiatives, said most of Thursday’s warrant searches were related to juvenile gang members, who were not only involved in January’s assault but were also “very possibly responsible for a recent rise in burglaries in the Palmdale area.”

Authorities declined to name the gang suspected of the robberies and violence.

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Four men injured by gunfire at Lancaster club, suspects sought

Authorities in Lancaster are seeking the public’s help in uncovering any information about a recent firefight at a local nightclub that left four men wounded.

According to a statement from the Lancaster station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,  the shooting occurred about 3 a.m. on Feb. 23 at the It Club  in the 4300 block of Business Center Drive  in Lancaster.  The shooting occurred after an argument between two parties, authorities said.

They listed four men, ages 18, 22, 27 and 37, as being injured by gunfire but their injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

The identity of the victims was not released.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the detective handling the case at (310) 351-7764. Tips can also be reported anonymously to LA Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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Map: Approximate location of incident shown in red. Credit: Google Maps

Metrolink train en route to Antelope Valley kills pedestrian

A Metrolink train en route to the Antelope Valley struck and killed a pedestrian Tuesday evening in the Sun Valley area, officials said.

The victim was struck  by train 215 in the 7700 block of San Fernando Road, officials said. The accident also affected train 220, which was stopped while police investigated the incident, Metrolink said on its Twitter account.

The incident was reported shortly after 5 p.m, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. No other details were immediately available.

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Map shows area where train hit pedestrian. Credit: Google Maps

Fewer L.A. County courthouses to hear eviction cases under plan

The number of courthouses in Los Angeles County hearing eviction cases will be reduced from 26 to five under a Los Angeles County Superior Court plan to cut costs.

The plan will disproportionately harm low-income tenants fighting eviction, legal advocates for the poor say. Some people will have to travel up to 32 miles to litigate their cases, court officials said, under the plan expected to be implemented by the end of June.

For some, the trips could take several hours using public transportation and include transfers on multiple trains and buses, said Neal Dudovitz, executive director of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County. That travel time is of particular concern in eviction cases because the courts move quickly, he said.

"For people who are already in great stress and can't really afford to take days off work or have to bring little kids with them wherever they go, it's really impossible," Dudovitz said.

Under California law, tenants in most cases have five days to file a written response to the lawsuit brought by their landlords. If the person does not file a response within that time frame, the court rules in favor of the landlord.

Car theft up sharply in Antelope Valley; Hondas are top target

Theft of vehicles in Antelope Valley neighborhoods and business districts has surged since the beginning of the year, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said.

The Lancaster and Palmdale sheriff's stations have arrested an undisclosed number of car thieves, resulting in the shutdown of several so-called “chop shops” in the area, the department said in a statement this week. Chop shops are used to dismantle vehicles so that various parts, such as the seats, engine and scrap metal, can be sold individually, authorities said.

Hondas are by far the most commonly pinched cars in the Antelope Valley, accounting for more than a third of all stolen vehicles, sheriff's officials said.

They urged car owners to take precautions, such as not leaving their vehicles to warm up in the driveway, making sure all doors are locked and windows are rolled up when leaving the vehicles, and parking in well-lit areas of business districts.

Anyone with information about a car theft in the area is asked to call the Palmdale sheriff’s station at 661-272-2400. Tips can also be reported anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

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Speeding blamed for fatal traffic accident in Lancaster

Excessive speed appears to have played a role in a single-vehicle traffic crash that injured the male driver and killed the female passenger in Lancaster, authorities said Tuesday.

The accident occurred about 11 p.m. Monday at the corner of Avenue I and 15th Street East when the car ran into a traffic signal pole, shearing off its top, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department's Lancaster station.

The driver, who was not identified, was taken to Antelope Valley Hospital with serious injuries. His passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Preliminary investigations indicated the driver appeared to have “drifted off the roadway and lost control of the vehicle when he reentered the roadway,” according to the statement.

Authorities closed the intersection where the accident occurred for about six hours while the investigation was underway. Officials did not disclose what, if any, charges the driver might face.

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Map: Approximate location of accident shown in red. Credit: Google Maps