12 people hospitalized after San Pedro motel fire, LAFD says

At least a dozen people were injured, some critically, in an early morning fire at a San Pedro motel that forced one person to jump from the burning building, officials said.

The fire broke out at 1001 S. Palos Verdes St. -- the site of the Palos Verdes Inn -- about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Initial reports indicated that 150 firefighters knocked down the blaze about half an hour later.

Details about the incident were still developing, but fire officials reported Tuesday morning that 12 people were hospitalized, three in critical condition. KTLA reported that as many as 17 people were injured and that a police officer suffered smoke inhalation.

Coroner IDs body found in trunk as North Hollywood man

Coroner's officials have identified a body found inside the trunk of a car Friday morning in Harbor Gateway as that of a North Hollywood man.

Dion Michael Shivers, 44, was found inside the trunk of the car about 9:15 a.m. in the 500 block of West 146th Street, said Lt. Cheryl MacWillie.

A cause of death has not been determined and an autopsy is pending.

Over the last three months, Harbor Gateway averaged 2.4 violent crimes and 20.4 property crimes per week, according to Mapping L.A. In the seven days between Jan. 8 and Jan. 14, both violent and property crime reports were about average.

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Body found inside car trunk in Harbor Gateway

Los Angeles police investigated a report Friday of a body found in the trunk of a car in Harbor Gateway.

A passerby reported seeing the body in the trunk about 9:17 a.m. in the 500 block of West 146th Street, said LAPD Officer Sara Faden.

"It sounds like the trunk was slightly open," Faden said. "We have investigators at the scene trying to put the pieces together."

Over the last three months, Harbor Gateway averaged 2.4 violent crimes and 20.4 property crimes per week, according to Mapping L.A. In the seven days between Jan. 8 and Jan. 14, both violent and property crime reports were about average.

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Man charged with murder after wife's body found in SUV at casino

A 60-year-old man was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of his wife, whose body was found in the back of her SUV at a Hawaiian Gardens casino, prosecutors said.

Tomas Infante, of West Covina, was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Pomona Superior Court, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

The body of Charito Tolentino, 57, was discovered Sunday in an abandoned SUV parked at the Hawaiian Gardens Casino, authorities said. Prosecutors said she died from blunt force trauma and "stabbing type injuries."

Infante reported his wife missing Saturday evening to the West Covina Police Department, sheriff's Lt. John Corina said in an earlier statement. Tolentino, who worked as a nurse, got off work Friday morning and didn’t return home, Infante said at the time.

Deputies told The Times they believe Infante killed Tolentino at their home, put her body in the back of the car and abandoned it at the casino. Family members discovered the red Toyota RAV4 as they searched for her at various locations.

Infante was arrested Monday after authorities served a search warrant at the couple's home, prosecutors said. If convicted, the district attorney's office said, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

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Photo: Tomas Infante. Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

'Twilight' actor arrested at LAX for alleged public drunkenness

"Twilight" actor Bronson Pelletier was arrested this week on suspicion of being drunk at LAX just days after he was charged with possession of cocaine and methamphetamines in West Hollywood, officials said Wednesday.

Pelletier, 25, was arrested Monday at Los Angeles International Airport for public intoxication after he boarded an aircraft and was determined by the flight crew to be an unruly passenger, LAPD officials said. Pelletier was booked at 2:15 p.m. and released seven hours later.

Pelletier was previously arrested Dec. 8 by L.A. County sheriff's deputies on suspicion of possession of narcotics in West Hollywood, where he lives. He was subsequently charged Dec. 12 with two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance; on Dec. 13, he entered a not-guilty plea to the charges.

Pelletier, who played one of the Wolf pack in the "Twilight" movies, was released on $10,000 in the LAX case and is due in a Beverly Hills courtroom Jan. 18, said Jane Robison, a district attorney's spokeswoman.

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6.3 earthquake strikes in ocean off Catalina Island

A shallow magnitude 6.3 earthquake was reported early Friday in the ocean west of Santa Catalina Island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the 2:36 a.m. quake, officials said. It occurred at a depth of seven miles.

The epicenter was 163 miles from Avalon, 167 miles from Rosarito, Mexico, and 171 miles from Imperial Beach in San Diego County, according to the USGS.

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L.A. councilmen want hearings before San Onofre nuke plant reopens

Los Angeles may become the latest city to wade into the debate over the fate of the San Onofre nuclear plant on Friday.

The City Council will consider a resolution calling for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to keep the troubled plant out of commission unless its operator, Southern California Edison, goes through a license amendment process including a courtroom-like public hearing process where groups opposed to restarting the plant could introduce evidence.

San Onofre, on the northern coast of San Diego County, has been out of service since Jan. 31, when a tube carrying radioactive water sprang a leak and released a small amount of radioactive steam, prompting the plant's shutdown.

The leak led to the discovery that many other steam generator tubes -- which had all been replaced less than two years earlier -- were wearing out more quickly than expected.

Edison has proposed restarting one of the plant's two reactor units and operating it at 70% capacity for five months in hopes that running at reduced power will alleviate the conditions that caused the tubes to vibrate excessively, leading to unusual wear. The damage in the second reactor unit was more extensive, and Edison has not proposed to restart it.

Up to 25 arrested in panga boat off Rancho Palos Verdes

Authorities arrested 20 to 25 suspects aboard a panga boat off the coast of Rancho Palos Verdes on Monday morning, authorities said.

The 25-foot panga board, a fishing vessel often used by drug smugglers, was spotted about 5:50 a.m. 200 yards from Portuguese Bend, KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported. The boat was believed to be carrying 30 to 50 people.

The investigation involves the Long Beach police, L.A. County lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Border Patrol.

A veteran member of the Coast Guard, Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, was killed Dec. 2 when his boat was struck by suspected smugglers aboard a panga boat near Santa Cruz Island. A memorial for Horne was held Sunday.

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Photos: (top) A suspect is taken into custody near Abalone Cove Shoreline Park in Rancho Palos Verdes after a panga boat was spotted nearby. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

(right) More suspects are detained. Credit: KTLA-TV, Channel 5

Labor organizers prepare for protest march at LAX

As taxicab passengers unloaded their bags and swarms of travelers descended on LAX on Wednesday, a woman in traditional Aztec dress lifted a seashell to her mouth and blew into it to start a choreographed dance and then loudly proclaimed, "Liberty for all!"

In the background, organizers with the Service Employees International Union-USWW passed out fliers to passengers, describing a labor dispute with an airport-associated contractor and a plea for better jobs and benefits at the airport.

The union's march and rally Wednesday near Los Angeles International Airport is expected to snarl traffic and cause delays. Airport officials warn the protest will shut down some nearby streets for a few hours and suggested those traveling between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. arrive an hour and a half ahead of their normal schedule.

The protest and march will be held around the intersection of Airport and Century boulevards and is being organized by county labor leaders and unions who highlighted the fact that Wednesday's action was not a strike, just a march.

Villaraigosa planning 9-day trade mission to South America

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to travel to South America on a nine-day trade mission later this month with a delegation of business leaders and city officials. 

The delegation list is still being developed but will include port, airport and tourism officials as well as representatives of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, AEG Brazil and Forever 21 Chief Executive Don Chang, who has become a fixture on the mayor’s trade missions.

The group will travel to Brazil, Chile and Colombia, focusing on trade and touting Los Angeles as a premier tourist destination for South America’s rapidly growing middle class.

“The future of Los Angeles is tied closely to our neighbors in South America,” Villaraigosa said in a statement. “As we strengthen and build our local economy, we must leverage our assets in this global marketplace to create jobs here in Los Angeles.”

The mayor will travel Nov. 24 to Dec. 3, touring the port in Santiago, Chile, meeting with sugar industry executives in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and speaking with aviation officials in Brasilia. He will also attend Ciclavia and a Forever 21 fashion show in Bogota, Colombia.