Police seek family of homeless woman set on fire in Van Nuys

LAPD detectives are searching for family members of a homeless woman who was set on fire in December as she slept on a Van Nuys bus bench.

Violet Phillips, 67, remains in critical condition at a local hospital after she was attacked at the intersection of Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way. Twenty percent of her body is covered in second- and third-degree burns, said Det. Chris Gable. She can breathe, but needs the help of a ventilator.

Police arrested Dennis Petillo, 24, of Van Nuys, who pleaded not guilty on Dec. 31 to charges of attempted murder and mayhem. He is accused of dousing Phillips with an accelerant and setting her on fire as she slept on the bus bench. Authorities believe he is mentally ill.

Doctors are hoping to get Phillip’ medical history, but detectives have had a difficult time tracking down family.

“One of the things that can help determine a survival rate is past medical history,” Gable said. “Based on the limited information, the doctor said it’s hard for him to give a definitive prognosis.”

As is the case for chronically homeless people, there’s are no records for Phillips, not even records of police contact, which is common for many homeless people, Gable said.

A motive in the attack has not been released, but Gable said a lead is being investigated.

Homeless pair's fight leads to stabbing, arrest in San Diego

A dispute between a homeless couple living in a public bathroom on Mission Bay led Saturday to a stabbing and an arrest, San Diego police said.

The 39-year-old woman and her 24-year-old boyfriend were living in the bathroom at Bonita Cove, police said.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of stabbing the man in the chest and back. His wounds are not considered life-threatening, police said. The police department's domestic violence unit is investigating.

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Suspect in homeless woman's burning is mentally ill, police say

A man arrested on suspicion of setting a homeless woman on fire while she slept on a Van Nuys bus bench is believed to be mentally ill, police said.

There was no rhyme or reason for Thursday's attack that left the woman known as Flo in critical condition after she was allegedly doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire by Dennis Petillo, 24, said Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese.

“There was no incident or dispute or clear motivation for this horrific attack. He did not know his victim. It defies explanation,” Albanese said. “He is not of sound mind.... The motive is mental illness.”

Police have not released the woman's name, but residents said she was Flo Parker. She was also known as Violet: a 5-foot-tall woman with dirty blond hair and a time-worn face that made her look older than her 67 years. She remained in critical condition Friday.

“This is a hate crime as far as I’m concerned. All this woman did was try to sit out here and get warm,” said Barbara Weiss, 57, who works for a company that provides transportation to the handicapped.

In Thursday’s early hours, witness Erickson Ipina told reporters, he watched in horror as the attack unfolded. A man walked out of the Walgreens with what appeared to be rubbing alcohol, he said.

Flowers, candles honor homeless woman set on fire in Van Nuys

The homeless woman was a familiar presence at the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and Sherman Way. Employees at the nearby businesses knew her habits, if not her name.

She was a small woman with a pale, creased face -– probably in her 70s or 80s, but no one really knew. Every morning, she bought a pack of Grand Prix cigarettes with exact change at the United Oil gas station, said cashier Mauricio Gutierrez. Every night, she curled up on a bus bench outside the 24-hour Walgreens and tried to sink into sleep.

The bench has three seats, some graffiti, a gold-and-turquoise advertisement for a maker of eyeglasses. It could not have been comfortable.

That's where police found the woman early Thursday, after a man doused her with a flammable liquid  and set her ablaze. She was whisked to a hospital, where she remains in critical condition.

Police arrested her alleged assailant. His name was not immediately released.

As Van Nuys residents awoke to the news, a few made a pilgrimage to the intersection.

The air outside brisk, Robyn Turkus and her housemates ducked into the Walgreens and bought some potted poinsettias and religious candles. They placed them on the bench, its advertisement partly cracked and blackened, giving it the appearance of lizard skin.

Homeless population declines in L.A. County, U.S. says

A report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows a decrease in the overall homeless population in Los Angeles County, and a more marked decrease in the number of homeless veterans.

The recently released report, which is based on point-in-time estimates from counts conducted on a single night in January 2012, found that Los Angeles' total homeless population had dropped by 6.8% from the previous year, while the number of homeless nationwide had held steady.

The number of estimated homeless veterans in Los Angeles had decreased by 22%, from 8,131 to 6,371, the largest drop in any major city surveyed. The change represented a continuation of a downward trend over the last several years.

Bill Daniels, chief of mental health at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, credited a variety of programs -- and more aggressive outreach to chronically homeless veterans -- with helping to reduce the number of veterans living on the streets in Los Angeles.

City Beat: the Do Good Bus takes volunteers to opportunities

Say you want to volunteer, but you feel overwhelmed by all the choices. You're not sure who to call, where to go, where you might be useful.

In Los Angeles, you can turn to the Do Good Bus, which aims to take people who want to help to places where they're needed -- and to make the volunteering experience fun.

To that end, the bus ride is a bit of a mystery. You pay $25 to cover a meal and help defray the cost of bus rental. But you don't know in advance where you're going. That's a surprise.

On Tuesday, I went on the Do Good Bus' holiday ride, along with people from all over the Los Angeles area. We boarded a school bus and headed down the 101 Freeway, as organizer Rebecca Pontius got everyone to sing and act out parts in "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

We ended up at Challengers Boys & Girls Club in South Los Angeles, where Pontius expected her crew to have a lot to do. She'd been told they'd be helping children in foster care put together the new bikes they'd be getting for Christmas.

Councilman mulls turning old parking meters into 'donation meters'

A Los Angeles City Council member has asked staff to look into whether the city could use old parking meters as donation boxes for homeless services, as Denver, Baltimore, Las Vegas and other cities have done.

L.A. is expected to finish replacing its roughly 40,000 coin parking meters with more advanced devices by year's end. Councilman Jose Huizar recently told constituents he'd asked staff to research turning some of the discarded meters into "homeless donation meters," whose quarters would go to homeless services.

Huizar said the idea came from the blog DTLA Rising, which is run by downtown advocate Brigham Yen. In October, Yen wrote he'd recently noticed red donation meters during a trip to Bethesda, Md.

He wondered if putting up donation meters here might cut down on panhandling downtown, where residents sometimes feel that they're "dodging through a gauntlet of endless hands and cups begging for change," he said.

"It is important to keep in mind the program is meant to educate the public that giving pocket change to panhandlers won't actually help the homeless … And if the homeless understand that the general public won't be easily swayed into handing out pocket change anymore, then it could help mitigate the panhandling issue," he wrote.

Denver, for one, launched such a program in 2007, with a few dozen red meters that would have otherwise been scrapped. With donations and sponsorships for individual meters, the project now drums up about $100,000 a year.

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Photo: A technician inspects a damaged L.A. parking meter. Soon the old meters will be replaced by new ones that accept credit cards. Credit: Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times

Ex-cops ask judge to toss criminal charges in Kelly Thomas death

A hearing Friday on whether to dismiss criminal charges against three former Fullerton police officers in the beating death of a mentally ill homeless man was postponed at the request of defense attorneys.

Kelly Thomas was beaten violently at a downtown Fullerton bus depot last year. His father, Ron Thomas, appeared in court Friday to protest the delay. 

“We’ve allowed them opportunity after opportunity and continuances all along,” he said after the hearing. “We want this to move forward.”

The defense has filed a 100-page motion to dismiss charges against the former officers, saying the men acted within their authority when Thomas was beaten in July 2011, said John Barnett, a defense attorney on the case. The prosecution, in turn, filed a 120-page response.

Thomas' death resulted in charges being filed against two veteran on-duty police officers, a rarity in Orange County.  Last September, former Fullerton police Officer Manuel Ramos was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, and then-Cpl. Jay Cicinelli was charged with involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force.

In September, a grand jury indicted a third officer, Joseph Wolfe, on charges of involuntary manslaughter and excessive use of force.

All three have pleaded not guilty. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18.

4,000 expected for Thanksgiving at the Midnight Mission

It was a makeshift banquet hall on asphalt. Tables were decked with yellow and orange paper and an arrangement of dried flowers. Hundreds of volunteers scurried around offering plates laden with turkey, ham, stuffing and gravy. Onstage, a band played a mix of jazz and funk.

Thanksgiving at the Midnight Mission on Skid Row was underway.

About 4,000 people, many of them homeless, were expected to arrive Thursday at a cordoned-off section of 6th Street for a free, hot meal. On hand was a staggering amount of food, including 4,000 pounds of turkey, 3,000 bread rolls, 700 pounds of candied yams, 400 pies and 15 gallons of gravy.

But what was most impressive to some diners was the festive environment and the chance to experience holiday cheer with others.

“The atmosphere, the people, the way they treat you, the music -- you don’t always get this,” said Oliver Taylor, 65, after he was handed a red velvet cupcake and a plate that included green beans and candied yams.

Larry Adamson, president and chief executive of the mission, said the organization aims to go big when it comes to their annual Thanksgiving meal.

“I want them to experience what perhaps you and I get to experience when we go home –- that sense of community and family,” he said. “Making this more special than a normal day is, I think, our obligation.”

Guests appeared to enjoy the ambience and the chance to be served as if in a restaurant. Some requested seconds and thirds.

“The turkey, wooo!” said Toni Freeman, 56, with a grin. “And that dressing? That was smokin’.” She had made sure to bring along a roll of aluminum foil for her leftovers.

Beside her sat Pat Loken, who made sure to keep her cart of blankets, clothes and toiletries beside her. When she finished eating, the 60-year-old grabbed her cart and went to stand in a long line to grab another meal to go.  

Loken lost her job as a janitor at a warehouse this year. She lived for a while at a motel and then moved to her car. She got a bed at the Midnight Mission a week ago.

“Don’t lose your job,” she said. “You’ll end up like me.”

Holidays make Loken think of her husband, who died of cancer four years ago. She has no children and hasn’t kept in touch with other family members. She was grateful for the Thanksgiving celebration to keep her mind busy.

“Even though I’m not with family at least I’m not alone,” Loken said. “This is helping me keep my spirits somewhat up so I don’t cry my eyes out. I was just about to start crying standing here in this line.”

Just then a familiar white-haired man making his way down the line appeared by Loken’s side. “Wanna spoil your appetite?” he asked, holding up a basket filled with bags of M&Ms.

Loken gasped and cracked a broad smile. “Hey, Dick Van Dyke! I used to watch your show! Hey buddy!”

She reached out and gave him a hearty hug. “That was Dick Van Dyke!” she said as the famous actor continued with his volunteer duties.

Then she stepped back in line, a smile still on her face.

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Photo: Actor Dick Van Dyke chats with Skid Row resident Terri Hughes, 44, during the Midnight Mission's Thanksgiving Day meal. Credit: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times

City Beat: On Hollywood Boulevard, young and homeless

Hundreds of young people live on the streets of Hollywood -- without jobs, without housing, often without enough food to eat. Many turn to My Friend's Place, a privately funded center that provides them with what food it can afford as well as clothes, hot showers, clean underwear, toilet paper and toiletries.

For my latest City Beat, I headed to the stretch of Hollywood Boulevard where My Friend's Place sits perched over the 101 Freeway.

All day long every day, young people congregate there. I spoke to them about their lives.

Read my story here.

Here's what I sent out on Twitter from the scene: 

 

 -- Nita Lelyveld

Follow City Beat on Twitter at @latimescitybeat and on Facebook. Send ideas for City Beat dispatches to nita.lelyveld@latimes.com.