L.A. NOW

3 injured, including two L.A. County deputies, in crash

Jill Jones — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:42:21 -0800

Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and a motorist were hospitalized this evening with what were believed to be minor injuries when a patrol car collided with a van in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The deputies were responding to a call when the crash occurred about 8:15 p.m. near Central Avenue and 84th Street, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Kusayanagi.

He said deputies were investigating how the collision occurred.

-- Jack Leonard

Suspect in sexual assaults turns himself in to police

Jill Jones — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:36:22 -0800

A 22-year-old man who posed as a magazine photographer and was being investigated for alleged sexual assaults turned himself in to police this afternoon.

Keith Nichols, a security guard who has lived in Compton, Hawthorne and South Los Angeles, was booked at the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Division on suspicion of sexual battery in the sexual assaults of at least four young women, police said.

The crimes began early last month and took place within a one-mile radius of the subway station at 7th and Figueroa streets, said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon.

Nichols told his victims that they could become models for Vibe, Vernon said. But before they could get hired, Nichols said he had to measure them for "custom-fitted underwear," according to police.

At least four women agreed to the fitting, in which Nichols touched "their most intimate body parts," Vernon said. They never got called back about the modeling work, he said.

Vernon said the women were measured in public areas out of the view of passersby. In two cases, Nichols met his alleged victims on the light-rail line between Long Beach and Los Angeles. Those two women, in turn, each had a roommate they referred to Nichols, police said.

-- Andrew Blankstein and Baxter Holmes

Woman injured in South L.A. shooting

yyAMCopy Yammer — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:24:28 -0800

A woman was hospitalized with injuries after a shooting this morning in South Los Angeles.

Police say a man fired several rounds from a handgun at about 10 a.m. near Compton Avenue and 54th Street. They believe he was aiming at another woman but missed, said Lt. Samuel Rhone of the Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Station.

Several rounds did hit a vehicle, and a nearby woman was injured, possibly by flying glass. The injured woman was not the intended target of the shooting, Rhone said, and the exact cause of her injuries remained unclear. The victim's name was not immediately available.

Police are in the process of investigating the incident and searching for the shooter.

-- Baxter Holmes

Pickup truck rams South L.A. church

yyAMCopy Yammer — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:41:34 -0800

A pickup truck struck a church in South L.A. late last night, damaging the building, which was empty at the time.

The incident, which occurred in the 5300 block of Hooper Avenue, was reported just before midnight, said Lt. Lydia Leos of the Los Angeles Police Department's Central Traffic Division.

The driver, a 22-year-old man, was heading northbound on Hooper Avenue and tried to make a left turn onto 54th street, Leos said. He then collided with the church. She said speed was a factor.

The two-story church was empty at the time of the accident. Firefighters and the Building and Safety Department were called to the scene to assess the damage to the church.

The driver and a 19-year-old passenger were unharmed. No arrests were made.

-- Baxter Holmes

Man slain in South L.A. area

Robert Lopez — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:43:04 -0800

A man was gunned down and killed this evening in an unincorporated neighborhood near South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The slaying occurred about 6:25 p.m near Normandie Avenue and 104th Street in the Westmont neighborhood, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.

No additional details were available.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Man posing as magazine photographer accused of sexually assaulting four women

Andrew Blankstein — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:12:46 -0800

A 22-year-old South Los Angeles man who posed as a Vibe magazine photographer is being investigated in connection with at least four sexual assaults of young women, whom he allegedly told he would hire as underwear models, Los Angeles police said today.

The crimes began in early October and took place within a one-mile radius of the subway station near 7th Street and Grand Avenue, said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon.

Keith Nichols, a security guard who has lived in Compton, Hawthorne and South Los Angeles, told his victims that they could become models for Vibe, Vernon said. But before they could get hired, Nichols said he had to measure them for "custom-fitted underwear," according to police.

At least four women submitted to the examination, in which he allegedly used a measuring tape to carry out the ruse. He then touched "their most intimate body parts," and they never got called back about the modeling work, Vernon said.

Vernon said the women were measured in public areas out of the view of passersby. Nichols touched the women’s bare breasts and groins with his hands but apparently did not take photographs, at least in the cases involving the four victims, police said.

In two cases, Nichols met his victims on the light-rail line between Long Beach and Los Angeles. Those two women, in turn, each had a roommate who they referred to Nichols, police said

-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo credit: LAPD

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Two killed in South L.A. shootings

Jean Merl — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:08:35 -0800

Two men were shot and killed in separate incidents early this morning in South Los Angeles, police said.

A man attending his 25th birthday party in the 900 block of East 98th Street was shot multiple times around 2:30 a.m., Los Angeles Police officer Karen Rayner said. The 27-year-old suspect, a friend of the victim’s girlfriend’s ex-husband, fled the scene. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

About an hour and a half later, police responded to a report of shots fired in the 1200 block of East 115th Street, Rayner said. Officers discovered a 24-year-old man on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

-- Corina Knoll

Man shot in Exposition Park area

Jean Merl — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:16:53 -0800

A man in his mid-30s was shot multiple times this morning while at a gas station in Exposition Park, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Rene Chavez said.

The victim had pulled over his sedan at a Chevron station on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Figueroa Street about 8 a.m. when he was approached by a lone gunman who fired several times, Chavez said.

One witness reported that the suspect fled south on Figueroa in a tan minivan; another said the suspect left in the same direction on foot.

The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition, Chavez said. It was not known if the incident was gang-related.

-- Corina Knoll

O.C. man gives $10,000 to South L.A. church destroyed by fallen tree

Amanda Covarrubias — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:02:16 -0800

An Orange County businessman donated $10,000 today to Pilgrim Community Church in South Los Angeles, where gusty winds blew a 90-foot pine tree onto the roof of the small church, destroying the building.

The donation was delivered about 11 a.m. by Pastor Matt Olthoff of the Mariners Church in Newport Beach. A church member made the donation but requested anonymity, Olthoff said.

Pilgrim church member Lorraine Cook-Curry, whose grandfather the Rev. Henry Cook founded the small, white church, accepted the money.

“I was expecting $10 or $100,” Cook-Curry said in a telephone interview. “But then I saw one too many zeros, and I almost went over the rail.”

In addition to the donation, volunteers from Mariners will help rebuild Pilgrim church, Cook-Curry said.

Donations have trickled in since the tree blew down Oct. 27, Cook-Curry said, and church leaders hope to raise at least $60,000 to help pay for construction costs and to buy generators.

Neighbors have volunteered to help with demolition, which is set to be completed next week. Local churches also have offered to help, but nothing has been organized yet, she said.

“I’m still kind of numb,” she said. “I want to wash this man’s feet. He’s an angel. What a blessing.”

Donations to assist Pilgrim Community Church can be sent to P.O. Box 111728, Los Angeles, CA 90011.

--Ruben Vives

Judge refuses to reduce death sentence for man who murdered two in South L.A.

Amanda Covarrubias — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:50:37 -0800

A judge denied a request today to reduce the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering two people and attempting to murder two others in a South Los Angeles housing project.

Defendant Kai Harris, 32, along with another man, was convicted of the 2004 killing of a rival member of his gang in a drug dispute, before turning his gun on three women who witnessed the attack in the apartment.

Two of the women survived gunshot wounds to the face, but the third, Annette Anderson, 52, considered a pillar of the community, was killed. Her death spurred an outpouring of grief in the Watts neighborhood where she lived all her life.

After the judge announced his decision today, Harris, slender and muscular, his hair in long tight braids, turned to a half-dozen relatives sitting in the back of the courtroom and stared without emotion. He eventually forced a smile. Two small children, Harris’ cousins, choked back tears. Harris’ family had ties to two of the victims.

Anderson and the man involved in the drug dispute who was killed, George Brooks, were family friends.

“You don’t know how to feel now. You love both families,” said Harris' aunt, Lavett Outlaw, who was dressed in black. “We have a great loss on both sides.”

Harris and the other defendant, Donte McDaniel, entered an apartment in the Nickerson Gardens public housing project in April 2004 looking to settle a drug dispute. One of the two surviving women, who has since died of unrelated causes, suffered bullets in her chest and face, shattering her upper jaw and palate.

The woman, Debra Johnson, a frail drug addict, later drew attention for her fearless testimony against her attackers.

“The crime scene was so bloody the coroner investigator said that she could taste a metallic taste in her mouth just from all the blood that had been spilled,” said L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Halim Dhanidina. “She had to throw away her work clothes.”

Judge Michael Johnson called the crime “cruel and inhuman” and said the the loss to family and friends was enormous, particularly for Anderson, who was known to help those in need.

“She was the kind of person who would take in anyone who needed a place to stay or something to eat,” Dhanidina said about Anderson.

Neighbors said at the time of the murders that Anderson, a cancer survivor, would often watch over neighborhood kids.

The judge rejected the defense’s argument that Harris was intimidated by McDaniel into committing the murders. Harris is set to be executed at San Quentin State Prison.

-- Robert Faturechi

Inglewood school board member charged with embezzlement

Amanda Covarrubias — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:47:27 -0800

An Inglewood school board member is scheduled to be arraigned on charges she embezzled several thousand dollars from the Inglewood Unified School District.

Trina Williams, 49, allegedly overcharged the district $7,500 for training and traveling expenses over the span of more than a year beginning in June 2007, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office. If she is convicted, she faces up to four years in prison.

An audit by the Los Angeles County Office of Education submitted in July exposed the alleged crime.

Williams, who was arrested earlier this month, will be arraigned Dec. 4 on one felony count of misappropriation of public funds. She is free on bail.

-- Robert Faturechi

UC regents approve partnership with L.A. County to reopen King Hospital

Megan Garvey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:34:25 -0800

In a unanimous vote, the University of California Board of Regents today approved a plan to partner with Los Angeles County to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital by 2013.

The partnership is a crucial step in reviving the long-troubled facility, which shut down two years ago after repeated findings that inadequate care led to patient injuries and deaths.

"This is a proud day for the University of California," said UC President Mark G. Yudof to shouts of "thank you" from the audience. "The reopening of Martin Luther King Hospital will provide not just adequate care but the best care to the underserved."

Before the vote, Eddie Island, a retired attorney appointed to the board by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, urged his fellow regents not to delay.

"There is no greater public good than to engage and embrace the need a community has for healthcare," Island said. “I’m going to embrace without hesitation this Martin Luther King arrangement. It’s the right thing to do.”

But many hurdles remain, including hundreds of millions of dollars in needed seismic repairs to the campus, which originally opened in 1972. The reopening of King Hospital would be considered a significant victory by community advocates, who point out that the South Los Angeles area remains severely medically underserved despite a population that suffers disproportionately from chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Under the proposal approved by the regents, the county and UC will create a nonprofit entity, overseen by a board of directors, to run the hospital. The university will provide physician services and medical oversight.

The new hospital will be considerably smaller, 120 beds instead of the 233 the facility once had. It will include an emergency room and three operating rooms but no trauma center, a sore point with some supporters.

John Stobo, senior vice president, health sciences and services for the UC system, said the agreement provided protections for both L.A. County and UC.

The plan calls for 14 to 20 full-time physicians and other medical professionals to staff the hospital's in-patient services, part of a larger group that will include physicians from White Memorial and Harbor UCLA. The nonprofit will also retain all hiring powers, a key concession that will make it possible to start fresh at a facility that was plagued with problem staff.

The plan to partner with L.A. County drew tough questions from some regents.

"Our reputation is going to be involved," said George Marcus of the Palo Alto-based Marcus & Millichap Co. investment firm. He expressed particular concern about the role the state will play given continuing financial struggles facing the university system.

"We are going to be in business with a potentially unreliable partner again," he said. "What is the ability for us to disengage in the event of a breach?"

Stobo responded that the partnership protected the UC system legally. But he added: "The court of public opinion is another thing."

After the vote, county Supervisor Don Knabe stood amid the crowd.

"I was chair of the [Board of Supervisors] when we voted to close MLK," Knabe said. "I can't tell you what this means to me today."

—Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Westwood

Photo: Dr. Sunao Gilbert dresses a leg injury for patient Christina Guzman at Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital while Reginald McCoy Jr., right, waits for treatment for what he thinks is a broken finger.
Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

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UC regents scheduled to take crucial vote on future of King Hospital [Updated]

Megan Garvey — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:17:15 -0800

[Updated at 10:45 a.m.: UC regents unanimously approved a partnership with L.A. County to reopen King Hospital.]

Members of the UC Board of Regents said they were “cautiously optimistic” that they would vote today to partner with Los Angeles County to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital.

King closed in 2007 after repeated findings that inadequate care at the facility led to patient injuries and deaths. Under the proposal the regents are scheduled to take up today, the county and the University of California would create a nonprofit entity to run the hospital, but the university would provide physician services and medical oversight.

“All of the regents are united in the moral imperative of this,” Sherry Lansing, who chairs the board’s committee on health services, said Wednesday. “But as you can see from today, we are facing financial difficulties.”

As she spoke, regents were voting to raise student fees as hundreds of students protested outside.

A partnership with the UC system is key to a plan to reopen the troubled hospital in South Los Angeles, but many hurdles would remain, including upward of $300 million in needed seismic repairs to the campus.

When the hospital shut down to in-patient and emergency services two years ago, county supervisors promised to have it operating again by this year. Earlier this month, county officials pushed back the reopening date again, this time to 2013. And the hospital they are planning to reopen will be considerably smaller, 120 beds instead of the 233 the facility once had.

John Stobo, senior vice president for health sciences and services for the UC system, said the agreement the regents are considering includes a promise from county officials to secure a $100-million letter of credit for six years, which will guarantee the $63 million a year it will cost to operate the hospital.

“That will go a long way toward addressing the regents’ concerns,” Stobo said.

Regent George Marcus, of the Palo Alto-based Marcus & Millichap Co. investment firm, had expressed doubts about the proposal’s financial stability. On Wednesday, Marcus said he was reassured by the hospital’s proposed nonprofit board structure, so that “if there’s a financial crisis, it doesn’t spill over to us, because we have our own financial crisis to deal with.”

Marcus said he expected the proposal to “sail through” today.

An offer by Los Angeles pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong to underwrite the proposal with a $100-million guaranty has not been vetted by UC lawyers and is not part of the proposal the regents will vote on, Stobo said. Soon-Shiong, however, is expected to appear at today’s meeting, as are Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes the hospital; Supervisor Don Knabe, who chairs the board, and the county’s chief executive, William T. Fujioka.

“Our sense is that we are ready to move this partnership forward,” Ridley-Thomas said, adding, “As soon as this vote is taken, we will be working feverishly on design issues and construction.”

The new hospital would include an emergency room and three operating rooms but no trauma center, a sore point with some supporters. Ridley-Thomas said it would have taken up to four additional years to reopen with a trauma center and “the need for services is now.”

On Wednesday, leaders of six Southern California health foundations, including Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Catholic Healthcare West and the California Endowment, sent a letter to the regents urging them to approve the proposal.

“South Los Angeles faces some of the most daunting challenges and greatest health disparities of any community in the state,” said Bob Ross, president and chief executive of the California Endowment, who plans to speak at today's meeting. “There simply are not enough hospital beds to meet the community’s need and that is unacceptable. The residents of South Los Angeles deserve better, and this partnership holds the promise that they will get it.”

Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science had used King as a teaching hospital, and after the hospital became an ambulatory care center, students continued to treat patients there and at other hospitals. It is not clear what Drew's role will be once the hospital reopens.

“We hope to be a part of the solution and part of the healthcare workforce” at King, said Drew’s president, Dr. Keith Norris, who is also on the UCLA faculty.

Under the proposal, UC would assume responsibility for training and supervising medical students, residents and fellows at the hospital. Stobo said university officials do not plan to “exclude Drew,” nor do they plan to create a new medical school.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said physicians will need to demonstrate they can deliver quality care at King before it becomes a teaching hospital again.

“We’re going to have to reestablish a medical community here,” Block said. “The training opportunities -- all that comes later.”

Block said he expects most of the physicians at King will come from UCLA and UC Irvine. He said that fits with UCLA’s goal of providing care to underserved communities such as South L.A. He said the UCLA medical community supports the proposal.

“We need to provide a broader array of services like what we expect here on the Westside,” in South L.A., Block said.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske reporting from Westwood

Donuts for Dads: 250 men read to students at Watts elementary school

Amanda Covarrubias — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:53:08 -0800

More than 250 men, including LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, participated in a program this morning at 99th Street School in Watts aimed at getting fathers involved in their children's education.

Called Donuts for Dads, the program was the brainchild of Principal Sherri Williams, who found that almost every time she called the homes of her students, she would talk to mothers. If a male would answer, he told her the mother was the spokesperson for the family.

After doing some research, Williams found that 50% of students at her school did not have a father living in the same household. In response, she started the program, in which men read to students at the elementary school for an hour.

“I wanted to create a forum where the fathers would feel comfortable,” Williams said.

In one classroom today, student Ryan Fleming excitedly patted Officer Rudolph Baca on the arm to show him his new skills.

“I’m a snail! I’m a snail!” said the first-grader clutching the book “Hooray for Snail.”

After the hour was over, two children near Baca did not want him to leave.

“Next time, I want you guys to read to me,” he told them.

Even though Baca read to the children for only an hour, it had an effect, he said.

“They were very receptive,” he said. “They appreciated it too.”

Henry Hartwell, 60, who volunteered for his granddaughter, Daunwa Brake, said students read to him in Spanish. He said he benefited from having two male relatives read to him.

“I did when I was a child,” he said. “And I’m no different from them.”

-- Nicole Santa Cruz in Watts

Photo: LAPD Chief Charlie Beck reads to third-graders today at 99th Street Elementary in Watts.

Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

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UC regents expected to partner with L.A. County in reopening Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital

Megan Garvey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:12:03 -0800

Members of the UC Board of Regents meeting at UCLA this morning said that they were cautiously optimistic that they would vote Thursday to partner with Los Angeles County to reopen Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital in Willowbrook.

Under the proposal, the county and the University of California would create a nonprofit entity to run the hospital, with the university providing physician services and medical oversight.

The agreement specifies that the hospital would have 120 beds, an emergency room, three operating rooms and no trauma center.

"All of the regents are united in the moral imperative of this," said Sherry Lansing, who chairs the board's committee on health services. "But as you can see from today, we are facing financial difficulties."

As she spoke, regents were considering a student fee hike as hundreds of students protested outside.

County officials have promised to secure a $100-million letter of credit to guarantee the $63 million a year it will cost the county to operate the 120-bed hospital, scheduled to open in 2013, according to Dr. John Stobo, UC's senior vice president of health sciences and services. The letter of credit will be good for six years, Stobo said.

That will go a long way toward addressing the regents' concerns, Stobo said.

Los Angeles pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has also offered a $100-million guaranty to underwrite the proposal, and is expected to speak at Thursday's meeting. But Stobo noted that Soon-Shiong's offer is not part of the proposal the regents will vote on.

County leaders expected to speak Thursday include Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes the hospital; Supervisor Don Knabe, who chairs the Board of Supervisors; and the county's chief executive, William T Fujioka.

Earlier today, the leaders of six Southern California health foundations, including Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Catholic Healthcare West and the California Endowment, sent a letter to the regents urging them to approve the proposal.

South Los Angeles faces some of the most daunting challenges and greatest health disparities of any community in the state, said Bob Ross, president and chief executive officer of the California Endowment, who plans to speak at the meeting.

"There simply are not enough hospital beds to meet the community's need and that is unacceptable," he said. "The residents of South Los Angeles deserve better and this partnership holds the promise that they will get it."

--Molly Hennessy-Fiske

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Firefighters battling blaze in unincorporated area in South L.A.

Robert Lopez — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:49:24 -0800

Los Angeles County firefighters were battling a fire in piles of wooden pallets at a warehouse in an industrial area in South Los Angeles.

At least five fire engines were dispatched to the blaze at Juniper and East 90th streets, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. First-in fire units were pouring streams of water on the flames, which shot several stories into the darkened sky.

The cause of the blaze was not known, and adjacent structures did not appear to be threatened.

--Robert J. Lopez

Man said to be in stable condition after being shot in head

William Nottingham — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:02:03 -0800

An argument between two men in South Los Angeles today ended with one shooting the other in the head at about 11:15 a.m., Los Angeles Police Department Officer Gregory Baek said.

The 34-year-old victim was expected to survive, he said.

The 10100 block of South Vermont Avenue, where the incident occurred, was closed to traffic for more than two hours as authorities searched for the suspect.

The victim, whose name was not given, was transported to a hospital in stable condition. The shooting is not believed to be gang-related, Baek said.

-- Corina Knoll

Police hunt for left-handed bandit in South Los Angeles

Monte Morin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:40:08 -0800

Los Angeles Police Department detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying an armed man who has robbed more than a dozen sandwich and retail shops in South Los Angeles.

The man, whom authorities have dubbed the “Left-Handed Eyeglass Bandit,” typically walks in the front door of a business, draws a small-caliber revolver with his left hand and demands money from the clerk. The robberies have all taken place in the last three weeks.

Police described the robber as an African American man in his 30s, who is 5 feet 10 and weighs between 160 and 190 pounds. He wears eyeglasses and dresses casually. He may be driving a 1990s four-door dark blue or black car with a hard-shell tire cover on the trunk.

The robberies occurred between Oct. 21 and Monday and included at least three Subway sandwich shops and three Metro PCS stores.

Anyone with information is asked to call 77th Street Division detectives at (213) 473-4862. After-hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at (877) LAPD-24-7 (527-3247).

-- Monte Morin

Photo: Left-Handed Eyeglass Bandit. Credit: LAPD

LAPD asks for public's help in search for suspect in woman's brutal attack [Updated]

Shelby Grad — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:23:29 -0800

The Los Angeles Police Department put out an urgent public plea as they searched for a man accused of raping, torturing and pouring acid on the face of a woman during a Halloween night attack.

Police identified the suspect as Miguel Angel Herrera, and officials said the attack occurred at his home in South Los Angeles. The victim, whose name was not released, was Herrera's girlfriend.

LAPD Capt. Art Miller said Herrera and the victim had some type of dispute before Herrera allegedly raped her, punched her, stabbed her, whipped her with an electrical cord and poured battery acid on her "to teach her a lesson."

The woman managed to escape from his home. Her condition was not immediately known.

[Updated at 11:38 a.m.: Miller said Herrera, 30, apparently became upset when the woman arrived late to his house. After she got away, he followed her in his car. But she made it to the home of relatives who took her to the Newton Division police station, where she reported the attack.

"Help us help this family," said L.A. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes the area where the crime occurred.]

Herrera was last seen driving a 2005 red Nissan Titan. Miller said anyone who comes in contact with Herrera should call 911.

"Help us find this guy and put him in jail," he told reporters at an 11 a.m. news conference.

-- Ruben Vives in South Los Angeles

Photo: Miguel Angel Herrera. Credit: LAPD

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L.A. police searching for rapist who poured acid on woman in Halloween attack

Amanda Covarrubias — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:37:21 -0800

The Los Angeles Police Department plans to hold a news conference this morning to ask for the public's help in finding a man who tortured and poured acid on a woman’s face before raping her on Halloween night.

Investigators will release a photograph of a suspect in the case and a description of the vehicle he allegedly used in the South L.A. attack. The news conference begins at 11 a.m. at the LAPD’s Southwest Division headquarters.

Police are trying to find out if there were any additional victims, although they believe the incident was an isolated attack.

-- Ruben Vives

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Live grenade turned in at Inglewood Gifts for Guns event

Nita Lelyveld — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:26:04 -0800

The Inglewood Police Department was expecting to see handguns, sawed-off shotguns and assault rifles at its Gifts for Guns exchange today. The live hand grenade took officers by surprise.

They discovered the grenade about an hour after the event started, in one of several boxes of loose ammunition a man surrendered in exchange for a $100 American Express gift card, said Lt. Mike McBride of the Inglewood Police Department.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad was called in to dispose of the grenade, McBride said. No injuries were reported.

This is the first year the Inglewood event has taken place, allowing people to surrender weapons, no-questions-asked, and receive gift cards.

Today's event, held in the rear parking lot of a shopping center, brought in at least 85 weapons in the first hour. By noon, about 149 firearms had been turned in.

-- Ruben Vives

Gunman opens fire on off-duty officer in South L.A.

Shelby Grad — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:42:26 -0800

A gunman opened fire today on an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The undercover Newton Division vice officer was not hurt even thought the assailant fired several shots before fleeing in a green Chevrolet Tahoe with chrome rims, investigators said.

The shooting occurred at 4:12 p.m. near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. and Avalon boulevards. Police said the assailant pulled up next to the officer's car and opened fire.

—Andrew Blankstein

Charlie Beck vows to focus on gang violence, quality-of-life crimes and more 'transparency' as LAPD chief

Shelby Grad — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:07:17 -0800

Charlie Beck, who has been tapped by the mayor to be L.A.'s new police chief, has told community activists that he wants to make police misconduct investigations more transparent and will focus on "quality of life" crimes and more community outreach.

Beck also said he wants to build up more programs that combat gang violence.

"If we don't develop ways to save our youth from gang violence, we will go through the cycle this city has gone through for four decades," Beck said at a gathering of community leaders Tuesday night in South Los Angeles.

Beck appeared to call for a continuation of some of the policies championed by outgoing LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, among them cracking down on small crimes as a way of preventing larger ones.

"As businesses thrive, a community becomes safer," Beck said. "It's not just about businesses. It's about family; it's about schools; it's about quality of life."

Beck, currently a deputy LAPD chief, also told the group that the community needs a better understanding of how the department investigates claims of police misconduct. He did not provide specifics about how he would improve "transparency" but said it was a goal.

Beck outlined his philosophy for how the LAPD should work with the community. He said officials need to listen to those people who have opinions different from their own.

"When you do that, you build unlikely partnerships," he said.

Beck said he needs to spread that message through the department. "This can't just be Charlie Beck's philosophy. It needs to be everyone's philosophy."

Some activists at the meeting expressed support for Beck.

Vicky Lindsey of Project Cry No More said, "He is more on the ground, and it's not speculation. He's real."

Sherri Williams, principal of 99th Street Elementary School in Watts, said Beck is a great choice. "It's a big task, but he's going to do well," she said.

Beck, whom Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa picked to be chief Tuesday, faces a confirmation vote from the City Council in the coming weeks.

-- Nicole Santa Cruz in South Los Angeles

Reopening of King hospital may be pushed back again

Megan Garvey — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:36:33 -0800

Los Angeles County officials indicated today that they will likely be forced to once again delay the reopening of Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital — this time to 2013.

[An earlier version of this post referred to the facility as Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, the name the hospital used at the time of it was closed to inpatients.]

It was the latest in a series of postponements for the Willowbrook facility. When supervisors voted to close in-patient services in August 2007, they promised to reopen it in 2009. When Mark Ridley-Thomas was elected last year, he promised to reopen in 2010. In August this year, he joined his board colleagues to approve a plan to reopen in 2012.

At today's board meeting, the county’s point person for health services construction, Jan Takada, reported that the latest target was March, 2013. He blamed a number of factors, including the still-pending agreement with the University of California to partner with the county to reopen the hospital. The selection of an architect also took more time than expected, he said.

Nevertheless, Ridley-Thomas, whose district includes King, said he was not yet ready to accept the most recent delay and still aimed for a 2012 reopening.

“It will be difficult, but we are going to push very, very hard,” Ridley-Thomas said. “We will be appointing a special team to expedite this...to cut through the bureaucracy.”

Ridley-Thomas also emphasized that many other improvements will be completed far sooner, including improved and expanded outpatient clinic facilities on the King campus.

“I’m expecting a lot of good news,” Ridley-Thomas said. “This is poised to be one of the most exciting medical campuses in the whole region.”

--Garrett Therolf reporting from the L.A. County Hall of Administration

Robbery suspect shot by police in South L.A., then takes refuge in car [Updated]

Amanda Covarrubias — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:36:00 -0800

A man believed to have participated in an armed robbery was shot by police today in South L.A. and is thought to be alive inside his car and armed with a gun.

[Updated at 1:19 p.m.: The man was taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, said LAPD Officer Gregory Baek. His condition was unknown.]

Police say the man was one of three who participated in an armed robbery. Two suspects tried to flee but were detained, and the remaining man engaged in a shootout with responding officers, officials said.

An LAPD tactical unit attempted to use a bomb squad robot to pry the gun from the man.

The man also may have been involved in a carjacking, police said.

The incident was reported around 10 a.m. when patrol officers tried to pull over a vehicle carrying several suspects near the intersection of 41st and Naomi streets, according to LAPD officials.

The driver led officers on a brief pursuit near the intersection of 59th street and Avalon Boulevard before the shooting.

-- Richard Winton and Andrew Blankstein

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