AK-47 Assault Rifle

Happy Birthday, Ronald

AK-47 Bandit Is One Scary Bank Robber

The scariest bank robber ever? The FBI is turning up the heat on the so-called AK-47 Bandit, who has targeted, among other banks in the Western United States, a SoCal California Bank & Trust. Not only that, but the AK isn't fake. He pulled the trigger and injured a police officer, feds say:

5 Films People Will Be Talking About at Sundance

For the next 10 days, all Hollywood eyes--and those of many a filmgoer--will turn toward the frigid wilds of Park City, Utah, reportedly experiencing its chilliest winter in a decade. Their collective hope: to discover at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (January 17 through 26) the next Beasts of the ... More >>

The Dude and the Zen Master

Melvin Walker: L.A. Marijuana Dispensary Operator, 11 Others, Arrested By Feds

The federal crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries in Southern California continued today as the U.S. Attorney's Office announced the arrests of 12 people associated with a chain of pot shops. John Melvin Walker operated 9 dispensaries in L.A. and Orange counties, feds say, and he topped the l ... More >>

LAPD Chase: Possible Murder Suspect in Reported-Stolen Car Shot by Cops (VIDEO)

A crazy chase of an alleged carjacker and possible murder suspect through the streets of Westlake, Echo Park, Koreatown and Hollywood ended tonight as might be expected: Cops shot the guy at West Seventh Street and Bixle Avenue just west of downtown shortly after 7 p.m. (video after the jump), LAPD ... More >>

Cudahy Mayor David Silva Among Three City Officials Who Took Bribe From Marijuana Dispensary, Says U.S. Attorney

Updated at the bottom with the juicy, 143-page criminal complaint against three allegedly "freewheeling" city scumbags. Government corruption in the small southeast city of Bell made national headlines all throughout 2010 -- even earned the Los Angeles Times a Pulitzer. And if you ask the locals, i ... More >>

Guy Fieri Gets His Stolen Lamborghini Back What You Can Fit Inside a Storage Container

The Associated Press reports that celebrity chef Guy Fieri can finally start driving his stolen $200,000 bumblebee yellow 2008 Gallardo Spyder convertible to all those diners and dives again. 17-year-old Max Michael Wade, from San Rafael, California, was charged yesterday with an assortment of crime ... More >>

Candida, and other New Theater Reviews . . .

Aaron Morgan"Candida," produced by Crysalis Stage at The Complex​Chrysalis Stage's revival of G.B. Shaw's Candida at The Complex nabbed this week's Pick of the Week. ​ Our critics also liked On Holy Ground with Salome Jens at the MET, in Hollywood. See here for all the latest New Theater Reviews ... More >>

'Poppin Wizard' of Glassell Park Puts Drew Street Back on Map (VIDEO)

Drew Street in Glassell Park (and the surrounding neighborhood, which has likewise come to be known as Drew Street) is best known for hosting a massive gang operation that festered there for decades. That is, until April 2008, when the street "erupted in AK-47 gunfire, forcing cops to evacuate two ... More >>

Men Caught Selling Guns And Meth Instead Of Hot Dogs

Anne Fishbeina Slaw Dogs hot dog​A U.S. District court arraigned two men last week for selling guns and methamphetamine to undercover officers at a San Jose hot dog stand. After multiple drug and weapon transactions, the feds finally arrested 58-year-old Jose Gilberto Ortiz on Sept. 2. His par ... More >>

Chris Jeon, Insane UCLA Student, Joins Qaddafi Rebels in Libya for 'Real Revolution'

FacebookChris Jeon just upgraded from Coachella to Libya.​[Update: Chris Jeon may be cooler than the rest of the senior class combined, but he's apparently not cool enough for Libyan rebels. Perhaps they caught on to his gimmick, and realized their life's fight had become a mere summer-vacatio ... More >>

Shepard Fairey Beat Up in Copenhagen, Called 'Yankee Hipster' and 'Obama Illuminati'

Shepard FaireyFairey's claim to fame -- and possible downfall.​Don't worry: L.A. artist Shepard Fairey, 41, only has a "black eye and a bruised rib" after a pummeling he received in Copenhagen, Denmark last weekend. But the implications for Fairey's international street cred as a graffiti and ... More >>

Marijuana Dispensary in Northridge Was a Front For a Cocaine Ring, Cops Say: Owner Raymond George, Five Others, Arrested

LAPDGrowing on-site.​A Northridge medical marijuana dispensary that was the site of an attempted murder last year was raided this week by cops, who allege it was used as a front for an L.A.-to-Cleveland cocaine operation. In fact, they say, they came upon a huge cocaine transaction right as th ... More >>

Sheng Chen Ran Hostess Club Out of San Gabriel Valley House, Authorities Say

Dernier ExileLadies of the mic.​If you're to believe the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, 38-year-old Sheng Hui Chen is a brave, shit-talking man. In fact, they claim, he pretty much made a lifestyle of it. Not only did Chen allegedly extort mom-and-pop Chinese immigrants by saying he was a ... More >>

Is Al Qaeda Planning Terrorist Attack on AeroVironment Inc? Here's the L.A. County Firm's 5 Coolest Spy Drones

strangecosmos.coWind turbines at the AeroVironment facility in Monrovia. Also pretty cool.​Reports abound this morning of a possible Al Qaeda attack plan against 11 officials at L.A. County's own AeroVironment Inc., a top drone manufacturer in the U.S. War on Terror. Employees of the Monrovia ... More >>

The Bacon Bazooka A Brief Interview With Those Responsible

thisisfreakingridiciulous.com​ How did you celebrate your weekend? Probably not as creatively as the guys who celebrate Bacon Day by building a working bacon bazooka. Apparently Bacon Day is an annual event over at This Is Freaking Ridiculous. In 2010, 40 pounds of bacon went into the making of t ... More >>

Art Brutal

Discovering the smart garage sound of Wounded Lion

Jack Schlesinger, L.A. Homicide No. 203: 25-Year-Old Man Fatally Shot By Police In Westlake

Google Maps​A white man was shot dead by LAPD officers just after 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 28, in the 1600 block of West Temple Street in Westlake. He has since been identified as 25-year-old Jack Schlesinger.

LAPD Officers Take Automatic Weapon Fire Near Downtown, Kill A Suspect

​Updated after the jump with alleged shooter's ID, fact that he was a parolee-at-large, and response from the police union. First posted at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday. A person was fatally shot by cops when the suspect in a reportedly stolen car opened fire on police with an AK-47-type rifle, accordin ... More >>

Pinalcchio: Renowned Forensics Experts Say a Pinal County Deputy's High-Profile Tale About Getting Shot After Encountering Drug Smugglers Doesn't Add Up

Reserve Lofts Counterfeiting Suspect Nabbed

LAPDBrian Alexik​Brian Alexik, the suspected counterfeiter who left a trail of intriguing clues in his Reserve Lofts apartment in April, has been arrested, the Downtown News reports.Alexik surrendered to officers who knocked on an apartment door in the downtown Arts District at about 1:40 p.m. LAP ... More >>

Hawaiian Gardens Shooting Rampage Targets Family; Five Shot, Two Dead

Google Maps​A deputy who happened to be patrolling the area apparently foiled what could have been a massacre as a man authorities described as a jilted lover opened fire in a home of 10, killing two and wounding two others, sheriff's officials said. The gunman was also wounded when the deput ... More >>

New Boyz's "You're a Jerk" As Interpreted by Panamanians and Nigerians [MP3]

Jennie WarrenNew Boyz go global​Well, the New Boyz "You're a Jerk" might be one of the biggest pop/rap tracks of 2009, but it's still making its way across the world and inspiring MCs and producers with its weird, minimal style. More evidence that the world is shrinking, and the sound of LA ca ... More >>

It's National Spaghetti Day: Is There an Never-ending Pasta Bowl Game Yet?

So here's a rhetorical question for you: how many National Food Days are we technically allowed? Can we designate all 365 of them, or are some days reserved for non-edibles, like National AK-47 Day, or National Monopoly Day? Today, for example, is National Spaghetti Day. Which means, perhaps, that y ... More >>

The Assassination of Deputy Abel Escalante

A young father had nothing to do with LAPD’s killing of Danny Leon. But he was slain for it

Murder Was the Case: L.A. Homicide No. 211, Avenues Gangsters Arrested for Shooting Death on Drew Street

A man was found dead of a gunshot wound to the chest on Drew Street in Glassell Park August 23. The body of Ilario Perez, 43, was discovered about 7:15 a.m. in the 3400 block of Northeast Los Angeles' notorious Drew Street. A few hours after the shooting, police arrested Jorge "Grinch" Pena and Jus ... More >>

House Party: Notorious Drew Street Home Demolished

Police Chief Bill Bratton, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and City Councilman Eric Garcetti, along with dozens of police officers, undercover agents and city workers, gathered in Glassell Park Wednesday to celebrate the demolition of a notorious drug house once owned and operated by Avenues gangster ... More >>

Drew Street Drug House Demolished

Creepily, some neighbors miss the gang’s terror, a Neighborhood Watch of sorts

Hundreds Attend Funeral for Slain Sheriff's Deputy

Family and friends along with hundreds of law enforcement officers attended a funeral today at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown L.A. for a sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down outside his home in Cypress Park. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Juan Escalante, 27, was shot to ... More >>

Prayer Vigil held for Fallen Deputy

Over 100 family members, friends, neighbors, local politicians, police and firefighters attended a prayer vigil last night for a sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down outside his parent’s home in Cypress Park on August 2. “It takes a lot of courage to be here,” said Councilman Ed Reyes who w ... More >>

Shooting of Deputy Still Remains a Mystery

Los Angeles Police Department detectives still don’t have a clue as to why a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was gunned down outside his parent’s home in Cypress Park on August 2. Deputy Juan Abel Escalante, who was assigned to guard the county’s most dangerous inmates at Men's Central Ja ... More >>

Officer Involved Shootings Reach 27 this Year

With Monday's fatal shooting of postal worker Kevin Wicks by an Inglewood police officer the number of deaths this year at the hands of law enforcement in Los Angeles County has hit 27, according to the LA County Coroner. That means roughly four deaths a month involving police officers. The startl ... More >>

Major Law Enforcement Crack down Nets the Gangsters of Drew Street

A multi-agency task force of 500 law enforcement officers swooped down on members of the avenues gang on Drew Street early this morning. The crackdown netted 32 members or associates of the “Drew Street” clique of the avenues. The operation, which began at 4 a.m., stemmed from a massive 157-pa ... More >>

Narco war update: El Chapo's son goes down

Fresh off a staggering surge of killings of high-profile anti-narco agents and investigators in Mexico, the latest big-time victim in the country's wild drug war is sure to bring even more retaliation bloodshed: the son of El Chapo, Mexico's most notorious narco kingpin, was gunned down on Thursda ... More >>

Sex crimes investigator assassinated in Juarez

Berenice Garcia Corral was commander of the sex crimes unit of Chihuahua state's State Investigation Agency before masked men shot her in her driveway in Ciuadad Juarez on Monday night. La Jornada reports that she was shot at least 10 times with AK-47 rifles. On Tuesday in the municipality of Hida ... More >>

The 10 Rules of Pimpology According to the Video for Do or Die's "Po' Pimp"

10. The ability to acquire flaming pennies (these were also reportedly Shaquille O' Neal's last words upon leaving Orlando). Such magic coins will give their owners the ability to turn homeless people into suave and dapper, ladies men and thus realize their dreams of using P.I.M.P.O.L.O.G.Y. to lo ... More >>

The Gangsters of Drew Street, Glassell Park

Why neither God nor the police can stop them

Escape from Allentown

Beardo�s long journey into teenage wasteland

Rocket Science: Maybe Another Teen Movie

Is high school coming-of-ager quirky for good or evil? The answer�s debatable

Screenwriter Mistaken for a Terrorist

L.A.�s big population of Brits used to breeze between there and here, but no more

North Hollywood Bizarro

Shootout memorial turns surreal

New Year in Moscow

G.I. George

There�s a Riot Goin� On

Weird War�s spit bombs from the front lines

The Big Bang

Grand Delusion

Chemical Me

A mostly legal cocktail

Tough Driving

SUV owners: Park it � right now, before I hurt you

Sing Now, Die Later

The Ballad of Chalino Sanchez: Part 2