Crime and Law

Mayor Garcetti: Throwing Money at Gang Problem Works

Can you throw money at gang crime and make it go away? Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa believed that well-targeted gang prevention programs like his Summer Night Lights events at parks could reduce crime in L.A. And now Mayor Eric Garcetti has picked up that torch, including Villaraigosa's $25- ... More >>

L.A. Hate Crimes Becoming More Violent

The good news is that there were fewer hate crimes in Los Angeles county last year, according to the just-released figures from the L.A. Hall of Administration. In fact, the number of such crimes was the second lowest in 23 years. The bad news: More of those violations were violent. That's the bo ... More >>

On FX's The Bridge, Serial Killers Are a First-World Problem

Orange Is the New Black's Radical Critique of American Prisons

Darian Tillman: Suspect 'Sextorted' Teen Into Taking, Sending Nude Images

Federal authorities say a Corona man coerced underage victims to photograph themselves in sexually explicit ways and then send the images to him via the internet. Darian Anthony Tillman, 21, pleaded guilty today to "enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity" as part of a deal with federal ... More >>

The Case of the Bank-Robbing Prostitutes: How a Team of L.A. Hookers Became the "Starlet Bandits"

Latin Alt-Music Boss Hit With Suit Alleging Kinky Sexual Harassment

See also: Nacional's Pastime. Nacional Records is a little L.A. label (distributed by RED/Sony Music Entertainment) known for practically creating the "Latin alternative" category with spotlight-worthy artists such as Los Amigos Invisibles, Kinky and former members of the Tijuana crew known as Nort ... More >>

Fugitive Who Tweeted 'Catch Me if You Can' Caught in Baja

When you're on the run, it's probably best not to taunt law enforcement. It's sort of like pouring Worcestershire sauce on your head as a flee a ravenous pit bull. But that's what authorities say Wanda Lee Ann Podgurski did to San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis with this tweet in June:

Henry Rollins: Misguided Outrage Over DOMA's Demise

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Sunday KCRW broadcast.] See also: Henry Rollins: Worried About the NSA? What About Google? When I read the Supreme Court ... More >>

Rape at Occidental College: Official Hush-Up Shatters Trust

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down DOMA

See also: Prop. 8 Dismissed by U.S. Supreme Court: Gay Marriage to Return to California. In a prelude to its decision on California's own anti-gay marriage law, the U.S. Supreme Court today struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. In a 5-4 vote DOMA was overruled. The court says: "DOMA sin ... More >>

3 West L.A. Gangsters Arrested in Santa Monica Murder Case

Three men have been booked in connection with a fatal shooting in Santa Monica that appears to have involved a rivalry with a West L.A. gang. The three were nabbed in the 1500 block of Armacost Avenue in West Los Angeles following the Tuesday morning attack in Santa Monica's Pico neighborhood:

Teacher Allegedly Watched Child Porn With Undercover Fed ... In a SoCal Classroom

A middle school teacher arranged to meet up with someone to view child porn together. In his Covina public middle school classroom. Really. Allegedly. So says the U.S. Attorney's Office in L.A., which announced that John David Boyle, a 49-year-old Glendora educator, has been arrested on suspicion o ... More >>

Santa Monica College Shooting: Custodian Witnessed Point-Blank Shooting

A custodian at Santa Monica College reports witnessing a gunman in military-like apparel shooting an elderly woman just outside the campus library today. Click here for full details on the shootings around Santa Monica and Santa Monica College earlier today. Jorge Saldana, 47, says that he was in ... More >>

Should Mr. Checkpoint Be Tweeting DUI Stops?

His 42,000 followers think so. MADD does not

Mafia Cocaine Ring Ran Through Beverly Hills?

A mob-connected drug trafficker was living right under our noses in Beverly Hills, helping to stash kilos of cocaine, make deals with the Sinaloa drug cartel and move millions of dollars worth of drugs for the Rizzuto organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra. Those are the facts of the case for 39- ... More >>

Party People, Prepare for a .05 DUI Alcohol Limit

If you thought .08 was a tough blood alcohol limit for driving under the influence, just wait. There's a movement afoot to lower the threshold to .05, which some of the lighter weights among us could hit in under an hour with just a few drinks under their belts. In fact:

Gov. Jerry Brown Attacks Carmen Trutanich for Flip-Flop on Prison Realignment

Gov. Jerry Brown has weighed in on the race for L.A. city attorney, recording a robocall attacking incumbent Carmen Trutanich for "misleading voters" on the issue of prison realignment. Trutanich supported Brown's realignment plan when he ran for district attorney last year. But now that he's runn ... More >>

Silver Lake Reservoir Robbers Target Joggers

Cops are on the lookout for two or three robbers who have targeted joggers around the Silver Lake Reservoir in recent weeks. So far the LAPD has only recorded two such crimes, including one last week, but the M.O.s are similar and there's no telling if the suspects will attack again:

Top Sheriff's Officials Allied With White Gang In L.A. Jails, Suit Says

A white-power gang operating inside the L.A. County jails had ties to sheriff's officials charged with running the lockups -- ties that led up as far as Undersheriff Paul Tanaka. That, at least, is one of the shocking allegations in a lawsuit filed in L.A. federal court this week. The plaintiffs ar ... More >>

Marijuana Sack Is No Cause For Deportation, Supreme Court Says

Can you share with your buds a bit more marijuana than you should legally have and get away with it? Can you have weed for, say, a small party and still not have to face deportation for felony "intent to distribute?" In an amazing sign of the country's changing attitudes toward pot, the U.S. Suprem ... More >>

USC Expert David Cruz Predicts Prop. 8 Supreme Court Decision is Unlikely to Make History

Updated at the bottom: David Cruz provides new details of his views. First posted Tuesday afternoon. David Cruz, an expert on civil rights and constitutional law, made his way from USC to D.C. to observe the oral arguments on California's Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage this morning. In a packed ... More >>

Henry Rollins: Our Constitutional Rights Require Constant Vigilance

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.] See also: Henry Rollins: Hardcore Nostalgia in Washington D.C. "If destruction be our lot, we ... More >>

Married Gay Men Live Longer, U.S. Supreme Court Should Read Danish Study

So apparently gay married guys live longer than unmarried or divorced men. That's what Danish researchers recently found after going through decades of statistics, and something conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas should consider when ruling i ... More >>

Richard Bradford, Murder Parolee, Ran Drug Rehab Center Endorsed By Mayor Villaraigosa

A murder convict on parole who's been off the radar since 1980 was arrested in Monrovia over the weekend, state officials announced today. And what has Richard Bradford been up to? According to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), he's been running "a high-end drug rehabil ... More >>

Amoeba's Vinyl Vault: Treasure Trove or Legal Sticky Wicket?

While the corpses of corporate music retail chains litter strip malls where outlets like Tower Records and Blockbuster Music once stood, Amoeba Music is an independent juggernaut with three California-based stores the size of supermarkets. They've been a destinations for music aficionados for more t ... More >>

Ali Syed: Four Dead In Orange County Road Rampage

Updated at the bottom with the suspected shooter's identity. Headline has changed. First posted at 11:59 p.m. A man went on a shooting rampage in Orange County today, resulting in four dead and at least two wounded, authorities said. It's not immediately clear what motivated the attacks, which sta ... More >>

Christopher Dorner Gets No-Bail Warrant, Death-Penalty Eligible Murder Charges

Christopher Dorner is officially a man with a no-bail murder warrant over his head. That after the Riverside County District Attorney's office today charged him with murder and attempted murder following his alleged fatal ambush of a Riverside cop and shootings involving that officer's partner and ... More >>

How Debt Collectors Get Away With Terrorizing Consumers -- With the Blessing of Public Officials

Thanks to a congressional loophole, local prosecutors actually hire private firms to harass citizens

Will Cardinal Roger Mahony Face Charges for Sex Abuse Cover Up? SNAP says Yes

On the front page of this morning's Los Angeles Times, the paper notes that several legal experts suspect Cardinal Roger Mahony will not face criminal charges for covering up clergy sex abuse due to the statute of limitations. One advocacy group says those experts have it wrong. "We aren't police, ... More >>

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:

Would You Buy Art Created by a Serial Killer?

Ever wanted to buy a half-eaten bag of Reese's Pieces, owned by Charles Manson? Well, for $425 they're yours, from a black market in serial killer memorabilia that has sprung up online. Now you can log on and buy charming watercolor paintings by child killers and hand-written letters from cannibals ... More >>

Sons of Anarchy Meets Mad Men in Danny Lyon's Classic Biker Portraits

"Danny Lyon: The Bikeriders" at Duncan Miller Gallery's Bergamot Station location is one of the most engaging -- and surprising -- photography shows of the past year. Featuring 50 prints from Lyon's landmark 1968 book of the same name, "The Bikeriders" documents four years, 1963-67, during which the ... More >>

Why Does Everyone in L.A. Drive Drunk All the Time?

Car culture was the last element I embraced in my new life as an Angeleno. The first few months I lived here, filling my gas tank made me physically ill. The cost! The fossil fuels! The hours spent in traffic! I may have cried about it once or twice, alone in my sad sublet behind one of Silver Lake' ... More >>

Holiday DUI Checkpoint Cheat Sheet: Massive Drunk Driving Crackdown Starts Friday

'Tis the season to be jolly, yes, but try not to do your fa-la-la-la-laing in a jail cell. Not fun. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department this week previewed the anti-DUI can of whoopass it's unveiling for the holidays, starting this weekend. It's massive:

Albert Abrams' Child Porn Nets 7 Years Behind Bars For Ex-L.A. Neighborhood Councils Chief

More information added at the bottom. Albert Abrams, the former neighborhood councils chief at L.A. City Hall who once admitted he "was watching myself from a distance watching" child porn, was sentenced to 7 years behind bars today. He faced five counts of distributing child pornography, two coun ... More >>

Graffiti Crew MTA's Gang Injunction Is For Real

The L.A. City Attorney's office has officially pioneered using a gang injunction against graffiti artists it says are tagging up public property. This legal tool allows prosecutors to bust gangsters just for being gangsters, essentially. Now taggers who crew-up can also be callared just for hangin ... More >>

Proposition 34: Campaign to Repeal the Death Penalty is Gaining Traction According to Poll

Good news today for supporters of Proposition 34, the initiative that would end executions in California and see the sentences of the state's 725 death row inmates automatically commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. According to a Field Poll released this morning, for first ... More >>

Proposition 36 Three Strikes

In South L.A., former prisoners hope voters will soften law

Friends Wrongfully Imprisoned for Nearly Two Decades — Until the Innocence Project Won Their Freedom

Imprisoned nearly two decades for murder, it took another brutal slaying to free them

Beverly Hills Murder Trial: Scott Barker Found Guilty of Murdering Tony Takazato

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?" On Tuesday, October 2, in less than a day of deliberating, the 12-member jury agreed on a verdict: Scott Joseph Barker, a 25-ye ... More >>

Beverly Hills Murder Trial: Alleged Murderer Scott Barker Looks Cocky as Jury Listens to Closing Arguments and Considers His Fate

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?" On the last day of his trial, alleged murderer Scott Barker, a 25-year-old wannabe screenwriter and actor who carried himself i ... More >>

Richard Alarcon Faces Perjury Trial Over Squatter House Saga

They say when you buy a vintage car, you don't want one with a "story." You know -- if it requires too much explanation, there's trouble ahead. And frankly, Richard Alarcon's story about the Panorama City house he was supposed to be living in to qualify for his City Council district election is one ... More >>

Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend from Prostitution?

Jackie Lacey Wins Key Police Endorsements In Race For D.A.

Jackie Lacey has already claimed an "insurmountable" polling advantage in the race for L.A. County District Attorney. Today, she added two key endorsements from the L.A. Police Protective League and the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs."This is a very important endorsement," Lacey said. "I ... More >>

Mara Salvatrucha Gang Turf Targeted in Spate of Deadly Koreatown Area Shootings

Updated at the bottom with a report stating there's a gang truce. First posted at 7:07 a.m. Monday. A spate of gang-related shootings have broken out in and around Koreatown in recent months, most happening in a neighborhood known as the epicenter of the global El Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha gang. ... More >>

Gunfire Erupts at Mayor's Anti-Gang Program 'Summer Night Lights' in Sun Valley; Two Shot

Amid proud statistics from the mayor's office on the effectiveness of his anti-gang program Summer Night Lights since it began five years ago, a shooting at the Sun Valley Park location has "set the bar back," a member of the neighborhood council tells the LA Daily News. Last Thursday night, a crow ... More >>

VIDEO: Puppy Thief Steals $1,000 'Puggle' From South Pasadena Pet Store, Returns It One Week Later

Updated at the bottom: A detective tells us that the thief returned the puppy because his pastor told him to. Worst puppy heist ever. Or at least the most sheepish: South Pasadena cops say that only one week after 53-year-old L.A. resident Jesus Lopez Medina lifted a $1,000 "puggle" (pug plus beag ... More >>

Gang Map Study Shows Crime Happens Along Borders Between Sets in L.A.

If you don't like being shot here in the city of L.A., the gang capital of the nation, the places to avoid are the boundaries between gangs (we have a map of some of the crimes after the jump). That seems to be one of the takeaways of a UCLA-led study published online this week in the journal Crimi ... More >>

Lawsuit Alleges Hebrew National Products are Not Kosher

"We answer to a higher authority" is Hebrew National's slogan, but at least eleven consumers in Minnesota aren't so sure: The group is suing ConAgra Foods, Inc., the parent company of Hebrew National, alleging that Hebrew National's products are not kosher. According to Reuters, the lawsuit alleges ... More >>