Here's something we never knew about when it happened:

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office just notified us that a former Wilmington Middle School vice principal has been convicted of placing a 14-year-old male student on his desk, putting his hands under his clothes and touching the poor kid inappropriately.

William Harberts, 61, of Garden Grove was found guilty in April of one misdemeanor count of battery. A judge ordered him never to teach again and to stay away from children.

A story on what happened in March 2007 will appear in the Daily Breeze on Saturday and on dailybreeze.com, but here's the sick basics:

Police will conduct a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint from from 8 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday in the eastbound lanes of Rosecrans Avenue west of Aviation Boulevard in Manhattan Beach.

Officers from Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Gardena, Inglewood, Torrance and the California Highway Patrol will participate.

Officers chose the location because it is in an area with a high number of traffic collisions and alcohol-related incidents.

With gas prices reaching more than $4 a gallon, it's a wonder there aren't more crimes like this.

I know, I know. You can't throw a tagger around here without hitting some anti-gang initiative or another. The L.A. City Council today is considering measures that would literally hit gang members where they live and how they operate.

I received a call from Michael Salazar, who wanted to speak in support of Martin Gudino, the man arrested and charged with shooting at the Sheriff's Department helicopter last week. Everybody deserves a chance to defend himself and Salazar was upset no one on Gudino's side was quoted in Wednesday's article.

Gudino, 23, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday afternoon in his first court appearance.

Salazar, whose sister is married to Gudino's brother, said he had spoken to Gudino following his arrest. He alleges deputies beat a confession out of Gudino. I'm sure deputies see it differently.
Here's what Salazar said:

"He is innocent. He confessed to doing it, but only after the police abused him. They beat him up. They don't have any evidence that he did it. They don't have any gun. They didn't actually see him. They don't have any witnesses. They basically beat the confession out of him. He said he didn't do it three times on tape."

"He is a known gang member. They are trying to get him off the street. They are trying to put anything on him. They don't have no guns. They say they found casings. They don't know if it's from the same gun that shot at the helicopter. They only have his confession."

"He is innocent and he is not guilty. He only confessed because they wanted them to stop beating him."

The Daily Breeze editorial board endorsed District Attorney Steve Cooley today for the county's top prosecutor slot. Last week, endorsements were published for the various Los Angeles Superior Court judicial offices that will be on the June 3 ballot. Unfortunately, the link to that information on the dailybreeze.com Web site has expired, but you can find the entire editorial after the jump.

Note: I have nothing to do with the editorial board's endorsement decisions. Happy voting!

Hawthorne police Lt. Mike Ishii just issued this statement regarding the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl last week:

"On 05/20/08 at approximately 8am, a 13 yr old girl reported that she was kidnapped at knifepoint while walking to school. After further investigation and interviews, we determined the suspect was not a stranger but an acquaintance of the victim.

It appears that the story about being kidnapped while walking to school was not true. We have identified a possible suspect (who is under 18 yrs old) and we are actively searching for him. We still have evidence that a sexual assault took place and thus will be looking to file charges against the suspect.

We want to get this information out to the public now, especially to parents who have children walking to school, so that they are aware of the facts behind this case. We still encourage students to walk in groups and be aware of their surroundings."

David Woon Chong, 38, was off-duty March 15 when he got into an altercation at the outside eating area on the Redondo Beach Pier. The Los Angeles Police Department officer allegedly kicked food out of the victim's hand and brandished both a knife and a gun. He was arrested for DUI as he drove away. Chong was on administrative leave and undergoing alcohol counseling when he allegedly got into another fight with a fellow participant on May 1, according to authorities.

We'll have the full story in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Sometimes misinformation gets out during the course of a story as it develops. Unfortunately that happened yesterday.

Today, as upset as I am that a story reported yesterday was incorrect, I can call this good news.

We've all been following the horrible crash in South Los Angeles that killed three children from a Carson family and the occupants of the van that struck the van they were riding in.

Three children and three adults remain hospitalized.

So far, the names of the people involved -- alive and deceased -- have not been officially released by the police and coroner's office.

Unfortunately yesterday, through the fault of no one, some misinformation traveled from hospital officials to police officers and on to me. It was thankfully incorrect that a fourth child had died.

Happily, we can report today that isn't the case. A detective told me that two of the children in the crash are twins with very similar names and, somehow, that caused some confusion and the belief that another child had died. One of the twins, however, is alive and hospitalized.

I did make an attempt to speak with a relative of the family today, but so far have not been successful. Possibly later today or tomorrow we will have more word on what we can all do to help this family.

This liquor store owner in Colorado had an interesting approach to fighting crime. Unfortunately for him, the other shoe has dropped.

This is Martin Gudino, a reputed gang member charged with shooting at the helicopter hovering over the unincorporated area near Carson the other day. He is charged with multiple counts of attempting to kill two peace officer aboard the aircraft.

An anonymous donor, South Bay companies and other residents have donated thousands of dollars to the Gardena Police Department to help officers pay for a new police dog.

The donations followed last week's death of Sammy, who tracked down criminals and sniffed out drugs. Sammy died following an illness.

Gardena police Sgt. Steve Prendergast said employees at Toyota Financial Services and Toyota Motor Sales in Torrance provided about $5,000 while Sammy was still alive to help pay for medical bills.

Following a Daily Breeze article on Saturday about Sammy's passing, readers made donations, including a man who responded with $10,000. He wished to remain anonymous.

"He's just a very generous person," Prendergast said. "It's just a man who has a passion for animals and believes in giving back to the community. We are very appreciative."
Officers estimate it costs $10,000 to $12,000 to buy a new dog and train an officer.

Police dogs are funded by public donations.

A new dog is expected to be working in about two months, Prendergast said. Another dog currently is in

Did you hear that helicopter circling near Torrance Boulevard and Prospect Avenue in Redondo Beach early this morning.

Police were searching for car burglars over Pearl Street at Prospect.

Officers received calls about 2 a.m. of possible burglars looking into cars. When police arrived, they found three cars that had been reported stolen from other jurisdictions.

The suspects also had broken into several cars.

The burglars ran, triggering the search. A sheriff's helicopter circled above for a few hours.

One man, identified as Angel Jeremiah Romero, was arrested.

A 23-year-old man has been charged with shooting at the helicopter the other day as it hovered over the unincorporated area near Carson.

The suspect was identified as Martin Gudino, who also will face charges of attempted murder of a police officer.

Three juveniles also have been arrested as accessories.

In an interesting development, a police dog that tracks the scents off shell-casings helped identify the suspected gunman.

I'm working on the story right now. We'll have it up soon.

Another child has died from injuries suffered in that horrific crash in South Los Angeles on Monday.

LAPD Detective Antonio Lee told me investigators were notified this morning about the fourth child, all from the same Carson family.

The boy, who was 4, had been in critical condition.

The children were in the rear of a van involved in a fiery collision with another van that ran a red light Monday evening at Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue.

The crash also killed a 12-year-old boy who attended Stephen M. White Middle School in Carson, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy.

The female driver was reported in stable condition Tuesday and a man riding in the front passenger seat was in serious but stable condition.

An 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl were in stable condition.
.
Two people in the van that ran the red light were burned beyond recognition when it exploded.
Eleven other people were reported injured in the crash.

Coroner's officials and Los Angeles police have not officially identified the injured or dead.

A photograph posted a makeshift memorial, however, identified some of the victims as Alex, Tanya and Alexa Ayala. Another boy, Carlitos Luna, also was among the dead.

Los Angeles police are working on establishing a fund to help the family bury their children.

I am trying to write a story about this family. If anybody knows them or is friends with them, please contact me at 310-543-6655.

Virgil Grant, 41, of Carson, and his wife, Psyhra Grant, 33, are in a federal courtroom right now after being arrested this morning on various drug and money laundering charges. Virgil Grant owns and operates six Los Angeles-area medical marijuana dispensaries, including one in Gardena, that are being raided by DEA agents.

Agents were led their The Holistic Caregivers shop in Compton after a man who caused a fatal freeway crash in December said he was under the influence of pot he purchased there. An undercover investigation allegedly turned up sales practices that are not covered by California's medical marijuana laws. Everything pot-related is illegal under federal law.

This is not the first time Grant's been raided. With the support of Americans For Safe Access, he's spoken before the Gardena and Los Angeles city councils on the issues of moratoriums and raids. We'll have the full story on the arrest and indictment in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Thanks to a reader's call, I just learned a man sexually assaulted a female student at El Camino College while an accomplice acted as a lookout.

Campus officials confirmed the attack occurred Friday evening. Nothing was issued about the crime until I inquired about it less than an hour ago. They were ready with a press release in the event I asked. It seemed like they were waiting for my call. I'm not sure why they didn't just tell the media in general right after the crime, or if they would have told anyone had we not asked.

The crime occurred Friday outside the east entrance to the women's physical education complex. After one man threatened the student, they walked her inside the complex. Inside, one sexually assaulted her while the other acted as lookout.

Back in November, a 20-year-old woman was sexually assaulted outside the women's gym. That crime remains unsolved.

Story coming to dailybreeze.com

A Portland man who forced three women and a 16-year-old girl to work for him as prostitutes was convicted Friday by a federal jury in Phoenix of transportation of a minor for prostitution. Hanoi Barbaro Acosta, 30, forced the girl to engage in prostitution in Inglewood with death threats and a severe beating.

The entire Department of Justice press release is after the jump. 

In today's Dancing Inmates number, the prisoners do Bonnie Tyler's "I need a hero." Don't we all.

Sheriff's deputies arrested an active-duty Marine today in connection with
the killing of a fellow Marine, whose body was found in San Clemente.

Christian William Carney, 21, a lance corporal stationed at Camp Pendleton, was arrested at
the base in the slaying of Pfc. Stephen C. Serrano, 20, of El Dorado.

The Orange County Register reports Pvt. Alvin Reed Lovely, 20, of Texas, is being sought in the slaying and is considered armed and dangerous. He has been on unauthorized leave since April.

A hiker discovered Serrano's body May 15 on a trail near a dead-end street. He was shot.

So it's pretty shocking when a right foot wearing a sock and a sneaker washes up on a beach, right?

But twice? Three times? Four times?

Yesterday, for the fourth time, a right foot wearing a sock and a running shoe washed up in on an island near Vancouver in less than a year, according to the CBC.

The latest foot was found on uninhabited Kirkland Island. In August, size 12 right feet washed up on Gabriola and Jedediah islands, and a third foot showed up on Valdez Island in February.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl. Nycki Basra told the news agency on Thursday that the case is one of the strangest she has heard of.

"Well, for us, it's our first time. In my 12 years of service, this is the first time I've seen it," she said.

Police are working to trace where the foot came from, checking missing persons reports and DNA.

One man -- Kevin DeCock -- thinks the feet might belong to his missing brothers, Doug and Trevor, who apparently died in a plane crash. He gave police DNA from his brothers in the hope they can be identified.

Earlier this week, KCBS/KCAL ran an investigative piece about paroled sex offenders housed in a Gardena hotel in violation of Jessica's Law. Click here to see their report.

As if we Laker fans don't have enough to contend with in Tim Duncan and his pals trying to get in the way of our championship, the NBA has warned that we have to worry about counterfeiters selling us fake Laker gear.

The rotten scum. They must be Celtic fans!

Ayala Deutsch, senior vice president and chief intellectual property counsel for the NBA, is urging Laker fans to beware of counterfeit merchandise -- T-shirts and the like.

"The NBA insists upon the highest quality products, to protect both our authorized vendors and our fans," Deutsch said in a statement. "Counterfeiting is a lose-lose situation, harming those retailers who play by the rules and cheating fans out of the lasting NBA mementos they

 deserve."

Lakers fans won't be cheated! 

To avoid buying counterfeit stuff, Deutsch urged fans to:

• look for the hologram sticker or hangtag and a sewn-in label identifying the merchandise as "genuine" or "official" as authorized by the NBA.
• shop at the Lakers' official team store and other NBA-authorized retail locations instead of buying items from street vendors and flea markets.
• beware of ripped tags, typographical errors, poor quality screen-printing, or irregular markings on apparel.

"The 2008 NBA Playoffs is an event that Los Angeles fans will want to remember for many years to come, but a counterfeit T-shirt is not a really keepsake if it contains a typo or shrinks three sizes when you put it in the laundry," Deutsch said.

Okay, so the NBA warned Spurs, Pistons and Celtics fans too, but those fans won't be buying CHAMPIONSHIP shirts this year.

So when you buy your "World Champions 2008" shirts, look for the NBA label!

Lakers fans WEAR THE REAL DEAL.

Got this press release in my inbox from the Supreme Court:

TO:             Legal Affairs Editors and Reporters
FROM:   Lynn Holton, Public Information Officer
DATE:   Thursday, May 22, 2008

A petition for rehearing and a request for a stay was filed late this afternoon in the California Supreme Court relating to the court's opinion in In re Marriage Cases, S147999, filed May 15, 2008.  The petition and stay request was filed by the Proposition 22 Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the group is asking the Court to put implementation of the law on hold until the November election.

Carson detectives had a busy day Thursday.

The Gardena Police Department announced today that its dog, Sammy, died. The dog tracked down suspects and sniffed out drugs as a member of the force.

While Sizzler offers an all-you-can-eat salad bar, it does not offer an all-you-can-take safe. As a former Sizzler employee, Derrick Oden should've known that. Oden, 41, was convicted late today by a Torrance jury of 10 counts of robbery, attempted robbery and assault for armed hold-ups at Sizzler restaurants in Lomita, Carson and Gardena.

He was also charged with a crime at the San Sai in El Segundo - located across the parking lot from a Sizzler that was likely closed by the time he got there. Deputy District Attorney Paul Guthrie said he hasn't added up how much time Oden, now a four-striker, is facing - but it's a lot. He returns for sentencing June 12.

Every judicial election, it's always the same: most voters really know nothing about any of the names listed on the ballot for Judge of the Superior Court. The folks at the Los Angeles County Bar Association, though, go to pretty great lengths to inform the electorate by ranking the candidates after interviews and investigations. The candidates' ratings, biographies and pictures can be found at the LACBA Web site here.

In addition, our editorial board is expected to make its recommendations in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

It's not often that there is any controversy to the judicial elections. This year, however, a Carson minister ruffled some feathers with a write-in campaign aimed at incumbents with Hispanic surnames on the June 3 ballot. However, it appears that campaign has failed.

Here we go again. Every time we write about a crime occurring in the unincorporated area between Carson and Harbor Gateway, we get complaints about what we call that stretch of space.

The city manager of Carson sent us an angry letter explaining that the helicopter shooting incident this morning did not happen in Carson. Those of us at the Daily Breeze know that and never said it did, but other folks in the TV media apparently never open a Thomas Guide.

We understand why the good folks of Carson don't want to be tied to the problems that occur outside its boundaries. The fact that deputies at the Carson station patrol the unincorporated area doesn't help.

The problem is the area between Harbor Gateway and Carson has no name. Thus, we say things happen "near Carson" or "near Harbor Gateway."

We don't have much of a choice. I've actually looked at a big map on the wall here and measured where a crime has occurred to determine whether to say "near Carson" or "near Harbor Gateway."

So, it was "unincorporated area west of Carson" in today's story. It's the nearest named city. We could have said "west of Paris," but that's a good distance away.

Then we got this email from a reader:

"do you have a problem calling it torrance

pubic records states the city is torrance- there is no such city called near carson , west carson, west of carson, by carson or harbor gateway.

If you need help using a map let me know."

Hmmmm. First of all, it's "public."

An Israeli tourist upset about workmen who whistled at her in New Zealand took action that brought an abrupt end to the catcalls .

According to the Sun newspaper: "The chesty, er, testy lady took offence to the attention from workmen grafting in the small farming town of Kerikeri, in New Zealand."

So she stripped bare as she used an ATM, then put her clothes back on and walked away.

Police Sgt. Peter Masters reprimanded the woman and told her the response was inappropriate behavior in New Zealand.

Full story

Daily Breeze staff writer Andrea Woodhouse is en route to a news conference about the sheriff's helicopter that was struck by two bullets late last night. Word is there are no arrests, but several people were detained. Many residents  in the west Carson area near Catalina and Milton were evacuated to a nearby school around 3 a.m. while SWAT officers searched for suspects.

Check back here and at the Daily Breeze for updates.

Hawthorne School District Superintendent Donald Carrington sent out a notice offering safety tips for parents following the abduction and sexual assault of a 13-year-old student walking to school on Tuesday. The tips come from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children:

Here's the tips:

1. Make sure that you know where your child is at all times.
2. Never leave children unattended in an automobile, whether it is running or not.
3. Be involved in your children's activities.
4. Listen to your children. Pay attention if they tell you they do not want to go somewhere or with someone.
5. Notice when someone shows a great deal of attention to  your child or gives them gifts.
6. Teach your children that they have the right to say NO to any unwelcome, uncomfortable, or confusing touch or actions by others.
7. Be sensitive to any changes in your child's behavior or attitude.
8. Be sure you screen babysitters or caregivers.
9. Practice basic safety skills with your children to be sure that they know the rules and understand them.
10. Choose opportunuites to reinforce safety skills. Speak openly about safety issues with your child. Children need to know that they can tell you or a trusted adult if they feel scared.
11. Teach your children that it is more important to get out of a threatening situation, than be polite.
12. Children should not go out alone and should always take a friend with them.
13. Make sure your child knows their full name, address, and telephone number. Also they know your full name, place of employment, and telephone numbers where you can be reached.
14. Remember there is no substitute for your attention and supervision.

Wendy Thomas Russell, our colleague at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, has a multi-faceted, in-depth report called Kids and Crime: Inside Juvenile Justice. The four-day series began Sunday and includes video, photographs, articles and statistical charts. It's a package worthy of your time.

Sometimes, love (or whatever you want to call it) can just go awfully wrong. Just ask the pilot and flight attendant who were arrested in the Pennsylvania woods.

Jeffrey Bradford (reportedly on the left) and Adrianna Connor (supposedly on the right) are both 24 years old and employees of Pinnacle Airlines. Photo from the Patriot News.

Torrance Superior Court Judge Sandra Thompson was just seconds away from handing down a sentence to Jimmie Lunceford when she decided to give him a last-second reprieve to file a motion for a new trial. Lunceford's attorney, William Kopeski, had told Thompson that he believed a motion should be filed, but Lunceford and his family never authorized him to do so.

The sentencing hearing continued anyway with Deputy District Attorney Christine Von Helmolt arguing Lunceford should receive the maximum five-year, eight-month sentence and Kopeski asking for leniency for his emotionally unstable client. At the end, Kopeski took the long-shot and asked for a bit more time to file the motion after Lunceford asked him to, and Thompson said OK. They will return June 4 to argue the motion and, if it is denied, Lunceford will be sentenced.

This is the sketch of the suspect in the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Hawthorne. If you know him, call the Hawthorne police at 310-349-2700.

A gunman with thick-braided hair abducted a 13-year-old girl walking to
school Tuesday in Hawthorne and sexually assaulted her, police
said.

The girl was attacked as she walked about 8 a.m. in the 3500 block of 132nd
Street, Hawthorne police Lt. Mike Ishii said.

A man approached her, threatened her with a knife and shoved her in a car.
She was driven to another location, where he sexually assaulted her at
gunpoint, Ishii said.

A man grabbed an El Segundo woman from behind today and stabbed her in her home, police said.

Although the 50-year-old woman did not know the assailant, she believed she was targeted, El Segundo police Lt. Bob Turnbull said. He did not elaborate.

The woman called police shortly before 1 p.m. to say she was assaulted in the 300 block of West Palm Avenue.

The man grabbed her hair and forced her inside. He then stabbed her with an unknown object and ran.

The man was described as white, about 50 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall with brown hair. He had a medium build, and wore blue jeans a white t-shirt and a blue ball cap with an unknown logo.

The woman was taken to County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. She was reported in stable condition.

Students at Richmond Street Elementary School and El Segundo High School were kept in their classrooms while police searched for the attacker.

A sheriff's helicopter circled above and police searched with a dog on the ground.

An autopsy Tuesday determined UC Berkeley graduate Alan Kaname Hamai of Redondo Beach died of multiple blunt injuries from his fall off the roof of an apartment building near campus.

But coroner's officials said it will take months to complete the tests to determine whether he was drunk or under the influence of drugs.

Coroner's officials also won't rule on a manner of death -- accident, suicide or homicide -- until the test results are back and police detectives complete their investigation.

Hamai, 22, died early Saturday, just hours after his parents watched him graduate with an anthropology degree on Friday. They were on their way home when they received the call.

Following a night of packing, drinking and drugs, Jesus Payan, 38, ended up bound and dead on a Palos Verdes Drive South turnout in Rancho Palos Verdes. His two friends, cousins Rudy Tafoya, 21, and Daniel Nunez, 27, were ordered today to stand trial following a preliminary hearing.

The only witness to testify, Sheriff Detective Dameron Peyton, didn't answer any questions about possible motives for the January 31, 2007, slaying. After the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum said the motive issue remains unresolved, but said authorities suspect drugs played a part. Hum is becoming quite the cliff-related death expert - he is also the prosecutor on the Cameron Brown  and Brandon Manai cases.

Tafoya and Nunez will return to court June 3. We'll have a full report on the preliminary hearing in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Former USC student Holly Ashcroft was charged in 2005 for dumping her newborn baby in the trash near her campus. Represented by high-profile criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, the case was heavily litigated and took many turns. Today, she pleaded no contest to one count of child endangerment causing death. She returns to court for sentencing June 27, and, as part of the deal, will receive five years probation.

The entire release from the District Attorney's office follows:

This just in.....

A federal appeals court ruled today that the United States discriminates against blind people 
by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills' varying values.

This could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money.

Blind people have to rely on store clerks to help them, use credit cards or fold corners of bills to distinguish their cash.

While the government said that's good enough and fought a suit demanding changes, the court said the government's stance would mean it could also argue that disabled people can crawl around on all fours or ask for help from strangers to avoid having to make buildings wheelchair accessible.

Here's the AP story

In the wake of last week's landmark state Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in California, goverment types are now scrambling around trying to figure out how to implement the new law and prepare for same-sex marriages.

At today's Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor's meeting, the supes are scheduled to discuss a motion, brought by supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Yvonne Burke, that would direct county officials to research and report on the legal obligations for issuing marriage licenses. Sueprvisor Mike Antonovich, who has publicly criticized the high court's ruling, is expected to seek an amendment to whatever motion is brought that would call for a report on whatever impact a proposed November ballot initiative would have. The ballot initiative, if passed by voters, would reverse the gay marriage go-ahead the justices made. The Los Angeles City Council is also expected to take up the issue today.

Meanwhile, we have a story from the Associated Press that says City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has advising officials that county workers must perform same-sex weddings under the law - regardless of how they feel about it.

Daily Breeze reporter Melissa Evans is monitoring the Board of Supervisors meeting and will have an update.

This is the driver's license photo of Alan Kaname Hamai, 22, of Redondo Beach, who died in a fall from the roof of his 3-story apartment building near UC Berkeley early Saturday.

The jury deliberating Adam Loza's case returned after a one-week hiatus Monday, and took about a half day to find him guilty of two counts of murder with the special allegation of killing during an attempted robbery, and attempted robbery. A separate jury hung on the same charges last week for co-defendant Eric Sanford, 17.

Loza, 24, will return to court July 24 for sentencing, when he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. We'll have the complete story in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Michael McDermott, a former financial adviser arrested after drugs and weapons were found at his beach-front home in Hermosa Beach, is headed for preliminary hearing July 1. McDermott's attorney, Michael Norris, told Judge William Hollingsworth today that they've been unable to resolve the case.

You know how you get those e-mail spam messages telling you your Paypal or eBay account has expired and they need you to send your personal information to update your account? Well, those are people "phishing" so they can commit identity theft.

Today, the FBI and Romanian authorities announced they have charged 38 people with stealing names, Social Security identity numbers, credit card data and other personal information from unsuspecting Internet users.

Indictments unsealed in federal courts in Los Angeles and New Haven said a worldwide international organized crime ring sought to rip off thousands of consumers and hundreds of financial institutions.

The FBI will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today in Los Angeles to provide more details, but here's the press released issued this morning.

Here's the Indictment.pdf. I especially like their nicknames, including "The Vortex" and "Cryptmaster."

In case you missed it:

• 3 charged with 2006 campaign violations in Torrance
• Teen involved in bus brawl to file claim against Torrance (and if you go to the KCAL/KCBS site and type "bus brawl" in the search, you'll see their report on it from a couple weeks ago. The recording we have of the incident wouldn't convert for our use.)
• Lawndale couple counts costs of home fraud

Over at the L.A. Times on Sunday, they had a couple articles worth noting:

• California chief justice says same-sex marriage ruling was one of his toughest
• Steve Cooley makes his case for third term as L.A. County D.A.

 

From news service reports:

Police are investigating the death of 22-year-old Alan Kaname Hamai, who apparently fell to his death just a few hours after graduating from UC Berkeley.

The Redondo Beach man, who graduated with a degree in anthropology, died early Saturday.

Berkeley police said Hamai's parents were en route to Redondo Beach from Friday's commencement ceremony when he was found on a sidewalk beneath a three-story UC residence hall.

Alcohol may have been involved, police said. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, the Alameda County coroner's office said.

Time to close out the week with a thrill. Here's the dancing inmates from the Philippines doing  "Thriller." Check the second video for a news report on why prison officials turned to dancing as a way to rehabilitate murderers and rapists. Think Charles Manson and his pals would enjoy this?

Congratulations to Rolling Hills Estates resident and appellate court justice Robert Mallano, who was promoted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday to presiding justice of Division One of the 2nd District Court of Appeal. Mallano, 69, joined the appellate court in 2000 after 22 years as a Los Angeles Municipal and Superior Court judge. His judicial career began in what was then known as the South Bay Municipal Court. 

Just take some tips from this Chicago Tribune article about all the ways propsective jurors at the R. Kelly statutory rape trial got their green light to go.

If you watched the morning news today, you saw coverage of a gruesome car crash on the Santa Ana Freeway in Commerce. A wrong-way driver crashed head-on into a right-way car, killing its driver and a female passenger, and seriously injuring two other young male passengers.
The wrong-way driver also died.

It turns out the wrong-way driver was identified as Steven Quintero, 27, of Gardena. That's him on the right.

I called his house, but a family member had nothing to say when I asked why Quintero was driving the wrong direction.

The women killed were identified as Anaheim residents Arielle Rose Estremo, 20, who was driving, and Chauncy Alysse Reid, 17.

Deputies in Carson will be on the lookout for drunken drivers tonight.

They'll hold sobriety checkpoints at Main Street north of 234th Street, and on Carson Street east of Main Street from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Deputies will also be checking for valid driver's licenses.

We get questions:

Reader Evan Gould asks:

"I am a resident of the 1900 block of Plant Avenue in North Redondo. Last Saturday, May 10, there was a police helicopter that buzzed around the intersection of Robinson and Aviation.

The helicopter circled the same area for two hours, shining a light onto the ground. At one point, the loudspeaker on the chopper instructed people to stay inside their homes, doors locked. I have checked in the Daily Breeze.com website and have not seen any info on the incident. So I was wondering, what happened that night?"

Reader Olivia Stomski asks:

"I live in North Redondo and on Saturday night there were several police cars (as well as a search helicopter) in my neighborhood.

The loud speaker from the helicopter warned of a K9 search of a felon and for the people of the neighborhood to stay in their homes and lock their doors. I was wondering if you could tell me what was going on. I would like to know if there is anything that I should be concerned about from Saturday night's activities."

Thanks for the questions. Here's what happened, according to Manhattan Beach police Sgt. Steve Tobias:

I got this e-mail today from Devan Jackson, the Hawthorne man wounded during the shootout between police officers and an ex-con at the Pacific Theaters in El Segundo back on April 7.

Remember he got fired from his job a few days later? He still needs work. I sent him an e-mail recently asking how he was doing and forwarded a letter to him from a reader who wanted to help him out.

"Hey how are you Larry? Hope everything is OK. As for me, I'm fine. Looking for jobs now.

Just updated