If you were wondering what all the commotion was last night in Lawndale, you can relax.

*UPDATED with correct location.

Not a lot of details on this one yet, but here's what we have so far:

Day-care provider charged in molestation

A day-care provider in the Del Aire Hollyglen unincorporated county area near Hawthorne is charged today for allegedly molesting a 6-year-old child.

Tito Ruiz, 65, was charged in Torrance Superior Court on five counts of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child, according to Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link. Ruiz posted $100,000 bail, and was released from custody. His arraignment date is unknown.

Ruiz and his wife operated Ruiz Family Daycare in the 4900 block of West 133rd Street, Link said.

No information was available about the facility from the state's Department of Social Services, which overseas licensing for day-care providers.

Ruiz was arrested Monday.

If convicted of all the counts, Ruiz could face up to 16 years in prison, according to Link.

Link declined to comment further about the case or the allegations.

Rhymes with "itch."

For the legal eagles craving more, here is the appellate opinion issued yesterday, which was the main source for my story about a man who tried to recycle 40-pound aluminum handrails from a county construction site in Carson.

A police chief in Georgia says one his vice officers may have taken the undercover schtick a bit too far in a prostitution sting. Again, if you get offended by topics of a sexual nature, don't click here.

Yesterday, Felicia Ellen Jones (aka the Weathergirl Bandit), who pleaded guilty to federal charges for robbing two Manhattan Beach banks, was set free after being sentenced to time served, which was seven months in prison. We have City News Service's full story here.

In court papers, Jones and her family explained to Judge J. Spencer Letts that these crimes were an anomally in the otherwise law-abiding woman's life, and that addiction to drugs drove her to the crimes. Read them here: jones sentencing2a.pdf

In their own papers, the government argued that the law called for - and Jones deserved - somewhere between between three and four years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Stern noted the calculated way she carried out the crimes without regard for the public's safety. Read them here: jones senencing.pdf

 

Three young Los Angeles men were arrested today on suspicion of breaking into a Torrance house.

Police caught the suspects shortly after a neighbor reported seeing some men going in and out of a home in the 5100 block of Sepulveda Boulevard just before noon, Torrance police Sgt. Bernard Anderson said.

Before officers arrived at the house, the men drove away in a tan sedan with dark windows.

Torrance officers found the car in the 4800 block of Torrance Boulevard and pulled it over.

The car contained property taken in the burglary. Witnesses identified the men as the people they saw at the home.

Arrested on suspicion of burglary were Shannon Rey Wiley, 19; Terrell Evans, 18; and Dujuan Ellis, 18.

Police found other property in the car and are looking into other crimes that might have been committed.

A Redondo Beach man was charged today for two attacks on his girlfriend, including one with a knife earlier this month. John Christopher Mielke, 31, is facing two counts of corporal injury on a cohabitant and one count of assault with a deadly weapon for attacks on Oct. 11 and Aug. 28, according to Deputy District Attorney Jodi Link.

In the more recent incident, it is alleged he caused the victim great bodily injury when he stabbed her several times in the arms and legs with a kitchen knife. If convicted, Mielke faces up to 12 years in state prison, according to Link. Police began looking for Mielke after he promised to turn himself in early last week, but didn't. He was arrested on Thursday.

Just as the sentencing hearing for Adam Loza was winding down, Compton Superior Court Judge William Chidsey Jr. told Loza that he knew what he must be feeling, and there's nothing he could say to make him feel better about his future behind bars for the rest of his life. "I'm not sure whether you're a man of spirit or beliefs, but sometimes, that will help you get through things," Chidsey said.

He suggested Loza find a way to make good use of his time behind bars by finding a way to better himself, his fellow inmates or society. "You have a life with significant restrictions," Chidsey said. "It's up to you to decide what you want to do with it.

"I hope you can use your time on Earth in a beneficial way," Chidsey added.

Loza, who has at least one child, didn't show any emotion. But his family members cried and hugged in the hallway when the hearing was over.

As did the family members of Esther Arteaga and Eduardo Roco.

Look for a complete story soon on www.dailybreeze.com

 

Carlos Reyes, who was sought in the killing of his estranged wife, Veronica Reyes, on Oct. 8 in Carson is in custody in Mexico.

He got arrested going over the border after the killing and was taken to jail when Mexican police officers found a gun in his car.

He used a fake name, but now has been determined to be Carlos  himself. It will be a while before he comes back. He'll have to do time for the gun first.

Story coming.

Denise reports from a Compton courtroom that Adam Loza, 25,  one of three men convicted of killing two Carson gas station workers in 2006 , was sentenced today to two terms of life in prison without parole.

Loza killed Eduardo Roco, 74, of Carson and Esther Arteaga, 32, of Wilmington during a robbery at the Mobil Mart near 222nd Street and Avalon Boulevard.

The other men previously received 50 years to life in prison.

Story coming.

I first came to know Paul Wolcott while standing outside the Hermosa Beach police station in November 1995.

It was the day before Thanksgiving. Model Linda Sobek was missing. The media had surrounded the department. Wolcott embarked on his career as his agency's spokesman -- the man who talked to print reporters and in front of the TV cameras.

During the next 13 years, I spoke to Wolcott almost every day. He became one of the South Bay's best public information officers. He decided to retire earlier this month.

Wolcott's job was to tell you -- through me -- what was going on crime-wise in Hermosa Beach. He made himself fully available, allowing me and my fellow Daily Breeze reporters to call him at all hours of the day.

Sometimes I reached him as he was sitting in a restaurant with his wife. He didn't mind and I guess she didn't either. I called him a couple times when he was relaxing on Main Street at Disneyland, one of his favorite spots to people watch.

Nothing is more difficult than trying to write a story with little information. Wolcott's press statements contained plenty of facts about what had happened. They were well-written, full of details and free of police jargon that has to be translated into English.

Wolcott understood the news and reporters. He knew how to provide a good quote to make articles more interesting for readers. He displayed a positive personality, and anticipated what I was going to ask before I asked it. He was always prepared with an answer.

I consulted him whenever I had a question about police procedures. I sometimes even told him when I was working on an exclusive story, trusting him that no one would find out until it was published. Sometimes we just talked about anything.

Wolcott and I have talked several times about that eerie moment when we were both in a Torrance courtroom to hear the guilty verdict for Roger Hoan Brady, who killed Manhattan Beach police Officer Martin Ganz in 1993. Although the court was overflowing with police officers, it was silent as Brady trudged across the room to take his seat at the defense table. The only sound that could be heard was the clink of the shackles. It was scary, like a "dead man walking," just like a movie.

Wolcott knew firsthand about the risks officers take on the job. He lost some service time in the mid 1980s when he was seriously injured. In 1982, a drunk driver crashed into him and his partner, Gary Moss, on Aviation Boulevard. Moss died.

Wolcott was lucky to survive. He underwent a dozen surgeries and took a job as an assistant to former Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler.

But he wanted to return to Hermosa Beach. He rehabilitated, recovered and went back to work as a cop in 1985.

"That's all I ever wanted to do, was become a police officer," Wolcott told me in a 2002 story recalling the crash.

Now that Wolcott's moved on, he's taken on a position working behind the scenes with a major media outlet.

I'm sorry to see him go. Reporters have to maintain a distance and ask some tough questions of their sources without becoming too friendly. But I consider Wolcott a colleague. I know him better and probably talked to him more than many of the people around me in the newsroom.

I wish him the best and thank him for all his years of service, and for helping me do my job.

A biography and a story I did on him a few years ago follows.

We reporters get criticized quite a bit about dwelling on the negative. People often ask, "Why don't you do positive stories?"

Here's the Top 10 viewed stories on the Web site through 11 a.m. today. This is what people are reading:

1. Woman, 35, jumps to her death
from Manhattan Beach apartment
2. Girl, 9, gives birth after being impregnated by mom's boyfriend
3. 5th-grader dies in freak recess accident
4. Restaurant Closures
5. Dead woman still breathing in morgue
6. More California drivers becoming cell-phone scofflaws
7. Redondo Beach stabbing suspect arrested
8. Harbor College's Chris Mims, who starred for the SD Chargers, found dead
9. Mom, 84, cremated on a BBQ
10. 2 are sought in kidnapping attempt in San Pedro.

The stories on the Power of Art festival in Redondo Beach, and the police fundraiser to help a cop pay for his cancer treatments didn't make the list.

You can form your own opinions about that.

But a dead person breathing at the morgue, a 9-year-old giving birth, and a mom cremated on a barbecue? The top news story of the day is some despondent woman jumping to her death from a balcony? Really?

The full story on Aaron Franklin's failed bid to get his sentence and conviction overturned is here. You can see the appellate opinion issued today in the case by clicking here.

John Christopher Mielke, 31, of Redondo Beach is in custody.

A lawsuit that will seek class-action status was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming DirecTV hides contract term committments and wrongly charges a early termination fees of up to $480.

See the full Andrews Publications report here.

Police will conduct a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint from 6 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday on Artesia Boulevard and Aviation Way in Redondo Beach.

The signs were all there this morning: Barry Sacks conferring with his lawyer in the hallway outside of the coutroom. Sacks filling out paperwork. Sacks' attorney and the prosecutor having lots of discussion while consulting the Penal Code.

But, it was not to be. Torrance Superior Court Judge Alan Honeycutt called the case, then called the attorneys to the bench for a five-minute discussion. I tried eavesdropping, but some other attorneys were talking between me and there. All I saw was Honeycutt shaking his head.

However, Honeycutt did order a protective order for the nine girls who claim Sacks touched them in ways that violated the law. Sacks can't have any contact with them, must stay 100 yards away and, of course, not molest, harass, annoy, etc. etc.

He returns to court Oct. 27. 

Previous entries on this case can be found here.

The Pittsburg Post-Gazette reported today that the makers of the Whizzinator were charged in Pennsylvania with conspiracy to defraud the goverment for the prosthetic penis, designed to mask illegal drug use during narcotic tests. Their full story is here.

This one comes to us from the Record Searchlight in Redding. The whistle was blown on this by Hermosa Beach resident who wanted police to help check on his mother's welfare. (Click the headline to link to the full story).

Mother, son in Corning arrested in bizarre case

Two suspected of burning their relative's remains in barbecue, stealing checks

By Jim Schultz

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

By NATE JENKINS
Associated Press Writer

This is John Christopher Mielke, 31, of Redondo Beach. He told police he would turn himself in, but hasn't so far.

He's wanted for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend on Saturday night. Police say he got upset, hit her, grabbed a knife from the kitchen, threatened to kill her and stabbed her in the arms and legs.

She ran to neighbors for help and will be OK.

These photos are from Mielke's very own MySpace page.

He's 6 feet 2, 190 pounds and has blond hair and blue eyes.

He drives a 1995 Ford Explorer with the California license plate number 6AIV728.

If you see him, call 911.

This from Gizmodo about the Newark baggage screener:

"Over the last few years, he stole at least $200,000 worth of electronics. Not just a camcorder here, a laptop there, or an Xbox 360 or two, either. No, this guy had balls. Among his biggest hauls--literally--was an HBO employee's $47,900 camera. And the TSA was totally clueless about it."

Their full story is here.

A man began serving a 16-month prison sentence today for leaving the scene of an accident when the truck he was in plowed into a Hermosa Beach house, hurting a young boy.

Ruben Vargas, 44, pleaded no contest in August 2007 to the one count. However, medical problems, family issues and arguments over how much restitution he would pay caused his sentencing to be postponed about a dozen different times.

It's still not clear if Vargas was driving the night of Oct. 6, 2006, when the silver pick-up truck crashed into the side of the home in the 900 block of Beach Drive. Inside, a 5-year-old boy sleeping in the bunk below his twin brother. The truck pinned him down before reversing and fleeing. The boy's leg was broken, but he otherwise recovered.

Vargas, who has a history of driver's license suspensions, claims he was the passenger and switched seats with a woman who was driving when she panicked.

The almost unbelievable saga of his sentencing is chronicled here. 

A high-risk sex offender who moved into a Torrance motel last week was arrested Tuesday when police found methamphetamine on him.

Bryan Eugene Thompson, 59, was taken into custody on a parole violation.

Thompson is listed on the California Megan's Law Web site as a high-risk sex offender. He served time in prison since the late 1960s for forcible rape, robbery and other charges.

Police issued a warning about his arrival last week when he registered at the police station, citing his address as the Del Amo Inn at 20534 Hawthorne Blvd.

He moved out on Friday, but remained in the area.

Police officers arrested him at 1:15 a.m. after finding him in an illegally parked vehicle at Sepulveda Boulevard and Western Avenue, Torrance police Sgt. Bernard Anderson said.

He was arrested when officers found the drugs.

The El Segundo Police Department is once again cautioning residents and people who work in the city to lock away their valuables when they park their cars.

This just in from the Redondo Beach Police Department

Recent Law Enforcement Events, 2008

Monday 10/06

1720hrs - Sapphire / Catalina - A citizen called to report a suspicious female near the payphone. Responding officers detained her and subsequently located a quantity of cocaine in her purse. She was arrested for possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sales.

1636hrs - 3300 block of McBain - A female suspect distracted an elderly female home owner by getting the victim to go the rear of her residence by stating that she (female suspect) was going to build a wall to the rear of her property. While this was going on, another suspect (a male) entered the home, and was confronted by the victim's son. This suspect told the witness that he had permission from the victim to use the bathroom. When the witness left this suspect to ask his mother if she gave permission, the male suspect removed the victims wallet from her purse and fled the residence.

Tuesday 10/07
2226hrs - 1900 blk Belmont - A subject shot a handgun in the air in an attempt to break up a fight between neighbors. The neighbor combatants refused any police assistance, however the third party shooter is under investigation for discharging his firearm.

Wednesday 10/08
0940hrs - 615 N Pac Cst Hwy (Albertston's) - As the victim entered his vehicle he heard a strange sound emitting from the front left tire of his vehicle. He then exited his vehicle to look at the tire. As he bent over to examine the tire, he was struck in the lower back. He immediately turned around and observed the suspect standing with a knife in his hand extended in the victim's direction. The suspect stated "gimme you're wallet and your car keys or I'll kill you". The victim immediately threw his keys to the ground on the other side of the vehicle. At that time another uninvolved vehicle drove by and scared the suspect who ran off. The victim then drove to the only police department that he knew the location of, which was Hermosa Beach P.D. to report the crime. RBPD was called and responded to take the report. The victim received a bruise in the left lower portion of his back. The suspect is described as a WMA, 30 years, 5'11", 140 lbs., wearing a black ski hat and a black sweat shirt or sweater with a hood over his head and long black pants.

1640hrs - 631 Vincent Park (RUHS) - A suspect approached the juvenile victim in the school parking lot and began talking to him. The suspect then snatched the victim's iPhone and fled. Suspect was unknown to the victim.

The search for burglary suspects is over in San Pedro. I'll have a story shortly. LAPD caught two burglars and their getaway driver....

Story coming shortly.

If you are wondering what's going down on Pacific Avenue in San Pedro, the police have a perimeter set up and are looking for a burglary suspect. I don't know if he just burglarized something or was wanted for something earlier.

Police are busy with this and hopefully will have more details when it's over.

That's all I got at this point.

Kazuyoshi Miura landed at LAX before dawn Friday to face conspiracy to murder charges. Less than a day later, he was found dead in his cell. The Los Angeles Times has the report.

A suspected drunken driver crashed into a tree and house in Redondo Beach, police said today.

Melanie Hope Pierce-Uranga, 32, of Torrance lost control of her 2008 silver Honda as she drove south in the 400 block of South Lucia Avenue at 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan said.

The car struck a tree and the exterior wall of a house. No one inside was hurt.

Pierce-Uranga was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released. She was given a citation for allegedly drunken driving, given a court date and released.

The latest legal battle in a lawsuit over a Rancho Palos Verdes crash between actor Keanu Reeves and a celebrity photographer is over the word "paparazzi." Here's the latest from City News Service:

By BILL HETHERMAN

City News Service

LOS ANGELES (CNS)- A lawyer for Keanu Reeves is urging a judge to reject a

motion by a celebrity news photographer suing the actor for negligence aimed at

preventing the defense from using the words "paparazzo" and "paparazzi" at trial

 

Alison Silva says his earning ability and job prospects have been diminished because

of injuries suffered March 19, 2007, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 5 of that

year in Los Angeles Superior Court.

 

Video shows Reeves stopped in a black 1996 Porsche 911 Cabrio and trying to pull away

from a photographer on Avenida Tranquila in Rancho Palos Verdes.

 

My Friday morning began with a question from a reader on yesterday's search of an armed robbery suspect in Lomita:

"You call this News? No description. Not sure if anything was stolen. Glad to see that you knew he was an adult.
Why not wait till you get some facts before you waste my bandwidth with something like this?"

I guess I'll tackle these questions one at a time. Yes, I call this news. We had several inquiries from the community about the helicopters circling overhead and concerns about a "wierd" thing in "such a small town and it is happening even here these days," as one resident wrote in an e-mail to me.

As for what I knew (or what I didn't know), what you need to understand is that reporters are only the messengers. We don't make the news, nor are we involved in how it plays out. If you have a problem with how much information was (or was not) released, then that is an issue to take up with the Lomita Sheriff's Department. We fight this fight daily, and you're welcome to lead a battle.

I had all the facts that were available. Believe me, I wish that in every breaking news situation, we had all the information RIGHT NOW accurately and completely. Unfortunately, the real world doesn't work like that, but we're working hard to keep our readers as up-to-date on their community as possible. I apologize if that seems like a waste of anything to anybody.

Thank you to this reader for his questions, they are absolutely understandable and legitimate. And thank you for not writing in all capital letters or calling me names in the process. I know it's tempting, but it's nice when we can all get along.

 

 

 

An armed robber in Lomita eluded capture today, despite a large manhunt.

The suspect, described only as an adult male, confronted a pedestrian with a gun about 1:20 p.m. in the 25600 block of Oak Street, according to sheriff's Lt. Doreen Alcaraz.

Helicopters and deputies searched the area for several hours, but called off the search without finding anyone, Alcaraz said. It is not known what, if anything, was stolen from the victim.

Looking back at the hundreds of murder cases I've covered during my career, I would guesstimate that a good one-third of them involved men killing their spouses/girlfriends/baby mamas. During lunch with some former colleagues yesterday, we began talking about the murder earlier that day in Carson of Veronica Reyes, purportedly by her estranged husband, Carlos Reyes (left), who remains at large. We concluded that, yes, more often than not, it is the husband.

It brought to mind a preliminary hearing I watched that morning while waiting for another case to be called at the Long Beach Courthouse. The basic story was that a San Pedro couple of seven years, who have two young children together, were on the outs. She woke up one night in May to a tapping on her head and a shotgun in her face. Her 29-year-old boyfriend pointed the gun away quickly, she said, and they argued. A week before, he hit her and, she said, accidentally hit their 3-year-old, as they slept. In a different incident, he pulled up next to her in his car as she was trying to leave with their children and put a gun in his mouth.

The woman tearfully testified she was not afraid of him - only that she was afraid he would hurt himself, which is why she went to the police. She said the police told her he will hurt her, but she didn't believe them. Judge J.D. Lord did not find there was enough evidence to hold the boyfriend for trial on an assault with a deadly weapon charge, but acknowledged that he - like the police and prosecutor - recognized the domestic violence pattern that was emerging in their relationship.

"I'm not minimizing," Lord said about the case. "I recognize there is significant danger to the victim that just testified ... But I can't hold him to answer because I'm predicting the future, and it could be grim."

The prosecutor was going to file a different charge against the boyfriend, but sheriff's records indicate he was released from custody Wednesday evening.

Is it like donuts? You know, you get 12 sentencing dates and the 13th is free? Ruben Vargas' senencing, scheduled for yesterday, was postponed to Oct. 14 for sentencing. Again.

The countdown (countup?) is being chronicled here.

 

This is 22-year-old convicted killer Benjamin Gonzalez, who came into a Long Beach courtroom yesterday with his fingers all ablaze with a message for the media. It's hard to see in the picture, but his eyebrows are replaced with tattoos that say "Long" and "Beach."

Our colleague, Tracy Manzer at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, has the full story on the sentencing hearing for Gonzalez and three others. Her report is accompanied by video and multiple photographs. The whole package can be found by clicking here.

It was difficult to watch. Just before Dwight Mitchell Waters' preliminary hearing was to begin yesterday in Long Beach, he had to decide if he wanted to spend six years in prison and be called a rapist for the rest of his life or fight on against the charges and risk being sent to the pokey for about 24 years if he is convicted at trial. It was a Catch-22 of epic proportions because Waters, 39, didn't believe he had committed a crime by having what he thought was consensual sex with a 13-year-old girl who he gave boxing lessons to.

The problem was, the girl was set to testify that the sex they had was not consensual. But even if a jury down the road were to believe him instead of her, he still has problems because he could be convicted of lewd acts on a child.

His defense attorney met with his family, and then he was allowed to talk with them privately in court. When Judge Arthur Jean took the bench, he wanted an answer. The hour was getting late and the law said Waters needed to have his prelim that day ... as did another accused rapist that the court needed to get to. Waters, a handsome man with almost model features, sat quietly with his hands cuffed when pressed to make a decision. This went on for the better part of a half hour.

"Everything in life is a compromise and this is the label the prosecutor insists on," Jean told Waters. "If you want to fight the label, feel free.... The question is, what do you gain or accomplish?"

You can see the full story here.

 

Some people asked us about an elderly man found dead in the front yard of a home in the 700 block of Avenue C on Monday.

Police said Roland Hein, 85, committed suicide. He lived in the home and had issues with his health.

A passerby found him on the lawn about 12:20 p.m. and called police.

The elderly man had laid down on a blanket, wrapped his head with a towel and shot himself.

His left behind a wife, who also has medical issues, police said.

Hein apparently shot himself about 7:15 a.m. and was not spotted until after noon.

I know nothing right now, not even an exact location, but apparently a woman was shot a short time ago on 233rd Street in Carson. Hopefully we'll have more later.

Oh, and just for the heck of it, that smoke you saw earlier rising to the north was a house fire in the 300 block of West 119th Street in South Los Angeles

Several years ago, former Daily Breeze court reporter Stuart Pfeifer (who then used the byline Dedic) reported on DeWayne McKinney, who spent 19 years in prison for a murder in Orange that he didn't commit.

Stu, an Orange County Register reporter at the time, believed McKinney's claims of innocence. He took up the cause and some of his reporting helped to free McKinney.

Stu is one of my best friends in the world and I know McKinney was grateful to him. They spent a lot of time together after McKinney's release.

A few years ago, Stu traveled to Hawaii, where McKinney had turned his $1 million settlement into a multi-million dollar ATM business and lived in an oceanfront home.

McKinney was living the good life.

Sadly, McKinney died at 47 years old on Tuesday in a scooter accident in Honolulu. Stu, now a Los Angeles Times reporter, wrote a number of stories about McKinney over the years. Here is likely the last.

Stu's story: From Prison to a Paradise for ATMs

Three separate burglaries occurred at Redondo Beach restaurants along Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday.

Police said each crime was the same. Burglars ransacked the office area and took cash.

But in one of the crimes, the burglars did something more.

They took the time to drink beer and wine.

I wonder if they know that leaves behind saliva and -- say it with me now: "DNA."

Police said crime scene investigators responded to all three of the scenes to collect evidence.

A Torrance man is facing vehicular manslaughter charges for allegedly driving drunk and killing a 21-year-old in a Gardena crash. John Guerrero, 25, was charged Sept. 24 with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and vehicular manslaughter for the June 24 crash that killed Khalib Turner (left), an El Camino College student, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Preliminary reports said the 11:50 p.m. collision at El Segundo Boulevard and Normandie Avenue showed Guerrero crashed into Turner's driver-side door in the intersection.
Guerrero is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Oct. 23 in Torrance Superior Court.

Previously: Gardena drunken driving victim identified; Possible El Camino College student

 

It began yesterday as they all do: news reports that a family of six in Porter Ranch were found dead in their home. Then, the details come ... murder-suicide, young kids, elderly, financial hardships.

In articles published today, we learn that Karthik Rajaram was once on top of the financial world. But rather than face economic ruin amid unemployment and plunging markets, the 45-year-old killed his 39-year-old wife Subasri, their three sons - Krishna, a 19-year-old honors economics student at UCLA, and two boys, Ganesha, 12, and a 7-year-old - and 69-year-old mother-in-law, Indra Ramasesham, and then himself some time after 6 p.m. Saturday.

The Daily News has the full report here. 

And just in case, if you think Rajaram has found a viable solution to money troubles, I'd urge you to contact the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health's 24-hour
hotline, which can be reached at (800) 854-7771.

So here's why blogs are the future of journalism. Forget that pyramid-style stuff on paper. It's a thing of the past.

I received this e-mail today:

"Dear Mr. Altman,

I have been reading the emails between you, my brother, and my mother.  I am the mother of the boy who was killed.

You asked if there was anything you could do to help....
There are several very cruel and actually evil comments on the blog under your article.  As the moderator, if you could remove some of them which seemed to express joy in my son's death, and even  comments about how he looked (in the connotation of deserving to be dead), etc. (with captions like LOL)

Some of those comments are devastating to me, my husband, and Jakob's brother and my heart was racing for hours after seeing some of them.
If you are unsure which comments they are, I would be happy to cut and paste
and send them to you in email.

Thanks very much.
Heidi Weathermon
the mother."

Mrs. Weathermon is talking about user comments that appeared under a story I wrote the other day about the death of her son, Jakob. Jakob, 20, of Long Beach was killed last week when a big rig truck ran him over as he rode his bicycle near Carson.

I'm not a big fan of user comments because many people out there seem to take joy in writing crude, rude and hateful remarks.

I'm also not a moderator of them. I just reported and wrote the story. Readers are free to comment as they wish.

The paper has shut them down in this case and removed them. Unfortunately that meant more respectful comments also disappeared as well.

Hopefully those who write hurtful comments can realize the impact they have on grieving family members.

Previous entry and a link to the story of Jakob's death:
Family memorializes young man killed while riding bike near Carson

UCLA's Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy announced several new studies today that focus on trends among same-sex couples, and how they compare to different-sex couples.

According to one report, more than 11,000 same-sex couples have married in the three months since the state Supreme Court legalized gay marriages. Five counties account for nearly 80 percent of the couples: Los Angeles (2,719), San Francisco (2,708), San Diego (1,689), Riverside (1,247), and Alameda (475), the report states. "These are all counties known to have large and visible lesbian and gay populations and are also attractive tourist destinations for both in- and out-of-state weddings," according to researchers.

To see all the reports, click here.

To see previous entries about same-sex marriage, click here.

Los Angeles Laker forward Luke Walton, who lives in Manhattan Beach where he owns a 

restaurant, had a nutjob stalking him.

"I'll be going somewhere, and she'll be following me everywhere I go. I'll start really driving nuts, and she's right behind me, staying with me.

 It sucks, because you figure you just go out and play basketball and you have your personal life, but then you have to start worrying about stuff like, 'I don't want to drive to my teammates' houses if she's following me, because I don't want her to know where my teammates live.'"

He told Orange County Register beat writer Kevin Ding all about it. Manhattan Beach police interceded.

I got this over the weekend:

"I, as well as my community would like to get an update on the April 9,2008 hit and run on p.c.h. and ronan.in which 2 girls were injured . I heard through word of mouth that the alleged suspect is on trial. there has been no mention of the 2 girls or how they are ."

Rodrigo Guevara, 19, of Wilmington, was scheduled for trial last week. However, he is now scheduled to return to court Wednesday for a "pre-plea report" and pretrial. Although I have not confirmed this with anybody on the case, this usually signifies they are on the verge of working out a plea deal. I'll keep you posted.

I don't have an update on the injured girls beyond what I wrote in the last story about the incident. Follow the jump to see the story that ran July 3 on Guevara's preliminary hearing.

And thanks for the questions!

Vince Weathermon, uncle of Jakob Weathermon, the young man killed when a big rig truck struck him as he rode his bicycle on the border of Carson and Rancho Dominguez on Tuesday, sent along this photo Friday night.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the picture we used from Jakob's MySpace page the other day. He's a nice-looking kid. But apparently that photo was taken at a time when Jakob, 20, was shaving his head. So his uncle wanted me to show a current photo of Jakob with a full head of hair.

It was taken at his brother's birthday party, two days before he died.

The CHP is investigating Jakob's death and whether the truck driver committed a crime. If you read the user comments below my story, Jakob's family believes the driver should be charged with vehicular manslaughter. These investigations can take some time. We'll check back with investigators to see what happens.

(The incident occurred in an area where one side of the street is Carson and the other is the unincorporated area known as Rancho Dominguez. The CHP will handle the case instead of Carson sheriff's deputies because Jakob was hit on the unincorporated side of the road.)

Family members will hold a service for Jakob today at Luyben-Dilday Family Mortuary in Long Beach.  This is a closed-casket ceremony for friends.

They also have established a Web site for friends to memorialize him.

"Jakob was one of the sweetest kids you'd ever know," Uncle Vince said.  "We are all in serious shock, especially since the sudden passing of my dad 10 weeks prior."
 
 

The jury in Vegas just found O.J. Simpson guilty of robbery and kidnapping late tonight. He's going to prison this time, possibly for the rest of his life.



Thirteen years ago on this day he was acquitted of murder.

Read the first story.

Out. Of. Control.

That's the only way to describe Judge James Dabney's courtroom Friday morning as Matthew Fletcher, a Long Beach criminal defense attorney well-known for his bullying tactics and clashes with judges, cross-examined an informant who was attempting to implicate his client in a Hawthorne gang-related shooting.

Things got especially heated when Dabney decided to read to the jury the plea deal prosecutors made with the informant, Anthony Cabrera, in exchange for his testimony against two others for the July 5, 2004, shooting. Fletcher continued to interrupt Dabney with objections, arguing that the deal shouldn't be read in the middle of his cross-examination. The attorneys and Dabney continued a heated argument before the jury, speaking over each other and yelling. Several times, the exasperated court reporter shouted: "One at a time!"

When Dabney offered a follow-up, clarifying question to one of Fletcher's, Fletcher told Dabney: "Can I please ask my own question?" During these repeated exchanges, the judge would throw up his hands in aggravation and the prosecutor could be seen looking up to the ceiling and sighing.

 

This shooting and standoff occurred just over the lines of the Daily Breeze coverage area. It's just north of El Segundo Boulevard and the Harbor Gateway, and east of the Athens area:

Here's a report from City News Service:

LOS ANGELES - A woman was shot and critically wounded today in South Los Angeles, and her alleged assailant was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

The woman was shot about 8 a.m. in the 600 block of Laconia Boulevard, and was taken to a
hospital in critical condition, said Officer April Harding of the Los Angeles Police
Department.

A SWAT team surrounded the residence for more than five hours before making entry just
before 2 p.m. and finding the suspected gunman dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted
gunshot wound, said LAPD Officer Ana Aguirre. His name was withheld pending notification of
relatives.

Police had gone to the location on a report of a domestic dispute. Shortly after gunfire was
heard, the wounded woman came outside and was carried to safety by two officers. A short time later, an officer was seen carrying a child to safety.

The dead man's relationship to the woman and child were not immediately known.

We'll have to wait until Wednesday to hear how Yani Leppanen's defense attorney attempts to explain to an Inglewood jury how her client was trying to uncover crimes while engaging in a provocative chat with a teenage girl, who he arranged to meet. That's when he found out the 13-year-old was actually a couple of middle-age Redondo Beach detectives.

Closings were scheduled for today, but a juror couldn't make it. We'll keep you posted, at the very least, on the verdict.

Previously:

RB online predator case starts trial

Defendant claims he was a sleuth

This from the Downey Patriot: Resident awaits sentencing in foreclosure scam

                                                  In the ongoing legal and public saga between officer Todd Lewitt and the Hermosa Beach Police Department, Lewitt scored another victory today with the city deciding Lewitt won the latest round and deciding to reinstate him to the force, effective this coming Monday. Hermosa Beach's attorney, Michael Capizzi (the former Orange County District Attorney), said the latest round was about a legal issue, which was decided.

It's a long tale that basically began when the seven-year veteran became outspoken about the force and city officials, took some heat for giving an allegedly drunk city manager a ride home instead of arresting him and was named in several excessive force lawsuits. In November 2005, he was terminated after being accused of trying to sneak a gun past security at John Wayne Airport. He claims he was fired in retaliation for all the other stuff. A County Civil Service Commission found he didn't do anything wrong, and ordered him reinstated.

When he returned to work last year, he was ordered to undergo a medical background check. When he refused, the city sued.

In September 2005, Lewitt had this to say about the department: "I've been a pain in their butt," he said. "They know it and I know it. They've come at me with dozens of internal investigations. I've fought each and every one of those and won. They hate my guts. They hate me and I hate them. It's no secret."

His attorney, Corey Glave, says his client excited to return to the department ... who he plans to sue for civil rights violations. 

Look for a full story later in the Daily Breeze and on dailybreeze.com

DATE/TIME: Sept. 22, 2008, 10:48 a.m.

LOCATION: 2323 Hawthorne Blvd. (Turner's Outdoorsman)

SUSPECT: Male/Asian, 20-25 YRS, 5'7", 150LBS, dark-checkered shirt, gray/black hooded sweatshirt with zipper, tan shorts, black baseball cap, black sunglasses. Composite based on witnesses.

WEAPON: Smith & Wesson Model 910 Blue Steel.

DETAILS: The suspect enters the business and demands specific handguns at gunpoint. Suspect takes nine handguns and flees business.

Suspect is wanted for armed robbery and is considered armed and dangerous. Please Call Redondo Beach Police Department Investigations Division at 310-379-2477 ext. 2714 with any information.

Detective Fabian Saucedo is the handling detective for this case. Sgt. Shawn Freeman prepared this press release.

Soon-to-be-ex Turner's Outdoorsman employee says criminals know RB store's security is poor

Thanks to the readers who provided this bulletin to us.

Victor Hernandez will spend 25 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Erasmo Antonio Artero-Santos, 21, of Los Angeles at the Mongol King restaurant on Feb. 18, 2007. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree murder, according to Deputy District Attorney Steve Schreiner. Hernandez's cousin and accomplice, Alejandro Alvarado, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

The shooting, which was caught on tape, was apparently over a girl. Hernandez's girlfriend worked at the restaurant with Artero-Santos, and Hernandez was suspicious of their relationship. They had had an ongoing feud.

Look for the complete story later in the Daily Breeze and on dailybreeze.com.

Previously: Second suspect to stand trial in Torrance restaurant shooting

UPDATE: I'm told 2000 Olympic volleyball gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana will take his place in the dunking booth to help raise money.





Ok, now's your chance to throw stuff at the police.

Manhattan Beach officers will take a seat in a dunking booth this weekend at the Hometown Fair at Live Oak Park.

It's all to raise money for Officer Mark Vasquez, who was diagnosed two years ago with Multiple Myeloma.

He recently underwent a stem cell transplant, which wasn't successful. He will be seeking treatments at an Arizona clinic that are not covered by his insurance.

It's three throws for $5 or a T-shirt for $15.

(I'll be doing a story on another upcoming fundraiser a little closer to when it's being held.)

Here's the dunking schedule:

Saturday, Oct. 4

10 a.m.: Steve Kitsios - School Resources Officer - MCHS
11 a.m.: Mayor Richard Montgomery
Noon: Kris Thompson - K9 Officer
1 p.m.: Robert Schreiber
2 p.m.; Robert Schreiber - Traffic Officer
3 p.m.: Dave Caveney - Motor Officer
4 p.m. Bob Richmond - Inglewood Police Officer
5 p.m. To be announced

Sunday, Oct. 5

10 a.m.: Greg McMullin - Retired MB Police Officer
11 a.m.: Chief Rod Uyeda - Chief of Police
Noon: Andy Harrod - Traffic Lieutenant
1 p.m.: Jason Knickerbocker - Field Training Officer
2 p.m.: Brian Brown - Sergeant
3 p.m.: Brian Brown - Sergeant
4 p.m.: Bryan Klatt - Traffic Sergeant

Here's Redondo Beach's Recent Law Enforcement Events report, prepared by Capt. Tom Krafick.

We've previously reported on the Turner's robbery and the purse snatching.

09-22-08 (Monday):

2323 Hawthorne Boulevard: At about 10:45 a.m., a lone gunman entered Turner's Outdoorsman, and robbed the store of nine handguns. The suspect entered the store and gathered all the employees into the corner of the store. The suspect started to remove handguns from behind the counter. One employee tried to take the gun out of the suspect's hand and both struggled for the gun. The suspect regained control of the gun and then shot a round into the ceiling. The suspect then fled from from the store. No vehicle was seen. The case is under investigation by detectives of the Investigations Division.

2600 Block of Manhattan Beach Boulevard: At about 6:25 p.m., a motorist, driving east on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, was observed driving recklessly by other drivers in the area. As the reckless motorist approached Gibson Place, he swerved to avoid a vehicle, lost control, and hit a raised median. The vehicle, continuing out of control, drove up onto the median, striking bushes, the raised curb, and the main sprinkler pipes. The motorist tried to flee on foot but was observed a short distance away by an off-duty Hermosa Beach police officer. The subsequent investigation resulted in the driver's arrest for hit & run, DUI, and driving on a suspended license as a result of a previous DUI arrest in December.

2600 Block of Graham Avenue: At about 9:20 p.m., a police supervisor, operating a police vehicle equipped with an automatic license plate reader, located a parked stolen vehicle. The vehicle had extensive front end damage and was impounded pending notification of the owner.

09-23-08 (Tuesday):

1603 Hawthorne Boulevard: At about 11:05 a.m., a Redondo Beach police officer was conducting patrol operations in the north parking lot of the Bank of America. The officer observed two male individuals running through the parking lot in a north easterly direction away from the west side of the bank. The officer observed one of the individuals secreting a purse under his shirt. The officer began to realize that a crime had likely just occurred and began to relay his observations to the Redondo Beach Communications Unit requesting additional assistance. The officer gave chase through very heavy traffic as the two suspects ran across Hawthorne Boulevard at the intersection with 177th Street.

As they ran across Hawthorne Boulevard, a patrol unit from the Torrance Police Department observed the circumstances and also felt that a crime had possibly occurred. The Torrance police officer attempted to detain both of the suspects. One of the suspects immediately complied while the second suspect continued to flee on foot into the Edison right of way. During this chase, assisting officers had located a victim of a purse snatch robbery in the immediate area thus confirming the officer's initial suspicions. Additional units from Redondo Beach and Torrance arrived to contain the area where the remaining suspect was last seen. A helicopter and K-9 units also arrived to assist with a search for the suspect. The remaining suspect was located within the containment area and arrested.

Officers learned from the victim that she had been approached by one of the suspects who asked for a "light" for his cigarette. While distracted, a second suspect approached the victim from behind, grabbed her purse, and knocked her down. Both suspects ran off with the victim's property. The victim's purse was located within the containment area of the Edison right of way. The victim's cell phone and credit cards were located in one of the suspect's pants pockets at the time of his arrest. Both suspects were arrested for robbery.

Here's this just in from the Hawthorne Police Department:

On 10/01/08 at approximately 2am, the Starbucks at 5030 Rosecrans Avenue, Hawthorne was robbed by a male suspect using a handgun.

Employees just closed the store and were walking out when a suspect appeared from behind the bushes (on the side of the store). The suspect pointed a gun at the employees and ordered them back in the store.

Once back in the store, the employees were ordered to open the safe. The suspect took approximately two thousand dollars in cash and was last seen running out of the store. The employees were not physically injured.

Detectives are still in the process of gathering and reviewing evidence obtained from the store.

The suspect was described as a male Black adult in his late 20's, approximately 6'2 tall, and weighing about 200 lbs. He was wearing a dark jacket and jeans.

Cletus Schmidt had no warning that a remote highway near Joshua Tree National Park was coming to an end, and crashed into a rock-hard embankment on Jan. 6, 2006. The collision left him a paraplegic dependent on a ventilator.

On Monday, a Riverside jury ordered the state Dept. of Transportation to pay Schmidt and his wife, Marlene Schmidt, $11.6 million because the agency failed to maintain safety features that were in place to warn motorists that the road was coming to an end. It turned out that there were eight crashes at that same T-intersection of highways 62 and 177 in the 21 months before Schmidt's wreck.

Schmidt was represented by Hermosa Beach attorney and Palos Verdes resident Albro Lundy III, who grew up with the elderly couple's four children, attending St. John Fisher and Rolling Hills High schools together. When Lundy's father died at age 11, Schmidt stepped-in as a  father figure. They became close, and Schmidt stood by Lundy's side when he got married 25 years ago. In a press release, Schmidt said: "What goes around, comes around. When Albro was little, we took care of him. Now he's taking care of us." Lundy, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor during the course of the litigation, was assisted by attorneys Joe Barrett, Norm Coe and Gary Dordick.

I'm working on a full story about the case.