December 2009 Archives

From the Associated Press:

ANTHONY McCARTNEY
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mike Tyson and a photographer won't face charges after their scuffle at Los Angeles International Airport, city prosecutors said Thursday.

Prosecutors found insufficient evidence to charge Tyson or photographer Tony Echeverria, spokesman Frank Mateljan said.

The two men were arrested Nov. 11 after a scuffle in which each claimed they were struck by the other.

Echeverria said a blow by the former heavyweight champion knocked him to the ground, and he was treated for a cut to the forehead.

Tyson was traveling with his family when he was mobbed by photographers. His attorney Shawn Chapman Holley said at the time that Tyson was protecting his infant daughter after Echeverria collided with her stroller.

She said Thursday the city attorney's office made the right decision by not charging Tyson.

"The city attorney's decision today is a small victory for those who continue o be harassed, annoyed and even stalked by the paparazzi," Chapman Holley said.

Attempts to reach Echeverria for comment were unsuccessful.

Arizona authorities said after Tyson's arrest that they were watching the case to see if the former boxer should be sent to jail for violating probation in a 2007 drug case. He pleaded guilty in Arizona to cocaine possession.

Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever in 1986 when he won his title as a 20-year-old. His life since then has been marred by accusations of domestic violence, rape and cocaine use.

He played himself in the 2009 hit film "The Hangover."

Hawthorne police tweeted just now that they are in the area of 118th Street and Inglewood Avenue investigating an armed robbery. The suspects might be in a nearby house. The area has been sealed off.

Steve Cooley, Los Angeles' top prosecutor, hints to the Metropolitan News Enterprise that he'll announce a stab at the Attorney General seat.

In today's Daily Breeze, we announced that more than $2,000 has been collected to pay for a dog trainer to get Thunder, Joe Martinez's new Chihuahua, up to speed. All the information to help is at the bottom of the article.

A well-known dog trainer, Omar Muller, has agreed to come and meet Thunder and Martinez next month.

Also, Martinez's friends at the Kovacs Frey pharmacy in Redondo Beach want everyone to know they are throwing him a birthday party Thursday after closing. Anyone who wants to come by and give Martinez good wishes is welcome to do. And, while you're there, you can donate money for Thunder's training. The pharmacy has announced that anyone who donates $10 or more will receive a 10 percent discount on non-prescription items.

Previously: Who killed Killer?

From an FBI release:

JOURNALIST ZULLY ROMAN NAMED 2009 FBI LOS ANGELES RECIPIENT OF THE DIRECTOR'S COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD

LOS ANGELES ASSISTANT DIRECTOR TO PRESENT CERTIFICATE

Ms. Zully Roman has been named the 2009 Los Angeles recipient of the Director's Community Leadership Award, an honor awarded annually by the FBI to publicly recognize community leaders, announced Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. Since 1990, the FBI has publicly recognized individuals and members of organizations who have made exceptional contributions in educating their communities about the harmful effects of violence and drugs, and by devising and implementing prevention strategies.

Ms. Roman has consistently volunteered her own time to collaborate with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, in efforts to reach the Latino community with crime prevention information and an improved mutual understanding between law enforcement and the community. In 2007, Ms. Roman founded the Expediente Rojo Project and later launched the website. At the time, Ms. Roman assumed all expenses related to this project, and recruited professional volunteers to provide crime prevention education to the Latino community. Expediente Rojo became a non-profit organization in 2008.

The website, which is written in the Spanish language, has become a trusted source of crime-watch information created for the Latino community. Expediente Rojo is not limited to information from law enforcement in the United States, but it also includes links to international law enforcement agencies. In addition to crime prevention tips, the website provides educational information on civil rights violations, to include hate crimes, Internet safety, fraud prevention, cold cases, and terrorism threats.

Through Expediente Rojo, Ms. Roman has supported law enforcement efforts by publicizing fugitive cases, reporting on missing children and disseminating crime prevention advice. In the first half of 2009, expedienterojo.org reported more than 1,850,000 visits.

Ms. Roman utilizes Expediente Rojo as a bridge between the Latino Community and law enforcement agencies by providing its visitors a forum in which they can report crimes to the proper authorities.

Ms. Roman also provides information to crime victims, as well as their families, with valuable information and resources available to them. In addition, Expediente Rojo features interviews with Latino role models in the law enforcement community and other professions to encourage children to stay in school. Several FBI agents have been profiled on her website.

Ms. Roman educates the Latino community by minimizing their potential to become victims of crime to include various frauds and other scams targeting ethic communities. Through her website, Ms. Roman provides tailored guidance to women who are victims of violence and participates in events organized by law enforcement organizations, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI.

Ms. Roman is graduate of the Citizens' Academy of both the FBI and the ATF; a member of the FBI Citizens' Academy Alumni Association and a Community Relations Specialist Reserve Officer with the LAPD. Ms. Roman is an Emmy Award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience in news gathering and reporting.

Ms. Zully Roman and 59 other recipients of the Director's Community Leadership Award will attend an official ceremony with Director Robert Mueller at the FBI's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on March 19, 2010.

As we reported at the time of his death, Jeffrey Tidus was preparing to run a marathon to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

On Dec. 7, he had spent the evening in his wife's toy store in Redondo Beach bringing awareness to his fundraiser.

Later that evening, someone shot the attorney outside his Rolling Hills Estates home. He died the next morning.

Detectives are investigating.

I received a call today from Sarah Harris, campaign director at the Leukemia society, to tell me about this. At the time of his death, Tidus had raised $1,825.

The figure is now at $5,127 and the checks are still arriving.

"It's so moving to see that so many people cared for him and were willing to support his dream," Harris said.

Many people also have offered condolence messages to his family.

"We want to honor Jeff's memory and hope our contribution helps in the fight for Leukemia," one donor wrote.

To make a donation, go to Jeffrey Tidus' page.

The Associated Press is reporting that Chan Ho Park has sued his former Dodger battery mate Chad Kreuter, accusing him of failing to fully pay off a $460,000 loan.

A Torrance man who had nearly three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he killed another driver in Gardena has been sentenced to six years in prison, a prosecutor said Thursday.

John Guerrero, 26, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in Torrance Superior Court on Dec. 17, according to Deputy District Attorney Paul Guthrie.

The plea spared him the possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted at trial, Guthrie said.

Guerrero sped through a red light on June 24, 2008, at Normandie Avenue and El Segundo Boulevard, hitting a car being driven by Khalid Turner.

The 21-year-old El Camino College student, who lived in Compton, died when his car was pushed by Guerrero's truck into a light pole.

The title of this entry was what was written in the subject line of the email sent to the Daily Breeze by Odette Leonelli. We knew immediately we had to do something, anything, to help Joe Martinez in the wake of his devoted companion's death. It doesn't seem likely that whoever hit Killer in a crosswalk near Martinez's Gardena home will ever be caught, but at least the community that the duo brought so much joy to can help him start again.

I got a some more nice comments about Jamel Kammoun, the Marymount College professor killed in that awful crash Sunday in Rancho Palos Verdes.

The 49-year-old father was struck by a car as he took his morning walk along Hawthorne Boulevard nor far from his home Sunday. Deputies said a 17-year-old driver with two passengers was speeding down the hill, lost control of his car, ran up onto the curb and struck the professor.

His college is holding a memorial service today. It's not open to the public.

He was very popular, however, at that campus and at El Camino College, where he also taught math.

"He was just the nicest, kindest gentlest man," said Susie Martin, articulation officer at Marymount. "His eyes twinkled when he talked about his little girls."

They were girls. I initially didn't know that when I wrote the story that appeared in the print edition Tuesday. I knew he had three children, one a newborn. But I didn't know they were girls. Martin told me the older girls were 3 and 4 years old.

Martin called Kammoun a "beautiful soul" and a "good husband." He had a "cute little laugh" and a sweet smile.

"He was just a real family man," she said.  "His last walk was on a beautiful day."

There's been plenty of angry comments and e-mails during the last couple of days in response to the horrible death of 49-year-old Jamel Kammoun.

Kammoun -- a husband, father of three young children and a math professor at Marymount College -- was killed Sunday as he took his morning walk along Hawthorne Boulevard near his Rancho Palos Verdes home.

A 17-year-old Rancho Palos Verdes boy with two passengers in his car struck Kammoun on the sidewalk. Deputies said he was speeding and his car spun out.

The teen was not arrested.

"Not arrested?" JunieMoon wrote in a comment under my story. "Nice that Speeding Boy gets to spend the holidays with his family while the professor's children and widow are deprived of their beloved father."

A Los Angeles man has been arrested on suspicion of stealing two catalytic converters from Toyota vehicles in Hawthorne, police said Tuesday.

Christopher Williams, 36, was arrested Saturday shortly after the two thefts were reported, Hawthorne police Lt. Gary Tomatani said.

In the first of the crimes, a resident in the 4500 block of West 118th Street called police at 5 a.m. to say someone was tampering with her Toyota sport utility vehicle, Tomatani said.

Police inspected the SUV and discovered the catalytic converter had been stolen.

Shortly after 6 a.m., someone called police to the 4400 block of 135th Street after seeing a man tampering with a Toyota pickup truck.

The victim in the crash Sunday in Rancho Palos Verdes has been identified as Jamel Kammoun, 49, of Rancho Palos Verdes

Kammoun was a math professor at Marymount College in Rancho Palos Verdes. He also taught classes at El Camino College.

He had a wife and three children -- a newborn, a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old.

Kammoun was killed as he took his morning walk. Deputies said a teen driver lost control while speeding down Hawthorne Boulevard toward the ocean. The car spun out and hit Kammoun on the sidewalk.

A full story is coming soon to dailybreeze.com and the Daily Breeze print edition.

A sobriety checkpoint will be held at 7 tonight in the eastbound lanes of Lomita Boulevard near Pennsylvania Avenue in Lomita.

Update on last night's rescue. Additional kudos to the police officer involved:

The information is from Capt. Mike Patterson of the County Lifeguards:

Two women entered the water under the pier. It was dark and they began yelling for help. Patterson said alcohol might have been involved.

A passerby called 911 that went to the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Police notified the Fire Department and lifeguards.

A non-uniformed police officer who heard the call grabbed a body board, entered the water from the beach and went to help.

The officer stayed with the women until lifeguards arrived.

"We took over and assisted the rescue at that point," Patterson said.

One of the women was taken to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia, weakness and dizziness.

None of the rescuers was hurt.

This one has a happy ending:

Firefighters, police and lifeguards just raced to the Manhattan Beach pier on a report of a possible drowning at 5:30 p.m. There were lots of sirens and lights flashing.

No one drowned or was even hurt. Lifeguards got there and pulled two people from the water. They were caught in a riptide near the pier. They are fine. (I don't know if they are men or women.)

So, kudos to the lifeguards.

An 18-year-old motorist allegedly speeding on a steep Rancho Palos Verdes road, lost control of his car Sunday and veered into the sidewalk, killing a man on his morning walk, deputies said.

The 7 a.m. crash occurred on Hawthorne Boulevard near Alta Vista Drive, where the curvy route descends toward the ocean, sheriff's Sgt. Tony Blanchard said.

"That's a dangerous area," Blanchard said.

The victim, a 49-year-old man, was walking up the hill, Blanchard said.

"He was walking, facing traffic," Blanchard said. "He was facing that way."

An 18-year-old motorist lost control of his car on Hawthorne Boulevard in Rancho Palos Verdes today, spun out and veered onto the sidewalk, killing a man on his morning walk, deputies said.

The motorist was speeding as he drove south near Alta Vista Drive down the hill toward the ocean, sheriff's Sgt. Roger Digerlando said.

The car spun out of control and onto the sidewalk.

The pedestrian, who was out for his daily walk, was struck and seriously injured.

He died later at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance. His name was not released pending notification of relatives.

Deputies closed the southbound lanes to investigate the fatal crash.

The driver was not arrested. His name also was not immediately released.

TMZ.com is reporting that actress Brittany Murphy has died of cardiac arrest at age 32 in Los Angeles.

A message from the El Segundo Police Department:

Holiday shopping can cause people to rush and become careless and vulnerable to theft and other crimes. Stealing gifts and other property from cars can be an easy target for criminals and recently the city has seen a significant increase in thefts from motor vehicles. This year, we have experienced over 180 crimes involving the theft of property from vehicles city wide. In addition to the loss of property that is stolen, victims often find themselves repairing a costly window that was shattered during the vehicle break in.

The El Segundo Police Department has responded aggressively to this trend and so far this year, 55 individuals have been arrested for committing these types of crimes. Unfortunately, there is a seemingly endless line of thieves waiting to take their place, mainly because the victims are making it so easy.

Virtually all of these thefts involved either items which were visible from outside of the vehicle, including packages, laptop computers, briefcases, GPS units; or objects such as cellular telephone and/or iPod charging cords which led thieves to believe that valuable property may be inside the vehicle. Most of these thefts COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED if the victim had simply taken the few extra seconds to place the items entirely out of view or, better yet, removed them from the vehicle completely.

To help make your holiday season a safe and happy one, and to lower the risk of becoming a victim, the police department suggests that you follow a few easy precautions when you shop. First, park your car as close to your destination as possible and park in a well-lighted area. When you do your shopping, remember to store your packages, electronic devices, and any other property out of sight or in the trunk. Also, if you take packages to your car but plan to return to the store or mall, place your purchased items in the trunk and drive your car to a new location within the parking lot as criminals often watch for unsuspecting shoppers who simply place their packages into their car and then return to the stores. Finally, when you are finished shopping and arrive home, remove all the packages and property from your vehicle so would be thieves have nothing visible to entice them to make you their next victim.

Don't let your guard down and be lulled into the false sense of security of "it won't happen to me" like more than 180 other victims already have this year.

To learn more about safeguarding your property and vehicle, please visit the "Move it or Lose it" link on the El Segundo Police Department website at http://www.elsegundo.org/depts/police/default.asp, or contact Lt. Brian Evanski at 310-524-2260, or Crime Prevention Specialist Laurie Risk at 310-524-2274.

The El Segundo Police Department wishes everyone a safe and joyous holiday season. Together we can make a difference in our community.

Here's an interesting one that staff writer Stephanie Walton picked up from the Gardena police reports for the police blotter:

A little late on this one ... it's hard enough to keep track of cases in the South Bay, but this one was out in Hemet and I wasn't having luck getting calls returned on it.

Former U.S. Margine Staff Sgt. Bryan Damone Cunningham struck a deal with prosecutors and avoided life in prison, according to KTLA. The San Pedro man was accused of using a young girl as a prostitute to entice new recruits.

Police are looking for a man with a gun. Officers say he apparently brandished it in front of a victim and is out there somewhere.

Police have responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call in the 100 block of South Grand Avenue in San Pedro.

That's all we know so far. There's a chopper in the air and officers on the ground.

Traffic on Gaffey near the freeway is backed up.

More later.

More from Staff Writer Art Marroquin:

A 19-year-old man was wounded early today when a teenager shot him during an attempted robbery in Carson, authorities said.

The teenage would-be robber pulled out a gun when the pair got into a struggle near the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Adams Street around 2:45 a.m., said Sgt. Sean Hinkey of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The gunman shot the victim once in the thigh, then fled, Hinkey said. The victim's mother took him to a hospital, where he was interviewed by deputies.

Staff Writer Art Marroquin reports:

Los Angeles police searched today for a gunman who fatally shot two men as they were riding in a vehicle in Wilmington.

The gunman was riding in the back seat of the vehicle when he pulled out a handgun and shot the driver and the front seat passenger about 7 p.m. Thursday in the 500 block of West G Street, according to Los Angeles police Lt. Parker, who declined to give his first name.

The gunman fled after the vehicle crashed into a block wall, Parker said.

The driver, identified as Humberto Ramirez, 29, died at the scene.

The front seat passenger, who was not immediately identified, was taken to a hospital and died about 11 p.m., Parker said.

Denise Nix reports from the courtroom:

A Torrance jury just found Brandon Manai guilty of killing his wife of 13 days by throwing her off a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff.

Julia Rosas' body was found July 3, 2005, below Calle Entradero and Palos Verdes Drive West.

Denise is gathering information and will update the story soon here and on dailybreeze.com

My colleague Andrea Woodhouse reports:

Police have determined reports of a gunman standing on a roof in east Torrance on Thursday morning were incorrect.

After a 30-minute search aided by helicopters near Western Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard around 6:10 a.m., police found no evidence of a man whom a passerby reportedly saw atop a flower shop holding a rifle, officials said.

Couple of DUI checkpoints today, unusual for a Thursday.

Police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint tonight at 8 in the northbound lanes of Hawthorne Boulevard at 138th Street in Hawthorne. The checkpoint will run until 4 a.m. Friday.

Also, sheriff's deputies will conduct a checkpoint on Hawthorne Boulevard at Granvia Altamira in Rancho Palos Verdes beginning at 7 p.m.

 

From City News Service:

A driver was arrested today after a vehicle pursuit that reached speeds over 100 mph and ended at Los Angeles International Airport, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The CHP joined the pursuit when it received a call at 1:08 a.m. from the Santa Monica
Police Department, which reported a vehicle traveling at 110 mph on a freeway, said
CHP Officer Anthony Martin.

At 1:16 a.m. the vehicle was reported westbound on the Imperial Highway just west of
Aviation Boulevard, Martin said.

The chase ended at LAX and the driver was arrested around 1:30 a.m., Martin said. A news camera crew at the scene reported that the pursuit came to an end at Terminal 1.

Just got word that the next installment in the Cameron Brown case will be Jan. 28.

Cameron Brown was scheduled for a pretrial hearing tomorrow, during which it was expected that his attorneys would file motions to have the charges reduced or dismissed, and to have Brown released from jail. I'm told that, because those motions have not yet been filed, the proceeding is likely going to be postponed to another day. I'll keep you posted.

Daily Breeze schools reporter Douglas Morino reports today on the School Notebook blog that a "report of a suspicious person in Polliwog Park Wednesday morning triggered a temporary lockdown at several schools in Manhattan Beach"

"According to a school district official, a group of students from Manhattan Beach Middle School reported a man wearing what looked to be a bulletproof vest running through the park, which borders the school.

A search determined it was likely nothing but a jogger.

A Hermosa Beach dog grooming business is raising money through the end of December to help pay for a Redondo Beach police dog's $6,000 veterinary bill.

The Studley Pooch at 1127 Aviation Blvd., will offer a free professional grooming for dog owners who make a $100 donation. Donors of $50 will receive a free "tidy," and $25 donations are good for a free bath.

Valor, who had worked with his handler, Officer Ken Greenleaf, for more than three years, was put to sleep Dec. 2 because of kidney problems.

Donations also can be made at the Redondo Beach police station at Diamond Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.

Several people have inquired today about something that happened Sunday afternoon at Maple Avenue and 235th Street in Torrance.

A lot of people saw the yellow tape and blocked off street.

Police were investigating a body found in front of someone's home. Although it might have looked like a murder scene, it wasn't. But police have to initially treat it that way until they know what happened.

It turns out this man was in some medical distress, made it outside and collapsed. It was determined to be a natural death.

Funeral services were under way this morning for Jeffrey Tidus, the Rolling Hills Estates attorney shot outside his home on Dec. 7. He died the next morning.

The services were held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Burial was to follow at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills.

A photographer and I went to cover the service, but officials at the Skirball told us that family members did not want any media coverage. We respected the family's wishes and left.

We'll do our best in the weeks to come to cover this homicide, but it now moves into the investigative stage for detectives. Just like with Cori Desmond and other cases, there likely will be little information released.

Compton Superior Court Judge William Chidsey, who was in private practice in Torrance and Lomita before taking the bench, has announced his retirement. The Metropolitan News-Enterprise has the full story.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting today that detectives investigating the killing of Rolling Hills Estates lawyer Jeffrey Tidus, are looking at a 2005 case where Tidus got a restraining order against someone who threatened him.

Read the story.

Some of you might have read some of the heated comments under a story published Tuesday about the former Torrance High School student shot to death outside his home in Harbor Gateway. Three people were arrested in the killing of 19-year-old Giovanni Russo on Nov. 29.

The story, based on information from the police, said Russo was killed during a marijuana deal that went bad.

As I prepared Tuesday to head up to Rolling Hills Estates to cover yet another killing, Russo's father arrived in the Daily Breeze lobby.

For safety reasons, I don't just head out to the lobby to meet unannounced visitors. I deal with nothing but crime every day. I spoke to Jeff Russo over the phone.

The father was upset that I wrote that his son was killed in a drug deal.

The death of Rolling Hills Estates attorney Jeffrey Tidus has been determined to be a homicide, investigators said today.

There had been speculation it could have been a suicide.

We'll have more later, if there's anything else released.

Almost every trial I've ever seen begins exactly the same way: The judge spends four or five minutes telling the jury all the things they can't do. This includes discussing the case with anyone, aside from fellow jurors during deliberations, reading or listening to news accounts of the trial and making decisions before the case is submitted to them.

But, when the Daniel Nunez and Rudy Tafoya trial began Tuesday, Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen told the jury he was going to do things differently. And that, he did. After ensuring each juror and alternate had a written copy of the instructions he was reading, he spent nearly 15 minutes telling them their dos and don'ts, and added some of the basic instructions given in almost every criminal case AFTER the evidence is presented.

It was kind of an interesting concept in that jurors may be more aware of such things as reasonable doubt, credibility of witnesses and circumstantial evidence rules as they proceed through the case. What was REALLY different, though, was the inclusion of prohibitions that would've never been an issue a few short years ago: No Twittering about the case, don't Google or Bing anything about it and don't discuss it on Facebook, MySpace or blogs.

Web 2.0 has entered the courtroom.

The former president of the Redondo Beach Police Officers Association was charged today with embezzling more than $75,000 from his own union.

Sgt. Gene Tomatani appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court this morning and was released on his own recognizance.

We're still getting the details on last night's shooting in Rolling Hills Estates that left a lawyer, who was reportedly shot in the head, in critical condition. We believe the victim is Jeffrey Tidus, a name partner at the downtown Los Angeles firm Baute & Tidus.

San Pedro residents concerned about crime on the watefront can attend am emergency meeting tomorrow night on the issue. Staff writer Donna Littlejohn has the full story here.

A Facebook page has been started in support of Louis Jay Haddad, the Redondo Union High School teacher arrested on suspicion of committing a lewd act in front of a 16-year-old student.

It says, "Mr. Haddad may be crude and forward but is not the type to sexually abuse small children. Until further information we shall support Mr. H"

 A 50-year-old Redondo Union High School teacher has been arrested on suspicion of committing a lewd sexual act in front of a 16-year-old student in his classroom.

Louis Jay Haddad of Seal Beach was arrested shortly after the girl reported what happened to school officials, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan said.

School district officials have put Haddad on a leave of absence, said Nancy Billinger, assistant superintendent of human resources.

Read the story.

A 2007 graduate of Torrance High School who went to school at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has been found dead at the base of a mountain.

Charles Tamae, 20, had been missing from school since Nov. 30. A search team found his bicycle and his body today.

The San Luis Obispo PD should have some info out soon about what happened.

Crazy day.

In case you missed it this morning, on Dailybreeze.com, prosecutors yesterday did not file charges against John Haig Marshall, who was arrested in October on suspicion of drugging a friend, sexually assaulting him and shaving off his body hair.

A Wiseburn-area daycare provider was sentenced today to eight years in prison for molesting two young girls entrusted to him while their parents worked.

Tito Ruiz, 66, showed no emotion as Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen imposed the sentence.

"They trusted him and he violated that trust in the worst way," Van Sicklen said.

Ruiz must serve at least six years of the sentence and register as a sex offender when he is released.

Jurors found Ruiz guilty in October of committing two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a minor.

The victims were 4- and 6-years-old at the time. Ruiz touched one on the chest and the other on the groin area.

He had faced a maximum of 10 years in prison.

His attorney, Gilbert Rodriguez, asked the court for probation, calling Ruiz a "low risk" and that the crimes were not egregious.

In emotional statements before the judge ruled, one of the girl's parents said Ruiz changed their lives forever.

"One year ago our daughter was a trusting, outgoing girl without a care in the world," the mother said. "It breaks my heart to know she lost her childhood innocence and carries a load of worries wherever she goes."

Port officials say the man found dead near Berth 200X at the Port of Los Angeles in Wilmington was the victim of an accidental drowning.

He was found about 7:40 a.m. near the Henry Ford Bridge.

His name was Bradley A. Foltin, 57. The coroner listed him as "indigent/homeless."

You might have read my story today on Valor the Redondo Beach police dog who was put to sleep yesterday because of medical problems.

Lennox sheriff's deputies are offering "Gifts for Guns" again this year, putting gift cards into the hands of people willing to turn over guns they no longer want.

Last year, a two-day program at Lennox Middle School before the holidays took in 600 guns, and allowed shoppers to drive away with gift cards for Target and Ralphs.

Another event in May took in 500.

"It's a good program," Lennox sheriff's Lt. Jeff Adams said. "A lot of people find themselves in a position for one reason or another, of having a firearm on their hands. This provides them a good avenue to get rid of a firearm."

The Rape Aggression Defence program for women will be held Dec. 18 and 19. Click here to get more information and register.

A Gardena man upset that neighborhood teenagers cut through his property allegedly shot one of them in his driveway, police said Tuesday.

Eiji Takara, 36, opened fire on a 17-year-old boy about 10 p.m. Monday in the 18000 block of Curt Place, Gardena police Lt. Steve Prendergast said.

"The kid was on the wall going over," Prendergast said. "(Takara) told him to get off the block wall."

The shooting occurred on Takara's concrete driveway adjacent to the wall.

Takara's home is on a cul-de-sac. The wall, to the right of his house, separates the house from the back of Gardena Valley Christian School, a kindergarten through 8th grade campus on 182nd Street off Normandie Avenue.

The stolen Maltese named "Prince" has been reuinited with his owner. KTLA reports that someone dropped him off at a shelter in West Los Angeles.

Here's the story.

The Los Angeles Police Protective League mourn for their colleagues in Washington, executed over the holiday weekend.