May 2010 Archives

From City News Service

LOS ANGELES -- Two men who helped steal nearly $80,000 by using a
high-powered thermal lance to cut open an ATM machine in El Monte are
both facing a maximum of 40 years behind bars, prosecutors said today.

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter set an Aug. 9 sentencing date for 47- year-old Clinton
Elwyn Thompson III, of El Camino Village, and 37-year-old Tavrion Dawson of Compton.

A Los Angeles federal jury late Thursday found both men guilty of conspiracy to use fire
during the commission of a felony, bank larceny and use of fire during the commission of a
felony.

Torrance police sent out a notice warning drivers to avoid the 91 Freeway heading east through Riverside County if they are traveling for Memorial weekend vacations.

The 91 freeway is closed in both directions because a tanker truck overturned and caught fire near Corona.

Traffic is being diverted at Green River.

It could last until the wee hours of the morning.

A alleged burglar arrested on suspicion of breaking into a Manhattan Beach house is a parolee with a history of property crimes, police said Thursday.

Jose Alberto Silva, 33, of Los Angeles recently was paroled from prison following a burglary conviction, Manhattan Beach police Officer Stephanie Martin said.

Silva was arrested Wednesday evening, shortly after a resident in the 700 block of 35th Street called police to report a break-in at his house.

The resident had returned at 5:45 p.m. to discover his home ransacked and several people inside.

The burglars fled, but Silva was captured nearby.

Several people called 911 to report seeing Silva's alleged accomplices running in the neighborhood.

Manhattan Beach police, along with Hawthorne's helicopter, and officers and dogs from Redondo Beach, Hawthorne, Torrance and El Segundo searched until 9:20 p.m. but could not find them.

Detectives are working to identify and arrest the other burglars, Martin said.

Bruce Beresford-Redman, now back at his Rancho Palos Verdes home after being named a suspect in his wife's death in Cancun, isn't speaking to the press. His attorney and father, however, are. And he agreed to pose for some portraits for the Associated Press.

Here is the Associated Press' report, from the San Luis Obispo Tribune, in which Beresford-Redman's attorney says there are more fishy things at the Mexican resort where Monica Beresford-Redman died than just the dinner special.

And KCAL/KCBS, like a lot of other media people, were camped outside the Beresford-Redman Rancho Palos Verdes home yesterday and spoke with Beresford-Redman's father.

Police have concluded their search tonight for what turned out to be two burglary suspects in Manhattan Beach.

Police are searching a Manhattan Beach neighborhood for a burglar who ran from a home this afternoon.

I touched on this a bit in today's article about Mahendra Udani getting re-sentenced to two years in jail for misdemeanor sexual battery convictions against two female patients, but the restitution issue in this case took some interesting turns (well, if you're a legal junky, like me).

The two victims in this case hired an attorney who is a restitution expert, Antonio Sarabia II. Restitution is common in sexual battery cases to cover things like psychological counseling, and, in other cases, such as murders, funeral costs or medical bills. On behalf of the two women, Sarabia initially asked for, and received, about $115,000 to cover the costs of past and current therapy, plus the expense of consulting with an expert to determine long-term treatment courses and Sarabia's fees (about $25,000).

Here's where things got sticky. While one of the victims eventually settled a civil lawsuit with Udani for an undisclosed amount, the other victim wanted Judge Michael Vicencia to order Udani to pay $484,533 to cover medical expenses, therapy, lost wages, the expert, a gym membership, self-defense classes, exercise classes, a personal trainer and attorney's fees ($67,000 for Sarabia and another firm's work). But, because Udani appealed his conviction, the restitution decision had to wait, too, per Vicencia and the L.A. Superior Court Appellate Division.

But when Vicencia learned that Sarabia got paid and the victim went without counseling for two years while awaiting the money to pay for it, he was miffed. Sarabia told Vicencia in court that maybe his firm could be faulted for not refunding the money so she could pay for counseling in the meantime. "Ya think?" Vicencia replied.

Vicencia went on with some harsh words for Sarabia: "It sounds to me as if the real reason we're here is so that you can get paid.... She had plenty of money you had to have it now. You're her lawyer!"

In making the order, Vicencia decided Udani should pay the victim almost all that she asked for - minus Sarabia's attorney fees.

In an interview later, Sarabia hailed Vicencia's order as a great victory for his client, who deserved all the help she could possibly get in overcoming the trauma. However, he said it was a very bad decision for victims in general, because it sends the message that victims' attorneys don't deserve to get paid for the work they do. "That, I think, is very sad," he added.

Calling Vicencia's decision "shocking," Sarabia said he was prepared to show on more than 35 pages of legal bills all the work he and his firm put into securing the restitution order. The message, he said, is if attorneys want to earn a living, they better stick with representing the criminals.

Just got word from the District Attorney's Office that charges were not immediately filed against a Hawthorne man arrested on Monday on suspicion of beating and hanging his dog.

The case was sent back for more investigation. Notably, the DA needs a full report on the dog's medical condition.

"We're waiting for the documentation of the injuries, if any, sustained by the victim animal," Deputy District Attorney Amy-Hannah Broersma said.

This does not mean that Ricardo Salvador Plascenia won't face charges. He could at a later time when the reports are done.

It does mean, he gets to go home from jail sometime today.

This is a photograph of Torrance resident Andrew Caprio, who was shot to death by LAPD officers at the end of a chase when he pulled a knife and cut an officer.

The photo arrived too late Monday night from the DMV to run with yesterday's story.

(By the way, for the family member who called me today: You didn't leave your number.)

  

Here's what Redondo Beach police sent over about some recent happenings:

05-18-10 (TUESDAY):

400 North Pacific Coast Highway (SR-1): At about 1:00 a.m., officers responded to a single vehicle traffic collision. Once on scene, the officers determined that a vehicle, traveling north on North Pacific Coast Highway, struck a curb and then collided with a cement lamp post. The force of the collision caused extensive damage to the lamp post. City Public Works responded to cap exposed live wires from the damaged lamp post. The driver of the vehicle was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. The driver did not appear injured but was transported to a local hospital as a precaution due to the extensive vehicle and property damage.

05-19-10 (WEDNESDAY):

Bicycle Path at Sapphire Street: At about 1:00 a.m., two joggers on the Bicycle Path were approached by a male suspect who confronted and threatened them, demanding money. One of the joggers told the suspect they had no money, only car keys. Fearing the suspect might harm them, one of the joggers threw a set of car keys to the suspect. The joggers then turned away and ran. The victims described the suspect as a male Caucasian adult who smelled of alcohol and appeared to be a transient.

05-20-10 (THURSDAY):

409 North Pacific Coast Highway #200 (Pitcher House Upper Deck): At about 1:00 a.m., officers responded to a fight involving two individuals. Upon arrival, officers learned that one subject struck the other subject in the face with a beer bottle causing a cut above the eye. The subject causing the injury then fled the scene in a cab. The officers were able to determine the fleeing subject's destination in Redondo Beach. The officers detained the subject who was later positively identified by the injured subject. An arrest was made for felony assault.

2400 block of Phelan Avenue: At about 7:00 a.m., officers responded to a theft call and learned that during an "open house" over the weekend, an unknown suspect(s) removed miscellaneous jewelry from the home.

A once aspiring major league pitcher, Hideki Irabu was arrested on May 17 in Gardena on suspicion of DUI. Read about it here.

San Diego Chargers strong safety Kevin Ellison was arrested in Redondo Beach on Monday when police found 100 Vicodin tablets in his car.

Ellison, 23, was arrested about 2:20 p.m. when officers stopped his car for speeding in a school zone around Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Peter Grimm said.

Police found the Hydrocodone pills commonly prescribed as Vicodin after Ellison consented to a search of his car.

"No doctor would give you a prescription for 100 of these things. It's a controlled substance," Grimm said. "It's a powerful pain killer."

Ellison was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, and booked at the Redondo Beach jail. He was released two hours later after posting $10,000 bail. He must appear in Torrance court on July 7.

The 6 feet 1 inch football player, who starred at Redondo Union and went on to USC,  was the Chargers 6^th round pick in 2009.  A Trojans team captain, he was a unanimous first team All-Pac-10  choice in 2008.

In 2009, he missed the Rose Bowl against Penn State because of a knee injury.At Redondo Union, he played running back and linebacker. He had a record 322-yard rushing game and finished with a school record of 3,718 rushing yards.

"He is a local hero here in the Redondo Beach area," Grimm said.

Torrance, Gardena and other South Bay police departments, along with more than 150 law enforcement agencies statewide, will target seat belt violators next week.

The annual "Click it or ticket" mobilization will run from Monday to June 6.

State laws require drivers and their passengers to wear seat belts. Children must be properly secured and in child safety seats.

Police said California has a seat belt usage rate of 95.3 percent, but that means more than 500,000 people do not buckle up.

In 2010, fines and fees have increased from $132 to $142 for a first-time offense. For children under 16, the fine is $445.

Officers will be actively issuing citations.

Downed electrical wires have knocked out service to 944 customers in Torrance today, city and Southern California Edison officials said.

The outage in the 23200 block of Ocean Avenue occurred at 3:08 p.m.

Southern California Edison officials were investigating the cause. Torrance city officials said wires were down.

The outage affects customers in an area bounded by 227th Street, Pacific Coast Highway, Garnier Street and Kent Avenue, said Lois Pitter Bruce, an Edison spokeswoman.

There was no estimate on when power would be restored.

Police said traffic is congested in both directions on Ocean.

The city of Torrance just sent this:

Electrical wires are down in the 23200 block of Ocean Avenue. Traffic is congested in both directions on Ocean and in the general area. Over 1,000 customers in the surrounding area are without power. Edison is on their way. No estimated time for repair at this time. 

A trial date was scheduled on Thursday for the Redondo Beach man accused of killing Cori Desmond, but it's likely the proceeding will be postponed.

Tony Lopez Perez, 35, appeared in San Bernardino Superior Court and had another pretrial hearing scheduled for Aug. 13, followed by a Sept. 7 trial date, according to prosecutors.

Perez is accused of killing Desmond, 28, of Torrance, after he encountered her on a street outside his residence early on Feb. 15, 2009.

Based on statements he allegedly gave to investigators, it appears Perez, a restaurant worker and father, strangled Desmond and then dumped her body later that day along a snowy mountain highway near Running Springs.

Dawn Macksoud, who was wanted in connection with a South Bay identity theft case that landed her husband in prison, has been captured in New Jersey.

A task force caught her Tuesday in a home in Long Branch. She is awaiting extradition.

A man shot to death in a Wilmington bar was identified Wednesday as Brandon Allen Hanson, 34.

Hanson, a Wilmington resident, was killed Monday night during a dispute with three men at the Foc'sle bar on Avalon Boulevard at D Street, coroner's officials said.

During an argument, one of the three men pulled a gun and shot the victim several times in the upper body.

The shooter fled, but witnesses wrote down his license plate number. Police later arrested him at his Rancho Dominugez address. His name was not immediately available.

Police released a sketch today of a man sought for chasing a 12-year-old Torrance girl walking home from Hull Middle School last month.

The girl ran and was not hurt.

The sketch displays a bespectacled black man with a tattoo of the letter "S" on his upper portion of his left arm.

Police said the girl was walking home alone at 4 p.m. April 28. As she headed west on 229th Street, she noticed a man driving slowly eastbound near Madison Street and making eye contact with her.

According to a police bulletin, she felt uneasy, put her head down and started to walk faster. When she looked back, the man was gone.

When Archie McFarland was stabbed to death in his Torrance driveway in December 1985, the Daily Breeze ran one story - a small brief with few details about his death, but mentioned that Janos Kulcsar was arrested as a suspect.

That was all we heard of the case, apparently, for more than two decades. About six or seven years ago, the Torrance Police Department began looking into cold cases, and this was one of them. Honestly, when I was told they were filing another one, I had a couple guesses which it could be - but this one wasn't even on our radar.

With a few more details revealed in court yesterday, I feel it's now safe to say this is going to be an interesting case with some good legal issues, for those of you who like that sort of thing! A circumstantial case, based on old evidence and a recent police interview with Kulcsar sounds thin ... but it's pretty amazing to watch how these cold case detectives, along with Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, make it come together like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. This will be one to watch.

A 35-year-old man was shot and killed during a dispute with three men at a Wilmington bar, police said Tuesday.

A Rancho Dominguez man was arrested minutes later.

The gunfire erupted at Foc'sle Bar at Avalon Boulevard and D Street about 10:40 p.m. Monday, Los Angeles police Lt. David McGill said.

During an argument, one of the three men pulled a gun and shot the victim several times in the upper body.

The men fled, but witnesses obtained his license plate number, which was radioed to police and sheriff's deputies.

Deputies kept watch on the suspect's home in the 19000 block of Laurel Park Road in Rancho Dominguez and arrested him on suspicion of murder when he pulled up in the car.

A woman in the car was arrested as an accessory.

I  thought this might be of interest to the surfing crowd out there....

From City News Service:

A federal jury rejected a Venice surfer's claim that two LAPD officers unnecessarily punched and pepper-sprayed him in 2006, after he refused to follow a lifeguard's orders to leave the water.

The five-man, three-woman civil jury returned its verdict late Monday after a week-long trial of
Gregory Falk's $750,000 lawsuit against the officers and the City of Los Angeles on
allegations of excessive force, civil rights violations and malicious prosecution.

Deputy City Attorney Christian Bojorquez successfully argued that Falk became
"confrontational" when the lifeguard asked him to leave the water.

"His response was, 'I'll leave when I'm ready,'" Bojorquez said, adding that when the two Los
Angeles police officers arrived, Falk seemed to lunge at them.

The suspected El Segundo flasher pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 15 charges, most of which allege he exposed himself to teenage girls.

Jeffrey Freeman, 39, of Westchester, was charged last week with 10 misdemeanor counts of child annoyance or molestation for incidents involving 16 teenage girls during a 14-month period.

He is also facing possession of child pornography, possession of a controlled substance, indecent exposure and two counts of marijuana possession counts.

Freeman will return to the Airport Courthouse on June 17 to have a preliminary hearing scheduled.

A Hermosa Beach man has been arrested on suspicion of soliciting an investor to give him $20,000 to convert movies into a digital format, but doing none of the work, police said Monday..

Jose "Tony" Perez, 45, was arrested May 5 on suspicion of grand theft and theft by false pretenses, police said.

Perez claimed to have the ownership rights to several independent movies and solicited an investor to give him $20,000 to convert them to a downloadable digital format, Manhattan Beach police Officer Stephanie Martin said.

He promised to return the investment within three months.

"None of the work was done and when the victim pressed Perez for accounting, Perez provided the victim with counterfeit invoices and bank statements," Martin said.

Detectives contacted several of the actual rights owners to the movies. They told police that Perez, using the business name of Phoenix Entertainment Group, allegedly conned them in the same manner, Martin said.

A transient from Arkansas was arrested Monday ashortly after he allegedly robbed a Manhattan Beach bank.

Robert Frank Ackerman, 45, of Hope was booked at the Manhattan Beach jail on suspicion of robbery.

He was held on $100,000 bail.

Police said Ackerman walked into Chase Bank, 201 Manhattan Beach Blvd., shortly before 11 a.m. and demanded money from a teller.

The teller placed cash in a bag and Ackerman walked out of the bank.

A detective saw Ackerman walking near 15th Street and Highland Avenue and arrested him.
Police recovered the stolen money.

Two sheriff's deputies were credited Monday with reviving a 76-year-old boater who collapsed while piloting a sailboat during a regatta off Venice.

Bryan White and Matt Schwabe, assigned to the Marina del Rey Patrol Boat, responded to a medical aid call at 1:30 p.m. Sunday about a half-mile offshore from the Venice Pier, Marina del Rey sheriff's Lt. Dan Beringer said.

The deputies were told a crew member was performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the unconscious man, identified as Besim Billman of Los Angeles, Beringer said.

Schwabe guided the patrol boat alongside the sailboat so White could board. White determined Billman had no pulse.

Continuing CPR and using an automatic external defibrillator, White restored Billman's pulse.
Lifeguards soon arrived with a paramedic who stabilized the man and rushed him to the dock at the Marina del Rey sheriff's station.

County firefighters and an ambulance met them there, and took the man to Marina del Rey Hospital, where he was reported in critical but stable condition, Beringer said.

"According to the medical staff, our deputies' quick actions and use of the AED device played a significant role in saving this patient's life," Beringer said.

Boat operator deputies are certified Emergency Medical Technicians who respond to emergencies in the marina and off-shore.

I'm going to just assume, for a moment, that most of you readers here have a fancy for crime and court information above and beyond all those other readers who just hang out over there on our news site. That being said, I don't think it's much of a leap to assume you're also fans of television dramas like CSI and Criminal Minds.

However, considering what a crime and court junky I am 45 to 50 hours a week, I tend to leave murder and mayhem behind when I go home ... spurring real crime novels and cop shows for something, well, lighter (reruns of Friends, anyone?). But there's one show that even I couldn't resist: Law & Order. And, while I've been known to watch some of the spin-offs from time-to-time, it's the original franchise I've always liked the best. Admittedly, though, even I noticed it had jumped the shark in recent years, and can't remember the last time I watched one not in syndication. So, I actually wasn't all that surprised to learn it had been canceled.

You have to know, though, that when I do watch it at home? I yell. A lot. Because it just doesn't happen that way. DNA tests in the same afternoon? Please. The defendant, who got hit by a car and needed stitches when he ran from arresting officers, still has a bandage over the cut above his eye at trial, as if trial began three days after the crime? C'mon! I'm not the only one who noticed these cliche misrepresentations of the criminal justice system. The folks over at Salon have a great Top 10 list of the best. They nailed it.

Hawthorne has a new interim police chief. It's Bob Fager.

City Manager Jim Mitsch appointed him last night. Fager, a lieutenant, jumps over two captains and three lieutenants with more seniority.

He replaces Mike Heffner, who lost his job last week. Heffner, you'll recall, was a sergeant who got the job a few years ago over lieutenants and captains above him.

I'm working on a story.

Retired Hermosa Beach police Sgt. Paul Wolcott, who now works as security chief at CNN, provided police with the tips that led to the celebrity "bling ring" burglary suspects, according to an article today on LAtimes.com.

Two men suspected of breaking into a Torrance pharmacy to steal prescription painkillers were arrested early Wednesday following a brief chase, police said.

Robert Burns, 58, of Los Angeles, and Terry Polk, 49, of Stockton, were booked at the Torrance jail on suspicion of burglary, Torrance police Sgt. Jeremiah Hart said.

A security guard who heard breaking glass and saw a man jump out a broken window and get into a car reported the 1:25 a.m. burglary at Pill Box Drug, 165 Palos Verdes Blvd., Hart said.

Police officers spotted the Kia Sorrento on Pacific Coast Highway and Zamperini Way and tried to pull it over, but the car sped away.

The chase ended at 235th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue when officers bumped the Kia from behind and sent it into a spin.

Police found Vicodin and other painkilling medication in the car that had been taken in the crime.

The burglary was the second recent break-in that targeted painkillers at the pharmacy. Police are investigating whether the suspects were involved in the previous crime.

A handyman has been charged with killing his Inglewood boss 15 years ago after scientific evidence linked him to the brutal crime, police said Wednesday.

Donald Bridgewater, 58, of Los Angeles, right, who has previous convictions for drug offenses and manslaughter, was tied through DNA to the 1995 killing of William Goins, 71, police and prosecutors said.

Goins, a cancer-stricken man who was found stabbed to death on his living room floor, owned properties in South Central Los Angeles and North Hollywood. He employed Bridgewater as a handyman.

"All indications are right now that robbery is the motive," Inglewood police Lt. Marie Kirk said. "They were acquaintances."

Goins, who owned several properties, employed Bridgewater as a handyman, Kirk said.

Full story coming to dailybreeze.com and the Thursday print edition.

Some of you might have read the horrible story over the weekend about the man suspected of killing his girlfriend, her brother and her father in Hawaiian Gardens on Saturday. It was all over the news.

We don't cover Hawaiian Gardens, but I thought I would pass this along. The city has established a memorial fund to help the family members bury their loved ones.

Here's what they sent over:

Hawaiian Gardens, May 7, 2010 - Hawaiian Gardens City leaders have established a memorial fund at Bank of the West to assist with burial expenses of the three people who were killed in what the Sheriff's Department said was apparently motivated by a romantic dispute.

A Montebello man, 26-year-old Joseph Mercado is being held for allegedly killing his former girlfriend, her brother and her father and critically wounded their mother before being shot by a sheriff's deputy.   Serena Tarin, 24, and her brother, Alfredo Tarin Jr., 19 along with Alfredo Tarin Sr. were killed.   In addition, gasoline had been poured on the side of the house and the house was partially burned.

Anyone wishing to assist the Tarin family should send contributions to:

Tarin Family Memorial Fund
C/O Bank of the West
5240 Clark Avenue
Lakewood, CA 90712
The banks phone number is 562-925-1211.

Deputies have been searching a Lawndale neighborhood for the last couple hours for a car thief.

Investigators suspect a robbery at a Walgreens in Lakewood on Monday might be linked to the a holdup at a Walgreens in El Segundo last week.

The crimes, in fact, might be part of a recent pattern that included up to four crimes at Walgreens in Lakewood and other areas, El Segundo police Lt. Ray Garcia said.

In Monday's crime, an off-duty Carson sheriff's deputy was shopping inside the Walgreens in the 5800 block of Lakewood Boulevard when two gunmen entered the drugstore at 5 a.m.
The deputy fired shots at the robbers during the holdup, but they escaped.

The crime was similar to a holdup at the Walgreens at Sepulveda Boulevard and Grand Avenue on May 5, when a gunman in a hooded sweat shirt ordered the manager to open a safe. He escaped with $5,700 in cash.

Police seized 82 guns Tuesday and arrested a Gardena weapons dealer suspected of selling firearms without filling out the proper paperwork or allowing for the 10-day waiting period, investigators said.

George Cronin, 62, was arrested about 11 a.m when Redondo Beach police and federal Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agents raided his home in the 1900 block of St. Andrews Place, Redondo Beach police Sgt. Jon Naylor said.

The Redondo Beach Police Department's Special Investigations Unit opened an investigation in late 2009 when they learned the licensed dealer was allegedly selling guns without adhering to the rules.

"Redondo Beach detectives purchased numerous firearms from Cronin without completing any documentation or waiting the required 10-day waiting period," Naylor said.

During the search Tuesday, police recovered 82 firearms, including shotguns, handguns, rifles, an unregistered assault rifle and silencers.

Cronin was booked at the Lennox station jail on suspicion of various weapons offenses. He was held on $10,000 bail.

Palos Verdes Estates police Officer Joe Hall and his dog, Grim, were the overall champions at the Redondo Beach Police Canine Trials over the weekend at Redondo Union High School.

The dog teams competed in obedience, agility, searching, protection and narcotics detection.

In addition, Redondo Beach police officrs Ken Greenleaf and Corey King, and their dogs, Caden and Dak, respectively, were the team champions.

Other winners included teams from Ventura, Inglewood, Anaheim, Ventura County, San Bernardino, Alhambra, and Orange.

Police arrested seven drivers on suspicion of driving under the influence during a special enforcement operation over the weekend.

Officers targeted drunken drivers during the operation from 6 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, Torrance police Sgt. Jeremiah Hart said.

In addition to the DUI arrests, officers arrested two people on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, and two on suspicion of driving without licenses.

Five vehicles were impounded.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal, in two opinions on Friday, left almost in tact the convictions and sentences for three men who killed to Carson gas station attendants during a 2006 robbery. We ran the City News Service story on the opinions.

You can see the opinions for yourself, here: Adam Loza and  Julio Perez and Eric Sanford.

Sometimes, the details of a story are so compelling, reporters struggle in deciding what gets in the article, and what stays out. My article yesterday on the investigation and lawsuit stemming from the December 2005 crash that killed 16-year-old Casie Hyde was one such story.

Through a Public Records Request, I obtained a copy of the two Redondo Beach Police Department reports generated in the investigation. The second one, which reflects the developments in the last year, was single spaced over 19 pages. That's a lot of information.

Unfortunately, there were a few nuggets I had to leave out, but would like to share here, since they may (or may not) answer some questions.

Gary McDonald told the police that he and Smith consulted with three attorneys immediately after Casie's death. At the first attorney's office, as the pair told him about the incident, McDonald said Smith told that attorney he was "irritated and mad" at the other driver, according to the report. That attorney told them there was no obligation to come forward.

The two went to a second attorney that McDonald knew but, because this wasn't his area of expertise, he referred them to a criminal law attorney. When contacted later by the investigators, that second attorney was non-committal about what he knew and, when told he may be a witness, said he would get back to the officers. He did not return their calls, but spoke again with McDonald, and told him he might be in trouble for not reporting the crash, but that he didn't want to be a part of that.

When they told the third attorney about the incident, he encouraged Smith to come forward, but said McDonald was under no obligation to do so, McDonald said, according to the report.

McDonald said he consulted another attorney in 2008, but that attorney told officers he needed to check his files, then ignored the detectives' repeated efforts to follow up. Same was true for the third attorney.

When officers finally contacted Smith in person at a friend's house on Sept. 21, 2009, they told him the nature of the investigation, and he grew "visibly agitated and related that he did not want to talk about this," the report states. Smith said he wanted to talk to an attorney.

At some point later in September, investigators received a message that attorney Manuel Miller and Smith wanted to talk with them. Between the message and Jan. 18, the detectives called numerous times to follow up on the offer. In one conversation, Miller was told McDonald had passed a polygraph exam, and Miller indicated that Smith might be interested in taking one, too. He told the detectives he wanted the questions focused on "intent," not on guilt or innocence. The detectives agreed and Miller indicated he needed to discuss it with Smith. They never heard back from him. On Jan. 18, Miller told the detectives he hadn't spoken with Smith recently.

As for the whereabouts of Smith's black pick up truck - Smith sold it in 2007 to a Hawthorne man, who told the police he knew Smith because he worked at an electrical supply store where Smith, an electrical contractor, shopped. The man said he drove the truck about a year, then sent it to a family member in Guatemala. At the investigators' request, he had the family member take and send photos of the truck. Note, though, that officers were not looking for damage, as it wasn't believed the truck actually touched Casie's BMW. However, some surveillance footage from Northrup Grumman up the street from the scene of the crash captured a black pick up truck, but the detectives never knew if the vehicle was related to the deadly incident.

The article mentions a scholarship fund that Casie's mother founded after her death. For more information about it, please visit casiehyde.com.

 

Services are scheduled for Saturday for a 20-year-old El Segundo man who fell to his death in an accident near Yosemite National Park.

Ryan Broderick died April 30 when he slipped on a wet culvert near Highway 140 and fell 50 feet onto the rocks below, Mariposa County Undersheriff Byron Robles said.

Broderick was on his way to Yosemite with friends when they stopped along the highway in the morning to look at the scenic canyon, Robles said.

Robles said Broderick had playfully gotten to the end of the concrete culvert, slipped on water running through it and his momentum carried him over the edge.

Broderick would have turned 21 on May 3.

Services are 4 p.m. today at El Segundo United Methodist Church.

A man and woman were arrested in connection with a Hawthorne house burglary, which was still underway when the resident came home, police said.

A resident in the 5300 block of 137th Place had seen a woman loitering on the victim's porch about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The woman asked the neighbor for a cigarette when she realized he had seen her, Hawthorne police Lt. Gary Tomatani said.

The neighbor told her he did not have a cigarette. She walked to the curb and sat down in front of the victim's house.

When the victim arrived home, the woman walked up to him as he parked in his driveway. She said she was soliciting donations to pay for her college education, Tomatani said.

He declined to donate and she began walking away.

The neighbor then saw a man walking out of the back yard area. The man caught up to the woman and they walked down the street.

Police were called. Officers, with the aid of the department's helicopter above, found the pair at a fast-food restaurant on nearby Rosecrans Avenue.

The man, who was wearing basketball shorts, had taken off his pants to change his appearance. The discarded blue jeans were found in the business.

Brian Vaughn, 21, of Los Angeles and a 17-year-old Palmdale woman were arrested on suspicion of burglary. Police believe a third man was involved.

The teenage woman was determined to be wanted on a warrant charging her with robbery and burglary, Tomatani said.

The City of Los Angeles is conducting a guns for gift card program Saturday in Wilmington.

The 2010 Gun Buyback program will reward the voluntary surrender of firearms with pre-paid Visa cards or a gift cards for Ralphs supermarkets.

Police will offer $100 for hand guns and $200 for assault weapons.

Guns must be unloaded and transported in the trunk.

In the Harbor Area, the gun buyback program will be held in the Park and Ride parking lot, 1300 W. Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington.

The program runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Other locations to drop off guns are:

• Legacy LA, 1350 N. San Pablo Street, Los Angeles.
• Facey Medical Building, 11165 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Mission Hills
• Bethel African American Methodist Episcopal Church, 7900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles
• Farm Fresh Ranch Grocery Store, 5520 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles

We've received word this morning that Hawthorne Police Chief Michael Heffner is out of a job.

Hawthorne city beat reporter Sandy Mazza is working the story and we'll have more later.
 

Two cities will hold services next week to remember officers killed in the line of duty.

Manhattan Beach will hold their ceremony at 9 a.m. Tuesday in front of the Police and Fire Facility, 420 15th St.

The memorial will honoring officers Martin Ganz, Richard Timothy Giles and Charles Frederick Grau.

Mayor Mitch Ward and Police Chief Rod Uyeda will speak.

The city of Torrance will hold its annual memorial service at 10 a.m. Wednesday in front of the police station at 3300 Civic Center Drive.

The ceremony honors Sgt. William Lewis; Officers David Noel Seibert, Gary Rippstein, and Thomas Keller; and crossing guard Hazel Kenny.

One person was shot in a car-to-car shooting at Dockweiler Beach in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon.

One of the vehicles involved was a white Humvee limousine with 10 people inside, police said.

An black Oldsmobile and a truck might have been involved.

Police received multiple calls about an active shooting shortly after 3 p.m. Los Angeles and El Segundo police officers responded, according to El Segundo police.

Los Angeles police Sgt. Ron Pickering said 30 to 40 rounds were fired in a parking area near the entrance to the beach at Imperial Highway.

The El Segundo Fire Department treated the victim, as well as another person who might have been hit by a car in the chaos after the shooting.

Police officers detained several people, including a possible suspect. The limousine was stopped near the entrance to the Century Freeway.

It was not immediately clear whether the people in the limo were the suspects or the victims.

The shooting occurred on the Los Angeles side of the border with El Segundo. El Segundo police, however, arrived first and assisted the victims. Los Angeles police will investigate.
Police closed southbound Vista Del Mar at Grand Avenue, northbound Vista Del Mar at Sandpiper Street and westbound Imperial Highway at Pershing Drive to investigate.

No other information was immediately available.

Two people were shot at Dockweiler Beach in Los Angeles Thursday afternoon.

Police received multiple calls shortly after 3 p.m. Los Angeles and El Segundo police officers responded, according to the El Segundo department's Facebook site.

The shooting occurred near the entrance to the beach at Imperial Highway.

The El Segundo Fire Department treated two gunshot victims who were taken to hospitals.

Police said one person was hit by a car and dragged. The victim apparently was a bicyclist struck during the chaos as people near the shooting tried to flee.

Police officers detained several people.

The shooting occurred on the Los Angeles side of the line. El Segundo police, however, arrived first and assisted the victims. Los Angeles police will investigate.

According to El Segundo police, LAPD has closed southbound Vista Del Mar at Grand Avenue, northbound Vista Del Mar at Sandpiper Street and westbound Imperial Highway at Pershing Drive.

No other information was immediately available.

James Haire, a retired LAPD lieutenant, called to pass the word that his brother, retired LAPD Capt. Thomas Haire, died yesterday at age 78.

Thomas Haire, a Rancho Palos Verdes resident, was captain at South Traffic Bureau when he retired, but worked a variety of assignments in his 26-year career, including vice in his younger days and eventually a commander in detectives.

He retired from LAPD in 1980 and went into commercial real estate.

Haire leaves behind a wife, five children and four stepchildren.

James Haire, by the way, spent 27 years with the LAPD. His son, Jeff Haire, is a retired Torrance police officer. He has several other family members in law enforcment.

Rice Mortuary is handling the arrangements and an obituary is forthcoming.

Investigators have identified a man suspected of shooting a female sheriff's deputy in the elbow during a traffic stop in Lomita early today.

Ernesto Casillas Casillas, 29, is wanted in connection with the crime near 257th Street and Western Avenue.

Casillas is Latino, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 160 pounds. He also uses the name Armando Rodriguez.

"The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous," said Sgt. Diana Hecht.
Casillas is driving a black 2005 Chevrolet Eldorado with the license plate number 8W15896.

Department of Motor Vehicles records show the vehicle is registered to Jose Casillas and a Department of Justice hold was placed on the truck this morning, indicating it is wanted in a crime.

One of the truck's windows is possibly shattered or broken.

Anyone who sees the truck or suspect should call 911 immediately or a local police station, deputies said.

Western Avenue remains closed at 257th Street. Deputies have set up a containment area and are conducting a search.

The unidentified female deputy was taken to a local hospital for treatment of the gunshot wound before being released.

She was shot in her right elbow as she got out of her patrol car after stopping the Silverado.
It was unclear if the suspect was injured.

The deputy returned fire when she was shot.

A funeral procession for former Torrance Police Chief Donald Nash will make its way through downtown Torrance this afternoon before heading toward a Rolling Hills Estates church.

Motorists might avoid the downtown area.

The procession will begin at Halverson, Stone & Myers Mortuary on Cravens Avenue, and go through Engracia, El Prado, Sartori, Marcelina and Arlington avenues, before continuing on Arlington Avenue.

Services are at 2 p.m. at Rolling Hills Covenant Church.

The chief, who died last week at 85 years old, patrolled the downtown Torrance beat during his younger days on the force.

The procession should begin about 1:30 p.m.

An appellate court has declined to review post-trial rulings in Cameron Brown's murder case in which a judge refused to dismiss or decrease the charges or set bail.

Brown appealed to the 2nd District Court of Appeal on March 30, and it denied his petition on April 8.

Brown, 48, can still take the case to the state Supreme Court.

Brown appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday for a pretrial hearing, but it was postponed until June 2, according to Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum.

Two juries have deadlocked on charges against Brown, who is accused of killing his Lauren Sarene-Key, his 4-year-old daughter, by throwing her off a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff on Nov. 8, 2000. He claims the 4-year-old slipped.

He has remained jailed without bail since his arrest in 2001 after a grand jury indicted him for murder with the special circumstances allegation of killing for financial gain and lying in wait.

He faces the possibility of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Larry Altman was at the scene this morning, and reports:

A manager was held at gunpoint and ordered to open a safe this morning by a robber who escaped with $5,700 in cash from an El Segundo drug store safe.

Police surrounded the Walgreens at Sepulveda Boulevard and Grand Avenue shortly after 5 a.m. when store customers who had fled reported that a robbery was in progress, El Segundo Police Lt. Brian Evanski said.

When police arrived, three employees were still inside the business, and officers did not know if the gunman was holding them hostage.

Officers and SWAT Team members surrounded the building and entered the store at about 8:30 a.m. They found the employees hiding in offices, and took them to safety.

Officers searched the 30,000-square-foot building and could not locate the robber. It is not known how many customers were inside the store, which is open 24 hours a day.

 The same Walgreens was robbed on April 15 in a similar way, Evanski said.

One of two men convicted in the murder of a man behind a Rolling Hills school has struck a post-trial deal with prosecutors that will one day give him freedom.

Miguel Torres, 30, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in exchange for 12 years in prison, Deputy District Attorney Craig Hum said Tuesday.

Torres agreed to give up all his custody credits -- about seven years -- and drop his appeal, in exchange for the deal, Hum added.

In October, following a second trial, Torres was sentenced to 26 years to life for the murder of Juan Vasquez, who was shot behind Rancho Del Mar Continuation High School on Dec. 2, 2001.

Their friend, Joe Nino, is serving life in prison without the possibiltity of parole for shooting Vasquez.

Both Nino and Torres had a second trial last year after an appellate court found prosecutors wrongly dismissed minorities from the jury panel at their first trial.

Prosecutors believe Nino, Torres and a third man, Erick Velasquez, conspired together to kills Vasquez because they all were having a dispute with him. Velasquez received immunity in exchange for his testimony.

A woman who jumped to her death from a cliff at Point Fermin in San Pedro was identified today as Jannis Alexandra Hill.

Hill, 61, of San Pedro was discovered about 11:45 a.m. Monday at the bottom of a cliff near Point Fermin Park at the end of Gaffey Street at Paseo del Mar, authorities said.

A caller reported seeing her jump, police said.

Just before Johnny Maciel took the witness stand Monday at his rape trial, the clerk in Torrance Superior Court Judge Mark Arnold's courtroom let Arnold know that one of the jurors just disclosed that she had looked up a term used in the trial on the Internet. The term, she said, was "macking." This word apparently came up during testimony last week when a defense witness said Maciel told him he was "macking" on the alleged victim.

Juror No. 2 was called out and asked what she found on her search. She said she learned from an urban slang dictionary online that macking referred to committing sexual favors as a reward and is used as a "bravado" statement.

When pressed further by Arnold and defense attorney Eugene Matthews, Juror No. 2 explained that she was a "naturally curious" person, which is why she looked it up. She said the research did not change her opinion about the case, as she had not formed one yet and was waiting until she heard all the evidence.

"This is a whole fascintating thing for me. I've never been involved in something like this," she said.

Well, Arnold said, that's all well and good. But, he asked, remember the instruction at the beginning of the trial where I told you NOT to do any outside research, including using the Internet or dictionaries to look up anything related to the case? Juror No. 2 sat there, stunned. Obviously, she hadn't remembered that standard instruction given at every trial.

Both sides agreed that her actions caused no harm or foul, and she was allowed to remain on the jury ... with a warning to not share what she learned and not do it again.

 

These are the services announced for former Torrance Police Chief Donald Nash, who died last week:

Wednesday, May 5
Funeral - 2 p.m.
Rolling Hills Covenant Church
2222 Palos Verdes Drive North
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274

Graveside services immediately following
Green Hills Memorial Park
27501 S Western Avenue
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275-1099

The viewing I posted here earlier is private, so I removed it.