Recently in Redondo Beach Category

Here's what we know so far

Prosecutors filed explosives charges on Thursday against two men arrested in connection to an illegal fireworks bust in Torrance.

Brian Flanigan, 40, in whose home the 3,400 pounds of explosives were discovered, is charged with possession of ingredients to make a destructive device and possession of an explosive, according to Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office.
Patrick German, 39, of Redondo Beach, was charged with one count of possession of an explosive, Gibbons said.

They're both scheduled to be arraigned in Torrance Superior Court on July 8, 2004.
The pair were arrested Wednesday following an investigation that began with a tip in Redondo Beach the previous day.

At Flanigan's home in the 1600 block of Beech Avenue, investigators say they found enough explosives to have destroyed surrounding homes had they ignited.

Redondo Beach police and fire have just made a large fireworks seizure in Torrance on Beech near Crenshaw and Torrance. I'm heading over.

**UPDATE:

Police and firefighters have recovered several thousand pounds of illegal fireworks stored at a house in the 1600 block of Beech Avenue in Torrance. Firefighters say the situation was so dangerous it could've caused a catastrophe had it caught fire.

The seizure occurred early this morning following a tip to Redondo Beach Police Department that the resident was selling fireworks. Firefighters say the resident also was manufacturing home-made fireworks, and discovered 400 pounds of black powder in the house.

"Had he had an accident, and had the garage blown up, it would've leveled and killed the people in every house around him," said Redondo Beach fire Division Chief Steve Hyink.

We'll have photographs, identities and more details soon.

A man who allegedly shot at Redondo Beach police officers as they tried stop him from firing at someone else was charged Tuesday with attempted murder.

Brayon Martinez, 29, of Lawndale, pleaded not guilty in Torrance Superior Court to two counts of attempted murder, assault on a peace officer, evading and possession of a firearm by a felon, according to Deputy District Attorney Paulette Paccione.

The attempted murder counts also carry allegations that Martinez used a firearm.

He has a prior conviction for domestic violence in 2001, according to Paccione. Court records show he was also convicted in 1999 for using violence on a spouse.

Martinez faces the possibility of life in prison, she said. He returns to court July 16.

Martinez was spotted by the officers in the 4500 block of 170th Street as they passed through Lawndale on a routine patrol Saturday night about 11:40 p.m.

He was allegedly firing a gun at a man on the sidewalk, according to the sheriff's department.
He allegedly fled in a BMW, but returned and shot at the officers, who returned fire and struck him in the arm.

A man who wielded a knife in the South Bay Galleria parking lot to rob a mall employee will spend four years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Michael Thompson, 42, of Los Angeles, pleaded no contest to robbery on Monday in Torrance Superior Court just before his trial was set to begin, said District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison.

The victim testified at a preliminary hearing in November that Thompson had come into the Starbucks where he worked and caused trouble, including talking about drugs.

On Sept. 19, the victim said Thompson followed him to a bus stop outside the shopping center, brandished a knife and demanded money. The victim said he threw down $40 and ran.

Raphael Jakim was convicted this afternoon of one count of attending an arranged meeting with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense. The Simi Valley married father traveled to Redondo Beach to meet a 13-year-old girl that was really Torrance Detective Dennis Brady.

Brady, the father of his own teenage daughter, was sure to punctuate his online chat with some well-placed kid verbage, including the word "like" and talk about the mall. It was hard imagining the burly, mustachioed police officer participating in a girlie talk. But, it apparently worked, for he caught the predator.

Jakim, who was out on bail, was taken into custody without bail pending his sentencing hearing Friday.

In beginning her closing argument Monday in Raphael Jakim's trial for allegedly meeting a minor for sex, Deputy District Attorney Delanee Hicks told the jury that the Internet offers many valuable opportunities - like making restaurant reservations, buying airline tickets and social networking. But it also gives pedophiles many ways to contact and groom their vulnerable victims anonymously and under the radar, she said, making online predators very hard to catch.

Hicks compared the "old" ways pedophiles operated versus the "new." The old way involved lines like, "Hey little girl, would you like some candy?" or "Hey little boy, I lost my dog. Can you help me find my dog?"

But because the new way makes it easy for child predators to find kids and even establish relationships with them with a few key strokes, the Internet needs a new way to fight crime.

Jakim's case is the result of a sting that was conducted by Torrance Detective Dennis Brady, who is a member of the Interent Crimes Against Children task force. If you've ever watched Dateline NBC's - To Catch A Predator, you have a pretty good idea how that works. To find out more about how to keep kids safe online, check out these useful sites:

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's NetSmartz411

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Protecting Our Kids page

The jury in Jakim's trial resumes deliberations this afternoon.

A Redondo Beach man who attacked his live-in girlfriend with a knife pleaded no contest Thursday and was sentenced to four years in state prison.

John Christopher Mielke, 32, pleaded no contest in Torrance Superior Court to one count of corporal injury on a cohabitant and an allegation he used a knife in the Oct. 11 incident, according to Deputy District Attorney Lana Kim.

Mielke stabbed his girlfriend several times in the arms and legs with a kitchen knife, according to police.

He was charged with a previous attack, but the counts were dropped in exchange for the plea.