Results tagged “Hawthorne” from Crime & Courts
Dateline's Too Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen was not on hand at the Hawthorne Police Department in March and April of 2007, but a camera crew from CourtTV was as members of the Souty Bay Internet Task Force staged their own sting to catch their own predators.
It was interesting to see un-edited footage of a local police department in action - complete with their very raw emotions.
Officer Sarah Lewis, who was not yet an officer on March 31, 2007, is seen in Detective Sean Galindo's office making a recorded phone call to the person they only knew as "Johnny" who used the screen name "wecan69." I'm not sure how old Lewis was, but she looked to be in her late teens or early 20s, but sounded like a younger teenager as she fake giggled her way through the conversation. Sun spoke sweetly to her, telling her she was "crazy" for sneaking out and seemingly trying to scope out how real she really was. Lewis was quick with her answers - such as why the phone kept cutting out (the recording device was making it do that). She quickly told him she has a habit of pulling the phone cord and she stretched it out and broke the phone, and her mom always yelled at her for that.
When the conversation was over, her dimpled smile quickly left and she turned serious again. With a shudder and a slight "ewww," they were on their way to a briefing to set up the meeting and stake-out.
Police officers interrupted a man in the act of raping a woman on a Hawthorne sidewalk early today, stopping a crime that left the victim near death and unidentified.
The suspect, Gary Devaughn Labon, 48, of Hawthorne, tried to run from officers, but was 
arrested in a struggle. Police officers shot him with a Taser stun gun to subdue him, Ishii said.
FILE - In this file photo taken July 20, 2009, Khaled Naji Hamdan, holds the photo of his father, Naji Hamdan in front of the Federal Supreme Court after a hearing of his father's trial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Naji Hamdan, a 43-year-old American of Lebanese origin, is charged with supporting terrorism, participating in the work of terrorist organizations, and being a member of a terrorist group. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)
This is an Associated Press article today, and includes quotes from Naji Hamdan to an AP reporter before he was taken from the United Arab Emirates courtroom:
UAE prosecutor claims US man had al-Qaida ties
BARBARA SURK,Associated Press Writer
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A state prosecutor in Abu Dhabi claimed Monday that an American on trial in the Emirates had ties to a group backed by al-Qaida in Iraq.
The allegations were the first specific details made public against Naji Hamdan, who was arrested last year on terror-related charges and who had claimed he was beaten and abused by Emirates security agents and forced to sign a confession.
The charges against Hamdan include supporting terrorism, working with terrorist organizations and being a member of a terrorist group. The charges are related to a time when Hamdan was living outside the Emirates.
Hamdan denied the charges during his first court appearance in June, 10 months after he was detained by Emirati state security forces.
On Monday, the prosecutor told a judge that Hamden -- a U.S. citizen of Lebanese origins -- had direct links to Ansar al-Sunnah, one of the Sunni insurgent factions associated with al-Qaida in Iraq. The prosecutor offered no further evidence, but said investigators have copies of Internet communications allegedly written by Hamdan.
The prosecutor's name was not released by the court, citing security risks.
Hamdan, 43, attended the court session but did not speak before the presiding judge, Mohammed Yousri. The next session in the trial is scheduled for Sept. 14.
After the hearing, Hamdan told The Associated Press that he never had any contacts with Iraqi or other militant organizations.
"I have no idea what he (the prosecutor) is talking about," Hamdan said before police officers shackled him and led him out of the Emirates' highest court, in a batch with 14 other prisoners who were there for different proceedings.
"I was active in the Islamic community in the U.S., I had my opinions, but that's it," he added.
Police are looking for a Florida man who wandered away from his mother's truck this week in Hawthorne and vanished.Victor Emmanuel Gomez, 20, of Greenacres is unstable and known to talk to himself, and unfamiliar with the area, police said.
Gomez accompanied his mother, who is a truck driver, on a ride from Florida to pick up a load Tuesday from a business at El Segundo Boulevard and Cerise Avenue in Hawthorne, police said.
While his mother was watching the load, she saw Victor get out of the truck. When she was finished, he was gone.
The mother believed he had gone to get some food and waited for him for four hours. She called police when he did not return.
His mother has been waiting at the location for the past two days for his return.
Gomez similarly disappeared earlier this year and made his way from Florida to his brother's house in New York, police said.
Gomez is Latino, 6 feet tall, 130 to 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen wearing a black shirt with a white ogo on the front, and blue jean shorts.
Anyone with information should contact Hawthorne police Lt. Larry Grajeda at 310-349-2836or the department at 310-349-2700.
Neighbors saw the crime occurring about 1:30 p.m. in the 13900 block of Jefferson Avenue and called police, Hawthorne police Lt. Mike Ishii said.
The burglars were leaving the home at the time the officer arrived. They dropped the stolen property in their hands and ran.
Officers arrested Channon Hardiman, 21, of Los Angeles immediately. The other fled into the neighborhood, triggering a search with a helicopter in the air and police dogs on the ground.
Anjuan Cotton, 22, of Los Angeles was found in a back yard.
Cotton and Hardiman were arrested on suspicion of burglary.
Aysha Sly's family was in Judge James Dabney's Airport Courthouse courtroom this morning awaiting to hear what he would do with Ricky Madison - send him to death row or order to spend the rest of his life in prison without parole for Sly's Dec. 5, 2006, violent death in Hawthorne. But Madison's attorney called in sick, so the whole thing got put over until Friday, July 17. I plan to return again...
To read more about the case, follow the jump.
Police will conduct a driver's license and sobriety checkpoint from 8 tonight to 3 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Sepulveda and Palos Verdes boulevards in Torrance.
Checkpoint result:
During a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint June 12 at El Segundo Boulevard and Weber Way in Hawthorne, police officers arrested two people on suspicion of driving under the influence, cited 55 drivers for suspended licenses or no licenses at all, towed 59 vehicles and arrested one person sought on a felony warrant.
Know when you're a DUI risk
From www.chp.ca.gov
(.01 - .04 percent) May be DUI: Anyone who has had one drink during a two-hour period; and people weighing 170 pounds or more who have had two drinks.
(.05 - .07 percent) Likely DUI: People weighing less than 170 pounds who have had two drinks; people weighing 150 pounds or more who have had three drinks; and people weighing 190 pounds or more who have had four drinks.
(.08 percent and up) Definitely DUI: People weighing less than 150 pounds who have had three drinks; people weighing less than 190 pounds who have had four drinks; and anyone who has had five drinks.
Prostitution maven-turned-fugitive David Elms didn't make his Torrance Superior Court hearing Friday because he missed the bus from the downtown jail.
It's not uncommon for defendants in custody to get delayed at the jail. The Torrance and Hawthorne resident is expected to appear Monday.
Elms, 38, was arrested Thursday as he crossed the border from Mexico after being on the lam for more than two months. He failed to appear in an Arizona courtroom for charges that he allegedly tried to have a prostitute killed and a man injured.
The man behind the popular prostitution rating service TheEroticReview.com was on probation for a 2006 drug and weapons conviction stemming from a run-in with a prostitute in Manhattan Beach.
He is to appear first on a possible probation violation, which could send him to prison for up to four years, before being extradited to Arizona.
Previously: South Bay prostitution guru back behind bars
More: Man wanted in Phoenix arrested at Calif.-Mexico border (Arizona Republic)
Police: Sex Trade Power Broker Caught (KPHO.com)
And this, from a reader, which is not verified for accuracy - but being posted as an interesting hypothesis:
"He flew to Canada, Dubai, then Armenia to wait for his Iranian visa to clear. David Elms returned to the United States because Iranian authorities was told that he's a United States spy and a wanted fugitive. He wasn't trying to enter the U.S. under the radar but knew he could not be on the run anymore. He'd much rather serve time in a U.S. prison than in Iran."
We got word today that David Elms, a former Hawthorne and Torrance resident who was on the run after failing to appear in an Arizona courtroom, was apprehended crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and is now in custody in Los Angeles. The founder of the online prostitution rating service TheEroticReview.com is likely to appear in Torrance Superior Court Friday for a possible probation violation.
A full story on his re-arrest will be up later at dailybreeze.com.
All the details on his case can be found in my earlier story, posted after the jump.
The elderly man was struck in the crosswalk at 5:45 a.m. as he crossed Crenshaw Boulevard at 135th Street.
Officers believe he made it across the northbound lanes, but not the southbound lanes before the Crenshaw light changed to green, Hawthorne police Lt. Julian Catano said.
A southbound driver had the green light when he struck the senior citizen, Catano said. The driver stopped to help.
The elderly man's cane was found in the street.
Passersby told police the man often was seen walking in the area in the morning.
His name was not immediately released.
Edward Wilson, 20, of Hawthorne was arrested shortly after 8 a.m. behind an apartment building in the 11900 block of Gale Avenue, Hawthorne police Lt. Mike Ishii said.
Police said a man reported that he was robbed of jewelry while at Eucalyptus Park, 12000 Inglewood Ave.
The victim chased the robber to Gale Avenue. When police caught Wilson, he had the victim's property.
Police are looking into whether Wilson committed another robbery in the area, and possibly more.
He was not armed.
A Hawthorne motorist who hit an elderly pedestrian, then dragged the injured and screaming woman into her car before leading police on a pursuit, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to kidnapping.
Alexis Lewis, 26, will undergo a 90-day evaluation at the Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation, then return to the Airport Courthouse Sept. 2 for sentencing.
She faces anything from probation to five years in prison for the May 4 incident.
As part of her plea deal, prosecutors will drop three child endangerment charge that were filed when officers realized she left her three children, ages 2, 3, and 4, unattended at home during the incident.
Lewis hit the 72-year-old woman at 134th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard about 9 a.m., then forced her into the car, witnesses said.
Officers chased her vehicle to the 12600 block of Eucalyptus Avenue, near Lewis' residence. An evading charge will also be dismissed.
Hawthorne police and Los Angeles County fire investigators are looking into a possible arson late last night in the 13500 block of Glasgow Place, according to police Lt. Michael Ishii.
Emergency officials responded about 11:45 p.m. to the residence, where the occupants were able to extinguish the fire that partially engulfed their front door, Ishii said.
"At this point we have no suspect information, but we are investigating it as an arson," Ishii added.
A neighbor told the Daily Breeze that the investigation lasted a while, with officers and firefighters surrounding the area and using flashlights to search nearby Hollyglen Park and Cabrillo Elementary School.
The same home was the target of an attempted arson on March 24, Ishii said.
We'll try to get more information.
Follow "HawthornePD" to get real time information.
Two other departments also have Twitter accounts: Follow Torrance police at "Torrance PD" and Gardena police Chief Ed Medrano at "GPDChief."
Rakim Caddell, left, and Oliver Isaiah Robson were arrested today at their Athens area homes.The 21-year-old men are suspected of breaking into three homes last week in the 13400 block of Washington Avenue and the 4200 block of 134th Street in Hawthorne.
Witness accounts and fingerprints found in the homes helped to identify the men.
Hawthorne police Lt. Mike Ishii said one of the men had a victim's ring in his pocket when he was arrested.
Hawthorne mother charged with evading police, child endangerment
LOS ANGELES - A 26-year-old Hawthorne mother who allegedly hit a 72-year-old female pedestrian, then forced the victim into her car and took off, eluding police in the process, was charged today with kidnapping and other charges.
Alexis Francesa Lewis, (dob 9-1-82), is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon at Airport Superior Court, Department 144. She is charged in case No. SA071107 with one count of felony kidnapping, one count of felony evading police, and three counts each of child endangerment, said Deputy District Attorney Jan Perlstein.
Lewis, who had three no bail warrants out for her arrest in separate cases, was arrested Monday following a police chase in Hawthorne. The incident started after Lewis allegedly hit a female pedestrian at 134th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard about 9 a.m. Lewis allegedly forced the victim into her car and took off. Police, responding to the accident, chased the vehicle during a brief high-speed pursuit, before the driver stopped in the 12600 block of Eucalyptus Avenue, near the suspect's residence.
During an investigation, Hawthorne police discovered Lewis allegedly had left her three children - ages 2, 3 and 4 - unattended at home.
The victim remains hospitalized. Lewis is being held on $325,000 bail.
It's been 3 1/2 years since Daniel Portillo was shot in the head and killed by his best friend during a poker game. Joshua Ruano played with the defective Glock 9mm, but didn't realize a bullet remained in the chamber. The gun went off and Portillo, 23, was dead.
That was on Nov. 26, 2005. In February 2008, Ruano was granted probation for pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter. While his case was pending, Ruano gave me several interviews, expressing grief at the loss of his friend and fear for his own future.
He recently e-mailed:
"Dear Denise,
"Hi my name is Joshua Ruano and I met you through my lawyer Robert Ernenwein. You covered my story that involved the accidental firearm shooting of my friend Daniel. I still read the Daily breeze and I always look for you in the paper. So I wanted to say hi and let you know that I'm doing much much better than when you last saw me. I've come a long way and I'm enjoying my second chance I got in life. I'm working hard and making the best of it. I hope and wish you the best in your career and in life."
The Hawthorne Police Department will be
conducting traffic enforcement stings on Tuesday and Thursday.
Traffic Officers will be targeting areas where drivers frequently fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Officers also will target shopping centers to enforce disabled placard violators. Police said drivers frequently park in handicapped spaces using fraudulent cards or someone else's placard.
Faye Shilling, 60, and Jean Crump, 67, of Los Angeles, were arrested Wednesday and charged with five counts of mail and wire fraud.
My story from last week.
About the Blogger
Larry Altman has covered crime in the South Bay since 1990. He's seen it all - the missing model who turned up dead in the desert, the wives found dead in trunks, the high-school coaches who get a little too close to their players. He drives his young colleagues nuts with his "I remember when" stories. He welcomes your tips and observations about the present, and you can mix in a little Lakers basketball talk if you like.
E-mail Larry at larry.altman@dailybreeze.com.
Twitter updates from Larry Altman
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About the Blogger
Denise Nix knew as young as grade school, when she spent every summer working on the camp newspaper, that she wanted to be a journalist. Denise has spent most of the last 12 years of her career in the courtroom. She joined the Daily Breeze in 2001, where she tracks and reports on hundreds of cases at every level of the justice system. And she's never, ever, seen a judge use a gavel.
E-mail Denise at denise.nix@dailybreeze.com.
Twitter updates from Denise Nix
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