The LAPD has set up a command post at the 15 Freeway and Limonite Avenue in Ontario. The post, essentially a BevMo parking lot will be used for media briefings.
Tag Archives: LAPD
LAPD bomb squad seen travelling east on 10 Freeway toward ONT
Earlier this afternoon, a convoy including the LAPD Bomb Squad and several blacked out SUVs was spotted travelling at a high rate of speed east on the 10 Freeway toward Ontario.
- A situation at ONT, which is technically part of Los Angeles
- Escorting a high level dignitary
- Taking Michael Jackson’s body somewhere.
Toonerville crew arrested in connection with Mongol slaying
Eighteen “knuckleheads” arrested in wake of mini riot following lakers win
Victim’s father says he suspected LAPD involvement in homicide
Sherri Rasmussen was beaten and shot to death back in 1986. Originally police suspected burglars were responsible for the crime, but last week Detective Stephanie Lazarus, one of LA’s finest, was arrested on suspicion of the crime after detectives made a DNA link to the case.
After Sherri Rae Rasmussen was beaten and shot to death in 1986, her father urged Los Angeles police to investigate a fellow officer who had had confrontations with his daughter in the months leading up to her death, according to attorneys for the victim’s family.
But Nel Rasmussen’s pleas, which he said he made during several interviews with police and in a letter to then-Chief Daryl F. Gates, apparently were ignored by detectives as they pursued a different theory of how his daughter had been killed.
LAPD detective picked up in 1986 cold case homicide
This from LAObserved via the LA Times:
Stephanie Ilene Lazarus, 49, was arrested this morning at Parker Center. Cold case investigation into the 1986 beating death of the wife of her ex-boyfriend led to Lazarus, and her DNA was secretly gathered last week to help make the case.
In a City News story, the head of the Police Protective League is also quoted responding to the news:
Paul M. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, said Lazarus’
arrest “is deeply disturbing to LAPD officers and the people of Los Angeles.”
“If convicted, the actions of one police officer should not tarnish the trust and
respect the public has for the more than 9,800 dedicated police officers who serve and
protect the community and its residents every day,” he said.
Here’s the LATimes story archive on the case.
John Floyd Thomas Jr. and the hunt for the Grim Sleeper
From find.thegrimsleeper.com:
Until his April 2 arrest, John Floyd Thomas Jr was a Los Angeles insurance adjuster. Police now call him the “Southland Strangler” — named for the geographical section of Los Angeles County where they suspect he killed at least 30 women and raped many more. Thomas is also in the frame for a spate of crimes police say were committed by the “Westside Rapist”.
On first glance this suspect doesn’t fit the profile of the Grim Sleeper. Reports suggest he targets much older females who live alone and are white. This is a direct opposite of the Grim Sleeper’s known victims – young and black. However there are some striking similarities that are worth mentioning.
Many of Thomas’ victims were strangled and beaten and at least one victim was killed in a location other than her home which suggests Thomas’ MO is markedly varied. The LA times is quoted as saying “On the 17 who were killed, he placed pillows or blankets over their faces.” This is also a signature of the Grim Sleeper who is known to have placed items over the faces of some of his victims.
.Perhaps one of the most startling similarities is the time span and ‘gaps’ that separate Thomas’ crimes. The first wave of slayings took place in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. There followed a decade of ‘Sleep?’ until 1983 when Thomas was released from prison. He committed rape and murder over the next 6 years until 1989.
The site also has an interesting map, developed with the help of a profiler who notes that
“the Grim Sleeper attacks women within one mile from his home, and works to blend into the neighborhood.”
Here’s the map:
Pasadena PD looks at possible cold case ties to John Floyd Thomas, Jr.
The Pasadena PD is examining the possibility that John Floyd Thomas, Jr. may be responsible for homicides there in the late 1970s, officials said Thursday.
Thomas, a onetime resident of Pasadena, was arrested there in the late 70s, officials said.
Thomas, the suspected “Westside Rapist” may be responsible for the deaths of as many as 25 elderly women in Los Angeles County in the 70s and 80s. An LAPD homicide detective dubbed him “prolific.”
We’ll have a story up later today. We’re also looking at Thomas’ connections in Pomona and Chino where he worked and lived, and his connection to at least on homicide in Claremont in 1986.
Booking sheet for John Floyd Thomas Jr. suspected West Side Rapist
LAPD’s Most Wanted
Here’s our database. And here’s a sample of what you will find:
Full Name | Sex | Race | Wanted For | |
Aghajanyan, Ana | Female | White | Grand theft | |
Akopyan, Vahagan | Male | White | Murder | |
Alvarado, Jeronimo | Male | Hispanic | Murder | |
Alvarez, Jaime | Male | Hispanic | Murder | |
Araiza, Gustavo | Male | Hispanic | Murder | |
Araujo, Fernando | Male | Hispanic | Attempted murder |