Cities, counties no longer mellow about pot dispensaries

At least 120 cities and eight counties in California have banned medical pot shops, fearing crime and profiteering. Some cite the proliferation of dispensaries in L.A.

Drug data won't help Glendale improve its image

Report is based on 2005 numbers, but police say there is no evidence that the situation has changed.

Burbank police chief steps down

Tim Stehr, who became chief in 2007, did not give a reason for his resignation. Several current and former officers at the department are being investigated by the FBI.

L.A. City Council panel confirms Charlie Beck as police chief

Nominee promises to push former Chief William J. Bratton's reforms 'down into the patrol cars.'

Slaying suspect may be linked to two other deaths

Robert Louis Caballero is a suspect in the Sept. 29 killing of a Pomona man. L.A. County sheriffs found two other bodies Saturday based on information gathered after he was booked for evading arrest.

Runaway Toyota cases ignored

Safety investigators dismissed numerous reports of sudden acceleration, then said data were lacking.

Melody Ross touches the world

Friends and strangers respond to the tragic death of a Long Beach girl killed in gang crossfire.

'Bling ring' confession helped break celebrity burglary case

Court records show that a suspect charged in eight of the crimes gave police a statement implicating several others in the thefts at the homes of Hollywood's young celebrities.

Four arrested in fatal shooting at Santa Monica park

The slaying occurred in Virginia Avenue Park, next to a police substation and recreation center. Investigators are trying to learn if the killing was related to an earlier slaying in Venice.

Convicted killer is suspect in '97 double slaying in North Hollywood

L.A. police say DNA evidence ties a man serving time in state prison to the fatal stabbing of Nancy Boehm and her son, Shawn. Detectives allege that Nancy Boehm was involved in the sale of drugs.

LAPD reduces DNA testing backlog

L.A. controller's audit finds that untested evidence kits from rapes and sexual assaults have been cut by two-thirds since last fall.

California investigators cite more than two dozen suspected illegal contractors

Twenty-seven people were cited in an undercover sting operation for allegedly contracting without a license and illegal advertising. One suspect allegedly used someone else's license, authorities say.

VW bus stolen 35 years ago is found in shipping container bound for Europe

Customs agents inspecting a load bound for the Netherlands discovered a 1965 van that disappeared from a Spokane repair shop in 1974. CHP investigators are searching for the thieves.

Jaycee Dugard case elicits strong criticism from California prison watchdog

Parole officials supervising Dugard's alleged captor, Phillip Garrido, missed many opportunities to find her, Inspector General David R. Shaw says in a report.

Beck's style and strategy are notably different from Bratton's

The LAPD deputy chief picked to run the department says he is rooted in ties to rank-and-file officers rather than to the upper echelon, and plans to make changes from the bottom up.

Official describes Jaycee Dugard's first meeting with authorities

The kidnap victim identified herself as 'Alyssa' and tried to protect her alleged abductor, Phillip Garrido, when they were interviewed at the Concord, Calif., parole office Aug. 26, a report says.