L.A. Now - Crime

L.A. County prosecutors to open 24-hour dog-fighting tip line and reward program

Los Angeles County prosecutors are teaming up with the American Humane Society to announce what they say is a first-of-its-kind dog-fighting tip line and reward program. The 24-hour tip line, staffed by people who speak English and Spanish, will allow...

Medical marijuana groups threaten to sue if L.A. bans sales

Two medical marijuana groups are threatening to sue the city of Los Angeles if the City Council passes an ordinance that bans the sale of medical marijuana. Two council committees are meeting today to try to finish drafting an ordinance...

Long Beach police shoot and wound man suspected of shooting another man

Long Beach police said they shot and wounded a man Sunday night that they suspected of shooting another man. Officers responded to a report of a shooting about 10:45 p.m. Sunday in the area of 19th Street and Caspian Avenue,...

Ventura County police shoot, kill armed man after lengthy standoff

Ventura County police fatally shot an armed man who had eluded them for more than 12 hours in an industrial park Sunday, department officials said. Daniel Chilson, 34, was wanted in connection with a domestic violence dispute in Simi Valley,...

Man said to be in stable condition after being shot in head

An argument between two men in South Los Angeles today ended with one shooting the other in the head at about 11:15 a.m., Los Angeles Police Department Officer Gregory Baek said. The 34-year-old victim was expected to survive, he said....

Two wounded by gunfire in Chatsworth

Two men were shot and wounded early this morning as police broke up a party in Chatsworth, authorities said. Los Angeles police officers at the Devonshire station responded to complaints about a party in the 22200 block of Chatsworth Street...

Two found shot to death in Santa Fe Springs

A man and a woman were found shot to death early this morning in a Santa Fe Springs parking lot, authorities said. Two Whittier police officers conducting a traffic stop on Norwalk Boulevard heard gunshots about 2 a.m. and began...

Mother, daughter slain in Perris home; second daughter found unharmed [Updated]

A mother and her 6-year-old daughter were found slain in their Perris home, but a 10-year-old girl was left unharmed, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. The discovery was made Saturday. The department said the victims were Maysam Barbar,...

Woman, 6-year-old daughter found dead inside home

A 43-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter were found dead Saturday inside their Perris home, authorities said. Investigators said they suspect that the woman's husband may have killed them. "We believe he is heading to Vegas," said Riverside County Sheriff's...

EMT convicted of raping intoxicated patient in Mission Viejo hospital

An emergency medical technician, or EMT, was convicted Friday of raping a female patient in a hospital room while she was unable to resist due to intoxication, authorities said. Jesse Karim Pena, 32, of Winchester was sentenced to three years...

Plant-munching aliens stopped at U.S.-Mexican border

U.S. customs and border protection officials not once but twice nabbed intruders furtively attempting to enter the country this week from Mexico. But the intruders weren’t illegal immigrants. They were pests known as pale-striped flea beetles, which chew holes and...

Appeals court criticizes Judge Real over accounting of $33.8-million trust

A federal appeals court today criticized U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real for his handling of $33.8 million entrusted to him for victims of late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos, calling his accounting “curious” and “filled with cryptic notations” that failed...

Four men arrested while digging tunnel across U.S.-Mexico border

Four men were arrested in Baja California while digging a tunnel across the U.S.-Mexico border, officials said today. The men were using heavy machinery to bore through the ground and had dug down more than 21 feet when the Baja...

L.A. County sheriff's deputies arrest 73-year-old tagging suspect [Updated]

Calling him the oldest tagging suspect they have ever captured, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies arrested a 73-year-old Los Angeles man for allegedly putting "slap tags" on the inside of Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses. For the last seven months, deputies...

Scores of O.C. teens picked up in 'scared straight' curfew sweep

Sixty-seven underage Orange County teens were rounded up in a massive countywide curfew sweep late Thursday in an effort by dozens of law enforcement agencies to scare the after-hours wanderers straight. The teens, who ranged in age from 13 to...

Coalition sues to halt Tejon Ranch development

A coalition of environmentalists, Native Americans and local residents has filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking the development of a 5,000-acre resort community on the Tejon Ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains. The suit, filed Thursday in Kern County Superior Court,...

Huntington Beach police seek groping man

Huntington Beach police are searching for a man who has followed women home from the downtown Main Street nightlife district and groped them, said Lt. Mike Reynolds. Four women have reported similar late-night incidents since August, and police are particularly...

Man shot outside Valley nightclub

A verbal dispute outside a restaurant and nightclub in Sherman Oaks early this morning turned into an altercation that left one person with a gunshot wound, police said. The incident took place around 1:45 a.m. outside Smiles at 13615 Ventura...

Mid-City slaying shows the difficulty of protecting domestic violence victims

The slaying of a Mid-City woman who had just filed a domestic violence complaint against her boyfriend underscores the difficulties of stopping an attacker determined to strike his or her victim, domestic violence experts said. “I’ve worked with offenders for...

Suspect is sought in Long Beach, Lakewood robberies

Police are looking for a man suspected in seven armed robberies in the last three weeks in Long Beach and Lakewood. In each of the robberies, the man entered the businesses armed with a shotgun and demanded money. He fled...

Cindy Crawford extorted over 'sexy' photo of daughter

Model Cindy Crawford and her husband were the victims of a bizarre extortion scheme involving a photo of her daughter, authorities said. According to court documents filed in Los Angeles, a German citizen was indicted after seeking to extort $100,000...

17 are arrested in Santa Barbara-based drug probe

An investigation that started with the search for a dead man's body in an illegal marijuana garden near Santa Barbara has, after six months, resulted in the arrests of 17 people on drug charges, authorities said. The missing man, Jesus...

U.S. moves to seize property housing an Islamic center

Federal authorities moved today to seize a Northern California property housing an Islamic center, alleging that the foundation that owns the land has engaged in illegal financial activities with the Iranian government. Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District...

Agents seize 1,300 pounds of marijuana at Ontario home

San Bernardino County narcotics agents seized 1,300 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $1 million and arrested four men during a raid at an Ontario home used by a Mexican drug cartel, authorities said. Agents from the San...

Slaying suspect broke through back window as police kept watch in front, sources say [Updated]

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating how a woman who had filed a domestic abuse report was slain in her Mid-City apartment late Wednesday night as officers were watching it while on the lookout for the suspect. According to...