Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

One woman tells the NBC4 I-Team it is time to consider the homeless, a group she was once a part of.

The last count found more than 75,000 people are homeless in Los Angeles County and many of them may not realize that they can register to vote, including at county shelters and online.

“The main thing I feel for any homeless person, is you have to learn to become vocal, you know? That’s why we are invisible, because a lot of us tend to be so embarrassed, we don’t want to reach out for help,” Justice Butler said. 

The 65-year-old former radio disc jockey says she found herself homeless at various times in her life, from her hometown of Houston to Los Angeles. She now lives in a studio apartment near McArthur Park.  

One thing that never waned was her desire to be part of the voting process. 

“It means a lot every year, because the first time I’m voting, and I’m teary-eyed because of the people before me, and I’ve really learned to connect to my history,” Butler said. “They died and fought for this right to vote.”

Butler registered to vote while at a Los Angeles city shelter.  

“When I went into the shelter on Skid Row, they gave me all this paperwork to fill out, and one of it was a voter registration card,” she said.  

Her story is not unique.  

California law allows an unhoused or homeless voter to participate in the election, said Dean Logan, who oversees the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.

“They can register to vote, they can list the cross street where they spend the most of their time, where they lay their head at night,” Logan said. 

“They can list the shelter where they’re staying for residents’ purposes that ensures they get the most localized ballot that’s effective for them,” he added. 

Logan tells the NBC4 I-Team, currently there are about 800 voters registered with an intersection address and then another approximately 5,500 voters who registered with a shelter, a church or similar place that provides services. 

Still there is the fact that every active registered voter in California receives a vote by mail ballot. 

“So you can list a mailing address. So a lot of those voters may list even a Department of Social Services address where they’re receiving information about their benefits or they can use a shelter address or a PO box to receive the voting materials,” Logan said.   

He says the fail-safe method remains the in-person vote centers, including mobile ones that the county sends to different neighborhoods.  

“We utilize that program to also go to homelessness encampments that are in North County or out in Long Beach or areas like that to ensure that we have access for those voters,” he said.  

The need goes beyond the homeless population.  

“This is a particular issue in this election because we know that there are a group of citizens who through the end of rent control after the pandemic have been displaced from their homes and may not receive their voting materials because they’re dealing with trying to find a new home or a new place to stay,” Logan said.  

Butler says she is battling a debilitating lung disease and is focused on issues that matter to her this election.  

“It’s about somebody having a plan for healthcare,” she said. 

Her message to others, no matter where they live is, is to vote.

“We got to go out to vote,” she said. “This time, we got to go out and vote, y’all, real.”

Vote by mail ballots have been mailed out.  Some of the dozens of in-person vote centers in Los Angeles County will open as soon as 11 days before election day and people can vote at any location, even registering on site. 

“This is just utterly disgusting,” the retired schoolteacher said about the nation’s largest cemetery, which is in Whittier.

Across the street in the Muslim section of Rose Hills, Dr. Yasamin Farhad also couldn’t find the graves of her grandparents, Asefa and Sakhi Farhad, until workers showed up at her insistence with shovels and started digging up dirt and grass. 

“These people had lives that deserved to be honored,” Farhad told the I-Team.

Both Farhad and Skibby asked the I-Team to accompany them to Rose Hills and investigate.

Using metal probes and shovels, the I-Team found graves in row after row that were completely covered by up by inches of dirt and overgrown grass.

“We’re finding hundreds, probably thousands of graves that have vanished,” remarked Jo Skibby.

What the I-Team found at Rose Hills appears to violate California’s cemetery maintenance standards, including that “grass shall be trimmed or mowed to a level where… individual graves can be seen.”

The I-Team has been investigating problems at cemeteries since 2019 when it found a similar problem at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Cemetery in North Hollywood. Row after row, graves were invisible because they were covered by layers of dirt and grass.

Both Pierce Brothers and Rose Hills are owned by the country’s largest operator of cemeteries, Service Corporation International or SCI.

Southern California Feb 6, 2019

Vanishing Graves: Relatives Can't Find the Graves of Dead Family Members

Homelessness May 9

Up in flames: Rising number of homeless fires threatens LA neighborhoods

The I-Team asked SCI to answer questions about the vanishing graves at Rose Hills, but the corporation declined.

“We are going to pass on the interview,” SCI said in an email to the I-Team, adding that it’s “diligently working to remedy the overgrowth problem in specific areas of the park.”

But Jo Skibby wanted answers from Rose Hills and its owner SCI. 

After she had workers uncover her uncle Winfield Snelson’s grave, the I-Team found vanishing graves on both sides of his plot.

On two occasions, Skibby said she spoke with Rose Hills maintenance workers, including a supervisor, who told her they had only a minimal staff to maintain and uncover graves when they get buried by dirt and grass.

“The workers told me … that they have insufficient people to do the job that they’re being asked to do,” Skibby said.

After the I-Team exposed buried headstones in 2019 at Pierce Brothers in Burbank, Ken Howard filed a complaint with the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau after finding graves around his aunt’s plot covered up. The state cited and fined Pierce Brothers $1,500, saying it “failed … to refill or reset sunken graves.”

This month the I-Team went back to Pierce Brothers and found all the graves were now visible and apparently well kept.

Now Yasamin Farhad and Jo Skibby are filing complaints with the state over problems at Rose Hills, hoping the state and the cemetery will take action to uncover all the vanishing graves.

“I’m going to follow this to the end,” Skibby said. “I will ensure whatever I can possibly do to make this right. I’m committed to doing.”

Lydia Truong said her 6-year-old son was diagnosed with autism in June and has a history of eloping or running off, a common behavior among autistic children, when they are out in public.

Her son is a student at Willow Glen Elementary. The school is located on a Main Street and the family said the walk from their parked vehicle to their son’s classroom has been challenging.

To mitigate the risk, the family brought in Maelene, a service dog they said they trained to run after their son and block his path, preventing him from straying too far.

On the first day of school, in early August, the family said their son held on to the dog’s harness as they walked him from their parked vehicle to class but were met with resistance from staff at San Jose’s Willow Glen Elementary School.

According to Lydia, the school’s vice principal asked them to remove the dog from campus, after asking if it was registered. Lydia said she pointed out that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), service dogs do not require registration or certification.

The Americans with Disabilities Act website states, service animals are dogs, of any breed and size, trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability. They can be trained by their owner and do not require certification.

Lydia said she immediately contacted the San Jose Unified School District and showed our Investigative Unit an email she said she sent on the first day of school asking for the district to put the denial and reason in writing. She said the district explained she was not to bring the dog back to school until management made a decision on it.

NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit also reached out to the district on multiple occasions but did not hear back for weeks.

Then in early September, the parents received a letter from San Jose Unified School District stating the dog did not meet the criteria for a service animal. It also noted the following:

• The “dog was observed playfully jumping around with students eager to pet it”–during the interaction in which the mother told the school official she was a service dog.
• As of [the time of the letter], based on information reviewed, “the district understands that your family dog is not trained to do work or perform tasks related to any disability [the student] may have. Instead, it appears your family dog provides emotional support, comfort, and companionship to [the student]”– and they invited the parent to provide any additional information she thought they should consider.
• The student had not been assessed by the district on his disability– in the follow up call asking for the dog to accompany the student, after his autism diagnosis, mother was asked if he had been accessed, and she declined.

The Truongs deny their dog ever jumped or was out of their control, but admit their child was not assessed by the school because they were informed the process could take months and they’re planning to change districts.

Jan Garrett, Deputy Director for the Pacific ADA Center at the Public Health Institute (PHI) and a former attorney with over 25 years of experience interpreting ADA law, said ADA law is commonly misinterpreted.

“As long as the handler gets them under control right away, then that is still a service animal,” she explained. After watching a cellphone video of Maelene performing the task the Truongs trained her to do, Garrett confirmed that Maelene’s task of preventing the child from running into the street qualifies her as a service dog, not just an emotional support animal.

Moreover, Garrett emphasized that schools cannot require an assessment of the child’s disability before allowing a service dog on campus. The only questions permissible, according to Garret and the ADA website, are whether the animal is needed due to a disability and what specific task it performs.

For now, the Truong family has chosen not to bring Maelene back to school, opting to hold their son closely as they walked near the busy street. They also say they are continuing to provide training for Maelene and hired a dog trainer to help.

Garrett advises families considering bringing a service dog to school to communicate with the district beforehand, even if not legally required. She says clarity about the dog’s role and capabilities can help avoid misunderstandings. She also urges school officials and anyone with ADA rights or responsibilities to contact their local ADA Center.

NBC Bay Area shared Garrett’s review with the San Jose School District and asked if they wished to comment, but did not hear back.

His request was granted, and he later pleaded not guilty to the charges. The criminal charges filed in July are the latest legal woes facing Mowlavi, who also goes by “Dr Laguna.”

I-Team Sep 20

OC plastic surgeon faces new accusation by medical board, felony battery charges by DA

Orange County Feb 29

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His license to practice is currently restricted by the Medical Board of California following the death of a patient in 2018.

In January 2023, Laguna Beach police raided his practice, removing boxes and computers from his surgical center.

In June 2023, The Orange County DA filed a civil suit alleging unlawful business practices and unlawful transactions made for the purpose of avoiding financial liability, noting before Mowlavi filed for bankruptcy, he “transferred approximately $13,000,000 of real estate and personal property assets to his spouse.”

That case is on hold until the criminal case is resolved.

Earlier this year a civil suit involving more than 30 former patients settled for $6 million, according to court records. 

The medical board has also filed a new accusation against Mowlavi involving the care and treatment of 4 patients. That hearing is set for March of next year.

Dr Mowlavi’s next court appearance on the criminal charges is scheduled for Dec. 11.

But now, the tents have been gone for five weeks with no signs of returning.

“It’s so much safer without the tents. People can now use the sidewalks again,” 70-year-old longtime resident Keith Johnson told the I-Team.

Homelessness Aug 28

Homeless encampments disappear just days before LA hosts a big event

Homelessness May 9

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As the I-Team reported in August, the city cleared away encampments on Hollywood Boulevard between Gower Street and Wilton Place, just days before it closed the street for thousands of bicyclists for the event called CicLAvia.

Often when the city clears an encampment, tents return sometimes within hours, but that’s not the case on that stretch of Hollywood Boulevard.

“We are now enforcing two laws in the area that haven’t really been enforced much in recent years,” an LAPD officer who asked not to be named told the I-Team.

Those laws are LA Municipal Code 56.11 and 41.18, which prohibit tents on sidewalks between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., and prohibit storing belongings on sidewalks in a way that prevents people from passing by.

Three officers told NBC4 that police had “educated” the unhoused in that part of Hollywood about the laws and told them if they tried to pitch their tents again in the area, they would be cited.

“The education efforts have worked and we haven’t needed to cite or arrest,” the officer said.

“I am absolutely in favor of the police enforcing these laws,” said resident Keith Johnson.

Residents said they plan to keep the heat on the city to keep their neighborhood free of tents.

“I want the tents gone, for good,” said realtor and resident Levi Freeman, who has told city officials his life had been threatened by people in the former encampments.

“If the tents come back, I’ll post about it on Instagram, and I’ll be calling and calling the LAPD,” said Johnson.

Enforcing ordinances 56.11 and 41.18 has at times been opposed by some homeless advocates and politicians.

The I-Team reached out to the spokesperson for LA City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, whose district includes that section of Hollywood Boulevard. We asked if Soto-Martinez agrees with the LAPD’s enforcement of the ordinances, but did not receive a reply or comment.

In a call placed to 911, you can hear her supervisor say, “I can’t get a blood pressure on her.”

Nursing Supervisor Karen Serna used her cell phone to record what was happening, telling the 911 operator she thought it was a seizure.

But it wasn’t just Nurse Serna who was present.

“There were two nurses, one medical assistant and two doctors, all City of Hope employees,” said Keith More, Andrea Morris’ attorney

One of those doctors later said under oath he was “not qualified to perform CPR.”

“They just didn’t react, and to me it’s the biggest mystery of the whole thing,” said Pam Bertino, Morris’ sister and now her conservator, as well. “Why would a medical professional that’s trained in CPR not react? It’s just really scary,.”

In a statement it the I-Team, City of Hope said “staff believed that Ms. Morris was having a seizure and began to record (her) while continuing to attend to her, believing that the video would help first responders evaluate and treat her once they arrived.”

According to court testimony, that video was never shared with first responders, and listening to the 911 call confirms no one performed CPR until more than 7 minutes later when her friend and fellow nurse Alma Harris saw what was happening and began chest compressions.

Investigation Apr 30

Workers' comp claim denied after nurse's coworkers fail to give CPR

Orange County Feb 29

$6 million settlement reached in lawsuit against popular Orange County plastic surgeon ‘Dr. Laguna'

City of Hope maintains, “Our staff reacted immediately, appropriately, and admirably to Ms. Morris’s unexpected medical event. They quickly alerted emergency personnel, and closely monitored and reported Ms. Morris’s condition. CPR was administered as soon as it was clinically appropriate.”

Morris was left quadriplegic as a result of the lack of oxygen to her brain. She now lives at home with her parents, both in their late 80s. Her family says they had to sell her home and liquidate her 401k to cover her medical expenses.

Even so, they say they are now facing a lien of more than $1 million from the recovery center where Morris had been receiving her care. 

All of this is, Morris’ family says, because her workers’ comp case was denied by City of Hope. 

“City of Hope’s position appears to be, of course we’re sympathetic, this is tragic, but if we paid every claim based on sympathy, rates would go to the roof. And the fact is, they have to prove that the injury relates to or rises out of the job, or it’s just not paying,” explained legal analyst Royal Oakes.

The family appealed the denial, and after 6 days of trial spread out over 18 weeks, the case is now in the hands of the judge.

Morris’ attorneys point to case law and precedence stating they must prove only a 1% link between her sudden cardiac arrest and her job. And they point out, she was working during the first wave of the Covid pandemic. 

“It’s very difficult to overcome that low one percent threshold,” said Oakes. “Front line workers were dying and being injured in droves during Covid. It was recognized as a very stressful job. And as a result, stress alone can justify paying a comp claim.”

“There was limited PPE equipment, limited masks, and she had a lot of anxiety a lot of stress about it,” explained Bertino. 

Morris’ attorney points to City of Hope’s posted job description before Covid which states: “Employee will work under stressful conditions.”

“There was a blockbuster element to this case,” said Oakes.

That surprising development came on day 5 of the 6-day trial concerning Nursing Supervisor Karen Serna and her own workers’ compensation claim, which was filed the same day as Morris’ sudden cardiac arrest.  

Morris’ family was stunned to learn that the claims adjuster, as noted in the judge’s trial summary, “didn’t have the names of the witnesses at the time she issued the denial,” and “there was no reconsideration of the denial after the names of the witnesses was received,” meaning she did not interview anyone present on May 14, 2020 before denying Morris’ claim.

The same adjuster did award a workers’ comp claim to Nursing Supervisor Serna, who recorded Morris’ near-death medical emergency. 

According to a now deleted LinkedIn profile, Serna changed jobs at City of Hope, moving from nursing supervisor at the Cancer Infusion Center in Upland, to nursing manager at City of Hope in Orange County.

Attorneys for City of Hope have filed a motion to have the claims adjuster’s testimony thrown out.

“When you look back and see how the adjuster behaved, how the decision was made, serious questions are being raised,” explained Oakes. “And that’s why the judge is going to have to sort through all of these questions and come to a conclusion as to whether or not this person who is now quadriplegic is in fact entitled to workers’ compensation money.”

It’s now been more than four years since Andrea Morris’ life changed forever. She requires round-the-clock care, and her sons in their 20s must also assist with caregiving.

For now, her physical and speech therapy are on hold. Her family says they simply cannot afford it.

“City of Hope has not done anything from a medical perspective,” said Bertino. “They have not helped us out in any way shape or form.”

In its statement to the I-Team, City of Hope reiterated, “Our hearts go out to her and her family. Ms. Morris is a valued colleague and friend to the staff at the City of Hope facility where she worked and who responded to her medical event. Our staff feels a deep sense of empathy and compassion for her and her situation.”

The judge is expected to reach her decision in this appeal soon. But that won’t mark the conclusion. Both sides will have the opportunity to appeal.

In the meantime, a medical malpractice lawsuit is on hold until there’s a resolution in the workers’ comp case.

In a statement, City of Hope wrote:

“We are very saddened by the medical event that Ms. Morris suffered in 2020, and our hearts go out to her and her family. Ms. Morris is a valued colleague and friend to the staff at the City of Hope facility where she worked and who responded to her medical event. Our team feels a deep sense of empathy and compassion for her and her situation. Our staff reacted immediately, appropriately, and admirably to Ms. Morris’s unexpected medical event. They quickly alerted emergency personnel, and closely monitored and reported Ms. Morris’s condition. CPR was administered as soon as it was clinically appropriate. Our staff also provided oxygen and employed a defibrillator. We are grateful for how they responded under these difficult circumstances.

Regarding the timing of providing CPR: CPR was administered as soon as it was clinically appropriate. Based on the staff’s assessment, Ms. Morris’s symptoms appeared to point to other possible medical conditions where immediately providing CPR would not have been the right clinical response, and in fact could have caused harm. Once our staff could not find a pulse, they began CPR and followed instructions from the 911 dispatcher. Regarding a member of the medical team recording part of Ms. Morris’s medical event: The staff believed that Ms. Morris was having a seizure and began to record Ms. Morris while continuing to attend to her, believing that the video would help first responders evaluate and treat her once they arrived.

Regarding the care available at City of Hope facilities: As one of the leading cancer research and treatment organizations in the country, the health and wellbeing of our patients and employees is our top priority. Every one of our care sites is prepared to provide patients with high quality medical care, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe work environment for our staff and clinical teams. We have the processes and expertise in place to respond to unexpected situations, including at our clinics that do not have emergency rooms.

Regarding City of Hope’s position on Ms. Morris’s workers’ compensation claim: While we empathize deeply with Ms. Morris and her family in light of Ms. Morris’s ongoing medical support needs, we do not believe that Ms. Morris’s medical event was caused by her employment with City of Hope.”

Now that stretch of Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Avenue, and another large homeless encampment down the street at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Avenue, is completely free of tents.

Homelessness May 9

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Homelessness Aug 22

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“I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think that they [the city of LA] probably did it because they knew all the eyes would be on this area,” says Levi Freeman, a realtor and Hollywood resident.

Freeman and his neighbors had been pleading with Mayor Karen Bass’ office and with their City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez to remove the encampments because they brought drug dealing, trash, and fires to the residential area, which is full of apartments and new condos.

“It really was horrible to be ignored again and again when we’re crying out about safety. Most of my calls and emails to our councilman were not answered,”  Freeman told the I-Team.

And then, three days before the city of LA closed off Hollywood Boulevard to thousands of families and cyclists for the bicycling event called “CicLAvia,” the tents were removed, including the encampment at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Avenue.

When the I-Team asked Councilman Soto-Martinez if the encampment was removed because of CicLAvia, he said, “We don’t know what happened to that encampment.”

But LAPD officers told the I-Team what happened: They say the councilman’s office requested a clean-up of the Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Avenue encampment, which took place two days before CicLAvia. 

And, the officers said they were allowed to tell the homeless there they could no longer pitch tents during the day in accordance with an LA ordinance.

But Councilman Soto-Martinez insisted to NBC4, “We don’t know what happened to those folks.” 

Those LAPD officers say some of the homeless moved into an abandoned house around the corner on Wilton Avenue, until police ordered them to leave.

Soto-Martinez said about 5,000 of the unhoused moved into a new transitional housing project in East Hollywood.

And down the street, that large encampment at Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Avenue was also dismantled the week before CicLAvia, as part of Mayor Karen Bass’ “Inside Safe” program.

Residents of the area tell the I-Team they hope the changes are permanent.

“Our sidewalks have become toilets and drug dens for the homeless,” says Hollywood resident Keith Johnson. “Businesses and community members like me are just pleased the encampments are gone.”

Other residents like Levi Freeman say they’ll continue to be speak out, even protest, if the tents return to their neighborhood.

“Everyone wants the same things. We want safety,” Freeman told NBC4.

Jennie Feria, the chief deputy director of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, tells the I-Team calls that once would end when it was determined there wasn’t a need for a child abuse or neglect investigation, now stay open.  

“We will go ahead and ask questions, screen it and if there is no concern for abuse or neglect, we will definitely connect them to the services through the Hotline to Helpline program,” Feria said.   

Hotline to Helpline started in 2018 and continues to expand its reach.  

Data obtained by the I-Team from the department shows an increase in these transfers, meaning calls that do not meet the standards for child abuse and neglect but do qualify for services in the community.   

More than 3,141 calls qualified for Helpline from January to May 2024, with 1,228 of families accepting services, according to the data obtained from the department.  

“An example could be that a child shows up to school hungry, and it may be impacting their education, and the teacher calls in because they’re a little bit concerned, and maybe mom’s working three jobs trying to put food on the table,” Feria said.  

Para Los Niños is an organization that has taken calls transferred from the department under the Hotline to Helpline program.

“It could be very, very simple as like, ‘We need concrete supports,’” said Jimmy Urizar, director of family services for PLN. “‘Can you help me find a place to help me pay for my utility bill? Can you help me with getting diapers?’ Sometimes it may be, ‘Can you help me find housing? Can you help me pay for rent,’” Urizar said.   

According to DCFS, families seeking support or resources should call 211 to be connected with help in their communities. 

Suspicions of abuse or neglect may be reported 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the county’s child protection hotline at 800-540-4000.

The NBC4 I-Team and Telemundo 52 Investiga have been looking into the increasing number of silicosis cases in California. Silicosis is a lung disease affecting stone-cutting workers working with engineered or artificial stone.

I-Team Jul 17

California bill on silicosis safety measures abandoned as cases rise

Health Jul 9

‘Emerging health concern.' Potentially deadly lung disease linked to engineered countertops

Cesar Gonzalez says he felt like the floor was being pulled from under him last December when he was diagnosed with silicosis.

“To be honest, I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry,” he said.

According to doctors, silicosis is caused by inhaling silica dust from working with artificial stone used in kitchen and bathroom countertops.

“You feel like you’re trapped in your own body,” Gonzalez said of his condition.

Cesar says he started working at a shop cutting engineered stone when he was 18. At 36, he is now connected to an oxygen tank and waiting for a lung transplant, while also trying to get worker’s compensation from his employer.

But when he tried to contact his employer, he said neither he nor his attorney could get an answer about coverage.

“We believe that there is no worker’s compensation insurance coverage, and as such, we will probably have to join a state agency to cover worker’s compensation benefits,” Gary Rodich, of Rodich Law, said.

Worker’s compensation insurance covers employee expenses resulting from accidents and illnesses caused in their places of employment. But Rodich has discovered some employers in the stone-cutting industry aren’t keeping up with their coverage, which he says is illegal. And, in other cases, the silicosis diagnosis is denied from coverage.

“We’ve got several of these cases, almost all of them have been denied by the worker’s compensation insurance carrier,” Rodich added.

These types of cases have now gotten the attention of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

“So we first noticed that there was some delays in granting worker’s comp rights to some of the silicosis patients through your reporting, actually,” Lara said.

Lara tells us our reporting prompted him to write a letter to the Worker’s Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau requesting a detailed study on silicosis claims across the state.

He wants answers to questions like the number of silicosis cases filed in the past 10 years and the average medical costs related to these claims. He says all employers in the state must offer some form of worker’s compensation coverage.

“Worker’s comp in California is critical to protect our workers. Everybody can access worker’s comp. Even our undocumented community is something we’re very proud of because we know that we keep all our workers healthy, it contributes to their own economic wellbeing, but it contributes to the overall wellbeing of our economy here in California,” Lara said.

The NBC4 I-Team reached out to Cesar’s most recent employer in North Hollywood, listed on a legal claim provided to us by his attorney, requesting information about worker’s compensation coverage. Despite several attempts, neither our partners at Telemundo 52 Investiga or the I-Team received a response.

We also searched on the state’s workers compensation insurance rating bureau webpage, where anyone can see if an employer has workers comp insurance. No information about the business came up.

Rodich says he wants more to be done on the state level – beyond the proposed study.

We have been tracking cases of silicosis related to engineered stone in California and more continue to be identified. As of Aug. 15, the state’s department of public health tells the I-Team there are 176 of these types of cases in the state. Sixty percent are Los Angeles County residents, according to our analysis of the data.

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

The victim, Sigal Engelberg, said she noticed an apparently unhoused person across the street at around 4:30 p.m. on June 24.

She attempted to avoid him as she thought the man looked “mentally unstable and deranged,” but he crossed the street, approached her from behind and attacked her. 

“He punched me on the cheek just from behind so hard that he knocked me to the ground,” Engelberg recounted, explaining the attack left her with scrapes and bleeding from her knee and arms. 

“I lost several layers of skin,” Engelberg said, as her dog was also knocked down and injured in the incident.

Two female passersby stopped to call police, but it took an hour for LAPD officers to arrive, Engelberg said. 

The LAPD confirmed the assault but added that shortly after responding to the incident, its officers were called away to respond to a stolen car report. Instead, West Hollywood Sheriff’s deputies, who happened to be passing by, stopped to assist and took a courtesy report for the LAPD.

Engelberg expressed her concern for more potential victims. 

“I was told by other people in the neighborhood that he has been attacking other women,” she said, adding that another woman in the area saw the same man throwing rocks at other women. 

“I’ve been living here for 10 years, and we never had anything like this happen before. I really hope that they can control the area more,” she said.

Engelberg, who described the man to be approximately 6 feet tall with a muscular build, urged anyone who sees him to contact the authorities immediately to prevent further attacks.

Officers from the LAPD Olympic Station were dispatched to the rear of the Getty House property “code-3,” with lights and sirens, around 10:15 p.m. after the men were observed on security video, the sources said.

Both were dressed in dark clothing, crouched behind hedges, while one of them was carrying a backpack, according to an initial report.

“Security at the Getty House observed two individuals lingering on the perimeter,” the LAPD confirmed Thursday. “They requested an Olympic unit to respond and inquire their business near the property.”

There was no crime and no nexus to the property, the police added.

“The two individuals were completely unrelated and asked to leave,” the LAPD said.

LAPD Chief Dominic Choi told the I-Team in April that security would be tightened at the home after a man described as a transient experiencing mental health difficulties, smashed a window and entered the Getty residence.

Ephraim Hunter, 29, was arrested April 21 and charged with vandalism and burglary. He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail while awaiting trial, according to court and jail records.

The Mayor’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Choi said in April that the Hunter burglary happened during a gap in security at the Getty House property when there were no guards or LAPD officers on site.

“There was a short gap there and that’s when that incident occurred,” Choi said. “That gap has been remedied. We’ve created an overlap.”

Law enforcement officials told the I-Team that the LAPD increased security following the April burglary, and at one point had officers working 12-hour shifts to provide a constant presence on the property, but it was unclear if the added measures were in place Tuesday night.

“One resident lost a bedroom because of the illegal fireworks,” said Dave Matthews, head of the Harbor Gateway Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a problem in this area that we know will get even worse.”

Residents of the Brentwood section of LA tell the I-Team a group of teenagers has been setting off illegal fireworks every week at the dog park at Veterans’ Barrington Park.

“It’s been going on for almost a year,” said one Brentwood resident who asked us not to use her name. “We’ve complained to the police, the councilman. Nobody has done anything.”

Across the LA area, NBC4 viewers tell the I-Team they’re hearing more and more illegal fireworks outside their houses in the months leading up to Independence Day, so we obtained and crunched data from the Los Angeles Fire Department for the two months leading up to the July 4 during the last three years.

The I-Team found there have been about 100 fires caused by illegal fireworks in LA, just in June and July in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“We could have a massive explosion here because of the illegal fireworks shot off every weekend,” Matthews said.

That keeps neighbors in the Harbor Gateway worried, and the businesses on the street where the crimes take place.

“We have mortar shells that come onto our property,” said Jacob, a sales manager at Grow More fertilizer company, just a few feet from where the fireworks are shot off.

“We have a lot of chemicals here that could go up in flames. Ethanol, acetic acid, potassium nitrate. These things have high flammability rates,” Jacob told the I-Team.

“If that fertilizer factory goes up, it’s going to take out everything else in this area,” Matthews told the I-Team.

Businesses and residents have been urged by community advocates to call the sheriff’s department when they see or hear the illegal fireworks.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told the I-Team, “Since June 1 Deputy Personnel have conducted [at least] 7 patrol checks in the area… No arrests or citations have been noted.”

The department said on at least two recent occasions “the Disturbing Parties were gone prior to their [the department’s] arrival.”

Some businesses threatened by the illegal fireworks think the state needs tougher penalties to discourage people from shooting off illegal fireworks.

“Because of this being just a misdemeanor only and a fine, the incentive for criminals isn’t really there to not do it,” said Jacob at Grow More.

The I-Team reached out to Councilman Tim McOsker and LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, since the Harbor Gateway area falls into their jurisdictions, to see what they plan to do about the illegal fireworks.

McOsker’s office said in a statement, “LAPD asks that the public report problem locations to the non-emergency AskLAPD hotline” and it said there will be increased deployment to respond to fireworks calls, especially during the days leading to and right after July 4th.”

Mitchell said in a statement, “My office will continue to work closely with our local Sheriff’s stations to address this issue in areas where it is a more prevalent problem, like East Gardena… I am encouraging our East Gardena residents to report the use of fireworks directly to our Compton Station Dispatch.”

According to police, two men got involved in a fistfight outside the airport around 9:25 a.m. May 31 stemming from a road rage incident. During that fight, they knocked the victim — described as an “elderly passenger” — to the ground, knocking her unconscious.

The woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition, but she has since recovered and was released from the hospital, police said.

Detectives identified one of the suspects as Jasan Givens Sr, 38, who is known to drive a silver Chevrolet sedan with visible damage to the front passenger door and California license plate 5UAL384.

Anyone with information regarding the assault was urged to contact LAPD Pacific LAX Detective Scott Danielson at 424-646-8303 or 310-646-2255. He can also be reached by email at 39038@lapd.online. Calls during non-business hours or weekends should be directed to 877-527-3247. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

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“It’s terrible. The system is horrible,” said Ira McGrady, the mother of the man murdered, Tyrone Tyars, after learning that the person accused of killing her son had been jailed about three months before the shooting.

“She was released. they didn’t look at it,” McGardy said of prosecutors’ decision not to pursue the most serious charge.

“They just threw it under the rug,” she said. “I’m not throwing this under the rug. That’s my son.”

Tyars, a father of two boys, was 33 years old when he was killed at the Machista bar on Pacific Avenue on January 20. Tyars’ wife and another man were also shot and survived.

LAPD reports obtained by the I-Team show the woman charged with Tyars’ murder, Estrella Rojas, was stopped on November 6, 2023 by Harbor Division gang enforcement officers, who suspected she and a companion might be armed.

The officers wrote that Rojas and another woman dropped the bags they were carrying in a planter when officers began to approach them, and guns were found when the bags were searched.

“The firearm recovered from Rojas’ backpack was a black Ruger American 9mm semi auto, and it had [one] live 9mm in the chamber and [16] live 9mm rounds in the magazine,” the report said.

The LAPD requested prosecutors file a charge of carrying a concealed firearm, which can be prosecuted as a felony if the person arrested is “an active participant in a criminal street gang,” according to the arrest documents and the California Penal Code.

The arrest reports said Rojas was an admitted member of a San Pedro street gang, had the gang’s tattoos on her body, and had previously “self admitted” membership earlier in 2023.

The LA County District Attorney’s Office, in its memo declining charges, listed Rojas as a gang member and named the gang she allegedly belongs to but referred the case to the LA City Attorney for a misdemeanor charge.

“Pursuant to our longstanding practice as codified in Penal Code Section 17(b) the matter was referred to the LA City Attorney because at the time of presentation she did not have a criminal history,” the DA’s office explained in an emailed statement Thursday.

“Our hearts are with the family of Mr. Tyrone Tyar whose life was taken during a San Pedro shooting in January 2024 that also injured several others,” the statement said.

“Our office is working to hold Estrella Rojas accountable for her alleged actions in this horrific act of violence. We are committed to ensuring that Mr. Tyar’s family and the victims receive justice,” it said.

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Court records show Rojas pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor gun charge on Nov. 8 and was sentenced to one year of probation, along with the three days she’d already spent in jail.

LA Superior Court Judge Debra A. Cole revoked Rojas’ probation in early March after Rojas was arrested by LAPD South Bureau Homicide detectives on suspicion of the January bar shooting.

“I don’t understand this,” McGrady said of the decisions that led to Rojas being released after the gun arrest.

“My son has two children, two sons, and I want justice for them,” she said.

“It’s not fair. It’s not right. I am terrified in my heart. I’m so hurt. I’m broke into pieces. It’s not fair.”

Rojas is awaiting trial on one count of murder with a firearm and two counts of attempted murder with a firearm for the shooting at the bar.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Rojas’ attorney at the LA County Alternate Public Defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case or the prior arrest.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI have arrested and charged a man with allegedly placing bets and coordinating his betting with former NBA player Jontay Porter who was kicked out of the league earlier this year, according to NBA league records and a copy of the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in Brooklyn.

Long Phi Pham, aka “Bruce”, 38 and from Brooklyn, was arrested on Monday at JFK airport after he allegedly booked a one way ticket to Australia just a day after federal investigators tried to interview him and was in federal court this afternoon where he was ordered detained, the FBI said. He faces charges of wire fraud. Three other people allegedly involved in the scheme remain at large according to federal prosecutors.

The criminal complaint against Pham does not identify the NBA player by name but the charging documents say that the player only played 4 minutes on Jan. 22 with three rebounds and one assist – statistics that match Porter’s stats for the day — and that he had reaggravated an eye injury which Porter also had claimed. A description of a NBA player banned and why they were banned by the NBA also appears in the complaint and it matches Porter.

Porter has not been charged in this complaint. He has been permanently banned by the NBA.

Representatives for Porter did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether Pham had retained an attorney. No contact information for him could be found.

The charging documents say that Porter “had amassed significant gambling debts” to Pham and others. The document says that one of the people still at large encouraged Porter to clear the debts by “withdrawing from certain games prematurely to ensure that under prop bets on [Porter’s] performance were successful.

“Video footage of the January 26 Game neither shows any contact with Player 1’s eyes, nor any apparent reaggravation of the eye injury” and he “did not subsequently complain to team officials about the purported eye injury after the January 26 Game and played in his team’s next game two days later”, the complaint says.

The defendants then allegedly placed bets on the game netting them profits of over $100,000.

The scheme allegedly played out again in March of this year when Pham and the others all met at an unnamed casino in Atlantic City to place bets on Porter because Porter told them over Telegram that he would remove himself from the game on March 20 early, saying he was ill, the documents say.

Surveillance photos in the complaint allegedly show the defendants at the casino. The documents say that Porter would receive a percentage of the profits for participating in the scheme.

When Pham was arrested at JFK, the FBI says he had “approximately $12,000 in cash; two cashier’s checks totaling $80,000; a series of betting slips; and three cellular phones.”

If convicted, the maximum sentence for Pham is 20 years in jail. Attorney information was not immediately available.

“I was woken up around 6 a.m. with sirens blaring and police on megaphones,” Fernando Valentin told NBC4.

A boarded-up home on Big Dalton Avenue was the subject of a federal raid on Tuesday. Agents believed the home was where Ruben Baca Lopez, who is wanted on suspicion of robbing mail carriers at gunpoint, had taken shelter.

“This suspect did rob our mail carriers while they were doing their job while they were delivering the mail,” said Marjan Barrigan Husted of the United States Postel Inspection Service. “So, we take it very seriously to protect our letter carriers.”

Two USPS workers were robbed in separate incidents a month apart – on April 6 and May 6. It is unclear what exactly the robber got away with.

“Mail carriers are targets sometimes because of what they are carrying,” Husted said. “It could be personal items like their cell phone or their wallet but more than likely it’s checks or something valuable in the mail that these criminals are going after.”

Witnesses told NBC4 they’ve seen the suspect at that home in the past.

Despite the violence, the Postal Inspection Service said mail robberies have decreased by 21% in the past year. In the meantime, it is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that will lead to the arrest of Lopez.

“He does go all over LA County,” Husted said. “And what we do know is that he’s often on foot when he approaches mail carriers. He doesn’t have his own vehicle. He uses rideshare so we would urge anyone who works for rideshare to keep and eye out.”

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

But all that changed May 14, 2020 when Morris arrived to work at the City of Hope cancer infusion center in Upland.

Court records show she told her supervisor, also a nurse, that she didn’t feel well and worried she might have Covid-19, a constant concern in those early months of the global pandemic.

“She was really worried about her kids and getting it from a patient or another medical professional and then giving it to one of her children,” explained Pam Bertino, Morris’ sister. “A lot of anxiety and stress, just all the time.”

The symptoms that Morris worried were Covid-related turned out to be the first signs of sudden cardiac arrest. 

Nursing supervisor Karen Serna recorded Morris’ medical emergency on her cellphone as she called 911. Both recordings were shared with the I-Team by Morris’ attorney .

“I can’t get a blood pressure on her. She is completely moaning right now. It looks like she is having a seizure,” Serna told the 911 operator.

Serna mistakenly and repeatedly referred to what was happening as a seizure, but she did not take a blood pressure reading, even manually.

“She’s not moving at all,” Serna told 911. The operator asked, “She’s not breathing?” Serna replied, “No.”

In an ongoing workers’ compensation trial, Serna was asked by Morris’ attorney, “Once you couldn’t get a reading of her blood pressure, it’s a fact you did not start CPR.”

“Correct,” said Serna.

“This was a missed opportunity to save her, wasn’t it?” the attorney asked.

Serna responded, “I don’t agree with that statement.”

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Attorney Keith More also questioned how videotaping helped in that emergency situation, if it helped Morris with her breathing or getting oxygen to her brain. Serna said no.

“It’s really scary to think that your boss would take a videotape of you essentially going into cardiac arrest and having agonal breathing instead of reacting and giving CPR,” Bertino said.

More pointed to repeated failures to properly assess Morris and to react.

“There were six different chances she had to recognize, do something, but she did nothing,” More said. 

And he said witness testimony shows it wasn’t just Morris’ supervisor, Serna, who was present.

“There were two nurses, one medical assistant and two doctors. All City of Hope employees,” he said.

One of those doctors later said under oath he was not qualified to perform CPR.

“There was a defibrillator very close by, oxygen very close by and they just didn’t react,” Morris’ sister said. “It’s the biggest mystery of the whole thing. She was dying, her lips turned blue and then purple.”

In court testimony, Morris’ friend and fellow nurse Alma Harris said it wasn’t until she arrived on scene that Morris finally received oxygen and chest compressions, but that was more than 7 minutes after that 9-1-1 call began.

Eight months in the hospital followed. Morris’ family said they were forced to sell her home and liquidate her 401k to help pay for her medical expenses. She now lives with her parents who are in their 80s. Her two sons also help with caregiving.

“There’s this woman that was an athlete, she’s lost her livelihood, she’s lost herself as she knew it,” Bertino said.

Morris now requires 24/7 care, which costs more than $200,000 a year. She is unable to take a sip of water on her own.  During a break in the trial, she talked about seeing Serna’s video for the first time of her sudden cardiac arrest and her boss’ response.

“I didn’t like it,” Morris said. “I was so sad.”

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Harris, who stepped in to save Morris’ life, testified in trial that she felt she “couldn’t say the truth” about what happened when questioned during a deposition. She said an attorney representing the City of Hope hit her chair to silence her. Harris told the judge she thought that attorney was going to hit her.

Harris still works at City of Hope and felt nervous speaking on camera, but she told the I-Team, “all health care workers should be prepared for basic life support.”

Almost 4 years have passed since Morris’ catastrophic, near-death experience that left her quadriplegic. Her sister believes her sudden cardiac arrest was brought on by the immense stress of being a front-line worker during Covid. Prior to the pandemic, the published job description for Morris’ nursing position states “employee will work under stressful conditions.”

Her family is appalled by the denial of her workers comp claim and wants City of Hope to take responsibility for what happened.

“This happened on your watch, you know you have insurance,” said Bertino. “Please help this woman that helped your patients, that helped your business.”

The I-Team reached out to City of Hope which said, “As this is regarding pending litigation, we will not have a comment.”

The day before this story was scheduled to air, City of Hope provided this statement: “We are deeply saddened by the serious medical event Ms. Morris suffered in 2020, and our hearts go out to her and her family. The health and wellness of our employees and all those we serve is City of Hope’s top priority, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe work environment for our staff and clinical teams. We cannot comment specifically on this ongoing case.”

The trial is ongoing. Because trial dates are not consecutive in workers compensation cases, it could be several months before testimony is complete. The attorneys for City of Hope have not yet called their witnesses.

Long Beach police responded at approximately 8:35 p.m. Friday to a residence in the 6800 block of Cerritos Avenue regarding a person with a gun. Upon their arrival, they learned an armed home invasion robbery was in progress and the suspect was still in the yard of the house, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

Officers surrounded the home and made contact with the man, who they saw was armed with a firearm. As the officers at the scene engaged in verbal de-escalation for over an hour with the suspect, a SWAT team was called to the scene and was preparing to deploy when the shooting occurred, the department said.

The suspect was struck once in the upper body and officers immediately rendered aid to him. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics treated the suspect at the scene and subsequently took him to a hospital, where he died from his injuries, authorities said.

Police said a replica gun was recovered at the scene and no officers were injured in the shooting.

“Following the (shooting), DOJ’s California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB 1506 mandates,” Bonta’s office said. “Upon completion of the investigation, it will be turned over to DOJ’s Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review.”

The Long Beach Police Department said officers responded to a report of a shooting Tuesday evening near the intersection of Lewis Avenue and 11^th Street. There, a 17-year-old girl was found with a gunshot wound to her upper body.

Responding officers immediately tended to the teen’s wound before she was taken to a nearby hospital. Despite life-saving efforts, the girl died of her injuries on Saturday, according to police.

Due to the nature of the girl’s injury, homicide detectives picked up the case. A preliminary investigation found the victim was walking in the area when she was approached by the gunman and shot. Details on what led up to the shooting were not immediately clear.

A description of the gunman was not immediately available. The Long Beach Police Department has not announced any arrests in connection with the shooting.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear or Chasen Contreras at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

The document, obtained by the NBCLA I-Team, details 36 new cases for violations including assault and battery on a peace officer. The document states there were 13 assaults on detention officers by youth during that time period.    

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The Department also writes “the highest number of new filings involved youth or young adults housed at [Los Padrinos] and resulted from youth-on-youth assaults, known as ‘pack outs.’ This type of assault involves multiple youth assaulting a single youth.”  

Earlier this week, the Probation Department announced the arrest of a probation officer for alleged sexual activity with a young person.  

The Probation Department says that incident happened inside the Dorothy Kirby facility in Commerce. It involved a female officer accused of having a sexual relationship with a young man, and the case remains under investigation, according to the department.  

Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and Barry J Nidorf Secure Youth Treatment Facility, which houses a number of youth facing more serious charges, were both found unsuitable last month by the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) for not meeting required standards.  

The BSCC gave the Probation Department 60 days to correct outstanding issues. That date is April 16. A spokesperson for the BSCC tells the I-Team, “Should the facilities remain out of compliance after the 60-day period, the county will be required to transfer youth to an appropriate facility.”  

Late Wednesday, the Probation Department sent NBCLA a four-page response, outlining changes it’s making to facilities: 

“The Probation Department is committed to full implementation of any corrective actions that strengthens and improves the operations of our juvenile facilities.    

Some actions have already been taken and other efforts are underway

·          On November 8, 2023, the Probation Department installed razor wire on the entire west perimeter wall and about a quarter of the northwest perimeter wall. The Department installed razor wire on the remaining facility walls on December 11, 2023.  

·          The Probation Department referred at least one staff member to its Internal Affairs Bureau to investigate policy violations.  

·          LPJH supervisors plan to facilitate periodic classification reviews based on highlighted criteria, such as relative sophistication (social maturity and gang involvement), criminal sophistication, special handling codes (escape, suicidal, dangerous, etc.), and public safety considerations, to consider the level of supervision of the youths.  

To address the staffing concerns raised in the report, the Department is implementing the following emergency staffing changes:  

·          Deputy Probation Officers assigned to field operations will be reassigned to Barry J. Nidorf or Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in 60-day increments.  

·          Staff will be reassigned in groups of 50, at a minimum, to Barry J. Nidorf and 200, at a minimum to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.  

·          Deployed staff will attend all necessary and required trainings prior to their deployment.  

In addition, the Department will reassign sworn managers to both facilities as follows:  

·          Directors and Assistant Directors will be reassigned to Barry J. Nidorf and Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall for a period of 90 days to assist with BSCC Title 15 compliance, facility operations and support staff assigned to the living units.  

·          Managers will attend all necessary and required training prior to deployment.  

Additional Efforts to Improve the Operations  

·          Board Motion of January 9, 2024 – Restructure the Department’ Internal Affairs Bureau by creating a new, distinct, unrepresented internal affairs classification.    

·          Review existing job duties and requirements which may result in changes to and/or consolidation of classifications to professionalize our sworn positions.   

Additional Efforts to Enhance Security  

The Department continues to implement its plans to address contraband concerns in the facility. The Department is collaborating with outside agencies that have technology and capacity to assist in investigations of electronic devices. Over a dozen Safety and Security Specialist were deployed the first week of December and have been present with K9 to monitor visiting each weekend. In addition, these security specialists conduct exterior perimeter checks.   

Additional measures to enhance safety include:  

·         Tek84 body scanners have been procured and have a three-week estimated time of delivery and installation. Tek84 body scanners detect both metallic and nonmetallic threats, including weapons, drugs, cell phones and other contraband. Screens from below the feet to above the head revealing items under the clothing and within the body.  

·         Effective September 2023, Special Enforcement Operations and contracted canine services are scheduled for seven days a week coverage, which includes canine presence at the entrance each Saturday and Sunday during visiting.  

·         Mandating daily living unit inspections to ensure cameras are unobstructed.  

·         A facility improvement plan that included lighting, cameras, electronic access points, and key control was discussed and a walk-thru completed with Internal Services Division.  

·         MailSecur® contraband detection technology was deployed to Los Padrinos and Barry J. Nidorf Treatment Center in December. MailSecur® uses safe T-rays to provide a real-time 3D view of contents concealed in letters, parcels, and other items – without opening them. It is ideally suited for corrections to detect drugs and contraband in inmate mail. MailSecur® is the only screening solution that can effectively detect all forms of drugs and contraband – the smallest quantity of liquids, powders, drugs, electronics, drug-laced papers, suboxone, sharps, and other suspicious items.   

·         High definition Videoscope Cameras were procured by CSSO and distributed to Los Padrinos, Barry J. Nidorf, and East Camps to assist with contraband searches and detection.  

Use of Pepper Spray  

On July 8, 2021, the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission (POC) requested that the Department provide a written report to the POC on the progress of implementing the elimination of the use of oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray, including a timeline with dates for key interim benchmarks and steps toward elimination, and a specific target date when the use of OC spray will be eliminated. As of this date, the plan and timeline for eliminating OC have not been completed, as we assess how to address and mitigate ongoing incidents of youth-on-youth assaults, physical altercations between youth, incidents of riots and escape attempts, and assaults against staff.  

The Probation Department is committed to downscaling and ultimately eliminating the use of OC, and a plan without a definitive elimination date will be provided to the POC no later than April 1, 2024. Specific timelines will be identified as the facility culture of violence previously noted subsides through staff training, youth education, and influence through reimagined strategies of effective youth programming and youth supervision, care, and safe and secure custody management.   

The Department continues to collaborate with the California Department of Justice court appointment monitor to develop an updated OC spray phase out strategy.    

The Creation of the Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force  

The opioid fentanyl epidemic has affected so many in a variety of detrimental ways, and we want to do our part as public servants to put a stop to it. Through the formation of our Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force, we are dedicated to ensuring that those who contribute to the distribution of illegal substances to our youth within the detention facilities are held accountable.   

The Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force is a crucial stride in our collective efforts to create a secure environment. Our goal is to provide a safe, therapeutic, and rehabilitative environment that prepares the youth for a successful transition back into the community as responsible and productive citizens.  

The Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force is run out of the Probation Department and staffed with members from different agencies who are experts in ensuring facility security, investigating, enforcement, and prosecution. The mission of the Task Force includes:  

·          Investigating and prosecuting violations of the law in response to incidents of trafficking illegal contraband into youth detention facilities.  

·          Combating unlawful efforts to undermine the safety of detained youth and maintain a safe and secure environment.  

·          Targeting outreach and prevention efforts to youth and parents, caregivers, and guardians to provide education about the risk of vaping, use of illegal drugs and what rises to the level of a contraband/crime in facilities.  

The Task Force is in direct response to Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa’s identifying strategies for improving safety at our juvenile facilities. In addition to the task force, the Department is also exploring ways to develop stronger partnerships between staff, parents, support networks, and our youth to keep our facilities safe and free from drugs.  

The establishment of the Juvenile Safety and Welfare Task Force underscores the department’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment within its juvenile institutions. The task force will support the department’s efforts to prevent contraband from entering the facilities, ensuring the well-being of youth, staff, and visitors.  

Employee Misconduct  

Since Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa’s appointment, he’s worked to ensure that the Probation Department shares information we can legally share publicly because it is an important step forward in his commitment to bring new leadership, transparency, and accountability to this department.    

The Chief is committed to providing a safe and secure environment that gives the youth committed to our care a clear path to rehabilitation. He is actively identifying and removing those who do not align with our core values and standards to eliminate the negative influences within our organization.  

In instances where it makes sense and to maintain the integrity of investigations involving personnel, the Department’s Internal Affairs will not be involved in the investigation.   

In addition, we’ve referred cases where warranted, to the LA County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney.  

The actions of a few probation officers do not define the integrity and dedication of the entire LA County probation community. The vast majority of probation officers uphold the highest standards of professionalism, compassion, and ethical conduct in their daily responsibilities. As we work to address misconduct, we remain focused on supporting and acknowledging the commitment of the overwhelming majority who diligently serve our youth and their communities with integrity and compassion.”  

But three months later, some of those promises remain unfulfilled, and thousands of homeless RVs still monopolize entire blocks across the city, like in the Harbor Gateway area in the southern tip of LA.

“Everyone’s afraid to come into the areas where the RVs are because we don’t know what’s in the RVs,” said Dave Matthews, a community activist and the head of the Harbor Gateway Chamber of Commerce.

“When is the city going to clear away these RVs?” Matthews told the I-Team.

“People are afraid to walk by these RVs,” said Lisa Pascoe, one of 300 employees at a furniture company near Harbor City where RVs line the street near the entrance to her office.

“[The workers] tend to go into the middle of the street because they’re not comfortable walking down in between the RVs and the gates of the building,” Pascoe told the I-Team.

Across LA, the I-Team has documented how some homeless RVs dump raw sewage into the streets, how trash piles up around them, and how some RVs go up in flames, creating a fire hazard for residential neighborhoods.

In November 2023, the I-Team began asking Mayor Bass if she had plans to dismantle RV encampments, as her “Inside Safe” program had done with some tent encampments.

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When “Inside Safe” has dismantled tent encampments, outreach workers offer services and motel rooms to those living in the tents.

“The RV situation is a lot more complicated,” Mayor Bass told the I-Team. “The city doesn’t have the ability to tow the RVs… they actually have only one tow truck,” Bass added.

But the day before the I-Team was going to air a report in early December on the growing RV problem, the city somehow assembled numerous tow trucks and dismantled an encampment with over 50 RVs on Forest Lawn Drive in the San Fernando Valley.

The Mayor’s office told NBC4 that in 2024 it would dismantle other “RV encampments through Inside Safe… in South Los Angeles, on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley” … starting “in February [with an RV encampment] in the Harbor City area.”

But February came and went, and not a single RV encampment has been cleared since last December as promised.

Some homeless people who live in RVs say they’d like the city to dismantle their encampment and offer them alternate housing and services.

“I would much rather be in a motel or an apartment than in an RV,” said Chris, who has lived in an RV on a street near Harbor City since he lost his wife and mother last year and then lost his job.

“I would welcome any services to help get my life back together. Any kind of resources to get back up on my feet,” Chris told the I-Team.

Mayor Bass made another promise to tackle the RV problem that is so far unfulfilled: Developing “safe parking lots” where RVs can park off city streets with 24 hour security and bathrooms.

“We’re working on that right now,” Bass told the I-Team in November 2023.

In January, the Mayor’s office told NBC4 it was “nearly finished with an evaluation of publicly owned land” to create RV “safe parking lots.”

The I-Team asked for a list of those locations, but still hasn’t received it.

As the NBC4 I-Team has been reporting, the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) cleared the way last summer for the hall to re-open when it closed down two other locations.  

That move has had its challenges, including a lockdown only days after youth were transferred to Los Padrinos last July.

Since then, there have been multiple inspections — the most recent this month — that found some items were not meeting required standards like lack of staffing and recreational programs, safety checks, and room confinement, according to the BSCC. 

“We are unable to note reasons for youth being put in their rooms or for how long they are put in there, “ Alison Ganter, BSCC staff member. 

Members from the Los Angeles County Probation Department testified about changes they have made.   

“For use of force, our staff has received the required training, and any deployed staff that have not completed that training have been removed from the deployment, from being deployed to the units,” Kimberly Epps, LA County Probation Department, said. 

The Probation Department also requested a new six-month plan to make future changes at Los Padrinos.  

Ultimately, the BSCC found Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall unsuitable. 

The Barry J. Nidorf Secure Youth Treatment Facility in Sylmar, which closed as a juvenile hall, is now housing about 50 young people, more serious offenders. 

The board also found Nidorf unsuitable, citing certain items including low staffing and use of force. 

The BSCC said in the meeting that they will give the Probation Department 60 days notice to either make all the changes necessary to be in compliance or vacate the locations unless all violations are fixed. 

NBC4 reached out to the Probation Department and the County for a response to the Board’s decision late this afternoon.  

LA County said in a statement: 

“We understand and share the frustration expressed by the Board of State and Community Corrections about the longstanding issues at Barry J. Nidorf and Los Padrinos juvenile halls. Our highest priorities are ensuring the safety of our communities and the young people in our care. Unfortunately, today’s decision places the County in the position of continuing to conduct triage rather than to press forward with the reforms currently underway to achieve lasting change. We intend to use the 60-day regulatory window to take all necessary steps to meet the state’s requirements. We had hoped to have the BSCC’s agreement on a joint strike force that could provide clarity around goals and how outcomes are measured. Though that request was rejected, we will continue to push the Probation Department to use every tool at its disposal to avoid closure, which we believe will only make the current situation more challenging for our youth in detention.” 

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Los Padrinos, said in a statement: 

“It is unfortunate that the Probation Department made excuses at today’s BSCC meeting instead of owning up to the unacceptable conditions at two of our probation facilities. The BSCC wants to see real change and I expect the same. Multiple probation chiefs have been unable to fix the problems facing the department. I am concerned about the future of the Probation Department and whether they are capable of the reform that we all know needs to happen.” 

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis also responded with a statement: 

“Today’s BSCC ruling finding both Barry J. Nidorf and Los Padrinos juvenile halls out of compliance and unsuitable for incarcerated youth means that we don’t need to just do better, but immediate actions need to take place.  The cycle of Probation juvenile facilities continuing to be in and out of compliance and being found unsuitable needs to end. I recognize that this is a long and deep-seated issue directly connected to staff, who have long-held leadership positions, who have abused their authority, turned a blind eye, and who created a culture that has enabled rank-and-file staff to operate with impunity, no accountability, and a complete disregard for regulations, policies, and standards.  In fact, since October of 2023, under the new leadership of Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa, over 500 disciplinary actions were taken for varying reasons, against staff, including no-shows and call-outs.  Additionally, union representatives need to steer away from defending and supporting staff who are engaging in abuse, negligence, and dereliction of duty to working together with the new Probation leadership and the Board of Supervisors if we are going to implement a plan toward progress and compliance.” 

The Probation Oversight Commission said partially in a statement:

“The findings of unsuitability at Barry J. Nidorf SYTF and Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall are devastating for the youth and staff in these facilities who deserve much more from us than the minimum legal standards. It’s crucial that we finally get on a path to using incarceration only when necessary and offering youth who are incarcerated a therapeutic, homelike, rehabilitative environment. That is not only my opinion, but also the state law,” said Eduardo Mundo, Chair of the POC.

LA County Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa responded partially with the following statement:

“As the Chief of LA County’s Probation Department, I want to personally reassure family members and the community that despite the challenges we are facing, the care and well-being of their loved one remains our top priority.

“I understand that having a family member in our custody can be a distressing experience, and we want to assure you that we are committed to providing the best possible care and support for them. Our team of dedicated professionals is working tirelessly to keep them safe and to ensure that they receive the necessary guidance, resources, and services to help them navigate this difficult period in their lives.”

Law enforcement received a call of a crash involving a vehicle and pedestrians around 10:30 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Marine Avenue and Budlong Avenue. There, police officers found two pedestrians on the road.

The child died at the scene, and the woman was taken to a nearby hospital, according to the Gardena Police Department. Candles, flowers and a teddy bear were placed near the deadly crash site as the victims’ family and friends processed the tragedy.

A relative identified the the deceased as Patrick Mateo Chacon and female victim as Emma Chacon, who was hospitalized with a broken leg.

Police believed the driver behind the wheel of a dark-colored SUV turned north on Budlong Avenue when the car hit the pedestrians at the crosswalk before taking off in the same direction.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call Investigator Jose Zamudio at 310-217-6189 or Sergeant Daniel Guzzo at 310-217-6122.

There are ways to move forward while also paying attention to what the NBC4 I-Team has been reporting for months- an insurance climate in California that is tough with people being dropped from their policies.   

“What I’m telling everyone to do is stay present, stay safe. And there’s a handful of things that they can do, even right now, if they haven’t, to try and prepare as much as they can,” Karl Susman, Susman Insurance, says.   

Susman is an insurance professional with three decades under his belt. If you haven’t done so already, he says to turn off all sprinklers, park your car — if you can — in your garage or under a carport, and keep cell phones charged at all times.  

But if the damage is already done, Susman says you can file a claim with your insurance provider.  

“So what I would expect is people to potentially be on hold. If you’re filing a claim on the phone, try and file it online. If you can, be sure you get a claim number and be prepared potentially to have to wait a little bit, because again, there’s a lot of claims that are coming in.”

He also says most homeowners and renter’s insurance providers will take into account the magnitude of these recent storms  

“You’ve probably heard me say, ‘Don’t put in the small claims. Don’t put in the small claims.’ When you have an event like this, the insurance industry looks at this as what they call a ‘cat event,’ which stands for catastrophe. And when a catastrophe event happens, they don’t tend to take that and consider that a claim against your record. Let’s put it that way. Right now, every insurance carrier has their own definition of what they decide is a cat event or not. I think it’s a pretty safe bet that they’re all going to look at this as a cat event,” Susman said.   

Which means you may not get dinged on your policy or have your premiums skyrocket. But even if you have major damage, it may not be covered, including mudslides and debris flows.  

According to the California Department of Insurance,  “…HO policies generally exclude damages caused by mudflow, mudslide, debris flow, landslide, or other similar events…”  

The department says, if you don’t think you are covered by your homeowners policy, look for special financial assistance programs from local or state governments.  

As for damage to cars, this is Susman advice.

“You would again want to file a claim with your insurance company. This would fall under what’s called a comprehensive claim. So this is a claim that is going to have a deductible usually, and they’re going to either repair the vehicle based on the damage or they’re going to replace it or give you the value of the vehicle more likely, depending on the type of policy that you have.” 

If you do have damage, Susman says document everything. Walk around with your phone and take pictures and videos so that you have them. 

Even if you do not have any issues, he says, take those pics and videos. That way if you ever have to file a claim, you can have a before and after look.  

He adds if you do have damage, be proactive until an adjuster can come and assess everything. Do not start fixing things but do what is practical to avoid additional damage. 

The California Department of Insurance says mudflows could be covered if an insurance company looks at the particular cause of the event and the losses sustained, but it’s up to the insurer to make that decision.  

Consider, too, there are separate policies for flooding, for example. Water damage and flooding are not the same thing. How the water came into your home — this becomes another discussion with your broker or insurance agent.   

Susman says other circumstances, like food spoilage due to a power outage, could be covered, but it depends on what caused the food to spoil. So, it has to be a covered loss not simply you have lost power. He gives the example: let’s say you have a roof leak, then power goes out. You should be able to file for that. 

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

Lin, 80, tells the NBC4 I-Team she lost more than $700,000, her life savings, after someone befriended her through text messages.    

“It was so hard for the last year or so,” Lin explains. “My goal is to try to survive.”  

In 2022, Lin says she began conversations with a man through an online web chat, and they discussed similar experiences like the loss of her husband to cancer years back. She says the man claimed to have also lost his wife tragically.  

“And then I just start to trust him.”

She says he told her about investing in cryptocurrency, asked her to download apps to invest, and showed her what appeared to be profitable accounts.  

“Then I was thinking, I can help my son, who is on disability. So, I thought, that would be good. That I can, you know, make a little bit of money,” Lin says.  

“He gave me the instruction and where to send the money to. So for me to go to the bank, to wire the money, and at that time, I totally trust him, so I just follow him,” Lin adds.  

She explains she visited local Chase bank branches and began making transfers — hundreds of thousands of dollars — only a couple of days apart in August of 2022, according to a complaint filed on her behalf in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.  

“We allege that there was a number of red flags and that Chase bank either knew that Ms. Lin was being scammed or definitely should have known,” Lin’s attorney Anne Marie Murphy says.  

The complaint alleges Chase representatives did not “…ask any pertinent questions, flag these highly irregular and suspicious transactions for further review, or complete a sufficient risk assessment …”   

The complaint also claims Lin had not made wires with Chase for several years prior and alleges bank representatives did not contact Lin or her eldest daughter, an authorized user on the account.  

Floy Shieh, Lin’s daughter, says a notification from the bank could have helped her mother.    

“I go to the gas station in some weird place, trying to spend $50. I get a notification on my cell phone,” Shieh says.   

In a statement emailed to the NBC4 I-Team, a Chase spokesperson says:  

“Consumers should always be suspicious when someone they don’t know asks them to urgently send money.   

Scammers impersonate companies, banks, government agencies and even family members to try to trick consumers out of their hard earned money. We urge all consumers to ignore phone or internet requests for money or access to their computer or bank accounts. Legitimate organizations or companies won’t make these requests, but scammers will.    

When customers visit our branches to complete wire transactions, our bankers ask questions, raise awareness around various scam scenarios and provide clear warnings that once a wire is sent, you may not be able to recover your money. These interactions occurred in this case when … Ms. Lin authorized these wires.”  

Chase also provided their scam prevention tips:  

Standing among her roses from more than 100 bushes she planted over the past year, Lin is now focusing on the things which bring her joy.    

“Not only I want to be alive, I will try to see whether I can help the other victims to make aware all this happens,” Lin said.   

The shooting occurred about 10:25 a.m. in the 2600 block of 29th Street, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.

“Officers located one victim who has been transported to a local hospital,” police said in a statement, announcing later that the person had died.

No arrests were reported, and no suspect information was available. Traffic was routed away from the area while an investigation was conducted.

Video from the scene showed police closely examining a dark-colored car parked on the street. Investigators closed 29th Street in the area while the investigation was being conducted.

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

Law enforcement received a call of multiple people shot around 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Compton Boulevard and Acacia Avenue. There, at least five people were suffering from gunshot wounds.

The individuals wounded were taken to different hospitals near the area. The severity of their injuries was not immediately clear.

LASD believe the violence may have been a gang-related drive-by shooting.

The department said the shooter remains at large. Law enforcement did not provide a detailed description of that individual.

The investigation is underway.

The California Highway Patrol said officers are investigating a possible road rage confrontation that escalated to a shooting. According to CHP, the violence was reported shortly after 9 p.m. on the westbound 10 Freeway near Del Mar Avenue.

The passenger of one of the vehicles was shot, suffering minor injuries. CHP did not specify where the victim was wounded.

Details on what led up to the incident were unclear.

The first collision occurred at Harbor Boulevard and Katella Avenue near Disneyland where the driver hit three pedestrians and sped away. The second occurred at Harbor Boulevard and Convention Way, where the driver struck a woman. She was taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

The other victims were taken to hospitals, two with minor injuries and one with moderate injuries.

The suspect’s car was described as a tan or gold Toyota sedan, possibly a Corolla or Camry.

Anyone with information on the crashes was asked to call the Anaheim Police Department at 714-765-1900.

Alberto Castañeda Aco was walking home from work as a sewing machine operator when he was hit in the crosswalk at the intersection of Adams Boulevard and Main Street in South LA.

“My dad was dragged all the way over there because the car spun,” his daughter, Martha Correa, said as she showed NBC4 News the several yards the car dragged her father. The suspect vehicle ran a red light, plowing into another sedan and hitting Castañeda Aco in the crosswalk.

“He died so violently because he was dragged and thrown and when we got to the hospital, we were not able to see him,” she said.

The suspect was driving an Infiniti Sedan that was stolen out of Uphill, California on Dec. 26, according to the police report. The driver and at least three others abandoned the vehicle at the scene and ran. 

According to the report, a witness said two men and two women got out of the car and ran, taking a Nitrous Oxide tank with them. Nitrous Oxide is illegal when used recreationally, used by people to feel intoxicated or high, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

An officer in the report stated he found a purple balloon in the abandoned car. A photo from a nearby business owner also showed one of the people in the car had an orange balloon in their hand before they ran. Balloons can be used to inhale the Nitrogen Oxide.

Correa fears people may not care because her father is an immigrant from Mexico. She said he came here decades ago for the American Dream and he refused to stop working, even at his age, and that’s what he was doing before walking through the intersection that evening.

“I don’t want his immigrant story to be like any other immigrant story, where they work under the shadows and they don’t get any benefits because my dad was a hardworking man. He paid his taxes,” Correa.

Castañeda Aco leaves behind five children, eight grandchildren, and a great-grandchild.

“I’m angry,” Correa said. “Whatever they did… they stole a vehicle, they were joyriding, having fun… But this one has consequences and they may think they got away, but they could do this to someone else.”

Correa said she’s worried police officers are overwhelmed with these kinds of incidentss and is asking the community for help.

“I want a call for action, I want to make sure that people see this story,” she said. “We need more funding, more funding for the police officers that are working on this case, funding for more cameras, funding for more lighting.” 

The family is raising money online for the funeral and plans to invest the rest into community action for safer streets.

If anyone has information, contact Central Traffic Detectives at (213) 833-3713 or the Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at (213) 833-3746. During weekends and off-hours or telephone the 24-hour toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247).  

For anonymous telephone calls, please call LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or visit www.lacrimestoppers.org, or Tipsters www.lapdonline.org.

Noel Pena, 48, remains hospitalized after he was shot while traveling on the 5 Freeway on Dec. 31. His worried family describes him as a hardworking father who is the main provider for his family.

“He’s always given us whatever we needed, make sure we always had a roof over our head, always gives us food,” the man’s daughter, Pamela Pena, said.

According to Pamela, her parents were returning home from a swap meet when another driver cut them off, nearly causing a collision.

“My dad honked at him,” Pamela said. “The guy got really angry, exchanged words with my dad and my dad was leaving and the guy caught up to him and shot a bullet at him.”

The bullet pierced the driver’s side door, striking Noel in his armpit and hit an artery as well as shattering his collar bone. The victim was able to pull off to the side of the freeway safely but was quickly losing blood. Thankfully, an off-duty nurse who was driving in the area stopped to help, keeping Noel alive until paramedics arrived.

“My dad is such a strong man,” Pamela said. “He talks a lot. He loves to talk and to see him tubed up and not say a word right now it hurts.”

While the family awaits Noel’s recovery, they set up an online fundraiser to help cover his medical bills.

“Thank you to everyone who has been donating supporting and praying for us,” Pamela said. “It really does mean a lot to all of us.”

As far as the case go, details on the shooter remain limited. At this time, police are searching for a young man in a gray Honda SUV.

“I still can’t comprehend how someone feels ok with doing that,” Pamela said. “I’m extremely mad at him and I hope he goes to jail for a long time because this is unacceptable.”

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

The grim discovery was made Wednesday morning when the Seal Beach Police Department responded to a welfare check. Police received a call from a relative who reported getting several phone calls from the son, who said he was frustrated caring for his ailing mother.

During the last call, the relative heard a loud bang, followed by the son saying his mother was “gone.”

Officers arrived at a home on the 600 block of Ocean Avenue, where they found two adults lying on a bed. Both adults had gunshot wounds to their heads and the son had a gun in his hand.

The Seal Beach Police Department declined to release the names of the deceased. The department only described them as an 84-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

Investigators were sent to the 1900 block of Maple Avenue, west of the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway, shortly after 2:25 p.m. Tuesday regarding the discovery of a dead woman in the backyard of the residence.

The circumstances leading up to the woman’s death were not provided.

“When officers arrived, they found the victim deceased and immediately began an investigation,” according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police cordoned off the street while the investigation unfolded.

Upon further investigation, it was determined by detectives that the victim and suspect were friends, the department said. The suspect was located in Glendale, and Costa Mesa police detectives traveled there to arrest him.

The woman’s identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives.  

Police also were withholding the name of the suspect to protect the victim’s identity.

Anyone with information regarding the death was urged to contact Detective K. Moore at 714-754-4986.

Michael Olson, who was born without limbs, uses an electric wheelchair to get around. He said he was traveling down Artesia Boulevard last month when the attack happened.

“I was completely caught off guard,” Olson told NBC4.

Video shows Olson traveling on the sidewalk and passing the assailant, who lets him by then chases after him and stabs him.

“After I passed, about 20 seconds later, I felt a sharp pain in my back,” Olson recalled. “He stumbled over in front of me and said, ‘Sorry, bro.’ After a 10-second pause, he stabbed me in the stomach.”

In shock, Olson returned home immediately. He said he began to search for witnesses after his wounds healed and so far, was only able to find the surveillance footage captured by his neighbor’s camera.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it’s investigating the face as a double felony, including as an assault with a deadly weapon.

“The danger that this suspect poses to the community is very high,” sheriff’s deputy Miguel Meza said. “If this person, at 8 a.m., is willing to commit this crime, he’s willing to do anything else to anyone else.”

The search for the attacker continues.

Mei Haskell’s mother, Yanxiang Wang, and stepfather, Gaoshan Li, haven’t been seen since early November and are also presumed dead by authorities.

Haskell’s husband, Samuel Bond Haskell, was charged last month with murdering the three but he has postponed entering pleas to the charges until January.

The remains were found in the trash bin Nov. 8 behind a strip mall on Ventura Boulevard at Rubio Avenue. Security video from the area appeared to show a man lift a black plastic trash bag from the trunk of a white Tesla sedan and place it into the trash bin, where the remains were found.

The LAPD said blood and other evidence were found inside the Haskell family home in Tarzana that was consistent with murder.

Disappearance of Mei Haskell

Investigation Nov 10, 2023

‘Started seeing body parts': Day laborers say Tarzana murder suspect hired them to move human remains

Tarzana Dec 8, 2023

Man accused in Tarzana dismemberment murders delays answering charges

Samuel Haskell, 35, was arrested by LAPD detectives at a shopping center several hours after the remains were discovered.

No other remains have been found in connection with the case.

The I-Team reported in November that a group of day laborers said Samuel Haskell hired them to move trash bags from his home in Tarzana, but returned the bags after they saw what looked like part of a human body inside.

“When we picked up the bags, we could tell they weren’t rocks,” one of the workers said in Spanish.

The violence occurred around 7:30 p.m. Friday when the boy and his parents were traveling near Sierra Highway and East Avenue J. There, the suspected assailant cut them off and then followed the family through the streets. During this time, the boy’s parents slowed down and the other driver pulled up to the passenger side of the victim’s vehicle and opened fire.

According to LASD, the child, who was seated in the backseat, was shot in the torso. The parents immediately took the victim to an area hospital, where the 4-year-old died of his injuries.

Authorities responding to the case found the suspect vehicle in the area and arrested two individuals on suspicion of murder. The identities of those who were arrested were not immediately released, but the sheriff’s department described them as a 29-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman.

The identity of the child who was shot was not released.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be made by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

“My life is at a standstill. I feel like I’m in a holding pattern,” Richman told the NBC4 I-Team.

Since that water main burst on Jan. 23, 2023, Richman has been in a battle with DWP to get them to compensate her for her loss — which she says is well over $1 million — so she can rebuild her destroyed home.

“I want my life to be whole again and right now, it’s far from it,” Richman said.

Two months ago, the I-Team reported on how some homeowners get stuck with big bills when DWP water mains break and damage their cars and homes.

LADWP Oct 12, 2023

If an LA water main floods your house or car, you could be left paying for damages 

Investigation Oct 15, 2023

Broken water main leaves homeowner drowning in debt

When that water main burst next to Richman’s house, she said a team from DWP showed up that very night to look at the damage, and advised her to seek compensation from her homeowner’s insurance, instead of the DWP.

“They said ‘this [the damage] is horrific, and you should go through your insurance because it takes forever with the DWP,'” Richman said.

A week after the flood, her insurance company wrote her that her “policy does not provide coverage [for] damage caused by water or flood” from a water main break off the property.”

So last February, she filed a claim with the DWP for compensation, but when she still hadn’t gotten a determination from the utility by June, she filed a lawsuit against them.

“The time it takes to help victims get back their lives is mindboggling,” Richman told the I-Team. 

She says two weeks ago, DWP showed up at her house for the third time since the flood, to assess the damage.

She says she still hasn’t heard back from the department nearly a year after the flood. This week, she found a homeless man squatting on her vacant property, making her afraid to be there just to check on it.

“Every aspect of my life has suffered from this incident,” Richman said.

To avoid more water pipe breaks in that west valley neighborhood, DWP notified residents that starting next week, it will begin to dig up and replace another 8,000 feet of pipe laid down in the area in 1937.

The utility earlier this year replaced the broken main that flooded Richman’s house.

Besides that leak, DWP told the I-Team in an email,  “there have been multiple leaks, including three which have occurred in the past two years” in the area. 

“A majority of this pipe (over 86% of the mainline), is rated at high to high-moderate priority for replacement,” said DWP’s email.

As for Richman, she’s hoping the DWP will soon make her a “fair” offer, so she can begin rebuilding the beloved home she once shared with her late husband. She says she hopes to avoid a court battle but will go there if need be.

“I want my life to be whole again and right now, it’s far from it,” she said.

DWP spokesperson Ellen Cheng told the I-Team the utility can’t comment on Richman’s case “due to pending litigation.”

The chase began after Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies were called around 2:40 p.m. to a report of a gunshot in Temecula near the intersection of Winchester and Margarita Roads. There, officials learned multiple people had tried to rob a jewelry store in a smash-and-grab attempt.

“Three people – they came in and they start smashing the glass and taking the stuff and just fled out,” a witness told NBC4.

Three people were detained at the scene, but others took off in a white vehicle that instigated a pursuit.  That vehicle led police from Temecula through Orange County and ultimately to Compton, where the chase ended at an apartment complex parking lot.

Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the incident due to the smash-and-grab attempt and arrested the outstanding suspects. The department did not disclose how many people were arrested nor did it specify what charges they may face.

No injuries were reported in connection with the case.

The shooting occurred after Huntington Park police responded to a report of a road rage confrontation on Saturday. Officers attempted to stop the driver, who refused to yield and instead, started a pursuit.

The driver, who was believed to be driving under the influence, ultimately led authorities to Hacienda Heights, where the chase ended in the 15400 block of Garo Street. Following the pursuit, the driver allegedly used his vehicle to “ram multiple Huntington Park police vehicles,” prompting officers to open fire on the suspect.

Police said the driver, who was only identified as a 51-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to his upper body and was taken to a hospital. He was described as being in “critical but stable condition,” according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

One police officer was hurt with a minor injury.

As per protocol when an officer-involved shooting occurs, homicide investigators are looking into the shooting.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s homicide bureau at 323-890-5500.

The shooting was reported shortly after 7 a.m. in the 3300 block of Floral Drive. There, a man was found shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities did not release details on the victim such as his name or age. A detailed description of a possible gunman was not immediately released.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Those who would like to submit anonymous tips can contact Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.

Raphy and Rebecca, who asked NBC4 not to use their last names, are staying resilient after they were attacked while walking to the Beverly Hills Synagogue. While taking their stroll near the area of North Rexford Drive and North Santa Monica Boulevard, a man ran up behind the couple in a robbery attempt.

“All of a sudden, I see the guy hitting my husband with the belt and screaming, ‘Give me your earrings, Jew,'” an emotional Rebecca recalls.

The attacker struck Raphy repeatedly.

“At first, it was shock,” Raphy said. “It was a huge hard knock on my forehead here.” The victim added that the blows left his face bloodied.

Unable to let the attack go, the couple bravely chased after the assailant. That’s when a police officer noticed the commotion and called for backup.

The Beverly Hills Police Department arrested Jarris Jay Silagi, 44. He faces charges that include assault with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery, hate crime and elder abuse. He is being held on $100,000 bail. 

“Our officers quickly apprehended the suspect and he is in custody,” said Beverly Hills Police Chief Mark Stainbrook.  “This despicable act of hate against a member of our community will not be tolerated.”  

“I was enraged, not because of the thing, but because I was hit as a jew,” Raphy said.

After the terrifying ordeal, the couple returned home so Raphy could get a clean change of clothes and then made their way back to the synagogue.

“I hope that with the help of God and everybody who is at the head of states and communities, they will bring down evil, and the light will shine and next year on Hannukah, it will be a very bright light,” Rebecca said.

Ernesto Jimenez, 27, of Pasadena was shot at about 8 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2020, in the 200 block of Parke Street, and he died at the scene, according to the Pasadena Police Department.

The reward was offered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

“More than three years have passed since Ernesto’s life violently ended while he was simply just strolling to his neighborhood park,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement.

“I’m hopeful that this reward will lead to someone stepping forward to provide a critical tip or bit of information to help solve this case,” Barger said. “Ernesto’s family is heartbroken. They and the Pasadena community at large deserve answers, justice and closure.”

A motive for the shooting was not known, and no description was available of a suspect or suspects.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call Detective Jordan Ling at 626-744-4081, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. Tipsters may also submit a tip online.

The shooting happened around 6 p.m. when 16-year-old Jesse Trafton was leaving a 7-Eleven with a group of friends.

The teenager recalls the terrifying moments leading up to the ambush near the intersection of Roscoe Boulevard and Mason Avenue.

“I saw people behind the car jump up wearing ski masks and started going surrounding my friends, that’s moment I knew something was wrong,” said Trafton, “He asked for more like my phone, I didn’t have anything like that on me and he was like ‘Come on give me more,’ and I didn’t know what to do and that’s when I pushed him and that’s when he shot.”

The bullet went through his left rib cage and lacerated his spleen and kidney, hitting his pancreas and causing a spinal fracture with severe nerve damage.

The teen has been recovering in the hospital going through multiple surgeries and rehab.

Trafton says he remembers seeing about five people inside the 7-Eleven staring at him and his friends, says it’s unclear how old the group was, possibly teenage boys or young men.

The teenager loves skateboarding and has been told he may walk again in 6 months to a year, along with he physical injuries, there’s also the emotional healing to be done.

“I might have been targeted in that situation, they were just looking for violence, but I don’t know how I am going to go about my life after this without being in some sort of fear,” said Trafton.

No arrests have been made and surveillance footage from the 7-Eleven has been handed over to detectives.

“I don’t know if it was adults or if they were children, but somebody needs to be held accountable for something,” said Amanda Trafton, Jesse’s mother.