L.A. Crime News
December 12, 2012Man dead, 2 children safe after South L.A. standoff
A 28-year-old man was shot by Los Angeles police Wednesday morning after holding two children hostage in the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw neighborhood of South L.A., police said.
The children are OK, police said.
Authorities responded to a domestic violence call in the 7100 block of Don Ricardo Drive at 7 p.m. Tuesday and were met by a woman who said a man struck her, said LAPD Officer Cleon Joseph.
When officers entered the home, the suspect barricaded himself in a bedroom with two children. An LAPD SWAT team was called and negotiations ensued for hours.
SWAT officers entered the room about 5 a.m. Wednesday and shot the suspect, police said. No officers were injured, Joseph said.
KTLA 5 reported the suspect was the father of the 6-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl. They were not injured.
In the last three months the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw neighborhood averaged about five violent crimes and 29 crimes per week, according to the Times’ Mapping L.A.
Between Nov. 26 and Dec. 2, violent crime reports were average and property crimes reports jumped significantly.
LAPD searches for gunman who shot 14-year-old girl in face
The LAPD asked for the public’s help Wednesday in finding a gunman who shot a 14-year-old girl in the face as she walked with friends in South Los Angeles.
Jessica Garcia, who was in critical condition, was shot at 1:20 a.m. on Vernon Avenue near Hooper Avenue, the LAPD said in a statement. The suspect was walking down the street when he encountered the group.
He’s described as an 18- to 25-year-old Latino man with black or dark brown hair. The suspect is 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-7 and weighs about 120 pounds. He was wearing a dark hoodie with dark pants when he shot Garcia.
Anyone with information can call (323) 846-6556 or (323) 846-6579. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
22 students arrested in drug bust at Temecula high schools
An undercover drug investigation at Temecula area high schools led to the arrest of 22 students Monday on suspicion of illegal drug sales.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department launched the investigation at Temecula Valley High School, Chaparral High School and Rancho Vista Continuation High School after receiving a confidential tip about the sale of narcotics among students, agency spokesman Deputy Albert Martinez said.
Two police investigators posed as high school students during the undercover operation, according to a spokeswoman for the Temecula Valley Unified School District.
Investigators swarmed the schools early Monday morning to make the arrests.
“Once deputies arrived at the high schools, they escorted the students out of class and left without incident. The students detained include 15 from Temecula Valley High School, five from Chaparral High School and two from Rancho Vista Continuation High School,” district officials said in a statement.
“Our district adheres to a zero-tolerance policy in regards to drug use and has worked in full cooperation with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to address this issue. The education and safety of all students at our schools is our top priority. Anything that may prohibit this from happening will always be dealt with in a swift and efficient manner.”
During the investigation, investigators seized marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, heroin, LSD and illegal prescription drugs. Twenty juveniles and two adult students were taken into custody. The juveniles were booked at juvenile hall.
Two other adults were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment after investigators raided a home on the 39000 block of Diego Drive in Temecula.
The four adults arrested were: Eduardo Rubio, 18, who was taken into custody at Temecula Valley High School for suspicion of selling marijuana; Luke Waltrip, 18, who was taken into custody at Chaparral High School for suspicion of selling narcotics; Denise Robertson, 43, and Laverne Robertson, 44,
for child endangerment.
Martinez said the investigation is ongoing.
Woman who allegedly helped fiance with killings maintains innocence
A woman authorities say helped her then-fiance after he allegedly killed two people said at a news conference Tuesday night that she is “completely innocent.”
Rachel Mae Buffett, 25, addressed the media at her brother’s Long Beach wine bar flanked by her brothers, sister and mother. She declared her innocence and vowed to assist Costa Mesa police in their ongoing investigation into the May 2010 killings of two Orange Coast College students.
“I will meet them anywhere, anytime,” Buffett said. “I’m very compliant.”
Police and prosecutors have said that Buffett helped her then-fiance Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 28, after he killed Samuel Herr, 26, his neighbor in the Camden Martinique apartments, and Herr’s friend and tutor Juri “Julie” Kibuishi, 23. Authorities say Buffett lied to police after the slayings, telling police Herr had family problems when he did not.
Authorities said that Herr was killed at a Los Alamitos military base and later dismembered, and that Kibuishi was killed at Herr’s apartment, her body positioned in such a way to make authorities believe she had been sexually assaulted.
In a previous interview with the Daily Pilot from jail, Buffett described both victims as “so sweet” and said she continues to grieve for them.
“I’m really sorry such evil has occurred,” Buffett said.
In addressing the charges facing her former fiance, Buffett said: “I’m glad that I don’t have to do the sentencing.
“I think that they’re very justified in going for the death penalty,” Buffett said.
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