Tuesday, August 23, 2011

LAPD, FBI investigate threatening letter sent to Craig Ferguson

Los Angeles police and the FBI were investigating a threatening letter with white  Craig Ferguson
powder that was sent to talk show host Craig Ferguson at CBS television studios, authorities said Tuesday night.

Two employees opened the letter at the studios in the 7800 block of Beverly Boulevard before taping of "The Late Night Show," the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Detectives from the LAPD's Major Crimes Division were investigating with the FBI and authorities in Europe, where the letter was believed to have originated, Officer Karen Rayner said.

Ferguson joked about the incident in a post on his Twitter account.

"Finally some office drama that isn't about Craig's hair! The hair is hot. Anthrax scare not so much," he said.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Craig Ferguson at CBS studios earlier this year. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times.

Two convicted in strangling of 73-year-old grandmother in Alpine

Brandon Hayes and Jeffrey Reed

Two young drug addicts were convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder for the strangling and robbery of the 73-year-old grandmother of one of them.

Brandon Hayes, 29, and Jeffrey Reed, 22, were convicted in the El Cajon branch of San Diego County Superior Court in the death of Eunice Cothron, Hayes' grandmother.

The two robbed Cothron in her Alpine home, strangled her and stole her car, according to testimony.  She had filed a restraining order against Hayes in May 2009 after she suspected that he was stealing from her. A month later she was murdered.

Hayes and Reed drove to Tijuana and used the money for drugs and partying, prosecutors said. They face life in prison without parole when sentenced Oct. 18.

Separate juries deliberated for two days before delivering their verdicts.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Brandon Hayes, left, and Jeffrey Reed. Credit: Fox-5 San Diego

Nonalcoholic Beer Aids Marathon Recovery

A new study reports that beer is an excellent recovery beverage for marathon runners. But you may not want to start a raucous celebration just yet. The beer was effective only if it was nonalcoholic.

Running a marathon is, of course, punishing to the body, causing muscle soreness and inflammation. Grueling exercise can also weaken the immune system, making athletes susceptible to colds and other ills in the weeks after the event. Some athletes, particularly in Europe, long had downed nonalcoholic beer during hard training, claiming that it helped them to recover, but no science existed to support the practice.

To study the matter, researchers at the Technical University of Munich approached healthy male runners, most in their early 40s, who were training for the Munich Marathon, and asked if they would — in the name of science — be willing to drink a considerable amount of beer. Two hundred seventy-seven men agreed, even when told that the beverage would be nonalcoholic. Only half of the group received the alcohol-free beer, however; the other half got a similarly flavored placebo. No one knew who was drinking what.

All of the runners downed a liter to a liter and a half — about two to three pints — of their assigned beverage every day, beginning three weeks before the race and continuing for two weeks afterward. The scientists, meanwhile, collected blood samples from the men several weeks before the race, as well as immediately before to the start, at the finish line and on select days afterward. (These were an exceptionally obliging group of racers, it seems.) They monitored levels of various markers of inflammation in the men’s blood, to see whether beer helped to blunt some of the immediate damage from running.

For the next two weeks, the men continued to dutifully swallow their nonalcoholic beer or other brew. They also reported any symptoms of colds or other upper respiratory ailments that developed during that time.

The men drinking the nonalcoholic beer reported far fewer illnesses than the runners swallowing the placebo beverage. “Incidence of upper respiratory tract infections was 3.25-fold lower” in the nonalcoholic beer drinkers, the scientists reported, in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. They also showed significantly less evidence of inflammation, as measured by various markers in their blood, and lower counts of white blood cells than the placebo group, an indication of overall better immune system health.

These effects matter, said Dr. Johannes Scherr, lead author of the study, because if a marathon runner’s body is less sore and inflamed after a race, and he doesn’t develop the sniffles, he can recover and return to training more quickly than he otherwise might have been able to. “It can be speculated that the training frequency could be higher (with shorter breaks after vigorous training sessions)” in those drinking beer, he wrote in an e-mail response.

Just how nonalcoholic beer eases the ravages of strenuous marathon training and racing is still being investigated. But, said Dr. Scherr, it almost certainly involves the beverage’s rich bouquet of polyphenols, chemical substances found in many plants that, among other things, “suppress viral replication” and “influence the innate immune system positively,” all beneficial for fighting off a cold.

Alcoholic beer happens to be drenched in polyphenols, too — “even more than nonalcoholic beer,” Dr. Scherr said — but has the signal disadvantage of being alcoholic. “We do not know whether the side effects of alcoholic beer would cancel out the positive effects caused by the polyphenols,” he wrote. “Furthermore, it is not possible to drink one to one and a half liters of alcoholic beer per day, especially not during strenuous training.” We all knew that, right?

Of course, other substances containing polyphenols have shown early promise, and then underperformed in follow-up studies. Quercetin, for instance, a polyphenol derived principally from apple skins, was widely touted by endurance athletes several years ago after studies found that large doses allowed untrained lab mice to run for far longer than untreated animals. But the supplement has largely failed to show benefits in human athletes. An analysis of 10 human studies of the supplement presented at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting in June concluded that quercetin supplementation “is very unlikely to provide an endurance performance advantage.”

But the beer experiment did not begin by looking at mice. It began with human marathoners completing a punishing, unsimulated race, and showed demonstrable benefits, in terms of minimizing postrace damage.

All of which is good news as the fall marathon season approaches. Asked if he would recommend that serious marathon runners add nonalcoholic beer to their diets, Dr. Scherr said, “When I look at the results of our study, I would have to answer ‘Yes.’”

It’s possible to get large amounts of polyphenols from other foods, he added, like those training-table staples chokeberries and mangosteens, as well as pomegranates and grapes. “But with these foods you do not consume the minerals, fluid and carbohydrates,” he said, “so nonalcoholic beer seems to be optimal” for everything, perhaps, apart from your well-deserved celebratory carouse after the race. For that, at least, the beer can be full-potency.

Man dies in Half Dome fall; Yosemite 2011 death toll now 15

Half Dome
A man hiking in Yosemite died after plunging down the face of Half Dome.

The death was the 15th this year in the park and the second fatality on Half Dome this year, according to a report in the Sacramento Bee. A 31-year-old San Jose woman died after sliding off the cable route at Half Dome in July.

The man was not identified. He was believed to have died Monday evening. His body was spotted by a search helicopter Tuesday and recovered in the afternoon by rangers. He was wearing appropriate clothing and gear, a spokesman told the news organization.

The spokesman declined to provide details on the death, citing an ongoing investigation.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

-- Robert J. Lopez
twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Yosemite's Half Dome. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Former O.C. congressional candidate sentenced for identity theft

Delecia Holt A onetime congressional candidate was sentenced Tuesday to six years and eight months in state prison for violating parole by committing identity theft when she was in the Orange County jail, authorities said.

Delecia Holt, 49, was serving a 708-day jail sentence this year for defrauding Orange County hotels and a Mercedes Benz dealer, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

While in jail, Holt prepared a false tax return for an Orange County escrow firm, which was one of her original victims in the fraud scheme, prosecutors said.

Holt admitted that she committed the identity theft in jail and also admitted opening multiple bank accounts, in violation of a court order, and writing bad checks, the district attorney's office said. She is a former resident of Aliso Viejo.

Holt ran as a write-in candidate for the 47th Congressional District in Orange County in 2005. The following year she ran as a candidate in the 53rd Congressional District in San Diego.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

— Robert J. Lopez
twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Delecia Holt. Credit: Orange County district attorney's office.

White powder found in letter sent to CBS TV studios

Cbs Authorities are testing an unknown white powder found in a letter envelope at CBS television studios Tuesday afternoon.

Police and firefighters responded to the 7800 block of Beverly Boulevard just before 3 p.m. after someone at the facility opened an envelope containing the substance.

The powder was being tested by the LAPD, said department spokeswoman Karen Rayner.

The letter was opened in an isolated area of the building and officials said there were no evacuations.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

-- Andrew Blankstein (Twitter.com/anblanx)

Image: Map shows location of where an unknown white powder was found at CBS television studios. Source: Google Maps

California asbestos deposits mapped

Epaoffroad

Asbestos is in our state rock, and it's in more places than you might think.

The U.S. Geological Survey this week released a comprehensive map of all the known places in California where asbestos is found, including mines and exposed natural formations.

Off-roaders in the Clear Creek Management Area, in San Benito and Fresno counties, are all too familiar with white asbestos in the form of the mineral chrysotile. A 31-square-mile swath of the off-road vehicle area was closed in 2008 after a report suggested that extensive long-time use of the area (five visits a year over 30 years) could be hazardous to your health.

The federal Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the land, has kept most of the area closed to the public while it completes a new management plan and environmental impact statement.

The Environmental Protection Agency found that dangerous levels of asbestos dust were being stirred up by motorcycles and other off-road vehicles. Any human use, even camping and hiking, was deemed potentially dangerous, especially to children, and outlawed until the BLM develops a new plan for the area.

Clear Creek, which registers 35,000 visits a year, has long been known as the largest U.S. deposit of asbestos, a natural mineral and known human carcinogen. The area harbors an EPA-designated toxic Superfund site, the former Atlas asbestos mine. Previous studies over several decades found high levels of asbestos in the area.

Other hotspots for asbestos are in outcrops in the state's far north: Shasta, Trinity, Siskiyou and Del Norte counties. It also surfaces along the coastal ranges and Sierra Nevada.

The map is part of an effort by the federal agency to identify locations nationwide where asbestos mineralization occurs.

ALSO:

Climate change and health: How vulnerable is your city?

Study ranks air pollution from coal and oil-fired power plants

California bill would reveal chemicals used in "fracking" process

--Geoff Mohan

Photo: Technicians on all-terrain vehicles sample the dust they raise at the Clear Creek Management Area. They are wearing backpacks with air pumps and filter intakes. Credit: Environmental Protection Agency

Famed surfboard designer hanged himself, coroner says

Russ Robert Russell Brown, who had been shaping custom surfboards in Newport Beach since the 1960s, has died. He was 63.

Brown hanged himself, the Orange County coroner's office said. He was pronounced dead at 3:08 p.m. Saturday at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.

The official cause of death was listed as a ligature hanging, according to the coroner's office.

Brown was known for his handmade surfboards and had been part of the surf community since opening his shop, Russell Surfboards, on the Balboa Peninsula in 1967, according to Times Community News.

To friends and family, Brown was known as "The King" and jokingly called "Gremmy" by some, said his stepson-in-law Kenny Milton.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

-- Lauren Williams, Times Community News 

Image: Map shows location of Russell Surfobards in Newport Beach. Source: Google Maps

Warm weather, low relative humidity heightens brush fire concerns

Warm temperatures and low relative humidity were recorded Tuesday across interior areas of Southern California, heightening brush fire concerns, the National Weather Service said.

In Lancaster, the temperature was 102 degrees with relative humidity dropping to 9%. In the San Gabriel Mountains, Chilao reached a high of 90 degrees with relative humidity at 15%.

Palm Springs topped out at 114 degrees, with relative humidity dropping to 6%, according to the Weather Service. In the San Bernardino National Forest, Big Pines recorded a high of 85 degrees and relative humidity of 15%.

In Santa Barbara County, "sundowner" winds with gusts up to 30 mph are expected Wednesday night and Thursday across the southern coastal and foothill areas. The sundowners have been the cause of numerous devastating fires along the region’s mountainous east-west coastline, bringing heavy Santa Ana-like winds around sunset.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

— Robert J. Lopez
twitter.com/LAJourno

Match.com settles suit with pledge to screen out sex offenders

Online dating giant Match.com settled a lawsuit Tuesday with a rape victim by committing to perform security background checks on all current and future members.

Hollywood screenwriter and author Carole Markin sued the leading Internet matchmaker after it linked her up last year with Alan Paul Wurtzel of Pacific Palisades, who had at least six previous sexual assault convictions.

Wurtzel, 67, pleaded no contest to sexual battery last week and faces a year in jail and five years' probation when he is sentenced Sept. 19.

In her lawsuit filed in April, Markin, 54, demanded that Match.com screen members against state and federal sex-offender registries, in hopes of getting the rest of the booming industry to follow suit.

Her attorney, Mark Webb, predicted a "domino effect" among other match-making services and social networking sites. Indeed, online dating services eHarmony and Zoosk confirmed Tuesday that they, too, were checking members against criminal databases to enhance security for their members.

"If I save one woman from getting attacked, then I'm happy," said Markin, who asked for no monetary compensation and gave up all rights to pursue Match.com with further claims.

Robert Platt, an attorney for Match.com, said the company has no legal obligation to conduct such checks but believes the technological advancements of recent years and the availability of criminal databases "enables a sufficient degree of accuracy to implement this measure."

Legal experts note that courts have so far ruled that online dating and networking sites aren't liable for financial or physical harm experienced by members but that it was only a matter of time before some responsibility was recognized for taking available and affordable precautions to protect users.

RELATED:

LAPD seeks leads in Pacific Palisades sex offender case

Woman sues online dating site over alleged sexual assault

Woman suing Match.com over alleged rape speaks out about incident

-- Carol J. Williams

El Monte man charged with threatening to blow up county building

Jose Guillermo Zepeda Parra A man who allegedly made threats to bomb a Los Angeles County social service office in El Monte because his benefits were terminated has been charged in connection with the incident, police said Tuesday.

Jose Guillermo Zepeda Parra, 32, who lives in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles, is charged with calling the county Department of Public and Social Services on Aug. 12 and making the threats, the El Monte Police Department said.

Parra, police said in a statement, "was upset because his benefits were terminated."

Parra was charged with making criminal threats and making a bomb threat. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in the El Monte courthouse, police said. He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

— Robert J. Lopez
twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Jose Guillermo Zepeda Parra. Credit: El Monte Police Department

Feds in Los Angeles arrest truck driver in 1999 Canada slaying

Ninderjit Singh Federal agents announced the capture Tuesday of a long-haul trucker who had been wanted in Canada in connection with the decade-old slaying of his teenage ex-girlfriend.

Ninderjit Singh, 33, an Indian national and Canada resident, was detained Friday following a traffic stop near his home in San Jacinto residence and is being held on a provisional arrest warrant, said officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

The arrest culminates an investigation that began in 1999 with the shooting death of Poonam Randhawa in Vancouver, Canada. Canadian authorities said the victim was found on a street near her school, where she had been last seen in a vehicle with Singh.

The case was profiled on “America’s Most Wanted” in July 2000. The program generated some leads but Singh, who authorities say dramatically changed his appearance from trim and clean-cut to disheveled and portly, continued to elude authorities.

Then two weeks ago, Vancouver police contacted Homeland Security agents with information that Singh might be in the Los Angeles area. Federal agents tracked him to Washington state.

During the return trip Friday morning, the California Highway Patrol pulled Singh’s big-rig over in Irvine after he had made a delivery at a local grocery store and issued him a ticket. Authorities took thumb prints of Singh during the traffic stop.

Singh was allowed to leave and he returned to his San Jacinto residence but was under surveillance as authorities sought confirmation that he was the murder suspect. After confirming his identity with the Vancouver Police Department, federal agents and local police officers arrested him outside a restaurant.

Singh, who is in custody in L.A. County Jail, awaits an extradition to Canada.

“After more than a decade, this fugitive likely believed he was in the clear, but he underestimated the determination of Canadian and U.S. law enforcement,” said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. “As this case shows, our borders will never be a barrier to bringing international fugitives to justice.”

ALSO:

Woman accused of throwing baby described as happy, a 'lovely mom'

South L.A. grocer accused of defrauding food stamp program

Warrant issued for deported 'backpack bandit' [Video]

-- Andrew Blankstein (Twitter.com/anblanx)

Photo: Ninderjit Singh. Credit: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Reader photos: Southern California Moments, Day 235

Click through for more photos of Southern California Moments.

Street scene: A man busks for change on the streets of Hollywood in this July 22 photo by Chi Fat Chow.

Every day of 2011, we're featuring reader-submitted photos of Southern California Moments. Follow us on Twitter and visit the Southern California Moments homepage for more on this series.

Day-care operator gets 3 years in prison for molesting teen

The operator of a South Los Angeles day-care center convicted of molesting her 13-year-old godson was sentenced Tuesday to three years in state prison.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Bork sentenced Chelsea McClelland, 35, to state prison and ordered her to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life for the assaults that occurred in December 2010.

McClelland pleaded no contest on Aug. 2 to two felony counts of committing a lewd act on a child under 14. In exchange for her plea, two additional counts of committing a lewd act on a child were dismissed.

Detectives arrested McClelland in December after they found her and the boy, who had just turned 13, having sex in a van parked near the Santa Monica Freeway and La Brea Avenue. Police responded to the location after neighbors reported suspicious activity in the vehicle.

ALSO:

Wildfire near Cajon Pass about 60% contained

Glendale DUI checkpoint yields a dozen arrests

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

-- Richard Winton

Twitter/lacrimes

 

South L.A. grocer accused of defrauding food stamp program

A South Los Angeles grocery store owner has been charged with buying electronic food stamp cards from recipients and using them to resell items at higher prices.

Sabino Reynoso Cedano, 59, who operates two stores on South Normandie Avenue, is facing four felony counts of food and nutrition benefits fraud, computer access fraud, access card benefits theft and multiple access card theft.

The alleged scheme occurred over the last year.

Los Angeles County district attorney's investigators served search warrants Aug. 3 on Cedano's two stores and his Inglewood home before arresting him.

Cedano purchased Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and PIN numbers over the last year for less than they were worth, said Deputy Dist. Atty. William D. Clark.

He then used the cards to buy items such as soda, chips and candy, which he resold at his stores for much higher prices, Clark said.

The EBT cards are issued to those receiving aid through the Department of Social Services, and they are meant to be used by the recipient only to buy food.

If convicted as charged, Cedano faces a possible maximum state prison term of five years, according to prosecutors.

ALSO:

Fire near Cajon Pass about 60% contained

Glendale DUI checkpoint yields a dozen arrests

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

-- Richard Winton
Twitter.com/lacrimes

Less drastic Vernon reform plan proposed

Leonjpeg State Sen. Kevin De Leon withdrew his support for a plan to disincorporate Vernon on Tuesday, proposing instead a less drastic reform package for the troubled city.

De Leon, a Democrat whose district includes Vernon, wrote in a letter to city administrator Mark Whitworth that he was recommending a series of policy changes and independent oversight as an alternative to shutting down the city altogether.

“We have the opportunity to transform what has been a local government embarrassment into a model city,” De Leon wrote.

De Leon's stance marks a challenge to the disincorporation bill, AB 46, proposed by Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles).

The bill, which Perez has made his focus for months, would dissolve Vernon’s municipal government and make it an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County. Perez has also called for the creation of a new special district to take over Vernon’s electric utility and fire department.

The industrial city just south of downtown Los Angeles is home to 1,800 businesses but only about 100 residents. Nearly all the residents live in homes or apartments owned by the city and many have close ties to city leaders.

Last year, The Times reported that five top city officials had earned more than $500,000 in annual compensation, including Eric T. Fresch, a former city administrator who made as much as $1.65 million in 2008. Three other city leaders have been convicted on public corruption charges in the last six years.

Perez has argued that Vernon has been operated as a “private fiefdom” and that disincorporation is the only way to permanently root out corruption.

His legislation received overwhelming support in the state Assembly, passing on a 62-7 vote. But it was fiercely opposed by Vernon city officials, local businesses and labor leaders, and once it reached the state Senate it faced greater scrutiny.

CalTrans removes crosses at Inspiration Point near Julian

CrossThe state Department of Transportation has removed three crosses that have stood for decades at Inspiration Point just off California Highway 79 outside Julian in northeastern San Diego County.

Workers this week removed the crosses and took them to CalTrans property, officials said. Plans are to relocate the crosses to the Hillside Community Church in Julian about two miles away.

Pastor Rick Hill offered the church property as a relocation site after CalTrans announced that it planned to remove the crosses because the agency had received complaints from motorists that the crosses were an improper encroachment on public property.

A "Save Our Crosses" movement, including a candlelight vigil, proved unavailing. Supporters of keeping the crosses where they were said that relocating them to church property would decrease their visibility.

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob criticized CalTrans for making its decision without a public hearing.

Removing encroachments on public property is common for CalTrans, according to an agency spokeswoman, including removing business advertising, political signs and message banners.

ALSO:

Fire near Cajon Pass about 60% contained

Glendale DUI checkpoint yields a dozen arrests

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

--Tony Perry in San Diego

Photo: Crosses at Inspiration Point outside Julian. Credit: CalTrans

Mitrice Richardson: $900,000 settlement tentatively reached

Mitrice The parents of Mitrice Richardson have reached a tentative agreement to settle their lawsuits against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for $900,000, according to sources with knowledge of the settlement.

The missing 24-year-old was found dead almost a year after being released from the Los Angeles County sheriff's Malibu station.

Her parents have been sharply critical of the sheriff's department's handling of their daughter’s case, starting with her release from custody around midnight without car, purse or cellphone. Richardson went missing after her release.

Almost a year afterward, her remains were spotted in a remote Malibu Canyon ravine. Criticism of the department’s handling of the case continued.

In February, for example, months after her body was recovered, authorities found eight more bones in the area.

That discovery came just a few months after Richardson’s mother said she found a finger bone while at the site memorializing her daughter.

Mother accused of throwing baby from garage returned to scene

Photo: Crime scene in Orange. Credit: KTLA The woman accused of dropping her baby from a hospital parking garage was arrested as she returned to the scene of the crime hours later, Orange police said Tuesday.

Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra, has been booked at the Orange County Jail on one count of attempted murder. Her 7-month-old son remained in extremely critical condition and his survival was not assured, authorities said.

Police received a 911 call at 6:20 p.m. Monday from a man who said he'd seen a baby fall from the parking garage at Children's Hospital of Orange County. Using surveillance video, investigators focused on a 2000 Chevy Blazer that was seen leaving the garage minutes after the incident.

The Blazer was linked to Hermosillo. At the same time, La Habra police had received a call from Hermosillo's husband reporting that she and their son were missing. Shortly after 10 p.m., a patrol officer spotted the Blazer driving past the hospital.

Hermosillo was taken into custody without incident and was cooperative with authorities.

Officials said it does not appear that the boy was a patient at the hospital.

ALSO:

Wildfire near Cajon Pass about 60% contained

Glendale DUI checkpoint yields a dozen arrests

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

-- Scott Gold in Orange

Photo: Crime scene in Orange. Credit: KTLA

18-year-old fatally shot on Pasadena street

Pasadena investigators were searching Tuesday for two suspects in the shooting death of an 18-year-old man on a bungalow-lined street just north of the 210 Freeway.

Police found the man with multiple gunshot wounds in the 400 block of North Mar Vista Avenue about 10:17 p,m. Monday. Paramedics took him to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he died.

He was identified Tuesday by the L.A. County Coroner's office as Marvin Laguan.

He was being picked up from a friend's home by his girlfriend when he was shot, police said. He exchanged words with one of the suspects, who pulled out a gun and shot him, according to police.

One round narrowly missed his girlfriend.

The male suspects were last seen walking south on Mar Vista. Anyone with information may call investigators at (626) 744-4517.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, second suspect tied to false imprisonment case

49ers discontinue game with Raiders after stadium violence

Mother threw baby off hospital parking structure, police allege

-- Richard Winton

Twitter/Lacrimes

Safety at state mental hospitals is focus of hearing

Napa State Hospital workers demonstrate for safer conditions after Donna Gross, a psych tech there, was killed by a patient. 
Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa) will lead a hearing Tuesday afternoon in Sacramento on safety in the state's mental hospital system.

The first hearing by the Select Committee on State Hospital Safety comes 10 months to the day after a psychiatric technician was slain at Napa State Hospital, lifting a veil on violent conditions for patients and staff at the facilities statewide.

Although the federal government ordered reforms in 2006 to improve conditions in California hospitals, many of the facilities -- in Napa, Coalinga, Norwalk, San Bernardino and Atascadero -- have since experienced a rise in violence.

Wildfire near Cajon Pass about 60% contained

Wildfire near Cajon Pass about 60% contained

Fire crews on Tuesday morning had 60% containment of a 400-acre wildfire that snarled traffic on Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass the day before, authorities said.

“Today is going to have its own challenges. It’s going to be hot and dry,’’ John Miller, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, said Tuesday morning. “The plan is to hopefully button this up by tonight.’’

One lane of the northbound I-15 remained closed but could be reopened by Tuesday afternoon, he said.

Elsewhere in Riverside County, a grass fire near the town of Perris that forced the temporary evacuation of about 50 homes in the unincorporated community of Good Hope was completely contained by 3 a.m., the Riverside County Fire Department said.

That blaze, burned an estimated 190 acres. Authorities believe the fire was started by a welder at a metal salvage operation.

The Cajon Pass fire on Monday forced most of the lanes on busy Interstate 15 to be closed during the afternoon, which created a traffic nightmare, fire officials said. That fire destroyed one home and three small outbuildings. Two firefighters sustained minor injuries, and a resident suffering from a preexisting medical condition was hospitalized, authorities said.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, second suspect tied to false imprisonment case

49ers discontinue game with Raiders after stadium violence

Mother threw baby off hospital parking structure, police allege

-- Phil Willon in Riverside

Photo: An air tanker drops fire retardant on a hillside behind homes in Riverside County on Monday. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Joe Francis, bodyguard charged in Hollywood party altercation

Joe Francis The L.A. city attorney's office charged "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis and his bodyguard Tuesday with multiple misdemeanors related to a physical altercation with three women after a party in Hollywood.

Francis, 38, faces three counts of false imprisonment, one count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime and one count of assault causing great bodily injury.

Vagram Gegdzhyan, his driver and bodyguard, faces additional criminal counts of impersonating a public officer with intimidation and one count of fraudulently using a badge.

If convicted of all counts, Francis faces up to five years in county jail and/or $13,000 in fines. Gegdzhyan could face up to six years.

The case stems from a January incident in which the female victims in the case went to Supper Club in Hollywood to celebrate a college graduation.

Near the end of the evening, the women met Francis and briefly had a conversation before he left. After the club was closing, he allegedly grabbed one of the women by the hand and took her to his limo.

The two other women entered the limo believing they were being taken to their car.

Violence at Candlestick Park, Dodger Stadium spurs legislation

Candlestick Park violence

A state assemblyman says he's working on legislation that would deter violence at sporting events.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) cited the weekend violence at Candlestick Park, where two people were shot in the parking lot and another was beaten unconscious in a stadium bathroom during a Oakland Raiders-San Francisco 49ers game, as a motive for his effort.

He also cited the Bryan Stow beating at Dodger Stadium in March, the Glendale News-Press reported.

Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, was severely beaten and suffered brain damage at the Dodgers' home opener in March. Two men have been arrested in the case.

"There are many things worth fighting for," Gatto said in a statement. "The fact that someone wore a rival sports franchise's jersey to a game isn't one of them."

In the wake of the incidents, both venues vowed to beef up security.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, second suspect tied to false imprisonment case

49ers discontinue game with Raiders after stadium violence

Mother threw baby off hospital parking structure, police allege

-- Jason Wells, Times Community News

Photo: Police investigate a shooting in the Candlestick Park parking lot. Credit: Michael Macor / San Francisco Chronicle

Glendale DUI checkpoint yields a dozen arrests

A recent sobriety checkpoint in Glendale broke regional records when police arrested 12 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence, officials said.

The checkpoint was set up Brand Boulevard and Vassar Street from Friday to Sunday, the Glendale News-Press reported.

Most police checkpoints yield two to four intoxicated driving arrests, but Glendale police surpassed those averages for their region, said Community Service Officer Wendy Brewer, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County law enforcement anti-DUI campaign.

“That’s just unheard of for our area,” she said.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, second suspect tied to false imprisonment case

49ers discontinue game with Raiders after stadium violence

Mother threw baby off hospital parking structure, police allege

-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News

1,150 pounds of marijuana found hidden inside furniture

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro border crossing arrested a 24-year-old U.S. citizen with 1,150 pounds of marijuana hidden inside furniture being hauled in a trailer behind his pickup truck.

The pot was valued at nearly $700,000. Officials seized a sofa, china cabinet and bedroom furniture allegedly used to hide the 126 packages. The cache was discovered Saturday.

The truck was also seized.

Also Saturday, sailors from the amphibious transport dock ship New Orleans recovered bundles containing a total of 1,800 pounds of pot floating off the coast of San Diego on Saturday, the Navy announced Monday.

The San Diego-based ship was on a training exercise when it received a call from the Coast Guard about smugglers aboard a 20-foot fishing boat who were dumping bundles overboard.

The New Orleans launched rigid-hull inflatable boats to recover the bundles as evidence. The Mexican navy arrested several men aboard the fishing boat.

ALSO:

Free parking ends in downtown Glendale

Rave promoter defends Electric Daisy Carnival

Raiders CEO defends fans after Candlestick Park violence

-- Tony Perry in San Diego


Red Bull, cigarettes land man in jail

Red Bull energy drink

Caffeine and cigarettes proved to be a hazardous mix for one Glendale man.

Edgar Sanchez, 27, was arrested Friday on suspicion of stealing cigarettes, lighters and cans of Red Bull energy drink from a gas station, the Glendale News-Press reported.

He walked into the station about 12:32 a.m. and left with the items, which he allegedly grabbed from behind the counter and the aisles, police said.

ALSO:

Joe Francis, second suspect tied to false imprisonment case

49ers discontinue game with Raiders after stadium violence

Mother threw baby off hospital parking structure, police allege

-- Veronica, Rocha, Times Community News

Photo: Red Bull energy drink. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Joe Francis surrenders on false imprisonment warrant

Joe Francis of Girls Gone Wild "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis turned himself in to the Los Angeles Police Department Pacific Division on Monday night in connection with a misdemeanor warrant, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

Francis, who created the popular videos, arrived at the Pacific Division station accompanied by an attorney and bail bondsman, the source said.

He is expected to be booked and released on $50,000 bail.

Details of the case were not immediately available, but the sources said the charge was misdemeanor false imprisonment.

In 2009, Francis pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing false tax returns in which he withheld $500,000 in interest income and bribing jail workers for food by giving them as much as $5,000 in goods. He was also ordered to pay nearly $250,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

ALSO:

Raiders CEO defends fans after Candlestick Park violence

Baby in critical condition after fall from O.C. hospital structure

Double murder suspect wore disguises, wigs to avoid capture

-- Andrew Blankstein

Photo: Joe Francis. Credit: L.A. Times

Extreme heat expected to hit inland areas of Southern California

Extreme heat with temperatures up to 108 degrees in the Antelope Valley is expected hit areas of Southern California beginning Tuesday and possibly lasting into the weekend, the National Weather Service said.

Weak onshore ocean breezes coupled with high pressure building across Southern California will cause the warm-up, the Weather Service said. Temperatures will range from 98 to 104 degrees by Wednesday and Thursday.

"Daytime high temperatures will continue to be the warmest we have seen this summer across interior locations," the Weather Service said in a statement Monday night.

People planning outdoor activities are advised to take precautions by drinking plenty of water, wearing loose-fitting clothing and taking advantage of shade and air conditioning.

ALSO:

Raiders CEO defends fans after Candlestick Park violence

Police shooter's body found in burned home, authorities say

Double murder suspect wore disguises, wigs to avoid capture

— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Comment

Comment