Wal-Mart plans new store in Burbank

Months after purchasing the former Great Indoors store site in Burbank, Wal-Mart representatives say they plan to open a store there, calling the 120,000-square-foot building a prime location.

Wal-Mart had declined to confirm plans to move into the space until this week, after a feasibility study found a store in Burbank would be successful.

Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo said the company would probably use all of the building's floor space, but added that “leasing opportunities within the store are to be determined.”

Sometimes the giant retailer leases space to other merchants, such as a small restaurant or nail salon, if it is putting a store in a large building, he told the Pasadena Sun.

ALSO:

Manny Pacquiao home burglars caught in the act

Gang member charged in toddler killing faces 305 years

Unclear why eucalyptus tree fell on car in O.C., killing driver

-- Mark Kellam, Times Community News

Reader photos: Southern California Moments Day 261

From dusk: J. Eric Lynxwiler photographs the L.A. County Fair in Pomona Sept. 9.

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.

Wilmington man, 23, stabbed to death

A 23-year-old Wilmington man was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning, Los Angeles police said.

Rogelio Alvarado had severe stab wounds when police found him around 5 a.m. Sunday lying on the ground in a courtyard in the 1100 block of Anaheim Street. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

Police said Alvarado was standing with friends in the 800 block of Wilmington Avenue when a suspect --  police could not say whether it was a man or a woman -- approached him and asked for a beverage. Alvarado declined, and the suspect stabbed him. Alvarado ran to the courtyard, where he collapsed. Police are still searching for the suspect.

ALSO:

Man killed in Ferrari crash on Pacific Coast Highway identified

Pit bull fatally shot by sheriff's deputies hunting for armed man

Coroner to determine if decomposed body is that of Michelle Le

-- Rick Rojas

Man, 20, mortally wounded in Wilmington shooting

Police are seeking information about a shooting in Wilmington that left a 20-year-old man dead.

Officers responding to a report of gunfire near L and McFarland streets at 12:50 p.m. Saturday found a wounded man on the ground, according to an LAPD statement. The victim, identified as Miguel Munoz, was transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Long Beach, where he was pronounced dead.

Munoz was walking on L Street between McFarland Street and Hyatt Avenue when an unknown person or people walked up and shot him multiple times, according to police. The motive for the shooting was unknown.

Police asked that anyone with information about the crime call Harbor Area Homicide Det. David Cortez at (310) 726-7889 or (310) 726-7880. During nonbusiness hours calls should be directed to (877) 527-3247.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or by texting 274637. Text messages should  begin with the letters "LAPD."

-- Abby Sewell

 

Suspect arrested in Watts birthday party shooting

Police have arrested a suspect in the death of a man who was gunned down at a birthday party in Watts on Saturday night.

Luis Padilla, 18, was arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of murder and was being held on $1 million bail at the 77th Street jail Sunday.

Police believe Padilla shot 31-year-old Jesus Orosco during a party at Orosco's home in the 9900 block of South Anzac Avenue. Officers said earlier that the party was a girl's 18th birthday celebration.

According to an LAPD statement, Orosco tried to intervene in a dispute between Padilla and another guest when Padilla pulled out a gun and shot Orosco. Police believe the motive was gang-related.

Officers found Padilla at the Jordan Downs housing project and arrested him.

Police asked that anyone with information about the shooting call LAPD Criminal Gang/Homicide Division Southeast Squad Detectives Geraldo Vejar and Joe Kirby at (213) 485-4341. During nonbusiness hours, calls should be directed to (877) 527-3247.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477 or by texting 274637. Text messages should begin with the letters "LAPD."

ALSO:

Man killed in Ferrari crash on Pacific Coast Highway identified

Pit bull fatally shot by sheriff's deputies hunting for armed man

Coroner to determine if decomposed body is that of Michelle Le

--Abby Sewell

 

Man killed in Ferrari crash on Pacific Coast Highway identified

The Los Angeles County coroner's office has released the name of a man killed when the Ferrari he was riding in crashed on Pacific Coast Highway early Sunday morning.

Basil Max Price III, 23, of Pomona, died after the Ferrari crashed into a power pole on PCH just north of Sunset Boulevard at 1:27 a.m. The car split in half and fell to the beach below. Both occupants were ejected. Price, the passenger, died at the scene and the driver, whose name has not been released, was taken to UCLA Medical Center in critical condition.

Power lines were downed and the highway remained closed in the area of the crash until about 7 a.m.

ALSO:

Several aftershocks from Newport Beach earthquake

Pit bull fatally shot by sheriff's deputies hunting for armed man

Coroner to determine if decomposed body is that of Michelle Le

-- Abby Sewell

Santa Clarita brush fire nearly contained

Firefighters on Sunday further contained a blaze that has burned about 640 acres near Mint Canyon in Santa Clarita, and are expecting to have it fully contained by Sunday evening, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The fire, which started about 8 a.m. Saturday and spread rapidly, was 80% contained by Sunday morning, officials said. The fire’s cause remains under investigation. It burned through an uninhabited area near Mint Canyon and has not damaged any structures.

ALSO:

Man killed in Ferrari crash on Pacific Coast Highway identified

Pit bull fatally shot by sheriff's deputies hunting for armed man

Coroner to determine if decomposed body is that of Michelle Le

-- Rick Rojas

Malibu triathlon slightly delayed by fatal Ferrari crash on PCH

A triathlon in Malibu was not seriously disrupted by the closure of Pacific Coast Highway for several hours Sunday morning after a Ferrari crashed into a power pole, killing one of the car's occupants.

The Nautica Malibu Triathlon, a fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Research Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, celebrated its 25th anniversary this weekend. Registration began in the early hours of the morning, while PCH was still closed from Sunset Boulevard to Coastline Drive.

Triathlon spokeswoman Sabina Gault said many participants had to take a detour, but the 7:15 a.m. race start was delayed by only about 10 minutes.

"Because it was a Sunday and because it was so early in the morning, people were able to jump on Sunset and the 405," she said.

One man died and another was critically injured after the Ferrari crashed into a power pole on PCH north of Sunset at about 1:27 a.m. The car split in half and fell to the beach 30 feet below the road and both men were ejected, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Police had not released the name of the victim, who was the car's passenger.

ALSO:

Several aftershocks from Newport Beach earthquake

Pit bull fatally shot by sheriff's deputies hunting for armed man

Coroner to determine if decomposed body is that of Michelle Le

-- Abby Sewell

Fatal Ferrari crash closes PCH

Part of Pacific Coast Highway was closed for several hours after a Ferrari crashed into a power pole just north of Sunset Boulevard, killing one occupant of the car and injuring another.

The two men were ejected from the vehicle and fell about 30 feet to the beach below, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

One man died at the scene and the other was taken to UCLA Medical Center in critical condition, according the LAPD West Traffic Division, which is handling the accident investigation.

The victims' names haven't been released. A cause hasn't been determined.

The crash, which was reported at 1:27 a.m., brought down power lines, prompting the closure of a stretch of PCH in both directions.

ALSO:

Gang member charged in toddler killing faces 305 years

Unclear why eucalyptus tree fell on car in O.C., killing driver

Manny Pacquiao home burglars caught in the act, authorities say

-- Abby Sewell

Photo: Crash scene off Pacific Coast Highway. Credit: KTLA-TV

Bobcat reportedly spotted near Burbank golf course

A bobcat was spotted near DeBell Golf Club in Burbank on Saturday morning near the intersection of Grinnell and Sunset Canyon drives, police said.

The cat was seen around 10 a.m. in a wash area near the golf club's nine-hole, par-three course, said Burbank Police Lt. D. Yadon.

The smaller course is separate from DeBell physically, the two courses divided by a catch basin. The bobcat was in the wash that runs from the basin, Yadon told the Glendale News-Press. Officers were dispatched but no bobcat was found, he added.

A 20- to 30-pound bobcat was spotted in Brand Park in Glendale on Friday, but it hopped a fence and went back into the hillside before animal control and police officers arrived at the scene.

ALSO:

Manny Pacquiao home burglars caught in the act

Gang member charged in toddler killing faces 305 years

Unclear why eucalyptus tree fell on car in O.C., killing driver

-- Mark Kellam, Times Community News

Birthday party shooting leaves one man dead

Police are questioning two people in the fatal shooting of a man at a birthday party in Watts.

The shooting took place at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday on the 9900 block of Anzac Avenue after an argument broke out at the 18th birthday party of a girl who may have been the victim's daughter, said Sgt. Duane Kelliher with the LAPD's Southeast Station.

Police are interviewing two people in connection with the shooting, Kelliher said Sunday morning. Kelliher said the two may be gang members. City News Service reported that the victim confronted two people at the party after he saw them flashing gang signs.

The name of the 51-year-old victim hasn't been released.

-- Abby Sewell

Several aftershocks from Newport Beach earthquake

There have been several aftershocks from Thursday's magnitude 3.5 earthquake in the Newport Beach area.

The aftershocks have all been small, the largest being a magnitude 2.2 temblor Saturday in the Irvine area.

Officials are trying to determine if the Thursday quake may have played a factor in a tree falling onto a car in Costa Mesa, killing a woman.

Haeyoon Miller, 29, was killed when the trunk of the 50-foot eucalyptus tree slammed into the roof of her Hyundai Accent as she waited at 17th Street and Irvine Avenue on Thursday afternoon. The Orange County coroner's officer listed the cause of death as accidental blunt-force trauma.

Public safety officials and seismic and horticultural experts were investigating the accident but had only theories to work with, from moist soil to trimmed roots to last week's magnitude 3.5 earthquake in Newport Beach.

UC Irvine seismologist Lisa Grant Ludwig said the quake, which hit about 2:56 a.m. Thursday and was centered near Newport Beach, may have played a role, though there could have been other contributing factors.