SANTA ANA – A Saddleback High School safety officer was charged Monday with sexually assaulting an underage girl in Santa Ana. David Escobar, 44, of Santa Ana, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child – oral copulation with force or fear, according to court records. The allegations date to mid-May 1999, according to court records. An adult woman recently came forward to police alleging he molested her multiple times when she was four-years-old, Lopez said. Escobar was 20 years old at the time, according to Santa Ana police Sgt. Maria Lopez While investigating the…
Author: City News Service
LOS ANGELES – A retired FBI agent was sentenced Monday to six years behind bars for accepting at least $150,000 in bribes in exchange for providing confidential information to Armenian organized crime figures in Los Angeles. Babak Broumand, 56, of Lafayette, California, was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was found guilty last year in Los Angeles of taking bribes and money laundering. Broumand, an FBI special agent from January 1999 until shortly after search warrants were served on his home and businesses in 2018, was responsible for national security investigations and…
LOS ANGELES – Eighteen people have been arrested in an anti-gang investigation by a multi-agency task force, authorities said Monday. The investigation included personnel from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, according to the LAPD. “In January of 2020, LAPD Harbor Area Narcotics Enforcement Detail and ATF-Long Beach initiated an investigation into the criminal activities of Eastside Wilmas gang members,” an LAPD statement said. “During the investigation, and with the support of the ATF and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, several wiretaps…
FULLERTON – Three teenage males were wounded in a shooting at a Fullerton apartment complex in a suspected gang-related attack, authorities said Monday. The shooting was reported about 10:40 p.m. Sunday in the 3800 block of Franklin Avenue near Magnolia Avenue, according to Fullerton police Lt. Tony Rios. Officers were dispatched to a call of “multiple victims with gunshots down in front of the location,” Rios told a videographer at the scene. Police suspect it was a gang-related attack, Fullerton police Capt. Jon Radus said. One of the victims is 16 and the other two are 15, Radus said, adding…
LOS ANGELES – LA metro experienced a 12 percent increase in ridership in 2022 compared to the previous year, the agency reported Monday. Metro reported 255 million boardings last year, up from 227 million in 2021 as more Angelenos returned to their pre-pandemic lives. Bus ridership increased by 10 percent and rail ridership was up by 20 percent. Ara Najarian, Metro Board Chair, said “many of Metro’s riders disappeared, and stayed away” after the pandemic began, but that the ridership numbers began to tick back up last year. “Metro is working diligently to restore the level of service for those…
By STEVEN HERBERT LOS ANGELES (CNS) – The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose Thursday for the 22nd consecutive day, increasing six-tenths of a cent to $4.833, its highest amount since Dec. 5. The average price has increased 26.9 cents over the past 22 days, including a half-cent Wednesday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 9 cents more than one week ago, 31.2 cents higher than one month ago and 3.7 cents greater than it was one year ago. The average price has dropped $1.661…
By FRED SHUSTER LOS ANGELES – Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan coordinated a $600,000 loan from a Chinese billionaire doing business with the city to then-Councilman José Huizar to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit that threatened the Huizar’s reelection campaign, an FBI agent testified Wednesday in Chan’s federal criminal trial. Chan is facing a dozen criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, bribery, honest services fraud and lying to federal agents for his alleged role in a complex pay-to-play scheme that prosecutors say soaked developers for millions of dollars in exchange for getting their building projects approved at City Hall.…
LOS ANGELES – A judge is set to hear closing arguments Thursday in the trial of a Lancaster woman and her boyfriend, who are charged with murder and torture in connection with her 10-year-old son’s death. Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta is hearing the case of Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37, as a result of a decision by both sides to waive their right to a jury trial. Barron and Leiva are charged with one count each of murder and torture involving the June 2018 death of Anthony Avalos, along with two counts of child abuse…
WEST COVINA – The West Covina City Council voted to investigate why an Indigenous land acknowledgment and blessing was canceled during the city’s centennial celebration which led to public demands for accountability and answers for the decision at the latest City Council meeting. During the council meeting Wednesday, West Covina Mayor Rosario Diaz and councilman Tony Wu were under fire for the decision to cancel the part of the city’s centennial celebration that included a land acknowledgment and blessing to be delivered by Jamie Nicole Rocha of the Gabrielino-Shoshone Nation of Southern California. The city manager apologized at the meeting…
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths and the number of virus-positive hospital patients fell below 700 in its latest data. The 11 new fatalities gave the county an overall death toll from the pandemic of 35,614. The majority of people who die with COVID-19 are elderly or have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension. Meanwhile, the county reported 1,419 new COVID infections Wednesday, lifting the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 3,698,481. The daily case numbers released by the county are undercounts of actual virus activity in the county,…