Author: Robert Lopez

A Lakeside woman was arrested on suspicion of felony animal neglect Wednesday after authorities found 60 dogs in filthy, cramped conditions inside her small home, officials said.



Alice Via, 65, was taken into custody after San Diego County animal control officers served a search warrant at her home, where she operates a dog rescue shelter.



The dogs, the majority of which were boxers, were in small caged crates stacked on top of each other inside the 750 square-foot residence, authorities said.



Many of the dogs were covered with ticks, and others had respiratory problems, said Lt. Dan DeSousa of the county Department of Animal Services.



One dog was so thirsty that it was licking the condensation off the side of its crate when officers arrived at the home Wednesday morning. Others had sore paws from scratching the insides of the boxes.



The home reeked of feces and urine, according to DeSousa, who said the dogs were taken outside for only an hour a day.



"She was in way over her head," DeSousa said of Via, who also kept chihuahuas and terriers at the site.



Via is also facing misdemeanor charges of illegal confinement, failure to provide veterinarian care and failure to possess a kennel license, DeSousa said.

— Robert J. Lopez

Photos: Animal control officers take dogs from Lakeside home, where they were stored in the crates pictured above. Credit: San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

A woman reported missing Friday from her home in Rancho Santa Margarita was found unharmed Tuesday night at a hotel in Glendale, authorities said.

Kavishka Tokevich Lebrook, 33, was staying at the hotel and was in good condition, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said.

"She is fine," said Lt. Mike Jansen.  He said there was no suspicious activity involved with her disappearance.

Lebrook told her boyfriend she would return to their Rancho Santa Margarita home about noon Friday but never showed up, authorities said.

The boyfriend called the sheriff’s department Tuesday and said that he noticed charges on her credit card from the hotel in Glendale, Jansen said. The department contacted authorities in Glendale.

— Robert J. Lopez

Strong winds, with gusts up to 60 mph, are expected to continue across Southern California through Wednesday night, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning for mountain areas in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Strong northwest to north winds were expected to persist Wednesday, except for a lull in the late morning and early afternoon, the weather service said.

The winds could create dangerous sea conditions and hazardous driving conditions for motorists in mountain areas and the Antelope Valley.

The strongest winds are expected along Interstate 5 on the Grapevine, with gusts up to 60 mph, according to the weather service. Motorists who drove through the pass Tuesday said that wind was blowing snow across the highway in the Frazier Park area.

— Robert J. Lopez

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Authorities were hailing a 7-year-old Norwalk boy as a hero Tuesday after he hid in a bathroom and called 911 as three armed attackers broke into his home and threatened his parents.

During the harrowing emergency call, the child pleaded with Los Angeles County sheriff’s dispatchers to send help.

"Can you come really fast? Please! Please! … They have guns. They shoot my mom and dad," the boy said, according to a copy of the 911 tape released by authorities. To hear the tape, click here.

The incident began about 8:30 a.m. when the three suspects, armed with handguns, stormed in through an unlocked door and said they were going to take what they wanted, the sheriff’s department said.

The boy hid in the bathroom and locked the door.

"There’s some guy who’s going to kill my mom and dad," he said. "Can you come, please?

"Bring cops…a lot of them! … And soldiers, too," the boy said.

He told dispatchers that he thought his parents had been shot.

The attackers broke into the bathroom and found the boy.  At that point, screaming is heard on the 911 tape.

Authorities said one of the suspects grabbed the boy and asked who he called. "911," the boy responded, according to the department.

The suspects fled without injuring anyone or taking any property, authorities said.

"If not for the brave and educated actions of the 7-year-old boy, this might have ended tragically," said Capt. Pat Maxwell.

[Updated 10:18 p.m.: The boy hid in the bathroom with his 6-year-old sister, according to the 911 tape. Authorities said the suspects fled in a gray two-door Acura RSX.]

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (562) 863-8711.

— Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

About 150 firefighters battled a huge commercial blaze Tuesday night in South Los Angeles for nearly an hour before beating back the flames.

The building at 1753 E. Slauson Ave. in Harvard Park was fully engulfed by flames, which a roof to partially collapse and electrical wires to come down, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Units knocked down the blaze about 7:15 p.m.

The fire was so fierce that units at the scene were forced to retreat to a defensive position as thick dark smoke billowed from the blaze and flames shot into the evening sky, the department said.

Video footage shot by news helicopters showed wooden pallets burning at the site.

— Robert J. Lopez

A person was shot Tuesday evening in a South Los Angeles neighborhood near George Washington Preparatory High School, officials said.



The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. near West 108th Street and South Denker Avenue in unincorporated Los Angeles County, the county Fire Department said.



The site is about two blocks from the school. The condition of the victim was not released.



Detectives were investigating the circumstances of the shooting. No additional details were available.



— Robert J. Lopez

A man shot Tuesday morning by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy was in critical but stable condition, authorities said.

The man was injured about 11:30 a.m. in the 600 block of Bear Street in Bell after a standoff with authorities. Officers from the Bell Police Department, who had responded to a report of a man with a gun, tried unsuccessfully to persuade the suspect to exit the home, said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Bell police called a sheriff’s SWAT team, which responded with an armored vehicle carrier.

"As we were staging, the suspect exited the front door armed with a handgun and began to advance in the direction of the deputies," Whitmore said. "Fearing for safety, one of the deputies opened fire."

Whitmore said a .45-caliber handgun was recovered from the scene. The suspect’s name and age were not released.

— Robert J. Lopez

An illegal immigrant charged with sexually molesting a child in the Bay Area was arrested near Calexico after trying to sneak back in the United States from Mexico, authorities said Tuesday.

The man was arrested Sunday nine miles west of Calexico with four other immigrants who had entered the U.S. illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said. His name and age were not released.

A records check by federal officers showed that the man was wanted on an outstanding warrant in Marin County on a charge of a lewd and lascivious act with a child under 14, the department said.

The man was being held by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Department pending extradition to Marin County, according to the department. The four others were processed and returned to Mexico.

— Robert J. Lopez

Police uncovered a marijuana-growing operation Monday evening at a warehouse in Van Nuys.



The operation was in a building in a commercial area near Roscoe Place and Hayvenhurst Place, the Los Angeles Police Department said.



One man was taken into custody. Officers obtained search warrants and entered the building Monday night. The number of plants in the building was not immediately known, the LAPD said.



— Robert J. Lopez

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck Monday night near Julian in San Diego County but apparently caused no major damage, authorities said.



The quake was recorded 15 miles east southeast of Julian at 8:18 p.m., the U.S. Geological Survey reported.



The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said it received no reports of damage.



— Robert J. Lopez

A 15-year-old boy was shot dead and a 16-year-old was wounded Monday night in an apparent gang-related attack in Pacoima, police said.



The gunfire broke out about 7:15 p.m. as a car pulled up to the two youths who were riding their bicycles in the 11200 block of Dronfield Avenue,  the Los Angeles Police Department said.



Someone in the vehicle asked, "Where are you from?" and then opened fire, Officer Karen Rayner said.



The 15-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital, and the other victim was in stable condition, Rayner said.



Since January 2007, at least 22 homicides have been reported within two miles of the site, according to a Times database.



Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call (877) LAPD-24-7.

— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Red dots show the homicides reported in the Pacoima area since January 2007. Credit: Los Angeles Times Homicide Report

Gardena police released a sketch Monday of a kidnapping suspect wanted in connection with two recent incidents.

The suspect chased a woman on March 2 about 9:30 a.m. as she walked near West 156th Street and Atkinson Avenue, the Gardena Police Department said. The woman, a 20-year-old college student, was chased by the suspect in his newer model red pickup truck after he had tried to lure her into the vehicle.

Police said a similar incident involving a 9-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother was reported Feb. 26 in Redondo Beach.

The suspect is described as a white male, about 45, with tanned skin and wavy, shoulder-length, dirty-blond hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call Gardena police detectives at (310) 217-9607.  

— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Sketch of suspect. Credit: Gardena Police Department

Nearly 300 illegal immigrants, some with criminal records, were arrested during the weekend attempting to enter the United States from Mexico in the San Diego and Imperial Valley areas, authorities said Monday.



At border checkpoints including San Ysidro and Calexico, 294 immigrants were found hidden in vehicles, or were using fraudulent entry documents or documents legally issued to someone else,  the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. Among those arrested were 16 fugitives wanted on charges of battery, burglary, assault and probation violation.



A Guatemalan national showed border agents a U.S. birth certificate and federal Bureau of Prisons release authorization form with his photo. But suspicious officers at the San Ysidro crossing questioned the man and determined that the documents belonged to another person, the Homeland Security Department said.



The man was arrested and transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles to await arraignment for allegedly making a false claim to U.S. citizenship, the department said.



–Robert J. Lopez

Rescuers were searching Thursday night for a crew member who fell off a cargo ship in San Pedro harbor.

The crew member was on the United Spirit, which carries Nissan vehicles, when he fell into the water about 7:15 p.m, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Scuba divers from the Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department as well as personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard in rescue vessels were looking for the victim.

[Updated 10:16 p.m.: Authorities now say that the man did not fall off the ship. A witness said the man, who was partially clothed, ran across the dock and jumped into the water near the propeller of the cargo ship as it was arriving, Coast Guard Lt. Tyler Stutin said].

— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: KTLA

A day of largely peaceful rallies against cuts in education funding Thursday was disrupted in Los Angeles and Oakland when police and protesters clashed, shutting down roads and freeways as officers made arrests.

In Oakland, at least 150 people were arrested after protesters stormed Interstate 880 and I-980 near downtown about 5 p.m., blocking traffic for about an hour. One man was seriously injured when he jumped from a freeway overpass and landed on the street, the Oakland Police Department said.

At least four people were arrested in Northridge when marchers sat down and blocked the intersection of Prairie Street and Reseda Boulevard about 5:45 p.m., authorities said.

One of those arrested was a faculty member at Cal State Northridge, said Vance Peterson, a university spokesman.



The Northridge arrests capped a day of demonstration that began earlier with a rally on campus. By 4 p.m., the group of protesters had grown to about 400 people. "It was all very orderly," Peterson said.

A small group of protesters left the campus and began to block the intersection. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded and monitored the group for about an hour before making the arrests, Peterson said.

The gathering in Oakland, where more than 1,000 people converged on City Hall, was also peaceful until a group broke off and began heading toward the freeways several blocks away, Officer Jeff Thomason said.

The injured man was taken to a hospital and was expected to survive, Thomason said. The man’s name and age were not released.

The protesters ran into the lanes blocking northbound traffic on I-980 Freeway and southbound traffic on I-880. "We’re lucky that no one was hit" by vehicles, Thomason said.

[Updated at 10:22 p.m.: Five people were arrested after the Cal State Northridge protest, officials said. University President Jolene Koester said in a statement that she supported the peaceful rally but was "disturbed and saddened" by the small group of protesters who blocked the intersection.]

— Robert J. Lopez

Police shut down Reseda Boulevard near Nordhoff Street Thursday afternoon near Cal State Northridge after protesters tried to march against oncoming traffic, authorities said.



The protesters were rallying as part of a nationwide day of action to call attention to budget cuts in education. The group was going against traffic, the Los Angeles Police Department said.



"The officers were just trying to contain them and direct them to the correct path of travel," LAPD Officer Rosario Herrera said.



She said the crowd appeared to be breaking up shortly after 6:30 p.m. and that there were no reports of arrests.



— Robert J. Lopez

Los Angeles police released a surveillance video Thursday in hopes of getting leads on a burglary crew nicknamed the "Drill Lock Burglars."



The video footage shows the burglars removing suitcases and bags filled with items from an apartment in the 3100 block of West 3rd Street in the Westlake neighborhood.  The burglars broke into the place by drilling holes into the door and lock, the Los Angeles Police Department said.



Detectives believe that the crew is responsible for other area burglaries, the LAPD said.



Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Adrian Chin at (213) 382-9440.



–Robert J. Lopez

Video: Surveillance footage. Credit: Los Angeles Police Department.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Wednesday it was "inevitable" that nonviolent inmates in county jails would be released early if the budget crisis persists.



Currently, inmates in County Jail convicted of nonviolent offenses serve 80% of their sentences.  But that  could drop to 50%, department officials said.



"The discussion has moved to the forefront," department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.  "It has become another tool that we are looking at."



Earlier this week, Baca said the department was examining a number of budget-cutting measures, including moving hundreds of deputies from administrative duties to street patrol and slashing overtime payments.



But he told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that early releases may also have to be used to cut costs.



For a period in 2004, Baca released petty criminals early to save money. The move was criticized by other law enforcement officials.



William J. Bratton, who was Los Angeles Police Department chief at the time, said the early releases undercut the LAPD’s so-called broken-windows strategy. The strategy is based on the idea that punishing lesser offenses leads to reductions in more serious crime.



— Andrew Blankstein and Robert J. Lopez

At least two people died Wednesday night in a collision involving multiple vehicles on the northbound 605 Freeway near the 91 Freeway in Cerritos, authorities said.



The accident was reported shortly before 7 p.m. and snarled traffic on all northbound lanes, the California Highway Patrol said.



The CHP said initial reports indicated that at least two other victims were injured and lying on the freeway. At least three vehicles, including a minivan and a sedan, were involved in the crash.

Authorities were considering landing a helicopter on the freeway to transport the injured victims, the CHP said. Investigators were at the scene trying to determine a cause.

[Updated 10:13 p.m.: Five people were injured, four of them critically, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Two of the victims were transported to hospitals by helicopter.]

— Robert J. Lopez

One person was killed and another was burned Wednesday evening when a fire tore through a home in Hemet, authorities said.

The single-family structure in the 27000 block of Val Deane Way was completely engulfed in flames when the first firetruck arrived shortly after 5:30 p.m., the Riverside County Fire Department said.

Firefighters went into rescue mode because of reports
there was someone inside the home, the department said. In all, 21
firefighters in six engines battled the blaze.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene, and a second was taken to a hospital. The extent of the victim’s burns was not known, the department said. The victims’ names were not released.

Investigators were at the scene Wednesday night trying to determine what caused the fire.



— Robert J. Lopez