Author: Robert Lopez

A SkyWest Airlines plane slammed into a boarding jetway Tuesday morning at Los Angeles International Airport, breaking propeller blades that struck the fuselage, according preliminary information released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

There were no injuries to the crew members or 25 passengers on board the twin-engine Embraer turboprop airplane, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.

The safety board has dispatched an investigator from its Gardena office to investigate the incident, which happened about 6:30 a.m. The plane was coming from McClellan-Palomar airport in Carlsbad, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

After landing, the aircraft was directed by a SkyWest employee into the taxi area where it struck the jetway. The propeller blades apparently hit the jetway and then hit the plane, but they did not enter into the cabin area, Knudson said.

No additional details were available.

— Robert J. Lopez

A Southwest Airlines flight heading to Burbank was on a brief collision course with a small private aircraft Saturday afternoon and had to execute an evasive maneuver, causing injuries to two flight attendants, according to preliminary information from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Southwest Flight 2534, with 85 people on board, was flying at about 6,000 feet and was 20 miles out of Bob Hope Airport about 12:45 p.m when an alert sounded in the cockpit, warning that the Boeing 737 was on a collision course with other aircraft, according to FAA spokesman Ian Gregor.

The Southwest pilot made an emergency descent and then climbed, causing one of the attendants to break a shoulder, Gregor said. The flight landed at Bob Hope without incident.

Officials from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.

[Updated at 5:45 p.m.: A Southwest spokeswoman said the flight departed from Las Vegas with 80 passengers and that the two employees were treated for their injuries and released.]

— Robert J. Lopez

A pipe bomb was found Monday afternoon near a pond on the Pierce College campus in Woodland Hills, authorities said.



A man turned the bomb in to the campus sheriff’s station about 2:30 p.m., saying he had found the device, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.



The campus was closed for the Presidents Day holiday as bomb squad investigators searched the area for additional explosives. None were found, the department said.



Detectives said the pipe bomb was live but did not appear to be connected to a threat against a specific person.



— Robert J. Lopez

Crews were working Monday night to repair an 8-inch water line that broke in the Westlake neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles.



The water line broke about 6 p.m. near Wilshire Boulevard and South Bonnie Brae Street but caused no major damage to the street, the Department of Water and Power said.



"Our crews are working fast and furiously to fix it," said DWP spokeswoman Terry Schneider.



She said crews had turned off the water in the area, but it was unclear whether any customers were affected.



— Robert J. Lopez

A man was gunned down and died Monday night on a Compton street, authorities said.



The shooting occurred about 7:15 p.m. in the 200 block of West Caldwell Street, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.



The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. His name and age were not released.



Since January 2007, 117 homicides have been recorded in Compton, according to a Times database.



Sheriff’s detectives were at the scene Monday night looking for evidence in the slaying.



— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Compton homicides reported since January 2007. Source: Times Homicide Report.

A pedestrian walking on the northbound 101 Freeway was struck and killed Monday night, slowing traffic on the busy thoroughfare, officials said.



The accident occurred shortly before 8 p.m. near the Hollywood Boulevard exit, the California Highway Patrol said.



The Los Angeles County coroner’s office was dispatched to the scene, where CHP investigators were trying to determine how the victim entered the freeway.



No additional details were available.



— Robert J. Lopez

Authorities in Compton are looking for witnesses to a hit-and-run accident Monday morning that left a man on a bicycle dead.



A silver or gray 1990s Ford passenger van, possibly an Aerostar, struck the man about 8 a.m. as he was riding near South Dwight Avenue and West Compton Boulevard, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.



The vehicle was seen fleeing east on Compton. Rescuers attempted to treat the victim, but he died of his injuries. His name was not released, the department said.



Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at the Compton sheriff’s station  at (310) 605-6500.



— Robert J. Lopez

Gardena police are looking for witnesses to a hit-and-run accident Thursday that left a man dead.



The victim was walking near Rosecrans and Purche avenues when he was struck by a light-colored pickup, the Gardena Police Department said.



Paramedics found the man lying in the street and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His name was not released.



Police said the vehicle had major front-end damage on its passenger side and was last seen traveling west on Rosecrans.



Anyone with information is asked to call police investigator Sergio Borbon at (310) 217-6135.



— Robert J. Lopez

Philippe the Original, a venerable Los Angeles eatery famous for its juicy French dip sandwiches, has been shut down by county health inspectors because of a cockroach infestation, officials said Thursday evening.



Health inspectors discovered the problem about 11 a.m. Wednesday after conducting an inspection prompted by citizens’ complaints, said Angelo Bellomo, director of environmental health for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.



He said the restaurant typically receives high scores during routine inspections. County inspectors conducted such an inspection Wednesday, in addition to the probe based on the complaint, and the business scored in the low 90s, Bellomo said.



But inspectors had to close the restaurant for 48 hours to allow the vermin to be removed.



"When you have a violation like a live cockroach infestation, it doesn’t matter how good the score is," Bellomo said.



He said health inspectors plan to return Friday morning and the restaurant could be open by noon.



A worker at the restaurant Thursday evening said that the management was not available for comment.



Known simply as Philippe’s, the restaurant has been operating for more than 100 years. The business has been at its current location on North Alameda Street near Union Station since 1951, according to its website.

— Robert J. Lopez

2008 file photo by Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Four Manhattan Beach police officers are under investigation and were placed on leave after allegedly failing to report a hit-and-run accident caused by a vehicle registered to one of the officers, authorities said Thursday.



Alcohol may have been involved in the three-car collision that occurred Jan. 31 near Sepulveda and Manhattan Beach boulevards, the Police Department said.



When officers arrived, the driver suspected of causing the crash had fled. The driver’s unoccupied vehicle was found later at a nearby gasoline station.



Officers conducted a registration check, which showed that the owner was a Manhattan Beach police officer. No report was taken and no arrests were made, Police Chief Rod Uyeda said in a statement.



Uyeda said he had "grave concerns about decisions that were made by police officers involved in the investigation of the collision."



The officers were placed on leave after a preliminary internal affairs investigation. Uyeda, citing the complexity of the case, said the investigation has been turned over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.



— Robert J. Lopez

A  body was found Wednesday night on the 5 Freeway in Sun Valley, police said.



The body was initially reported to be a dog, the Los Angeles Police Department said, but officers confirmed that it was a body.



Investigators were at the scene Wednesday night. No other details were available.



— Robert J. Lopez

A former Redondo Beach police officer accused of taking more than $75,000 from a law enforcement officers’ association pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of grand theft by embezzlement, authorities said.



Gene Tomatani, 40, is expected to pay $75,388 in restitution between now and his sentencing March 15, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said. He has already paid $12,000 toward the restitution.



Tomatani agreed to a settlement and is expected to be sentenced to 90 days in County Jail and three years’ probation. He must attend a year of Gamblers Anonymous, the district attorney said.



Tomatani was the president and treasurer of the Redondo Beach Police Officer’s Assn. and was accused of embezzling the money between May 2004 and May 2008.



He resigned from the department in October.



–Robert J. Lopez

Los Angeles motorists should avoid traveling westbound Wednesday on Mulholland Drive between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue, officials said.



A portion of the heavily traveled artery was washed out by the rainstorms that buffeted the region in recent days, according to the city’s Department of Transportation.



Users of Twitter have posted reports saying that traffic has slowed noticeably on Laurel Canyon.



–Robert J. Lopez

A man who fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution turned himself in Wednesday on charges that he sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl and threatened to kill her 15-year-old sister after breaking into their home in Orange, authorities said.



Ernesto Parraguirre, 20, of Anaheim, is charged with one felony count each of sexual penetration of a child 10 years or younger, lewd acts on a child under 14, criminal threats and a sentencing enhancement allegation for committing a sexual offense during a residential burglary, the Orange County district attorney’s office said.



Parraguirre allegedly broke into the girls’ bedroom the night of Sept. 16 by entering through a window while they were sleeping, according to the district attorney. He is accused of getting into the bed of the 9-year-old and sexually assaulting her.



After the girl began to cry, her sister woke up and Parraguirre allegedly threatened to kill her if she said anything, the district attorney said. A parent was sleeping in another bedroom.



Parraguirre fled the scene and went to Mexico, the district attorney said.



He was being held in lieu of $1-million bail and is expected to be arraigned Feb. 16. at the Santa Ana courthouse.



Authorities said anyone who may have been a victim of a similar attack should contact Orange Police Det. Jeremy Smith at (714) 744-7444 or Supervising Dist. Atty. Investigator Randy Litwin at (714) 347-8794.



— Robert J. Lopez

A second wave of wet weather is expected to hit the Los Angeles area about 10 p.m. Tuesday, causing possible isolated thunderstorms with some heavy bursts of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Overall, however, the rainfall is not expected to be as intense as the downpours that hit the region Tuesday afternoon and prompted the weather service to issue flash-flood warnings in mountain areas where wildfires had stripped away protective vegetation.

"There won’t be as much rain," said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service’s Oxnard office.

By Tuesday evening, 0.4 inches of rain had been recorded in Santa Monica and 0.56 inches had fallen in Burbank, according to the weather service. At the San Gabriel Dam, 1.3 inches of rain was recorded.

In Wrightwood, 8 inches of snow had fallen by Tuesday evening. Three to 4 inches of snow had been recorded at Mt. Baldy, the weather service said.

In mudslide-prone areas, crews continue to monitor rain-swollen debris basins.

"They are holding their own, but they are fast reaching capacity," said Bob Spencer, a spokesman with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

— Robert J. Lopez

Photos: Storms pound the Southland

Workers in the businesses along the 5100 block of Venice Boulevard in Mid-City complain that the sprinklers on a city-owned median have been watering the grass during recent rain storms.

Early Tuesday afternoon,  the sprinklers were spraying as rain was falling. 

"It happens all the time," one worker said as he darted into his pickup truck and left.

During an afternoon deluge last month, a Times reporter saw the sprinklers watering the median as sheets of rain blanketed the street and sidewalk.

Under a mandatory water-conservation ordinance enacted in June, it is illegal to use sprinklers on any day other than Monday and Thursday, according to the Department of Water and Power. Sprinklers cannot not be used between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

A spokesman for the DWP, Joe Ramallo, said the agency would investigate the matter. If people see watering violations, he said, they should report them by calling (800) DIAL-DWP.

— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Sprinklers watering a public median as rain fell Tuesday afternoon. Credit: Robert J. Lopez / Los Angeles Times

A Seal Beach mother of four was charged Monday in the death of her 22-month-old daughter and for allegedly fracturing the skull of the dead child’s male twin,  authorities said.



Linda Wilborn, 31, was charged with one felony count of assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death and three felony counts of child abuse, the Orange County district attorney’s office said. She was arrested Monday by the Seal Beach Police Department and was being held in lieu of $1-million bail.



Wilborn allegedly ruptured the heart of the child who died, the district attorney’s office said. The child died after being taken to the hospital.



The district attorney said Wilborn subjected her twins to physical abuse between Oct. 17 and Dec. 17, 2009.



Her three other children have been placed in protective custody, prosecutors said.



Wilborn is expected to be arraigned Wednesday at the Santa Ana courthouse. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years to life in state prison, according to the district attorney.



— Robert J. Lopez

A parolee and documented gang member was convicted Monday of murder in the 2009 slaying of a 4-year-old boy in Echo Park, authorities said.

Howard Astorga, 26, was convicted by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury of one count each of first degree murder and shooting at an unoccupied motor vehicle, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

Jurors also found that Astorga carried out the crime to benefit the Diamond Street gang, according to authorities.

Roberto Lopez Jr. died after he was struck in the chest Jan. 13 last year by a bullet that police said was intended for rival gang members in a passing car. Roberto, who was with his sister and cousins, was walking to a park when he was shot in the 1200 block of Court Street, prosecutors said.

The crime sparked outrage in the community, where a 9-year-old girl had been killed two years earlier by gang crossfire as she stood in the kitchen of her home.

More than 500 people attended Roberto’s funeral, where Cardinal Roger Mahony conducted a Mass in Spanish.

According to a Times database, 60 homicides have been reported within two miles of where Roberto died since January 2007.

Astorga has three previous felony convictions in Los Angeles County, for grand theft in 2006, possession of a controlled substance for sale in 2005 and unlawful taking of a vehicle in 2002, the district attorney’s office said.

He will be sentenced March 8.

— Robert J. Lopez



Photo: A photo of Roberto Lopez Jr. that was part of a memorial erected at the site where he was killed. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times.

Federal investigators were responding Monday to a single-engine airplane crash that killed two people 10 miles north of Redlands in San Bernardino County, authorities said.



The Yakovlev YAK-52 aircraft crashed about 12:50 p.m. in a wash after taking off from Redlands Airport, according to preliminary information released by the Federal Aviation Administration.



A man and a woman on board were killed, the FAA said. Their names were not released.



The Yakovlev was originally designed as a Soviet trainer and acrobatic aircraft. The pilot had intended to return to Redlands Airport, authorities said.



Investigators with the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were heading to the crash site Monday afternoon.



The plane was owned by a Riverside man, according to FAA registration records.



— Robert J. Lopez