Author: Robert Lopez

Los Angeles police were in Mar Vista on Thursday night detonating explosives that were uncovered, along with dozens of firearms, in a house that had been raided by gang and narcotics officers, according to authorities.

The undercover operation, which had been ongoing for several weeks, culminated when officers served a search warrant Thursday morning on a home in the 12700 block of Woodgreen Street, the Los Angeles Police Department said.



More than 100 firearms — including about 20 machine guns — and a number of explosive devices were found at the home in a quiet tree-lined neighborhood just south of Palms Avenue, the LAPD said.

At the home, officers arrested Brian David Cochran on suspicion of possessing machine guns, said Officer April Harding.

[Updated: 9:45 p.m.: Cochran, 63, was released on $45,000 bail and is scheduled to appear for a court hearing Feb. 25, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.]

Police cars, fire trucks and ambulances were parked nearby as an LAPD bomb squad continued to detonate the explosives Thursday evening, according to residents. 



Resident James Pruden said he could hear officers shouting, "Fire in the hole!"

"They’re not big explosions," he said. "Still, they’re unnerving."

— Robert J. Lopez

Police were looking for a gunman Monday night who opened fire on a victim in an apparent gang-related attack near the Eagle Rock Library.



The male victim was waking with a group of friends when they were confronted by the attacker, who fired several rounds, said Lt. John Cook of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division.



The victim, whose name and age were not released, was in stable condition, according to Cook.



The attack occurred about 3:30 p.m. in the 5000 block of Casper Avenue. No other details were available.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Northeast station watch commander at (323) 256-4335.

— Robert J. Lopez

Authorities released a surveillance video today to help produce leads in identifying a suspect who set fire to a stolen vehicle Monday morning in El Monte.



The man, along with a second suspect, parked near Ramona Boulevard and Durfee Avenue and unloaded property from the vehicle, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. The man then started a fire inside the vehicle.



As the flames grew, the man ran away and appeared to be brushing himself off, said Capt. Greg Cleveland of the Fire Department’s arson unit.



"He may have burned himself," Cleveland said.



The man ran to a white Jeep Cherokee, driven by the other suspect, and the pair fled the scene, according to Cleveland.



Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland at (626) 433-1011. Anonymous tips can be left at (800) 47-ARSON.



— Robert J. Lopez



Video: Surveillance footage. Source: Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A 47-year-old man accused of sexually molesting a 14-year-old boy he met on MySpace pleaded no contest Wednesday to oral copulation and sodomy charges, authorities said.



Achilles Dartgnan Corelleone of Salton City pleaded to three counts of oral copulation of a person under 16 and one count of sodomy of a person under 16, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.



Corelleone, also known as Arlan Gene Reynoldson, was sentenced to five years in state prison after entering his plea in Superior Court in Pomona, according to the district attorney’s office.



Corelleone will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He met the youth in March 2009, the district attorney’s office said.



–Robert J. Lopez

Police said Wednesday that they were investigating the death of a 13-year-old boy who choked on a hot dog during a charity event at the San Pedro Boys and Girls Club.



The boy swallowed the hot dog during a contest last Thursday and died several days later after he was taken off life support, said Sgt. Danny Contreras of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division.



"It was a very unfortunate accident," said Contreras, who said detectives were conducting a death report investigation.



He said people tried to help the boy before rescuers arrived. "None of them were able to dislodge it from his throat," Contreras said.



Officials from the Boys and Girls Club were not available Wednesday night for comment.



But the executive director of the center, Mike Lansing, told the Daily Breeze that the event was organized to raise money for Haiti earthquake victims.



Lansing said the contest was not to determine who could eat the most hot dogs. Instead, each youth ate a hot dog and bun with whipped cream on it, Lansing was quoted as saying.



Those who ate the hot dogs received a candy as a prize, according to the newspaper.



–Robert J. Lopez

Police were investigating a suspected homicide after a man was found dead on
a Silver Lake street Tuesday night, authorities said.





The victim appeared to be in his mid-30s and was found shot in the head in the
1100 block of Manzanita Street shortly after 7 p.m., the Los Angeles Police
Department said. A gun was found nearby.





"They are investigating it as a homicide," LAPD Officer Karen Rayner
said of detectives, who were at the scene.





The area was blocked off, and a helicopter circled overhead, residents said.

No other details were available. Anyone with information is asked to call (877)
LAPD 24-7.

Since January 2007,  40 homicides have been reported within two miles of the area, according to a Times database.

–Robert J. Lopez

The body of a 27-year-old man who was shot in the torso was dumped early Tuesday on a Gardena street, police said.

The victim was identified as Jesus Cazeres of Compton, the Gadena Police Department said.

Paramedics and officers arrived in the 15400 block of Berendo Avenue about 12:45 a.m. and found the body dumped near a sidewalk, police said.

Police said witnesses reported that a small black vehicle was seen leaving the area around the time the body was left there.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (310) 217-9608.

— Robert J. Lopez

The former pastor of a Compton church pleaded no contest Tuesday to one count of grand theft after he was accused of diverting more than $800,000 in offerings from his congregation, authorities said.

Eugene Joshua Sims, 48, who was pastor of Double Rock Baptist Church, will be sentenced to a year in county jail and five months of probation, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

Prosecutors are asking that Sims repay the more than $800,000 that he embezzled from church members while serving as their pastor, according to the district attorney’s office.

Sims allegedly deposited the money in a private bank account and then threatened members not to say anything during sermons after questions were raised, the district attorney’s office said.

Sims entered his plea in Compton Superior Court as his preliminary hearing was set to begin. In exchange for his plea, one felony count each of dissuading a witness and money laundering will be dropped when he is sentenced March 19, the district attorney’s office said.

Sims was ordered to stay away from Double Rock church while he is on probation, but he can preach and perform services at other churches, according to the district attorney’s office.

— Robert J. Lopez

Police in Orange are looking for suspects in the slaying of a 48-year-old woman found bleeding on her floor from a stab wound, authorities said Monday.



Cheryl Rose Wynn was in her home on the 1200 block of North Palo Loma Place on Sunday when she was found by her husband, who called 911, according to the Orange Police Department.



Wynn died at the scene, police said.



Police said they had not determined a motive. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Aaron Towner at (714) 744-7456.



— Robert J. Lopez

What initially appeared to be a case of a good Samaritan rescuing a huge black sea bass in Newport Beach could now result in criminal charges against the man for allegedly failing to help the animal, authorities said.



The controversy stems from a Jan. 3 incident during which a fisherman in a boat accidentally caught the fish, which is a protected species in California.



As the boat — sea bass in tow — pulled near shore, an unidentified man swam into the water and pulled the fish onto the sand. At the time, officials with the state Department of Fish and Game believed that the man had tried to rescue the floundering fish.



"They thought he made a reasonable effort to return the fish unharmed to the water," department spokesman Harry Morse said Monday.



But a video posted on YouTube shows the man apparently pulling the fish onto the sand as a throng of people surround the animal, shouting and cheering. 

After that video and others were posted on the Internet, Fish and Game officials reversed course and forwarded the case to the Orange County district attorney for possible prosecution.



"We’re reviewing it to determine what, if any, crime occurred," said Farrah Emami, a district attorney’s spokeswoman.



— Robert J. Lopez

A Whittier man suspected of producing child pornography was found dead in his home tonight by an FBI SWAT team that had surrounded the residence, authorities said.

A gunshot wound to the man’s head appeared to be self-inflicted, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller. The man’s name and age were not released.

Authorities used a robot with a surveillance camera operated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to enter the home and look for the suspect.

Earlier in the day, members of a multi-agency task force attempted to serve a search warrant on the house in the 10400 block of Kimbark Avenue. When authorities tried to enter the house, the man fled inside and task force members heard a gunshot, the FBI said.

A second man, Damian Dmytrykovfky of Whittier, was arrested when the task force arrived at the house. He is expected to be charged with making a false statement, the FBI said.

Eimiller said the investigation was ongoing and that authorities had not determined the extent of the alleged pornography or whether any children were victimized.

—Robert J. Lopez

More breaking news in L.A. Now:

L.A. chef to stand trial in slaying of popular waitress dumped in forest

Schwarzenegger faces tough choice: Release Manson follower from prison?

Officials raise fines for parking tickets, moving violations

O.C. deputy pleads guilty in lobster poaching case

San Diego’s Geezer Bandit hits 6th bank in 6 months

Manson family member Bruce Davis is recommended for parole in 1969 killings of musician and ranch hand

Body found on shore of Santa Ana River is identified

  An Orange County sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty today to possessing too many spiny lobsters, authorities said.

William Robb III, 39, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of possessing an excessive number of spiny lobsters and possessing undersized spiny lobsters, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Robb was placed on one year of informal probation and ordered to pay $800 in fines and make a $500 donation to the California Department of Fish and Game, prosecutors said.

The case resulted in another former deputy, Phillip Glenn Romero, 39, pleading guilty in December to one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.

Romero falsely claimed that Robb was a confidential informant in an effort to protect him from being cited in November 2008 by a state Department of Fish and Game warden for illegal lobster poaching, prosecutors said.

At the time, Romero was a deputy with the department and arrived at Dana Point Harbor after the warden had caught Robb with a bucket containing 13 undersized spiny lobsters, prosecutors said.

— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: A California spiny lobster. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Authorities are trying to identify the body of a man discovered Wednesday on the shore of the Santa Ana River near Huntington Beach that appeared to have been in the water for days.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said the man appeared to be in his mid-20s and  was wearing only shorts and a thin T-shirt. Authorities suspect that he may have been swimming or rafting in the river  during last week’s storms, according to sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino.

Investigators said they did not believe the man was a transient because of the clothes he was wearing. They also said it was unlikely that the body  was that of a missing 14-year-old who was caught in rapid waters during  a storm.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

— Monte Morin

Residents marched to a Santa Monica City Council meeting tonight to call attention to recurring issues of poverty and crime in the city’s Pico neighborhood.

The march was prompted by the slaying of Richard Manuel Juarez, who was gunned down Nov. 3 next to a police substation at Virginia Avenue Park.



Organizers said about 100 people — including Juarez’s parents — took part in the march from the Pico Youth & Family Center to City Hall.



They carried signs saying "Peace" and "Stop the Violence."

Marchers presented council members with a list of recommendations for violence intervention and prevention programs, said Oscar de la Torre, one of the organizers and a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

Located near the 10 Freeway, the Pico neighborhood is home to the city’s largest proportion of Latinos and African Americans.

— Robert J. Lopez

Photo: Marchers wave placards in Santa Monica City Hall. Credit: Joe Juarez.

Los Angeles police locked down a Boyle Heights elementary school today after gunshots were exchanged between burglary suspects and officers, police said.

The incident began shortly before noon at Cesar Chavez Avenue and N. Soto Street when two plainclothes officers from the Huntington Park Police Department saw three suspects committing a burglary, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

At least one of the suspects fired several shots at the officers, who returned fire. No injuries were reported, according to the LAPD.

Nearby Sheridan Street Elementary was locked down but was later reopened, police said.

Investigators were still at the scene this afternoon.

— Robert J. Lopez

The owner of a Los Angeles tax reassessment business was sentenced to community service today after pleading guilty to misleading consumers with mail solicitations, authorities said.

Sean McConville, 29, pleaded guilty to a dozen misdemeanor counts of disclosure violations for unsolicited mailings that appeared to be coming from a government agency, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

McConville, owner of Property Tax Reassessment, was charged in May after a probe by state authorities targeting businesses that charged homeowners substantial fees to fill out property tax reassessment forms, according to prosecutors.

In addition to 250 hours of community service, McConville was sentenced to three years of probation.

— Robert J. Lopez

A Nebraska man agreed to plead guilty today in federal court in Los Angeles to participating in a 2008 cyber attack that shut down websites for the Church of Scientology, prosecutors said.



Brian Thomas Mettenbrink, 20, was part of a group that called itself "Anonymous" and planned the January attack as part of a campaign against the church nationwide, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.



Mettenbrink, who is expected to enter his plea next week, was investigated by a federal task force based in Los Angeles, prosecutors said.



Mettenbrink admitted to downloading software from an Anonymous message board that was used to bombard Scientology websites and prevent them from being accessed by viewers, according to the U.S. attorney.



Prosecutors said a New Jersey man has been sentenced for participating in the attack.



— Robert J. Lopez

A man who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a bank fraud scheme from behind bars in a California state prison was sentenced today to eight years in federal custody, authorities said.



Morocco Curry, 37, also known as Monica Dupree, was serving a three-year sentence at Centinela prison in Imperial after pleading guilty to bank fraud and identity theft charges in state court, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.



While doing his time at Centinela, Curry obtained credit card numbers and other information on at least four victims, prosecutors said. Curry then made three-way telephone calls to conspirators outside the prison, and they contacted credit card issuers and asked them to send replacement credit cards.



Credit card companies lost more than $139,000 from the scheme, according to prosecutors.



The case was investigated by a task force sponsored by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.



— Robert J. Lopez