$50,000 Reward Offered in Killing of 15-year-old

I joined LAPD Capt. Anita Ortega and Hollenbeck detectives today to announce a $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the Dec. 7, 2009 shooting death of a 15-year-old boy in Boyle Heights. According to detectives, the shooting took place at about 7:30 a.m. as the Mendez Learning Center student was standing on the north side of East Cesar Chavez Avenue near St. Louis Street when he was approached by a suspect who fired multiple shots at him with a semiautomatic handgun. The person suspected in the shooting was caught on video fleeing the scene with a gun in his or her hand wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. The reward motion was introduced in Council today, and our hope is the public responds to this plea so we can get this extremely dangerous individual off our streets.

Calls may be directed to LAPD Hollenbeck Homicide Detectives Marin or Negrete at (323) 342-8961. Afterhours and on weekends: 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Anyone who prefers to remain anonymous may call “Crimestoppers” at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters can also contact Crimestoppers by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.

New LAPD Headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles

On Saturday, I joined LAPD Chief William Bratton, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several of my colleagues on the City Council for the official opening of the police department’s new downtown headquarters, replacing the aging Parker Center. Located across from City Hall, the new headquarters is a stunning-looking building, with plenty of park space for people to enjoy. This week is also Chief Bratton’s last week on the job after 7 years at the helm of the department. During his tenure, crime has dropped in Los Angeles to the lowest mark per capita since the 1950s. He was very instrumental in helping the department engage more with the community and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for that.
Photo Credit: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / October 24, 2009

Northeast LA LAPD Open House & Resource Fair , A Celebration of Community

On Saturday, I joined Captain Bill Murphy and the brave men and women of the Northeast Los Angeles Police Station for their Annual Open House and Resource Fair. The entire station was packed with people from the community, from seniors to tots, as well vendors serving up great local food. I believe Captain Murphy said they had well over 1,000 people in attendance. Everyday, LAPD officers risk their lives to protect our neighborhoods and communities. It’s important that we take the time to thank them and acknowledge them for all they do. Because of the commitment and hard work of the Northeast Division and the leadership of Captain Murphy, the Northeast has ranked 1st in crime reduction City-wide with homicides down 56 percent and violent crime down 10 percent. We know that accomplishments like these come to fruition by building strong community alliances. This Open House and Resource Fair provided a safe and fun environment where residents had the opportunity to meet police officers, take a tour of the station, and build the type of relationships that will help improve all our lives. Thank you to everyone who attended and to the many volunteers who made it all possible.

Fighting Graffiti on the L.A. River

On Thursday I joined Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Koontz from the Army Corps of Engineers on the Los Angeles River (near the Sixth Street Bridge) to remove gang graffiti from 100 miles of the flood control channel. We were also there to thank Sheriff’s Deputies for their work, which led to the arrests of some of the alleged taggers responsible for what many consider the largest tag in the U.S. The City of Los Angeles spends more than $10 million a year battling graffiti and I’m working on several solutions, including SB138, my plan authored with State Senator Carol Liu to raise the tax on spray paint cans and felt-tip markers to increase local graffiti funding; a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency data-base to better track repeat offenders.

On a different perspective, beautifying the community has always been top priority of mine. With the help and recommendations of the residents, last year, the "Art Heals" mural in Ramona Gardens was completed. We made sure that this mural paid homage to our history. The City of Los Angeles has a great tradition of public street art, and preserving the many murals throughout my district and the city requires that we take pride in maintaining them free of vandalism.

City Council Reward Motion Leads to Arrest in Fatal Hit-and-Run in El Sereno

Recently I announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the August 3rd death of motorcyclist Federico Porras. The 29-year-old man, who was raised in City Terrace, was a loved brother and father of a 4-year-old daughter and his family and friends attended a press conference with police officials and me to plea for the public’s help. Within a week of that press conference, police received a tip that led to the arrest of the alleged driver who is now facing felony charges. While nothing can bring their brother back, the Porras family did convey their heartfelt thanks to all whose help led to this arrest, which should bring some closure to them. I want to thank LAPD Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz, Capt. Ron Marbrey and their fantastic detectives for their work on this case. I also want to remind drivers that they are required under law to render aid if they are involved in an auto collision and somebody is injured, regardless who is at fault. If they leave the scene of the crash, they could be facing felony charges.

Join me this Saturday at Grand Opening for New Hollenbeck Police Station

This Saturday at 6 p.m., please join me, LAPD Chief William Bratton, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilmember Ed Reyes, Capt. Anita Ortega and others at the official Grand Opening for the new Hollenbeck Police Station, a stunning 54,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that will house more than 282 patrol officers, detectives and support staff. The new police station is just one of a number of improvements we’re working on in Boyle Heights – (Next up, The East Side Gold Line Extension!) Please bring friends and family Saturday as we celebrate this great new community police station, which includes an outside area where people can gather or sit and read a book. It’s really an awesome addition to our community.

When: 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009
Where: Hollenbeck Area Community Police Station
2111 East First Street (at Chicago)
Info: Councilmember Huizar’s Boyle Heights Office (323) 526-3059

Photo courtesy of Martha Benedict for lacp.org

National Night Out – America’s Night Out Against Crime

Tonight is National Night Out – America’s Night Out Against Crime.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT is designed to:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and
• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

National Night Out is a great opportunity for all of us to show our solidarity with law enforcement and to strengthen our commitment to peace in our neighborhoods.

There are three events happening in our District and I encourage you to come out, bring your families and get to know your neighbors and community.

Boyle Heights: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
March from Dolores Mission: 170 S. Gless St.
to
Hollenbeck Police Station: 2111 E. First St. (1st & Chicago)
Join the march or meet us at the station at 6:30 p.m.

Eagle Rock: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Parking Lot of Target, Upper Level
(East side of Eagle Rock Plaza)
2626 Colorado Boulevard

Downtown: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
El Pueblo Historical Monument (Olvera Street)
125 Paseo de la Plaza
Featuring live bands: “The Remods” and “Carlos Guitarlos”

SLOs Fast to the Task in Northeast L.A.

Last Wednesday, I joined community members and LAPD officers at the LAPD Northeast Senior Lead Officer Summit that took place at the Dodger Stadium Club. About 100 people attended from all sections of the Northeast. I am thankful that Senior Lead Officers Mark Allen from Highland Park, Craig Orange from Eagle Rock, Nina Perciado from Highland Park/Mt. Washington and Sgt. Danny Roman provide such outstanding service to Council District 14. These SLOs really do put a face to the department. Their efforts in creating a trusting and collaborative environment in fighting crime make us all safer. Northeast Division Commanding Officer, Captain Bill Murphy provided a great overview of the department and his commitment to public safety is demonstrated in his leadership.
[Pictured L-R: Sgt. Danny Roman, Councilmember Ed Reyes, Capt. William Murphy and me]

$75,000 Reward for Info on Double Homicide

COMMUNITY ALERT

Lots of things have happened since my last blog post.

Most urgently, I want to encourage anyone with information regarding the brutal murders of Felipe Villareal (42) and Rafael Padilla (57) to please come forward and talk to the Hollenbeck Police.
These two hard working family men were gruesomely shot and killed in the community of Boyle Heights on June 15th at 3:00am on the 3400 block of 1st St.

We need the public to come forward and help.

I introduced a motion in Council this past week for a $75,000 reward for any information that can help detectives solve this double homicide.
Your identity can be kept anonymous.

We need to protect our community, the health and safety of local residents; and we need to make sure our communities are not terrorized by random acts of violence that separate families.

Please do the right thing if you have any information.
Contact: Detective A. Negrete (323) 526-3679 or Officer R. Chavarria (323) 526-3006 or the Hollenbeck Watch Commander (323)266-5964

MORE INFO