The victim, described as a short, bald, Hispanic man by witnesses and police, was standing on the corner around noon when two men walked up and fired at him multiple times, hitting him once. The men then fled to a nearby vehicle and drove away, according to Det. Michael Pelletier of the Los Angeles Police Department's West Los Angeles Division.

The injured man crossed Venice Boulevard toward the Tacos Don Jorge Restaurant, apparently seeking help. A group of firefighters having lunch there saw him and immediately called for police assistance, said Officer Paul Duran.

Upon their arrival, a witness at the scene gave the police a description of the car driven away by the shooters and the license plate number, which the police ran through their system, Duran said.

The car was registered to an address just a few blocks away. Police were immediately sent there and began setting up a perimeter when they saw a car near the address that matched the witness's description, Duran said.

Between 30 and 40 police officers surrounded the location, a residence, with high-powered rifles. A police helicopter was also sent in to help the officers on the ground cover the home more securely. Police dogs were on hand to search the residence if the suspect did not reply to police hails, Duran said.

The police considered calling in SWAT, Special Weapons and Tactics, but decided to wait until after they had tried hailing the suspects to see if they would come out willingly, Duran said.

After making sure that the suspects could not escape, police got on a loudspeaker and asked them to come out, Duran said.

The suspects came out of the house with their hands over their heads and were handcuffed by police and taken into custody, Duran said.

The two suspects, described by police as Hispanic, 18-25 year olds, have both had charges filed against them. Both are suspected gang members, Pelletier said.

The victim is alive and doing well, according to Pelletier.

The police declined to release the names of the victim or the suspects.

The area of West Los Angeles where the victim was shot is known for gang activity, and violence such as this occurs periodically, Pelletier said.

Katie Evarts
 

Prosecutors have charged a Midway City man with one felony count of assaulting a security guard last month at a Long Beach parking garage near the Aquarium of the Pacific.

The victim, David Justin Theobald III, an employee of Platt Security, said he was on duty on the second floor at the garage off Aquarium Way, directly across the street from the popular tourist attraction the night he encountered the suspect.

Theobald discovered the accused, Tuiofu Foisia Lokeni, vandalizing a box containing fire hose equipment around midnight in the evening of Jan. 23, according to Nancy Pratt, a spokesperson for the Long Beach Police Department.

"He was acting very violently," Theobald stated in a brief interview on Sunday. According to Pratt, Lokeni was pounding the fire hose box with his bare fists. Inmate records show that Lokeni is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds. "He was just punching a fire hose box and dented the crap out of it," Theobald said. "I believe they had to replace it."

According to police reports and Theobald's account, Theobald ordered Lokeni to stop and then proceeded to call his supervisor. Lokeni then turned his aggression on the lone guard, bare-knuckle punching then kicking him in the face.

"I didn't even see it coming," Theobald said. "He hit me first on the blind side, and I couldn't do anything about it." Theobald later declined to go into further details of the case since there is still an ongoing investigation.

Theobald's employer, Platt Security in Signal Hill, declined to comment on the story, also citing concerns over the investigation.

A Long Beach police officer on patrol discovered the assault in progress and called for help, according to the police spokesperson. Lokeni escaped with two other people in a brown Ford Explorer.

Shortly afterwards, a unit in the area responded to the call and found on the corner of Pine and Seaside three suspects in a vehicle that matched the description.

Police arrested the 25-year-old Lokeni on initial charges of assault and vandalism. At this time, it is unclear whether the district attorney's office has filed the additional misdemeanor charge of vandalism against the accused.

Police also arrested Midway City resident Lila Tenise Lokeni, another person in the vehicle, on a charge of possession of a stolen weapon. According to the police spokesperson, the district attorney's office later dropped all charges against 28-year-old Lokeni, and he was released later that evening.

Lokeni's record includes a guilty plea on a misdemeanor charge of challenging to fight in public in April, 2008. A bench warrant in the amount of $5,000 was issued when Lokeni failed to pay the initial fine of $415 last fall.

This time, Lokeni pleaded not guilty to the felony charge of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, and court records show he was remanded to custody. He is currently awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for Mar. 5.

C.J. Dablo

Police were still searching last week for the serial bank robber believed to have robbed the First Federal Bank on West Pico Boulevard.

The suspect, nicknamed "The Salt and Pepper Bandit" by the authorities because of his hair color, is being held responsible for 14 other bank robberies that occurred around Los Angeles throughout January. Other than First Federal Bank, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Union Bank and Washington Mutual are among the other establishments he has successfully robbed.

According to a press release issued by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Salt and Pepper Bandit's "method of operation is to present a note to the teller and demand cash. Afterwards, the suspect flees in a getaway car described as a gold 1993-1997 Toyota Corolla."

Police have identified the suspect as 49-year-old Brian Robinson, an African-American just under 6 feet tall. Robinson has a warrant for bank robbery in the state of Arkansas.

Officers from the West Los Angeles Police Department declined to comment further on the case, yet expressed their desire to resolve the matter immediately.

"This guy has been robbing banks on Wilshire and in Santa Monicaand all over town," said Officer Baron of the West Los Angeles Community Relations Board. "We're still looking for him but we hope to catch him soon."

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Tracy Benjamin, Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 485-2511. After hours or on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or by texting CRIMES (274637) and beginning the message with the letters LAPD. Tipsters may also submit information on the LAPD Web site.

Francesca Ayala

A 17-year-old suspected gang member assaulted two undercover Los Angeles police officers with a can of beer near the intersection of Serrano Place and Lemon Grove Avenue in Hollywood on Feb. 4, 2009.

The incident occurred just before 8:30 p.m. when members of the Rebels 13 gang recognized the undercover police officers in their unmarked vehicle and sent the juvenile to throw the full beer can through the driver's side window of the car. The projectile struck both officers in the head.

Officers then took the juvenile into custody. While handcuffing the suspect, five to 10 other suspected gang members emerged from the surrounding area and demanded the release of the juvenile. One of the gang members, Jesse Mejia, rushed the police officers with what appeared to be a concealed handgun underneath his t-shirt, according to police sources.

Police say they demanded that Mejia drop his weapon, which he did not. Fearing for their safety, one of the officers, whose name has not been released, pulled out his weapon.

Mejia then tried to wrestle the weapon away from the officer and in the process punched the officer in the face. The officer regained control of his gun and shot Mejia in the hand and chest.

Mejia fled the scene, and police believe he deposited his weapon in a nearby house. Responding officers found Mejia close to the scene on Serrano Place. Mejia was taken to L.A. County University of Southern California Medical Center where he is in stable condition and remains in police custody there.

Mejia, whose gang name is "Silent," has a long-standing record of violent crime in the Hollywood area, said police. He was released on parole from county jail on Dec. 25, 2008 for a crime involving a Hollywood-area robbery. He is now being charged with violating parole.

LAPD reports that violent crimes have decreased in Los Angeles in the past year, but crimes targeting police are on the rise. The Los Angeles Police Protective League reported that police officers were attacked 527 times in 2008. This number includes 14 officer shootings, one SWAT officer murder, 168 assaults with deadly weapons and 358 cases of physical altercation.

Alaena Hostetter