L.A. Officials Receive Video of Men Sexually Assaulting Disabled Women

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators made a public appeal Thursday in seeking at least four men who were videotaped sexually assaulting at least 10 women who appear to be severely disabled, including women in a care home.

The video came from 11 DVDs that an anonymous tipster dropped off last March at the Sheriff's Department headquarters in Monterey Park, California, said Sgt. Dan Scott.

The video was shot by a security camera and a handheld camera, Scott told reporters at a news conference.

One segment shows a woman victim wearing a diaper while in a wheelchair, Scott said.

Several locations are depicted in the video, including at least one place that appears to be a residential care facility, authorities said. Authorities don't know when or where the sexual assaults occurred.

Sgt. Diane Hecht told CNN that detectives are "starting from scratch" in their inquiry.

"We have victims, and we just don't know if the assaults are continuing. We have four suspects, and we need the public's help to take them into custody as soon as possible," Hecht told CNN.

"This is extremely serious. These women are developmentally disabled. It's awful to take advantage of anyone, but especially someone who could not defend themselves," Hecht said.

The more than 100 hours of video shows a sequence of at least 10 women being sexually assaulted by at least eight men, and investigators were able to develop composite drawings of four of the suspects, authorities said.

"The extremely disturbing videos are not being released to the public, but photos from portions of the video are being released in an effort to identify some of the suspects and at least one room depicted," the Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Detectives asked the tipster to call the anonymous Crime Stoppers communication system at 800-222-8477 and provide details on the video's origins. Investigators said members of the public can also call the special victim bureau's hot line at (866) 247-5877. Information can also be provided anonymously by texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637) or by accessing the Crime Stoppers website at www.lacrimestoppers.org.

'Person of Interest' in Beverly Hills Case Died on Hollywood's Dark Side

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Aspiring and retiring actors, struggling producers, hopeful musicians, low-income and disabled people fill the aging Hollywood apartment building where a "person of interest" in the Beverly Hills shooting death of celebrity publicist Ronni Chasen killed himself Wednesday.

The Harvey Apartments, a four-story former hotel, draws a diverse group because of its cheap rent, no deposit requirement, proximity to major film studios and a reputation for being roach-free, residents said.

"There's a lot of screaming goes on and hollering and the kind of ruckus you wouldn't find in the traditional apartment complex," said Eddie Burke, who moved in just two weeks ago.

Burke, who was the Tea Party candidate in Alaska's lieutenant governor's race this year, found the Harvey Apartments on the internet while looking for a place to stay while his son trains at a Hollywood gym to be a pro boxer.

If he had known about the neighborhood, he would not have rented here, Burke said.

"It's rough," he said. "The people here are diverse. It's really different from back home in Alaska."

But for $600 a month and with no deposit required, it was a tempting deal.

It also became a profitable arrangement for Burke, who made several thousand dollars Thursday selling a blurry photo of the lobby he took with his cell phone while investigators were still there.

The Santa Monica Boulevard location is just a block from Hollywood Forever cemetery, the final resting place for Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille and many other show business icons.

Three blocks away is Paramount Studios, where major movies and television shows are produced.

While the iconic Hollywood sign is visible from the sidewalk, the neighborhood is better known for the darker side of Hollywood where tour buses don't go.

Musician Tommy Zazen moved in three months ago, leaving a $2,500 a month apartment in Venice Beach.

"I've been around the block," Zazen said. He moved to Los Angeles from Chicago nine years ago to pursue his recording career.

He has played his guitar with the Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers, he said, but lately his day job as a handy man has paid his bills.

He likes the Harvey Apartment management for keeping the building clean and roach-free, but Wednesday's shooting left him "a little bit scared."

"Time for me to pack my bags," Zazen said.

He did not know many of his neighbors or the man who killed himself in the lobby, he said.

"I'm a hermit," he said. "I stay to myself, in my apartment listening to music, writing my songs."

Terri Gilpin, who claims to be a cousin to "Frasier" actress Peri Gilpin, said she moved into Harvey Apartments because "the rent's pretty cheap and reasonable."

She does make it a point to know her neighbors, who she said include "retired actors and a few producers who are trying to get back on their feet."

Journalists covering the shooting have also gotten to know the residents. Dozens of them were stranded in a strip mall parking lot for several hours as police closed their apartment building for five hours after the shooting.

One man told reporters that the building had a problem with drug users and dealers who come back even after being evicted.

"They make keys to the lock so they can come in and out," he said.

He said the man who shot himself was "really moody all the time" and had been recently evicted, said the man, who was in a wheelchair. He then explained how he knew this.

"I found all this out," he said. "I'm the son of a war hero, my dad was in the CIA, for Air America, in Saigon, for 10 years and I'm, like, kind of smart."

The Harvey Apartments is the kind of place that could keep a journalist covering a mysterious murder busy chasing down stories.

L.A. Police Seek Public Help With Women's Photos in Grim Sleeper Case

-View the photographs released by the Los Angeles police.-

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Los Angeles authorities expanded their investigation into the Grim Sleeper serial killer case Thursday by asking for the public's help in identifying women in 180 photographs whose images were found in the suspect's home this summer.

Police are trying to determine if there are additional killings among the more than 100 women depicted in the photos.

Last July, 57-year-old Lonnie David Franklin Jr. was arrested and charged with 10 murders and one attempted murder dating back to 1985, and Los Angeles police spent hundreds of hours sifting through thousands of photographs, Polaroids and videotape found in Franklin's house.

The bodies of victims, many working as prostitutes, were all found in close proximity to each other in a neighborhood formerly known as South Central Los Angeles.

Franklin, a mechanic who once worked for the LAPD, was arrested in July after police say they matched his DNA with DNA left on some of the victims. Police were led to Franklin after his 28-year-old son got arrested and gave a DNA swab, authorities said.

Authorities said they narrowed down the confiscated images down to 180 photographs, some of them duplicates of the same women.

At a media conference attended by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief Charlie Beck, authorities said they had difficulty determining whether some of the women were alive or dead in the photos.

"We cannot tell," Beck said. "Obviously, as all of you can see, some of them are animated and some are not. It's impossible to tell by the photographs.

Robbery Homicide Detective Dennis Kilcoyne said police have a responsibility to try to determine the whereabouts of the women.

"These are clearly photos of women that Mr. Franklin had contact with," said Kilcoyne. "We have a responsibility to identify these women. They may be alive and well, but we need to be certain."

"If there's nothing we glean from this, we are able to fill in the timeline of Mr. Franklin's life, and that's one of our goals as well," Kilcoyne said.

He declined to talk about the context in which the women's images appeared.

"The lifestyle or the situation that these women are in would defeat our plea with the public," Kilcoyne said.

Police are not sure where the women in the images resided, because Franklin's movements throughout his life are not yet ascertained, authorities said.

"His travel habits are unknown to us," Kilcoyne said. "We believe he spent the majority of his life right here in the city of Los Angeles."

Former Food Network Chef Sentenced in Murder Plot

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The former host of the Food Network's "Calorie Commando" was sentenced Monday to nine years in a California prison after pleading no contest to soliciting two homeless men to kill his wife, Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman Elizabeth Martinez said.

Juan-Carlos Cruz's wife was also in court during the sentencing, Martinez said.

Fertility issues were at the center of the murder-for-hire plot, according to sources close to the couple.

Authorities alleged that Cruz offered the two homeless men $500 to kill his wife, Shiara Davila-Morales of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

Police in Santa Monica, California, set up a sting and videotaped Cruz arranging the murder with the two men, Davila-Morales said. Cruz even drove one of them to his apartment and showed him how to get into the secure building, she said.

Superior Court Judge H. Chester Horn Jr. ordered Cruz to pay $1,870 in restitution, Martinez said.

Cruz was also ordered to serve half of the nine years before he is eligible to be paroled, Martinez said.

No victim impact statement was ordered, the spokeswoman said.

Cruz's plea agreement called for the nine-year sentence, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in late October after the plea was announced.

One count of attempted murder was dropped as part of the plea settlement, the prosecutor said at the time.

Two sources close to the couple, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter, said their 20-year struggle to have a child overwhelmed them.

After spending a lot of money on unsuccessful fertility treatments, Cruz's wife, Jennifer Campbell, was "very depressed and talked about suicide," one source said.

The sources suggested that she may have wanted to end her life but that as a devout Roman Catholic, she believed suicide was a sin.

The failure to have a successful pregnancy was a "pretty overwhelming thing in their lives," the second source said.

The source closest to Campbell said she still loves her husband despite his arrest. The source would not comment on whether she was aware of the alleged planning before his arrest.

The source closest to Cruz, 48, said he was "nothing but a loving and devoted husband."

CNN was unable to talk Cruz or Campbell directly.

The criminal complaint accused Cruz of trying to hire David Carrington and David Walters -- homeless men who go by the street names Little Dave and Big Dave -- to murder Campbell. It was not immediately clear who was Little Dave and who was Big Dave.

The plan fell apart when one of the men informed Santa Monica police, Sgt. Jay Trisler said.

Little Dave told the celebrity news and gossip website TMZ that he was approached first by Cruz, who asked him to kill his wife for cash, and he told his friend Big Dave.

Big Dave said he told a Santa Monica police officer about the plot after he was arrested for loitering.

"We're very fortunate that we have a relationship and rapport with some of the homeless and that they were able to give us information," Trisler said.

Santa Monica police began their undercover investigation of Cruz on May 7, Trisler said. Cruz was arrested later that month at a dog park in the Cheviot Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, he said.

Big Dave and Little Dave got a place to stay while the investigation was under way. Santa Monica police put them in a hotel room to keep them out of sight, Big Dave said.

"They gave us two pizzas, a 12-pack of beer and a bottle of San Jose (tequila)," he said. "I love them."

Cruz, a Los Angeles resident, was an overweight pastry chef at the Hotel Bel Air until he changed his focus to promote low-calorie recipes.

He wrote "The Juan-Carlos Cruz Calorie Countdown Cookbook: A 5-Week Eating Strategy for Sustainable Weight Loss," published in 2007.

The Food Network issued a short statement in October saying Cruz "has not been under contract or associated with Food Network for a number of years."

2 Killed, 12 Hurt Aa Fire Crew Truck Crashes North OF LA

Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend, Doctor Guilty of Using False names

CNN- Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend-lawyer Howard K. Stern and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich were found guilty Thursday on charges of conspiring to provide drugs using false names.

Another defendant in the case, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, was acquitted on all counts against him.

"This is really a victory not just for me, but it is a victory for patients everywhere in our nation who suffer chronic pain,and physicians who treat difficult chronic pain every day," Kapoor said outside the courthouse.

The jury failed to convict any of the defendants of providing drugs to a known addict, which was the linchpin of the prosecution's case.

Stern was acquitted on seven of the nine counts he faced.

"These were all the counts related to whether the medications were for a legitimate medical purpose or for whether Anna Nicole was an addict," Stern said. "What the jury did find me guilty of were two conspiracy counts limited exclusively to my name being used on medications for Anna. This was done to protect Anna Nicole's privacy and it was nothing more than that."

The verdicts came in a complex case that included two months of testimony and 13 days of jury deliberations.

Stern's attorney, Steve Sadow, said after the trial that the conspiracy conviction for his client was for Stern having given his consent to Eroshevich to use Stern's name on prescriptions intended for Smith.

The charges against Eroshevich, a psychiatrist who flew to Smith's side in the Bahamas after her son's death in 2006, were related to using Stern's name and another woman's name to write prescriptions for Smith.

Stern and the doctors were charged with conspiring to feed the reality TV star and Playboy model's drug addiction, and using false names to obtain the drugs over the last three years of her life. The three defendants were not charged in Smith's February 2007 death in a Florida hotel, which a medical examiner ruled was an accidental overdose of a sleep aid combined with the effects of a viral flu.

After the verdicts were read, Eroshevich said she "felt good," despite the conviction because she was prepared for the jury's decision.

The case raised questions about ethical boundaries in a doctor-patient relationship, the prescribing of painkillers and anti-anxiety medicines and the use of fake names when treating celebrities.

The defense called only one witness -- an expert who concluded that Smith suffered from chronic pain, depression and anxiety, not drug addiction.

Her drug dependency was legal since it was for legitimate medical purposes, including for treatment of her pain and anxiety, defense lawyers argued.

The prosecution said the doctors never said no to Smith's drug-seeking because they wanted to be part of her celebrity entourage.

False names were used by Stern and the doctors to hide excessive prescriptions from the state's computer system that monitors drug usage, prosecutors argued. The defense said it is a common practice in Hollywood, used to protect celebrities' privacy from prying tabloid reporters.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry hinted before the verdicts were returned that if any defendants were found guilty, he would consider "possible selective prosecution issues" when sentencing them. He would have the power to reduce most of the felony charges to misdemeanors.

After the verdicts were returned, Perry set sentencing for January 6. Stern and Eroshevich could face a maximum of three years each in prison, according to the prosecutor's office.

"America's Got Talent" Hopeful's Wife Found Dead

(CBS) Joe Finley isn't a known name in Hollywood, but was hoping to change that by landing a spot in the NBC reality show, "America's Got Talent."

Now, Finley, a rock singer/guitarist, is being called a "person of interest" in the death of his wife, Laura, reports CBS News Correspondent Jeff Glor.

The two, married 26 years, were celebrating the night before his try-out at the Millennium Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles.

Alexis Tereszcuk, a reporter for Radaronline.com, says, "Joe told us that he and Laura both took an ecstasy pill, and they had been drinking in a bar."

What happened after that remains a mystery.

Laura vanished overnight.

According to published reports, Joe says she left the room around 3 a.m., headed for the ice machine, and never came back.

The next morning, Joe reported her missing to the hotel -- then headed to his audition, Glor says.

While he was waiting to perform, Laura's partially-clad body was discovered in a hotel stairwell. She had fallen eight stories to her death.

"The police approached him at the audition," Tereszcuk says, "showed him a picture of her face (which was) battered and bruised -- and he immediately said, 'Oh, she's dead.' The police didn't tell him she was dead."

Later that day, police questioned him and arrested him on charges of drug possession.

They haven't classified the case as a homicide.

Finley recorded his final hours with Laura, and his parents have seen the video.

They say the couple seemed very much in love. "They were kissing on the bed, happy as can be," says Joe's mother, Marianne Parenteau. "They were so excited. She was typing info for him. She was telling him what to say at the audition. … She was quite sober, quite rational."

Joe reportedly didn't tell Laura's family about he death until Monday, Glor says, two days after she was found.

Toxicology tests, to determine whether Laura had drugs in her system may take several weeks.

Mayor arrested after wild-ride purse snatching

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (AP) - A suburban Los Angeles mayor has been arrested after a purse-snatching and a wild ride through streets with a woman clinging to his sport utility vehicle.

San Gabriel police Lt. Ariel Duran says Mayor Albert Y.M. Huang was booked in jail for investigation of felony assault, felony robbery and misdemeanor battery after his arrest early Friday.

Duran says the 35-year-old mayor had been arguing with the woman over money in a parking lot when he took the woman's purse and got into his SUV.

Investigators say the woman was standing on the running board and reaching through the passenger window when Huang sped away, reaching speeds of 45 mph for more than a quarter mile.

The woman's name and her relationship to the mayor weren't released.

Barber Gets Life Sentence for Torching Homeless Man

It's unbelievable to me that anyone can do that to another person.. They should pour gasoline and light him on fire just the same as punishment- skip past our spending tax dollars on him sitting around jail the next 50 years.


LOS ANGELES -- A former barber has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a mentally ill homeless man by dousing him with gasoline and setting him on fire with a road flare in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles.

Ben Matthew Martin, 31, pleaded guilty last month to the October 2008 killing of John Robert McGraham, 55, in the 3500 block of West Third Street.

Martin sat with his head bowed during Wednesday's half-hour sentencing hearing in downtown L.A.

"My brother had a life -- he was a human being," Susanne McGraham Paisley, the victim's sister, told the court through sobs. "Even in a state of homelessness, he managed to touch so many lives."

McGraham was mentally ill and lived on the streets, where he was known to locals as a sweet, harmless person. He once worked as a bellman at the Ambassador Hotel, but suffered from depression. Family members repeatedly tried to get him treatment over the years, but were unsuccessful.

Martin was a neighborhood barber who apparently had a grudge against the homeless. He was arrested in January 2009 in Rancho Mirage.

Martin reportedly disliked homeless people lingering near the barber shop where he worked. A co-worker later told police he had seen Martin shout at the homeless to move away from the shop, sometimes striking out at them.

A customer said that he saw Martin on a separate occasion chasing McGraham down 3rd Street, hitting him with a bag of towels and kicking him in the back. The barber yelled, "I don't want to see you around here again," according to the customer.

When the manager of the barber shop learned of the attack, Martin was fired. Three months later, prosecutors said, Martin returned to the area with revenge on his mind.

Carrying a bucket of gasoline and an emergency road flare, he found McGraham standing in the driveway of a parking lot. Martin soaked the homeless man with the gasoline, prosecutors said, then lighted the flare and set him on fire.

As Martin fled, passersby desperately tried to douse the flames, but McGraham, who suffered burns over 90-percent of his body, was burned alive.

Private Warhol Collection Stolen from L.A. Home

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Authorities are looking for art thieves who made off with a collection of Andy Warhol paintings from a private residence last week, police in Los Angeles, California, said Friday.

The stolen pieces included large pop-art portraits of several famous athletes, including tennis pro Chris Evert, basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, soccer legend Pelé and Major League Baseball pitcher Tom Seaver, police said.

The multimillion-dollar collection had been displayed in the dining room of Richard Weisman, a Los Angeles businessman whose portait is among the missing items, police said.

The theft was discovered by one of Weisman's employees and occurred between September 2 and 3, police said.

A $1 million reward has been offered for information leading to the recovery of the art.

Jackson's Mother Awarded Guardianship of His Children

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Los Angeles judge granted temporary guardianship of Michael Jackson's three children to Jackson's mother, a court official said.

Judge Mitchell Beckloff issued the order Monday morning, soon after Katherine Jackson filed a petition in Los Angeles Probate Court seeking legal guardianship of the children.

The family also filed a petition asking that Katherine Jackson be named administrator of Michael Jackson's estate and that the children be named his sole beneficiaries.

The filing did not estimate Jackson's estate.
See the court papers (PDF file)

"Given the nature and extent of the descendent's assets, it would be difficult if not impossible to quantify their value at this time, so the calculation of bond would be speculative at best," the petition said.

The guardianship petition said the grandmother should be named guardian because "the minors have no relationship with their biological mother" and they are "currently residing with paternal grandmother."

"They have a long established relationship with paternal grandmother and are comfortable in their care," the petition said.

The two oldest children -- Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, 11 -- were born to Debbie Rowe, who was briefly married to the singer.

Rowe gave up parental rights to Jackson in 2001, but she changed her mind more than two years later and sought temporary custody of the children. A California appeals court later ruled her rights were improperly terminated, opening the door to a possible custody battle.

There has been no public indication that Rowe is planning to challenge the grandparents for custody of the two children.

The mother of the third child, 7-year-old Prince Michael Jackson II, was never publicly identified. The guardianship petition listed the mother as "none."

Jackson died Thursday afternoon. An autopsy was performed on the entertainer Friday.

Toxicology reports from his body will disprove rumors that the singer's personal physician injected him with powerful painkillers, the attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray said Monday.

"Dr. Murray never prescribed Demerol, never administered Demerol, never saw him -- Michael Jackson -- take Demerol," attorney Edward Chernoff told CNN's "American Morning."

"And that goes as well for OxyContin. I think those are just rumors. When toxicology comes back ... that's going to be all cleared up," Chernoff said.

Murray met voluntarily for several hours with detectives over the weekend, the Los Angeles Police Department said late Saturday.

"We've let them know we're available to them any time they need us, any questions they have," Chernoff said. "We have told them that the medical examiner is free to call us. We'll be available to them. If they have any questions once toxicology comes out. I expect they will have some questions, and we'll be ready to answer them."

Murray found Jackson not breathing in bed when he entered the 50-year-old singer's estate on Thursday, Chernoff said. Jackson did have a slight pulse when Murray found him and tried to resuscitate the singer as he awaited paramedics, a representative with Chernoff's Houston, Texas, law firm said Sunday.

Jackson was rushed to a Los Angeles medical center, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed by a county medical examiner was inconclusive, although officials said there were no indications of external trauma or foul play. The Los Angeles County coroner's office has said toxicology results are needed before a cause of death can be determined. That could take four to six weeks.

Detectives impounded Murray's car, which was parked at the singer's rented home. Authorities said the vehicle may contain evidence related to Jackson's death, possibly prescription medications. Police have released no information on what they may have found.

Chernoff said there was nothing in Jackson's medical history that Murray was aware of "that would lead him to believe he would go into sudden cardiac arrest or respiratory failure."

"There was no red flag available to Dr. Murray, which led him to believe he would have died the way he did," Chernoff said. "It's still a mystery how he died to Dr. Murray.

"It was Dr. Murray ... as you know, that requested that the family ask for an autopsy, because he needed to know as well as his physician what caused Michael Jackson to stop breathing."



Watch Jackson's doctor denies prescribing Demerol »

Police take drugs from Jackson home »

Prison mug shot reveals the true Phil Spector

(CNN) -- California corrections officials released a startling new prison mug shot of Grammy-winning music legend Phil Spector, convicted last month of second-degree murder and serving 19 years to life in prison.

Spector, 69, is being held at North Kern State Prison, where he is being evaluated before receiving a permanent prison assignment, corrections spokesman Gordon Hinkle said. The process could take up to 70 days.

The mug shot, which shows a bald-pated Spector, was taken on June 5 as part of the routine intake process.

California prison inmates are not permitted to wear wigs under Title 15, Article 5, Section 3062 of the state's prison regulations, which addresses inmate hygiene. Corrections officials also are concerned that wigs can be used to hide contraband.

A judge in Los Angeles sentenced Spector last month to the maximum sentence for second-degree murder in the February 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.

Spector, 69, won't be eligible for parole until he is 88 years old.

Clarkson, 40, was found dead, slumped in a chair in the foyer of Spector's Alhambra mansion with a gunshot wound through the roof of her mouth.

Spector's retrial began in October and ended in April. It took jurors 30 hours to convict him.

His first murder trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked 10 to 2 in favor of conviction after 15 days of deliberations.

Clarkson starred in the 1985 B-movie "Barbarian Queen" and appeared in many other films, including "Deathstalker," "Blind Date," "Scarface," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the spoof "Amazon Women on the Moon." She was working as a VIP hostess at Hollywood's House of Blues at the time of her death.

At both trials, Spector's attorneys argued Clarkson was depressed over a recent breakup and her flagging Hollywood career. They said she grabbed a .38-caliber pistol and killed herself while at Spector's home.

But prosecution witnesses painted Spector as a gun-toting menace. Five women took the stand and testified he threatened them with firearms. His driver testified he heard a loud noise and saw Spector leave the home, pistol in hand, saying, "I think I killed somebody."

Spector's professional trademark was the "Wall of Sound," the layering of instrumental tracks and percussion that underpinned a string of hits on his Philles label, named for Spector and his business partner, Lester Sill, in the early 1960s.

LAPD Detective Charged With Capital Murder

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Veteran Los Angeles Police Detective Stephanie Lazarus, suspected of murdering an ex-boyfriend's wife in 1986, was charged with capital murder Monday. Lazarus will be arraigned Tuesday.

Police arrested Stephanie Lazarus, 49, after a sample of her DNA matched DNA taken from the scene of a 1986 cold case murder.

Lazarus is accused of beating and fatally shooting 29-year-old Sherri Rasmussen. On February 24, 1986, Rasmussen's husband, John Ruetten, found her body in the living room of their Van Nuys condominium. She had been shot multiple times. Lazarus had a relationship with Ruetten before his marriage.

Lazarus is being held without bail at the Los Angeles County jail. At one time, the LAPD detective was mentioned in the original homicide case because of her relationship with Ruetten, but Lazarus wasn't considered a suspect because investigators believed Rasmussen was a victim of armed robbers.

The president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, Paul Weber, said the arrest of the veteran LAPD detective is disturbing. "If convicted, the actions of one police officer should not tarnish the trust and respect the public has for the more than 9,800 dedicated police officers," said Weber.

Reward For Former Deputy Charged With Double Murder Increases To $10,000

DEKALB COUNTY --- DeKalb County authorities said Thursday they believe the family of a former DeKalb County sheriff's deputy wanted for a double murder helped with his escape and are assisting him financially.

Sheriff Thomas Brown announced that a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Derrick Yancey has been increased to $10,000.

Yancey was arrested in August 2008 for the murder of his wife and a male worker at his home in Stone Mountain. He has been on the run since April 4th when he cut off his monitoring bracelet while on house arrest.

At a Thursday news conference, Brown released video of Yancey at the Greyhound Bus Station in downtown Atlanta, buying a ticket for Los Angeles.

Brown says authorities have determined that Yancey arrived in Dallas on April 5, took another bus to Amarillo, Texas, and then transferred to a bus that was scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on April 6. Brown says Yancey was spotted in Phoenix on April 6, which was one of the scheduled stops on the Los Angeles trip.

DeKalb County prosecutors contend Yancey plotted to make the murders look like a robbery.

Yancey told investigators that the worker shot and killed his wife, but police contend Yancey was actually the triggerman in both murders.

Authorities believe he has altered his appearance and may be living in Mexico off of $18,000 that he withdrew from his police pension.

Phil Spector Gets 19 Years to Life for Murder of Actress

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Music producer Phil Spector was sentenced Friday to the maximum sentence of 19 years to life for the murder six years ago of actress Lana Clarkson.

That means Spector, 69, would be 88 before he would be eligible for parole.

Slumped, stone-faced and wearing a dark suit and bright red tie, he sat silently throughout his sentencing by Judge Larry Paul Fidler.

Spector's lawyer gave a $17,000 check to Donna Clarkson, the victim's mother, to pay for her funeral expenses -- part of the court-ordered sentence.

"All of our plans together are destroyed," the mother said, reading a statement on behalf of her family. "Now, I can only visit her at the cemetery."

Fidler denied a motion for a new trial by defense attorney Doron Weinberg, who said he would file an appeal.

"The evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty for the simple reason [that] he did not kill Lana Clarkson," Weinberg said.

"Obviously, he's not very happy," Spector's wife, Rachelle, told reporters about her husband. "I'm going to stand by him and get him out of that awful place so he can come home where he belongs."

Clarkson, 40, was found dead -- slumped in a chair in the foyer of Spector's Alhambra, California, mansion with a gunshot wound through the roof of her mouth -- in February 2003.

Spector's trial, which began in October, ended last month when jurors deliberated for 30 hours and then announced a guilty verdict on the second-degree murder charge. Fidler had ruled jurors also could consider the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Spector's first murder trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial as jurors said they couldn't reach a verdict after 15 days of deliberations. Jurors then were deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction.

Fidler declined to allow Spector to remain free on bail pending sentencing, citing Spector's years-long "pattern of violence" involving firearms.

"This was not an isolated incident," Fidler said, noting Spector's two firearms-related convictions from the 1970s. "The taking of an innocent human life, it doesn't get any more serious than that."

In closing arguments at the retrial, prosecutor Truc Do called Spector "a very dangerous man" who "has a history of playing Russian roulette with women -- six women. Lana just happened to be the sixth."

Weinberg argued that the prosecution's case hinged on circumstantial evidence. He said the possibility that Clarkson committed suicide could not be ruled out.

Do pointed out to jurors, however, that Clarkson had bought new shoes on the day of her death -- something he said a suicidal woman would not have done.

A female juror who declined to be identified told reporters the jurors considered all the evidence and testimony to reach their verdict.

"This entire jury took this so seriously," she said with tears in her eyes, before adding that "it's tough to be in a jury," because another person's life is in the jury's hands.

Clarkson starred in the 1985 B-movie "Barbarian Queen" and appeared in many other films, including "Deathstalker," "Blind Date," "Scarface," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and the spoof "Amazon Women on the Moon." She was working as a VIP hostess at Hollywood's House of Blues at the time of her death.

In the 2007 trial, Spector's attorneys argued that Clarkson was depressed over a recent breakup and grabbed a .38-caliber pistol to kill herself while at Spector's home.

But prosecution witnesses painted Spector as a gun-toting menace. Five women took the stand and testified that he had threatened them with firearms. His driver testified that he heard a loud noise and saw the producer leave the home, pistol in hand, saying, "I think I killed somebody."

Spector's professional trademark was the "Wall of Sound," the layering of instrumental tracks and percussion that underpinned a string of hits on his Philles label -- named for Spector and his business partner, Lester Sill -- in the early 1960s.

The roaring arrangements were the heart of what he called "little symphonies for the kids" -- among them No. 1 hits like the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."

Spector co-produced the Beatles' final album, "Let It Be," and worked with ex-Beatles George Harrison and John Lennon on solo projects after the group broke up. His recording of Harrison's 1971 benefit concert for war relief in Bangladesh won the 1972 Grammy award for album of the year.

That was one of two Grammy Awards won by Spector, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. He stayed out of the public eye for two decades before his 2003 arrest in Clarkson's death.
Watch Spector receive his sentence »

Sad.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A 21-year-old up-and-coming rapper was fatally shot Monday afternoon at a popular mall in Los Angeles.

Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, was shot in the head about 3:10 p.m. at the Beverly Center, his publicist said.

Police later detained a person at the Los Angeles International Airport, said city police spokeswoman Karen Raynar.

Further details were not immediately available about the shooting.

Dolla, who was based in Atlanta, Georgia, was in Los Angeles recording his debut album.

He caught the attention of multiplatinium R&B singer Akon when the then-12-year-old Dolla was performing with friends at showcases around Atlanta.

The two collaborated on Dolla's first single, "Who the F--- Is That?" which also featured another high-profile singer, T-Pain.

Another Dolla song, "Feelin' Myself," appeared on the soundtrack to the 2006 movie "Step Up."

According to his MySpace page, Dolla was born in Chicago, Illinois. His twin sister died at birth because of complications from an enlarged heart.

The family moved to Atlanta after Dolla's father committed suicide while he, then 5, and another sister watched from their parents' bed, the Web page said.

Dolla began composing rhymes in elementary school and decided to pursue a career in music.

Funeral services, which will be held in Atlanta, will be announced later, publicist Sue Vannasing said.

LA Rapist Suspected In 30 Killings

A 72-year-old man who Los Angeles police allege was a prolific serial killer in the 1970s and '80s has been linked to a sixth cold case through DNA evidence, authorities said Thursday.

John Thomas, a former state insurance claims adjuster who twice has been convicted of sexual assault, has already been linked through DNA evidence to five of the slayings in Claremont, Inglewood and Los Angeles, authorities say.

Detectives also describe him as a suspect in up to 25 more, based on the circumstances of those crimes, saying he was the elusive "West Side Rapist" who terrorized L.A. in the mid-1970s.

Thomas was arrested last month on suspicion of murder for two sexual-assault strangulation deaths, of Ethel Sokoloff, 68, in the Mid-Wilshire area in 1972 and Elizabeth McKeown, 67, in Westchester in 1976.

Authorities also allege that DNA connects Thomas to killings in Claremont in 1986 and slayings a decade earlier in Inglewood and Lennox.

Now, they said, DNA testing has linked Thomas to a sixth case: the slaying of Miriam McKinley, 65, who was beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled in her home in June 1976, said Inglewood Police Capt. Eve Irvine.

The other Inglewood victim was Maybelle Hudson, who was attacked in her garage as she arrived home in April 1976. The 80-year-old was beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled.

LAPD Det. Charlie Beck told reporters that cold case homicide investigators would be reexamining unsolved cases going back to the 1950s, when Thomas was first arrested for attempted rape and burglary.

[article here]

This Woman's On Crack!

I came into work today and on CNN was watching this lady flying down LA highways with her hazard lights on (LOL way to be courteous).. This was reminiscent of the OJ pursuit, hahaha
"Woman allegedly tried to run over LB police before chase, capture"

LOS ANGELES (AP)- A driver tried to ram a Long Beach car, prompting an hour-long, high-speed chase Friday in which the woman drove the car in circles, went the wrong way on a tollway and even got out of the car to gesture at officers, authorities said.

The woman was arrested after about a 40-mile pursuit and could face charges of reckless driving, California Highway Patrol Officer Gabe Montoya said. Her name was not immediately known.

No injuries were reported, but the woman endangered motorists on four freeways, CHP officers said.

The chase began when Long Beach officers went to an intersection shortly after 6 a.m. in response to a report of a woman screaming. A car tried to ram their police cruiser three times and then fled, Long Beach police Officer Jackie Bezart said.

After an eight-minute chase through Long Beach, the driver got onto a freeway and the CHP was notified.

Officers chased the silver Scion into Orange County at speeds that sometimes topped 100 mph, authorities said.

Television news helicopters carried the chase live.

On the SR 241 tollway in Rancho Santa Margarita, the woman made "doughnuts" while driving on both shoulders of the road, briefly drove the wrong way then got out of the car and gestured with both hands at officers before returning to the slowly rolling vehicle and driving off.

A short time later a patrol car rammed the back of the Scion, spinning it around and knocking off its bumper in
an attempt to stop it, but the driver managed to flee again.

The car finally was stopped at the end of the tollway in an unincorporated area near Rancho Santa Margarita.

After being bumped a second time, the Scion was boxed in and swarmed by officers, including one who jumped onto the roof. The woman was pulled through the car's window, forced to the ground and handcuffed.

This Day In History

Apr 29 1945
With Allied forces closing in on Berlin, Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun in their fortified bunker. They kill themselves the following day.







Apr 29 1992
Rioting erupts in Los Angeles after Rodney King's assailants are acquitted by a jury. The looting and destruction begins in South Central L.A. and quickly radiates outward. By the time things are under control, 51 are dead and the city has sustained $1.5 billion in property damage. Civil disorder manages to spread to other North American cities, through the influence of live TV coverage.




Apr 29 1996
Search and rescue teams begin dragging Maryland's muddy Wicomico River after former CIA director William Colby is reported missing. They soon discover his partially-submerged canoe underneath a boat dock, but his body isn't located until it rises to the surface a week later.