Torrance News, CA Local News

Torrance land use study sparks concerns about airport’s future

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 08:38:41 +0000

A land use study for the Zamperini Field, to be discussed at the City Council meeting Tuesday evening, has some pilots and residents concerned that the city will eventually close its municipal airport.

Torrance Councilmember Jon Kaji, who owns Kaji & Associates, a real estate company, proposed the $100,000 study. If approved, it will explore converting Torrance Municipal Airport to a master planned land development project and assess its impact on the city’s economy, finances and neighborhood.

The pilots said they believe this is the first step toward the closure of the airport, however, city officials insisted that this is not the case.

Peter Broen, president of Torrance Airport Association, said the idea doesn’t have the support of the pilots and the residents.

“I think a lot of the residents recognize what repurposing the airport would mean, and they are not behind it either,” Broen said. “It’s just the community of land developers, I think, that think there’s an opportunity to do something.”

Chuck Costello, a leader of Coalition for Torrance Airport Reform, a residents’ group which has been urging the city to address aircraft noise issues, also expressed his group’s opposition to the land use idea.

“We have not advocated for closing of the airport, so we don’t find any of the proposed scope of work options in that staff report to be useful,” Costello said. “It simply inflames the issue and turns the airport issue into an anti-growth issue, which is of course very controversial.”

COTAR has always advocated for an airport that exists in harmony with the community, but “that doesn’t mean closing the airport,” Costello added.

However, Torrance City Councilmember Mike Griffiths said the item is not a vote to close the airport. Instead, it’s asking the panel whether it’s interested in doing a land use study.

“The vote is purely on doing a land use study,” he said. “Any discussion of closing the airport is so unlikely and so far in the future.”

Griffiths added that he’s “always been a proponent of the airport.”

“I continue to be a proponent of the airport, as long as its use is balanced with the needs of both the community, the city and the pilot community,” he said.

The City Council could choose to close the airport at any time, without the study, Griffiths added.

But Broen said it’s difficult to imagine spending that much money on a study, if the city is not serious about closing the airport. In addition, he said closing the airport is something that needs to go through Congress.

The land use study did not originally include the Torrance municipal airport-Zamperini Field due to “existing long-term ground leases that would need to be factored and would require a more complex market analysis,” according to the staff report.

On Oct. 17, 2023, Kaji received his colleagues’ concurrence to include the airport as part of the land use study, per the staff report. LandEconGroup, a land planning and real estate development economics consulting firm, has been retained by the city to conduct the study.

The company recommended the airport land study to be completed as a separate assignment “due to the complexity of the matter”, the staff report said.

The company estimated a fixed price assignment fee of $60,000, but staff is recommending the panel to set aside an additional $40,000 as the contingency fee to cover any unexpected costs. The total would come out to be $100,000.

The Torrance City Council will discuss the land use study during its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 23, which starts 6:30 p.m.

A man spent 10 years building an airplane meant to teach underprivileged children. Then it was stolen and set on fire.

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:41:09 +0000

A small plane that would have been shipped to Nepal in March to teach underprivileged children about aircraft mechanics was stolen from a parking lot in an unincorporated area of Torrance and found burned in Long Beach over the weekend.

The plane was taken at around 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 3, after a white van stole an Airstream trailer carrying the aircraft from a parking lot in the 22800 block of Lockness Avenue , according to Los Angeles Police Officer Tony Im.

The plane, a silver 1948 Piper PA-15 aircraft, was found on Saturday, Jan. 13, after it had been set ablaze in an industrial area around 17th Street and Daisy Avenue in Long Beach, according to the owner, Anis Pradhan.

“By the time I got there, it was just the charred remains,” he said. “All the metal had been scrapped and parts had been stripped clean. Just the bottom frame of the trailer was left.”

Pradhan is a certified flight instructor with around two decades of experience who offers flight training and aircraft rentals at Zamperini Field.

The Piper aircraft had been stored at his brother’s warehouse in preparation for shipping to Nepal and was uninsured when it was stolen, he said.

“I’m so scattered,” Pradhan said. “I lost all investment towards this project. I work seven days a week to support this project and it went up in smoke because of some greedy people.”

For the last decade, Pradhan said he has poured over $250,000 into building the aircraft with the ultimate goal of taking the plane to Nepal in March to educate children on how they can find careers in aircraft maintenance and commercial piloting. Pradhan was drawn to Nepal because of his own history, immigrating from the country as a teenager.

“Nepal is a small country in South Asia that is considered one of the poorest in the world,” he said. “This plane was more than my property, it was a way for the underprivileged people of Nepal to have opportunities to rise above poverty.”

Police had not identified any suspects on Tuesday, but Pradhan said he had seen a group of people hanging around the parking lot in the days before the theft.

A GoFundMe was set up by Pradhan in the hopes of getting his project back on track.

“I can’t wait another 10 years to get this project running,” he said.

Video captures suspect stealing vintage airplane in Torrance

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 01:55:59 +0000

Surveillance video captured the moment a thief brazenly escaped with a beloved vintage airplane in Torrance.

The plane's owner, Anis Pradhan, is devastated after dedicating years to restoring the beloved airplane. The aircraft was not only a passion of Pradhan’s but was meant to be used for training underprivileged children who aspired to be pilots.

The plane was stored inside a custom Airstream trailer at a Torrance warehouse parking lot on the 22800 block of Lockness Avenue near Sepulveda Boulevard.

On Jan. 3, security footage captured the moment the suspect pulled up, hitched the trailer to their white pickup truck and hauled it away.

"I'm pretty devastated," Pradhan said. "They broke a lock pad on the gate, opened the gate and they came in and just pulled it out of there."

Pradhan said he had been meticulously rebuilding the 1940s-era plane over the past decade.

Anis Pradhan’s beloved vintage Piper airplane was stolen while it was being stored in Torrance on Jan. 3, 2024. (KTLA)
The suspect's white pickup truck arriving at a Torrance warehouse parking lot to steal a vintage Piper airplane on Jan. 3, 2024. (Anis Pradhan)
Anis Pradhan’s beloved vintage Piper airplane was stolen while it was being stored inside a custom Airstream trailer in Torrance on Jan. 3, 2024. (Anis Pradhan)
Anis Pradhan’s beloved vintage Piper airplane was stolen while it was being stored inside a custom Airstream trailer in Torrance on Jan. 3, 2024. (Anis Pradhan)
The suspect's white pickup truck arriving at a Torrance warehouse parking lot to steal a vintage Piper airplane on Jan. 3, 2024. (Anis Pradhan)
Anis Pradhan’s beloved vintage Piper airplane was stolen while it was being stored inside a custom Airstream trailer in Torrance on Jan. 3, 2024. (Anis Pradhan)

"I've spent so many hours, thousands of hours, putting this aircraft together and in a matter of minutes, it just disappeared,” Pradhan said. “The plane is a Piper PA-15/17. It’s a two-seater, U.S.-made aircraft.”

The plane measures 22 feet in length, 35 feet in width and weighs over 1,000 pounds. It has wings that could fold up, allowing it to be stored in the custom-built Airstream trailer that it was stolen in.

Pradhan is a flight instructor and his latest mission was focused on training young aspiring pilots from his home country of Nepal.

"This aircraft was going to Nepal,” Pradhan explained. “I work with this nonprofit organization called the National Innovation Center in Nepal and we were going to use it to teach underprivileged kids and whoever wanted to learn about aviation in that part of the world."

For now, Pradhan’s dream of helping those aspiring pilots remains grounded until he can get his plane back. He’s hoping someone will recognize the large, oversized silver Airstream trailer with back barn doors and track down the thief who stole it.

The stolen airplane's tail number is N4549H.

Anyone who may have spotted the plane or has information on this case is asked to call LAPD’s Harbor Division at 310-726-7700.

Sling Pilot Academy wins preliminary injunction against Torrance

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 15:18:05 +0000

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Friday, Jan. 12, granted Torrance’s Sling Pilot Academy a preliminary injunction, allowing the flight school to continue its operations in the city this year.

The ruling by Judge Curtis A. Kin stated that the city is “restrained and enjoined from taking any action to block or prevent the 2024 business license renewal application of Sling Flying Club, LLC, dba Sling Pilot Academy.”

This includes not rejecting or declining to consider such an application, as well as not revoking Sling’s business license based on the limitation of issuing only six active licenses for flight schools in Torrance at any given time, the court ruling said.

A spokesperson for Torrance declined to comment on the matter, noting that the city has not received any notice as of Friday.

The verdict provides a temporary reprieve for Sling Pilot Academy, which initiated the legal action against the city. This comes after the municipality refused to renew Sling’s business license for 2024, citing efforts to mitigate aircraft noise at Zamperini Field.

“We are extremely grateful that the judge issued this preliminary injunction to protect the harms that would have come to our 190 students and our 90 employees that are here to uplift their lives and to have a livelihood that we provide,” said Matt Liknaitzky, a co-owner of the school.

The flight school brought the lawsuit against the city on Dec. 18, shortly after the Torrance City Council rejected Sling’s appeal to overturn the non-renewal of its business license.

Kin granted a temporary restraining order to the school on Dec. 21, which prevented the city from not renewing the school’s license until the preliminary injunction hearing on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Both a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction are intended to restrict someone from taking certain actions. However, a TRO is a short-term, emergency measure issued quickly to maintain the status quo until a court can hold a hearing to decide on a preliminary injunction.

A preliminary injunction, on the other hand, is a more formal and extended court order issued after a hearing that restrains a party from certain actions for the duration of a legal proceeding.

Liknaitzky said the school received its 2024 business license from Torrance via the temporary restraining order. He expects the city to issue a replacement business license based on the preliminary injunction or the existing one will carry, Liknaitzky said.

“We never asked for this fight,” Liknaitzky said. “We have worked really hard with city staff and with members of the local communities and HOAs to try to find a solution that works for everyone and we continue to be committed to work towards that goal.”

He noted that the school has taken on an initiative to make their airplanes “even quieter”.

However, Chuck Costello, a leader of Coalition for Torrance Airport Reform, a group of residents urging the city to address aircraft noise, said these steps are not enough to reduce noise.

For example, Sling has agreed to change flight patterns, but that is voluntary based and not bound by any agreement. Additionally, the school wouldn’t agree to any limit on flight numbers, Costello said.

“So the problem isn’t just the absolute noise level of any given flight, it’s the fact that starting at 7 a.m., they run those flights all day long,” he said. “It’s the constant noise and their so called quieter airplanes wouldn’t make much difference in terms of the overall impact when you’re putting that many training loop patterns up into the air.”

Costello said Friday’s ruling was “very disappointing.”

The determining factor in the judge’s decision was the 1977 resolution, which the city used as a basis for declining Sling’s appeal to renew its license, according to him.

“He ruled in favor of the city on all the substantive issues in the case, namely there was no federal preemption issue that the city has authority to regulate businesses at the airport in this manner and that Sling had no vested right, as they claimed, in a renewable license,” Costello said. “Unfortunately he said that the old resolution wasn’t good enough because the city charter requires an ordinance and the ordinance wasn’t passed in time.”

The flight school’s expansion in recent years has drawn numerous resident’s complaints regarding aircraft noise at Torrance’s municipal airport.

On July 25, the Torrance City Council approved a number of measures aimed at reducing aircraft noise, which included reaffirming a 1977 resolution that caps the number of flight schools allowed to operate at the airport at six.

There are currently ten flight schools operating at the municipal airport, with Sling Pilot Academy being the seventh licensed by the city. Therefore, the school’s license is essentially invalid, as staff never had the authority to issue its business license, city officials said.

In its appeal, Sling Pilot Academy argued that the city never took action to codify the provisions of Resolution 77-215 as law. So the six flight school limit is unenforceable.

Although Torrance city staffers maintained that it’s “not legally necessary” to enforce the resolution, the city council hastily adopted an urgency ordinance before the end of last year to codify the 1977 resolution into the Torrance Municipal Code.

The ordinance ensures that the restriction is codified into law before business licenses are eligible to be renewed on Jan. 1, 2024, city officials said. The second and final reading of the ordinance was approved by the panel last week.

It will become effective 30 days after its Tuesday, Jan. 9 adoption.

A trial setting conference for the Sling case has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on March 26 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

Sling Pilot Academy submits formal complaint with the FAA

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 13:24:43 +0000

Sling Pilot Academy has submitted a formal complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration, accusing Torrance of violating federal laws by specifically targeting the flight school in its decision not to renew its business license.

A spokesperson for the city, which has repeatedly defended its authority to regulate flight schools at Zamperini Field, declined to comment on the complaint.

The complaint, which was filed with the FAA late last month, also requested the federal agency to issue a “cease and desist order” to instruct the city to halt any disruptions to the flight school’s operations at the municipal airport during the ongoing proceedings.

“The city, while singling Sling out by name, has engaged in an increasingly aggressive effort to remove Sling from the airport,” the complaint said, “which would quite simply shut Sling down for good, killing a pipeline providing hundreds of pilots to an industry that desperately needs them.”

Attorneys for the school went on to argue that the city’s action of granting “exclusive rights to six flight schools that simply pre-date Sling’s operations” is a violation of federal law.

Also see: Torrance City Council adopts ordinance to formally establish cap on flight school number

Federal law, the attorneys say, gives the US government exclusive sovereignty over the use and regulation of airspace.

Sling Pilot Academy has been the focal point of many residents’ concerns about aircraft noise at Torrance’s Zamperini Field. After the City Council denied Sling’s appeal regarding Torrance’s decision not to renew its business license, the school brought a case in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

In the court documents, lawyers for the school argued that the city did not have the legal authority to regulate flying aircraft.

But the city’s attorneys have maintained that Torrance has the constitutional police powers to regulate businesses within its jurisdiction.

Also see: Torrance flight school hopes to help alleviate pilot shortage – by launching new ones

“In the city’s view, restricting the number of a certain type of businesses, not specific to location, is not restricting or governing the use of a specific property,” Alan Brian Fenstermacher, a lawyer representing the city, said during a Thursday, Jan. 11 court hearing. “It doesn’t matter where these businesses are located. It’s the total number. So the six flight school limit is not bound in the zoning code, it’s not bound in the general plan, it’s not bound in the specific plan. This is part of the city’s regulation of businesses.”

That hearing, in front of Judge Curtis A. Kin, was about whether to grant Sling a preliminary injunction after the flight school secured a temporary restraining order against Torrance on Dec. 21. The TRO prevented the city from denying Sling’s business license renewal until the Thursday court hearing.

Kin, though, did not immediately issue a ruling on the case.

The latest attempt by Sling to challenge the city’s decision made use of the FAA’s Part 16 complaint proceeding, which allows airport users to file formal complaints against airport operators that violate their obligations under the federal grant assurances.

Prior to filing a complaint, the two parties must demonstrate that they’ve made “good faith efforts” to resolve the dispute beforehand, according to the FAA. They should also establish that there’s no likelihood of a timely resolution.

There’s also a possibility that the case may be dismissed by the FAA if the complainant fails to follow the correct filing procedures, or lacks the standing to bring it forward.

If there’s a reasonable basis for further examination, the FAA may launch an investigation into the matter. There may or may not be a hearing on the case, based on the agency’s discretion and the circumstances of the case.

The parties in the dispute have the option to pursue judicial review of the FAA’s final decision by filing a petition in a US Court of Appeals. This petition must be submitted within 60 days of the final decision being served on the involved party or parties.

Woman slain in random El Camino College attack remembered as caring, hardworking

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:58:26 +0000

Junko Hanafusa and her dog, Cherry, were inseparable, often spotted by neighbors taking walks through Torrance’s McMaster Park area neighborhood gathering recyclables, and warmly greeting whomever they met along the way.

Their last journey together on Christmas Eve morning took them to El Camino College, where outside the school gymnasium the unthinkable happened. Law enforcement officials say Hanafusa, 65, was collecting bottles and cans when 40-year-old Jeffery Davis, described as a transient, allegedly bludgeoned her to death with a sledgehammer.

It was not clear how Davis allegedly obtained the sledgehammer or why he was carrying it.

Cherry remained devoted to Hanafusa to the end, refusing to leave her side even as she was on the ground unconscious and bleeding. She died on Christmas Day at a local hospital.

The fatal attack appears to have been random and isn’t considered a hate crime directed at Hanafusa, who is Asian, according to Lt. Mike Gomez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau. A specific motive has not been determined.

A passerby discovered Hanafusa and notified authorities. El Camino College police reviewed surveillance video and identified Davis as a suspect due to their previous interactions with him, Gomez said.

About two hours later, Davis was apprehended in Alondra Community Regional Park, where he was known to frequent. The 53-acre county park borders the Torrance-area college, which was on winter break and devoid of students when the attack occurred.

“Thanks to the passerby who called 9-1-1 and the quick response of the El Camino College campus police, this person is now behind bars, in (Los Angeles County) jail, without the possibility of bail, and cannot pose a threat to this community any longer,” Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement regarding Davis’ arrest.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed first-degree murder charges against Davis, who is scheduled for arraignment Jan. 17 in Torrance Superior Court.

Jail booking records indicate Davis has been arrested for at least nine misdemeanors and felonies since March 2022. El Camino College police arrested him in May 2023 for a misdemeanor. Details of that arrest were not immediately available.

The El Camino College Police Department has added officers and cadets and is collaborating with neighboring law enforcement agencies to beef up its presence on campus in the wake of the homicide, said Chief Michael Trevis, who expressed condolences to Hanafusa’s family.

El Camino College celebrates the opening of its new gymnasium on campus near Torrance on Feb. 21, 2020. The facility cost $35 million. (Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

Neighborhood on edge

Meanwhile, Hanafusa’s death has sent shock waves through her close-knit McMaster Park neighborhood.

“I’m on edge,” said Leslie Andersen, who lives in the neighborhood. “I’m unsure about going back on my morning walk. I don’t go near El Camino College or Alondra Park, but it’s still unnerving.”

Residents are concerned about the area’s homeless population, particularly those who are mentally ill, Andersen said. “Our little neighborhood always felt fairly safe,” she added. “I don’t have any answers, but something needs to be done.”

Andersen and Hanafusa met while walking their dogs. “While they played, we chitchatted,” she said, adding that Cherry has since been adopted by a neighbor.

Andersen described Hanafusa as thoughtful and generous, giving her and several neighbors Christmas gifts. She and her husband decided to return the favor and walked to Hanafusa’s house on Christmas Eve to drop off some homemade candy. They were met at the door by Hanafusa’s sister, who told them of the horrific attack.

“It is so tragic,” Andersen said. “Just gut-wrenching.”

Another resident of the McMaster Park neighborhood, Adrianne Luther, said that while she wasn’t personally acquainted with Hanafusa, she and Cherry were well-known.

“I do wish I did take the time to get to know her,” Luther said. “I’m hearing nothing but good things about her.

A former resident, who asked not to be identified out of respect for Hanafusa’s family, added: “Everyone in the neighborhood who knew her loved her, and everyone is devastated.”

Affordable housing advocate

Hanafusa, who is survived by two sisters and a niece, worked for 39 years at Goldrich Kest, a Culver City-based property management company, where she served as the company’s primary contact for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and associated housing authority offices.

According to Goldrich Kest, Hanafusa was a respected affordable housing expert.

“She was also one of the strongest affordable housing advocates in California,” the company said in a statement. “Her efforts contributed to us earning countless affordable housing industry awards both in California and nationwide. Thus, her loss will be felt not only by us, but by city and state governments and the affordable housing industry as a whole.”

The company added that Hanafusa’s “staunch dedication to her work was only matched by her unparalleled kindness toward others.”

“The contributions she made during her 39 years with us will leave a void that can never be filled,” the statement said. “Our hope is that Junko be remembered for the exemplary life she led rather than the brutal nature of her death. Goldrich Kest fully supports our elected officials who are addressing the role mental health issues play in terms of violent crime and its impact on society.”

Several Goldrich Kest co-workers also remembered Hanafusa fondly.

Sylvia Rubalcava, the firm’s vice president of human resources, described her as “soft-spoken, kind, always smiling and firm.”

Hanafusa was “very passionate about her work and always willing to teach and offer her assistance,” she added.

Rubalcava last saw Hanafusa on Dec. 13 during Goldrich Kest’s holiday luncheon. “She looked happy that the executives were serving lunch to the Goldrich Kest staff,” Rubalcava said. “It was a good day.”

Rubalcava was stunned when a co-worker told her Hanafusa had been killed. “Of course, my immediate reaction was disbelief, and then the anger set in,” she said. “A beautiful life was taken. She was a great leader and friend. Many of us are very angry about losing Junko in this manner.”

Kara Rawson, director of information management at Goldrich Kest, recalled that Hanafusa had a deft sense of humor.

In a 2020 company video honoring her 35th anniversary at Goldrich Kest, Hanafusa recalled how in the 1980s employees in her department had to share a single computer. “One day … someone unplugged the cord and we lost a lot of information,” she said with a laugh.

More than three years later, Rawson still finds Hanafusa’s anecdote amusing. “She was cracking up telling the story and it was just contagious,” Rawson said. “I can’t watch that video and not smile.”

On Thursday, Jan. 4, Goldrich Kest employees gathered to remember Hanafusa. “It was very healing to speak about her,” Rubalcava said. “Many of us cried and spoke of good memories of Junko. Her death has left a big void at Goldrich Kest.”

Torrance council gives final OK to cap on flight schools

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 14:12:18 +0000

The City Council this week unanimously approved the second and final reading of an ordinance that codified into law the six flight school limit at Torrance’s municipal airport.

The ordinance formalizes a resolution enacted in 1977 that limits the number of flight schools allowed to operate at Zamperini Field to six. The city has used the ordinance as its basis for denying Sling Pilot Academy’s appeal to reverse Torrance staffer’s decision not to renew its license for 2024.

The ordinance will become effective 30 days after its adoption, which was on Tuesday, Jan. 9.

There are currently 10 flight schools at the airport, each operating under an annually renewable business license, meaning there are four too many — and Sling Pilot Academy is one of them.

The flight schools have been a key source of concerns among residents regarding aircraft noise,.

After the city’s rejected Sling Pilot Academy’s appeal, the school brought a case in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Dec. 18. In court documents, lawyers for the school argued that the city did not have the legal authority to regulate flying aircraft. Only the Federal Aviation Administration, the school argued, has such rights.

The city’s attorneys, though, have said the FAA does not preempt Torrance’s regulations over the number of flight schools. The city, they say, has the constitutional police powers to regulate businesses within its jurisdiction.

Sling secured a temporary restraining order against Torrance on Dec. 21, which prevented the city from denying its business license renewal until its next court hearing. The ruling came just a few days after the city adopted the first reading of the ordinance to formalize the 1977 resolution into law. The passage of the ordinance ensures that the flight school limit is formally incorporated into city law before businesses can renew their licenses for 2024, Torrance officials said.

A preliminary injunction court hearing on the Sling case is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles.

An initial moratorium on flight schools was one of several measures the City Council passed on July 25 to manage noise at its municipal airport. A landing fee system, also approved during that meeting, is already underway.

Starting Feb. 1, aircrafts at Torrance’s municipal airport will be charged a minimum of $6 per landing.

Military, public safety and medical aircraft, and operators that own and operate helipads — namely, Robinson Helicopter, a prominent manufacturer of civilian helicopters that’s been in Torrance since 1973 — are exempted from the charges.

The billing cycle for the fees will start on the first of each month.

Gardena man gets 27-year prison sentence for South LA and South Bay robbery spree in 2020

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:31:20 +0000

LOS ANGELES — A convicted murderer dubbed “a walking crime spree” by prosecutors was sentenced Monday to 27 years in federal prison for robbing and attempting to rob nearly a dozen Los Angeles County businesses — including a veterinarian’s office — at gunpoint over five days while on parole from state prison for armed robbery.

Justin Washington, 34, of Gardena, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson, who also ordered him to pay $10,119 in restitution and fines, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Washington pleaded guilty in October to 10 counts of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

In mid-September 2020, Washington was released from state prison from a 10-year term for armed robbery and possession of a deadly weapon. Less than two months after his release, federal prosecutors said Washington murdered a rival gang member. Then, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4, 2020, Washington robbed and attempted to rob 10 businesses in the South Bay and in South Los Angeles, according to prosecutors.

According to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court, his robbery spree began at the same Gardena grocery store, which he robbed on consecutive days on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2020. From there, in Gardena, Washington robbed a 7-Eleven store, a donut shop and attempted to rob a veterinarian’s office, prosecutors said. He then robbed a donut shop in Torrance, and, in South Los Angeles, a wireless phone store, a dry cleaner business, two additional donut shops and, finally, a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store, according to court documents.

During his armed robbery of a Torrance donut shop on Dec. 2, 2020, Washington pointed a gun at and then struck a store employee in the head, causing bodily injury, prosecutors said. Washington then forced the victim to move to the shop’s back office to facilitate Washington’s search for money, then bound the victim’s hands, according to prosecutors.

While robbing a donut shop at gunpoint in South Los Angeles one day later, Washington was accused of pistol whipping an employee, causing serious bodily injury to the victim, then attempted to fire his gun.

In total, Washington stole $9,019 in cash and personal property during his five-day crime spree, prosecutors said.

From December 2020 until last July, Washington was in state custody. He ultimately was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison. He has been in federal custody for about six months. Twenty years of Washington’s 27-year federal prison sentence will run consecutive to his state prison sentence for murder.

“This defendant was a walking crime spree and fully deserving of a major federal prison sentence,” Los Angeles U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “Removing violent criminals such as this defendant from our streets is some of the most important work my office handles and we will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who endanger our community.”

Torrance appoints veteran finance staffer as deputy city manager

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 23:58:25 +0000

Torrance recently added a new deputy city manager

Ian Dailey, a veteran staffer who previously served as the city’s assistant finance director, received the promotion last month. City Manager Aram Chaparyan tapped Dailey for the job.

Dailey’s “forward thinking, nimbleness and financial management earned him the promotion to Deputy City Manager,” a recent city press release said.

The city declined to provide his specific salary. But, according to information on the city’s website, a deputy city manager’s monthly pay ranges from $14,306 to $19,742, as of April.

In his new post, according to the city’s press release, Dailey will work on Torrance’s Strategic Plan initiatives, provide support in labor relations, promote a data-driven approach to economic growth, handle legislative affairs, manage development incentive programs, oversee land management, and address other key priorities.

Dailey — who has a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach — first joined Torrance in December 2009, working as a staff assistant in the Transit Department.

He left in May 2013. Dailey returned to Massachusetts, where he served as the assistant superintendent for finance and administration at the Lexington Public School District.

Dailey, whose MPA includes a certificate in public sector financial management, returned to Torrance in August 2018. He eventually worked his way up to assistant finance director.

During his time in that role, Dailey supervised daily operations across multiple areas in the Finance Department, including the budget, accounting, accounts payable, business licenses and payroll.

He also spearheaded the rollout of new budget and payroll systems and helped the city rebuild its reserves to levels not seen in more than a decade, among other accomplishments.

Dailey’s promotion became effective Dec. 15.

Torrance’s Rose Parade float wins ‘Princess Trophy’

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 16:35:50 +0000

Torrance took home the “Princess Trophy” at the 135th Tournament of Roses Parade, marking the city’s 55th win in the world-famous event in more than 68 years of participation.

“We’re so proud of our decorators,” said Carol Gilles, secretary for the Torrance Rose Float Association. “They diligently focus on their jobs, and it’s not unusual for our float to be done in a very timely manner and ready to rock off 24 hours ahead of time.”

“The Lyrical Call of Nature” was designed by West High School student Jodie Cheng and built by Fiesta Parade Floats. It captures the vocal exchange between a mother hummingbird and her babies, who are temporarily blind in the initial days following hatching.

The “Princess Trophy” recognizes the most outstanding floral presentation among entries 35 feet and under in length. The city has now claimed this award eight times, said Lynn Robinson, a member of the Torrance Rose Float Association board.

“We were fairly certain that we had a good chance of winning something,” Robinson said, “because of the fabulous job that Fiesta and our volunteers do on putting our float together.”

A larger-than-life hummingbird feeds its young on the City of Torrance float at the Floatfest on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Visitors could view the Rose Parade floats up close along Sierra Madre and Washington Boulevards in Pasadena and get a closer look at the design and workmanship that went into each float entry. Tournament volunteers were also on hand to describe the float-building process. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A mother hummingbird feds her babies on the City of Torrance float “The Lyrical Call of Nature” winner of the Princess Award during the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
City of Torrance float “The Lyrical Call of Nature” winner of the Princess Award during the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
The City of Torrance float, “Lyrical Call of Nature,” winner of Most Outstanding Floral Presentation award during the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
Mayor George Chen, center, of Torrance tours the City of Torrance’s float: “The Lyrical Call of Nature ” with Beverly Findley of the Rose Float Association at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, December 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Mayor George Chen, center, of Torrance tours the City of Torrance’s float: “The Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, December 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteer Rosemarie Piccioni talks about the hummingbird she is decorating to dignitaries from the city of Torrance as the cityxe2x80x99s float: xe2x80x9cThe Lyrical Call of Nature ” is being decorated at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteers work on the City of Torrance’s float: “The Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, December 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteer Melissa De La Vara holds up one of the many flowers on the City of Torrancexe2x80x99s float: xe2x80x9cThe Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteer Nikki Calderon works on the City of Torrancexe2x80x99s float: xe2x80x9cThe Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteers work on the hummingbirds on the City of Torrancexe2x80x99s float: xe2x80x9cThe Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
One of the many flowers as volunteers work on the City of Torrancexe2x80x99s float: xe2x80x9cThe Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteers work on the City of Torrance’s float: “The Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, December 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteers work on the City of Torrance’s float: “The Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, December 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
Volunteer Gigi Corona works on the City of Torrancexe2x80x99s float: xe2x80x9cThe Lyrical Call of Nature ” at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
‘Unruly’ crowd at Del Amo Fashion Center leads to 5 arrests and 2 injuries

Sun, 31 Dec 2023 14:46:46 +0000

Police arrested five juveniles following an unruly gathering of roughly 1,000 youths at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance Saturday, according to authorities.

No looting or vandalism was reported, but two people, including a police officer, were injured in the disturbance that spread to at least 34 nearby businesses and drew a multi-agency response, officials said.

At the peak of the disturbance, which began at about 4:31 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30, surrounding streets were closed for more than seven hours while officers worked to disperse the crowd, according to the Torrance Police Department.

Police planned to maintain a presence at the mall on New Year’s Eve with officers patrolling by vehicle, on motorcycle and on foot.

Police arrested three girls and two boys as a result of the disturbance Saturday, Torrance police spokesman Sgt. Ron Salary said in a statement early Sunday, Dec. 31. The address of one arrestee was unknown and the others were from the cities of Hawthorne, Los Angeles, Gardena and Compton.

The injured Torrance police officer and a juvenile were treated at the scene and did not require hospitalization.

In a statement, Torrance Mayor George K. Chen decried the disturbance and urged the community to “do better.”

“We have entered a very sad state when youth visit our community and cause harm and havoc,” Chen said. “Crimes committed by youth or adults that are pre-planned and organized to loot and destroy property are not acceptable. Our criminal justice system must address these crimes so we don’t have these events repeated without serious consequences.”

In August, police responded to another large disturbance at the Del Amo mall, breaking up a fight among an estimated 1,000 juveniles. Afterward, city and police officials announced an “increased police presence and patrol” citywide, particularly at retail centers, going into the holiday season.

And two days before Saturday’s disturbance, the Torrance Police Officers’ Association shared on social media that officers had responded to Del Amo mall to address another unruly crowd.

“Last night, the men and women of the Torrance Police Department, in partnership with Del Amo Fashion Center security personnel, worked tirelessly to protect the Del Amo Fashion Center and its patrons from an unruly crowd,” the Torrance POA posted Thursday, Dec. 28. “Over the course of several hours, we utilized all available resources and safely cleared the mall of all bad actors without major incident.”

The disturbance Saturday, Dec. 30, was initially reported after Torrance police officers on routine foot patrol at the Del Amo mall noticed a group of unruly juveniles that continued to grow and become increasingly rowdy.

As the gathering of mostly juveniles grew larger, and a Torrance police officer was injured during the disturbance, department officials called for more assistance.

Officers from nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies responded including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, El Segundo, Palos Verdes Estates, Culver City, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach police departments.

A helicopter from the LAPD Air Support Division was also on the scene.

“Ultimately a skirmish line was formed, the juveniles were given a dispersal order and they were directed off the mall property and away from surrounding businesses,” Torrance police said. Meanwhile, law enforcement agencies responded to 34 businesses in which additional, separate groups of disruptive juveniles had gathered and needed to be removed.

Police said there were no reports of looting or vandalism, though there were 911 calls about juveniles throwing bottles.
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Del Amo Fashion Center, 3525 W. Carson St., which was scheduled to remain open until 9 p.m. Saturday, closed at around 5 p.m., due to the disturbance.

During the response Saturday, police closed Carson Street from Madrona Avenue to Del Amo Circle East, Del Amo Circle East from Carson Street to Fashion Way, and Fashion Way from Madrona Avenue to Amie Avenue.

All streets reopened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday.
Woman killed in sledgehammer attack on L.A. County college campus

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 06:16:11 +0000

Loved ones are devastated after a woman was killed in a violent attack on the campus of El Camino College near Torrance.

The victim, identified only as an Asian woman in her 60s, was walking her dog on Christmas Eve morning around 7 a.m. when the attack happened, according to campus police.

As the victim was collecting recyclables, she was suddenly attacked by a man with a sledgehammer. He fled the scene before authorities arrived.

A passerby had spotted the fallen woman next to the gymnasium building. Arriving officers found the woman unconscious and bleeding from her head.

Her dog had remained by her side. Paramedics transferred the woman to a local hospital where she died on Christmas Day from her injuries.

After reviewing surveillance footage, campus police identified the suspect as Jeffery Davis, 40, a man they’ve spotted in the community before.
El Camino College gymnasium building in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
El Camino College gymnasium building in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
El Camino College campus in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
El Camino College campus police in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
El Camino College campus police in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
El Camino College campus in Torrance, California. (KTLA)
“The person that we had an idea of who was on the security footage is, we believe, a homeless person we’ve had contact with before,” said Sgt. Francisco Esqueda of El Camino College Police. “So we were able to go to the neighboring county park where he sometimes hangs out and that’s where we found him.”

Residents said the woman was known to walk her dog around the neighborhood for years.

One of the victim’s neighbors told KTLA she learned of the attack from the victim's family after trying to deliver a gift to her.

"It's devastating," said Leslie Andersen, the victim's neighbor. "It's gut-wrenching. I'm still in shock. Our dogs became friends so they would play together and we would talk. Just the sweetest woman."

Some residents are now on edge after the deadly attack.

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"It's scary seeing that a lot of people do come around this area where there are families," said a local resident. "You might think they're just homeless people but you don't know their psychological or mental health so it's a very scary thing."

Davis was taken into custody as the case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He is being held without bail. The motive behind the attack remains unclear.

The victim’s official cause of death will be determined by the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner.

Anyone with information about this incident can call the LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted to "Crime Stoppers" at 800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Man attacked in violent Torrance mall robbery, suspects at large

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 07:18:09 +0000

A group of armed suspects remains at large after a violent robbery at a Torrance shopping mall left a man beaten and bloodied.

The victim, Absalom Wilkins, was leaving the Del Amo Fashion Center with Christmas gifts on Dec. 23 when two suspects approached him at gunpoint.

“I was fearing for my life,” said Wilkins. “Especially when you're getting up and they're saying they're going to shoot you. It was sad, traumatizing, scary. I couldn't stop crying. When my family saw me, they couldn't stop crying.”

Wilkins left the mall at around 9 p.m. when the suspects’ SUV nearly crashed into him as he was using a crosswalk near Buffalo Wild Wings.

“This gentleman in the SUV blew past the stop sign and was not paying attention at all, “ Wilkins said.

He knocked on the suspects’ car with his knuckles, telling the driver to pay attention. That’s when the driver stepped out of the vehicle to confront Wilkins.
Absalom Wilkins was left bloodied and bruised after armed suspects robbed him at gunpoint at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (Absalom Wilkins)
The parking structure where a female suspect crashed her BMW sedan while fleeing from police at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (South Bay Responders)
The parking structure where a female suspect crashed her BMW sedan while fleeing from police at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (South Bay Responders)
The crosswalk where Absalom Wilkins was left bloodied and bruised after armed suspects robbed him at gunpoint at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (KTLA)
Absalom Wilkins was left bloodied and bruised after armed suspects robbed him at gunpoint at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (Absalom Wilkins)
The parking structure where a female suspect crashed her car while fleeing from police at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (KTLA)
The parking structure where a female suspect crashed her BMW sedan while fleeing from police at the Del Amo Fashion Center on Dec. 23, 2023. (South Bay Responders)
“He said a couple of words to me like, ‘F*** you,’ and ‘I don’t give a f***,’” Wilkins said.

Suddenly, friends of the SUV driver pulled up in a BMW sedan. That second car had a man and a woman inside. The men from both vehicles cornered Wilkins and began beating him.

As he was lying on the ground, “all I can feel are kicks and punches,” Wilkins said.

Every time he tried to get up, Wilkins said they would threaten him with a gun.

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“He has a gun pointed at me and he said, ‘Stay down or we’re going to shoot you!’” he recalled.

Nearby witnesses called the police during the attack. As officers arrived at the scene, the two male suspects grabbed the victim's shopping bags and took off in the SUV, while the female suspect began to drive off in the sedan.

In the heat of the moment, Wilkins decided to jump into the sedan with the woman.

“I hopped in her passenger seat because I wanted my gifts back,” he said. “I just spent thousands of dollars on Christmas shopping.”

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During the ride, Wilkins said the woman lost control of the vehicle as she was fleeing police and ended up crashing into the mall‘s parking structure.

“Her car jumped this curb and just headed down there,” Wilkins said as he pointed to a parking lot situated several floors beneath ground level.

The woman began running on foot and Wilkins chased after her before stopping as he realized she had left the stolen shopping bags behind in the car.

Although the suspects remain at large, Wilkins said police have a good idea who the thieves are as they continue investigating.

“I hope they catch these guys and they stay in jail for a long time,” he said.

Loved ones said the ordeal left Wilkins with multiple injuries and a concussion from the crash. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Wilkins with medical expenses.
Torrance AT&T Store Robbed By Two Men Using Force Against Employee, Reward Offered For Their Capture

Sun, 30 May 2021 01:27:42 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – Two men burglarized an AT&T store and injured one of the employees during the robbery.

The store is located on West Carson Street, just west of Western Avenue.

Security video captured the robbers running off last night after using force on the employee to get access to the store’s safe.

The worker at the store is expected to be okay. A $2,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the two men.

Torrance Man, 83, Violently Attacked 2 Times By Same Homeless Individual

Mon, 24 May 2021 05:28:37 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it’s investigating and trying to locate a homeless man for two brutal attacks on 83-year-old Tomas Mendoza.

The first assault came about one week ago when Mendoza, on a walk he’s taken for nearly 40 years, was randomly attacked along Vermont Street by the homeless individual. Mendoza suffered cuts to the face and required stitches in the back of his head from the beating.

“He gave us a description of what he looked like and i went driving around for a couple of hours and I found the guy,” Jessica Mendoza, the 83-year-old’s daughter-in-law, told CBSLA’s Jake Reiner. “I called police and he was arrested.”

However, a second violent encounter with the same individual occurred Saturday. The homeless man attacked Mendoza by throwing rocks at him and hit him in the face.

Mendoza’s daughter-in-law said that a Good Samaritan, fortunately, stepped in to stop the violent assault.

“He was shielding him from the rocks,” she said.

Police told the Mendoza family that the man had been released after the first attack for lack of evidence. This despite the fact that the victim could identify his attacker after the first incident.

“Yesterday was bad. If the guy didn’t jump in to help, we probably would be having a whole different conversation right now,” Jessica Mendoza said.

The 83-year-old Mendoza says he feels terrible that he can’t go out and walk.

Tiger Squadron Does Flyover In Torrance To Honor Armed Forces Day

Sun, 16 May 2021 01:00:58 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – For the second year in a row, the City of Torrance had to forgo its annual Armed Forces Day parade due to the pandemic, but the Tiger Squadron did a flyover in honor of the day.

The planes, known as the War Birds, performed aerial maneuvers with the events also being streamed on Facebook Live.

Marching troops, military vehicle, veterans groups and a performance by a military band usually draws draws some 60,000 people to the event. Organizers are hopeful that next year the parade will return in its normal fashion next year.

Evacuation Alert System To Be Tested At Torrance Beaches Again

Thu, 13 May 2021 19:51:02 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Another evacuation alert test along the beaches in Torrance will be conducted Thursday afternoon.

(credit: CBS)

The test will include sirens, flashing lights, and announcements in English and Spanish that will eventually be used to alert residents and beachgoers of emergencies like tsunamis, lightning, earthquakes, and sharks. “This is only a test” will be announced before any evacuation announcement.

The system, BEELS, is the first evacuation alert system of its kind in the world, according to LA County’s Department of Beaches & Harbors. The system includes white LED lights mounted on permanent structures and some lifeguard towers that will flash white – slowly for water-only evacuations, and quickly for a full water and beach evacuation.

Thursday’s test will take place tween 3 and 5 p.m. and at full volume. Due to the anticipated high decibel levels, people with sensitive hearing were urged to avoid the area during the test.

67-Year-Old Linda Marie Cross, Of Torrance, Missing For Nearly 1 Week

Tue, 11 May 2021 04:37:12 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Officials are searching for help searching for a 67-year-old woman last seen in Torrance nearly one week ago.

Linda Marie Cross was last seen at about 6 p.m. Tuesday driving a silver 2017 Chevrolet Spark with the California license plate 7VRR295, according to deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

She is described as 5’2″, 180 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

Cross was last seen wearing a blue short sleeve blouse, blue jeans and black shoes.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts can contact the Sheriff’s Missing Persons Unit at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

‘We Walked Into A Nightmare:’ Torrance Family Finds 800 Birds In Home

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 23:41:39 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – A family said they came home from dinner one night last week and walked into a scene that looked like it was taken out of Alfred Hitchcock’s horror movie, The Birds.

Inside a Torrance, Calif., home where hundreds of birds were found. April 2021. (Credit: Patrick Belleville)

“We walked right into a nightmare,” said Patrick Belleville. “The birds were stuck to the ceiling, stuck to every wall. They were hanging onto pictures.”

Belleville said a friend called animal control. The agency told them to open all the windows and doors, but the birds stayed put.

“Every room: bathrooms, bedrooms, they were all full of birds,” Belleville recalled. “They were just going crazy. They were hitting me in the head.”

The rest of the family stayed in a hotel for the night while Belleville removed more than 800 birds from his home by hand.

“I stopped counting after 800 birds,” he said. “I was just grabbing them and throwing them in the box, taking them outside, shaking them out of the box, and letting them go.”

Belleville worked through the night, and a mess of droppings, to save his home from the birds. For two more days, some of the hidden birds continued to terrorize the family.

“There were random birds flying out of closets and stuff,” he recalled.

Belleville steam cleaned all of his sofas and floors. He had to throw away a lot of his belongings that could not be saved from the mess.

On Sunday, a similar scene happened in Montecito where the local fire department said more than 1,000 birds invaded a home.

Animal control said the cause of both cases might be chimney swifts, there were no screens on the chimneys, which appears to be how the birds entered the homes.

Nobody was hurt in either incident.

Torrance Woman Arrested In Mistaken ID Revenge Murder Of NorCal Rapper

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 05:00:32 +0000

SAN MATEO (CBSLA) — A Torrance woman has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Northern California rapper who investigators say she misidentified as the shooter who killed her boyfriend in Seal Beach last August.

An undated photo of 27-year-old Lewis Reupena, who was shot and killed while driving on the 405 Freeway in Seal Beach, Calif., on Aug. 29, 2020. (Family photo)

Amanda Young, 29, was arrested in Torrance on April 15 on charges of conspiracy and homicide.

According to San Mateo police, Young was the girlfriend of 27-year-old Lewis Reupena, a musician who was shot and killed on Aug. 29 while driving on the 405 Freeway in Seal Beach.

Young did a “street investigation” into the killing, according to police, and incorrectly concluded that San Francisco Bay Area rap artist Melota Lasi — who performed under the name Cutty Banks — was responsible for Reupena’s killing.

An undated image of rap artist Melota Lasi. (Bow Wizzel/YouTube)

Lasi was shot and killed on Dec. 19 in the parking lot of a Wells Fargo bank in San Mateo.

Investigators identified Reupena’s brother, 34-year-old Isaiah Reupena, as the suspect in that shooting. He was arrested April 1 in Oklahoma.

Detectives allege that Young convinced Isaiah Reupena that Lasi was responsible for his brother’s killing. Reupena then drove from Southern California to San Mateo in December, shot and killed Lasi, returned to Southern California and then moved Oklahoma, San Mateo police said.

Isaiah Reupena is taken into custody on April 1, 2021, in Oklahoma in connection with the Dec. 19, 2020, shooting death of Melota Lasi. (San Mateo Police Department)

Young also moved to Oklahoma for a short period of time following Lasi’s murder, but returned to Torrance.

Since her arrest, she has been extradited to San Mateo, where she remains jailed.

Lewis Reupena’s father told CBSLA back in August his son was driving to work on the night of Aug. 29, when someone pulled out a gun on the freeway and shot and killed him. Authorities still do not have a motive or suspects in his killing.

3 South Bay-Area School Districts Reopen Campuses This Week For Their Youngest Students

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 23:12:42 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Three school districts in the South Bay reopened this week to students, after being closed during a particularly steep rise in COVID-19 cases in the region.

Some of the youngest students in Torrance, Redondo Beach, and El Segundo Unified school districts returned to campus for in-person learning. The three districts also resumed in-person learning for students with special needs and student athletic conditioning.

El Segundo Unified says in order for students in grades 4-6 to be able to return back to campuses in a similar hybrid schedule, Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 case rates would need to be much lower to the point of just 25 per 100,000.

For middle and high school students to be allowed to return to campuses, the county must enter the state’s red tier of reopening, when case rates are 7 per 100,000.

Officials in Redondo Beach say they are holding vaccine Q&A sessions for their staff, in anticipation of reaching Phase 1B of the state’s vaccination schedule, when educators will be able to receive the vaccine. The district says several staff members have already been vaccinated due to their unique job titles, but did not give details on who was eligible.

Torrance Unified says it’s also working with the city to facilitate vaccine distribution to its employees, which is expected to happen sometime this month.

The county’s largest school district, neighboring Los Angeles Unified, remains closed for in-person learning and has not yet set a date for when students might return.

Vaccination Sites In Torrance, Orange County Hamstrung By Lack Of Staffing, Volunteers

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 00:12:19 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — One critical element of distributing COVID-19 vaccines is in extremely short supply – people to help staff vaccination sites.

Several people who had made appointments for a COVID-19 vaccine arrived at El Camino College in Torrance Tuesday, only to be turned away because the site wasn’t staffed. The healthcare company Curative was supposed to administer the shots.

Hollywood resident Ronald Quigley said the situation was frustrating, to put it lightly.

“There was a man in line who came all the way from Arcadia with a 90-year-old mother,” he said. “He had to wake her up at 5 o’clock in the morning. He was irate.”

Quigley said it took him days to book his appointment, but he was able to re-book with the same company for Wednesday.

Our @Disneyland & @SokaUniv Super PODs are staffed by @OCGovCA, #OC fire services, volunteer health care pros & local govt volunteers. To join this effort please scan the QR code below. Medically trained & general support volunteers needed. #ThisIsOurShot #OCCOVID19 #CovidVaccine pic.twitter.com/rG7V1XvEFF

— OC Health Care Agency (@ochealth) January 27, 2021

In Orange County, public health officials are asking for volunteers, especially those with medical training. They especially need doctors and nurses, but will also take dentists, medical assistants, pharmacists – even those who are still students – respiratory therapists, psychiatric technicians, paramedics, EMTs and naturopathic doctors. Volunteers are also needed for logistical support for rules like computer data entry, registration and traffic.

Former California medical association president Dr. David Aizuss says Los Angeles County could make it easier for volunteers to help administer the vaccine.

One of the issues, Aizus says, is the county requires physicians to commit to 10-and-a-half-hour days.

“Physicians are ready, willing and able to volunteer but your typical busy physician can’t do that unless he takes that entire day off of their office,” he said.

Many colleges appear to be leading the volunteer front: Chelsie Osuna is a last-year nursing student at Glendale Community College.

Osuna has been administering vaccines at USC Verdugo Hospital and Glendale Adventist as part of her clinical hours, doing 10-hour days and loggin 96 hours in about six weeks.

“We’re administering vaccines pretty much the whole of the day,” she said. “There are some RNs there supervising just to help direct patients. There are people who are registering all the patients as well. As the student nurses there in the vaccines clinic we are actually administering the vaccines which is very rewarding in and of itself.”

Lacey Ana Mazzarella Sentenced To Prison For 2-Year-Old Daughter’s Death

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 00:34:42 +0000

COMPTON (CBSLA) — A Rancho Palos Verdes woman whose 2-year-old daughter died in 2019 after being left in a car overnight with the heater running was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years and eight months in state prison.

Lacey Ana Mazzarella, 35, pleaded no contest Oct. 20 to one count each of voluntary manslaughter, mayhem and child abuse resulting in death, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was initially called to the 22400 block of South Vermont Avenue in an unincorporated area near Torrance on Sept. 23, 2019 for reports of an unresponsive child. The toddler, June Love Agosto, was pronounced dead at an area hospital.

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Mazzarella told deputies at the time that she left her toddler in a car in a Torrance driveway at 11:30 p.m. Sept. 22 in her car seat covered by a blanket with the heater on and the windows rolled up. The next morning, at about 5 a.m., Mazzarella said she found her child covered in vomit and unresponsive.

Mazzarella was arrested on Oct. 2, 2019 and charged two days later with one count each of murder and child neglect resulting in death. She has remained behind bars since her arrest.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

Walmart To Temporarily Close Downey, Torrance, And Huntington Beach Stores For Cleaning, Sanitization

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 22:10:46 +0000

DOWNEY (CBSLA) — Walmart will shut down its Downey, Torrance, and Huntington Beach locations through Friday morning so each store can undergo a deep cleaning and sanitization.

Walmart officials say the Downey Neighborhood Market, 1445 East Foothill Blvd.; the Torrance Supercenter, 22015 Hawthorne Blvd.; and the Huntington Beach Supercenter, 8230 Talbert Ave., will close Wednesday at 2 p.m. Each store will remain closed through Thursday and reopen Friday at 7 a.m.

The retail giant says the closures are part of a company-initiated program to allow a third-party cleaning crew time to thoroughly clean and sanitize the buildings. Walmart has also closed stores in Panorama City, Corona, Compton, Paramount, South Gate, Lancaster and Upland over the past few weeks for similar deep cleanings.

The company has not said whether any of its employees have tested positive at any of its stores, and only its Compton location has been cited recently due to lack of compliance with the health officer order, according to the LA County Department of Public Health.

“Everything we’re doing is for the well-being of our associates and customers, and in consideration of guidance by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and health experts,” the company’s statement said.

Sam’s Club, the warehouse club also owned by Walmart, will also close through Friday in South Gate.

Solo Vehicle Crash Kills 1 In Torrance

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 13:10:42 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — At least one person has died in a solo vehicle crash in Torrance early Tuesday.

(credit: CBS)

The crash was reported at about 3 a.m. in the area of Hawthorne and Artesia boulevards in Torrance. Hawthorne Boulevard has been shut down between Redondo Beach and Artesia boulevards until further notice, according to Torrance police.

Police confirmed one person died in the crash, but did not release any further information.

Just one vehicle is believed to have been involved in the crash, but it remains under investigation.

Parents Of Woman Killed In Torrance Crash Accuse LA County Sheriff’s Deputy Of Drunk Driving, Street Racing

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 22:50:24 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — The parents of a Redondo Beach woman are suing an LA County sheriff’s deputy, alleging he caused the crash that killed her because he was driving drunk and street racing.

(credit: CBS)

The parents of 23-year-old Ashley Wells have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Deputy Daniel Auner, who is on paid administrative leave from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Wells’ parents allege Auner was driving drunk when he crashed on July 8 on Crenshaw Boulevard in Torrance. No other cars were involved.

According to their lawsuit, Wells was a passenger when Auner lost control of his Dodge Charger and crashed into a pole. Auner has not been charged in the crash.

“It’s shocking to me, and it disgusts the family and it disgusts my office that nothing was done here that should have been done,” the Wells’ family’s attorney, Michael Parker, said. “But what should have happened is there should have been an investigation, and just because somebody is a sheriff’s deputy doesn’t mean they should get any different treatment than a normal citizen and that’s what we believe and the family believes is happening here.”

Two more women who were also in the car and survived the crash were also on hand at the news conference put on by the Wells’ attorneys, who say they have video evidence of Auner drinking and speeding that night.

Torrance Man Charged With Hate Crime For Allegedly Flashing Nazi Salute, Vandalizing Pickup Truck With Shovel

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 21:08:29 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A Torrance man faces a hate crime charge for allegedly using a shovel to attack the truck of another driver, yelling “white lives matter,” and flashing a Nazi salute.

(credit: Torrance Police)

Gregory Howell, 29, was charged Friday with one count each of assault with a deadly weapon, a shovel, and vandalism, as well as a special hate crime allegation, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Howell is scheduled to be arraigned in court Monday.

Police say altercation started out as a road rage incident. Video posted on social media during the July 22 altercation showed Howell and his wife, Rachelle, confronting the driver and passenger in the pickup truck at the intersection of Prairie Avenue and Artesia Boulevard in Torrance.

The video shows the couple out of their vehicle, with the woman flipping off the occupants of the pickup truck and saying “white lives matter b—,” then moments later, Howell raising his arm in a Nazi salute. Polive say Howell got a large shovel and hit the pickup truck as it drove away, and the driver told officers he believed the woman damaged the driver’s side mirror.

It’s not clear if Rachelle Howell – who police initially identified as Rachel Howell – will also be charged in the incident.

Prosecutors will recommend Howell’s bail be set at $75,000, according to the District Attorney’s Office. If convicted as charged, Howell faces a possible maximum sentence of seven years, eight months in state prison.

Torrance police continue to investigate the incident.

27 Arrested For Alleged Unemployment Benefits Fraud In Torrance Since Sept. 10

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 03:30:02 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — More than two dozen people have been arrested in Torrance since Sept. 10 for alleged unemployment benefits fraud and identity theft, police reported Wednesday.

According to Sgt. Alexander Martinez of the Torrance Police Department, the 27 suspects used stolen identities to obtain California Employment Development Department unemployment benefits, and 130 EDD cards were recovered, along with $150,000 and four handguns, including two without serial numbers.

“Most debit cards were issued in third parties’ names, including identity theft victims, with a value of up to $20,000,” Martinez said. “The suspects possessed numerous cards and would often use the cards to make high-end purchases and make cash withdrawals from ATMs.”

Martinez urged anyone who receives a letter from the EDD without applying for benefits to call their local police department, even if it’s for someone who does not live at the residence, Martinez said.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

Harbor-UCLA’s Chief Medical Officer Calls On LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva To Review Actions That Led To Hospital Shooting

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 22:24:57 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — The chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where a patient was shot by deputies last week, called on Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to review how law enforcement operates in a hospital where there is already trained behavioral response staff.

(credit: CBS)

Dr. Anish Mahajan, the acting chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, issued a statement Friday about the Oct. 7 shooting and the sheriff’s response.

“During his October 14 news conference, Sheriff Alex Villanueva discussed the shooting of a psychiatric patient at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy from the South Los Angeles Station and why the use of force was appropriate,” Dr. Mahajan’s statement said. “This deputy, who fired multiple shots at the patient, is not a member of the hospital’s on-site Sheriff’s unit and was assigned to provide security to another deputy who was an inpatient in a nearby room.”

Earlier this week, several members of the hospital’s staff joined protests of the shooting. The deputy had opened fire on the patient after he began acting erratically, taking medical equipment, trying to destroy a computer and smashing a window.

RELATED: Civilian Oversight Commission Calls On Sheriff Villanueva To Resign

(credit: CBS)

Dr. Mahajan said that the hospital has a behavior response team trained to respond within minutes and safely de-escalate situations in which patients are experiencing significant behavioral health issues. The hospital’s on-site, trained sheriff personnel are not part of this behavioral response team, he said.

“Behavioral events such as these involving appropriately trained personnel rarely result in law enforcement involvement and when they are called upon, have never resulted in the shooting of a patient at Harbor-UCLA,” Dr. Mahajan said in his statement.

Dr. Mahajan said the hospital is reviewing all aspects of the incident in the hopes of preventing future occurrences.

“I would hope the Sheriff would similarly conduct an assessment of law enforcement’s actions into how they operate inside a hospital where trained behavioral response staff are present to manage these situations,” he said.

Staff Protests After LA Deputy Shoots Patient Inside Torrance Hospital

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 15:05:19 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – A rally took place Tuesday outside Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance following the shooting of a patient by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy inside the hospital last week.

Hospital staff hold a demonstration outside Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance. Oct. 13, 2020. (CBSLA)

Dozens of protesters, many of them hospital staff angry over the shooting, gathered outside the hospital in a show of solidarity for patient care and calling for urgent measure to ensure health and safety.

They held signs that said “remove guns from hospitals,” “policy change now” and “done with guns.” They chanted “no guns at Harbor.”

“And it’s not just about them shooting people, it’s about them undermining doctors’ health and practice,” one protester told CBSLA. “It’s about them undermining treatment protocols.”

Late on the night of Oct. 6, the patient was shot by a deputy inside the hospital, which is located at 1000 W. Carson St.

The deputy was there as part of a security detail for a different patient.

The situation began when the patient began acting erratically, taking a piece of medical equipment, trying to destroy a computer and then trying to smash a fourth-floor window, sheriff’s Lt. Derrick Alfred told CBSLA at the time.

When the patient entered a private room where another patient was being guarded by a deputy and allegedly tried to attack that patient, he was shot, according to a statement issued by the hospital.

The patient was critically wounded and underwent surgery at the hospital.

The hospital clarified Tuesday that the deputy who fired his weapon was not a member of the hospital-based sheriff’s unit, but was providing security for the private room patient.

However, it was not immediately clear whether he was on duty at the time.

Multiple investigations into the incident are underway, the hospital said. L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has proposed a motion calling on the county’s Office of Inspector General to investigate, while the hospital is looking at how to best manage security services.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

Patient Shot, Critically Wounded By Deputy At Torrance Hospital After Becoming Violent

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 15:20:19 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – A patient was shot and critically wounded by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance late Tuesday night after he allegedly went on a violent rampage.

Oct. 6, 2020. (CBSLA)

The suspect was shot by a deputy at around 11:15 p.m. inside the hospital, which is located at 1000 W. Carson St.

The suspect, a man between 30 and 40-years-old, is in critical condition at the hospital undergoing surgery for gunshot wounds, a sheriff’s spokesperson said. The deputy was not injured.

The situation began when the suspect began acting erratically, taking a piece of medical equipment, trying to destroy a computer and then trying to smash a fourth-floor window, sheriff’s Lt. Derrick Alfred told CBSLA.

A deputy who was providing security for the hospital was assisting staff who were trying to get the situation under control. However, at one point, the suspect allegedly attacked the deputy, and she opened fire on him.

“I heard medical staff there trying to control him and also some patients screaming,” Alfred said. “She assisted the medical staff in moving some of the patients out of there. At that point the suspect, or patient in question, he turned his attention toward the deputy and went after the deputy and that is when the deputy-involved shooting occurred.”

It’s unclear what the suspect was being treated for prior to the shooting. Neither the hospital or the sheriff’s department have the suspect’s name, Alfred disclosed.

STEAM: Discarded Masks Used To Create Eco-Friendly Surfboards At Torrance Company

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 01:57:28 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A Los Angeles County teen came up with the idea to upcycle coronavirus masks and turn them into sustainable surfboards.

19-year-old Ford Roll of Burbank, who at the time was sweeping floors at eco-surfboard company Earth Technologies, presented his vision to the team and ended up with a promotion and high product demand.

Roll started out this initiative by going out to pick up discarded masks on the side of the road.

The pile of masks he collected quicky found a home in the company shredder alongside other items like gloves and coffee cups that go into upcycling efforts to create sustainable surfboards.

The “zero-waste initiative” surfboard makers focus on collecting, compacting, condensing and then glossing the protective gear into surfboards that reduce the presence of masks in landfills.

Oftentimes, surfers are some of the first people to notice trouble in the water, and new environmental concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic have been one of the things that caught their attention.

“You’re starting to see masks everywhere in the ocean,” said Ryan Harris, Owner and Designer-in-Chief of Earth Technologies. “It’s a new pollution problem. Before it was the bag and straws.”

Harris, who has a degree in Product Design and initially worked in the sneaker business, said he had no plans on entering the surfboard-building industry.

Of all the STEAM disciplines, creating surfboards leans most heavily on technology, engineering, art and math, specifically angles and curves derived from nature’s Fibonacci spiral.

Harris said for a surfer to succeed in the ocean, the curve and balance of their board has to be in harmony with the curves and forces of a wave.

Ford, who started out sweeping for the sustainable surfboard company, now runs the machine that gives the eco-boards their precision.

“I just kind of worked my way up,” the teen said.

Demand for the mask-filled surfboard has been soaring and now Ford is contemplating a career in business or design.

His advice to aspiring eco-surfboard makers is to get comfortable with the numerical part of the building process, and be willing to work your way up to achieving your goals.

911 Integration With Uber App Expanded To Beverly Hills, Burbank, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Torrance

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 18:44:59 +0000

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — Uber is expanding 911 integration with its app to the cities of Long Beach, Burbank, Torrance, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.

(credit: Uber)

Uber riders currently can use an emergency button in the app during a trip to give 911 dispatchers their real time location, car make and model, and license plate number. Uber says the integration of 911 in the app transmits that information automatically so it shows up on dispatchers’ computer screens, and does not need to be given verbally.

“Every second counts in an emergency, and we want to make sure our users get help quickly with accurate information if faced with an emergency situation,” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s safety products lead, said in a statement.

The emergency button was first launched in May 2018 in just a handful of cities, including Los Angeles. With the expansion, it now covers 60% of all Uber rides in the United States, according to Uber.

40-Year-Old Man Killed In Harbor Gateway Shooting, Suspect At Large

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 23:40:47 +0000

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Police are searching for the gunman who killed a 40-year-old man early Wednesday in the Harbor Gateway area near Torrance.

Jimmy Jackson was standing with a group of men around 12:20 a.m. in a carport near the 1500 block of Plaza Del Amo, near Denker Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

According to witnesses in the area, a fight broke out between the men before gunshots were fired.

Jackson suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect still remains at large as of Wednesday afternoon and no description was provided.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to reach out to the LAPD’s Harbor Area Homicide Unit at 310-726-7889 or 310-726-7887. Tipsters can call 310-726-7730 during non-business hours. To remain anonymous, call 800-222-8477(TIPS).

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

Torrance Police Arrest 2 People Suspected Of Vandalizing Car, Yelling ‘White Lives Matter’

Sat, 01 Aug 2020 05:00:49 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Two 29-year-olds were arrested Friday for allegedly saying, “white lives matter,” performing a Nazi salute and vandalizing a vehicle with a shovel in Torrance.

Gregory Howell, of Carson, and his wife, Rachel Howell, of Seal Beach, have been arrested after allegedly saying “white lives matter” and performing a Nazi Salute. (Credit: Torrance PD)

Gregory Howell, of Carson, and his wife, Rachel Howell, of Seal Beach, were recorded in a road rage incident that happened at about 10:30 p.m. on July 22, according to the Torrance Police Department.

In a video circulated on social media, two people were seen outside of a white pickup truck at a stoplight near Artesia Boulevard and Prairie Avenue, according to police.

The woman in the video repeatedly stated that “only white lives matter,” as the victims recorded the scene from inside their vehicle. The man was seen giving a Nazi salute and saying, “white power.”

The suspects briefly returned to their vehicle, only to grab a shovel and strike the victim’s car, according to the video, damaging the driver’s side mirror.

One of the victims filed a police report the following morning.

Additional information was not released.

Authorities Investigating After Hate Crime Suspects Allegedly Assault Vehicle, Yell ‘White Lives Matter’ In Torrance

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 06:08:45 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Authorities are investigating Thursday after two hate crime suspects allegedly assaulted a vehicle with a gardening tool in Torrance, yelled “white lives matter,” and performed a Nazi salute.

The suspects got back into their vehicle briefly before the male suspect exited and used a gardening tool to allegedly hit the victims’ car, according to the video and Martinez.

A video of the incident that circulated on social media shows the two suspects were outside of their white pickup at a stoplight near Artesia Boulevard and Prairie Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Sgt. Alexander Martinez.

The female suspect said to the victims, who recorded the encounter from inside their car, “White lives matter (expletive)” and “only white lives matter (expletive).”

The suspects got back into their vehicle briefly before the male suspect exited and used a gardening tool to allegedly hit the victims’ car, according to the video and Martinez.

Martinez said that one of the victims filed a police report Thursday morning and the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

The race of the victims was not immediately confirmed, Martinez said.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

Redondo Beach Man Accused Of Hate Crime After Driving Into Group Of Black People At Torrance Hotel

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 15:47:35 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A 42-year-old Redondo Beach man has been accused of a hate crime after allegedly driving into a group of Black people, hitting an off-duty armed security guard, at a hotel in Torrance.

Dennis Aaron Wyman has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily injury, a hit-and-run causing serious injury and a special allegation of hate crimes. He is being held on $1 million bail and scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday.

Police say they identified Wyman as the suspect who had yelled racial insults at a group of Black people in the Staybridge Suites parking lot on June 29, before getting into his vehicle and driving it at them. The security guard fired several rounds from his handgun before being struck by the vehicle.

The guard, a 50-year-old man, suffered lower extremity injuries and was taken to a hospital.

Wyman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder July 8 during a traffic stop by Redondo Beach police officers. Charges were filed against him on July 10.

Anyone with information about this incident can call the Torrance Police Department at (310) 328-3456.

Caught On Camera: Passenger Punches, Spits At Lyft Driver After Being Asked To Wear Face Covering

Sat, 11 Jul 2020 06:30:15 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A Lyft driver was punched and spat upon during a July trip in Torrance after the driver asked a passenger to put on a face covering, as required by Lyft.

A passenger was caught on camera yelling at, punching and spitting at a Lyft driver in Torrance following a dispute over whether he took her to the correct location after he asked her to wear a face covering. (Credit: Pedro Cubias)

According to the driver, Pedro Cubias, the passenger began to escalate the situation after a subsequent dispute over whether the driver took her to the correct destination.

“He said he took her to the destination that it said on the app,” Stephanie Cubias, the driver’s wife, said. “She was already mad because of the mask, so she got more mad because apparently the location he took her wasn’t the one that she had requested, but when he looked at the app, that was the location.”

The passenger can be seen in the video shouting and punching the driver multiple times.

Cubias said he did not turn on the camera until after he asked the woman to put on a face covering and she started yelling at him. He can be seen on the video asking her multiple times to get out of the vehicle.

But before leaving the vehicle, the passenger can be seen in the video spitting on the front passenger seat.

With the ongoing pandemic, Cubias and his wife were concerned about his health.

“Hopefully she wasn’t positive and he doesn’t come out positive as well as other health conditions,” his wife said. “Now he’s having problems with his eye, you know, headaches.”

Cubias said he was speaking out so this does not happen to another Lyft driver.

“He wants, you know, justice and for this to stop,” his wife said. “It’s not fair.”

Lyft responded to the incident in a Thursday statement that said:

“Safety is fundamental to Lyft. The behavior shown in the video is unacceptable and has no place on the Lyft platform. Upon learning of the incident, we removed the rider from the Lyft community. We have been in touch with the driver to offer support and are in contact with law enforcement to assist with their investigation.”

The Torrance Police Department said it was investigating the incident.

LA Archdiocese Hails Supreme Court Ruling In Favor Of South Bay Catholic Schools As ‘Momentous Day For Religious Liberty’

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 17:45:48 +0000

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Archdiocese of Los Angeles hailed a Supreme Court ruling that teachers at two of its religious elementary schools in the South Bay were not entitled to assert discrimination claims against their employers as “a momentous day for religious liberty and for Catholic education.”

The cases, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel, considered how broadly the “ministerial exception,” which prohibits courts from deciding certain employment disputes brought by ministers, applies to teachers at religious schools. The 7-2 ruling strengthened the exception the nation’s high court found in 2012 that protects religious organizations from certain employment lawsuits. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, saying the decision gave religious employers “free rein to discriminate.”

In Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, Agnes Morrissey-Berru sued the Hermosa Beach school for age discrimination after her teaching contract wasn’t renewed when she was in her 60s.

In St. James School v. Biel, Kristen Biel sued the Torrance school when her contract was not renewed after disclosing she was being treated for breast cancer. Biel claimed the school discriminated against her because of her illness, but the district court agreed with the school that Biel’s lawsuit was barred by the ministerial exception.

Biel, 54, died last year a, after a five-year battle with breast cancer.

Both lawsuits were initially dismissed by Los Angeles federal judges, but an appeals court revived them.

Archdiocese spokeswoman Adrian M. Alarcon said Catholic schools are a core ministry of the church and that the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed their right to choose who may teach the faith.

“That is why we are so grateful today that the court has protected the integrity and vital independence of religious schools,” she said.

Driver Killed After Car Slams Into Pole In Torrance

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 12:41:57 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – A driver was killed after a car careened into a pole in Torrance early Wednesday morning.

July 8, 2020. (CBSLA)

The crash occurred at about 12.30 a.m. at the intersection of 190th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard, according to Torrance police. Only one vehicle was involved.

One person appears to have died at the scene, although that was not immediately confirmed by police.

The intersection was closed and morning commuters were advised to avoid the area.

Torrance Woman Accused Of Going On Racist Tirade Facing Charges For 2019 Incident

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 06:20:27 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A Torrance woman caught on camera last month going on a racist tirade as another woman worked out at a local park has been charged in connection with a 2019 incident.

Lena Hernandez, 54, has been charged with battery in an incident that happened last October at Del Amo Mall where she was accused of pushing and striking a victim, according to the city attorney’s office.

Torrance police said the incident was reported to police and a formal crime report was taken.

Hernandez, 54, a retired social worker was arrested Friday at about 1 p.m., according to the Torrance Police Department. She was booked and later released on bail.

As for the two incidents that occurred at Wilson Park on June 10, the city attorney’s office said there was “insufficient” evidence to support criminal charges.

Anyone with information about the two park incidents was asked to contact Torrance police.

Torrance Police Locate Woman Accused Of Going On Racist Tirade, No Arrest Made

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 03:37:13 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Officers with the Torrance Police Department said Wednesday they found the woman caught on camera last week threatening two people and making racist remarks in separate incidents.

The woman, identified by police as Lena Hernandez, has been accused of assault and hateful speech against two individuals at Wilson Park, 2200 Carson Street, on June 10 and allegedly pushing and striking a victim at the Del Amo Mall, 3525 Carson Street, last October.

According to police, Torrance Police Detectives, along with the Specialized Crisis Intervention Team, located Hernandez at a San Pedro park and were able to speak with her about all three incidents.

“Based on the fact all three incidents are misdemeanor crimes and did not occur in the presence of an officer, Hernandez was not arrested at the time of the interview,” a statement from Torrance PD said.

The investigation related to all three incidents was previously turned over to the City Prosecutor’s Office for possible charges. Torrance PD said the Wednesday interview with Hernandez would also be submitted to the office.

Police ID Woman In Racist Tirade; Hundreds Descend On Torrance Park For Workout Protest

Sat, 13 Jun 2020 06:21:14 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Just a couple of days after a woman was caught on video telling another woman exercising on the stairs of a Torrance park to “go back to whatever f—- Asian country you belong in,” hundreds of people descended on the park Friday to take a stand against racism.

Since video of the Wednesday confrontation emerged between the unidentified woman and Sherry, the woman who was using the stairs to exercise, two more people have come forward with tales of their own confrontations with someone they believe to be the same woman.

Kayceelyn Salminao says she was physically assaulted by the same woman at the Del Amo mall last October, and photos she took that day appear to show the same person in Berry’s video.

A man, who was not identified, said he and his son were targeted by the woman on the same day she confronted Sherry. He also took video of the confrontation, which showed the woman also hurling expletives at him and mocking Chinese accents.

Police reports have been filed in each incident, and the woman was later identified by Torrance Police Department as 54-year-old Lena Hernandez of Long Beach.

“The silence is not the answer. That’s why we see that every day on the street people are marching because we want the actions,” he said.

(credit: CBS)

Outrage over the video prompted hundreds to come out to Wilson Park Friday to exercise and display signs decrying racism. Many who came out said the park is for everyone and that now, more than ever, people of all backgrounds should come together to promoted unity and peace.

“I’m glad that we came here as a community together to find this woman and bring justice,” Salminao said.

Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, Torrance Police Chief Eve Berg would not say whether the woman’s speech rose to the level of criminal activity.

“We are talking to the city attorney’s office as we speak,” said Berg. “I don’t know what sections there are because a lot of this might possibly not rise to the level of a crime, and yet some of it may.

“But I’m going to leave that to the investigators who have all the information. I don’t have all that information.”

Police are asking anyone who may have come into contact with Hernandez to contact the authorities.

Caught On Video: Woman Unleashes Racist Tirade At Asian Woman Doing Stair Exercises In Torrance

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 01:16:50 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A woman was caught on video unleashing a racist tirade towards another woman exercising on concrete stairs at a Torrance park this week.

The confrontation happened just after 9 a.m. Wednesday at Wilson Park in Torrance, according to a Facebook post that included three videos. One 34-second video showed the woman going up, then back down the stairs in close proximity to another woman who was using the stairs to exercise.

The exercising woman has asked to be identified only as Sherry. In the aforementioned video, Sherry had said, “Jesus,” as the other woman nearly bumped her as she came down the steps.

Another video showed the woman — dressed in a fisherman’s hat, a face mask under her chin, a blue print top and blue shorts— yelling at Sherry for apparently taking up the stairs.

“You don’t play games here anymore, OK? Next time you ever talk to me like that, you’re gonna get your ass kicked by my family. They’re gonna f— you up!” the woman says off camera.

Sherry then picks up her phone to turn the camera on the unidentified woman.

“Get the f—- out of this world, get the f—- out of this state. Go back to whatever f—- Asian country you belong in,” she says in the video. “This is not your place. This is not your home. We do not want you here.”

She then challenged Sherry to put the video on Facebook: “I hope you do.”

The woman continued her tirade, calling Sherry an “ignorant teenager” and further excoriates her for wearing black in the apparently warm weather.

Kayceelyn Salminao, another Torrance resident, said that she was a previous victim of the woman seen ranting in the video.

“I jumped and screamed and said to my husband, ‘This is the lady that attacked me back in October,'” Salminao said of discovering the video on Facebook.

Salminao said she was at the Del Amo mall in October when she heard this woman berating and cursing at a janitor in the restroom for no reason.

She says she told the woman to stop, and the altercation turned physical.

“She comes out and physically shoves me to the ground. I literally fall to the ground, and she points at me and says, ‘You better not get up or else,'” Salminao said. “As she grabs my hair, she pushes my head down and she started to hit me on the back of my head. She’s saying all of those really mean words just like the video.”

She said her husband came in and got the older woman off of her.

“I remember when she was walking down the hallway and she was like, ‘You guys are all going to get it, you guys are all going to f’ing get it,'” Salminao told CBS2/KCAL9.

After the incident, Salminao filed a police report, but she never heard back from investigators. On Thursday, Torrance Police spoke with Salminao about her case and Mayor Patrick Furey said the department is also looking into this incident at Wilson Park.

“I’m angry now,” Salminao said. “Where’s the justice in this? She physically attacked me. She verbally attacked someone else. Who else has she done this to?”

Torrance Dog Daycare Provides Healthcare Workers With Free Services So Their Pets Can Play While They Get Some Rest

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 03:37:05 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A dog daycare in Torrance is providing local healthcare workers with free services.

The owners of Dogtopia wanted to give healthcare workers a chance to rest and sleep while their dogs socialize and play.

They delivered 100 gift cards to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center.

Dogtopia plans to get hundreds of more gift cards to other local hospitals.

Torrance Offering Free In-Home Coronavirus Testing For Seniors

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 18:35:55 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) – The Torrance Fire Department Tuesday began providing free-in home coronavirus testing to its seniors.

A medical professional administers a coronavirus test on April 20, 2020, in Bolinas, Calif. (Getty Images)

Residents who are 65 and older with symptoms, or those who have underlying health conditions, are eligible.

The nasal swab tests are being carried out by fire department personnel.

Tests can be scheduled up to 3 days in advance online or by calling 310-320-5918 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

The test takes five to 10 minutes to complete. Results come within 3 to 4 days, the city said.

More than 80,000 people have been tested across Los Angeles County through Monday, with 13 percent registering positive results.

There are 34 testing sites countywide, all but two of which are drive-thru. L.A. County is now offering free, same-day drive-thru testing to anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus. To get tested, however, you must first make an appointment.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that is has approved the first in-home test for COVID-19.

The nasal swab test was developed by LabCorp. The FDA reports that the test will be available in most states in the coming weeks.

People self-swab, then mail their sample to a lab for testing.

Torrance Fire Department Asks For Plasma Donation To Help Engineer Recover From COVID-19

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 00:19:23 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — A plasma donor is needed to help a veteran Torrance firefighter recovering from COVID-19.

“Time is of the essence for our affected member and really for those sitting in hospital beds in vulnerable situations,” said Torrance Fire Department Asst. Chief Carl Besanceney.

In a Facebook post, the Torrance Fire Department made a public plea for a plasma donation to help an engineer, whose family asked for privacy, who is recovering from COVID-19.

“Specifically, he needs plasma donated from a fully recovered COVID patient so their antibodies may help boost his ability to fight back,” the department said in the Facebook post.

Plasma from once-infected patients contains antibodies that helped their immune system attack the virus when they were sick. Once recovered, their plasma may then be able to help others, like the firefighter, fight off the disease.

The plasma is being used to treat patients with serious or life-threatening infections.

“His wife did an outreach yesterday afternoon to us and said they had gone through a number of plasma donors that didn’t match what was needed,” said Besanceney.

The firefighter’s department said ever since the message got out, they’ve been getting a huge response from people who want to help. So they decided to redirect and broaden their outreach.

“We’re trying to get help for our Torrance Fire family but more importantly, for the patients across the board,” Besanceney said.

“We’re trying to streamline the process for doctors, nurses and medical facilities staff to be able to grab that information and do a match quicker.”

The Torrance Fire Department is now working with the American Red Cross to find people who can donate their plasma.

Besanceney hopes the public will do what they can to help their firefighter and so many others beat COVID-19.

“We really need this outreach for everyone across the nation to be able to benefit from them,” he said.

The donor must meet several criteria:

To qualify, the donor must have tested positive for COVID-19 and already been recovered with symptoms resolved at least 28 days prior to the donation or 14 days prior to donation with a second negative COVID test. The donor should be male, or a female who has never been pregnant or who has been tested since their most recent pregnancy and results interpreted as negative for HLA antibodies.

Anyone who fits the criteria may contact Dr. Marc Cohen at emsdoc911@hotmail.com or visit the American Red Cross website.

Infectious Disease Specialist Uses Detective Skills To Battle ‘Diabolical’ COVID-19

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 16:34:14 +0000

Dr. Loren Miller, an infectious disease specialist at the Lundquist Institute in Torrance, is using his detective skills on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

“A lot of times we see things in medicine we can’t explain,” he told Danielle Gersh for CBS2’s series on STEAM careers.

Miller cares for patients sick with all kinds of infections, including coronaviruses.

“COVID-19 is kind of diabolical in a way in that it spreads like the common cold,” he says. “And common colds are very transmissible, they’re very contagious, but at the same time it can also cause some very serious disease.”

Miller also researches germs to find out how they spread, why they spread and what we can do to stop them.

“We take care of patients who have infections but we don’t know the cause, so we do some detective work,” he says.

Miller always asks three questions in his disease detective work: where did you go, who were you with and what did you eat.

He explains one of the biggest dangers of COVID-19 is the unknown.

“It’s a combination of two things that really hasn’t been seen before in living memory for all of us,” Miller says. “Common colds travel all year around. they rarely kill people. Deadly viruses are usually confined to small geographic areas and are contained. So for example, Ebola is largely contained in areas and doesn’t spread out. So here you have this combination of two things that we just haven’t seen in living memory.”

Of all the STEAM disciplines — science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics — infection fighting relies most on science, math and art.

“We study human behavior,” he says. “It’s really important to understand what people do everyday. Where do they go. What do they eat. Who do they have contact with.”

Miller said he decided to become a doctor in his junior year of college after his own run-in with the medical system.

“When I became ill, I had lots of interactions with the medical system. And I saw how important it was to be a good communicator between healthcare workers and persons who are sick and I saw some many good examples and some many less good examples and I thought I can do this.”

Miller said he’s prepared to work long hours in the weeks ahead battling COVID-19.

“Probably the thing that gives me the most joy is taking care of people and figuring out what sort of infections they have, alleviating their concerns and their fears to me gives me the most professional satisfaction.”

Cyber Attack Targets City Of Torrance

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 07:19:16 +0000

TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Email accounts and servers on computer systems at the City of Torrance were impacted early Sunday due to alleged cyber attack, according to officials.

The incident happened at around 2:30 a.m., a news release says.

City officials said safety operations still have access to communication but that certain city business services were compromised as a result.

They also said no “public personal data” was impacted.

Cyber experts are investigating the source of the attack.

Torrance leaders said city libraries will remain open during regular business.

Man Falls 40 Feet To His Death From San Pedro Cliff

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:41:01 +0000

SAN PEDRO (CBSLA) — A Torrance man fell approximately 40 feet to his death Sunday morning from a cliff in San Pedro.

Officials were dispatched at around 10:33 a.m. in the 800 block of West Paseo Del Mar.

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 64-year-old William De La Cruz.

Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angles Fire Department officials are also involved in the investigation.

There was a witness to the incident, Brian Humphrey of the LAFD said, but at this point, it’s unclear if De La Cruz fell or jumped.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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