Victims Pistol-Whipped In Late Night Woodland Hills Home Invasion
I believe Woodland Hills might be starting to prove unsafe for rappers and music industry types.
At least two women were injured after reportedly being pistol-whipped during a violent home invasion robbery around 2 a.m. today in an upscale neighborhood in Woodland Hills, police said.
Four women were throwing a party at the house when someone knocked on the door. When the door opened, a man armed with a handgun and two women forced their way into the house, said Monterrosa.
The invaders were described as African American people. The suspects fled the scene with an unknown amount of money and jewelry, Sgt. Pablo Monterrosa of the Topanga Station said.
A video crew at the scene reported one of the female victims managed to escape to a neighbor’s house who then called police to the scene.
The target house was said to have formerly belonged to actor John Stamos, and is now owned by a record company that was affiliated with record producer/actor Sean Puffy Combs and rapper Wale. But police would not confirm that.
This KTLA article has some additional information:
WOODLAND HILLS – Two women were injured in a violent home-invasion robbery carried out by two other women and two men in a tony part of Woodland Hills early Sunday, authorities said.
The victims were part of a four-women group putting on a party at the house when a trio of robbers came knocking and ended up pistol-whipping the pair, said Los Angeles police Sgt. Pablo Monterrosa of the Topanga Division. A total of eight people in the residence were robbed, police said.
The home invasion at 22146 Mulholland Dr. in Woodland Hills, was reported about 2 a.m., Monterrosa said. A video news crew reported the home was owned by a record company affiliated with Sean ” P. Diddy” Combs, but police did not confirm the connection.
One of the two women was hospitalized. The robbers got away with cash and jewelry, police said.
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Woodland Hills Dentist Payman Engheta Dies In Sunday Car Accident
Dr. Payman Engheta, a general dentist with offices in Woodland Hills inside the building behind Roy’s and Fleming’s, died in a single car accident in his Lamborghini on Sunday February 14th. My good friend Megan, who was one of his patients, says he was an excellent dentist and that she “loved that guy.” She is very saddened by this death. She adds, “he was a great dentist – friendly, compassionate – also cool as he loved Black Sabbath. I referred him to all my coworkers – he would help people that couldn’t afford dental work. Just a genuine good-hearted man.”
Melissa Gasca of The Signal writes:
A close friend of Payman Engheta said Monday that the deceased Stevenson Ranch husband and father touched many hearts.
Engheta, 47, died Sunday after he lost control of his Lamborghini convertible on Bouquet Canyon Road near Cavi at the Big Oaks Lodge, according to a California Highway Patrol report.
“We lost a beloved angel and dedicated father of two sons, a loving husband, a compassionate and devoted doctor,” said friend Nader Javadi as he read from a letter prepared by Engheta’s immediate family.
The CHP report said Engheta was driving at about 40 miles per hour on northbound Bouquet Canyon Road when he lost control of his vehicle on a right curve. The Lamborghini slid and rotated until its left side collided with a tree near Cavi at the Big Oaks, a restaurant almost four miles north of Lombardi Ranch.
CHP acting Sgt. Tony Getzelman said the measure of Engheta’s speed was based on preliminary investigation including witness reports of people at the restaurant. However, the collision is still under investigation, he said.
The speed limit in the area is 55 miles per hour, Getzelman said.
Los Angeles County Fire Department units responded to the collision, which occurred about noon on Sunday. Engheta was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he endured eight hours in the operating room, Javadi said.
The local man suffered traumatic injuries to the head and a rib fracture, said Javadi, who is also a doctor and has known Engheta since middle school.
Engheta had a dentistry practice in Topanga, but his family has lived in Stevenson Ranch for seven or eight years, Javadi said.
Javadi also said that wife Homa Engheta was too distraught to speak and sons Babak and Behman – 6 and 10 years old – had not been told about their father’s death yet.
Engheta had just gone out for a ride Sunday morning and was supposed to return home for lunch with his family, Javadi said.
“We miss him so much,” Javadi read from the prepared letter. “His body is not with us anymore, but his loving memory will live in our heart forever.”
The CHP does not suspect alcohol or drugs were a factor, the report said.
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NBC Los Angeles Reminds Us That Woodland Hills Ice Is Closing Sunday Feb 21
Woodland Hills Ice (Dec 14, 2010 File Photo)
This is actually a little sad because it feels like I have been covering Woodland Hills Ice ever since I started this blog. They’ll be back next year, but you have only until this Sunday to get your local ice skating fix, that is, until next November.
Build it and they will come — even if it’s outdoors in summer-like temperatures. Mr. Sun is happily beating down on a surface not natural to our semi-arid desert.
Welcome to Woodland Hills Ice, located in the parking lot of the mall at Topanga Canyon and Erwin Street.
A fixture since Thanksgiving, the rink is now seeing renewed interest, despite the 80 degree temperatures.
“It was the first time when I actually had to wear sunglasses and sunscreen to go ice skating,” said skating instructor Tami Tarmow.
Business is brisk, and it doesn’t hurt that there’s a great, big promotion on TV called “The Winter Olympics.”
“I noticed a couple of people here last night at about 11 p.m. skating around like the speed skaters,” said Matt Pszonak, general manager of Woodland Hills Ice.
Woodland Hills Ice opened last November and is billed as a winter wonderland in the heart of the West San Fernando Valley.
The outdoor rink features more than 7,000 square feet of real ice, along with instruction, skating exhibitions and shows.
But if you want to spin and jump like an Olympic champion you have to hurry, Sunday, Feb. 21, will be the last day to skate.
Public session are held:
- Monday – Thursday: 2 p.m. – 10 p.m.
- Friday: 2 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. – 12 a.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Prices include skate rental and unlimited skate time: Child (12 and under), $11; student/senior, $13; adult, $15
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A Reader Updates Us On The Collateral Lender Zoning Variance Hearing
With regards to Tuesday’s The Collateral Lender zoning hearing, CH writes:
Big turnout at the hearing today with residents expressing opposition to the proposed Zoning Variance. Jonathan Brand from Dennis Zine’s office also came and spoke out on the residents behalf.
The zoning administrator has taken the decision under advisement and will make a written determination somewhere between 4-6 weeks.
If anyone has further information about the meeting, please post a comment.
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My First Meal At Panini Cafe In Woodland Hills
I was so excited about the grand opening of Panini Cafe in Woodland Hills that I stopped in for a meal the very first chance that I could. And, thankfully I brought an appetite. The manager, Israel, was an extremely friendly and gracious host and my server, Isabella, was excellent and super helpful!
Panini Cafe Soups
For starters, I wanted to check out their soup offerings. I ordered a cup of Mom’s Chicken Vegetable with Noodles (a cup is $2.95) and Israel also had me sample the vegetarian Home Made Lentil soup. Typically I avoid vegetarian soups for fear of blandness, but honestly I was blown away with how flavorful the lentil soup was! The chicken noodle soup was great, too. Very hearty and savory. I really don’t think you could go wrong with either. What you can’t really see in the pictures is that the soups are also accompanied by a piece of il Fornaio’s delicious bread. Good stuff!
Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob
Israel suggested for my first visit that I try out one of the most popular and most highly recommended dishes, the Charbroiled Chicken Shish Kabob. I chose the Mediterranean Greek Salad as the salad option, and selected the Organic Bulgur Pilaf as the rice option (as opposed to the more traditional, and also available, Basmati Rice). Now, this is a dish that is a staple of Mediterranean/Persian cuisine and I’ve had similar many times. Panini Cafe definitely does a great job here, as the chicken was super moist and tender, and the kabob vegetables (onion, tomato, and bell peppers) were broiled to perfection. The rice pilaf was also great and very healthy and the side salad quite substantial and also delicious. Panini Cafe also has very good prices, as this dish is only $12.95.
I had a great meal and a great experience and was pleased to see how busy Panini Cafe is in even these early days of being open. I can’t wait to try one of their paninis, which really look good. Hopefully I’ll be able to stop in for breakfast one day this weekend. I love breakfast!
Additional Images:
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Pipe Bomb Found Monday At Pierce College?
What’s up with this?
A pipe bomb was found Monday afternoon near a pond on the Pierce College campus in Woodland Hills, authorities said.
A man turned the bomb in to the campus sheriff’s station about 2:30 p.m., saying he had found the device, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The campus was closed for the Presidents Day holiday as bomb squad investigators searched the area for additional explosives. None were found, the department said.
Detectives said the pipe bomb was live but did not appear to be connected to a threat against a specific person.
– Robert J. Lopez
A man found the device by a pond on the campus around 2:25 p.m. Monday and turned it in at the Pierce College sheriff’s Station, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. David Infante said. The man apparently did not know the device he was handling was a live bomb.
An area of the campus of the two-year community college was evacuated, Infante said, adding that no students or faculty members were on campus Monday because it was closed for the Presidents Day holiday.
Four deputies in flak vests took charge of the explosive and blew it up around 5 p.m. behind the sheriff’s station building, a video crew at the scene reported. The blast was audible across campus and on nearby streets.
I don’t know about you, but I always love to pick up bombs and walk into police stations. Sounds fishy.
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Knack’s Doug Fieger Dies Of Cancer
The Knack’s Doug Fieger died this past Sunday, as I’m sure many of you know since it was widely covered in the news. I know The Knack performed a couple of times (at least) at the Valley Cultural Center’s summer Concerts in the Park (2005 & 2008). Obviously Fieger cared about the community and will be missed. If any of you knew him, or knew more of his involvement with the Concerts in the Park program, please leave comments.
Doug Fieger, leader of the Los Angeles-based power pop band the Knack who co-wrote and sang on the 1979 No. 1 hit “My Sharona,” has died. He was 57.
Fieger’s sister, Beth Falkenstein, said he died Sunday at his home in Woodland Hills. He had cancer.
“My Sharona” was No. 1 for six weeks. Fieger said the song was inspired by a former girlfriend.
“He was an extraordinary lover of all things popular culture,” Falkenstein said of her brother. “He was an eternal pop teenager but highly intellectual and intense.”
Doug Lars Fieger was born Aug. 20, 1952, in Detroit and grew up in suburban Oak Park, Mich.
After graduating from high school, he went to England to record two albums with the group Sky, his sister said.
The group broke up after moving to Los Angeles. The Knack was formed in 1978 and soon was discovered on the L.A. club scene and signed with Capitol Records.
In its brief moment in the sun, the Knack put the phrase “power pop” into the musical lexicon for its compact, hook-filled, guitar-based rock songs that recalled the sound of the ’60s British Invasion bands, particularly the Beatles and the Kinks.
Their signature white shirts and skinny black ties and vests became a hallmark of the New Wave music scene, which distinguished itself from punk with catchier songs and less overt anger at the political and musical establishment.
Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn, writing in 1979, said the best songs on their debut album “Get the Knack” were “classics of their kind. They reflect perfectly the intense teen emotion that was at the heart of early rock.”
–Times Staff Reports
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