The Daily  News writes:

In what police called a rare string of robberies in the San Fernando Valley, two masked men on Saturday night robbed a liquor store, drug store and a sandwich shop – even taking cash and cell phones from patron, in less than 2 hours.

In an unrelated robbery, another armed suspect robbed a liquor store on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Karen Rayner said.

“It’s quite unusual to have so many in such a short span of time,” Rayner said Sunday.

The first robbery occurred at 8:45 p.m. when two men, one armed with a handgun, entered a liquor store in the 21000 block of Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills and demanded cash from the till.

About 15 minutes later, the same men robbed a sandwich shop in the 16000 block of Ventura Boulevard in Encino. At 10 p.m., the men robbed a large drug store in the 15600 block of Ventura Boulevard in Encino, Rayner said.

“They had their faces (partially) covered (with bandanas), were wearing gloves, demanded cash and ended up walking away with an undetermined amount of cash from all the locations,” Rayner said.

Rayner described the suspected robbers as black and between the ages of 20 to 30.

The suspects also demanded cash and cell phones from some customers in the businesses, Rayner said.

See the rest of the story at DailyNews.com.

Oh man, I guess the first video was so successful these guys had to do another.

drjedly writes:

I publicly apologize to the Canoga Park Tourism Board. They disapproved of my “Canoga Park Tourism Video.” At first the board wanted their money back, but when I threw in a case of MD 20/20, they agreed to let me produce another to rectify. They kept saying, “Great things about Canoga Park were left out.” I forgot to ask what they meant, but I assumed that they were referring to the nightlife, state of the art public transportation and flourishing economy. So here it is: “Canoga Park Tourism Video II.” I hope I got it right this time.

LAPD is currently involved in a standoff with a woman in Reseda.  Suspect is armed with a 9mm handgun and is apparently depressed and on meds.  Her sister is in the process of evicting her from the home.  After police were called at 9pm this evening, suspect confronted police at entrance with handgun, then retreated into the home.  Thanks to Samira for the tip and to a police scanner on my Droid phone for more details.  Apparently there is also possibly a suicide note.  This might end badly.

(in progress)

Update: I had to go to bed around 1am, hopefully I can get some info on how this ended.

Update: According to ABC7, this ended peacefully:

RESEDA, Calif. (KABC) — A woman was arrest after a police standoff in Reseda on Tuesday that was apparently sparked when she was being evicted from her home.

Police said the two sisters who lived at a home on the 7300 block of Shirley Avenue got into an argument. It seems one of them was being evicted but refused to leave.

When police arrived at about 7:30 p.m, the sister being evicted grabbed a gun. Police called a SWAT team in, and the woman was eventually taken into custody without incident.

No one was injured in the incident.

It is kind of sad that the world has come to this, but you really can’t open your door to strangers any more.  Granted, let’s not rush to judgment, sometimes running from the cops is just a reflex action.   Right?

Alert Message has been issued by the LAPD – Topanga.

Tuesday June 22, 2010 6:07 PM PDT

Young girl calls 911, thwarts knock-knock burglars, 6600 block of Corbin Ave in Winnetka

On June 22, 2010, at approximately 1:10 p.m., two suspects knocked on the door of a home in the 6600 block of Corbin Ave in Winnetka.  There was a 12-year-old girl home, but she did not answer the door.  She had been told by her parents not to answer the door when home alone.  The girl peeked out through a window and saw one of the suspects, desribed as a male Black, 19 to 20 years old, slim build, wearing a blue and black flannel shirt and blue jeans, climbing over the fence to enter her backyard.  The girl immediately called 911 and described the suspect to the police.  Officers responded but as their sirens approached, the girl saw both suspects (the man in the flannel shirt and an additional suspect she could ohly describe as male) run from her yard.  Officers were unable to locate the suspects.

Topanga detectives are seeking anyone in that neighborhood who may have had one of the suspects knock on their door on June 22nd between noon and 1 p.m.  A common modus operandi for burglars is to knock on the door of a home during the day, and if there is no answer go around to the back and break in.  If you are home during the day, you can prevent this by yelling through the door (not opening the door to strangers) for the person to go away.  That way, they know you are home and will not target your home.  If you see suspicious persons knocking on doors in your neighborhood or trying to enter backyards, please call the police.

Any information should be reported to Topanga officers at (818) 756-4800.

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/2608294/.

Trying to get back on the ball here after dealing with moving and getting a new Internet connection.  It’s getting kind of hard to keep up with all of the murders in Canoga Park as it spirals into oblivion, but a guy was knifed to death this past Saturday and the LAPD has a suspect.  Check out the Nixle alerts below, in reverse chronological order.

Advisory Message has been issued by the LAPD – Topanga.

Monday June 7, 2010 3:45 PM PDT

(UPDATE) June 7, 2010 Re: Murder of Michael Silva–Suspect Identified

Canoga Park: Today, LAPD Topanga Area homicide detectives held a news conference to provide the public with information on a suspect wanted for the June 5, 2010 murder of Michael Silva.

The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Jerry Wizar of Canoga Park. Wizar is described as a male Hispanic with brown hair, brown eyes, stands 5 feet 11 inches tall, and weights about 200 pounds. A photo of Silva is available through Topanga Area detectives.

According to detectives, Jerry Wizar and Michael Silva were long time acquaintances.

On June 5th at about 2 a.m. Wizar and Silva were involved in an argument that erupted into a physical altercation. Wizar pulled a knife and stabbed Silva, causing his demise. Wizar ran from the scene leaving Silva lying unconscious on the sidewalk in front of a residence in the 7000 block of Glade Avenue.

————

June 5, 2010

Man Found Stabbed to Death

Los Angeles: Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Topanga Area Homicide Detectives are asking the public to provide information that would lead to the arrest of a suspect wanted for killing 39-year-old Michael Silva.

On June 5, 2010, at around 2 a.m., Topanga Area patrol officers responded to a 9-1-1 call of an “unknown trouble” at a residence in the 7000 block of Glade Avenue in the City of Canoga Park.

When officers arrived, they found the victim, identified as 39-year-old Michael Silva of Canoga Park lying unconscious in the driveway with multiple stab wounds to his body.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded and pronounced Silva dead.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Topanga Area homicide detectives at (818) 756-4869. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to

(818) 756-4800 or 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.

All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/2440148/.

LAPD writes via Nixle:

Man and woman found dead in West Hills around 9am, apparent murder/suicide, 7200 blk of Cirrus Way. Police activity in area.

More as info comes my way.

Update: Names released on May 25, 2010.

I came across this fascinating editorial/commentary/article regarding an apparent move by Dennis Zine to prevent the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council from being able to have input on a zoning variance for a recycling center in Canoga Park at 21616 Roscoe Blvd.  The gist here seems to be that Zine is for the project, but the NC and adjacent residents and businesses are not, so by allowing the ZA to meet prior to the next NC session, their input can be effectively circumvented. It should be noted however, that according to supporting documentation provided in the PDF linked at the end of this post, support in the community is mixed and not exactly as 100% negative as Perica’s missive would have you believe.

CityWatchLA.com reposts an e-mail from Jon Perica, a former Zoning Administrator for the City of Los Angeles:

The announcement Thursday by Councilman Zine to muzzle the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council over an appeal of a public nuisance recycling use adjacent to residential uses is SHOCKING!

Councilman Zine had been persuaded to give the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council an opportunity to conduct their independent public hearing.  The original neighborhood council hearing should have happened in the fall of 2009 so the neighborhood council could have made a decision on the appeal filed for a recycling center to operate 66-ft from adjacent residential uses in lieu of the Code required 1,000-ft (a 93% reduction).

The councilman has suddenly decided that he does not want to get any input from the neighborhood council after having only one incomplete hearing by just their planning committee and not the Board of the neighborhood council!

Zine has scheduled the City Council Planning Committee to meet this coming Tuesday May 4th at 2 pm at room 1020 of City Hall and this Planning Committee will vote to deny the local community appeal without hearing from the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council.

In all the time I have worked at City Hall as a Zoning Administrator and in the 5 years I have been a private consultant, there has never been such an obvious effort to deny the legal right of the neighborhood council to comment on a planning case before the City Council acted.

I think that the councilman realized that there was a reasonable chance that the Board of the Neighborhood Council might support the appeal and he didn’t want to take an action in supporting the recycling use against the possible neighborhood council if they opposed the use.

If you set the City Council hearing before the Canoga Park Neighborhood Council can meet later in May, you clearly prevent the possibility of any dissenting input that would conflict with the councilman’s position.

In effect, the councilman was using the neighborhood council for his own advantage for one neighborhood planning meeting only when it would help him to look good.

When the NC planning committee voted to continue the hearing a month and appeared to have serious reservation about the many adverse impacts caused by the recycling use, Councilman Zine scheduled the next City hearing of the Council Planning Committee on the recycling appeal before the neighborhood council would take their final in late May.

Neighborhood councils were set up to provide the “voice of the community” and the councilman clearly does not want to hear what the Canoga Park community wants to say.

This is an insult to the local neighborhood council and to the whole 10 year old City process that set up 90 different neighborhood councils to provided important input to help the City make better land use decision.

This action by Councilman Zine seems to be an effort to ignore what the “people” have to say. The councilman is telling the 368 residents, business people and customers surrounding the recycling center who signed a petition or wrote letters against this business at 21616 Roscoe, that their voices counts for nothing and only the one lone voice of the recycling operator, who has caused serious public nuisance problems for 4 years, really counts.

It appears that Councilman Zine really doesn’t care about input the neighborhood council or those local people who suffer from daily recycling problems.

In an apparent response from Zine’s office, Jonathan Brand writes:

I have discussed the information presented at the meeting with my boss.  He has instructed me that he wants to proceed with the case and the PLUM hearing on the 4th of May.

I found a PDF about the project on the City of Los Angeles’ website here, which details some of the neighborhood concerns.

You read the title correctly.  Yikes.  When I first read about this I thought that due to the victims’ advanced age, it may be some sort of a mercy killing type situation.  Then when I read the part about the hammer I thought “not so much.”

LA Times Blog writes:

A 63-year-old man was arrested Friday on suspicion of bludgeoning to death his elderly mother and uncle, authorities said.

Police were called to the 7000 block of Eton Avenue in Canoga Park just after 9 a.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

When officers arrived, they were met by Arthur Reyes Morales, who immediately surrendered.

Inside they found the bodies of 87-year-old Rita Morales and 85-year-old Manual Reyes; both appeared to have beaten to death with a hammer. The suspect was the primary caregiver for the elderly pair, police said.

Reyes Morales was arrested and booked at the Van Nuys Jail on two counts of murder. He is being held on $2-million bail.

LAPD Topanga writes via Nixle:

63-year-old Suspect Arrested for Killing Mother and Uncle

Los Angeles: On Friday, April 30, 2010, at around 9:05 a.m., officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga Area responded to a “Homicide suspect there now” radio call in the 7000 block of Eton Avenue in Canoga Park. The initial report led officers to believe that a man had killed his mother and father.

When the officers arrived, they were met by 63-year-old Arthur Reyes Moralesa, a resident of Canoga Park who immediately surrendered to the officers. The officers continued their investigation and found 85-year-old Manual Reyes, and 87-year-old Rita Morales, dead inside the home.

It appeared that their fatal injuries were caused by blunt force trauma.

The suspect had been the primary care giver for both of the decedents, who have now been confirmed as the suspect’s mother and uncle. The motive for this crime is still unknown.

Arthur Reyes Moralesa was arrested and booked at Van Nuys Jail for two counts of murder and is being held on a $2,000,000 bail.

Los Angeles Police Department Homicide Detectives assigned to Topanga Area are handling the investigation. For additional information, please call Topanga Area Homicide Detectives Detectives Pogue and Williams at (818) 756-3363.

The Daily News has a longer article with more details about the perpetrator and victims.

A coworker of mine saw 8 to 10 LAPD cars pull up to the Citibank at Tampa & Nordhoff about 30 minutes ago, guns out.  Was there a bank robbery? Have the Buckshot Bandits returned?

Update: I never did see anything in the media about this.  So, not sure what happened.  If anyone has any information, please leave a comment.

Thankfully this has nothing to do with Woodland Hills, but I want to repost it anyway.  Surreal.

LAist.com writes:

Police officials are calling the deadly Saturday afternoon shooting inside a Valley Village restaurant “an intentional act.” Four were killed and two critically injured after shots broke out inside Hot Spot Cafe, a Mediterranean restaurant on Riverside Drive near Colfax Avenue, in what some are calling an Armenian mafia or gang hit.

“This is not a random act of violence,” explained Kirk Albanese, the Deputy Chief for the LAPD’s Valley Bureau. “This is an intentional act and this is an investigation that will require a great deal of effort on the part of our detectives.”

Around 4:40 p.m., a group of people were eating at the restaurant when the incident occurred. Albanese could not confirm details initially reported in the media. “We need to answer [questions] correctly with an investigation that does so with the facts.”

Early media reports said a white 30-year-old male, possibly Armenian, walked in with a gun, but a cautious Albanese deflected. “We don’t now if it’s one or more gunman,” he said, citing the large number of bullets expended. Whether the suspect or suspects walked in or were already inside was unknown, he added. No official suspect description has been released.

All victims were men. Three of them were dead on scene while three others were transported the hospital where one died. The two others were in critical but stable condition and are expected to survive.

The shooting was rumored to be tied to organized crime. According to sources to the LA Times, it “might have involved Armenian gangs” while other media gathered at the scene spoke of the Armenian mafia. Police said they had no further information in that regards, citing it’s too early to say.

Those rumors were further fueled by neighbors of the eatery. “How do you run a business when there are no customers?” questioned Bettye Hicks, who lives down the street.

Matt Edwards, a neighbor who heard the gunshots, said he immediately knew the incident happened there. “The place is so shady,” he said of the place, described by the Times as a mom and pop mom-and-pop restaurant. “It opened like five years ago… I went in there to get something to eat and they didn’t even know what they were doing making the food.”

One employee at Marie Et Cie, a coffee house catty corner to the restaurant, said no one ever goes in and out of the business. And numerous neighbors noted how often private parties occurred there.

Addressing any concern, L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian, who represents Valley Village, said “this wasn’t a random act, there isn’t an immediate danger to the community.”

When Tony Braswell, President of the Valley Village Neighborhood Council arrived at the scene, police immediately addressed the same concern. “Our senior lead officer was here… He came over and said ‘this is not about Valley Village, it’s isolated.’

Braswell then relayed information to the Council’s network of neighborhood watches and informed other community groups. He said the senior lead officer also sent out an e-mail to community members.

Outside the police perimeter, a distraught woman who said her husband was shot tried to gather information from detectives. A few small groups of Armenian men gathered throughout the night.

“We will get to the bottom of it and we will get to the bottom of it quickly,” Krekorian said.