Results tagged “guns”

Following up on more reports about the Mother's Day Weekend Gun Buyback program, in which people traded in their guns--no questions asked--for $100 Visa or Ralphs Grocery gift cards. Apparently, even people who brought guns early Saturday found that police divisions were already out of cards, so they went home, gun in hand. However, after the 1,300 gift cards, worth $130,200, were given away, 500 people still turned in their guns anyway. Nearly 1,7000 guns were collected, which will be returned to their legal owners if stolen or destroyed. To see a breakdown of what kind of guns and where they were turned in, see the document here.

Among the nearly 1,700 guns turned in at this weekend's gun buyback program was an old looking thompson submachine gun, finds Jason Kandel over at the Daily News' Mean Streets blog. It was "made famous, or infamous, in one of a score of movies about mobsters terrorizing American streets during Prohibition," he says. Also among guns was a grenade launcher turned in at the Valley's Topanga Station. See a general list of what kind of guns and where they were exchanged here. *UPDATE: LAist readers seem to agree, the gun is not a Thompson. See the discussion below:

1696 guns were brought to LAPD stations around the city in exchange for VISA or Ralph's Grocery Store gift cards this past weekend in the mother's day gun exchange program. Handguns, shotguns and rifles received a $100 cards while higher caliber assault weapons such AK-47s, Uzis or AR-15s (40 of these were turned in) earned people $200 cards. The division with the most guns turned in was Devonshire, which patrols the Northwest Valley. Further west at the Topanga Division, the only grenade launcher attached to a rifle was brought in for exchange. Okay, so what's up, West Valley? Anyway, to see what was brought back to your local station, check the document below:

A second unrelated incident occurred Saturday morning when a man entered the airport to pick up his wife, according to LAX officials Police searched his vehicle and found two unregistered and unloaded shotguns (12-gauge and 20-gauge) as well as about 220 rounds of ammunition. The man told officers he recently went to a shooting range to fire the guns and forgot they were in his vehicle. The man was not arrested, but the guns were confiscated and he risks possible prosecution down the line. His name could also become part of a federal "watch list" database of sorts.

Los Angeles International Airport officials have updated earlier information regarding this morning's arrest: "A male Hispanic was detained and subsequently taken into custody at 12:20pm today by federal and local law enforcement officers who are investigating his attempt to bring several weapons plus ammunition into LAX. At 10:49 this morning, the man driving a grey 4X4 Silverado was stopped by Airport Police officers for a routine vehicle inspection at the intersection of westbound Century Blvd. and Sepulveda Blvd., one of the main entrances into the passenger terminal area of LAX. Thirty handguns and 7 rifles, plus fully loaded ammunition magazines were found in the same container in the back of his pickup truck. The driver was arrested at 12:20 pm for weapons transportation violations and will be booked at Pacific Division LAPD."

(UPDATE: More current info on the situation can be found here) From Los Angeles International Airport officials: "At approximately 11 a.m., Airport Police officers operating a vehicle checkpoint inspected a 4X4 Silverado and discovered it to contain a number of firearms and rifles. At this time an investigation is underway to determine both the legality of the weapons, their registration and the manner in which they are being transported. LAPD, ATF and the FBI have been involved in the preliminary investigation." Then at 12:30 p.m... "media helicopters are showing the vehicle being driven away. Please note that the suspect and the vehicle (driven by an Airport Police officer) are being driven to Airport Police station." Earlier this week, a man claimed he had a bomb on a flight landing at LAX.

Yesterday, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station deputies arrested a 15-year-old for allegedly boarding an Antelope Valley line Metrolink train with an automatic assault weapon.

Police across the region are telling people not to shoot guns into the air on New Year's Eve. "What goes up inevitably is going to come down, and it comes down at a velocity that can quite easily penetrate buildings, car roofs and human beings," LAPD Chief William Bratton said at a news conference yesterday.

A slew of gun ordinances are up for a vote at tomorrow's city council meeting. They're touted as ways to help disarm gangs, but as anything goes with restricting the use of guns, groups such as the National Riffle Association (NRA), the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), the California Association of Firearm Retailers (CAFR), and other interest groups have threatened to bring forth litigation, which Mayor Villaraigosa vows to fight.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Chief Bill Bratton has announced that crime is down compared to this time last year. According to abc7.com, "The most dramatic drop was seen in murders involving gang members. Bratton said those homicides have dropped 26.6 percent. Overall, homicide is down 8.7 percent. The number of rapes committed saw a 14 percent drop, and overall violent crime is down nearly 5 percent." Just last week a record number of Compton residents opted to trade in their guns for gift cards, signaling perhaps less of a trend in holiday conviviality and more that the economy is in the toilet; most of the almost 1,000 $100 gift cards selected were for Ralphs supermarket.

As firefighters finish mopping up the now contained Marek Fire that consumed 4,824 acres, investigations continue into the cause. The Daily News finds that officials have found at least one lead that they are looking into: "Arson investigators have said they found something suspicious near the fire's ignition point -- a shooting range in Little Tujunga Canyon in the Angeles National Forest -- but details of their findings have not been publicly released." A cursory Google search shows that Angeles Shooting Range is located at 12651 Little Tujunga Canyon Rd.

After a spate of robberies at the end of August in neighborhoods surrounding the trendy area of Melrose, a couple have been reported recently. One was this morning and another was on Saturday during broad daylight when an ice cream vendor was mugged and pistol whipped near Melrose and Fairfax according to one LAist tipster who submitted the photo seen to the right.

The porn star who goes by the name Tony Eveready, most famously known on the internet for his solo double penetration performances called a "booyah" (the usual penetration at the same time as nuts in the butt, errr), was sentenced to over six years in prison, according to the Daily News. Duane Reed Moore, 37, of Winnetka was driving in the West Valley last October when he was stopped by the LAPD for having no license plate. They found nearly four grams of cocaine, two guns and a collapsible baton. He said he dealt the drugs when the industry was slow and that the guns were used for filming. He was found guilty for possession of a firearm and cocaine. According to his MySpace page, he was in jail and charged with crimes prior to the October 2007 arrest.

Up to four armed men stormed a home this afternoon and were engaged by one of the armed residents at the home, leaving one of the suspects dead and the others fleeing, according to the Daily News. At about 2:45 p.m.on the 24300 block of Burbank Boulevard in Woodland Hills, up to four reportedly African-American males in their twenties entered the home with force before fleeing in a silver sedan with one accomplice dead in the house. The victims, an elderly couple in their 70s and their two sons, one of whom protected the family with a gun, in their 20s and 30s were unharmed.

Immediately after the Supreme Court's Thursday ruling allowing citizens to own handguns, gun advocates began to talk lawsuits against cities that have restrictions.

• There is more information about the Wilmington shooting Thursday night that left one suspect dead and another in critical condition. "He just came out and decided, 'This is what I'm going to do today,'" one of the officers said. I think someone needed a hobby.
• Are you tired of the current crop of movies at the Arclight in Sherman Oaks? Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican who has recently criticized some Bush Administration policies, aims to put your boredom on ice April 10, when he is scheduled to appear at the theater during Zocalo's public lecture series.
• Why the hell are so many people stockpiling weapons in Southern California? We told you about the Torrance man who had a ridiculous barrage of guns n ammo last week. Now a man in Anaheim has been arrested after police discovered a live artillery round in his back seat. It can't be the water.
• One man is in the hospital after he was allegedly stabbed by another man outside the Velvet Margarita Cantina in Hollywood shortly before midnight last night. The two were arguing and one pulled a knife. I blame Pres. Bush.
• OK, no more violence. Let's talk about administrative futility. Teachers and school workers continue to find fault with the new $95 million payroll system LAUSD enacted in January. One woman continued to receive her mother's checks, though the woman died in December 2006 and thousands of teachers and other workers were paid the wrong amount or not at all. It's a good thing Villaraigosa is tackling the woes of education in Los Angeles and not campaigning for Hillary Clinton.
• Enjoy sipping that St. Patrick's Day green gin and juice, but beware: DUI stings are set for this weekend throughout the southland. Checkpoints are planned in a number of communities, including Los Angeles, Pasadena, Covina, Glendale, Hawthorne, Irwindale and Monterey Park.
  Continue reading "Extra, Extra: Fun with Guns"

• Remember when we told you that Los Angeles tap water was the best tasting in the world? Turns out that our delicious H20 might have been sprinkled with delicious drugs. The AP found that a multitude of pharmaceuticals, like antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones, have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans including water in Southern California. Little Johnny has taken such a liking to water these days, I wonder what's gotten into him.
• On Friday, Newport Beach police were baffled when they found a fully clothed woman dead and packed in dry ice in an upscale hotel room near John Wayne Airport. The room was rented from known Cocaine dealer and the woman, whose body was well preserved, was apparently wanted on drug charges in Colorado.
• Before she was ousted for saying Hillary Clinton was a "monster" for some of the "underhanded" tactics used to defeat Barack Obama in the Ohio Primary, foreign policy adviser Samantha Powers took a few questions at LA City Beat. Nowhere in the interview does she disparage Clinton, but she does offer some pretty enlightening opinions, such as this opus on how to have a dignified foreign policy: "...if we could just sort of remember that there are individuals at stake, that the “human” in human rights is not an abstraction." On second thought, I'm glad she resigned. We can't have those sorts of hippie, drugged out commie type of relations with the world. It would be un-American!
• In other political news, a Democrat won a special election to fill a congressional seat left vacant in Illinois by outgoing Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert. Bill Foster claimed the seat partly on the strength of Obama, who campaigned for him. Obama supporters claimed this was a signal of things to come in what many observers said was a national referendum as John McCain campaigned for the Republican.
• An off-duty cop in Temecula allegedly shot 2 and killed 1 person over some sort of melee at a Mexican restaurant in Riverside. Guns don't kill people, crazy ass people with anger management problems do.
• A 21-year-old member of the San Fernando Valley Illegal Soapbox Federation died this morning when his adorable little vehicle collided with a light pole in Tarzana. Thing is, it may not have been so adorable. The motto of the local soapbox federation is, "Action, Mayhem, Destruction, Bodily Harm...All For Free". I'm sorry, it seems pretty tough to macho yourself out when riding in a little cart made for 6-year-olds.
• Andy LaRoche got some bad news this weekend. The Dodger third baseman who was expected to share time with Nomar Garciaparra at the hot corner this season is out 8-10 weeks with a ligament tear in his thumb after getting hit trying to catch an attempted pickoff at third during a pre-season game Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Learn this name kids: Blake Dewitt. He's been tearing up Spring Training pitching and flashing some great leather. He could get some time at third in LaRoche's absence.

So The Torrance Police Department busted these four people living in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. It turns out that they weren't tipped off by his Afghan rocket launcher, or the imitation police badges, or even the "Anarchist Cookbook" and other illegal books. They were busted because the police where there looking for drugs, and apparently ended up hitting the jackpot.

A verbal spat turned into a shooting incident today on the 101 Freeway.

Pledging to introduce new laws to stop illegal gun dealing and prevent violent crime, City Councilman Jack Weiss today released statistics on gun violence in Los Angeles. “It’s time to act aggressively and creatively with new laws to stop the killing," Weiss said in a statement.

An innocent victim meeting a stray bullet is not a completely unexpected occurrence in any of the regions detailed on the LAPD's gang injunction map (view the PDF).

Two robberies at gunpoint took place late last night in Hollywood, resulting in injuries to the victims.

OOOwww! Good evening Los Angeles! Wooo! How you all fee-ull?

Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Concert, Belly Up Tavern 12/19/06

LAist Featured Photos contributer Jonathan Alcorn caught this scene in Compton on Saturday: "In an effort to reduce violence, 156 guns were collected by Los Angeles County Sheriff's representatives in Compton during the first three days of an annual exchange program, officials said today. People turning in guns to sheriff's personnel receive $50 gift cards for use at Best Buy, Home Depot, Ralphs or Target. Gift cards worth $100 were given for each of the first 50 guns turned in."

• Want a Wii this holiday season? Well toooooo fuckin bad. The best you can hope for is a rain check certificate that will entitle you to a console at some point in January. Even the Wii people themselves are now admitting what a mess they've made of manufacturing this thing.
• Two members of a terrorist cell have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to wage war: the splinter group was "was poised to attack military sites, synagogues and other targets" in Southern California. The two men face 20-25 years in prison.
• Oh noes! The hipsters will be so dry now! The DWP will be draining Elysian Park and Silver Lake reservoirs because of high levels of toxic chemicals in the water.
• Gas prices soar, consumer inflation also goes up: "Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2 percent surge in September 2005, when the country was hit by rising energy costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."
• It's the PLAGUE!!! Actually, no, it's just the flu, and a child in the Valley is the first to be diagnosed this season. Get your flu shots! Unless you're like me and treat every illness with a few stiff shots of whiskey.
• Rhino Records is open again! Not at their storied Westwood location (sniff sniff), but they're operating a "pop-up" store during the month of December only over at Third and Fairfax.
• A "guns-for-gifts" exchange will be held tomorrow in Compton: "People turning in a gun to sheriff's personnel will receive a $50 gift card to Best Buy, Home Depot, Ralphs or Target. $100 gift cards will be given for each of the first 50 guns turned in. About 400 guns were turned in at a similar exchange in 2005".
• Conan O'Brien and NBC are getting sued...by a bodybuilder...over a Clay Aiken gay joke. Do we live on the moon or something? Oh no, that's right -- Hollywood.
• Midnight Ridazz are doing an all-city Bring-A-Toy-For-Charity bike ride tonight. Check their website for details.

Last night, 20 year old Ricardo Hernandez was killed by gunfire in a gang-related shooting in Pacoima. The incident took place in the 11800 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

• There's still time to win Tori Amos tickets -- the concert ends tonight at midnight! To enter the contest, leave a comment telling us what your favorite Tori song is. Get over there and put the damage on!
• An update on the Sherman Oaks apartment fire that left one person dead: authorities have ID'd the victim as a 63-year-old man who died at the hospital after receiving second- and third-degree burns.
• There was another house fire in Norco late Friday night, and another fatality: this time a 38-year-old man was pronounced dead of fire-related injuries at the Corona Regional Medical Center.
• Are you wondering what to buy for the mustachioed man in your life? Maybe you'd like to surprise dad or brother with a Keg-A-Que Grill? Chicagoist has some great ideas for fun and unique holiday gifts.
• The LA Times launches "Primary Tracker": it looks pretty cool, but since there's no data to play with yet, we're not really sure how it works.
• OMG YOU GUYS VAN HALEN IS DROWNING!!!! Actually, no, but the pool at Eddie Van Halen's Studio City estate has been filled with mud and debris from a broken water main. School at Harvard-Westlake operated as usual today, although some classes were rescheduled.
• A new Department of Justice gun-ownership database might help to prevent more shooting deaths by tracking criminal records against who owns firearms: "LAPD have identified 110 fugitives, ex-convicts and other offenders who legally purchased guns then later were convicted of violent crimes."
• The Los Angeles Film Critics pick their yearly winners: on the list are "There Will Be Blood" for Best Picture, Marion Cotillard for Best Actress in "La Vie En Rose," and Daniel Day-Lewis for "There Will Be Blood."
• "Single greatest night in sports history"??? Last night's Derby Dolls 2007 Championship Match gets lots of love and a thorough recap from LACityzine.
• If those aren't crazy eyes, I don't know from crazy: Britney Spears stole a lighter from a Sherman Oaks gas station, TMZ has video.