Courts/Rulings & Lawsuits | | |
Appeals court blocks Newsom’s bid to reclaim control of National Guard from Trump
A federal appeals court has indefinitely blocked an effort by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to reclaim control of the National Guard troops President Donald Trump deployed to Los Angeles following unrest related to immigration enforcement. The three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Trump appeared to have acted within his authority when he took control of 4,000 California National Guard troops under a law that has never been invoked without the consent of a state governor.
Politico
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LA police face lawsuit for injuring, removing reporters at protests
Two newsgathering organizations on Monday sued the Los Angeles Police Department over its actions during recent immigration protests, arguing that officers had targeted journalists doing their jobs. The Los Angeles Press Club and Status Coup filed a federal lawsuit against the city and police chief, citing police violence against journalists covering recent immigration protests. Incidents include two reporters being shot with less-lethal rounds and another being removed from a protest scene.
Courthouse News Service
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Victims lose right to be heard when plea deal causes charge dropped relating to their loss
An elderly husband and wife who were allegedly defrauded through unlawful schemes were not entitled to be heard in connection with the prosecution of the perpetrators - one of them being former Assembly member Terry Goggin - where, through plea bargains, the charges no longer related to offenses against them, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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San Diego can’t duck claims cops violated rights of local cop watcher
The city of San Diego will have to face claims its police officers violated the civil and First Amendment rights of a cop watcher after they reportedly drew guns, beat and detained him and dragged him while he was already in handcuffs. Muslah Abdul-Hafeez says he suffered a fractured shoulder and back and wrist injuries after being arrested in 2023 while attempting to document San Diego Police Department bike team officers' response to a shooting.
Courthouse News Service
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Firing of CHP officer who claimed overtime for hours he was home was justified
The Third District Court of Appeal has reversed a judgment granting a petition of administrative mandamus challenging the State Personnel Board’s decision to fire a California Highway Patrol officer who, on four occasions, claimed overtime based on hours he spent at home. Termination of the employment of the petitioner/respondent, Jesus Gomez, followed an investigation of practices at the East Los Angeles (“ELA”) station with respect to officers assigned to provide traffic safety services for the California Department of Transportation (“Caltrans”), pursuant to a contract between the state agencies.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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U.S. is immune from liability for alleged games-playing
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Friday that a complaint filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act against the U.S., asserting malicious prosecution and other claims, by a convict who says that federal prosecutors acted vindictively by filing new charges against him based on misleading information after he successfully obtained a compassionate release, is barred by discretionary immunity.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Supreme Court upholds Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law restricting gender transition care for minors, delivering a major blow to transgender rights. The 6-3 ruling is likely to have a broad impact as 24 other states have already enacted laws similar to the one in Tennessee, which bars gender transition surgery, puberty blockers and hormone therapy for youth. Those laws now look set to survive similar legal challenges.
NBC News
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Woman says she suffered 'bullying' and 'tormenting' by ex-friends in middle school, awarded $1 million in lawsuit against district
A California school district failed in its appeal over a $1 million jury verdict after a former middle school student sued the district for not shielding her from other students' bullying. Eleri Irons, who attended El Segundo Middle School, filed a lawsuit in 2019 against the El Segundo Unified School District, alleging that she experienced “bullying, tormenting, and aggression” by three “known bullies,” Today and The Mercury News reported.
People
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Charges announced in freeway clash, Apple Store looting and other crimes during LA protests
More criminal charges were announced Tuesday in connection with violence that broke out during largely peaceful Los Angeles ICE raid protests, including a clash in which rocks were thrown from a freeway overpass and a California Highway Patrol SUV was lit on fire in the downtown area. The charges announced at a news conference Tuesday included four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, arson and vandalism against a 30-year-old man accused in the June 8 altercation on a 101 Freeway overpass.
NBC4
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Los Angeles protester arrested for assault with a deadly weapon on CHP officers
Today, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrested Adam Palermo, 39, of Los Angeles, for assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer during a protest that took place on June 8 in downtown Los Angeles. On Sunday, June 8, 2025, CHP personnel responded to calls of protesters entering and impeding US-101 in downtown Los Angeles. CHP Special Response Team (SRT) officers immediately responded to the location to clear over 1,000 protesters from traffic lanes.
California Highway Patrol News Release
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Man who allegedly shot paintballs at officer during protest is charged
A man has been arrested and charged after allegedly shooting paintballs at a federal officer during the protests in downtown Los Angeles last week. Edwin Osvaldo Manriquez was accused of pulling the trigger on a paintball gun and dispersing multiple rounds on the afternoon of June 9 near the Federal Building on Los Angeles Street in downtown L.A., according to an affidavit filed by the FBI in court. An officer with the Federal Protective Service was hit.
Los Angeles Times
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Suspect accused of driving through LAPD skirmish line arrested after pursuit
A suspect accused of driving through a police skirmish line near an anti-ICE protest in Koreatown led LAPD and CHP officers on a high-speed pursuit before crashing and attempting to flee on foot. The pursuit began around 10:40 p.m. on June 11 in the area of Beverly Boulevard and Western Avenue where officers were working to contain riots that have broken out following the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration raids and federal troop deployment in Southern California.
Police1
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Los Angeles city attorney charges 14 individuals with misdemeanors after immigration protests
In a recent crackdown on illegality during the passionate demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced the filing of misdemeanor charges against 14 individuals involved in the immigration protests. As reported by the City Attorney's Office, these charges cover a spectrum of offenses, including battery of a peace officer, petty theft, trespassing, and resisting arrest, each carrying the weight of up to one year in county jail and a fine possibly maxing out at $1,000.
Hoodline
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LA ICE protests have cost the city nearly $20 million: See the numbers
After two weeks of widespread immigration protests, the City of Los Angeles has released a breakdown of the financial toll - revealing that nearly $20 million has been spent so far. According to LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia, as of June 16, the city has spent $19.7 million, which is directly related to its response to the anti-ICE protests that began earlier this month. The vast majority of those funds - 87% or $17.2 million - went towards the Los Angeles Police Department.
Fox11
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Additional National Guard troops being deployed to LA, Dept. of Defense says
Nearly two weeks after anti-ICE protests broke out in Los Angeles, the US Department of Defense announced Tuesday the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard troops. According to the department, by direction of the Secretary of Defense, the troops were activated in a Title 10 status to support the protection of federal functions, personnel, and property in the LA area.
Fox11
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LAPD protest response breaks California law, civil rights lawyers say
Members of the Los Angeles Police Department appear to have violated California law and a federal court order with their use of crowd control weapons during protests, civil rights attorneys told LAist. Two state laws passed in response to law enforcement actions during the 2020 George Floyd protests restrict the use of chemical agents and kinetic energy projectiles - crowd control weapons that include tear gas and other less-lethal munitions such as rubber bullets and bean bag rounds - unless specific criteria are met.
LAist
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Media groups sue LA County Sheriff’s Department, say journalists were injured covering protests
The Los Angeles Press Club and two news organizations sued Los Angeles County in federal court Wednesday, alleging the Sheriff’s Department has targeted media members with non-lethal but dangerous munitions and engaged in excessive force against its members who have covered recent protests - a similar suit was filed earlier in the week against the city’s police department.
City News Service
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LAPD sergeant charged with killing teen in DUI hit-and-run
A Los Angeles Police Department sergeant has been charged with DUI for a crash in Tustin in February that killed a 19-year-old. Orange County officials charged Carlos Gonzalo Coronel of Buena Park on Wednesday with felony driving under the influence and hit-and-run that resulted in death. According to officials, just before the crash, Coronel was out drinking with his brother-in-law. After hitting Gonzalez with his truck, officials said, Coronel drove off and left Gonzalez to die.
Fox11
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Mystery solved: Thieves in big Brink’s heist indicted. But where are all the jewels?
It was a jewelry heist days in the making - one allegedly planned by thieves who had worked their way up to a major score after honing their covert craft in the parking lots and truck stops of San Bernardino County. When they broke into a Brink’s big rig at a remote Grapevine truck stop in the dead of night three years ago, the men may have gotten more than they bargained for: a haul that could be worth up to $100 million.
Los Angeles Times
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Ex-LA deputy mayor pleads guilty to reporting fake bomb threat
A former Los Angeles deputy mayor pleaded guilty Monday to reporting a fake bomb threat to City Hall last year. Brian K. Williams, 61, of Pasadena entered a plea in downtown Los Angeles to a single federal count of threats regarding fire and explosives, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 6, at which time Williams will face a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years.
City News Service
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19 charged in alleged Mexican Mafia conspiracy to kill L.A. rap artist
Los Angeles County prosecutors on Wednesday charged 19 people with conspiring to murder a rapper who allegedly angered a member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based syndicate of Latino gang members. According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Mexican Mafia member Manuel "Snuffy" Quintero issued an order in 2022 to kill Nelson Abrego, who performs under the name Swifty Blue.
Los Angeles Times
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California files post-LA fires price-gouging case against Beverly Hills landlord
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Tuesday announced charges against a real estate agent accused of raising rent on a Beverly Hills property by 30% in violation of state law prohibiting price-gouging after a disaster. The tenants who signed the lease were displaced because of the deadly Palisades Fire, which ignited in January. Iman Eshaghyan faces two misdemeanor counts for allegedly advertising, listing and eventually renting two properties at a cost that exceeds the limit.
LAist
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Man ordered to stand trial in deadly Metro bus hijacking in downtown Los Angeles
A man accused of fatally shooting a passenger aboard a Metro bus last year, then hijacking the vehicle and sparking a slow-speed police chase from South Los Angeles to downtown, has been ordered to stand trial on murder and other charges. Following a hearing that took just over a day and included testimony from the bus driver and two of the passengers, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Sean D. Coen found there was "sufficient cause" to allow the case against Lamont Campbell, 51, to proceed to trial.
City News Service
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Compton residents laundered millions in meth proceeds through cash at ATMs: IRS
Compton residents are accused of moving millions of dollars by depositing and withdrawing cash at ATMs to launder money associated with methamphetamine trafficking. In an application for a search warrant first reported by Seamus Hughes’ Court Watch, Ronny Beltran, Maria Munoz and an LLC called Zamudio Construction were all tied to a home in the 900 block of West 152nd Street, as detailed in an affidavit from IRS Special Agent Ryan Bennett.
KTLA
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California lawmakers unveil bill to keep masks off law enforcement
Two Bay Area state senators pushed back Monday on masked law enforcement officers they say are “disappearing” migrants from American streets, calling faceless authorities a step toward a police state. Called the No Secret Police Act, the bill would prohibit officers at all levels from hiding their faces while on the job in California, with some exceptions like SWAT teams. Officers also would have to display an ID with their name and badge number.
Courthouse News Service
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Newsom doesn’t want to fund California’s new tough-on-crime law. Who should?
California voters overwhelmingly approved a tough-on-crime ballot measure in the November election, but it still lacks hundreds of millions of dollars in funding as state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom battle over how to finance the new law. Proposition 36, which passed with more than 68% of the vote statewide, gives prosecutors more authority to charge certain drug- and theft-related crimes as felonies and allows judges to mandate treatment for some offenders.
San Francisco Standard
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California police are illegally sharing license plate data with ICE and Border Patrol
Law enforcement agencies across Southern California violated state law more than 100 times last month by sharing information from automated license plate readers with federal agents, records show. The Los Angeles Police Department and sheriff’s departments in San Diego and Orange counties searched license plate readings on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, according to a database of queries obtained by anti-surveillance group Oakland Privacy and provided to CalMatters.
CalMatters
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Former San Bernardino D.A., accused of destroying evidence, agrees to suspension from California State Bar
Michael Ramos, the former district attorney for San Bernardino County, has agreed to a six-month suspension from practicing law in California after allegedly destroying evidence in a 2017 corruption case, the California State Bar said in a statement to The Times. The case involved corruption charges against three San Bernardino County officials and a developer who was a managing director of Rancho Cucamonga-based investor group Colonies Partners.
Los Angeles Times
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Retail theft in California
Over the past decade, the rate of reported retail theft ticked up slightly in 2015 before declining through 2021. About half of this decline occurred between 2019 and 2020, suggesting that factors such as temporary stay‑at‑home orders and closure of nonessential retail businesses in the early part of the COVID‑19 pandemic likely contributed. Subsequently, retail theft rebounded between 2021 and 2023. Over the entire ten‑year period - 2014 to 2023 - reported retail theft increased by about 11 percent, though some counties experienced differing trends.
Legislative Analyst’s Office
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Harsh crack cocaine guidelines not found to be unreasonable in all cases
In United States v. Lawrence, the Second Circuit affirmed the within-Guidelines sentence of Andrew Lawrence, who pleaded guilty to six counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute crack cocaine and other controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). On appeal, Lawrence argued that because the Sentencing Guidelines punish crack cocaine offenses more severely than powder cocaine offenses, his sentence - based on the harsher crack cocaine guidelines - was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable.
Patterson Belknap
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California court upholds John Eastman’s disbarment for role in Trump 2020 plot
A California court has upheld a recommendation that attorney John Eastman should lose his law license because of his central role in President Donald Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election. A three-judge “review panel” of the California State Bar Court found that Eastman’s conduct was so egregious - and his remorse so lacking - that the only remedy was to permanently prohibit him from practicing law.
Politico
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Attorney who offered 'false hope' to inmates' families agrees to disbarment
A Westside lawyer, who used the promise of criminal justice reform to sign up thousands of inmate clients, has agreed to be disbarred for misleading prisoners and their families about their chances for release. With a filing in State Bar Court on Tuesday, Aaron Spolin pleaded no contest to misconduct involving eight clients, all current or former California prisoners, and consented to the stripping of his law license.
Los Angeles Times
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Los Angeles County seeks public input on deputy gangs
Los Angeles County residents can now report their experiences with alleged deputy gangs through an online survey open through July 15. The Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission is collecting first-hand accounts about interactions with deputies believed to be part of deputy gang groups within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy gangs and cliques have existed within the Sheriff’s Department for decades, according to the Commission statement.
Pasadena Now
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LAUSD agrees to fund $500 million to settle sexual assault lawsuits
The Los Angeles Unified School District board has quietly authorized issuing a half-billion dollars in bonds to settle decades-old sexual abuse cases involving former students. And that will likely not be enough to settle all the claims the nation’s second-largest school district is facing under 2019 legislation that allows victims of abuse by school employees to seek damages for incidents dating back decades.
EdSource
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Beverly Hills police union votes no confidence in chief
Members of the Beverly Hills Police Officers Association on June 11 issued a vote of no confidence in Beverly Hills Police Department Chief Mark Stainbrook, according to BHPOA President Christian Bond. Bond said that an “overwhelming number” of the union’s members participated. The vast majority voted in favor of no confidence, Bond said. The BHPOA has not yet released a public statement on the vote of no confidence, and Bond did not provide specific information about the circumstances.
Beverly Press
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As Los Angeles faces budget crisis, legal payouts skyrocket
The amount of money that the city of Los Angeles pays annually for police misconduct, trip and falls, and other lawsuits has ballooned, rising from $64 million a decade ago to $254 million last year and $289 million this fiscal year. The reasons are complicated, ranging from aging sidewalks to juries’ tendency to award larger judgments to possible shifts in legal strategy at the city attorney’s office to an increase in the sheer number of lawsuits against the city.
Los Angeles Times
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Simi Valley Police arrest 4 tied to $3 million tunnel burglary of jewelry store
Four people described by police as members of a sophisticated theft team were arrested this week and charged in connection with a $3 million jewelry store burglary in Simi Valley. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office said Friday each faces four felony conspiracy counts related to the May 25 burglary at 5 Star Jewelry on Cochran Street, which police said began when the thieves broke into the neighboring business, Dr. Conkey's Candy and Coffee, then tunneled through a wall.
NBC4
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Two suspects arrested in fatal stabbing of elderly man in Hancock Park
LAPD West Bureau Homicide has arrested two suspects in connection with the fatal stabbing of an elderly man last week in the Hancock Park area, the police announced. The incident occurred around 3:50 p.m. on June 11 in the 100 block of North Rossmore Avenue. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division responded to a call reporting a stabbing and arrived to find the victim unresponsive with a severe laceration.
The Pride LA
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Hotline for military service members sees uptick in calls following activations in Los Angeles
Thousands of U.S. National Guard members and U.S. Marines now mobilized in Los Angeles have sworn a duty to serve their country, but some are finding themselves confused about the actions of their government leaders, according to a resource counselor who is part of the GI Rights Hotline. “The GI Rights Hotline is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that provides information to people in the military who are having different kinds of issues involving their military service,” Steve Woolford, resource counselor for the hotline, said.
NBC4
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Trump suggests he may withhold California disaster aid over his feud with Newsom
President Trump suggested on Wednesday that his feud with Gov. Gavin Newsom of California over immigration protests in Los Angeles could affect whether he approves disaster funding for the deadly wildfires that swept Southern California in January. Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Mr. Trump was asked if “recent dust-ups” with Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, would affect California’s request for $40 billion in wildfire aid.
New York Times
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Detectives investigating UCLA student's murder uncovered a stunningly personal betrayal
The railroad tunnel in which John Doe #135 was found had spooky graffiti and a dark mystique, the kind of place kids dared each other to walk through at night. People called it the Manson Tunnel - the cult leader and his disciples had lived nearby at the Spahn Movie Ranch - and someone had spray-painted HOLY TERROR over the entrance. By June 1990, occult-inspired mayhem had become a common theme in the Los Angeles mediasphere.
Los Angeles Times
| | Convictions/Pleas/Sentences/Parole | | |
Man sentenced to nearly 26 years in state prison for 2 sexual assaults in Angeles National Forest
A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years and eight months in state prison for sexually assaulting two women in the Angeles National Forest. Eduardo Sarabia pleaded no contest to one count each of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and kidnapping involving the May 2024 attacks, along with two counts of lewd act on a child under 14 involving two young children - one between February 2010 and February 2012 and the other between April 2021 and April 2022, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
ABC7
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Corporate executives sentenced to federal prison for failing to report defective dehumidifiers linked to more than 450 fires
Two corporate executives were sentenced today to federal prison terms for conspiring to defraud the United States and for failing to report information about defective dehumidifiers linked to multiple fires in the first criminal enforcement action against corporate executives for failing to report required information ever brought under the Consumer Product Safety Act. (CPSA) Simon Chu, 70, of Pomona, was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison and was fined $5,000 by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release
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Doctor agrees to plead guilty in Matthew Perry's overdose death
A California doctor agreed to plead guilty Monday to illegally supplying ketamine to “Friends” star Matthew Perry before his accidental overdose death. Under the agreement, Dr. Salvador Plasencia will plead guilty to four counts of distributing ketamine. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of at least $2 million, the agreement shows. Plasencia is expected to enter the plea in court in the coming weeks.
NBC News
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LA Medical Examiner attributes 'substance use' to Chauncy Glover's death, releases full report
The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner released a full report on the death of former ABC13 anchor Chauncy Glover, seven months after authorities found him unresponsive at home. The 24-page report confirmed that “substance use” led to the 39-year-old's death. Glover called out sick to work four days prior to medical personnel pronouncing him dead on Nov. 5. Authorities also recovered a doctor’s note in his vehicle, according to the report.
Houston Chronicle
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Byron Allen reaches settlement with McDonald's in lawsuit claiming racial ad bias
Byron Allen‘s Entertainment Studios and The Weather Group have reached a settlement with McDonald’s in a lawsuit over the fast food giant’s alleged lack of support for Black-owned media companies. McDonald’s defeated the complaint in 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, but Allen appealed. The parties announced the settlement Friday, though no financial details were disclosed.
Deadline
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