Hollywood rental property scam leads to LAPD investigation, search for suspects who used fake checks

Police are looking for a pair of suspects who used counterfeit checks and fake identities to rent in several Los Angeles neighborhoods. They say it's all part of a large scam fooling renters and landlords alike. "They are criminals with no conscience. They have a tremendous sense of entitlement, and they know that they can play the system," said Michael Renkow. "And they do." He's a landlord who rented his property in Hollywood to what he believed were legit tenants, using a screening company to run background checks. "They showed up with a cashier's check. My inexperience, I gave them the keys, thinking cashier's checks' like gold. They don't cap, they don't bounce. " Renkow said. He learned the hard way that cashier's checks do bounce when they're fraudulent. Renkow isn't alone either. Another Los Angeles-area landlord, Jason Katz, also recently got scammed by the same suspects. "I get an email from the bank with the payment returned, and I'm like, 'This can't be, this is a cashier's check. They never get returned,'" Katz said. 

CBS 2

DA Hochman Announces Investigation into Possibly Bogus Sex Abuse Claims Against LACo

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Wednesday his office is investigating allegations that some people may have filed bogus damage claims against the county alleging they were victims of childhood sexual abuse in probation camps, and he said violators who voluntarily come forward could be offered amnesty for their cooperation. The county Board of Supervisors last month approved an $828 million settlement with 414 plaintiffs claiming they were victims. That settlement was on top of an earlier $4 billion settlement involving roughly 11,000 claimants — considered one of the largest sex abuse settlements in U.S. history. The various claims involved in the settlements were the result of AB 218, which temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on allegations of childhood sexual abuse. The claims included in the two settlements involve allegations dating back as far as 1959, targeting workers at the county Probation and Children and Family Services departments. 

MyNewsLA

628,000 pills with drug used to tranquilize large animals seized in LA County

Hundreds of thousand of pills containing a powerful drug used to tranquilize large animals like elephants and rhinoceroses were seized by federal authorities in an operation last month in Los Angeles County. What was described as a massive cache of carfentanil -- 628,000 pills -- were seized in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration operation, the agency announced Wednesday. Most of the pills, displayed in plastic baggies in a photo provided by the DEA, were seized from one LA County stash location. One person was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking. Details about the location and the individual's identity were not immediately available. The synthetic opioid has veterinary uses, but has made its way onto the illicit drug market. The agency said the drug is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Only a small amount of carfentanil, 0.02 milligrams, can be lethal, the DEA said. It is often mixed with other drugs or pressed into pills that look like prescription painkillers. Most of the carfentanil seizures in 2024 were in pill or tablet form. Deaths involving carfentanil increased approximately sevenfold – from 29 deaths from January to June 2023, to 238 deaths from January to June 2024, according to the CDC. The drug has been detected in 37 states, the DEA said.

NBC 4

52 years after Los Angeles teenage girl was killed in Colorado, investigators continue to seek answers

Wednesday marked 52 years since the body of a 15-year-old girl was found in rural Northern Colorado, and detectives are still trying to identify her killer. In November of 1973, hunters along the St. Vrain River in Platteville found the body of the teenager. However, it wasn't until 2023 that the girl, known as "Jane Doe 1973," was identified. "We exhumed her to get DNA from her," said Byron Kastilahn, a cold case detective for the Weld County Sheriff's Office. "With new technology of genetic genealogy, we were able to identify some of these Doe cases including Jane Doe." The teenage girl, who is Weld County's longest cold case victim, was identified as Roxanne Leadbeater of Los Angeles. Kastilahn was able to identify her by linking DNA to Leadbeater's cousins. He said he called them and asked if anyone from their family had ever gone missing, and that is when they said their cousin did in the 1970s. The cousins said Leadbeater was being raised in the Redondo Beach area of the California city before she vanished.

CBS 2

BWC: Attempted homicide suspect shoots at Calif. officers before fatal OIS

The Chico Police Department released a video of a fatal officer-involved shooting that happened just after midnight March 2. The video shows an exchange of gunfire between four Chico police SWAT officers and Michael Oxley, 43, of Chico, on top of the parking structure of the Post on Nord apartment complex. The officers fired 27 shots after Oxley fired one, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey in an email to this newspaper. “All four (4) shooters were Chico P.D. officers,” Ramsey said. “Oxley had approximately two dozen gunshot wounds. However, some of those wounds are what I would call ‘doubles’ (e.g. a shot through the arm that goes into the body equals two wounds). Also, some look to be shrapnel wounds — i.e., a bullet hitting the concrete floor or wall and shattering into multiple shards of metal, causing multiple wounds.” Chico police released the footage of the shooting on its Facebook page stating it was requested in a public records request. Chico police public information officer Kayla Gates said ChicoSol journalist Dave Waddell requested the footage. “The Officer-Involved shooting is currently an open investigation with the Butte County Officer-Involved Shooting/Critical Incident Protocol Team and will ultimately be reviewed by the Butte County District Attorney’s Office,” stated Chico police in the Facebook post the video is posted in.

Chico Enterprise-Record

10 arrested in federal indictment involving Olympian turned cocaine trafficker who ordered murder of witness 

Federal officials have announced that ten people were arrested – meaning 11 total are in custody – in connection with a criminal enterprise headed by a former Olympic athlete who is now on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list and wanted for ordering the murder of a witness this year. A nine-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed by the U.S. Department of Justice Wednesday charges Ryan James Wedding and ten others with the murder of a federal witness, identified as Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, in a separate criminal case that occurred in Colombia on Jan. 31, 2025. Acebedo-Garcia, who was shot and killed in a restaurant in the city of Medellín, was a witness in a 2024 federal narcotics case against Wedding. The hit was ordered because Wedding, who competed for Canada in the parallel giant slalom event at the 2002 Winter Olympics and finished 24th, needed to “eliminate threats [to] advance his enterprise’s interests,” the Department of Justice said. “Wedding issued orders to murder various individuals, including an order to kill [this] victim,” DOJ officials elaborated. “Wedding placed a bounty on the victim and enlisted the services of others to locate and kill the victim.”

KTLA 5

Basement Fire Spreads Throughout Vacant Westlake Building

A stubborn fire that broke out among contents in the basement of a four-story apartment building in the Westlake District spread through walls before crews could put out all the flames. No one was injured in the fire, which was reported just about 11 a.m. at 1905 W. Wilshire Blvd., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. As the flames spread into upper floors the building, firefighters placed hoses on each floor and opened up walls to make sure the blaze was fully out, said LAFD spokeswoman Jennifer Middleton. A total of 66 firefighters responded and put the fire out in 50 minutes, she said. Department arson investigators were summoned to determine the cause of the blaze, Middleton said.

MyNewsLA

Los Angeles County reports 1st flu-related death of season

Los Angeles County public health officials on Wednesday confirmed the county's first flu-related death of the season. The county Department of Public Health said the individual who died was an "older person" with underlying health conditions. The person had not received a flu vaccination this season, officials added. Health officials said flu activity in the area is "currently low," but is expected to increase with the approaching holidays as people travel and take part in large gatherings. "We send our condolences to the family and loved ones of the person we lost. This tragic death reminds us how serious influenza can be," Dr. Muntu Davis, county Health Officer, said in a statement. "The best protection this season is getting an updated flu vaccine. Protecting yourself also helps keep your community safer." Health officials say the following "simple but powerful steps" can reduce your risk: frequently washing your hands, staying home when you feel sick and wearing a well-fitted mask in crowded indoor spaces and around people at higher risk. They also recommend flu vaccines for everyone older than six months.

ABC 7

About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents more than 8,700 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL serves to advance the interests of LAPD officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education.