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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Feds charge SoCal medical workers with interfering in ICE raid
Two staff members from an Ontario surgery center have been charged with allegedly interfering with U.S. immigration officers trying to detain landscapers who ran into the center to escape. Jose de Jesus Ortega, a 38-year-old Highland resident, was arrested Friday morning and is expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Riverside, according to a U.S. attorney's office Central District of California news release. Officials are still looking for the other suspect, Danielle Nadine Davila, 33, of Corona. Both are charged with assaulting a federal officer and conspiracy to prevent by force and intimidation a federal officer from discharging his duties, authorities said. According to video obtained by KTLA-TV, staffers at the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center earlier this month told two agents to leave because they didn't have a warrant to go onto the property. The agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement were trying to detain 30-year-old Denis Guillen-Solis and two other landscapers who had been working outside and ran into the surgical center when the agents showed up. In the video, Guillen-Solis is shown holding onto the doorway at the surgical center and asking the agents to present identification. The agents then pulled Guillen-Solis from the doorway and detained him. 'The illegal alien arrested inside the surgery center was not a patient. He ran inside for cover and these defendants attempted to block his apprehension by assaulting our agents," said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement. According to an affidavit, the two ICE agents wore government-issued equipment, including vests and were using unmarked government-operated vehicles when they conducted their operations. The agents followed a truck with three men inside and approached them after the men exited the truck in the parking lot of the surgery center, according to the release. Two of the men ran away and one of them, an alleged undocumented immigrant from Honduras, was detained near the surgery center's front entrance and tried to pull away, causing the ICE officer to fall to the ground. A medical staffer helped the man off the ground and pulled him away from the officer, according to the news release. The man went into the surgery center and was chased by the ICE agent, who eventually stopped him. The incident occurred amid an extraordinary immigration enforcement effort by the Trump administration in Southern California. Thousands of unauthorized immigrants — many without a criminal record — have been detained at work, in courthouses and on public streets going about their day. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. law enforcement's treatment of journalists during protests is once again under scrutiny
Abraham Márquez, a reporter with the nonprofit investigative news startup Southlander, was filming a tense standoff between Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and immigrant rights protesters in Paramount on Saturday night when he saw a deputy aim a "less-lethal" launcher in his direction. Sensing a confrontation, Márquez said, he raised his press credential and "kept yelling press, press, press,' even as he turned and began running in the opposite direction. He barely made it a few feet before he felt a stinging pain as first one foam round, then another slammed into his buttocks and his back. "They just unloaded," he said of the deputies. He was nearly struck again a short time later, when deputies riding by in an armored vehicle sprayed foam rounds into a gas station parking lot where Márquez and a KTLA-TV news crew had sought cover, he said. He was shaken, but said that he felt compelled to keep reporting. 'I got hit and whatnot but I'm glad I was there to document it," he said. The incident was one of dozens in which journalists have been shot with less-lethal police rounds, tear-gassed, shoved and detained while chronicling the ongoing civil unrest and military intervention in the nation's second-largest city, according to interviews and video footage reviewed by The Times. The police actions have drawn angry condemnation from public officials and 1st Amendment advocates. There have been multiple reported instances of reporters not only being struck by projectiles, but also having their bags searched, being threatened with arrest and getting blocked from areas where they had a right under state law to observe police activity. Among those hit by police projectiles were several Times reporters in the course of covering protests in downtown L.A. over the past few days. The LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's Department have faced criticism and lawsuits over their treatment of news media during past crises, but some covering the recent events say the situation has only gotten worse with the inflammatory anti-media messaging coming from the Trump White House. "The price for free speech should not be this high," said Arturo Carmona, president and publisher of Caló News, a news site that covers issues that matter to English-speaking Latinos. "Several of our reporters, several of whom are women of color, have been harassed and attacked by law enforcement." In one high-profile case, a CNN reporter was briefly detained by officers while doing a live on-air segment. In another, Australian TV news reporter Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg by a less-lethal round by an riot gear-clad officer moments after she wrapped up a live on-air segment. The incident became an international affair, with Australian Prime Minister Tony Albanese calling it "horrific." L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said it "sends a terrible message," and several city councilmembers referenced it while grilling LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell on Tuesday about his department's response to the protests. In a statement, the Sheriff's Department said it was reviewing video footage from several incidents involving the news media to determine whether any of its deputies were involved. The department said it is "committed to maintaining an open and transparent relationship with the media and ensuring that journalists can safely perform their duties, especially during protests, acts of civil disobedience, and public gatherings." "Our goal is to support press freedom while upholding public safety and operational integrity," the statement said. LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Rimkunas said that two of the roughly 15 complaints the department was investigating as of Tuesday involved possible mistreatment of journalists — a number that is expected to grow in the coming days and weeks. Rimkunas said the department decided to launch an investigation of the Tomasi incident on its own, but has since been in contact with the Australian consulate. A coalition of 27 press and civil liberties advocacy groups wrote to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday 'to express alarm that federal officers may have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering recent protests and unrest related to immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area.' Multiple journalists who covered the protests told The Times that officers and deputies used physical force or the threat of arrest to remove them from areas where they have a right to be. In doing so, the journalists said, police were ignoring protections established by state law for journalists covering protests, as well as their own departments' policies adopted after mass protests after George Floyd's murder in 2020 and over the clearance of a homeless encampment in Echo Park in 2021. On Saturday, journalist Ben Camacho was documenting the scene in Paramount, where images of people vandalizing and burning cars dominated the nightly newscasts. Wearing his press pass and with a camera hanging around his neck, he watched in shock as law enforcement opened fire on the crowd with less-lethal munitions, striking Nick Stern, a British news photographer, who crumbled to the ground in front of him. After helping carry Stern to safety, Camacho said he too was struck by a round in the kneecap. "I start to screaming pretty much at the top of my lungs," he said. 'It was like a sledgehammer." He noted that many people are working on freelance contracts that don't offer medical insurance, and said officers sometimes brush aside reporters with credentials from smaller independent outlets, which have an important role in monitoring events on the ground. Some police officials — who were not authorized to speak publicly — said officers try their best to accommodate reporters, but the situation on the street involves split-second decisions in a chaotic environment where they find themselves being attacked. They also contend that journalists from newer outlets or those who primarily post on social media act in adversarial or confrontational ways toward officers. Los Angeles Press Club Press Rights Chair Adam Rose said he has been collecting examples of officers from local, state and federal agencies violating the rights of journalists — seemingly ignoring the lessons learned and promises made the wake of past protests. Rose said many of the incidents were documented in videos that journalists themselves posted on social media. As of Wednesday morning, the tally was 43 and counting. The mistreatment of journalists at the recent protests are part of a "history of ugly treatment by police," Rose said, which included the 1970 killing of one of the city's leading Latino media voices, Ruben Salazar, who had been covering a Chicano rights protest when he was struck by a tear-gas canister fired by a sheriff's deputy. Even in cases where police abuses are well-documented on video, discipline of the offending officers is rare, Rose said. With plunging revenues leading to the downsizing of many legacy newsrooms, a new generation of citizen journalists has taken a vital role in covering communities across the country — their reporting is as protected as their mainstream counterparts, he said. "The reality is police are not the ones who're allowed to decide who is press,' he said. Some larger news companies have taken to hiring protective details for their reporters in the field, largely in response to aggressive crowds. On Saturday, L.A. Daily News reporter Ryanne Mena was struck in the head by a projectile fired by law enforcement during a demonstration in Paramount. She wasn't sure whether it was a tear gas canister or less-lethal munition, but said she later sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion. The day before she was hit in the thigh by another projectile while reporting downtown outside the jail, she said. Covering a few prior protests had taught her to always be mindful of her surroundings and to "never have my back toward anyone with a weapon." 'It's still kind of unbelievable that that happened," she said of her concussion. "It's unacceptable that that happened that other journalists were targeted.' Times staff writers Connor Sheets and David Zahniser contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. law enforcement's treatment of journalists during protests is once again under scrutiny
Abraham Márquez, a reporter with the nonprofit investigative news startup Southlander, was filming a tense standoff between Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and immigrant rights protesters in Paramount on Saturday night when he saw a deputy aim a 'less-lethal' launcher in his direction. Sensing a confrontation, Márquez said, he raised his press credential and 'kept yelling press, press, press,' even as he turned and began running in the opposite direction. He barely made it a few feet before he felt a stinging pain as first one foam round, then another slammed into his buttocks and his back. 'They just unloaded,' he said of the deputies. He was nearly struck again a short time later, when deputies riding by in an armored vehicle sprayed foam rounds into a gas station parking lot where Márquez and a KTLA-TV news crew had sought cover, he said. He was shaken, but said that he felt compelled to keep reporting. 'I got hit and what not but I'm glad I was there to document it,' he said. The incident was one of dozens in which journalists have been shot with less-lethal police rounds, tear-gassed, shoved and detained while chronicling the ongoing civil unrest and military intervention in the nation's second largest city, according to interviews and video footage reviewed by The Times. The police actions have drawn angry condemnation from public officials and 1st Amendment advocates. There have been multiple reported instances of reporters of not only being struck by projectiles, but also having their bags searched, being threatened with arrest, and getting blocked from areas where they had a right under state law to observe police activity. Among those hit by police projectiles were several Times reporters in the course of covering protests in downtown L.A. over the past few days. The LAPD and L.A. County Sheriff's Department have faced criticism and lawsuits over their treatment of news media during past crises, but some covering the recent events say the situation has only gotten worse with the inflammatory anti-media messaging coming from the Trump White House. 'The price for free speech should not be this high,' said Arturo Carmona, president and publisher of Caló News, a news site that covers issues that matter to English-speaking Latinos. 'Several of our reporters, several of whom are women of color, have been harassed and attacked by law enforcement.' In one high-profile case, a CNN reporter was briefly detained by officers while doing a live-on air segment. In another, Australian TV news reporter Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg by a less-lethal round by an riot gear-clad officer moments after she wrapped up a live on-air segment. The incident became an international affair, with Australian Prime Minister Tony Albanese calling it 'horrific.' L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said it 'sends a terrible message,' and several city councilmembers referenced it while grilling LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell on Tuesday about his department's response to the protests. In a statement, the Sheriff's Department said it was reviewing video footage from several incidents involving the news media to determine whether any of its deputies were involved. The department said it is 'committed to maintaining an open and transparent relationship with the media and ensuring that journalists can safely perform their duties, especially during protests, acts of civil disobedience, and public gatherings.' 'Our goal is to support press freedom while upholding public safety and operational integrity,' the statement said. LAPD Deputy Chief Michael Rimkunas said that two of the roughly 15 complaints the department was investigating as of Tuesday involved possible mistreatment of journalists — a number that is expected to grow in the coming days and weeks Rimkunas said the department decided to launch an investigation of the Tomasi incident on its own, but has since been in contact with the Australian consulate. A coalition of 27 press and civil liberties advocacy groups wrote to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday 'to express alarm that federal officers may have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering recent protests and unrest related to immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area.' Multiple journalists who covered the protests told The Times that officers and deputies used physical force or the threat of arrest to remove them from areas where they have a right to be. In doing so, the journalists said, police were ignoring protections established by state law for journalists covering protests, as well as their own departments' policies adopted after mass protests after George Floyd's murder in 2020 and over the clearance of a homeless encampment in Echo Park in 2021. On Saturday, journalist Ben Camacho was documenting the scene in Paramount, where images of people vandalizing and burning cars dominated the nightly newscasts. Wearing his press pass and with a camera hanging around his neck, he watched in shock as law enforcement opened fire on the crowd with less-lethal munitions, striking Nick Stern, a British news photographer, who crumbled to the ground in front of him. After helping carry Stern to safety, Camacho said he too was struck by a round in the kneecap. 'I start to screaming pretty much at the top of my lungs,' he said. 'It was like a sledgehammer.' He noted that many people are working on freelance contracts that don't offer medical insurance, and said officers sometimes brush aside reporters with credentials from smaller independent outlets, which have an important role in monitoring events on the ground. Some police officials — who were not authorized to speak publicly — said officers try their best to accommodate reporters, but the situation on the street involves split-second decisions in a chaotic environment where they find themselves being attacked. They also contend that journalists from newer outlets or those who primarily post on social media act in adversarial or confrontational ways toward officers. Los Angeles Press Club Press Rights Chair Adam Rose said he has been collecting examples of officers from local, state and federal agencies violating the rights of journalists — seemingly ignoring the lessons learned and promises made the wake of past protests. Rose said many of the incidents were documented in videos that journalists themselves posted on social media. As of Wednesday morning, the tally was 43 and counting. The mistreatment of journalists at the recent protests are part of a 'history of ugly treatment by police,' Rose said, which included the 1970 killing of one of the city's leading Latino media voices, Ruben Salazar, who had been covering a Chicano rights protest when he was struck by a tear-gas canister fired by a sheriff's deputy. Even in cases where police abuses are well-documented on video, discipline of the offending officers is rare, Rose said. With plunging revenues leading to the downsizing of many legacy newsrooms, a new generation of citizen journalists have taken a vital role in covering communities across the country — their reporting is protected as their mainstream counterparts, he said. 'The reality is police are not the ones who're allowed to decide who is press,' he said. Some larger news companies have taken to hiring protective details for their reporters in the field, largely in response to aggressive crowds. On Saturday, L.A. Daily News reporter Ryanne Mena was struck in the head by a projectile fired by law enforcement during a demonstration in Paramount. She wasn't sure whether it was a tear gas canister or less-lethal munition, but said she later sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a concussion. The day before she was hit in the thigh by another projectile while reporting downtown outside the jail, she said. Covering a few prior protests had taught her to always be mindful of her surroundings and to 'never have my back toward anyone with a weapon.' 'It's still kind of unbelievable that that happened,' she said of her concussion. 'It's unacceptable that that happened that other journalists were targeted.' Times staff writers Connor Sheets and David Zahniser contributed to this report.
USA Today
22-05-2025
- USA Today
Bench warrant issued for alleged serial cat killer in California
Bench warrant issued for alleged serial cat killer in California Alejandro Oliveros Acosta is accused of luring over 20 cats with food, and then beating them to death, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Show Caption Hide Caption 4 teens cited in fatal stomping of coyote in Chicago Four teenagers have been cited with killing a coyote in Chicago. Fox - 32 Chicago A man whom officials suspect of killing up to 20 cats in a Southern California neighborhood was a no-show during his arraignment hearing this week and is now considered at-large. Alejandro Oliveros Acosta, 46, was arrested April 23 and charged with two felony counts of cruelty to animals, one felony count of grand theft of a companion animal and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Acosta, a Santa Ana resident, had been free on $40,0000 bond and was set to appear in court on May 21 but did not appear for the hearing, Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, confirmed to USA TODAY. The charges stem from a string of cases in the nearby cities of Santa Ana and Westminster, including one involving a woman's stolen cat, Edds said. The cases also involve a police investigation into reports of nearly two dozen dead and severely injured cats being found in the vicinity of where Acosta lived. The cities are about 10 miles apart. A stolen Bengal Lynx cat named Clubber Investigators looking into the stolen cats reported a male Bengal Lynx named Clubber was taken on March 21 from outside a home in the Westminster neighborhood. "There is video of him, with what appears to be cat food, and he is seen luring the cat to him and taking it," Edds said about Acosta. According to Edds, the cat was returned to the owner about one week later. Additional details about the case were not provided, but KTLA-TV reported that police received a tip that the 10-month-old cat was found safe at a Santa Ana home and returned to its owner. Alleged serial cat killer on the run The second case, under investigation by the Santa Ana Police Department, involved reports of dead and injured cats, officials said they believe Acosta is responsible for. "Between November and April, police investigated seven different reports of dead or severely injured cats in the vicinity of where (Acosta) lived," Edds said. In late April, investigators identified Acosta as a suspect in both cases, and following an interview with him at the Santa Ana police station, they found probable cause to arrest him, Edds said. Police arrested Acosta on April 24, and shortly after the arrest, officials said he posted a $40,000 bond. When Acosta failed to appear for arraignment, Superior Court Judge Stephen J. McGreevy issued a bench warrant for his arrest and raised his bond to $50,000, Santa Ana police Officer Natalie Garcia told USA TODAY. Officials told USA TODAY that Acosta remains at large as of May 22. 'Jet fuel all over': Small plane crashes into San Diego neighborhood, fatalities reported Police seek more information about Alejandro Acosta It was not immediately known whether Acosta had obtained legal counsel as of May 22. The cases remain under investigation, police and prosecutors said. Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Ana police at 714-245-8049 or Westminster police at Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund.
Sunday World
15-05-2025
- Sunday World
Amazon driver caught on camera relieving herself while dropping off packages
"My husband went downstairs and was not only greeted by one package, but a second, inappropriate disgusting package' The driver is captured on camera walking away An Amazon delivery driver has been let go after she was caught on camera relieving herself on two front porches while dropping off packages in Los Angeles. The unnamed driver was literally caught with her pants down, according to KTLA-TV News, while working in the city's Woodland Hills. In two separate incidents reported to KTLA-TV, surveillance video captured the driver who was delivering for Amazon relieving herself on the property of two different homes. The driver is captured on camera walking away News in 90 Seconds - May 15th 'We're deeply disturbed by the unacceptable behavior of this delivery driver and apologize to the customers involved,' Amazon said in a statement to the TV station. 'We immediately identified the driver and they are no longer delivering on behalf of Amazon.' In the footage recorded early on the morning of Mother's Day, the driver can be seen on a home security camera pulling her pants up while walking away from one home. "My husband went downstairs and was not only greeted by one package, but a second, inappropriate disgusting package which was essentially like human faeces and looked to be urination," resident Tamara Bedoy told the TV station. "You can see the mess that she left." A separate video shot that same day at 6:06am and later submitted to KTLA appears to show the same person urinating by a wood gate outside a resident's home. When the resident checked their security footage they saw the same delivery driver allegedly urinating inside a wooden gate at their home, while staring at the camera. Amazon did not identify the person involved but pointed out that many drivers who deliver Amazon packages don't work directly for the company. The driver involved, according to the company, was an independent contractor through Amazon's FLEX program.
