Latest news with #VanNuys
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
L.A. Army veteran with Purple Heart self-deports to South Korea under threat of deportation
An Army veteran who grew up in Van Nuys and was awarded a Purple Heart self-deported to South Korea this week as he was threatened with being detained and deported by federal immigration forces. On Monday, veteran Sae Joon Park, who legally immigrated from South Korea when he was seven years old, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley and held a green card, flew back to his homeland under threat of deportation at the age of 55. He said he is being forced to leave because of drug convictions nearly two decades ago that he said were a response to the PTSD he suffered after being shot during military action in Panama. 'It's unbelievable. I'm still in disbelief that this has actually happened,' Park said in a phone interview from Incheon early Wednesday morning. 'I know I made my mistakes … but it's not like I was a violent criminal. It's not like I'm going around robbing people at gunpoint or hurting anyone. It was self-induced because of the problems I had.' Asked to comment on Park, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park has an "extensive criminal history" and has been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport. Park said he suffered from PTSD and addiction in the aftermath of being wounded when he was part of the U.S. forces that invaded Panama in 1989 to depose the nation's de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. But now Park, a legal immigrant, is targeted by federal authorities in President Trump's recent immigration raids that have prompted widespread protests in Los Angeles and across the nation. Federal authorities have arrested more than 1,600 immigrants for deportation in Southern California between June 6 and 22, according to DHS. Read more: More than 1,600 immigrants detained in Southern California this month, DHS says A noncitizen is eligible for naturalization if they served honorably in the U.S. military for at least a year. Park served less than a year before he was wounded and honorably discharged. Since 2002, over 158,000 immigrant service members have become U.S. citizens. As of 2021, the Department of Veteran Affairs and DHS are responsible for tracking deported veterans to make sure they still have access to VA benefits. Park's parents divorced when he was a toddler, and his mother immigrated from South Korea to the United States. He followed her a year later. They first lived in Koreatown, moved to Panorama City and then Van Nuys. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988. Struggling at first to learn English and acclimate with his classmates, he eventually became part of the Southern California skateboarding and surfing scene of the 1980s, which is when television editor Josh Belson met him. They have been close friends ever since. 'He's always got a smile, a very kind of vivacious energy about him,' said Belson, who attended a nearby high school when they met. 'He was the kind of person you wanted to be around.' After graduating, Park said he wasn't ready to attend college, so he joined the military. 'The Army provided not only turning me into a man, but also providing me with the GI Bill, so you can go to college later, and they'll pay for it. And the fact that I did believe in the country, the United States,' he said. 'So I felt like I was doing something honorable. I was very proud when I joined the military.' Park's platoon was deployed to Panama in late 1989, where he said they experienced a firefight the first night there. The following day, he said he was carrying an M-16 when they raided the house of one of the 'witches' Noriega allegedly followed. He said they saw a voodoo worship room with body parts and a cross painted in blood on the floor. While there, he heard gunfire from the backyard and returned fire. He was shot twice, in his spine and lower left back. The bullet to his spine was partially deflected by his dog tag, which Park believes is the reason he wasn't paralyzed. A military ambulance was delayed because of the firefight, but a Vietnam veteran who lived nearby rescued him, Park said. 'I just remember I'm just lying in my own pool of blood and just leaking out badly. So he actually went home, got his pickup truck, put me in the back of his pickup truck with two soldiers, and drove me to the hospital,' Park said. He was then evacuated to an Army hospital in San Antonio. A four-star general awarded him a Purple Heart at his bedside. Then-President George W. Bush visited wounded soldiers there. Read more: More immigrants opt to self-deport rather than risk being marched out like criminals Park spent about two weeks there, and then went home for a month or so, until he could walk. His experience resulted in mental issues he didn't recognize, he said. 'My biggest issue at the time, more than my injuries, was — I didn't know what it was at the time, nobody did, because there was no such thing as PTSD at the time,' he said. Eventually, 'I realized I was suffering from PTSD badly, nightmares every night, severe. I couldn't hear loud noises, and at that time in L.A., you would hear gunshots every night you left the house, so I was paranoid at all times. And being a man and being a tough guy, I couldn't share this with anyone.' Park started self-medicating with marijuana, which he said helped him sleep. But he started doing harder drugs, eventually crack cocaine. He moved to Hawaii after his mother and stepfather's L.A. store burned during the 1992 riots, and married. After Park and his wife separated, he moved to New York City, where his addiction worsened. 'It got really bad. It just got out of control — every day, every night, all day — just smoking, everything,' Park said. One night, in the late 2000s, he was meeting his drug dealer at a Taco Bell in Queens when police surrounded his car, and the dealer fled while leaving a large quantity of crack in his glove compartment, Park said. A judge sent Park to rehab twice, but he said he was not ready to get sober. 'I just couldn't. I was an addict. It was so hard for me to stay clean. I'd be good for 30 days and relapse,' he said. 'I'd be good for 20 days and relapse. It was such a struggle. Finally, the judge told me, 'Mr. Park, the next time you come into my courtroom with the dirty urine, you're gonna go to prison.' So I got scared.' So Park didn't return to court, drove to Los Angeles and then returned to Hawaii, skipping bail, which is an aggravated felony. 'I did not know at the time jumping bail was an aggravated felony charge, and combined with my drug use, that's deportable for someone like me with my green card,' he said. U.S. Marshals were sent looking for Park, and he said once he heard about this, he turned himself in in August 2009, because he didn't want to be arrested in front of his two children. Read more: Abcarian: Wasn't the president supposed to be deporting criminals? He served two years in prison and said immigration officials detained him for six months after he was released as he fought deportation orders. He was eventually released under 'deferred action,' an act of prosecutorial discretion by DHS to put off deportation. Every year since, Park was required to check in with federal officials and show that he was employed and sober. Meanwhile, he had sole custody of his two children, who are now 28 and 25. He was also caring for his 85-year-old mother, who is in the early stages of dementia. During his most recent check-in, Park was about to be handcuffed and detained, but immigration agents placed an ankle monitor on him and gave him three weeks to get his affairs in order and self-deport. He is not allowed to return to the United States for 10 years. He worries he will miss his mother's passing and his daughter's wedding. 'That's the biggest part. But … it could be a lot worse too. I look at it that way also,' Park said. 'So I'm grateful I made it out of the United States, I guess, without getting detained.' 'I always just assumed a green card, legal residency, is just like having citizenship,' he added. 'I just never felt like I had to go get citizenship. And that's just being honest. As a kid growing up in the United States, I've always just thought, hey, I'm a green card holder, a legal resident, I'm just like a citizen.' His condition has spiraled since then. "Alright. I'm losing it. Can't stop crying. I think PTSD kicking in strong," Park texted Belson on Thursday. "Just want to get back to my family and take care of my mother ... I'm a mess." Times staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CNN
15-06-2025
- CNN
Spectrum says fiber optic outage in LA area ‘caused by a criminal act of vandalism'
Internet and cable provider Spectrum has reported outages in Los Angeles are 'caused by a criminal act of vandalism,' according to a company post Sunday on X. The most common user issues have been total blackouts, landline and internet problems, and no signal. The outage has affected neighborhoods surrounding Los Angeles, such as North Hollywood, as well as in the Orange County cities of Anaheim and Santa Ana. More than 25,000 Spectrum users in the Los Angeles area reported issues on which tracks outages. Users self-report to DownDetector, so it may not represent the full scale of outages. Users began reporting issues to DownDetector at 3 a.m. Pacific Time, with more reports spiking around 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Spectrum acknowledged customer concerns at 2:13 p.m. PT in a post on X, saying, 'We are currently working on a Fiber cut affecting the Los Angeles area. We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. Thank you.' Spectrum told CNN in an email that the 'lines were cut due to vandalism in Van Nuys,' which affected services in other parts of Los Angeles and Ventura, California. The company said it expects services to 'continue to be restored this afternoon in Los Angeles' and that services have already been restored in Ventura. Spectrum is currently working with the Los Angeles Police Department, the company said, and is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for tips leading to an arrest. 'Criminal acts of network vandalism have become an issue affecting the entire telecommunications industry, not just Spectrum, largely due to the increase in the price of precious metals,' the company wrote. 'These acts of vandalism are not only a crime, but also affect our customers, local businesses and potentially emergency services. Spectrum's fiber lines do not include any copper.' Customers in Kansas City experienced a similar outage last month, when Spectrum reported two fiber cuts — one that the company credited to a criminal act of vandalism and another caused by a third-party network, which should have provided backup to the Spectrum network, according to local reports. Spectrum had offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the alleged vandals. Spectrum operates in 41 states and serves more than 57 million homes, according to the company's website. This story has been updated with additional content.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man found stabbed to death in Van Nuys wash area
A suspect remains at large after a man was found stabbed to death in Van Nuys. On June 9, Los Angeles police responded to reports of an assault in progress in the 16700 block of Stagg Street at 11:13 a.m. Officers at the scene found a male victim lying in a nearby wash area with 'multiple injuries.' The suspect had fled before police arrived. The victim, identified only as a 40-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. No further details, including a suspect description or the victim's name, were released. Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call Homicide Detective Ramirez at 818-374-9550. The public can also call the LAPD at 310-726-7700 or 877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
30-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
How ICE Is Seeking to Ramp Up Deportations Through Courthouse Arrests
A hearing on Tuesday at immigration court in Van Nuys, Calif., was supposed to be routine for a young family from Colombia, the first step in what they hoped would be a successful bid for asylum. To their surprise, the judge informed the father, Andres Roballo, that the government wished to dismiss his deportation case. Taken aback, Mr. Roballo hesitated, then responded: 'As long as I stay with my family.' Moments later, as they exited the courtroom into a waiting area, Mr. Roballo was encircled by plainclothes federal agents who ushered him into a side room. Other agents guided his shaken wife, Luisa Bernal, and their toddler toward the elevator. Outside the courthouse, Ms. Bernal collapsed on a bench. 'They have him, they have him,' she wailed. 'We didn't understand this would happen.' Mr. Roballo's arrest was part of an aggressive new initiative by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain migrants at immigration courts, the latest escalation by the Trump administration in its all-out effort to ramp up deportations. Agents have begun arresting migrants immediately after their hearings if they have been ordered deported or their cases have been dismissed, a move that enables their swift removal, according to immigration lawyers and internal documents obtained by The New York Times. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CBS News
26-05-2025
- CBS News
Civilian dies, 2 LAPD officers injured in San Fernando Valley crash
A man died and two officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were injured after a traffic collision Monday, authorities confirmed. The crash took place just before 2 p.m. in the area of 10900 West Saticoy Street in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two vehicles were involved in the collision; one being driven by a civilian, and the other by a LAPD officer. The civilian, identified only as a 70-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. Two LAPD officers were transported to a local hospital. As of 2:20 p.m., their conditions are not known. It's not clear if they were responding to a call when the crash occurred. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined. No additional details were immediately made available. This is a developing report. Check back for details.
