Photo from the Getty by Rick O! via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Students, faculty, staff, and parents associated with Lincoln Elementary school in Santa Monica are trying to come to grips today with the weekend arrest of Thomas Beltran, who taught ESL at the school. Beltran, 60, has been charged with molesting four young girls who were his students. An auto fire turned into a brush fire late this afternoon near......

No, it was not Tom. MySpace founder Brad Greenspan's $2.9 million home was discovered burglarized on Saturday. Police say it may be related to all the recent cat burglaries in the Hollywood Hills. Greenspan's home is located at 2177 Sunset Plaza Drive. Other recent Hollywood Hills home robberies include Charlize Theron, who became victim to it in December, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill in February and Duran Duran's John Taylor in March. In 2006, the......

Dakota Smith over at Curbed LA was kind enough to submit this photo. "I'm over in Venice and someone plastered all of Abbot Kinney Boulevard with these posters on the street this morning," she wrote in an e-mail. Juliana Redding was murdered on March 16th and few details have come out as of late. Santa Monica Police were quick to state that the autopsy results would take 30 to 60 days because of a......

Guns and cars are in the headlines this morning thanks to several Southland crimes last night that are being investigated in the morning light. First, in East L.A., a large house party was held last night on the 500 block of South Hoefner. It had been promoted by fliers and handouts all over. But in the midnight hour things turned deadly when a suspect opened fire with a handgun, striking 18-year-old Jeffrey Alvarado "in the......

A man who ran a red light in South LA led police on a chase that ended in the Harbor area, more specifically off the Port of Los Angeles' Berth 194 in the water. For fifteen minutes, he "stood shirtless on his van's roof, dove into the water and eluded officers by swimming around for 15 minutes," according to KCBS. Finally, he boarded a Los Angeles Fire Department boat and was taken into custody. Then......

Photo by _ROXANNE_ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The former manager of a WeHo marijuana dispensary was sentenced today to 5 years probation for "maintaining drug-related premises" on North La Brea known as the Yellow House. Tonya Mae Schaefer of Alhambra also received her sentence today; the 43-year-old will now serve 25 to life for the murder and abandonment of her newborn baby in 2006. It's a not guilty plea for......

Photo by consiglieri80 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Have you been talking about anything else this week? Grand Theft Auto 4 is set to break all kinds of records today. Not only are they ugly, they are hazardous to your health! New safety warnings are being issued for Mario Batali's signature footwear, Crocs. More first-person reports from the Los Angeles Times Book Festival over at LA Observed. Some badass large-scale guerrilla......

After confronting a tagger in Garden Grove, a man was shot four times in the upper body, according to police. The incident took place around 10 p.m. Sunday night at the corner of Robyn Court and Trask Avenue. The victim is listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery at UCI Medical Center in Irvine. The man is expected to survive. Last year, two women in separate incidents were murdered by taggers in Whittier and San......

Surfing on the Wall, by Carlito_Brigante via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr. In the wee hours of the morning, a cop driving west on Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys crashed his patrol car into a tree in order to avoid a collision with another driver who was believed to have been under the influence. The suspected DUI driver allegedly was driving away from a bar, and got away after the cop's crash. A......

In a big "oops, that was the gas pedal" moment, a Silver Lake Teen accidently ran over his dad at their home this morning. The 4:45 a.m. incident took place at the 700 block of North Occidental Avenue, which is near Sunset and Silver Lake Boulevards. The father was freed from under the vehicle and taken to the hospital in stable condition. The LAPD said there was no evidence of drinking. In North University Park,......

When it comes to crime, cops call one piece of evidence "gold." And that one bit of information that really can expedite an investigation is a license plate number. If you see something happen and it doesn't endanger yourself, take note of license plate numbers. Yesterday in West Covina, a 91-year-old was killed in a hit-and-run accident in a cul-de-sac, which should be some of the safest streets in a neighborhood. "The driver got out,......

Noticing an increase in female involvement in bank robberies (remember Weathergirl?), the FBI has released a list of the top five female bank robbers in the Southern California area. Three of them get their own moniker, via KNBC: The "Starlet Bandit" [seen to the right] robbed a Bank of America, located at 7800 W. Sunset Blvd. on March 25. May said the name was given because of the woman's glamorous appearance and large sunglasses. May......

Someone trying to kidnap you is never a fun memory. At least when the alleged kidnapper was nude, it's a good story to tell in years to come. Last night around midnight, the victim, walking alone, was on Parthenia Street near Wilbur Avenue in Northridge when a car pulled up and began tailing her. Then at one point, the man in the car, stopped, got out and began chasing her. It was only when he......

Then you might have some information for police. At around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, 31-year-old Vicky Noh was crossing Wilshire Blvd. in a marked crosswalk at New Hampshire Avenue when she was struck and killed by a yellow school bus that drove away. The 40 foot long bus is described as a "newer model with a flat front end" and was actually a charter bus, not one that transports children on a daily basis. The......

Photo by stevelyon via Flickr C. Thi Nguyen, senior editor of Chow Digest at chowhound.com and a UCLA Grad Student opines in opposition to the County's move to put harsher regulations on Taco Trucks. It appeared in today's edition of the LA Times' The Guide: ... what the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has done terrifies me. On Wednesday, the supervisors passed a harsh set of regulations for unincorporated county areas. Parking a......

Three separate shooting incidents since Thursday have left four dead. The most recent took place yesterday around 1:30 p.m. when a man in a car drove up to a church and shot a man in a wheelchair and the man pushing him. The vehicle used was later found abandoned. On Saturday and Thursday, two men were shot and killed on the streets. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies cannot confirm that these were gang related or......

One person was killed last night following a fight at a house party held last night in East L.A. on the 1400 block of Downey Street. A few people were allegedly involved in the fight, which led to one person shooting another, who "later died at a local hospital," reports abc7.com. In another party-turned-crime scene incident, an argument broke out at a birthday party on Hart Street in Winnetka late last night, prompting the host......

Move over, Michael Jackson. An Orange County man has redefined the meaning of "crotch grabber." In the early morning hours of April 15th a suspect broke into Fullerton's Erogenous Zone, and helped himself not to the till, but to a rubber replica of porn actress Jenna Jameson's own erogenous zones worth $250. (Unlike Ms. Jameson, however, the item is described as "Open-ended for easy cleaning." Whatta woman!) Determined to get his piece of Jenna, video......

Photo by _ROXANNE_ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr After heisting a rental car that was just about to be rented out, a woman led police on a wild three-county tour of SoCal which ended with her being put out by a spike strip. The chase began in Anaheim and ended near Camp Pendleton. A pot bust took place late last night in a gated community in El Monte, netting cops 1,000......

Yes, as reported in various LA Newspaper Group dailies, there is an East L.A. Taqueros Union. And they are going to fight a law that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted "yes" on Tuesday -- taco trucks have to move every 60 minutes or face $1000 fines or jail time. Currently, taco trucks must move every 30 minutes and face a nominal fine, one that, if ever enforced, is considered a cost of......

You won't be seeing the 21-year-old Valencia resident, Samantha Rothwell, for about 16 years because yesterday she was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of an 18-year-old man who made a comment about God. In 2006, a group of friends gathered at Hotel Huntington Beach for a birthday celebration and to go to the beach the next day. Then... As the evening progressed, several people, including Rothwell and 18-year-old Walter Rivas, were on the......

Photo by kpeII via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The elderly women known as the 'Black Widows' have been found guilty of murder conspiracy. Partial verdicts were read today against 77-year-old Helen Golay and 75-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt for their roles in two murders. A 27-year-old man from Sherman Oaks jumped to his death this morning from an overpass on the 210 Freeway at Sierra Avenue in Fontana. He had left his car......

Photo by Ric Francis/AP It was a year ago today that a student gunned down 32 people in Blacksburg at Virginia Tech. The incident was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Today at UCLA, college students, alumni and family members of gun violence victims participated in a lie-in on the campus in memory of the victims killed at the tradegy. Nationally similar events were held to remember the tragedy. School campuses have......

A 30-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of Samantha Padilla, the 19-year-old LAX employee who was gunned down last week on the West Slauson off-ramp of the northbound 110 Freeway late at night. Jessica Ortega faces arraignment this afternoon for one count of murder. According to the press release issued from the District Attorney's office, the "count carries two special allegations that the principal intentionally discharged a firearm causing death and that the......

Mayor Villaraigosa addressed his third State of the City at the LAPD's Parker Center last night, focusing in on gangs and the city budget, but also with some other talking points that were worth noting: On public transit: "Our national leaders must rethink the balance of our spending on highways vs. subways. It's time to recognize that the only true solution to long-term to gridlock in Los Angeles or anywhere else in the country is......

Watch those mailboxes, people are stealing. Reported by a representative of City Councilman Jack Weiss last night at a Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council meeting, homes in the hills of Sherman Oaks (you know, "south of the boulevard," as they say) are falling victim to mail theft. And while the immediate concern is ID theft, what is happening is that checks are being whited in the name field out and cashed by the thieves. Come tax......

Morning headlines today have not been an exemplary one for public safety, both accident and crime-wise. The big ticket item was the eastbound 10 Freeway being closed in Covina after a 4:45 a.m. accident between a van and motorcycle that left the two-wheeler dead. All lanes were closed and one was reported open at 7 a.m. Also in Norwalk, a five-car crash caused three soundbound lanes on the 605 to be closed shortly before 8......

It's that time of the year again for Mayor Villaraigosa to make the annual State of the City speech at the LAPD's Parker Center. His third one since taking office, tonight's address is expected to focus in on the red-lined budget and crime, specifically gangs. In a poignant LA Times editorial, they say tonight presents him with "opportunity and obligation. He must make clear that he has a firm grip on" these two issues. Furthermore,......

The Pacific Beach Cities Stadium 16 movie theatre in El Segundo was the real-life scene of a police-involved shootout last night. Two officers were wounded and the suspect was killed outside the theatres after they arrived on scene to "escort [him] out and he opened fire," reports the LA Times. Following the shooting, fellow police officers "searched in and around the theater for companions of the gunman and took two men into custody at a......

The police are speaking to persons of interest in regards to yesterday's shooting death of 19-year-old Samantha Padilla. A 30-year-old Ramona Gardens woman may have been arrested, but LAPD officials could not confirm that to KNBC. However, the shooting is being considered a domestic incident and not random. Padilla was on her way to her job at LAX. In Valley Village on Huston St. last night, two friends walking home from a bar were accosted......