Statistics released by local law enforcement agencies show that crime in Los Angeles and the county is on the decline — paralleling the nationwide declines in crime. more ›

These days, thanks to science and technology, your family tree isn't just something you can trace by a paper trail, DNA provides significant links among us. Now, a new bill proposed by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), would allow feds to conduct familial searches in DNA databases to solve cold cases. more ›

When Sheriff Lee Baca said he didn't know jailer brutality was a serious problem, this didn't sit well with some critics. If sheriff's command staff kept Baca in the dark, why weren't their heads rolling now? And now Los Angeles Times has obtained clear evidence that Baca's command staff knew jailer brutality was a problem, but the department is still saying that Baca never got the memo — literally. more ›

Charges against deputies at LA County jails continue to pile up -- the LA Times reports today that an FBI investigation into the county's possibly corrupt system now includes allegations that prison employees beat up a visitor for no reason. Gabriel Carrillo says that when he went to visit his brother in the Men's Central Jail, deputies arrested him after discovering that he had a cell phone. He says that they handcuffed him, took him to a break room and beat him up. more ›

After Sunday's arrest of Millage Jonathan Peaks, son of former Los Angeles Fire Chief Millage Peaks, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), officials released text messages between Peaks and Dianna Perez, the TSA officer who was also arrested. Peaks, 23, was detained on charges that he allegedly bribed Perez to help him smuggle approximately 14 pounds of marijuana on nine separate flights. more ›

23-year-old Millage Jonathan Peaks, son of former Los Angeles Fire Chief Millage Peaks, was arrested early Sunday morning at Los Angeles International Airport, on charges he allegedly bribed a Transportation Security Administration agent so he could take several pounds of marijuana with him on a flight to Boston. more ›

FBI are looking looking for a man they're calling the Mr. Magoo bandit, who has been linked to 12 robberies from San Francisco to San Diego. Like the cartoon character, the balding man with prescription glasses has a calm, cool demeanor no matter what's going on. He thanks the tellers for the money, and he doesn't even rush or seem nervous once he has the money in his hand. more ›

The FBI had a big break when it arrested Christopher Chaney for hacking into the e-mails of Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera, but now it appears that he's far from alone in doing the exact same thing. more ›

It turns out the man who allegedly hacked into the e-mail accounts of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson and leaked nude photos relied less on technical prowess and more on tabloid fare to commit his crimes. FBI officials said that by reading tabloids and keeping up with celebrities' Twitter and Facebook feeds, Christopher Chaney, 35, was able to guess the passwords of celebrities. more ›

The FBI has made an arrest in Operation Hackerazzi, the investigation of celebrity phone hacking in Hollywood. Officials have scheduled a news conference later Wednesday morning to release additional information. The break in the case comes several weeks after reports that the cellphone accounts of stars, including the outraged Scarlett Johansson, were hacked more ›

They call him the Stare Down Bandit because witnesses say he stared at the teller from which he was demanding cash, and authorities are hoping to haul him in. The suspect in question is thought to be behind two bank robberies in the OC yesterday, the first a failed attempt at a U.S. Bank branch in Huntington Beach, followed by a successful robbery at a Bank of America branch in Irvine. more ›

The underbellies of some Southwest Airlines (SWA) 737 jets have been decorated with bizarre, unauthorized markings. Arabic or Arabic-like symbols, the vandalism has investigators stumped. Unsure of what to dub the images, they are currently being referred to as said vandalism and graffiti. more ›

Scarlett Johansson is fucking PISSED about someone hacking her cell phone and retrieving nude pics of her. First, she enlisted the help of the FBI. Now, TMZ reports that Marty Sing, her lawyer, is going on the offensive, and has sent threatening emails to a number of websites letting them know that if they keep the photos up, they will face legal action. more ›

The FBI announced today that it was investigating a ring of hackers believed to have targeted the personal e-mail accounts and cell phones of more than 50 female celebrities. This announcement came just hours after nude photos from Scarlett Johansson's cell phone surfaced on the internet. more ›

The FBI arrested Kinde Durkee, a big-shot Democratic campaign treasurer trusted by everyone from Councilman Dennis Zine to Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Friday. Durkee's arrest at her firm's office in Burbank, first reported by to The Orange County Register, was the first hint for many of her clients that anything might be awry. more ›

Authorities are on the hunt for former Los Angeles Lakers player Javaris Crittenton, and believe he is responsible for the fatal shooting of a mother of four in Atlanta this month. The shooting is perhaps a case of mistaken identity, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. more ›

A narcotics wiretap might have caught the voice of a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Captain, reports the Los Angeles Times. Bernice Adams, who is in charge of the sheriff's Carson station, has been on leave from the sheriff's department from April, but the paper was only able to confirm with anonymous sources in today's paper that Adams has been on leave since her voice is suspected of being on a wiretap. more ›

There comes a time when every tourist — bandit or not — needs to pack up his tacky souvenir sweatshirts for good. The authorities finally caught up with our own tourist bandit, also known as Rex Lutton, 54, who was suspected of robbing banks in Venice and West Hollywood. Those sweatshirts and the kinda touristy locations of his crimes earned him the moniker. more ›

Jose Luis Munoz was on the FBI Most Wanted list for a rap sheet that dates back to at least 1998 and includes four murders. The other fugitive was Fernando DeJesus Ochoa, who is a suspect in the 2008 murder of Alfred McMullin on the streets of Wilmington. more ›

A few updates this morning in the case of Kelly Thomas, the 37-year-old homeless man who died after a violent beating by police. Ron Thomas, Kelly's father, has take the first steps towards suing the Fullerton Police Department, reports the Huffington Post. more ›

If you have large ears and rob banks, it's only fitting your FBI nickname will be the "All Ears Bandit." However, today the Bureau is announcing the arrest of a man they believe is the large-eared perp. 25-year-old Stepan Dovlatyan was taken into custody at his home in Los Angeles on August 1st. more ›

An international online "members only" child pornography network called "Dreamboard" has been raided by federal authorities, and of the more than 600 of the users targeted, 72 have been charged and 52 arrested, including 6 men from Southern California. more ›

Three masked robbers entered a Burbank residence late Tuesday night demanding cash and walked out with a woman's purse containing $20,000 in cash as well as assorted jewels. Three men wearing ski masks banged on the door of a home shortly after midnight and flashed badges to a married couple and their teenage son inside, according to Burbank Police Sgt. Adam Cornils. One of the invaders had a gun. more ›

The airline passenger who is thought to be a boarding pass scam artist appeared in court today in Los Angeles to enter not guilty pleas on felony charges he was a stowaway and he attempted to enter a secure ares of Los Angeles International Airport. Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, 24, originally from Nigeria, was arrested last month attempting to board a flight out of LAX using a boarding pass that was not issued in his name. more ›

A passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City was arrested upon landing this week after an incident involving his refusal to put out his electronic cigarette. Pogos Paul Sefilian became argumentative, and used several temper tantrum tactics to express his dismay. more ›

In today's 15 minutes of fame news, comes a newly re-circulating story of a man named Keith Messina who is miffed the FBI didn't do anything about his hot tip that he saw Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger in Santa Monica in 2008. Now, of course, Messina wants a cut of the $2 million reward cash. more ›

Law enforcement officials aren't kidding around when it comes to laser pointers aimed at their aircraft: If you point 'em, they will find you, and, like in the case of the two men busted overnight, they will arrest you. Green lasers were trained on a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter flying over Exposition Park at around 2 this morning, according to ABC7. more ›

Well done, JFK Airport and Virgin American: A Nigerian man was able to board their June 24 flight 415 from New York bound for Los Angeles using someone else's expired boarding pass. However, "investigators are suggesting that [Olajide Oluwaseun] Noibi is a tourist rather than a terrorist," reports L.A. Now. more ›

Authorities in Lancaster are investigating several pieces of graffiti that "advocated the killing of gay people," according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies responded to a call regarding graffiti, which was put up in a business area, on the 44200 block of 10th Street West. The perpetrators are not known, and an investigation is under way. more ›