A San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriff who is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl will appear in a San Bernadino court tomorrow, according to a statement released by the girl's lawyer, superstar attorney Gloria Allred. Nathan Gastineau, 30, is accused of lewd acts and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. The girl, who was 16 at the time, was part of the Explorers program, which was designed to introduce young people to careers in law enforcement. more ›

Add another one to the list of teachers behaving badly. LA Now reports that 56-year-old Nancy Hildebrand, a middle-school teacher in San Diego, hosted a party for her teenage daughter's high school graduation that got so out of control that sheriffs had to be called in by the neighbors. more ›

Being sheriff has its perks -- to the tune of $120,000, if you're Sheriff Lee Baca. ABC 7 reports that in his 13-year tenure, Baca has accepted gifts in the form of expensive liquor, tickets to shows and travel. And a database posted at the LA Times reveals that Baca has enjoyed many a game of golf on someone else's tab, including local attorney David Hochman and real estate developer Michael Schwab. more ›

A late-night incident involving a Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy and a suspect has ended with the suspect being tasered, and now that man has died, according to KTLA. more ›

Weho Daily is reporting on a stabbing that took place early this morning that has caused confusion, possibly because the victim crossed from Los Angeles into West Hollywood after being injured. A 3:01 a.m. call was logged at Sunset and Fairfax in L.A. regarding "a stabbing victim who tried to board a city bus there." However, at 3:13 a.m. a call was placed to the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station regarding a stabbing victim at Laurel and Fountain. "The good news is that it appears the Sheriff may have a suspect," and preliminary investigations point to the assailant actually being the one boarding the bus within L.A. "A better narrative of what happened tonight will likely have to wait until the Sheriff sorts everything out," notes Weho Daily. more ›

A love triangle involving Los Angeles County Sheriff's detectives has led to a lawsuit, reports abc7. Alberto Gutierrez of Rosemead is suing Philip Solano, alleging he was having an affair with his wife, Mayela; in the suit Gutierrez claims the officer schemed to have him arrested to establish he was unfit to care for the couple's children, and needed therapy. more ›

When Kelley Fraser was announced as the new Sheriff Captain of West Hollywood, there was no mention about her sexual orientation, only her solid background and career. It wasn't until she recently appeared in front of the City Council with her family that the news was broke that she was openly gay. "The historic posting places a gay person as a LASD branch commander for the first time in Southern California," explained the WeHo News before diving into a long interview with her. more ›

Afternoon shopping at Target in West Hollywood this afternoon turned into a nightmare of a situation when a woman allegedly took a knife and began randomly stabbing people. In all, four were injured--at least one of them was left in critical condition. more ›

The body of 42-year-old Zoltan Tombol was found today after a couple days of searching in the Cleveland National Forest. Tombol, an L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy described as being in in exquisite shape, went missing Sunday night when he went hiking. Officials have been mum about any speculation to the cause of death, but when his truck was found yesterday, there were no signs of foul play. An autopsy will be performed tomorrow. more ›

This weekend's fatal deputy involved shootings brings the total number of such incidents to 13 for 2009. There were five in 2008. Before this weekend, Sheriff Lee Baca called for expedited department investigations into deputy shootings of unarmed suspects after such an incident took place last week in Athens. However, at all three shootings this weekend, guns from the suspects were recovered, according to authorities. more ›

Last night at around 9 p.m., LAPD Detective Susan Clemmer, 41, waked into the Santa Clarita sheriff's station at 23740 Magic Mountain Parkway in Valencia, "placed a box of personal items on the counter," then ended her life with a single gunshot, according to the LA Weekly. more ›

At first Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was praised for deciding to allow Fox Reality to make a show about his recruits, since the deal brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in license fees as well as profits from the series. Hey, why not, right? Get the LA Co. Sheriff's Department's name out there, let America see what they're all about, maybe tempt some fence sitters to join the ranks to get in on the fun of serving, or maybe the fun of being on a reality television show, right? more ›

Once deemed as "America's Sheriff" by CNN's Larry King, former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona is now the focus of a media watched trial that began yesterday with all the stuff that make politics what it unfortunately is known for: money, bribes, power. more ›

A man in an unmarked police car allegedly pulled a woman over in Palmdale Saturday night and began to grope her when he was frisking her. "The victim said she fought with the man and was able to break free, run back to her car and drive away," CBS2 reported. "Authorities are looking for a man in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 inches and 185 pounds who was driving a dark colored Ford, possibly a Crown Victoria, with spotlights and a forward flashing blue light." more ›

After Deputy Robert A. McClain's wife said she was leaving him for a younger man Sunday night, he took his wife to meet the man at his Irvine apartment. An argument ensued, but it got physical. From the LA Times: more ›

Earlier this afternoon, boingboing highlighted an incident that occurred involving Keith Garsee last night at a Metro Red Line station. He was taking photos when he was stopped by a Metro employee: "Hey! It's against the 9-11 Law to take pictures down here man!" more ›

An on-duty Orange County sheriff's investigator was found dead in the driver's seat of an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria in Aliso Viejo on Wednesday.

The veteran investigator's body was found about 2:30 p.m. in an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria parked in the parking lot of a shopping center in the 26700 block of Aliso Creek Road near Enterprise. Blood covered the front seat. -- OC Register

Our trust and honor system on the subway, at the light rails and over at the Orange Line has been stripped away. Last Thursday, Metro voted to install the first phase of gates at stations, 275 to be exact (what's going to happen to those TAP Here machines that are everywhere?). The original intent behind the current honor system is "to buck East Coast practices and reduce operating costs," according to the New York... more ›

Last week's devastating Agua Dulce/Santa Clarita Valley wildfire was started accidentally by a "male juvenile" playing with matches, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department announced Tuesday. The Buckweed Fire blackened over 38,000 acres, destroyed more than 60 structures, and led to an estimated $7.4 million in damages. On October 22, one day after the blaze began, a detective questioned a "boy" who "admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire," according to the Sheriff's... more ›

A cyclist westbound on Hollywood Boulevard hears a loud horn behind him as he rides in the right side of the #2 lane, alongside a row of parked cars and dangerously close to the door zone. The motorist with the heavy horn hand turns out to be Metro Bus Driver #XXXXX and she passes the cyclist so closely that his left hand touches the side of the bus as it speeds past him. The number... more ›

Taylor Karras was reported missing by his mother yesterday, after running away from a Westminster social services facility where he was receiving therapy for autism. Around 9:30 p.m., the 15-year-old boy was found just a block from his North Tustin home. Orange County Sheriff's deputies spotted Karras pushing a shopping cart in the street, chased him on foot, Tasered him once, and handcuffed him. Only when a passing neighbor recognized Karras did the authorities... more ›

The devil is in the details. This astute and well-named handle said it best:The Antelope Valley sits in the western Mojave Desert in north Los Angeles County. The Palmdale Water District threatened a mandatory 30% reduction in water use in a special meeting the last week of August. In spite of drought conditions, in the Mojave Desert, government agencies have an Oasis of grass planted on their property. Had it not been raining, the... more ›

When a celebrity moves next door, so does the parking and traffic problems caused by paparazzi. So who do you call to solve the problem? Well, the city of course. And in this town, local politicians are no stranger to loving or hating celebs, whether it be Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and most recently, City Councilman Jack Weiss: An embattled city councilman who has been accused of making the gut-wrenching Los... more ›

Do we need to say much more than that to give you a "ha!" and an "uhhhhh?" at the same time (now this should be the definition of interrobang)? Supposedly, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's were in the midst of a training exercise that included this bag of dummy explosives. But someone who wasn't supposed to get to them, got to them first and stole it. Metro stopped the Gold and Red Lines before hitting... more ›

LAist dates too young. We're giving it up for lent. We appreciate their energy but we haven't met one college girl yet who enjoys LA Observed as much as we do. more ›

323.603.6312. Now you can stalk our editor Tony Pierce. Just kidding. That's not his phone number, but between 11 and 12 this morning, you can reach him there at Ring My Bell. Boo hoo! Nissan is forcing the city of Pasadena to give back their electric cars! "They were like chickens running around with their heads cut off..." The L.A. Times looks into the behind-the-scenes politics of what the heck is going on with... more ›