Skip to Content

California

Ex-CIA employee living in SoCal pleads guilty to sex abuse charges

An ex-CIA employee living in San Diego County pleaded guilty today to drugging and sexually abusing multiple women, as well as recording and photographing unconscious victims. Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 47, who was charged in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty to four federal counts, including abusive sexual contact and transportation of obscene material. Raymond’s plea

Continue Reading

San Bernardino County deputy arrested at work for alleged possession of narcotic

A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested at work on Monday on suspicion of possessing narcotics, the agency announced on Tuesday. Samuel Espinoza, 35, of Fontana was employed as a San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriff for the past five years and was assigned to the Transportation Division. He voluntarily resigned from the Sheriff’s Department

Continue Reading

RivCo man accused of killing fiancé then fleeing to Mexico will stand trial for murder

A 39-year-old man accused of killing his fiance at her Woodcrest home and fleeing to Mexico, then returning to the United States where he was apprehended almost three years later, must stand trial for murder, a judge ruled today. Eduardo Avalos Escoto allegedly killed 42-year-old Brandie Frazier in 2019. Brandie Frazier (Courtesy of Riverside County

Continue Reading

Two SoCal men charged with using darknet to sell 124K fentanyl-laced pills and nearly 20 lbs of meth

Two Los Angeles men who allegedly supplied fentanyl-laced pills and methamphetamine for a drug trafficking organization that used the darknet and encrypted messaging to sell narcotics to people in all 50 states are facing federal charges, officials announced today.   The two-count indictment charges Omar Navia, 38, of South Los Angeles, and Adan Ruiz, 27, of

Continue Reading

Leaders decry killing of elderly Jewish man at dueling Israel-Palestine rallies in Thousand Oaks

Los Angeles officials expressed outrage today over the death of a 69-year-old man who was struck in the head Sunday at dueling demonstrations in Westlake Village concerning Israel’s war with Hamas. “We cannot turn away from this. For the fourth time this year, Los Angeles has suffered yet another major antisemitic crime,” Los Angeles City

Continue Reading

Nearly $10 million in drugs seized at ports of entry in SoCal areas, including Calexico

Nearly $10 million worth of drugs were seized over a two-day period last weekend at ports of entry in San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Calexico and Tecate, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced today.   CBP officers seized more than 2,000 pounds of methamphetamine fentanyl pills, cocaine and other drugs on Friday and Saturday, which the

Continue Reading

Cruise, GM’s robotaxi service, suspends all driverless operations nationwide

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Cruise, the autonomous vehicle unit owned by General Motors, is suspending driverless operations nationwide days after regulators in California found that its driverless cars posed a danger to public safety. The California Department of Motor Vehicles this week revoked the license for Cruise, which recently

Continue Reading

US government says it plans to go after legal goods tied to illegal fentanyl trade in new strategy

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — As overdose deaths continue at a record pace, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a new government-wide strategy Thursday involving scores of agencies that will target the precursor materials used by traffickers to make fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. Under the plan, CBP will work with

Continue Reading

GM self-driving car subsidiary withheld video of a crash, California DMV says

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN (CNN) — The California Department of Motor Vehicles Tuesday revoked Cruise’s permits to test and operate fully driverless vehicles on the state’s roads. The California DMV said, in part, it was because Cruise, which is GM’s self-driving vehicle technology subsidiary, withheld video and information about a crash involving a pedestrian. The

Continue Reading

Driver in Malibu crash that killed 4 students charged with murder, prosecutor says

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 22-year-old driver of a BMW that struck and killed four Pepperdine University students in Malibu last week has been charged with four counts of murder, authorities said Wednesday. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced the charges against Fraser Bohm at a Wednesday news conference. He didn’t immediately say

Continue Reading