Homicide

Apr 5 2011

Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Eight more women may have been killed by the 'Grim Sleeper,' an alleged serial killer charged with killing 10 women in South Los Angeles as far back as the mid 1980s.

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck plans to discuss the case and release images of possible victims at a 4 p.m. news conference.

Jan 20 2011

Great-grandmother and teenager

INGLEWOOD, Calif.—The city has announced a $25,000 reward in hopes of tracking down the gunman who killed a great-grandmother and wounded a teenage boy last month in a suspected gang shooting at a local park.

Gwendolyn Taylor, 61, was on a Saturday afternoon outing with her family when she was shot at Rogers Park. Taylor died at a hospital.

The other victim, a 15-year-old boy, was treated at a hospital for an arm wound.

Gregg Reese  |   OW Staff Writer
Nov 18 2010

More victims likely as task force sifts through evidence

Although Lonnie Franklin, the defendant in the Grim Sleeper murders that plagued South Los Angeles over the past two decades, has been in custody for more than three months, the “800” Task Force charged with solving the carnage is still embroiled in the investigation, according to Bill Fallon, one of the eight officers assigned to the investigative unit. The detective granted Our Weekly an interview in between treks to Mississippi and Northern California to tie up loose ends in this ever-expanding multiple homicide case.

Nov 17 2010

One year as chief

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Looking over his first year as police chief today, Charlie Beck said it had been a professionally rewarding but emotionally difficult 12 months.

"I am very very optimistic about this organization,'' Beck said in a briefing in police headquarters attended by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

"Los Angeles is safer today, one year after the appointment of Charlie Beck ...,'' Villaraigosa said.

Nov 5 2010
Names of suspects released

Los Angeles police say two suspects have been arrested for the murder of 5-year-old Aaron Shannon, and are being held without bail. Leonard Hall Jr., 21, was taken into custody today (Friday) about at 2:10 a.m. at an apartment in the 200 block of West. 27th Str. Marcus Denson, 18, was arrested Thursday evening by Sheriff’s deputies in the 1100 block of East 83rd Street. Law enforcement officials say both suspects are active gang members.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.