The United States Department of Justice announced four men have been arrested for selling fentanyl pills and cocaine on the dark web.

Authorities say Southern California natives, 21-year-old Alejandro Soto, and 21-year-old Austin Blanco, both from Burbank, and Las Vegas residents, 23-year-old Craig Rushton, and 20-year-old Christian McKibben have all been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, two counts of distribution of fentanyl, and one count of distribution of cocaine.

The investigation began in April of 2021. The DOJ says the four men conspired with 23-year-old Van Nuys native Brian McDonald, and 23-year-old Ciara Clutario, of Burbank, to traffic fentanyl and cocaine.

McDonald and Clutario allegedly created vendor profiles on darknet marketplaces to sell fentanyl, cocaine, and other illegal narcotics in exchange for cryptocurrency.

The pair maintained online dark web profiles and arranged drug listings and shipment options, tracking drug orders received through the profiles, and offloading cryptocurrency received on the darknet marketplaces into cryptocurrency wallets that the co-conspirators controlled.

Both McDonald and Clutario were charged last year, their trials will begin on Aug. 6.

The DOJ says Soto, Blacano, McKibben, and Rushton were directed by McDonald and others to package and ship the drugs sold on the darknet. The defendants allegedly took care of the packaging of the narcotics at McKibben and Rushton’s home in Burbank.

The defendants allegedly sold and shipped hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of narcotics, including fentanyl and cocaine, to drug purchasers across the country.

If the four men are convicted, they face the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

A structure fire in Canoga Park killed two dogs early Tuesday morning, while another was rescued, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Fire crews arrived to smoke billowing from the home on West Napa Street, just west of Owensmouth Avenue.

The fire broke out at approximately 8:15 a.m. 

Firefighters rushed into the single-story residence and rescued one of the three dogs.

The homeowners were not at the property when the fire started, and no injuries other than those to the dogs have been reported.

LAFD said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Shocking video captured a daredevil walking a rope between two downtown Los Angeles skyscrapers.

Oceanwide Plaza, a $1 billion mixed-use retail and luxury apartment building, has been vacant for years and has become infamously known as the graffiti towers, attracting artists and those looking to perform death-defying stunts.

YouTuber Ben Schneider was the latest to attempt a stunt at the location when he walked across a slackline between the buildings, looming high above the L.A. skyline.

Schneider, a self-proclaimed performance artist and daredevil, posts videos under the YouTube handle “Reckless Ben” and has amassed over 350,000 subscribers.

Despite a police perimeter surrounding the buildings, Schenider said he was able to slip past any watchful eyes on May 12.

“We pretended we were a religious cult and we got 20 people to all hold signs saying ‘Jesus Saves’ and the signs were blocking the police’s point of view so we just hopped the fence,” he said.

Inside the building, he and his team members climbed 500 feet up the tower multiple times to string together and tighten two one-inch nylon straps between the towers.

While holding a camera attached to a selfie stick, Schneider carefully mounts the line and begins walking across the rope, his camera capturing the soaring viewpoint and moving traffic down below.

“I call it moral graffiti,” Schneider said of his stunt. “I’m a moral graffiti artist. I vandalize buildings without causing any building damage.”

Schneider, who is an experienced slackliner, spent over two minutes walking the line while attached to a safety harness.

“I was pretty confident that Ben could pull it off,” said Lydia Ren, Schneider’s team member who served as a lookout during the stunt. “I just do this for fun. This is not a job. I actually work at a VR startup so this is like my weekend thing.”

Once police realized there were trespassers inside the towers, authorities began searching the premises. Schneider was seen hiding in a bathtub and covering himself with plywood. He stayed there for several hours before finally exiting the building and evading arrest.

Despite the name of his YouTube handle, Schneider said he’s well aware of the dangers of such stunts. 

“Everything’s dangerous,” he said. “Driving a car is dangerous, but we still drive. The stunt I did was dangerous but I think the reward outweighed the risk because I think we inspired a lot of people. I got to push myself out of my comfort zone. We got to do something scary and inspire the world to go live their best life.”

Oceanwide Plaza is a $1 billion mixed-use retail and luxury apartment project with three unfinished structures. Construction had stalled in January 2019 after the developer lacked the funds to complete it.

The complex, which is located in the heart of downtown L.A.’s entertainment district, has attracted many artists which have since covered over 27 stories of its exterior with graffiti.

The building has been an ongoing problem for police and city leaders due to constant trespassing for those eager to tag the building, perform death-defying stunts, and or even BASE jump.

In March 2024, city council members agreed to allot $3.8 million to clean up and secure the site, which has seen numerous arrests in the weeks since the tagging began.

Footage of Schneider’s stunt can be seen in the video player above.