A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy who served the South L.A. community for ten years died Saturday, authorities said. 

According to a sheriff’s department spokesperson, an ambulance was dispatched to the South Los Angeles station around 4 p.m. on calls of an unresponsive deputy. 

The deputy, later identified as Jonathan Stewart, was pronounced dead at the scene. 

LASD took to social media to mourn the “unexpected passing” and honor the commitment of Deputy Stewart, who joined the department as a custody assistant in 2006.

“Jonathan dedicated a decade serving the South Los Angeles community,” LASD said. “He was respected and highly regarded by his peers and his supervisors for his unwavering commitment.” 

Deputy Stewart worked at the LASD Inmate Reception Center before being transferred to the South L.A. station in 2014, and in 2020, he was promoted to Field Training Officer, a position he held until his passing. 

Deputy Stewart’s cause of death was not released. 

He is survived by his wife and three children. 

A man who was allegedly throwing knives at others and wanted “suicide by cop” was arrested on Saturday night in Apple Valley, according to authorities.

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department received reports just before noon on Saturday that a man was throwing knives at the residents of a home on the 15900 block of Chehalis Road, and that he wanted “suicide by cop.”

Responding deputies safely helped the residents exit the property. The suspect then exited the home, threw a knife at a deputy and ran back through the house and into the backyard, authorities said.

The man then armed himself with a metal bar and chain in the backyard, according to officials.

Law enforcement officers from other departments, such as the Hesperia Police Department, the Victorville Police Department and the Victor Valley Sheriff’s Station, then responded to help. A perimeter was established and deputies successfully hit the man with a less-lethal bean bag round and took him into custody.

The man, identified as Lance Sterling McGhee, 50 of Apple Valley, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

He was booked into High Desert Detention Center on $50,000 bail.

A San Gabriel Valley woman pleaded guilty to defrauding over $150 million from the U.S. Postal Service.

Lijuan “Angela” Chen, 51, of Walnut, carried out the scheme by using counterfeit postage to ship tens of millions of packages, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

From November 2019 to May 2023, Chen and her accomplice, Chuanhua “Hugh” Hu, 51, owned and operated a package shipping business in the City of Industry. 

The company provided shipping services for China-based logistics businesses.

To save money, Hu created fake postage stamps to ship packages by printing duplicate and counterfeit Netstamps, which are stamps purchased online from third-party vendors and printed onto adhesive paper.

In November 2019, authorities became aware of the counterfeit operation and Hu fled the country and moved to China where he continued making counterfeit postage, officials said.

Chen remained in the U.S. to oversee the warehouses that she and and Hu were using to ship their packages during the scheme.

In 2020, the pair began using the counterfeit labels to send mail through the United States Postal Service. 

They would receive parcels from vendors and apply fake shipping labels before arranging for the items to be transferred to USPS facilities. 

“The shipping labels were fraudulent and frequently included, among other red flags, ‘intelligent barcode data’ recycled from previously mailed packages,” according to court documents. “Intelligent barcode data is used in some postage shipping labels to evidence the payment of required postage for the shipped item.”

From January 2020 to May 2023, Chen and Hu mailed over 34 million packages with counterfeit postage and shipping labels, officials said.

This scheme caused more than $150 million in losses to the USPS.

Chen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of the use of counterfeit postage. She has been in federal custody since her arrest in May 2023.

As part of her plea agreement, Chen also agreed to forfeit funds that authorities seized from her bank accounts, insurance policies, and real estate in several cities including Walnut, Chino, Chino Hills, South El Monte, Diamond Bar, and West Covina.

Hu remains a fugitive believed to be residing in China. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., three counts of passing and possessing counterfeit obligations of the U.S., and one count of forging and counterfeiting postage stamps.

A sentencing hearing for Chen is scheduled for Aug. 2. If convicted, she could face up to five years in federal prison for each count.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation teams.