Los Angeles, Ca
Fontana man coerced to make false murder confession settles with police for $900K
Nearly six years after police pushed him to confess to a murder that never happened, Thomas Perez Jr. received a $898,000 settlement from the city of Fontana.
On August 8, 2018, Perez called the Fontana Police Department to report his father had been missing for 17 hours.
By the end of the lengthy investigation, Perez confessed to killing his father – before learning that his father had been found alive and well.
According to reports by CNN, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and more – the officers’ tactics were coercive and, at one point, led Perez to attempt to take his own life while he was still in the interrogation room.
On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Fontana Police Department issued a statement offering the department’s side of the story.
“This was a missing person’s case where officers and detectives followed unfolding evidence that pointed toward possible foul play,” says the statement signed by chief Mike Dorsey. “In the settlement agreement, the judge on the case noted that a reasonable juror would agree that officers had sufficient evidence to suspect a crime had been committed.”
Dorsey’s statement narrates that the case began with Perez’s call, saying his father hadn’t returned from getting the mail with his dog the night before. According to the report, the dog returned without Perez’s father – whose wallet, cell phone and keys were still in the house.
“We noticed the house – and particularly the father’s bedroom – was in disarray,” writes Dorsey. “The son explained that he had removed his father’s mattress and some clothing and had cleaned the house with bleach.”
That was when officers reportedly became suspicious of Perez and asked him to come to the police department for an interview. The department says Perez agreed and arrived voluntarily.
The LA Times reports it was during this interview that officers “alleged Perez had murdered his father and, when Perez denied the accusation, officers tried to convince him that he had forgotten the crime, according to a federal lawsuit, court records and video of the interrogation.”
CNN’s story alleges that amongst the accusations and tactics, officers even brought in the family dog and said she was suffering because she had witnessed the murder. The LA Times said officers told Perez the dog had walked through blood and would be sent away to be euthanized.
The Fontana Police Department did not confirm or comment on the involvement of Perez’s dog, but in a report by The Sun, a photo shows Perez cradling his dog on the floor of an interrogation room that reportedly was screen-grabbed from police video.
“In situations like these, it is acceptable and perfectly legal to use different tactics and techniques, such as ruses, to elicit information from people suspected of potential criminal activity,” says the police statement. “Were we perfect in how we handled the situation? Nobody ever is.”
Dorsey says that around the same time that Perez went to the station for questioning, officers spoke with a neighbor who described Perez as “mentally unstable” and said that he didn’t have patience with his father.
This neighbor also purportedly told officers that the morning the father went missing, someone else was seen driving his truck erratically, and it seemed there was something in the bed of the truck which was then parked in the garage, away from its usual parking spot on the street.
The department says officers used these details in a presentation of evidence to a judge and soon acquired a search warrant.
“During the search, we found blood on the staircase, carpet near the stairs, a couch, in the garage and in a bathtub and on the floor of an upstairs bathroom, adjacent to the father’s bedroom,” says the department.
Throughout the rest of the investigation, officers say they found more evidence of foul play and heard questionable comments from Perez.
For example, Dorsey said Perez asked officers to drive him around a golf course, during which, while they were near a pond, Perez allegedly asked the officers “Don’t bodies float?”
Toward the conclusion of Dorsey’s statement, he writes, “Sadly, situations like these can and often do end up as homicide investigations. We are so thankful this was not one of those.”
After the nearly $900,000 settlement was reached in the spring of 2024, CNN reports it reached out to Perez and his father who say they both continued to feel the effects of this incident for years and worked to help each other through it.
Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
Los Angeles, Ca
Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars
A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]
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