Los Angeles, Ca
Los Feliz pharmacy targeted by burglary crew using electric saw
Surveillance video captured a burglary crew brazenly using an electric saw while attempting to smash their way into a pharmacy in Los Feliz.
Early Wednesday morning, three suspects approached R&D Pharmacy located on Franklin Avenue at around 4 a.m.
They were seen using an electric saw and a crowbar to shatter the store’s glass entrance before sawing into the metal gate behind it.
The pharmacy’s owner, Roselyn Roque, said this was the second time her pharmacy had been targeted in just three weeks.
Despite diligently locking up her store every night and protecting it with steel gates, an alarm system, motion detectors, chains and padlocks, she said the suspects don’t appear to be deterred from returning.
As a pharmacist, Roque said she unfortunately also knows what the thieves are after.
“Opiates and stimulants,” she said.”They have really high value on the streets.”
Her pharmacy has been targeted a total of three times over the past two years. Roque believes the suspects are the same people who have attempted to burglarize the shop in the past.
During Wednesday’s incident, the suspects’ getaway car was captured clearly on security cameras.
“There’s three of them again, but they’re using two different cars,” Roque said. “We were able to identify the plate. They’re backing up with the plates on camera. Maybe they don’t care about [being caught] anymore.”
In all three attempted burglaries, however, the suspects were scared away by blaring security alarms and fled before stealing anything inside.
Roque is very worried about her safety while operating the store.
“I’m scared that they might come back and I’m here,” she said.
Despite no merchandise being lost, Roque said the burglary crew still managed to leave a trail of destruction behind including breaking her security gate and front windows, which will be expensive to replace.
“I’m kind of on my own,” she said. “I’ll have to do the best I can.”
Roque said she remains concerned because the suspects are still at large. She said Los Angeles police asked whether she would be pressing charges if the suspects were caught.
“I said, ‘Of course,’” Roque recalled. “If I can help another small business like mine to not go through something like this, then I’m going to do my part and keep [the suspects] off the streets.”
Anyone with information on the attempted burglary can call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247.
A stand-up comedian is set to face criminal charges in the first case filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s newly created Business Tax Fraud Unit, officials announced Thursday.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the defendant is comedian and actor Carlos Mencia. District Attorney Nathan Hochman is scheduled to announce the charges during a 2 p.m. news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.
Officials have not yet disclosed the nature of the charges.
The prosecution marks the first case brought by the Business Tax Fraud Unit, a specialized division created under Hochman’s administration to investigate and prosecute tax-related crimes involving businesses.
Mencia, whose real name is Ned Arnel Mencia, rose to fame through his stand-up comedy career and as the host of the Comedy Central series Mind of Mencia.
The comedian has previously faced tax-related issues. In 2021, reports indicated that the Internal Revenue Service filed liens against three properties he owned in Georgia over more than $1 million in unpaid federal income taxes.
The District Attorney’s Office said Thursday’s announcement will be streamed live on its social media platforms.
No additional information about the case was immediately available Thursday morning.
KTLA will update this story following the district attorney’s announcement.
Multiple people were arrested after local and federal law enforcement agents descended upon L.A.’s MacArthur Park to carry out a nighttime narcotics enforcement operation.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) descended on the park at around 9 p.m.
Among the personnel who arrived at the scene was First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who joined authorities in overseeing the operation.
In a statement, LAPD said officers were “assisting our federal partners in a joint narcotics enforcement operation in the MacArthur Park area. This operation is focused solely on drug-related criminal activity. There is no connection to immigration enforcement.”
More than 100 law enforcement members were involved, including around 60 DEA agents and 55 LAPD officers. As officers converged on the park, many people were seen running away.
Six people were eventually taken into custody for felony drug charges.
Officials told KTLA’s Jillian Smukler that they intentionally waited until nightfall after frustrated business owners said that most of the visible drug activity occurred at night, following previous raids that took place much earlier in the day.
“We’ve been hearing that a lot of stuff has been moving to later in the day, so that’s why we’re coming out later in full force to show them that this is not a joke,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, a DEA spokesperson. “We are taking the park back for the people. This will happen. It’s going to take time, but it will happen.”
DEA agents are supporting LAPD efforts as part of a long-term strategy to eradicate a troubling increase in drug activity at MacArthur Park.
Authorities had targeted the park multiple times in the past for narcotics-related operations.
The latest incident occurred on June 4 as officers carried out a mission named “Operation Free MacArthur Park,” which involved serving arrest and search warrants in the area surrounding the park. Thirteen people were arrested for various offenses and officers recovered drug paraphernalia during the operation.
L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at the time that authorities were targeting the demand side of the drug trade, going after small-time drug dealers and the drug addicts who are using every day.
“I refuse to allow MacArthur Park to be a cemetery, and that’s what it’s been,” Hochman said. “Because we’ve had individual after individual after individual die of drug overdoses, so much so that the local fire department spends much more time trying to revive people with Narcan who are on death’s door than they do putting out fires in this area.”
Authorities told KTLA they will maintain a presence at the park and work to eliminate all drug activity, allowing the park to be a safe place for residents and visitors.
“We remain committed to keeping our communities safe and informed as this operation continues,” LAPD said.
A California raisin company has publicly denounced alleged antisemitic and racist conduct attributed to one of its heirs following his recent arrest in Pacific Palisades.
In a statement released Wednesday, Fresno County-based Lion Raisins said recent reports involving Bruce Lion, who was arrested last week on suspicion of making criminal threats, “do not reflect the values of Lion Raisins.”
“Recent reports about the conduct of Bruce Lion are deeply troubling and do not reflect the values of Lion Raisins,” a company spokesperson said in the statement. “We unequivocally condemn antisemitism, racism, and all forms of hate, discrimination, and intolerance.”
The statement comes days after Bruce Lion, 64, was arrested following allegations that he repeatedly directed antisemitic and racist remarks toward a rabbi neighbor in Pacific Palisades.
As previously reported, Rabbi Zushe Cunin accused Lion of harassing him and members of his congregation for months after Lion purchased a neighboring home earlier this year. Published reports cited videos that allegedly showed Lion shouting antisemitic slurs from his property and disrupting religious gatherings.
Lion Raisins emphasized Wednesday that Bruce Lion “does not actively participate in the company’s day-to-day operations.”
The company, which has operated for more than a century, said it remains committed to serving a diverse community of employees, growers, customers and business partners “with respect, dignity, and inclusiveness.”
“These principles are core to our culture and to the way we do business,” the statement said.
The company also said it recognizes concerns generated by the allegations and expressed support for those who may have been affected.
“We remain committed to fostering understanding and respect among all communities and to ethical conduct, mutual respect, and responsible corporate citizenship,” the statement continued.
Bruce Lion was arrested early Saturday and booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, according to law enforcement records.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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