Los Angeles, Ca

Menendez brothers’ relatives set to meet with new Los Angeles County DA

Published

2 days ago

January 3, 2025

Menendez brothers’ relatives set to meet with new Los Angeles County DA

Family members of Erik and Lyle Menendez are set to meet with new Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman Friday to support resentencing the brothers who are currently serving life in prison for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in Beverly Hills.

The Justice for Erik and Lyle Coalition, described as a family-led initiative, issued a statement ahead of the meeting.

“As we prepare to meet with DA Hochman, our family is hopeful for an open and fair discussion. Despite the abuse they endured as children and the unfairness of their current sentence, Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent the last three decades taking responsibility for their actions and contributing positively to their community through leadership and rehabilitation,” a portion of the statement read.

FILE – Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez sit with defense attorney Leslie Abramson, right, in Beverly Hills Municipal Court during a hearing, Nov. 26, 1990. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)
Menendez brothers, Erik, left, and Lyle on the steps of their Beverly Hills home in November, 1989. (Getty Images)
Erik Menendez, left, and is brother Lyle, in front of their Beverly Hills home. They are prime suspects in their parents murder. (Getty)
FILE – An Oct. 31, 2016, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Erik Menendez, left, and a Feb. 22, 2018, photo provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Lyle Menendez. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP, File)
Erik and Lyle Menendez are pictured, on August 12, 1991 in Beverly Hills. (Getty Images)
Erik Menendez (L) and his brother Lyle (R) listen during a pre-trial hearing, on December 29, 1992 in Los Angeles after the two pleaded innocent in the August 1989 shotgun deaths of their wealthy parents, Jose and Mary Louise Menendez of Beverly Hills, Calif. It took 40 months for the Superior Court arraignment after prosecutors and defense attorneys battled over the admissibility of taped confessions the brothers allegedly made to their psychotherapist. (Photo by VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images)
FILE – Lyle Menendez looks up during testimony in his and brother Erik’s retrial for the shotgun slayings of their parents, Oct. 20, 1995 in Los Angeles. (Steve Grayson/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Erik and Lyle Menendez appear in court in Los Angeles on March 9, 1994. (Getty Images)
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon speaks during a news conference regarding the Menendez brothers, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, at the Hall of Justice in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

More than 20 family members of Jose and Kitty Menendez’s family are expected to attend Friday’s meeting to advocate for a resentencing.

However, not all members of the Menendez family feel the brothers should be released.

Milton Andersen, the brother of Kitty Menendez, believes Erik and Lyle weren’t molested by their father and that “justice was served,” NewsNation reported in October.

“Mr. Anderson believes, based on the evidence, that it was only when they learned that their father was going to take them out of the will, essentially because they wouldn’t get a job,” the attorney representing Andersen said during an appearance on Elizabeth Vargas Reports. “Erik and Lyle then went to purchase guns under someone else’s name.”

Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced he supported resentencing the Menendez brothers in October.

“I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving sentences of life without possibility of parole. They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates,” said Gascón.

Gascón however was voted out as district attorney in November and Hochman has not announced where he stands on the controversial issue.

“Here’s my approach, whether it’s the Menendez case or quite honestly any case: you have to do the hard work,” Hochman told KTLA in November. “You have to look, in that case, at thousands of pages of confidential prison files, you have to review thousands of trial transcripts from months-long trials, and you have to speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement and the defense counsel…and the victims’ families.”

California Gov. Gavin Newson has said that he would defer his decision on the Menendez brothers’ clemency until Hochman reviews the case.

Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, admitted to fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and their mother, Kitty Menendez, claiming they feared their parents were about to kill them to stop people from finding out that Jose had sexually abused Erik for years, according to the Associated Press.

They were convicted in 1996.

Los Angeles, Ca

Orange County family mourns great-grandmother killed by DUI driver

Published

23 minutes ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Orange County family mourns great-grandmother killed by DUI driver

A beloved great-grandmother was driving home from church services early morning on Jan. 1, her family said, when she was hit head-on by a DUI driver and later died in the hospital.

“She was only 10 more minutes away from making it home safely,” the victim’s family members wrote on a GoFundMe page. “She left us praising the lord until her last day.”

The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. at Marguerite Parkway and Pueblonuevo Drive in Mission Viejo, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The driver, 26-year-old Geraldine Caicedo-Perez, is now facing DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter charges – meanwhile, family members of the victim, 66-year-old Ynes Lagunes-Soto, are mourning her tragic passing.

“The lady was my mother and I am very sad because she didn’t deserve to die, to be killed by that person who wasn’t well,” the victim’s daughter, Monica Lagunes, told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe.

Family members said Lagunes-Soto, who lived in San Juan Capistrano and worked for 25 years as a housekeeper, always put family first and was happiest surrounded by her many loved ones.

“For me, it is something that I will not get over and I am very angry with the person who caused this accident,” said Lagunes. “I would want them to pay for everything that they did.”

According to the sheriff’s department, Caicedo-Perez is being held at the Orange County Jail. Her bail and next court date were not immediately made available.

“We’re maintaining our faith,” said Lagunes-Soto’s grandson, Emmanuel Heredia. “I think God has a plan for us and for her as well.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the deadly collision and said anyone with information or evidence should contact the department.

Los Angeles, Ca

Woman found shot inside vehicle in Compton

Published

8 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Woman found shot inside vehicle in Compton

Police are investigating after a woman was found shot inside a vehicle in Compton Saturday night.

Los Angeles County deputies responded to the 14900 block of Stanford Avenue at around 7:15 p.m. Authorities found a woman with a gunshot wound inside a sedan.

The woman was removed and rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Her condition remains unknown.

Police are investigating after a woman was found shot inside a vehicle in Compton on Jan. 4, 2025. (Citizen)

There were reports a black suspect vehicle was seen fleeing the area, however, police have not confirmed that detail. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear.

The woman’s identity was not released.

Anyone with information can call LASD’s Compton Sheriff’s Station at 310-605-6500

Los Angeles, Ca

Man charged with drug possession now ‘facing consequences’ of recently passed Prop 36: SBSD

Published

19 hours ago

January 4, 2025

Press Room

Man charged with drug possession now ‘facing consequences’ of recently passed Prop 36: SBSD

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to remind residents of the effects of the recently passed Proposition 36 after a man was arrested on narcotics possession charges early Friday morning.

Prop 36, officially titled The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, was passed by voters by a wide margin in November and went into effect on Dec. 18. Among other things, it includes several new charges, including enhanced sentencing and statutes that can prevent certain offenders from being cited and released prior to their court appearance.

After the legislation was went into effect, law enforcement agencies across the region have used several methods to get the word out about the consequences, including releasing a video that shows suspects discussing the new law from the back of a police car late last month.

A more recent incident involving the new consequences of Prop 36 occurred just before 9 a.m. Friday when a 54-year-old Apple Valley resident was contacted by deputies in the area of Bear Valley Road and Algonquin Road.

The man, John Michael Laughlin, was found to be in possession of illegal narcotics and arrested, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department stated.

He was booked into the High Desert Detention Center on drug possession charges with previous a previous conviction and traffic warrants. He is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.

Anyone with any information about this investigation is asked to contact Deputy E. Natty with Apple Valley Sheriff’s Station at (760) 240-7400 or Sheriff’s Dispatch at (760) 956-5001.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous are urged to call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78CRIME (27463) or you may leave the information on the We-Tip website.