Los Angeles, Ca
Suspected child predator captured in Glendale sting operation
Video captured the moment a suspected child predator was captured by police during a sting operation in Glendale.
The suspect, Ryan Abdelrahim, 23, of Arcadia, had allegedly planned to meet a 14-year-old boy outside of a Target store at the Glendale Galleria mall on Feb. 19.
The meeting was orchestrated by a private group called People v. Preds. The group aims to capture suspected child predators by communicating with them online before luring them into meeting an underage victim.
“We make accounts on dating apps and pose as underage children,” explained a spokesperson for People v. Preds. “So people reach out to us and we let them know we’re underage and the conversation continues, goes sexual and usually the people come to meet that said child.”
The group said they had been communicating with Abdelrahim online while they pretended to be a 14-year-old boy.
“Shortly into the conversation, he knew that he was speaking to somebody who was underage and he was very interested in hanging out and and doing sexual things with the 14-year-old,” the spokesperson said.
The group notified Glendale Police after Abdelrahim reportedly agreed to meet up with who he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
Footage from the arrest shows the suspect standing outside a Target store as a group of officers suddenly surround him.
As Abdelrahim realizes what’s happening, he takes off running and sprints into a nearby parking garage as several officers quickly chase after him.
After a brief foot chase, Abdelrahim stops running and surrenders to police.
“They’re not acting as our agents and they’re not doing this at our behest,” explained Glendale Police Lt. Steve Corrigan of People vs. Preds. “But once they set up these types of meetings, and they feel the person has committed a crime, they call us and we respond to it like we would any other call for a crime that’s in progress.”
Abdelrahim is facing three felony charges and was arraigned Friday morning in Glendale before being released as the case remains under investigation.
Footage of the arrest can be seen in the video player above.
Los Angeles, Ca
Hospital needs help identifying man found unconscious in downtown Los Angeles
A hospital needs help identifying a male patient who was found injured and unconscious in downtown Los Angeles.
The man is believed to be in his 30s, according to the Los Angeles General Medical Center.
He was found injured on the ground on Omar Street and has been hospitalized since June 22.
He stands 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 176 pounds. He has brown eyes, dark brown hair and tattoos across his upper body.
He did not have any personal belongings to help staff identify him or contact loved ones. Workers did not disclose the nature of his injuries.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call clinical social worker Cesar Robles at 323-409-6885.
The public can also call the L.A. General Medical Center’s Department of Social Work at 323-409-5253 or, after hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., call 323-409-6883. On weekends, call 323-409-5254.
Los Angeles, Ca
Clue may identify SUV in Long Beach hit-and-run that left woman injured
Police are asking the public for help Wednesday in identifying a hit-and-run driver who left a woman badly injured in Long Beach late last month. The May 24 crash occurred around 11 p.m. as the victim was crossing East 2nd Street, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Video provided by police showed a dark-colored […]
Los Angeles, Ca
‘What’s going on with our society?’ Elderly L.A. street vendor violently beaten
WARNING: Video footage contains graphic violence
A 62-year-old street vendor is recovering after a brutally violent attack by another woman in broad daylight as bystanders in downtown Los Angeles looked on.
The attack happened around 4 p.m. on June 15 in the 700 block of Figueroa Street, where Arabelia Martinez has sold hot dogs for years to support herself and her family.
Video of the incident, which has since circulated widely online, appears to show a woman confronting Martinez at her stand before spraying sauce across the vendor’s cart. Martinez responds by throwing what appears to be Tajín seasoning in the woman’s direction, and the confrontation quickly escalates.
The difficult-to-watch footage shows Martinez being shoved to the ground and struck multiple times as people look on. Some can be seen attempting to intervene, but the assault continues for roughly a minute before coming to an end.
“I was speechless,” Martinez’s son, Constantino Garcia, said after watching the video. “I couldn’t even see the whole thing.”
According to Garcia, the suspect approached his mother before the attack and attempted to intimidate her into giving her money.
“The lady came up to my mom trying to intimidate her and extort her for money, telling her she needed a permit to sell, which my mom does have,” Garcia told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.
When Martinez refused, Garcia claims the woman became verbally abusive.
“After she didn’t get her way and tried to extort my mom, she said, ‘Go back to Mexico,’ and made some racist remarks,” he said. “She said some disgusting things to my mom.”
Garcia said his mother continues to suffer lingering effects from the attack.
“She keeps complaining about her head,” he said. “We need to go see a head specialist because her head doesn’t stop hurting. As you could see in the video, she got slammed to the ground.”
The video has also sparked outrage over the response from some witnesses who were nearby during the assault.
“What’s going on with our society?” Garcia said. “Are we getting desensitized to an elderly woman being beaten in broad daylight and being surrounded by people doing the bare minimum to help her? That was horrible for me to watch.”
Witness Sebastian Gutierrez said he arrived moments after the confrontation and saw Garcia’s attacker causing additional chaos in the area.
“The lady began to flip over the tables of vendors,” Gutierrez said, describing the woman as possibly unstable. “It definitely seemed like there were mental health issues or drugs involved, like we see with a lot of things here in downtown L.A.,” he said.
The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a battery investigation into the incident KTLA confirmed, though no suspect information or news of a potential arrest has been released.
Meanwhile, Martinez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with her recovery and raise awareness about the dangers street vendors face daily.
“I hope that my mom gets justice for what happened to her,” Garcia said. He added that he’s been encouraged by the public response to the video.
“I’m grateful people are sympathizing with my mom,” he said. “People are giving it the attention it deserves.”
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