Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, a caller reported seeing blood in the hallway of a home where multiple people reside on Lemona Avenue by the Pacoima Wash, according to the LAPD.

Originally Published: May 7, 2025 at 9:43 AM PDT

A 31-year-old man who was fatally stabbed during a confrontation in Canoga Park was identified Wednesday by the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner as Carlos Mejia Canil.

Canil was found suffering from a sharp-force injury around 9:20 p.m. Thursday, April 17, on the sidewalk in the 8500 block of International Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Officers were responding to a report of an assault when they found Canil.

“A confrontation ensued, resulting in the suspect stabbing the victim in the upper extremities, ” according to an LAPD statement. “The suspect then fled the scene on foot.”

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics pronounced Canil dead at the scene.

Anyone with information regarding the fatal attack was urged to call Valley Bureau Homicide detectives at 818-374-9550. Calls during non-business hours should be directed to 877-527-3247. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

Originally Published: April 23, 2025 at 4:53 PM PDT

A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced Tuesday to five years and one month in federal prison for attempting to steal about $2.6 million by assuming Beverly Hills residents’ identities — often by lifting mail and packages from their homes.

Oren David Sela, 36, of North Hills pleaded guilty last year to federal counts of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Sela engaged in hundreds of fraudulent withdrawals and transfers from dozens of victim accounts, prosecutors said, and was successful in stealing at least $1.81 million. Along with the prison term, he was ordered to pay that amount in restitution.

According to court documents, from November 2021 to October 2023, Sela stole the mail of Beverly Hills residents to obtain debit cards, bank account numbers, credit cards, telephone numbers and other personal identifying information. He used the information to gain unauthorized access to the victims’ bank accounts. Sometimes, to defeat two-factor authentication on a victim’s account, Sela would engage in “SIM swapping” of the victim’s telephone number to a SIM card that he would control, prosecutors said.

SIM swapping is the process of fraudulently inducing a carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by another without the legitimate subscriber’s authorization. This allows the perpetrator to take control of the victim’s various accounts through two-step authentication text messages sent to a victim’s cell phone.

After gaining access to a victim’s bank account, Sela opened additional fraudulent accounts in the victim’s name and transferred funds from the victim’s bank account into those accounts. Sela would then withdraw funds from the fraudulent accounts or use the fraudulent accounts to make unauthorized purchases or transfers, federal prosecutors said.

Sometimes, Sela caused debit cards and credit cards linked to a victim’s…

The 405 Freeway from the San Fernando Valley to West Los Angeles will undergo a four-year massive repaving project.

Originally Published: April 18, 2025 at 4:27 PM PDT

Easter — April 20 this year — is the holiest day on the Christian calendar.

The celebration of Easter is the culmination of Holy Week which began on April 13 with Palm Sunday.

Depending on an individual church’s tradition, its congregation may hold services each day after Palm Sunday including Maundy/Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Great Vigil on Saturday.

Christians are observing Jesus’ crucifixion and death on April 18 at Good Friday services.

For Christians, Easter stands for Jesus’ triumph over death, and for those who follow his teachings his resurrection means a promise of eternal life.

Egg hunts

Spring Egg Hunt – Northridge Recreation Center: Event includes crafts, games and jumpers, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. April 19. Egg hunts: ages 5 and younger, 11 a.m.; ages 6-8, 11:30 a.m.; ages 9-12, noon. Location, 18300 Lemarsh St. 818-349-7341. Flyer: tinyurl.com/mrxkvdp8

Spring Egg Hunt – Reseda Recreation Center: Event includes crafts, games and moonbounce, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. April 19. Location, 18411 Victory Blvd., Reseda. 818-881-3882. Flyer: tinyurl.com/2ru4n2u8

Spring Egg Hunt – Valley Plaza Recreation Center: Event includes arts and crafts and games, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. April 19. Location, 12240 Archwood St., North Hollywood. 818-765-5885. Listing here: tinyurl.com/3edzwurz

Sunland Recreation Center’s Spring Eggstravaganza: The event, with a “Trolls” theme, includes games and moon bounce, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. April 19. Egg hunts: ages 3 and younger, 12:30 p.m.; ages 4-5, 1 p.m.; ages 6-7, 1:30; ages 8-12, 2 p.m.; ages 13 and up, 2:30 p.m. Children need to bring a basket. Refreshments available for purchase at the bake sale and snack shop. Location, 8651 Foothill Blvd., Sunland. 818-352-5282. Flyer: tinyurl.com/bdht44t6

Spring Egg Hunt – Van Nuys Recreation Center: Arts and crafts and games, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 19. Egg hunts: ages 4 and younger, 11:30 a.m.; ages 5-8, noon; ages 9-12, 12:30 p.m.; 13 and up, 1 p.m. Children need to bring a basket….

By FRED SHUSTER

A re-sentencing hearing set Thursday for Erik and Lyle Menendez in Van Nuys has been postponed indefinitely, with a May 9 motions hearing scheduled to discuss both the admissibility of a state parole board risk-assessment report and a proposed defense motion seeking to recuse the District Attorney’s Office from the case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic initially was agreeable to starting the re-sentencing hearing Thursday, but issues arose that prompted him to delay the hearing for the time being. No new dates for a re-sentencing hearing were set, and a second day of the hearing initially set for Friday was canceled.

The Menendez brothers, jailed for life for the 1989 murders of their parents in Beverly Hills, watched via Zoom from the San Diego prison where they are incarcerated but made no statements.

The Van Nuys courtroom was crowded with Menendez family members, some of whom planned to testify of the brothers’ successful rehabilitation during more than 35 years behind bars if the hearing had gone forward.

Instead, much of the morning was taken up with discussion of the admissibility of a recently completed psychological assessment of the brothers and whether they posed a danger to the community if released. Defense attorney Mark Geragos argued for the assessment to be kept out of the re-sentencing hearing, while prosecutor Habib Balian described the report as an essential piece of the puzzle needed by the judge to make a decision on the matter.

The issue will be discussed at the motions hearing next month, the judge said.

Another issue was the prosecution’s use of a graphic crime scene photo displayed at a hearing last Friday.

Geragos complained that use of the photo without warning to Menendez family members caused trauma and resulted in an already ailing elderly aunt of Lyle and Erik Menendez being taken to a hospital.

The judge ordered that if any other graphic photos were to be used, defense attorneys should be…

Another Starbucks customer sued the coffee store chain Thursday, alleging he suffered injuries after a hot drink handed out by a drive-thru employee in North Hollywood spilled onto his lap due to an unsecured lid.

Ernesto Vladimir Sanchez Avendano’s Alhambra Superior Court negligence suit seeks unspecified general and special damages.

RELATED: Delivery driver severely burned by hot tea at Starbucks awarded $50 million by LA jury

According to the suit, Avendano went to the Starbucks store on the 12500 block of Sherman Way in North Hollywood on April 3, 2023, ordered a hot drink in the drive-thru and proceeded to the pickup window. However, the lid on the drink handed to him by an employee was not properly fastened, and hot liquid spilled onto Avendano’s lap, leaving him with “severe burns, disfigurement and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals and buttocks,” the suit states.

“No reasonable expectation of an unsecure lid on a cup of hot liquid can be attributed to plaintiff’s conduct,” the suit states.

Recently, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury ordered Starbucks to pay $50 million to Postmates delivery driver Michael Garcia, who suffered third-degree burns when a hot drink spilled on him in February 2020 due to an improperly secured lid after his order was handed to him at a South Los Angeles drive-thru.

Last Thursday, Sabrina Michelle Hermes filed a similar negligence suit regarding injuries she contends she suffered at a Starbucks store drive-thru in Norwalk in 2023.

A Starbucks Corp. representative issued a statement Wednesday regarding Avendano’s suit.

“We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks,” the statement read. “We have not received service of this suit but will carefully review Mr. Avendano’s claims.”

Earlier Wednesday, the company responded to Hermes’ lawsuit, saying the plaintiff’s claims are “without merit.”

“… We are aware of Ms. Hermes’ claims…

Here are some activities and entertainments to enjoy in the San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area.

Originally Published: March 20, 2025 at 6:00 AM PDT