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Teen Shoots Self in Foot

Los Angeles: A 17-year-old boy, who was riding a beach cruiser on Broadway, shot himself in the foot after two Los Angeles police officers detained him for a traffic violation.

The two officers assigned to Metropolitan Division saw the youth riding the bicycle against traffic, then onto the sidewalk near 61st Street where pedestrians had to move out of his way.  When the officers tried to detain him, the teen nervously grabbed for his waistband and ducked behind a van parked at the curb.

“When officers see that kind of behavior, warning lights automatically go off,” said LAPD spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vernon.  “The first thoughts are gun or drugs.”

The officers heard a gunshot then saw a silver object slide under the van.

“Even in the face of the gunshot, these two veteran officers kept their cool and arrested the teen without firing a shot or using any force,” Vernon said.  “It’s a testament to their training, professionalism and character.  The public tends to hear about the few dozen situations each year where officers have to fire their guns.  What they never realize is there are far more situations where officers arrest the gunman without firing a shot.”

The object, which slid under the van, was indeed a two-shot .38 caliber derringer, which the teen had in his pants.  Absent a trigger guard, the gun was more apt to go off, which it did, into the subject’s foot.  The teen was treated for the gunshot wound at Martin Luther King Hospital.

The derringer turned out to be stolen, so the teen was booked for possession of a stolen gun, which is a felony.  He was already facing a charge of possessing burglary tools from an arrest earlier in this year.

This arrest was the fifth incident in South Los Angeles since Sunday in which suspects between 16 and 22 years old confronted police officers with guns. 

Bicycle Officers Assaulted by Gunman

Los Angeles:  A Los Angeles Police Department bicycle officer patrolling near Central Avenue and 120th Street in Watts shot at a man after the man pointed a handgun at the officer and his partner last Tuesday, May 23, 2006.

The incident represented the third armed assault on LAPD officers in as many days in South Los Angeles.  On Sunday, suspects pointed guns at officers in three separate incidents, and fired on officers in one case.

Just after 1 PM, Tuesday, Police Officer Salvador Cervantes, 25, and his partner, rode their bicycles toward Brandon Williams, 22, as he stood next to a parked car in the parking lot of a liquor store.  Williams suddenly ran from the officers into an alley behind the liquor store. 

The officers followed Williams on their bikes and saw him reach into his waistband.  The pursuit continued through the alley, then into the yard of 1220 East 120th Street, where Williams drew a handgun.

Officer Cervantes fired, but missed Williams, who dropped his gun and surrendered.  Detectives recovered a small caliber semiautomatic handgun.

No one was injured in the incident.

Williams was booked on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer. 

Officer Cervantes is a 3-year veteran of the LAPD.  He and his partner are assigned to the Southeast Police Station.

Force Investigation Division will conduct the investigation into the shooting.  All LAPD officers face a rigorous review process after all lethal-force incidents. 

Harbor Area Station-'KidCop' Event

What:
Harbor KidCop 2006
Mini-Academy Day

When:
Thursday, May 25, 2025
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Where:
Port of Los Angeles Lot (across from Harbor Area Police Station)
221 North Bayview Avenue
Wilmington, CA  90744
310-522-2042

Who:
The Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles School Police
The Port of Los Angeles
First and Second Graders from Hawaiian Elementary,
Barton Hill Elementary and 186th Street Elementary
Harbor CPAB (Community Police Advisory Board)
Teen-CPAB
Harbor Area Volunteers
San Pedro High School Magnet Students

Why:
To publicly announce the commencement of the year-long KidCop 2006 program, offering cross-generational mentoring of children.  The project is designed to provide the area's youth with positive role models and deter involvement in crime. 

At the day's Mini-Academy, approximately 850 students will receive mentoring, get finger-printed, participate in a mini-obstacle course, meet with police officers, explore police equipment, and graduate with an oath to be good citizens.

Weekend Assaults on LAPD Officers

Los Angeles: Los Angeles Police Department officers were assaulted with guns in three separate incidents in Watts, Sunday evening. Officers fired at suspects in two of the incidents, hitting one gunman.

“The situation was very chaotic,” said LAPD spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vernon. “Within a span of 90 minutes, our officers were shot at twice and had a gun pointed at them in a third incident. It shows the dangers that confront officers on a daily basis.”

The first incident occurred around 5 PM while officers from the Southeast Police Station were monitoring a gathering of 200 gang members at the Rosecrans Recreation Park, 800 block of West 149th Street. Local residents had reported the gathering to police.

Three officers assigned to the gang unit, noticed one male Black holding his waistband and running from the officers. Two of the officers chased the man through a gymnasium, amid a crowd of people. When the suspect turned and pointed a .357 magnum revolver at police, Officer Jeffrey Bright, 34, fired several rounds.

The gunman, a 16 year-old juvenile, was wounded and taken to a local hospital in serious condition. Police recovered the revolver at the scene. The juvenile will face charges of attempted murder of a police officer.

While tending to the juvenile, officers came under fire from another location in the park. They did not return fire, and no one was injured. Two other men were later arrested on parole charges and a juvenile warrant, but neither were directly linked to the shots fired at the officers.

Within ninety minutes of the first shooting, in a separate incident, two patrol officers heard shots fired near 103rd Street and Grape Street, then saw a silver GMC Envoy speeding toward them. The officers followed the SUV to an alley near Croesus Avenue, where the SUV slowed and two passengers ran out in separate directions.

Officer Jon Aufdemberg, 38, chased one of the men into the alley, where the suspect tried to scale a fence. The suspect did not follow the officer's orders to stop and climb down from the fence, instead the suspect pointed a handgun at Officer Aufdemberg, who fired. The suspect did not fire, but ran north, over a fence, toward Lou Dillon Avenue.

Meanwhile, the SUV drove away, and officers lost sight of the second passenger who had run from the SUV. Despite a perimeter and exhaustive search with police dogs, neither suspect nor gun was found.

The SUV was found a short time later in the Imperial Courts Housing Development, 11500 block of Mona Avenue. The rental vehicle had been stolen at gunpoint earlier in the evening while its driver was stopped at a stop sign at 105th Street and Wilmington Avenue. Two robbers had been armed with military-style rifles, and they drove away from the carjacking with two more accomplices.

Detectives found expended casings to a 7.62 mm assault weapon in the street at 102nd Street and Grape Street, the vicinity where the officers had heard gunfire prior to seeing the SUV.

Force Investigation Division is conducting the investigation into the two, unrelated officer-involved shootings.  Southeast Area Detectives are investigating the crimes committed against the involved officers.

The South Los Angeles Bureau of the LAPD was placed on tactical alert for several hours as additional personnel were needed from multiple divisions to address the incidents, and handle other calls for service.

Police Officer Jon Aufdemberg is assigned to the Southeast Police Station and has been with the LAPD for 11 years.

Police Officer Jeffrey Bright has been with the LAPD for 8 years.

LAPD Academy Graduation

What:    
LAPD Graduation of 36 new police officers 

When:   
May 26, 2025
9:00 a.m.

Where:   
Los Angeles Police Academy
1880 North Academy Drive, Elysian Park
Los Angeles, California 90012

Who:      
Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell
Representatives from the Board of Commissioners and Mayor's office
Police Department Command Staff and their special guests

Why:      
Graduating officers have completed 1,035 hours of training over the course of 32 weeks.  There are 32 males and 4 females in the graduating class. The ethnic breakdown of the class is 10 Caucasians, 13 Hispanics, 4 African Americans, 7 Asians and 2 Filipinos.

Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell will inspect the class. 

Women Suspected in Infant’s Abduction Identified – Photos Released

Los Angeles Police Department detectives have identified two women wanted in abducting a 6-week-old infant, Devon Calloway, from his mother's arms yesterday.

The driver of the black or gray Ford Explorer was identified as 43-year-old Annette Bryant, who is Black, with a hair weave and heavy build.  Bryant uses the alias Annette Michelle Pinkard.  She has a mole near her left eye and long fingernails.  She remains a person of interest, whom detectives would like to interview.

Detectives also identified the woman who allegedly offered Devon’s mother the money for the child.  She is Sylvia Nunn, also known as Sylvia Marie Wilson-Hardman.  She is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, and weighs around 200 pounds.  She is 43 years old.  Nunn’s involvement has been corroborated by two persons.

Detectives are continuing to run down leads in the case.

Crime Alert [PDF]

Anyone with information regarding the child’s whereabouts or the women is urged to call Detective Maria Rivas at 323-846-6576 or the watch commander at 323-846-6547.  On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855).

Correction to Woman Wanted in Infant's Abduction

Los Angeles: The woman of interest, named and pictured this morning, in the abduction of 6-week-old Devon Calloway, was eliminated this afternoon as a suspect after the child's mother saw her in person. 

Annette Betts Bryant came to Newton Police Station this afternoon after she saw her picture on television.

"Ms. Bryant was very forthright with us," said LAPD Captain Bill Murphy.  "When Devon's mother saw Ms. Bryant in person, she realized she was not the same woman who had taken her baby.  We apologize for any misunderstanding, embarrassment, or inconvenience, and we thank Ms. Bryant for her understanding."

According to detectives, the infant's mother, Dominique Calloway, picked Annette Betts Bryant's picture out of a photo array.  The woman's likeness, description, age, even state of birth was the same as that of another Annette Bryant, who remains wanted by police.

An unnamed tipster provided more information to police, which helped them narrow the search to the correct suspects.  This second source confirmed the name of Sylvia Nunn as well as Annette Bryant, 43. Detectives are searching for a photograph of this Annette Bryant.

A photograph of Annette Bryant and Sylvia Nunn will be released as soon as detectives are able to retrieve the photos.

Locating the child and returning him to his family remains the LAPD's first priority.

Anyone with information regarding the child's whereabouts or the women is urged to call Detective Maria Rivas at 323-846-6576 or the watch commander at 323-846-6547.  On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855).

Department Will Increase In Size Through An Increase In Trash Collection Fees

In order to fund the expansion of the Los Angeles Police Department by approximately 1,000 officers by 2010, the City Council, on Tuesday, unanimously approved the mayor’s plan to raise trash collection fees.  The 1,000-officer build-up begins with the hiring of 650 new officers, to replace retiring officers, for fiscal year 2006/2007.  This sets in motion a five-year hiring plan to reach the mayor’s goal of bringing the Department to its highest sworn strength in history at 10,200 officers.

Stating that Los Angeles is one of the most under-policed large cities in the country, Chief Bratton, since his appointment in October 2002, has struggled to win funding for additional officers.  “The LAPD is far too small to carry out its mission in every neighborhood of the City.  It has never been realistically and correctly sized to succeed in making and maintaining a safe city – everywhere – through lawful and respectful policing.”

The most officers employed by the Department was in 1998, when it hit its record of just over 9,800 officers.

Man Shot to Death in South Los Angeles

Los Angeles:  Just after midnight Sunday morning, a man was shot to death in his truck in south Los Angeles.

On May 22, 2006, around 12:05 a.m., Ernesto Ochoa Carranza, a 33-year-old male Hispanic, was parked in an alley behind the 9900 block of South Haas Avenue.  Two male Hispanics walked up and fired numerous shots into his vehicle, striking Mr. Carranza in the torso.  The victim accelerated and crashed the silver Ford pick-up into a block wall.   

Mr. Carranza was taken by paramedics to Harbor UCLA Hospital where he died from his injuries. 

The motive for the shooting is unknown.  No further description of the suspects is available.

Police are asking for the public's assistance in solving this crime. Callers may choose to remain anonymous.  Anyone with information is asked to call 77th Street Homicide Detectives at 213-485-1383, during normal business hours.  After hours and on weekends, call the 24-hour toll free Detective Information Desk at 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855).