LAPD Blog

Police Get Break in Downtown Bike Thefts

Los Angeles.  Undercover officers arrested two 18-year-olds after they were caught walking an expensive bicycle down Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles.  The arrests were possible thanks to the bike owner’s photograph and the bicycle’s distinct appearance.

“I was so surprised and pleased the officers found my bike,” said Bruce Bellamy, a 46-year-old, film-industry worker.  “The bike is my primary mode of transportation.”  Bellamy had ridden the bike to the gym inside the Citi National Bank building on June 30, around 5 PM.  When he came out 90 minutes later, his lock was cut and the $1,400 competition racing cycle was gone.

“Mr. Bellamy had done everything correctly,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, head of detectives downtown.  “He locked his bike with a quality lock and documented his ownership.  What really helped us was his photograph and the fact this bike was unique.”

Police downtown have been battling a slew of bike thefts this year, 52 to date.  One-third of the thefts have occurred between 5th and 7th Streets, and Figueroa to Hill Streets.  “More and more residents and workers are riding bicycles as part of the downtown, urban experience, and this area represents popular shopping and business districts,” Vernon said.

On July 8, about a week after Bellamy’s bike was stolen, plain clothes officers spotted Abraham Ramos and his girlfriend, Alejandra Morales, walking a bike down Spring Street.  The officers had the picture of Bellamy’s bike in hand and recognized it immediately.

“Turns out, Ramos and Morales re-stole the bike from the back of a tattoo shop on Broadway just a few minutes before the officers saw them,” Vernon said.  The arresting officers were able to show that the couple conspired to steal the bike, then debated later whether to sell it or keep it.  “Based on the investigation, we know this couple did not originally steal the bike from Bellamy, but they’re still responsible for stealing the bike, nonetheless.”  Ramos and Morales were booked for Grand Theft and their bails were set at $20,000.

According to statistics for this year, nearly 80% of the downtown stolen bicycles have been taken between noon and midnight; the top days to have a bike stolen are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  Ten of the 52 stolen bikes were taken from one of two libraries downtown, the Central branch on 5th Street, and the Little Tokyo Branch on 2nd Street. 

“We’re looking for any information to help identify the bike thieves downtown,” Vernon said.  “In the mean time, riders should continue to lock their bikes and avoid leaving bikes unattended for long periods.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the 24-hour Information Desk at 1-877-ASK-LAPD (529-3855).  Persons can also send anonymous tips by texting CRIMES (274637) and typing LAPD to start the message.  A photograph of Bellamy’s bicycle is available from Media Relations Section.

28-Year-Old Woman Missing

Los Angeles:  The family of 28-year-old Kyenia Hubbard and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) are requesting the public’s help in locating Hubbard, who has been missing for over a week.

On June 21, 2009, at approximately 1 p.m., Hubbard was last seen leaving her group-home residence in the 2800 block of Hillcrest Drive, located in the LAPD’s Southwest Area.  Hubbard is considered at risk because she is in need of medication for a medical condition that includes mental instability.

 She is described as having black hair, brown eyes, with a height of 5 feet 1 inch and weighing about 260 pounds. 

Anyone who may have seen or has information about this missing person is encouraged to contact Detective Merrill of the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 213-485-5381.  During off-hours, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247).  Callers may also text “Crimes” with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips.  When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD.”  Tipsters may remain anonymous.

A Terrific Police Department

Michael Jackson, we can hope, now rests in peace. Embarrassment over the way Los Angeles handled his memorial service may be with us for a while.

It's not like the city is incapable of doing anything right. By all accounts, the Police Department and traffic officers handled their end of Tuesday's event flawlessly. But in so many other ways, City Hall bumbling makes Los Angeles look laughably low-tech, shamefully disorganized, simultaneously an easy mark and a swindler, and cheap and pathetic besides.

First, there's sandwich-gate, which new Controller Wendy Greuel, to her credit, is making into an issue. It's great to feed the overtime workers, but nearly 50 grand for catering from a shop in Wrightwood? That's in San Bernardino County. In the mountains. Up a winding road. Greuel said Subway could have done it for $17,000. OK, so maybe one Subway shop in L.A. can't throw together 3,500 lunches in a few minutes. But we're pretty sure there are at least a couple of other lunch places in the city as well.

Or how about the plea to the public for a few pennies to defray expenses? Los Angeles is not New Orleans, and a memorial service is not Katrina. Yes, the city is grappling with a deep budget shortfall and is furloughing workers, but could we show a little dignity? Yes, it makes sense to call on AEG, which ran the show and owns the facilities, to foot the $1.4-million bill. But not publicly, on the day of the funeral. And let's not forget that the city does have an emergency fund for exactly these kinds of unexpected and extraordinary occurrences.

Then, when fans actually start sending in money, would it be too much to ask of City Hall to be ready to accept it? Apparently it would. A high schooler with a parent's credit card (and permission, of course) can get a PayPal account in about 60 seconds, but the city's Information Technology Agency and treasurer couldn't come up with a way to connect would-be donors to the city until the night before the funeral. And then the website crashed and was down all day.

And what does the donation page say? "HELP GIVE MICHAEL THE WORLD CLASS MEMORIAL HE DESERVES." Are we erecting a statue? The city isn't really asking fans "to help us celebrate his life and music." It's asking for a reimbursement for police protection.

Meanwhile, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is on vacation in Africa. The mayor is entitled to his vacation, but after four years in charge, he left the city in the hands of a terrific Police Department and a bumbling, uncoordinated jumble of other agencies. Fixing that dysfunction, and restoring some dignity to the city, should be at the top of his agenda when he comes home.

Los Angeles Times Editorial
Friday July 10, 2025

City Employee Arrested for Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Los Angeles: A Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) civilian employee was arrested and booked for Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Fraud.

On July 9, 2009, LAPD investigators from the Workers’ Compensation Fraud Coordination Unit (WCFCU), Special Operations Division (SOD), Professional Standards Bureau, arrested Principal Detention Officer Olga Zavala-Edwards, 51, assigned to LAPD’s Metropolitan Jail Division.  Zavala-Edwards was arrested and booked for Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Fraud relating to charges of filing a false Workers’ Compensation claim.  The claim was submitted as an industrial injury, which she claimed was sustained on-duty, on November 2, 2008.

The WCFCU, SOD, investigation centered on how the alleged November 2, 2008, on-the-job injury occurred, the location of occurrence, and what information was and/or was not provided to treating medical physicians.  The investigation uncovered that Zavala-Edwards had failed to advise LAPD, treating medical physicians, and investigator’s of the City Attorney’s Office, that she had actually sustained the injury at her residence sometime prior to reporting to work.

The investigation was in collaboration with Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Healthcare Fraud Division, and Workers’ Compensation Division of the City’s Personnel Department. 

Zavala-Edwards was booked at Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Century Regional Detention Facility, for 550 Penal Code-Insurance Fraud and 1871.4 Insurance Code-Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud.  Her bail was set at $60,000.00.

Anyone with information related to this case is encourage to call the Los Angeles Police Department, Special Operations Division, at 213-473-5672.  After-hours and on weekends, calls may be directed to a 24-hour toll-free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247).  Callers may also text “CRIMES” with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips.  When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD.”  Tipsters may remain anonymous.

LAPD's Central Division Formal Inspection

This morning, Central Area's finest were proudly on display as they held its annual Formal Command Inspection. Displaying shimmering badges, spit shine boots and perfectly pressed uniforms, officers stood at attention. Chief William J. Bratton, accompanied by Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz, Commander David Doan, Central Area's Captain Blake Chow, along with Councilmember Jan Perry inspected the Division's rank and file. While closely inspecting the Officers appearance as they walked the lines, Command Staff also thanked and praised the Officers for the great work they do.

"You are second to none in terms of commitment and integrity. In this 140th year, you are also second to none in the support you have generated from the public". said Chief Bratton after the inspection. He informed the Officers of the polls generated by the Harvard Institute and the Los Angeles Times, which indicated the Los Angeles Police Department is at an all time high in terms of public satisfaction. Chief Bratton acknowledged the trust and approval from the community is due to the hard work officers due individually and collectively, day in and day out.

Central Division, according to Chief Bratton, is the most diverse of the twenty one divisions. 
“There's no command or area with more complexity than this command, it is a city onto itself. This past week the world was intensively watching during the Jackson funeral, and at no time did they see any activity of the Department that was unprofessional or not caring, they saw the LAPD at its best. I thank you for the privilege of being the Chief of this Department, and for allowing me to tell the story to the world.”

Central Area is staffed with approximately 400 sworn and civilian members of the LAPD. It encompasses an area of 4 ½ square miles and has a population of approximately 40,000. The Central Community Police Station serves neighborhoods such as China Town, Little Tokyo, and South Park among others.

Download Chief Bratton

Significant Multi-Agency Effort Culminates in Numerous Arrests Suspects Involved in Wide Array of Felonies

Los Angeles: A multi-agency operation in a seven-month gang/murder investigation has lead to the arrest of multiple suspects.

On July 9, 2009, in the early morning hours, a series of 21 search warrants and 19 arrest warrants were served at various locations.  The warrants stemmed from an ongoing investigation concerning the activities of a violent street gang that has been operating in the Chevy Chase Park and Glendale areas.

On October 8, 2008, at 1:55 a.m., Manual Martin was riding his motorcycle on the eastbound 210 Freeway while transitioning to the southbound 2 Freeway in the city of Glendale.  A car pulled up next to him, and within a few seconds, the occupants fired thirteen shots. Martin was shot once in the chest and died within minutes.  Seven additional bullets hit his motorcycle.  The Glendale Police Department investigated the murder and identified the suspects as members of a local street gang.  Their investigation also revealed that the gang was responsible for other crimes. 

In January 2009, in an effort to address gang violence, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) funded and formed a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) initiative, which is a gang/homicide group consisting of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives and DEA agents.   Over the last six months, detectives from Glendale have teamed with LAPD investigators assigned to the Southern California Drug Task Force/HIDTA Group to investigate the activities of this gang.  This collaborative effort has connected the local street gang to this murder, as well as other murders, assaults, narcotics trafficking and other weapon-related offenses.   

Representatives from the LAPD and Glendale Police Departments, Southern California Drug Task Force, California Department of Corrections, Immigration & Customs Enforcement and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department served the warrants.  

The simultaneous search warrant service resulted in 20 arrests for various offenses, including four suspects responsible for four murders, four suspects responsible for attempted murder or firearm assaults and 12 suspects for other drug or weapon violations.  In addition to today’s arrests, the task force had already arrested 20 other suspects for a variety of offenses, including assault with a firearm, weapon charges, narcotic offenses and probation/parole violations.  Five of these suspects already in custody are also expected to be charged with murder as well.  The task force has seized 63 firearms, including 58 as a result of today’s search warrants, with 48 seized in one location. In addition, approximately three ounces of cocaine and methamphetamine and two pounds of marijuana were seized today.  The Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services removed five endangered children from locations searched.  The cases will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.

In addition to the arrests noted above, the HIDTA task force partnered with the Los Angeles City Attorney Office's Project TOUGH (Taking Out Urban Gang Headquarters), which took control of two properties within the Chevy Chase Park area as nuisance properties.  Improvements to remove blight are mandated for abated property and may include demolition.  For additional information, contact the LAPD Gang and Narcotics Division at 213-972-2565.

Two Suspects Sought in Armed Robbery

Los Angeles:  The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking the public's help in searching for two suspects who robbed a liquor store at gunpoint on July 7, 2009, in Van Nuys.

At around 10:15 p.m., two men described as Armenian walked into a liquor store in the 13000 block of Victory Boulevard, pointed a handgun at the store clerk and ordered the clerk to lie down.  The suspect stole several packs of cigarettes and lottery tickets then threw the cash register to the ground and took an undisclosed amount of cash.  Before leaving the store, one suspect demanded the cashier to tell them where the surveillance video was located.  The suspects attempted to enter a backroom, but was unsuccesful.  Both men fled the store to an awaiting dark colored mini-van.

The first suspect was armed with a chrome handgun.  He is described as a male Armenian, 20-25 years-old, thin build.  He was last seen wearing a black sleeve shirt, black pants, dark baseball cap, black and white scarf, and black gloves.

The other suspect is described as a male Armenian, 20-25 years-old, medium build, 5 feet 7 inches tall, 170 pounds.  He was last seen wearing a brown jacket, black shirt, dark baseball cap, black and white scarf, and black gloves.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact Van Nuys Detective Vivian Flores at 818-374-0079.  During off-hours, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll-free number at1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247).  Callers may also text "Crimes" with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips. When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD.”  Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Expenditure of Resources for Jackson-Related Events

Within his regular responsibility to deploy police resources, the Chief of Police can draw upon on an approved overtime budget when regular on-duty resources are depleted or at critical levels.  In the Michael Jackson-related events, existing resources in affected geographic areas were quickly reduced to minimum operating levels.

Within minutes of the arrival of emergency medical personnel at the residence of Michael Jackson, details began to spread across the City and around the globe.  Crowds began to form at several locations within the City.  These assemblies created a variety of public safety concerns, including but not limited to crowd management, emergency access, traffic flow, theft and quality of life issues. 

The most significant Citywide commitment of resources occurred between July 2 and July 8, 2009.  During this period approximately 4,173 officers were deployed at seven different locations throughout the City, including the Staples Center Area, Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills, the Encino estate, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the residence on Carolwood Drive in Holmby Hills, the UCLA Medical Center and the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Of the 4,173 officers deployed between July 2 and July 8, 2009, 3,240 were deployed during the period beginning at midnight on July 7, 2009.  When it became readily evident that the effort to encourage people to watch the memorial on television was successful, the number of officers deployed on "overtime" was reduced in phases, saving thousands of overtime hours. 

Based on a preliminary tally of all expenditures, approximately $1 million was used for police officer overtime.  Civilians police dispatchers accounted for $23,000 in overtime.  Approximately $103,000 were expended for incidentals, such as the rentals of crowd management fencing and meals and water for officers working fixed posts.   

In total, $1.1 million was expended over and above the regular Police Department operating costs for the same period.  Because the City has invested in expanding the Police Department, approximately 70 percent of the Michael Jackson-related events were policed by on duty resources.  This fact, combined with the hour-by-hour management of overtime expenditures, is largely responsible for the dollar figure remaining lower than first projected.

Robbery Suspect Shot and Killed

Los Angeles:  Two robbery suspects were attempting to rob a couple late Monday night when a Los Angeles Police Officer intervened, resulting in an officer involved shooting that caused the death of one of the suspects.

On July 6, 2009, at around 11:15 p.m. Officer Kenneth Collard, 13 years 9 months with the Department, was driving a plain police car, in full uniform, working a Burglary from Motor Vehicle and Grand Theft Auto Detail.  Officer Collard had just listened to a radio broadcast of a Robbery and Attempt Carjacking that described two suspects believed to be armed with a gun.

As Officer Collard was driving east in the 11300 block of Iowa Avenue, he saw two men matching the description of the robbery/attempt carjack suspects, and one of them was fighting with another man, as a woman stood nearby.  The man and woman were later determined to be victim's of an attempt robbery.  Officer Collard stopped and got out of his car and identified himself as a Los Angeles Police Officer.

One of the suspects later identified as Matthew Ryan Ingels, a 23 year old White man from Tarzana, immediately ran from the location.  The other suspect, Pedro Fernandez, a 24 year-old Hispanic man from Tarzana, who had been fighting with the other man when Officer Collard drove up, advanced towards the Officer with an object in his hand, at which time an officer involved shooting occurred. 

Fernandez was hit and subsequently died at scene. 

Ingels was taken into custody after a K-9 Search of the surrounding area. He is being held on a variety of charges, including Murder, Robbery, Attempt Robbery, and Carjacking. His bail is set at $1 million dollars. 

Ingels and Fernandez were identified as the suspects involved in the original crime broadcast Officer Collard heard.  They are also believed to be involved in at least one other robbery/carjack incident.

Force Investigation Division is investigating the officer involved shooting.  West Los Angeles Detectives are investigating the robberies.

New Location for LAPD Hollenbeck Station Becomes Operational

Los Angeles:  At 12 p.m. this Saturday, July 11, the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) Hollenbeck Area Community Police Station will officially become operational at its new location.  The address of the new facility is 2111 E. First Street, Los Angeles, Calif. 90033.  The new phone number, also effective July 11, is 323-342-4100.

Also at noon on Saturday, July 11, the Hollenbeck Station's previous location at 1936 E. First Street will permanently close.  Phone calls and visits to the station on Saturday, July 11, should be directed to the old location before 12 p.m. and the new location after 12 p.m.

A formal grand opening event at the new station will be scheduled at a later date, to be determined.