Los Angeles County

Even since the economy began stalling several years ago, there have been dire warnings that crime would rise. But in Southern California, crime continues its long decline despite the weak economy. Indeed, 2011 brought new worries about a "double dip recession," yet streets in many parts of the region were the safest they've been in decades. The trend continues to puzzle some criminologists but has reinforced the view of many in law enforcement that factors other than the economy determine the rise or fall of crime.

CITY HALL — A forthcoming lawsuit alleging the county is overcharging cities to collect and administer property taxes found a new ally Tuesday after the City Council voted unanimously to join in the legal action. In doing so, Glendale joins at least 24 other cities in Los Angeles County that plan to sue in an effort to recoup what city officials argue are unreasonable charges being levied by the county to cover the administrative costs of collecting and distributing property taxes.

GLENDALE — A 53-year-old man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Glendale Superior Court to hitting a 16-year-old bicyclist — who was heading home after taking a college entry exam — with his SUV while driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Herbert Davis is charged with felony driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury to Charmaine Alcantara in Saturday’s accident, said Jane Robison, spokeswoman for Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration is not your average concert. The six-hour musical spectacular will feature 45 musical groups representing a wide range of ethnic groups that make up Los Angeles County. Burbank and La Crescenta-based groups are among those that will represent the county, said Laura Zucker, executive director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission who is also executive producer. Others will come from all over, from the Antelope Valley to Long Beach and from Santa Monica to Riverside to join the performance on the stage of Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center.

A 28-year-old Van Nuys man has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a Glendale man who was run over with a vehicle and shot to death in Sun Valley, authorities said. Hachik Maskovian faces four felony murder-related charges in the death of 33-year-old Joshua West, including that the incident was premeditated and that he was kidnapped during the April 24 incident, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. West died of multiple gunshot wounds, but was also cut and suffered blunt force trauma, said Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter.

A Los Angeles man pleaded not guilty Monday to allegedly setting fire to his mother-in-law's SUV because her daughter left him, police said. Jonathan Chanto, 34, faces two counts of arson to inhabited structure and personal property and two counts of making threats, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. His mother-in-law told police that just days before the arson, Chanto allegedly threatened to burn down her home. Chanto was arrested Thursday when police tracked him to a home in the Valley hours after the fire, according to Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

GLENDALE — A Glendale physician and her husband were arrested Friday morning after failing to report more than $4.2 million in Medicare payments during a two-year period, officials said. Glendale ophthalmologist Eduardita Quevedo, 66, and her husband, Sherman Oaks-based gynecologist and obstetrician Federico Quevedo, 71, were taken into custody at their Pomona home Friday in connection with the tax fraud charges, said Brenda Voet, a state Franchise Tax Board spokeswoman. Eduardita Quevedo, who worked out of a Chevy Chase Drive office, and her husband were charged with two felony counts each of filing false income tax returns in 2003 and 2004, according to a criminal complaint.

PASADENA — Prosecutors in the trial of two Echo Park gang members charged in the 2004 shooting death of a 16-year-old Glendale boy began wrapping up their case in Pasadena Superior Court as they called Glendale Police and Los Angeles County investigators to testify Tuesday. Glendale Police, a ballistics expert and a medical examiner from Los Angeles County were involved in the initial investigation of defendants Carlos Palma, 20, and Julian Martinez, 21. Palma and Martinez face charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder for the Dec. 30, 2004, drive-by shooting in Glendale that killed 16-year-old Carlos Pinon and seriously injured his friend, Juan Beltran, who was 15 at the time.

Lone motorists would be able to use car-pool lanes during off-peak hours on some of Los Angeles County's most congested freeways under legislation approved by the state Assembly. The measure would allow single-occupant vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes after rush hours on certain stretches of the 134, 210 and other freeways in Los Angeles County deemed appropriate by the Department of Transportation.  The Assembly voted 72-0 on Thursday to send the bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake)

GLENDALE — Grigor Grigoryan, the 39-year-old man who was arrested Friday after a police pursuit ended in Hollywood, is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges after an autopsy determined his girlfriend was strangled to death in her home, authorities said. The woman, whom Glendale police identified as 35-year-old Yvette Hakopian, was found dead Friday afternoon in her home on the 600 block of West Stocker Street, setting off a manhunt for her boyfriend. “[The scene]

A Los Angeles man pleaded not guilty Monday to allegedly setting fire to his mother-in-law's SUV because her daughter left him, police said. Jonathan Chanto, 34, faces two counts of arson to inhabited structure and personal property and two counts of making threats, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. His mother-in-law told police that just days before the arson, Chanto allegedly threatened to burn down her home. Chanto was arrested Thursday when police tracked him to a home in the Valley hours after the fire, according to Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz.

Lone motorists would be able to use car-pool lanes during off-peak hours on some of Los Angeles County's most congested freeways under legislation approved by the state Assembly. The measure would allow single-occupant vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes after rush hours on certain stretches of the 134, 210 and other freeways in Los Angeles County deemed appropriate by the Department of Transportation.  The Assembly voted 72-0 on Thursday to send the bill by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake)

The meeting started late and it started badly, with a 10-minute argument about approving the minutes of the last meeting. Then it headed downhill. Issues that were raised were sent to committees for further study, though no one was quite sure which members were on them or when they would be able to meet. Welcome to the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments - a three-year-old coalition that was supposed to finally, belatedly, bring the cities of Glendale, Burbank, San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Los Angeles together to develop plans and raise funds to solve transportation and other regional problems like every other part of the county has been doing for so long.

A 28-year-old Van Nuys man has been charged with the kidnapping and murder of a Glendale man who was run over with a vehicle and shot to death in Sun Valley, authorities said. Hachik Maskovian faces four felony murder-related charges in the death of 33-year-old Joshua West, including that the incident was premeditated and that he was kidnapped during the April 24 incident, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. West died of multiple gunshot wounds, but was also cut and suffered blunt force trauma, said Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter.

The names of the four people found shot to death outside a Northridge home early Sunday were released Thursday by authorities. Los Angeles County coroner's officials identified the victims as Amanda Ghossein, 24, of Monterey Park; Jennifer Kim, 26, of Montebello; Robert Calabia, 34, of Los Angeles; and Teofilo Navales, 49, of Castaic. Coroner's spokesman Ed Winter said Los Angeles police had placed a security hold on any additional information about the deaths. Also Thursday, four suspects in the slayings were awaiting an extradition hearing in Las Vegas, where they were arrested without incident Monday afternoon.

Adrian Vega and Toni Deluca were driving home on a mid-April night when their car struck bicyclist Cameron Douglas. But the matter of who was driving the car was the topic of debate that took over a Los Angeles courtroom this week. Both Vega and Deluca are high school swimmers, aspiring Olympians and hopeful UCLA athletes, and each insisted they were not behind the wheel. Their testimony, in fact, was given on behalf of a Crescenta Valley student and a Louisville High student pretending to be Vega and Deluca during the semifinals of the Los Angeles County mock trial competition this week.

The National Weather Service has extended a red flag warning for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties because of high winds and low humidity, which have elevated the risk of wildfires. The warning, first issued at 3 a.m. Thursday, was set to expire at 6 p.m. Friday but has been extended until 2 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles County fire officials said. Sustained winds of up to 20 mph and gusts of up to 40 mph are forecast, and an additional 150 firefighters have been positioned throughout Los Angeles County as a precaution, said Tony Imprenda, a spokesman for the county fire department.

A mental health agency that services clients throughout the Southland has experienced a deluge of clients in Glendale since opening here last summer, far outpacing its 10 other locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “We realized there was a need, because there is not a comparable agency providing mental health facilities for children and adults, but we had no idea how pent up the need was,” said Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services President Kita Curry. Since opening in May 2011, the nonprofit has seen about 50% more people in Glendale than Didi Hirsch's next largest site in Inglewood.

A landmark appellate court decision Tuesday overturning Proposition 8 prompted a range of reactions from local political officials. Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district includes Burbank, Glendale and La Crescenta, blasted the 2-1 decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that upheld a lower-court ruling that found Prop. 8 unconstitutional because it discriminates against a minority group. “Once again, activist judges with a political correctness agenda have disenfranchised the people who voted overwhelmingly to oppose same-sex marriage in California - over 4.5 million Californians in 2000, and over 7 million in 2008,” Antonovich said in a written statement.

Even since the economy began stalling several years ago, there have been dire warnings that crime would rise. But in Southern California, crime continues its long decline despite the weak economy. Indeed, 2011 brought new worries about a "double dip recession," yet streets in many parts of the region were the safest they've been in decades. The trend continues to puzzle some criminologists but has reinforced the view of many in law enforcement that factors other than the economy determine the rise or fall of crime.