The value of plants confiscated in broad areas across the region has soared to $130 million, nearly three times last year's haul. The Santa Monica Mountains and other rugged terrain across the region have become fertile ground for illegal marijuana growers, with authorities reporting a major uptick in the discovery and eradication of pot-growing farms. In the last year, park rangers and Los Angeles and Ventura County sheriff's deputies have confiscated about 42,000 marijuana plants -- worth $130 million -- in areas under the jurisdiction of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area or the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, said Walt Young, chief operations officer for the authority. [continues 380 words]
Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton plans to get tough on medical marijuana dispensaries. So perhaps it was a good thing that the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. changed his seating arrangements at Monday's 64th annual Golden Globe Awards. Bratton had been scheduled to sit with the cast of "Weeds," the Showtime comedy starring Mary-Louise Parker about a pot-selling suburban soccer mom. Several days before the big event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, however, organizers noticed the potentially problematic pairing and quickly moved the chief and his wife, Rikki Klieman, an actress and legal analyst. [continues 142 words]
Officials will see if a deputy's report, which described abusive behavior, was changed. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's civilian oversight office said Saturday that it will investigate whether authorities gave Mel Gibson preferential treatment when he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and tried to cover up alleged offensive comments and behavior by one of Hollywood's most powerful figures. The probe was begun after a celebrity news website, TMZ.com, published portions of the arresting deputy's handwritten report, saying the star was abusive, shouted anti-Jewish slurs, attempted to escape from custody and boasted that he "owned Malibu." A source close to the investigation confirmed Saturday that the pages posted by the website were authentic. [continues 1467 words]
Tis Time, Officers Fan Out In Early Evening. Advocate For Homeless Calls It 'Grandstanding.' As darkness fell Thursday, authorities launched a second round of sweeps through Los Angeles' skid row, a vast homeless encampment just east of downtown where officials say they are determined to root out lawless elements. Police said "Operation Enough" was intended to address a growing problem of parole and probation violators who are avoiding prison by living in the densely populated, litter-strewn area. The operation was launched after business organizations decried the huge homeless population in the area, but officials said that complaints had nothing to do with the sweep, which has been planned for months partly in response to double-digit increases in homeless assaulting or robbing each other. [continues 768 words]
SANTA CLARITA--The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday it will seek charges in Juvenile Court against an Arroyo Seco Junior High School student who turned over marijuana to his parents. Tyler Hagen, 13, of Saugus could face a possession charge, while three other Arroyo students could be charged with offenses ranging from possession to the sale of a controlled substance on school grounds, according to Lt. Tim Peters of the Santa Clarita sheriff's station. Sheriff's officials, without giving specific details, cast doubt on Tyler's story that he turned the drug over to his parents in order to help a scared friend dispose of the pot. [continues 301 words]
A Burbank junior high school teacher who is the son of a local school board member was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of trafficking in cocaine, authorities said. William D. Hubbell, 32, was taken into custody a week after detectives from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Burbank Police Department observed him shipping a box of cocaine to Hawaii, according to Burbank police Lt. Ed Skvarna. The package, with an estimated street value of $80,000, was intercepted by DEA agents in Hilo, where they arrested a second man, authorities said. [continues 160 words]
