BOLO. Suspects capering in '98 gray Astrovan in Mission Hills n Devonshire areas

Detectives have noted a pattern of local robberies and other suspicious sightings of a '97 to '98 gray Chevy Astrovan.  Two Black men in their 20's or 30's have been seen in the van, one sporting a goatee.

In April, they robbed a man in the alley behind 10150 Bevis Avenue in Mission Hills, around 6:30 pm.

One man simulated a gun while the other entered the victim's passenger door and took his wallet and cell phone.  The duo used the gray van to block the victim's car from passing in the alley.  They used a ruse of asking for directions to approach the van.

Detectives believe the men and the van may reside in the San Fernando Valley.  Similar crimes describing two Black men in an older gray Astrovan have been reported for Mission Hills and the Devonshire Area.

Neighbors can note the license plates of similar vans loitering in neighborhoods and pass the information to police.

Important: Are You Prepared if a Disaster Hits Los Angeles County?

Disaster Preparedness - Are You Ready Los Angeles County ?

IMPORTANT: ARE YOU PREPARED IF A DISASTER HITS LOS ANGELES COUNTY?Disasters can affect many people and a wide area such as an earthquake, or can affect less people and a smaller area such as a severe windstorm that knocks down thousands of power lines, blocking streets and making it difficult for repair crews to restore power for many days or over a week.

Even if only a few people are affected, if it's you, it's 100%.

Instead of ignoring these facts and hoping for the best, take action now to help yourself and the people you love. Would you be ready if there were an emergency?

Be prepared:

Assemble an emergency supply kit,
Make your emergency plans,
Stay informed,
And get involved in helping your family, your business, and your community be ready for emergencies.

Be prepared for when - not if - the next emergency occurs. How prepared are you? Preparedness is a responsibility we all share. Let's all do our part. Top priorities are shelter, food, water, and power, but there is a lot more to it.

1. Ready, Set, Go! Los Angeles County Fire Department

http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/SafetyPreparedness/ReadySetGo/home.asp

2. Safety Preparedness – Los Angeles County Fire Department

http://fire.lacounty.gov/safetypreparedness/SafetyPreparedness.asp

3. Learn what to do BEFORE an earthquake, DURING an earthquake, and AFTER an earthquake - Los Angeles County Fire Dept.

http://fire.lacounty.gov/safetypreparedness/safetyprepearthquake.asp

4. Emergency Survival Guide - County of Los Angeles

http://lacoa.org/pdf/emergencysurvivalguide-lowres.pdf

5. Citizens Guide to County Services - Los Angeles County

http://www.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/lac/directory/

http://ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Citizens-Guide-to-County-Services.pdf

6. LA-ESP: At the Los Angeles County Emergency Survival Program’s website, you will find a great selection of useful, lifesaving materials and publications for download to share with your family, community, friends, co-workers and children.

http://www.espfocus.org/

(a direct link to publications)

http://www.espfocus.org/esg.htm

7. Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety

https://local.nixle.com/alert/4868470/

8. Federal Emergency Management Agency

http://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan

http://www.fema.gov/

9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/BeReady/

10. Ten Ways YOU Can be Disaster Prepared:

California Emergency Management Agency

http://www.calema.ca.gov/NewsandMedia/Pages/Preparedness-Month.aspx

11. Totally Unprepared: Admitting You Have a Problem is the First Step:

http://www.totallyunprepared.com/

12. American Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org/

********************

COMMUNICATIONS: (If you don't have a generator, be sure to get a portable cell phone or laptop charger).

Emergency and Routine Messages from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department:

A. ALERT LA COUNTY telephone emergency mass notification system for Los Angeles County residents. Register your cell phone and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) (home computer) phones for emergency messages from police and fire agencies in Los Angeles County:

http://portal.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/alertla

B. Website of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (translates into over 60 languages):

www.lasd.org

C. TWITTER of the NEWSROOM of Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department:

@LASD_News https://twitter.com/LASD_News
@LASDtalk https://twitter.com/LASDTalk
@LASDvideos https://twitter.com/LASDvideos


D. SNAP LA County - Specific Needs Disaster Voluntary Registry

The purpose of this registry is to facilitate the planning and implementation of disaster response by first-responder agencies to persons with Specific Needs in the County of Los Angeles.
http://snap.lacounty.gov/

E. LASD EMAILS and/or TEXT messages (via NIXLE) from the NEWSROOM of Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Visit www.Nixle.com

and register for "Nixle" alerts from "LASD – HQ Newsroom (SHB), Los Angeles County Sheriff" PLUS your local sheriff's station area. Or, text your zip code to 888777 to receive text alerts only. Standard text messaging rates may apply depending on your calling plan. View NEWSROOM (Nixle) EMAIL / TEXT messages here, even if not subscribed from the Newsroom of Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department: http://nixle.com/lasd----hq-newsroom-shb-los-angeles-county-sheriff/

F. FACEBOOK of the NEWSROOM of Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department:

http://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment

G. YOUTUBE of the NEWSROOM of Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department:

http://www.youtube.com/LACountySheriff

H. LA Crimestoppers - confidential/anonymous email/ text/ phone call crime reporting to police agencies in Los Angeles County:

http://lacrimestoppers.com/

Partner to prevent or report crime by contacting your local Sheriff’s station. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau - Newsroom
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
323-267-4800
Email: SHBNewsroom@lasd.org
Website: http://www.lasd.org
LASD HQ Text and Emails: www.Nixle.com
http://nixle.com/lasd----hq-newsroom-shb-los-angeles-county-sheriff/
Twitter: @LASD_News http://twitter.com/#!/LASD_News
Twitter: @LASDtalk https://twitter.com/LASDTalk
Twitter: @LASDvideos https://twitter.com/LASDvideos
Facebook LASD HQ: http://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartment
LASD Photos: http://pinterest.com/lacountysheriff/
LASD YouTube Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/LACountySheriff/videos?view=0

Leroy D. Baca, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

OPEN HOUSE Mission Police Station on Saturday

Community: OPEN HOUSE Mission Police Station on Saturday. Read about who's who there and all the stuff to see and do #LAPD

Open House Saturday – LAPD Mission Police Station

Mission Hills.  The LAPD will open the doors of one police station a little more than usual this Saturday, May 18, 2013, during the open house for the Mission Police Station, located at 11121 N. Sepulveda Blvd.  The public will be free to tour the police station, view displays, and hear remarks by local police and government officials, between 10 AM and 3 PM.

“There’s something for everyone here on Saturday,” said Capt. Todd Chamberlain, commanding officer of the Mission Area Police Station.  “We’d like everyone to feel the police station is part of the neighborhood.  Opening the doors lets us remove some of the mystery of government.”

• There will be face painting, an inflated bouncer, and fingerprinting for children.
• See the bomb squad, motorcycle officers, the Haz-mat unit, and a K-9 with its human partner.
• Police helicopters will perform a fly-over of the station.
• Food and entertainment will be on hand.
• Officers will give guided tours of the station between 10 AM and 2 PM.
• Learn how to become a volunteer at the police station.
• Meet police cadets and get information about the youth Cadet program for kids.
• Local government officials will give remarks starting at 1130 AM.

            Captain Todd Chamberlain, commanding officer of the Mission Police Station
            LAPD Commander Sharon Papa
            City Attorney Carmen Trutanich
            LA County Supervisor Zev Yaraslosky
            State Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra

For more information on the Open House, call Sergeant Adrian Torres at (818) 838-9856.

Funds Allotted to Pay for Summer Police Party-Patrol Car

Advisory: 7th Council Dist funds allotted to pay for summer police party-patrol car to limit shootings and assaults #LAPD

7^th District Council Funds Allotted for Party Car in Northeast SF Valley

Los Angeles.  The Los Angeles Police Department joined City Councilmember Richard Alarcon, 7^th District, at a news conference this morning, to announce a second allotment of money for a dedicated police party patrol car for the month of June through September.

“I want to thank Councilman Alarcon personally and on behalf of the public in the Northeast Valley for his support,” said Captain Todd Chamberlain, commanding officer of the Mission Community Police Station.  “This time of year is rife for problem parties with the start of summer.  Monitoring the parties is critical in keeping violent crime down.”

“The Party Car might sound like a bit of a misnomer,” said Captain Todd Chamberlain.  “It’s no party for the officers assigned as they patrol through neighborhoods where loud, raucous parties often hold neighborhoods hostage.”

The Party Car was instituted earlier this year as a way to free up regular patrol cars for other, more pressing cases.  “We’re not talking about kids’ birthday parties or baptisms,” Captain Chamberlain explained.  “These are loud, raucous parties that often involve drug use, fights, under-age drinking, and gangs.”

Nearly 5,000 party disturbance calls after 10 PM are logged with 9-1-1 annually in the Northeast Valley; that amounts to about 100 parties per week.  The last allotment from Councilman Alarcon’s office funded a car from November through December, where police answered over 700 loud-party calls.  One party-goer was shot and killed at a party last October, despite the added patrols.

However, in that same period, aggravated assaults dropped 24% compared to the same time in 2011.  “The party patrol played a critical part in reducing those assaults.”  Violent crime is down 21% in the Mission Area for 2013.

“We’ll be tasking the officers on the party patrols to cite minors who are violating curfew,” Captain Chamberlain stressed.  “Too many of our victims and suspects are underage party-goers where the combination of alcohol, immaturity, no supervision, and bravado result in deadly consequences.”

Anyone with information on crimes can report information anonymously to Crimestoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Online tips may be placed at www.LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.

BOLO. Man in black truck blowing kisses to school children #LAPD

BOLO. Man in black truck blowing kisses to school children #LAPD

Strange Man Blowing Kisses near School

North Hills.

Detectives have released a community alert and composite sketch of a man seen blowing kisses to school children as he sat in his truck near an elementary school in North Hills. Witnesses also thought they recognized the man from a prior incident when he committed a lewd act while sitting in his truck near the same school.

“This is not some benign, friendly gesture,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, head of detectives for the Mission Area Police Station. “This man has been seen here more than once, and his behavior is troublesome and illegal.” 

Police are asking the public to look at the composite sketch of a 25 to 30-year-old Hispanic man with thick hair. The alert includes a picture of a Ford F-150 truck, which is similar to the one that suspect has been seen driving. His truck is black with a model year between 1995 and 2000.

The last incident happened at the Plummer Elementary School on March 12, around 2 PM. The school is located at 9340 Noble Avenue.

“We encourage crossing guards and school monitors to take down the license plates of suspicious vehicles loitering around schools,” Lt. Vernon explained. “All our officers are aware of this suspect and they are on the lookout for the black truck.”

Police officers are still visiting elementary schools at random times each day as part of Operation Embrace. “If nothing else, perhaps the knowledge of those daily visits might deter some of these men from this behavior.”

Anyone with information on this crime is urged to call LAPD Mission Detectives, at (818) 838-9967. Anonymous tips can be called into Crimestoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477), or by texting 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone. All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Online tips may be placed at www.LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.