Crime & Courts

A woman killed when she drove off the side of the Marina Freeway in Del Rey was identified as a Torrance resident.

Rosa Amelia Miranda, 51, died Friday at 3 p.m. in the crash near Centinela Avenue, the coroner's office said.

Firefighters said Miranda was driving east when her minivan drove off the freeway and landed 20 to 25 feet below.

An autopsy determined she died of multiple blunt force injuries.

Just checked in with prosecutors to see if Brandon Manai would be sentenced tomorrow, as scheduled, for the murder of his wife of 13 days who he threw off a Rancho Palos Verdes cliff. Turns out, they had already postponed it until Thursday. Look for a report then.

The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association just issued a statement that supports authorizing all law enforcement officers to carry firearms aboard domestic flights.

Here's what the organization says:

LOS ANGELES - February 8, 2010 -- The nation's largest airport police association today advocated authorizing all law enforcement officers to carry firearms aboard domestic airline flights.

Marshall McClain, president of the Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association (LAAPOA), said the program proposed to the Obama Administration by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) is warranted in light of the recent attempt to detonate an explosive device aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day and recent intelligence that Al-Qaeda is likely to attempt a terrorist attack in the U.S. within the next six months.

"We believe that additional armed, trained law enforcement personnel aboard aircraft is a prudent measure to be taken at this time," said McClain. "We join FLEOA in urging President Obama to issue an Executive Order to authorize all law enforcement officers, active and retired, and certified by the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA), to carry firearms aboard domestic flights as an added line of defense against terrorists."

The LEOSA of 2004 authorizes all law enforcement officers, active and retired, to carry firearms anywhere in the country, at any time, as long as they meet the criteria set forth in the act and qualify with their firearm on an annual basis. But they are only allowed to carry them aboard commercial airlines when traveling on official business and authorized by their department. The FLEOA maintains that all law enforcement officers who are LEOSA certified, and possess an annual medical clearance, are valuable assets that should be used to augment domestic flight coverage provided by federal air marshals.

FLEOA asked the President to direct the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration to comply with an Executive Order authorizing LEOSA-certified law enforcement officers to fly armed. FLEOA believes that the Federal Air Marshal Service has the ability to coordinate this effort and this action is necessary at this time as an additional layer of security to safeguard the flying public."

From City News Service:

An ex-Boeing engineer convicted of passing secret space shuttle technology to China was sentenced today in Santa Ana to 15 years and eight months in prison.

Dongfan "Greg" Chung, 73, was convicted by U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney in
a non-jury trial in July of violating the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 and lying to the FBI.

The aerospace engineer -- who worked at Boeing's Huntington Beach plant - - was the first person tried under the Economic Espionage Act, which bars the distribution of trade secrets to benefit a foreign government.

Before sentencing, Chung denied he spied for China.

"Your honor, I'm not a spy. I'm an ordinary man," he said. "I was planning to write a book. Those documents were going to be used for my references."

Chung also told the judge: "I love this country. My children and grandchildren live here. I beg your pardon, I want to live with my family peacefully."

Chung's attorneys, Ken Miller and Thomas Bienert, argued that much of what Chung gave
the Chinese government was already in the public domain.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said that while some information Chung passed on was publicly available, most of the material in question was not.

In his decision last year, Carney said Chung has been an agent of the Chinese government for 30 years.

"Under the direction and control of (the People's Republic of China), Mr. Chung misappropriated sensitive aerospace and military information belonging to his employer, the Boeing Co., to assist the PRC in developing its own programs."

Chung had a stroke about a year ago and was hospitalized within the past week for a
gastrointestinal problem, Bienert said after today's hearing. Carney recommended to the federal Bureau of Prisons that Chung be housed in a Southern California facility so he could see his family more regularly. The judge also ordered a medical exam of him.

Carney decided against imposing a fine on Chung because he felt it would end up hurting his family more than him. Attorneys this morning debated how much Boeing lost in the espionage case with estimates in the millions of dollars. 

From the District Attorney's Office:

 LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's physician was charged by the District Attorney's Office today with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the entertainer's death last summer.

Dr. Conrad Robert Murray, 56 (dob 2-19-1953), was charged in case No. SA 073164, filed at the Airport Branch of Los Angeles Superior Court. The count alleged that Murray " did unlawfully, and without malice, kill Michael Joseph Jackson...in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony; and in the commission of a lawful act which might have produced death, in an unlawful manner, and without due caution and circumspection."

Arraignment was scheduled for later today in Department 144 of the Airport Court, 11701 S La Cienega Blvd.

 

Jackson, 50, was stricken at his North Carolwood Drive home on June 25, 2009, and taken to UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Deputy District Attorney David Walgren of the Major Crimes Division will prosecute the case. Walgren has worked closely with the investigative agencies - the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office. Both agencies worked diligently and exhaustively to collect the evidence leading to filing of the case.

If convicted, Murray faces a possible maximum four-year state prison term. Sentencing will be up to the court.

Staff Writer Sandy Mazza reported for Saturday's Daily Breeze that the District Attorney's Office is investigating if the Carson City Council violated open meeting laws by allowing Mayor Jim Dear to mute speakers ... speakers, who, coincidentally, are critical of him or the Council. Read the article here.

Plaintiffs Firms Mount Mass Attack on Toyota

Litigation over Toyota's faulty accelerators will be epic in scope

Amanda Bronstad

The National Law Journal

February 08, 2010

LINDA DEUTSCH
AP Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES (AP) - More than a dozen television news vans and satellite trucks are lining a courthouse parking lot, in anticipation of the surrender of Michael Jackson's doctor.

News crews began setting up operations at dawn Monday at the Los Angeles International Airport Courthouse, placing cameras along the entire entrance.

Meanwhile, Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyer posted a brief statement on his Web site, saying the physician planned to surrender to authorities at the courthouse at 1:30 p.m. PST.

Murray's lawyers have said they expect the doctor to be charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter for administering a powerful anesthetic to Jackson before he died.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

A woman was killed today when she drove off the side of the Marina Freeway in Del Rey and crashed into a tree, firefighters said.

The crash was reported about 3:30 p.m. off the eastbound side of the freeway a quarter-mile west of Centinela Avenue, said Cecco Secci, a public information officer for the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

Firefighters said the woman had driven her minivan off the freeway and landed 20 to 25 feet below.

The woman, who was in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The El Camino Lions Club is honoring Gardena police Lt. Mike Saffell for his "dedication to the Gardena community and consistent involvement in working with young people."

Saffell will be honored Feb. 10 at the club's 33 Community Recognition Dinner at Alpine Village.
Saffell joined the force in October 1993 and worked his way through a variety of assignments including as an investigator, narcotics and vice to patrol.

He also worked in community based policing and is in charge of policing a Gardena district.
Saffell is involved in professional organizations and has coached junior All-American football, Pop Warner Football and Pony baseball.