Century City-Westwood News 6.26.2020

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Century City/ Westwood

CenturyCity-WestwoodNews.com

June 26 – July 30, 2020

LAPD Use Jackie Robinson Stadium as Arrest Center, UCLA Protests

Photos: UCLA

Jackie Robinson stadium.

Over 1,000 gather at UCLA to protest

By Sam Catanzaro Thousands gathered at UCLA in June protesting police brutality and also the Los Angeles Police Department’s use of Jackie Robinson Stadium as a booking area for arrested demonstrators.

Protestors gathered outside UCLA’s Royce Hall around June 4, displaying signs and chanting the names of black individuals killed by police. Around 2 p.m. the crowd began marching towards the UCLA Police Department station.

These protests come days after news broke that the LAPD had been using UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium–located on the

Photos: Citizen App.

Protestors gather at UCLA on June 4.

West Los Angeles VA–to book hundreds of demonstrators.

UCLA officials condemned this move in a statement from Chancellor Gene Block, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Emily Carter, Administrative Vice Chancellor

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Michael Beck and Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Jerry Kang, saying the university was “outraged”.

“This was a violation. To see a space that’s so special to UCLA, particularly one dedicated to an iconic figure like Robinson, used as a place for punishing those who carry on his legacy is profoundly upsetting. The truth is that for many in our community, deeply anxious about police brutality and abuse of government power, that was deeply troubling.

We understand and respect that. We failed to recognize these challenges in an inclusive manner that heard marginalized voices,” reads the statement. “Especially disturbing are reports that in the midst of a pandemic, which has already disproportionately harmed communities of color, the arrests on Monday were handled in a way that violated Los Angeles County’s own guidelines on physical

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distancing and face coverings.”

The LAPD in a statement acknowledged that the location was a poor choice in retrospect while citing a high number of arrests as the reason behind the Department’s decision.

“The demonstrations planned for the Westwood area occurred with relatively few issues. However, by Monday evening the Department experienced a significant surge in nighttime curfew arrests necessitating the provisioning of additional space in which to process and release curfew violators.

Citywide the number of arrests exceeded 1200 individuals which far surpassed the Department’s capacity. The Department identified the stadium as a location for a field jail, to process arrestees for immediate release,” the LAPD said. “We regret that we did not inform UCLA of this intended purpose.

UCLA, see page 6

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CENTURY CITY-WESTWOOD NEWS

JUNE 26 – JULY 30, 2020

Purple Line Extension Running Into Unexpected Costs

By Toi Creel

A project that has been in the works for several years: LA Metro’s Purple Line Extension. It’s a rail project that will speed up the time it takes to travel between downtown Los Angeles, the Miracle Mile, Beverly Hills and Westwood.

However, similar to any project, the company has ran into some difficulties: tar sand conditions are driving costs up.

Construction for the $2.8 billion 3.9-mile WPLE1 section began in 2014, with tunneling beginning in mid-2918 and was expected to be completed by 2023. In mid-2018, Metro

celebrated the beginning of tunneling.

According to LA Streets.blog, “Through January of this year, Construction Committee reporting showed the project status as “on target” to meet cost and schedule projections. Starting with the February Construction Committee report, the project cost began to be flagged as a possible problem.

In a May report, Metro’s construction program announced that WPLE1 is facing a potential cost overrun, with an anticipated adjustment to the project budget expected in fiscal year 2020-21.”

When looking at a February 2020 project newsletter, builders encountered tar sands and

methane pockets as well as difficulties from working with third party builders.

So far, the company has been able to make progress with parallel tunnels (three miles worth) below Wilshire Boulevard from Western Avenue to Fairfax Avenue.

Metro does have to complete another mile from Fairfax to La Cienega Boulevard that’s expected to be significantly challenging.

The project is still anticipated to be mostly complete in 2023, and open to the public in 2024. The $2.8 billion budget, still stands though it’s expected a committee will take a look and revisit the number.

Photo: Courtesy LA Metro

Conviction Upheld in Westside Marijuana Dispensary, Gas Station Murders California appeals court finds Kayshon Moody guilty for 2017 slayings

By Sam Catanzaro A state appeals court has upheld a man’s

conviction for murdering both a Mar Vista marijuana dispensary clerk and gas station attendant and robbing a West Los Angeles hamburger joint.

On Friday, California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal found that Kayshon Moody was guilty of first-degree murder for the Jan. 17, 2017 shooting deaths of M.D. Mizu Rahman

at a Chevron station in the 2100 block of North Vermont Avenue and Ovik Oganesyan at a medical marijuana dispensary at 12480 W. Venice Blvd. the next day. In addition, Moody was found guilty of second-degree robbery at a fast-food restaurant shortly before Rahman’s murder On January 17, 2017 at approximately 2:00

a.m., Moody entered Big Tomy’s restaurant on West Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled over a baseball cap. He asked employee Francisco Garcia for a soda. Moody placed cash on the counter to pay for the beverage. As Garcia began to place it in the cash register,

Murders, see page 7

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CENTURY CITY-WESTWOOD NEWS

JUNE 26 – JULY 30, 2020

Group Calls for Reinstatement of UCLA Professor Suspended for Refusing to Alter Grading for Black Students Free speech advocates call of reinstatement of UCLA professor Gordon Klein

By Sam Catanzaro

A free speech advocacy group is calling for the reinstatement of a suspended UCLA professor who refused to alter grading policies and final exam schedule for black students amid protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

Gordon Klein, a professor at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management since 1981, received an email from a student on June 2 requesting Klein adjust the final exam schedule and grading policy for black students due to the protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

The following is Floyd’s response, according to a petition launched fire the professor.

Thanks for your suggestion in your email below that I give black students special

treatment, given the tragedy in Minnesota. Do you know the names of the classmates that are black? How can I identify them since we’ve been having online classes only? Are there any students that may be of mixed parentage, such as half black-half Asian? What do you suggest I do with respect to them? A full concession or just half? Also, do you have any idea if any students are from Minneapolis? I assume that they probably are especially devastated as well. I am thinking that a white student from there might be possibly even more devastated by this, especially because some might think that they’re racist even if they are not. My TA is from Minneapolis, so if you don’t know, I can probably ask her. Can you guide me on how you think I should achieve a “no-harm” outcome since our sole course grade is from a final exam only? One last thing strikes me: Remember that MLK famously said that people should not be evaluated based on the “color of their skin.” Do you think that your request would run afoul of MLK’s admonition?

Thanks, G. Klein Soon after, a petition was launched to fire Klein.

“Professor Klein’s blatant lack of empathy

Gordon Klein.

and unwillingness to accommodate his students during a time of protests speaks to his apathetic stance on the matter. His suggestion that a student with one black and one asian parent should only be accommodated half as much as a black student is a preposterously racist notion. Furthermore, his claim that a white student from Minneapolis “might possibly be even more devastated […] because some might think that they’re racist” puts into perspective his ignorance, his bias, and his gross inability to comprehend the gravity of the systematic violence, discrimination, and fear experienced

by Black people in this country,” read the petition, which has of 4 p.m. Thursday had over 20,000 signatures.

Klein was placed on leave the next day, effective until June 24, while UCLA officials decide what to do next.

After Klein was placed on leave a group

Photo: Change.org.

called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education sent a letter to UCLA officials on June 10 calling for the reinstatement of the professor.

“As a public institution, UCLA is bound by both the First Amendment and the laudable promises of academic freedom it makes to its faculty members,” reads the letter.

“Those obligations and promises are of even more importance during a crisis. Given that Klein followed institutional policy when he refused to alter his final exam procedures, this investigation is almost certainly based on the tone or viewpoint of his email, which was — however brusque — protected expression on a matter of profound public interest. Klein must be immediately reinstated, and UCLA’s leaders must make clear that their commitment to academic freedom is stronger than an online mob.”

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CENTURY CITY-WESTWOOD NEWS

JUNE 26 – JULY 30, 2020

Getting Rid of Armed Metro Guards?

Officers at the Metro Expo Line Westwood/Rancho Park station.

“We cannot rely on an armed police presence for every issue,” says Councilmember Mike Bonin.

By Sam Catanzaro

Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin is calling on LA Metro to get rid of armed law enforcement officers on the nation’s third-largest transit system.

In a motion co-sponsored by County Supervisor Janice Hahn and County Supervisor Hilda Solis, also members of the board, Bonin–a member of the Board of Directors of LA Metro–urged Metro to rethink safety on the transit system, with a goal of creating alternative responses to nonviolent crimes and other offenses. Potential alternatives would include: a transit ambassador program that provides staffed presence at Metro facilities and on Metro vehicles; and social workers, mediators, or mental health professionals.

The Metro Expo Line, which runs through Culver City, has experienced two violent incidents in the past year, it should be noted.

In August 2019, a group of teenagers was attacked and robbed by another group of teenagers after getting off a Metro Expo Line train in Culver City. In March of this year, four minors were taken into custody after a Santa Monica man was stabbed in a violent confrontation on the Expo Line in West Los Angeles.

Bonin’s motion comes as jurisdictions around the country are considering similar approaches to public safety. Earlier this week, several of Bonin’s colleagues on the Los Angeles City Council called for a new emergency-response model that uses trained specialists, rather than LAPD officers, to respond to many types of calls, including those regarding homelessness, mental health, and

Photo: Sam Catanzaro.

substance abuse issues. Bonin and colleagues also proposed the creation of a City of Los Angeles Office of Violence Prevention.

“Around the country and all over Los Angeles, people are reimagining how to provide public safety,” Bonin said. “Metro needs to be at the forefront of that, and make changes that assure that all of its passengers feel safe. That starts by acknowledging that we cannot rely on an armed police presence for every issue, and we need smarter, more effective solutions.”

Bonin’s motion directs LA Metro to develop the new policies and approaches in consultation with passengers and community members representative of the agency’s ridership, including but not limited to racial, gender, income, geography, immigration status and housing status. It would do so through a Transit Public Safety Advisory Committee, working with LA Metro’s Office of Civil Rights, Executive Officer for Equity & Race, and Executive Officer for Customer Experience.

Bonin noted it was crucial for LA Metro to make changes, given a history of complaints of racial bias in policy, particularly from younger Blacks and Latinos. “For years, Metro has heard that its system of policing was making huge segments of its passengers feel less safe and feel threatened. This is our moment to change that.”

Bonin is also submitting motions, cosponsored by Solis, in response to a decision

by LA Metro to suspend passenger service on May 30, stranding many passengers in the middle of a curfew, and a separate decision the same day to allow Metro buses to be used to transport detainees who had been arrested for curfew violations or failure to disperse during the protests. The motions call for new rules to prohibit the use of vehicles for detainee transport and new protocols regarding suspensions of service.

All three motions are expected to be considered by the full Metro Board of Directors at the Board’s June 25 meeting.

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JUNE 26 – JULY 30, 2020

CENTURY CITY-WESTWOOD NEWS

Conviction Upheld in Murder of UCLA Student Alberto Hinojosa Medina faces life in prison

By Sam Catanzaro

A state appeals court panel has upheld a man’s conviction for the murder of a UCLA student whose body was found following a fire set inside her Westwood apartment in an attempt to cover up the murder.

On June 12, a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal

rejected the defense’s claim that there were inaccuracies in the trial of Alberto Hinojosa Medina, who was found guilty in May 2018 of first-degree murder for the September 21, 2015, stabbing of Andrea DelVesco, 21.

The jury found true the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a burglary.

Jurors also convicted Medina of one count of arson of an inhabited structure and one count of cruelty to an animal. DelVesco had a Chihuahua mix dog who had to be euthanized following the fire. In addition, the jury convicted Medina of two counts of first-degree burglary with a person present involving break-ins at DelVesco’s apartment

in the 10900 block of Roebling Avenue and at a different apartment across the street.

The appellate court panel said that the DNA profile from bloodstains on a knife, among other DNA, was consistent with DelVesco’s DNA profile.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office decided not to seek the death penalty against Medina, who was sentenced in September 2018 to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Co-defendant Eric Marquez also pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree burglary and being an accessory after the fact and sentenced in June 2018 to nearly three years in prison.

Alberto Hinojosa Medina.

Photo: Courtesy.

One Westside Sexual Assault Suspect Still Sought by Police LAPD arrest one suspect on suspicion of forced sexual penetration

By Sam Catanzaro After arresting one suspect, Los Angeles police are on the lookout for another man who was involved in the sexual assaults of 13 women in Venice, Palms, Culver City and Marina Del Rey. Between May 14 and June 16, 2020, detectives with the LAPD’s Operations West Bureau have identified as many as 13 possible incidents, with potential additional occurrences in Culver City and Marina Del Rey. “In this series, the suspects approach young females who are walking or jogging alone on streets during early evening hours.

The suspects grab the women’s buttocks and breasts, then flee—on foot, on skateboard, on a bicycle and, in several instances, in a silver Mercedes Benz sedan,” the LAPD said.

Due to video provided by concerned neighbors, investigators obtained a license

UCLA,

from page 1 In retrospect it was an unfortunate decision to establish this site processing arrestees. We also should have sought an alternate location given the stadium’s namesake of Jackie Robinson, who broke major league baseball’s color barrier as the first African American baseball player. The location was a poor choice given his legacy and the spirit of the protests.”

According to UCLA, the University has instructed the LAPD that it may not use any property UCLA owns or leases for the purpose of processing arrests and staging.

“To be clear: This was a violation. To see a space that’s so special to UCLA, particularly one dedicated to an iconic figure like Robinson, used as a place for punishing those who

plate of the suspect’s vehicle and identified one of the suspects involved in the series.

Officers assigned to LAPD Pacific Area located the vehicle, a silver Mercedes Benz C-class sedan, near where several of the sexual batteries occurred, shortly after midnight on June 22, 2020. They followed the vehicle and arrested the suspect, 21-yearold Darryll Mercade of Los Angeles, on suspicion of forced sexual penetration.

“This is a great example of the neighborhood coming together to help get this guy off the streets,” said Captain Steven Embrich, LAPD Pacific Area’s commanding officer. “Without these great neighbors looking out for each other, we wouldn’t have had that vital information that cracked the case. We really appreciate all the people who stepped up and helped us out.”

Detectives from LAPD’s Operations West Bureau Special Assault Section are still seeking the identity of a second suspect believed to be working with Mercadel.

Witnesses describe the second suspect as a Black male of medium height and heavier build in his early 20s.

“Though they have not been seen together, both appear to be connected to the silver Mercedes and are likely working in concert,” the LAPD said. carry on his legacy is profoundly upsetting,” UCLA said.

For years, UCLA has leased Jackie Robinson Stadium on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. According to the University, City agencies have typically asked for permission as a lessee to allow them to use the parking lot in emergency situations, including as a Los Angeles Fire Department staging site during recent wildfires and as a COVID-19 testing site. In this case, UCLA says the LAPD sought and received similar permissions from the VA to use the stadium parking lot as a staging area, “We knew [this] about and failed to stop [it].

We were never informed that it would also be used to process arrests. But allowing the LAPD to use the space even for staging during these recent protests was a mistake,” UCLA said.

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JUNE 26 – JULY 30, 2020

Murders,

from page 2 Moody displayed a gun, pulled back the slide, pointed the gun at Garcia, and demanded “all the money.” Garcia removed the cash drawer, which contained between $400 and $500.

Moody told Garcia to put the drawer inside a bag he was carrying, but it did not fit. Moody grabbed the drawer, said “Happy New Year,” and ran away.

Tory Coronel, the mother of Moody’s child, identified Moody as the robber in security footage.

Later that morning, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Moody robbed and shot Mohammed Rahman, who was working at a Chevron minimarket located on North Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles. Moody, wearing a baseball cap, entered the market, poured himself a soda from the soda fountain, put a plastic lid on top, and selected merchandise from the shelves. He then set the soda cup on the cashier counter, directed Rahman to give him “Swisher Sweets” cigars from behind the register, and took money from his pocket as if to pay for the items. Moody then pulled a gun from his waistband, racked the slide, and pointed it at Rahman. As Rahman moved away, Moody fired three shots. Rahman collapsed in a broom closet. Moody took the cash register drawer, ran to a white Nissan Versa, and drove away.

Rahman suffered four gunshot wounds: two to his back, which were both fatal wounds, and two to his arm. Three Winchester ninemillimeter Luger cartridge casings were

CENTURY CITY-WESTWOOD NEWS

recovered at the scene, along with one live round of the same make. Coronel identified Moody as the assailant in the video. She owned a white Nissan Versa, and Moody regularly drove it. Moody’s DNA was found on the soda cup lid.

The next day, on January 18, 2017, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Moody, along with accomplice James Eastland, robbed the Golden State Collective marijuana dispensary located on Venice Boulevard, and shot and killed employee Ovik Oganesyan.

Video footage from the dispensary showed Moody and Eastland, both wearing baseball caps, enter the dispensary lobby. Moody carried some bags. Eastland sat in the lobby while Moody conferred with Oganesyan at the reception window through the Plexiglass divider. After checking Moody’s paperwork, Oganesyan buzzed Moody into the reception area. As Oganesyan and Moody entered the showroom, Moody pulled a gun from his waistband, racked it, and fired several shots at Oganesyan, who fell to the ground.

Moody then ran to the reception area to let Eastland in, dropping his paperwork— including his California driver’s license—on the way. Unable to find the buzzer, Moody shot out the Plexiglass window.

Moody and Eastland loaded the bags with merchandise from the showroom, including jars from the dispensary cabinets. Moody also ransacked the office and took the cash register drawer. Moody jumped through the reception area window, Eastland kicked down the door, and the two men left by way of the back stairs.

Officers responding to the scene found

Oganesyan on the floor in the showroom doorway, not breathing. He had suffered three gunshot wounds: two fatal wounds to his back, and a potentially fatal wound to the back of his thigh.

Coronel identified Moody as the shooter in the video. Ten Winchester nine-millimeter Luger cartridge casings were recovered at the scene, as were five fired bullets and a magazine.

Also found at the scene were Moody’s California driver’s license and other paperwork in his name.

“The videos clearly showed Moody committing robberies and murders; the jury could not reasonably have interpreted the video evidence to show commission of only lesser or different crimes, and Moody does not argue to the contrary. And, there was overwhelming evidence Moody was guilty of first degree murder, rather than a lesser degree of homicide. His conduct clearly fell within the felony murder rule. The evidence showed premeditation as well. His arrival at the crime scenes armed with a loaded gun suggested preplanning. Neither victim resisted him, and there was no evidence suggesting he shot in a panic, accidentally, in the heat of passion, or in perfect or imperfect self defense,” reads the opinion from the court.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office decided prior to the trial not to seek the death penalty against Moody, who was sentenced in February 2019 to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.

Co-defendant Eastland pleaded guilty

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Big Tomy’s on Pico Boulevard.

Photo: Yelp

to murder and robbery charges involving that the dispensary killing, along with a separate robbery. He testified on behalf of the prosecution in Moody’s trial and was sentenced to 40 years to life in state prison in September.

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JUNE 26 – JULY 30, 2020

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