Le Journal

Authorities are searching for a group of people after a couple was held at gunpoint and robbed of thousands of dollars in Woodland Hills Tuesday night.  According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers responded to reports of a home invasion robbery at around 11:30 p.m. at the 22000 block of Erwin Street.  Police said the masked robbers, who were wearing gloves and masks, made their way into the residence through a back entrance. Held at gunpoint, the couple was then forced to open up a safe and the group took $15,000 in cash and over $400,000 worth of jewelry, LAPD said. The victims, who are said to be high-end jewelers, were not injured in the incident.  No further details were immediately available.

The California Highway Patrol today is investigating a shooting near the 405 Freeway in Long Beach where one person was wounded and the shooter is on the loose. The shooting was reported just before 9 p.m. Tuesday near the southbound freeway and Lakewood Boulevard, CHP Officer Sergio Garcia told City News Service. The victim discovered they had been shot while driving. The name, age or gender of the victim were not immediately released, and they were taken to a hospital in an unknown condition. Garcia said the shooter was driving a black Jeep Cherokee. The CHP closed the southbound freeway briefly while officers investigated the circumstances surrounding the shooting.     It was not immediately clear if the shooting occurred on or near the freeway.

A Glendale firefighter has been detained in connection with a homicide investigation involving a woman found dead Wednesday morning in a North Hollywood home. The investigation into what police said appears to be a deadly case of domestic violence unfolded after a man approached officers at a police station and asked for a welfare check on his wife, the LAPD said. Officers arrived at the home in the 5000 block of Satsuma Avenue at around 4:25 a.m. and found a woman, believed to be in her 40s, dead. “When they entered the home, they found a female in her 50s who was deceased and appeared to be suffering from multiple blunt force trauma,” said Lt. Guy Golan. The man who made the welfare check request was taken into custody. No further details were immediately available.  In a statement, the city of Glendale said, “The Glendale Fire Department has been notified by LAPD that an off-duty member of the department has been detained in connection with an active homicide investigation in the North Hollywood area. LAPD is the lead investigating agency and the matter is ongoing.” The firefighter was identified as firefighter and paramedic, Andrew Jimenez, who served in the department since 2008. Jimenez was placed off duty and on administrative leave, according to the City of Glendale.

Video showed a young mountain lion in the middle of a road, appearing at times to doze off, early Wednesday in the northern Los Angeles County community of Castaic. It was not immediately clear whether the cub, found at about 1 a.m. Wednesday near the centerline of Hillcrest Parkway near Olympic Street, was injured or just resting. Two other mountain lions were seen nearby in the residential neighborhood. California Highway Patrol officers remained at the scene early Wednesday morning. The cub scampered off at about 2:30 a.m. into a nearby backyard. California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists responded to reports of an injured young mountain lion, possibly after it was struck by a car. Authorities were working to confirm whether the cub was hit by a vehicle. Biologists captured the cub and transported it to a veterinarian to be checked out. About mountain lions in California There are about 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions in California, but wildlife officials call that a crude estimate without an ongoing statewide study. More than half of the state is considered prime habitat for the big cats, which can be found wherever deer are present. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife receives hundreds of mountain lion sighting reports each year. Few result in mountain lions being identified as posing an imminent threat to public safety, the department said. Mountain lion attacks on humans are extremely rare and their nature is to avoid humans. Here’s a full list of recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife of what to do during a mountain lion encounter. Do not hike, bike, or jog alone. Stay alert on trails.Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most active – dawn, dusk, and at night.Keep a close watch on small children.Off leash dogs on trails are at increased risk of becoming prey for a mountain lion.Never approach a mountain lion. Give them an escape route.DO NOT RUN. Stay calm. Running may trigger chase, catch and kill response. Do not turn your back. Face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms, or opening your jacket if wearing one; throw rocks or other objects. Pick up small children.Do not crouch down or bend over. Squatting puts you in a vulnerable position of appearing much like a 4-legged prey animal.Be vocal; however, speak calmly and do not use high pitched tones or high pitch screams.Teach others how to behave during an encounter. Anyone who runs may initiate an attack.If a lion attacks, fight back. Research on mountain lion attacks suggests that many potential victims have fought back successfully with rocks, sticks, garden tools, even an ink pen or bare hands. Try to stay on your feet. If knocked down, try to protect head and neck.If a mountain lion attacks a person, immediately call 911.Report unusual mountain lion behavior to your local CDFW regional office.

A Huntington Beach resident who’s been documenting the number of crashes that have happened along a busy intersection near his home is pushing for changes to improve safety. In just the past three years, 11 crashes have been recorded on State Route 39 near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Taylor Drive in Huntington Beach, according to police. One of those crashes resulted in a fatality and seven of them caused injuries to those who were involved. Craig McCoy, who lives in the area, said the numerous crashes have left him and his neighbors apprehensive. As a result, the Orange County man has taken matters into his hands by tracking the crashes with his home surveillance camera in hopes it will push authorities to make appropriate changes. “I put up a camera for my front yard, and then the company that makes security cameras came out with one that zooms in,” McCoy said. “So, I said, ‘Perfect, there’s a bunch of accidents in front of my house. Let me just point it to the intersection and see what happens.’” The videos, which were recorded over a two-year period, show drivers attempting to make a left turn onto Taylor Street. Those drivers are often met with cars driving southbound and northbound on SR-39 at high speeds. “It’s technically 40 to 45 through here, but the regular flow of traffic is 50 or 60, sometimes faster,” McCoy said. “People can’t typically account for that when they are trying to make left turns and that is typically how those accidents happen.” McCoy said he reached out to the city for help but was told that because SR-39 is a state highway, it’s under state jurisdiction. He added that he was able to reach Caltrans and was told the agency recently completed a review of the area and the road. It said it was waiting for those findings to see if the agency can move forward with any changes. NBC4 has reached out to Caltrans for comment.