LAPD Detective Error Leads to Murder

Los Angeles Times, “Interrogation, then revenge,” Joel Rubin, Ari B. Bloomekatz, July 2, 2008.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-interrogate2-2008jul02,0,3759815.story?page=1


This is a rather sad article about a 16 year old named Martha Puebla, who was gunned down due to poor detective work.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on Nov. 27, 2002, a girlfriend of Puebla's pulled up outside her house. The teenage girl, whom The Times is not identifying for her safety at the request of a prosecutor, had come with another friend, Christian Vargas. He stayed in the car while the girl went to Puebla's ground-floor window and asked if she wanted to come hang out.As the girls talked, gunshots suddenly filled the night air. The girl jumped through the window, cowering in Puebla's room. After a few minutes, she approached the car, where she found Vargas' body riddled with bullets. He begged the girl for help and then died, his head slumped against the steering wheel.After early interviews, suspicion fell quickly on Jose Ledesma, a member of the Vineland Boyz -- a notorious, violent gang that controlled much of the drug sales on the streets of Sun Valley. That night detectives searched his family's home. Under his mattress, they found a loaded assault rifle and letters from other Vineland Boyz, many of them written from prison.

Ledesma was eventually arrested and brought to Los Angeles where he was questioned.

To drive home his point, [Homicide Detective Martin] Pinner laid down a "six-pack" -- an array of mug shots that detectives often show to witnesses or victims of crimes. On it, Ledesma's photo was circled, and the initials "M.P." were written below it. "Those is the guy that shot my friends boyfriend" was scrawled along the margin, followed by Puebla's signature.

The issue here is that Martha did not cooperate with the police. The detective lied to try and strong arm Ledesma. The LA Times states that there is nothing legally wrong with lying to a suspect in order to try and get a confession.

The next night, Ledesma reached for a pay phone outside his cell. "Cokester," he said into the receiver, calling his friend Javier Covarrubias by one of his gang monikers, "do you know the slut that lives there by . . . my house? Her name starts with an M . . . I need her to disappear. She is dropping dimes."To the gang, Puebla was a snitch and needed to be dealt with.

She was later murdered on the curb next to her house. The major misstep is that the detectives did not warn Martha Puebla that she was potentially in danger – and also offer protection.

I think people must admit that everyone makes mistakes. Hopefully, the detective did not purposely fail to warn Martha. Perhaps he got busy and simply forgot or maybe it was due to poor training or perhaps he just was sloppy. What is sad is that in certain careers (law enforcement, doctors) a mistake can cost someone their life, which makes it all the more important for people in these types of careers to be even more conscious about checking everything off their to-do list.

I would hope that this LA Times article is read by detectives across the nation, because mistakes like this just shouldn’t happen.

Los Angeles: Gang Crack Down

LA Times, "Huge raid targets gang," June 26, 2008, Joe Mozingo, Sam Quinones and Molly Hennessy-Fiske.

Heavily armed police and federal agents stormed into a Glassell Park neighborhood Wednesday morning to wrest control away from a street gang -- and loyalists with deep family ties to its members -- that has in effect turned the sequestered swath of run-down apartments into rogue territory.

With a sweeping federal racketeering indictment, more than 500 agents, including 10 SWAT teams, arrested 28 people in an attempt to root out the Avenues gang members who have ruled the area with violence and near impunity.

The indictment, which grew out of a 10-month investigation, names 70 defendants -- mostly connected to the Drew Street clique of the larger Avenues gang . . .

Prosecutors allege that the gang committed three murders, shot at police, extorted businesses, conducted home invasion robberies, taxed drug dealers for the Mexican Mafia and threatened potential witnesses . . .

Francisco "Pancho" Real, 26, who was identified as the leader of the Drew Street clique, brought in $1,200 a day in drug money alone, according to a wiretap . . .

In March, Real ordered the owner of a local tire shop to pay him $30,000 within 24 hours, prosecutors allege, or he would kill him and burn down his shop. When the owner of an adjoining tire shop told Real that he did not understand why they had to pay him, Real said they were operating in his territory, the indictment alleges.

Real is one of 13 children of Maria Leon, the matriarch of the gang . . . She has a criminal record with three drug arrests . . .

This is what our police and Federal agents should be doing in Los Angeles, cracking down on these gangs that control parts of our city. I may not always have the highest regard for the LAPD, but in this case a definite "Cheers" is given.

Spider Problem @ Silverlake Lounge

Spider Problem. This is a band that plays like the Roller Derby. At least, the lead singer, Shayne, does. Within the first two or three songs, she was driving her way into the audience and then sprawling herself on the floor. She uses the microphone more than just for singing, swinging it around while this way and that until it came flying off the stage and a fan needed to retrieve it while she looked blankly around wondering what had happened. Later in the set, her microphone went dead -- the cord was disconnected from the wall.

I have to mention the big stuffed white teddy bear that she brought on stage. She spent time jumping on top of it. The guitar player had a bit of fun with it, as well. Towards the end of the set, there was a bit of fun with the bear as she would toss it into the audience and the audience would toss it right back.

Her other band mates join in on the fun on occasion. The guitar player and her have this "slam dance" relationship on stage, banging each other around with some glee. The bass player got involved at one moment. Shayne was sprawled over the monitor and he stepped on her.

A brief appearance was made by the female singer from the previous band for one song.

A sweet moment towards the end was when Shayne asked the audience, "Should we do one or two more songs. You guys don't have to go anywhere do you?" It was pass midnight by this point. Spider Problem was supposed to go on at 11 p.m. The audience had dwindled to less than half of those that listened to the previous band. Even in hipster Silverlake, people need to get up and work the next day.

Racial Violent in Los Angeles

Los Angeles Racial Violence. I’ve talked to some of my friends about this in the past. It is a serious concern that I have. The LA Times website has an article up today ( “Bratton and Baca disagree on role of race in gang violence”, June 13, Andrew Blankstein and Joel Rubin). I lean towards Baca’s thinking of our current situation – though as is mentioned in the article, Bratton may also have the same belief, but a different political approach:

Los Angeles' two top lawmen are increasingly at odds over the extent to which gang violence is being fueled by racial hatred.Police Chief William J. Bratton and his top deputies have long cautioned that race-motivated violence remains fairly rare and that gang feuds over turf and drugs are the leading causes of such violence.

But over the last few months, Sheriff Lee Baca has publicly voiced a more ominous view of violence between Latino and black gangs. This week, he went further than ever, saying in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece that "some of L.A.'s so-called gangs are really no more than loose-knit bands of blacks or Latinos roaming the streets looking for people of the other color to shoot."Baca's comments have prompted debate in law enforcement circles -- with some Los Angeles Police Department officials questioning some of his assertions."The sheriff is saying we need to examine this issue in the light of day to keep it from spreading because we won't be able to address or reverse it, if we deny it," said civil rights attorney Connie Rice. "Chief Bratton is saying something equally valid, which is if you overemphasize race, you may be pouring jet fuel on the fire."

. . .

The issue has been particularly sensitive for Bratton and his command staff in recent months.Faced with a serious rise in the homicide rate in the early part of the year and several high-profile killings, Bratton, [LAPD Deputy Chief] Beck and others battled media reports and public perception that the violence was racially motivated. In one instance, Bratton angrily confronted a television news reporter who challenged the chief's stance on the issue. Bratton's assertion that the high number of killings was an anomaly has been largely borne out as the homicide rate has fallen significantly in recent months.

"It's important that people be well informed when they are forming their opinions about crime in the city," Beck said. "What we don't want to happen is for them to draw conclusions that then become the reality."

. . .

Rice said that although Baca and Bratton are looking at black-Latino violence through a different set of lenses, they are both correct in how they view the problem.The sheriff is looking at high-profile but scattered cases of violence in which race was a motive and is saying "something must be done to address it immediately," Rice said. But Bratton doesn't want police to create a self-fulfilling prophecy by stoking fears of racially motivated violence, she said.In essence, Bratton and Baca are warning about two dangers of the same issue, one of overplaying it, and the other of underplaying it, Rice said.

Porterville at Silverlake Lounge

Monday, May 19, 2008. Porterville is a band that will send you into a dancing frenzy. The band hails from Porterville -- therefore the name. Porterville is a three piece all male band. As I mentioned, the band will send you dancing, which is strange when you see the band, because one could describe them as geeky. It doesn't matter, because their sound will have you going. For a couple songs, they had a guest female take the lead vocals -- red hair flying.

Notes from Vivace

Queen Kwong

I saw Queen Kwong at the Silverlake Lounge on May 14. It is a three piece band with a female lead singer. Per her website, the lead singer, Carre Callaway was the opening act for Nine Inch Nails in Fresno. This sort of explains things, because the set at the Silverlake Lounge was very good -- especially for a band that was only doing its third set (if I heard correctly.) So even if the band is new to the Los Angeles music scene, she is hardly a new face in music.

Queen Kwong has this Mazzy Star feel to it so this is hardly a band that has NIN influences. Most of the set was relatively mild focusing on Carre's vocals. For their last song, it picked up dramatically, which lead to an interesting situation. I guy in the audience got inspired and jumped to the front of the stage where he began to prostrate himself in front of the band. He hugged the monitor and then threw the microphone stand aside. Someone from the audience sort of looked at the situation and then pushed the guy back into the audience. Another person came over and put the microphone stand back together. Ah, the crazy drunk guy . . . every so often you see them around the Los Angeles music scene.

Notes from Vivace

Eject at the Viper Room

I caught this band called Eject at the Viper Room recently. It is a four piece band. I guess I’d describe them as a Cure-like band without the depressing sound. I guess that is a strange sentence that might not make much sense. Their set was filled with some great catchy songs. There was a nice group of friends that had come out to see them. Most of them were rather hip looking folks. I wouldn't mind catching them another time.

An Academy Awards Moment

I thought the coolest award given tonight was for best original song, "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. First, as mentioned by Glen Hansard, that movie was made for $100,000. Second, it was such a lovely movie that I wished it had made three times more at the box office. Third, it was such a great moment seeing the Academy allowing Marketa to come back out on stage. I'm not sure how often that happens at the Oscars. It made for such a sweet moment.

Notes from Vivace

Two Parts of Los Angeles

This weekend was spent in two distinct parts of Los Angeles. Saturday night I saw the U2-3D movie at the Arclight in Hollywood. This area used to be an area of prostitutes and such, but over the last few years has seen a gentrification. There is a high-end apartment complex called Sunset + Vine. The Arclight is a high-end theatre where ticket prices are $14. There I was watching a number of young people walking by, dressed in the hippest fashion. People out on dates were there to impress their potential significant other.

On Sunday afternoon, I spent time in East Los Angeles at a place called El Mercado del Este de Los Angeles. It is a multi-floor complex. The bottom three floors are various stores and food venders. The top floor is dedicated to the El Tarasco Restaurante. There weren't very many people there out to impress anyone -- though perhaps I'm mistaken as the definition of dressing up may vary between the two areas. The people there were nearly all Latino. Counting myself, there were a total of 3 non-Latinos in the El Mercado. That may not seem unusual if you're talking about a place that was only semi-full, but this place must have had a few thousand people inside.

In a way, I felt out of place in both locations. I felt like I fit in more with the people at the Arclight, but at the same time I felt totally inappropriately dressed. At the El Mercado, I was in a different social-economic status. I am rather sure that most of the people there were in the poor status while I am in the upper middle class. A very interesting interaction occurred at a bakery at the El Mercado. Two people in front of me had their bake goods. The person at the counter talked to both in English. I was a bit worried that perhaps she didn't speak English and was prepared to just hand over five dollars and get change. When I got there, she said in perfect English, "Fifty cents."

Either way, it was a great weekend, experiencing two parts of Los Angeles.

Notes from Vivace

A Church

I was invited to attend the Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA recently. As I walked towards the church, all I saw was a sea of Caucasians. It actually felt extremely weird. I felt like I was walking into a foreign land. I admit that this feeling could have been a result of this being my first time at this church. On the other hand, this is California. We're rather diverse in California. As the service started up, I looked around. I'd have to say that the church is 90% white, 8% Asian and 2% Latino/Black. I did look at their website and noticed that they do have a Spanish ministry, but I also noticed that other than the Spanish pastor, all the pastors (and there are 15 listed on the website) are white males. The service itself didn't cause me any issues. I mean, it is a Protestant church, so there is the outline, which includes music, offering, sermon, prayer. All standard fare. The sermon itself was very interesting. I just couldn't get over the fact that this church seemed so largely Caucasian in California.

Notes from Vivace

Air Vents

I recently saw No Country for Old Men. I also saw this season's second episode of Lost. In both, a person hides money in an air vent. Now I wonder how many people are checking their air vents to see if a prior owner or occupier hid something in the air vent? Personally, if my apartment had air vents, I'd probably do a little look see.

Notes from Vivace

The Super Bowl

I wrote in a previous blog that I'd find myself with mixed feelings regarding the Super Bowl. Would I want the Patriots to win or not? This is exactly how it turned out. Initially, I found myself wanting the Patriots to win. And when the Giants got their touchdown with less than a minute to play, I found myself cheering their score.

Of course, I'm not sure I really wanted the Patriots to win intially. Yes, I was cheering for them, but it might have been out of frustration. I wanted to see some offense, but instead I saw really good defense played by both teams. I wanted to see Brady march his team down the field a few times, but instead I saw him knocked down constantly. So maybe what I was really hoping for was a game where both teams scored in the 30s, but a game still won by the Giants. At least, my cheering at the end of the game would seem to confirm this.

Notes from Vivace

Jean Paul Yamamoto at Safari Sam's

I saw this band called Jean Paul Yamamoto at Safari Sam’s in Hollywood Tuesday night. It’s this Asian band with a Caucasian drummer. I did a little research and the lead singer/guitar player is Lun*na Menoh, a Japanese artist. Their set started out with a lady coming out on stage with a stack of paper with written words on each sheet, which she proceeded to toss across the stage one by one as the audience read what was on each sheet. I wasn’t sure if this was the start of the show or not. It was of course, and was a uniquely artistic way to open a set. It was too bad I didn’t pay closer attention to the written word. The band than proceeded came on stage and started their set. There were two ladies, one on each side, dressed in white, looking like either angels or characters from sci-fi cartoons. They slowly swept their arms around as the band sang. The music itself has an electronic feel to it. The other three members; a guitar player, drummer and singer/guitar were also dressed in white. What was interesting about the whole set was that the two ladies made three costume changes throughout the set, but for some reason I was preoccupied by other things on the stage that I didn’t even notice them exiting. I’m not exactly sure how that occurred since this isn’t a band that provides you with a big stage show. Perhaps it is just the subtle action on stage during these transitions that caused me to get distracted. And oh, there’s that big white wig that the lead singer wears.

Notes from Vivace

Automatic Music Explosion. Venice Air Conditioned Supper Club.

I caught The Automatic Music Explosion at the Venice Air Conditioned Supper Club. The audience at Venice-ACSC was a bit stand off-ish at first, but by the end of the set there was growing interest. It was likely driven by the active performance that the band displayed throughout their set. The ending was particularly energetic with various band members flying around the stage. One can tell that they’re a well rehearsed band. At one time, the two guitar players and bass player were aligned in a sharp angle. It is a small thing to notice, but indicates a belief in practice makes perfect. I’d recommend checking this band out. And the Venice-ACSC is a good place to check out, as well. There were probably 80 – 100 people there during the Automatic Music Explosion set.

Notes from Vivace

Lady Danville at UCLA

I came across this band called Lady Danville recently. I enjoyed their set so figured I'd give a quick write-up:

This is a folk/acoustic type band. It is a three piece band with a keyboardist, guitar, and a percussionist. The percussionist plays on a cajon (a beat box, box drum type instrument). It was a pleasant set. It is the type of music that you listen to when you want to sit back and relax. The melodies are strong, the rhythm is pleasant. The guys in the band appear to get along with each other. There isn’t much interaction on stage between the three members, but you still get the feeling they enjoy playing as a trio.

Notes from Vivace

New England Patriots and Potential Super Bowl Victory

I admit I have mixed feelings about the New England Patriots. I feel this is one arrogant team that needs to be brought down a notch; however, they are the best football team out there. (I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but you've got to admit the obvious.) When you have a team that is so superior to any other team in the NFL, it would stink if they didn't win it all. But on the other hand, I want a team out there to beat them and shove it in their faces just like New England did to other teams throughout this season. If San Diego doesn't have much of a team on Sunday due to injuries, I guess it will be up to the Giants or Packers to knock off the Patriots. I don't know how I'll feel when Super Bowl Sunday comes around -- should the Patriots make it. I think half of me will be cheering on the Patriots while the other half will be cheering on the NFC team.

Notes from Vivace

"Definitely, Maybe" film preview

I've seen the trailer for "Definitely, Maybe" a handful of times. There is a scene where the father is telling his daughter about a threesome. The daughter asks, "What is a threesome?" The father says something like, "It is a game that adults play." I wonder if others out there find this a bit disturbing. Okay, so it is meant as comedy and it is sort of funny, but on the other hand it isn't. Why would anyone talk about a threesome with their pre-teen daughter? And the actress herself is a pre-teen. It just seems wrong to have allowed something like this to be written and filmed.

Notes from Vivace

I am Legend

I enjoyed the movie, but so many questions. Some of these questions might be stupid or might have been answered if I’d paid better attention to the movie, but here they are:

First, how did Robert Neville get all that lab equipment into his basement? I suppose that while the virus was starting up, he might have gotten some help from the military.

Second, if “the infected” are smart enough to put together a trap, why aren’t they smart enough to track Robert Neville’s daytime movement more carefully? They obviously knew where he went to get his videos. I suppose you could argue that they didn’t track him to the video store, but instead randomly came across it during their night walks and made the assumption that this was where Robert Neville hung out at times.

Third, how could Anna and Ethan survive in a truck with “the infected” all around the country?

Fourth, I understand that there is easily a breakdown in communication when a country falls apart, but why was Robert Neville unable to get into contact with the safe zone over a 3 year period? Anna and Ethan had obviously heard of this safe zone so why wouldn’t Robert Neville with all that fancy equipment of his not have known about this safe zone as well? And if he somehow wasn’t aware, why wasn’t the safe zone looking for him? Anna knew that Robert Neville was an important figure in the fight against the virus. Wouldn’t this safe zone be interested in figuring out if Robert Neville was still alive in New York? And wouldn’t the safe zone also be sending out messages to the potentially uninfected?

Fifth, if “the infected” have this ability to scale three story townhouses, wasn’t the safe zone walls rather short?

Sixth, what are all the side effects of being infected? You obviously look awful, but you’re still able to strategize. You turn extremely vicious and violent, but you also wear cloths and hoard American dollars.

Seventh, for a city with the infected in it, the city looked remarkably well kept. The infected looked a bit vicious, I just wonder why more damage wasn’t done to the city.

Eight, what do the infected eat after three years? I suppose they feed on animal flesh.

Ninth, do the infected reproduce?

Tenth, so Robert Neville uses a grenade to kill off the leader of the pack. So wouldn’t using a grenade in the basement cause problems for Anna and Ethan who are in the safe? Couldn’t a blast potentially jam the door?

Notes from Vivace