Brigadas Contienen el Incendio Tuttle en 2 Acres; Una Casa Dañada, Todos los Residentes a Salvo

A federal judge in California issued a ruling on Tuesday that prohibits Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from arresting immigrants at courthouse hearings or detaining them for more than 12 hours in short-term holding cells anywhere in the United States. The decision, handed down by Judge Pitts in a California federal court, strikes down two key policies from the Trump administration that expanded enforcement tactics.

Courthouse arrests had drawn intense scrutiny after dramatic scenes of ICE agents apprehending individuals during routine court appearances were broadcast from locations including 26 Federal Plaza in New York and other courthouses nationwide. Attorneys in San Francisco filed a lawsuit challenging the practices, which they argued violated legal procedures and turned courthouses into "hunting grounds" for immigration enforcement.

The judge found that the policies issued in January and June 2025 lacked clear reasoning as required by the Administrative Procedures Act, describing them as "arbitrary and capricious." In January 2025, ICE and the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review reversed years of guidance against courthouse arrests, allowing agents to conduct civil enforcement actions in or near courthouses whenever they believed a noncitizen would be present, regardless of public safety threats. By June 2025, the agency authorized field offices to detain individuals for up to three days or longer under "exceptional circumstances." The plaintiffs noted that these changes led to a significant increase in detention numbers.

Jordan Wells, a senior attorney at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, stated, "The courthouse is meant to be a refuge for the pursuit of justice, not a hunting ground for ICE. No one, immigrants included, should be forced to choose between their liberty and their day in court." The ruling has been hailed as a major setback for some of the most extreme immigration enforcement measures of the Trump administration.

The California Supreme Court has declined to review the case of Kenneth Earl Gay, a 68-year-old man serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 1983 murder of Los Angeles Police Department Officer Paul Verna during a traffic stop in Lake View Terrace. The decision, announced Wednesday, marks a significant step toward finality in a case that has spanned more than four decades and multiple trials.

In an April 9 ruling, a three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld Gay’s conviction, rejecting defense claims that jurors were improperly instructed and that a trial judge erred in denying three motions to dismiss. The defense did not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the conviction.

Gay was convicted in August 2023 of first-degree murder for the June 2, 1983, shooting death of Officer Paul Verna, a married father of two young sons who both later became police officers. Jurors found true special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer in the performance of his duties and murder to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest, but could not reach a unanimous verdict on the allegation that Gay personally used a gun during the crime.

The case has a long and tortuous history. Gay was originally convicted and sentenced to death in 1985, but the California Supreme Court overturned that conviction in 1998, finding he had not received constitutionally adequate representation.

A second death sentence in 2000 was also overturned in 2008, with the court ruling that the trial judge improperly barred Gay from presenting significant mitigating evidence. In 2020, the state Supreme Court sent the case back for a retrial of the guilt phase, again citing ineffective assistance of counsel.

During the retrial, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, under then-District Attorney George Gascón, opted not to seek the death penalty. However, Superior Court Judge Hayden Zacky rejected a bid by Gascón’s office to dismiss the special circumstance allegations, and in November 2023, sentenced Gay to life without parole.

Judge Zacky said the victim’s family had suffered “immeasurable” pain and expressed hope that the case would not be tried again, while acknowledging an appeal was likely.

Prosecutors argued that Gay and his accomplice, Raynard Cummings, had been engaged in a series of violent robberies in the San Fernando Valley when Officer Verna pulled them over. Cummings fired the first shot, prosecutors said, and then Gay emerged from the car, shot Verna three times in the back, and fired two more shots as the officer lay on the ground.

Cummings was also convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

Defense attorney Monnica Thelen argued that Cummings was the sole shooter and that Gay had nothing to do with the murder. She called the case “severely lacking” and urged jurors not to let evidence of robberies inflame their passions.

At the sentencing hearing, the victim’s widow, Sandy Jackson, described the killing as an assassination and said her husband, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Medal of Valor recipient, is missed every day.

The officer’s sons, Ryan and Bryce Verna, both now retired LAPD officers, spoke of the devastation left by their father’s murder. Bryce Verna called it “repulsive” that Gay would not be executed, while Ryan noted he was only 4 years old when his father was “executed in cold blood.”

The California Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case brings the legal saga closer to an end, but the possibility of further appeals remains.

A Santa Monica employee was shot in the leg during an armed robbery at a local business on Wednesday evening, according to police reports. The incident occurred at a commercial establishment in the 2000 block of Lincoln Boulevard, where an unknown suspect entered the store, displayed a firearm, and demanded money.

During the confrontation, the suspect fired a single shot, striking the employee in the lower leg. The suspect fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Police responded to reports of gunfire at approximately 7:30 p.m. and found the victim conscious and alert.

Paramedics provided emergency treatment on-site before transporting the employee to a nearby hospital. Hospital officials confirmed the victim is in stable condition and expected to recover.

The Santa Monica Police Department has launched an investigation, reviewing security footage and interviewing witnesses. Detectives believe the suspect acted alone and describe him as a male in his 20s, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and a mask.

Authorities are urging anyone with information to contact the Santa Monica Police Department's Robbery Unit. The business remains closed during the investigation.

This incident has raised concerns among local business owners and residents about safety in the area, which has seen a recent uptick in property crimes. Police have increased patrols in the neighborhood as a precaution.

Three people are dead after losing control of their vehicle and driving off an embankment in the Santa Cruz mountains, authorities reported.

Officers were dispatched to the scene of the crash west of Redwood Gulch Road off Highway 9 at 9:36 p.m. Monday, according to the San José office of the California Highway Patrol.

A 2024 BMW M3 was traveling eastbound on the two-lane highway, which slopes downhill, when the driver lost control. The vehicle veered off the road and down a steep embankment, the CHP said.

The car fell approximately 400 feet, according to Ross Lee, a CHP public information officer.

“SR-9 is a windy mountainous road,” Lee said. “We have responded to crashes on SR-9 in the past to varying degrees of severity or injury.”

The driver, a 21-year-old man from Yuba City, and two passengers—a 17-year-old boy from San José and a 27-year-old man from Salem, Oregon—all died in the crash.

Officials stated the highway was closed in both directions for about three hours as investigators worked the scene. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

Lee told The Times that the CHP's details of the incident are preliminary and subject to change.

A domestic violence suspect with multiple outstanding warrants led police on a high-speed chase through Barstow on Tuesday, reaching speeds of up to 100 mph, before abandoning his vehicle and breaking into an occupied home in an attempt to evade capture, authorities said.

Gabriel Romero, 35, of Barstow, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, domestic violence, reckless evading of police, and resisting or obstructing police, according to San Bernardino County jail records.

The incident began around 11 a.m. on June 23, when officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a motel in the 1300 block of West Main Street, according to Barstow Police Department officials.

Police determined that Romero had assaulted his girlfriend and fled before officers arrived, the department said in a written statement. Officers also discovered that Romero had several active felony arrest warrants related to charges including burglary, grand theft, drug possession, and multiple counts of vehicle theft, according to police and county records.

Responding officers spotted Romero driving in the area and attempted to pull him over, but he sped away, initiating a pursuit, officials said.

"The driver failed to yield, committed several additional traffic violations, and a vehicle pursuit ensued with speeds reaching up to 100 mph," the police statement said.

The chase ended just under 5 miles away in the 3600 block of West Main Street, where Romero abandoned the car and fled on foot through a desert area adjacent to a residential neighborhood, police said.

"Romero forced his way inside an occupied residence, and officers chased him inside," according to the statement. "Romero locked himself in a bathroom before officers forced the door open and took Romero into custody without further incident."

The suspect is being held without bail pending legal proceedings.