Free Republic

It took a federal jury an hour to convict a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy of using excessive force after he assaulted and pepper-sprayed a woman outside a supermarket in Lancaster in 2023.The prosecutors made their case in a three-day trial in February, ultimately persuading jurors to find Trevor Kirk guilty of a felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law. Kirk faced up to 10 years in prison.But on Monday, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson sentenced Kirk to four months in prison, after last week granting the government’s request to dismiss the felony charge. With that...

Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman will allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty again in Los Angeles, undoing one of the signature policies of his predecessor, George Gascón. The move comes as little surprise: Hochman campaigned on the issue almost as soon as he announced his challenge to Gascón in 2023. But it still marks a significant shift in one of the largest prosecutor’s offices in the nation. Under California law, the death penalty can only be sought in cases where a defendant is accused of murder with special circumstances. That can include multiple homicides or cases where the victim is...

George Gascón is trailing his challenger, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, in recent polls, and much of the incumbent’s support from 2020 has vanished.Hochman has unleashed a media blitz blaming Gascón for high-profile crimes, but the county race reflects a broader shift among voters across the state.Gascón has tried to maintain a positive spin, noting that he came from behind to defeat then-Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey in 2020. This year’s election is on Nov. 5. It’s a Saturday morning in late September, and Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s voice is hoarse as he struggles to film a TikTok...

Durst, 78, was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday for murdering his close friend, Susan Berman, inside her Benedict Canyon home in 2000. Durst has been held in a wing of USC Medical Center under the watch of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department throughout the trial, but it was not immediately clear if he was still in that facility or when or where he became infected with the coronavirus. The 78-year-old spent the majority of the trial seated in a wheelchair. In court filings, Durst’s attorneys repeatedly sought a mistrial, claiming Durst was too sick to testify...

Gascón ally calls the actions "symbolic, pointless, and partisan attempts to aid a floundering recall effort.”. As organizers of an effort to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón say they are working closely with county officials to finalize the petition, three more cities declared “no confidence” in the progressive prosecutor this week. “City leaders are beginning to see what citizens and victims have known: George Gascon threatens the safety of our communities with his pro-criminal policies and actions,” read an email blast from Victims of Violent Crime for the Recall of District Attorney Gascón. “Together, we can recall...

Video widely shared on social media shows a man threatening Eden the Doll, Jaslene Whiterose and Joslyn Flawless around 2 a.m. Monday in the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard. All three women are influencers with large social media followings. In the video, a man is seen threatening Flawless with a crowbar as he robs her and then hits Whiterose over the head with something as bystanders laugh and taunt the women. Police said the man demanded Flawless’ shoes and bracelet while threatening her with the weapon and struck Whiterose with a bottle — all while making “derogatory remarks” about their...