Man charged with murdering MTA bus driver
Could face death penalty
A man who allegedly shot a Metro driver shortly after boarding the victim’s bus last Sunday morning has been charged with murder and is scheduled to be arraigned June 12 in Beverly Hills Superior Court.
Anthony Craig Chambers, 41, of Los Angeles, could face the death penalty, if convicted. He is charged with the slaying of 51-year-old Alan Thomas, who had worked for the Metropolitan Transportation District for five years.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and murder of transportation personnel.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek a death sentence against Chambers, who allegedly pulled a shotgun from a suitcase, approached the driver and shot him twice shortly after boarding the bus.
Chambers was detained after he was seen climbing out of the window of the bus on Santa Monica Boulevard west of La Cienega Boulevard following the shooting, which occurred shortly after 9 a.m., according to a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Thomas died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center less than a half-hour later.
Two guns were found on the bus, according to reports from the scene.
Metro spokesman Rick Jager said Thomas had been driving a Route 105 bus east on Santa Monica Boulevard when he was shot. Route 105 runs from West Hollywood south on La Cienega Boulevard, and then east on Vernon Avenue. An MTA bus yard is located near that intersection, which is one block from the West Hollywood sheriff’s station.
An estimated 1,000 people, including about 700 Metro employees, turned out for the funeral services held Saturday at Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles for MTA bus driver Alan Thomas, who was shot to death on May 17, while driving his route in West Hollywood.
They were joined by transit employees from carriers such as Foothill, Torrance and Gardena, as well as family and friends, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sheriff Lee Baca and Metro CEO Art Leahy—who began his career with the transit agency as a bus operator.
A man was booked into jail this Monday morning, May 21, on suspicion of fatally shooting an MTA bus driver in West Hollywood.
Anthony Craig Chambers, 41, of Los Angeles was arrested at the scene of Sunday morning's shooting and booked on suspicion of murder at the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station, where he was being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
After a detailed examination of the candidates, including closed-door interviews with both Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, the community group that has led the advocacy efforts for a Leimert Park Village Station and 11-block Crenshaw Boulevard tunnel on the Crenshaw-LAX Rail Line released their scorecard on the two mayoral candidates. The Crenshaw Subway Coalition grades both Garcetti and Greuel “A-” on the Leimert Park Village Station; and on the 11-block Crenshaw Boulevard tunnel Garcetti receives a “C” and Greuel a “B+.”
People often describe me as troubled. I’m not going to say that I’m not. But I’m not crazy. I have troubles. A lot of us do. But you need to understand where I’m coming from and why I am the way I am. Considering what I’ve been through, it’s a miracle that I’ve been able to hold it together. I’m just trying to find my way. [I’ve read newspaper stories about me that] say, “Experts testify [that boy] is psychotic.” The way they describe me is wrong—bi-polar, depression, pyro, whatever. I know I’m not at all.
PALMDALE, Calif. — A man was killed today in a two-vehicle crash in the Littlerock area near Palmdale, authorities said.
The crash occurred at about 4:30 a.m. on Avenue T at Dunford Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
According to the preliminary investigation, Jose Olivarez, 41, of Littlerock, was driving a 1998 Plymouth Voyager east on Avenue T when he turned left at Dunford Avenue “directly into the path of a westbound 2006 Chrysler,” the CHP said in a statement.
