Hawthorne

Apr 23 2013

Victimized individuals from San Diego to Simi Valley

TORRANCE, Calif. — The Torrance Police Department announced today that it has three suspects in custody who are believed to have been involved in credit card fraud victimizing 37 people from San Diego to Simi Valley.

The investigation began on Sept. 17, after a Torrance resident living in the 17500 block of Emanita Avenue was fraudulently billed for a delivery  to a FedEx office at 21023 Hawthorne Boulevard.

Surveillance video allegedly showed a suspect picking up a package.

Apr 23 2013

Empty casket

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A Los Angeles woman who created bogus death certificates, bought a burial plot, buried an empty casket, and staged a phony funeral to lend credibility to an insurance fraud scheme was sentenced today to a year and a half in federal prison.

Jean Crump, 70, was found guilty last year of federal mail and wire fraud charges stemming from the scam in which she and others purchased insurance policies for non-existent people, killed them off on paper and then staged their funerals.

Lavenia Stewart  |   OW Contributor
Apr 18 2013

There are resources to help overcome barriers to youth employment

Who wouldn’t want to spend the summer months sleeping until noon, and the rest of the day scouring the malls for the latest Hip Hop fashion or hanging out at the park shooting hoops?

Jan 14 2013

Believed to be a gang member

INGLEWOOD, Calif.—A boy in a stolen car led officers through Inglewood and other South Bay cities today in a meandering two-hour pursuit during which he crashed into a police cruiser, then drove over some spike strips and was arrested, police said.

The pursuit started at Manchester and La Cienega Boulevards in Inglewood at 11:06 p.m., when officers attempted to stop a gold Toyota Camry stolen in Inglewood and the driver refused to pull over, said Inglewood police Sgt. Brian Hand.

Dec 18 2012

Inglewood insurance office

TORRANCE, Calif.—A man was sentenced today to a pair of life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the murders of two people inside an Inglewood insurance office more than five years ago.

Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen also tacked on another life term plus 74 years and four months for Julius Laulu, according to Deputy District Attorney Greta Walker.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”