Updated 2:15 pm 2/18/13

Federal and local law enforcement in Los Angeles are seeking information from the public that leads to the identity of an unidentified suspect wanted for a series of bank robberies. The suspect was given the moniker of “Purse Packing Bandit” to assist law enforcement responding to the banks with information about active bank robbery suspects. Bandit names are generated based on witness descriptions of the appearance or behavior of a suspect during the initial robberies to which they’re linked.

PURSE PACKING BANDIT

During the robberies linked to the Purse Packing Bandit, the suspect approaches the victim bank teller carrying a purse in which she advises the teller there is a gun.

The Purse Packing Bandit passes a note to the victim teller demanding specific amounts of cash. The Purse Packing Bandit is seen in bank surveillance photos with various hairstyles, possibly wigs, and, in some cases, sunglasses.

The Purse Packing Bandit is described as a black female, 5’02” to 5’04,” 120 to 140 lbs. and 35 to 45 years of age, and has been linked to the following robberies:

10/20/12 Citibank 8900 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood

11/14/12 Chase Bank 310 N. Fairfax Blvd. Los Angeles

12/20/12 Bank of America 8025 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood

12/24/12 Chase Bank 3738 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles

Anyone with information about the identity or whereabouts of either suspect is urged to contact their nearest FBI office or dial 911. Or if you wish to remain Anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org


The FBI is conducting these investigations jointly with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department.
 

 

Updated 7:20am 2/17/13

Government offices, courts, schools, libraries,
banks and post offices will be closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
   Trash will be collected as usual in Los Angeles.
   Metro buses and rail lines will run on a normal schedule. Specific
schedules for bus lines can be found on the MTA's Web site at www.metro.net.
   Metrolink trains will run on a normal schedule. Train schedules and
directions to Metrolink stations are available online at
www.metrolinktrains.com or by calling (800) 371-LINK.
   The following Foothill Transit lines will run on a weekend schedule:
178, 185, 187, 195, 197, 269, 272, 274, 280, 281, 282, 284, 285, 286, 289, 291,
480, 482, 486, 488, 492 and the Silver Streak. No other lines will be running.
   Additional details about Foothill Transit schedules are available online
at www.foothilltransit.org or by calling (800) 743-3463.

Information from City News Service

More News You Need to Know

CHICAGO (AP) — For all the talk of Jesse Jackson Jr. aspiring to be a U.S. senator or mayor of the nation's third-largest city, his career wasn't ended by attempts to amass political power.

Instead, it was the former congressman's desire for flashy items like a $40,000 Rolex watch and furs, and collectibles, such as Eddie Van Halen's guitar, and items from Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix and civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm x. Thr Chicago Sun Times reports a SoCal connection: Jackson reportedly used campaign funds at Edwards-Lowell, a Beverly Hills furrier.

Longtime Chicago political analyst Paul Green calls it "sad." Green says the popular son of a civil rights icon was in a position to be elected to higher office.

Jackson Jr. was charged Friday with spending $750,000 in campaign money on personal expenses. The Chicago Sun Times reports:

The charges came about three months after Jackson resigned, citing his struggle with bipolar disorder.

Congressman Danny Davis wonders if the purchases were an indication of Jackson's bipolar condition manifesting itself.

Read the charges against Conressman Jackson here and against his wife, Alderman Sandi Jackson here

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated 2 pm 2/15/13

Michael Linder, 790 KABC News reporting

Republican Los Angeles mayoral candidate Kevin James has scored a major coup by picking up an endorsement and financial campaign backing from former L.A. mayor Richard Riordan.
Riordan praised James as the only candidate who isn’t under the influence of city worker unions.
Riordan says James stands a chance of getting into the runoff because “people are picking up that he is much more independent than the others. The others can't possibly run our city well because they can't make major pension changes. They are owned by the unions.” Riordan says he’ll help bankroll the campaign of the former talk show host. 

More Local News:

2:27pm

WESTMINSTER, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California police officer has been placed on probation for conspiring to dismiss a woman's speeding ticket after she promised to send booze.
The motorist works in the alcohol industry.
Prosecutors say 44-year-old Huntington Beach police Officer Erik Michal Krause and 47-year-old Garden Grove police Officer Michael John Zannitto were convicted of misdemeanor conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Krause had ticketed the woman for speeding near a school bus. While off duty later that month, Zannitto met the woman and told her he could have the citation dismissed in exchange for free alcohol.
Zannitto called Krause and he took care of the ticket.
A judge on Friday sentenced Krause to probation and 30 days in jail, which was stayed pending completion of community service. Zannitto got the same sentence earlier.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown continues to allow convicted murderers to be paroled from California prisons at a much higher rate than his predecessors.
The governor's office said Friday that Brown let stand 80 percent of the state Board of Parole Hearings' 470 decisions to free convicted killers in 2012. The governor reversed 91 of the parole decisions and sent 2 cases back for reconsideration by the full board.
His office says Brown allowed 82 percent of the board's 412 parole decisions in 2011.
By contrast, former Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger only allowed about a quarter of the recommended paroles to stand, while former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis allowed just 2 percent.
Governor's spokesman Evan Westrup notes that in 2011 state courts overturned nearly three-quarters of 144 Schwarzenegger reversals that were challenged.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento County election officials have found 407 ballots that were cast in the Nov. 6 election but never counted.
Registrar Jill LaVine said Thursday a warehouse worker discovered the ballots in a sealed bag on the shelf in the Elections Department on Feb. 7.
But LaVine says the department analyzed the ballots and determined they would not have changed the outcome in any contest in the 92 precincts where they originated.
LaVine says the oversight occurred when an elections worker mistakenly put the ballots in a red supply bag instead of the pink bags designated for ballots.
The Sacramento Bee  reports the uncounted ballots will be stored for 22 months before they are shredded as required by law.
___

 

Drew Hayes
Operations Director
KABC/Los Angeles
(310) 840-4901
 

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge says Kim Kardashian's divorce case is ready for trial.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Moloney says a trial date should be set and Kardashian's estranged husband, Kris Humphries, has had adequate time to prepare.

Moloney's ruling Friday in Los Angeles came after months of wrangling between lawyers for when a trial can be set to end the former couple's marriage.

Humphries wants an annulment, while Kardashian is seeking a divorce.

His attorney had been seeking additional time to obtain information about Kardashian's reality shows.

A trial will determine whether Humphries can prove his claims that the couple's marriage was based on fraud.

The case will move to another judge to set a trial date, which Moloney says may be in four to six weeks.

 

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.