LAPD Arrests Suspect in Attack on Eagle Rock Jogger
Police, looking for three other suspects, describe the attack as "isloated" and not related to gangs. (Photo gallery and video)
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The LAPD has arrested a suspect in the gruesome assault on an Eagle Rock resident who was jogging last night at the Yosemite Recreation Center and officers are actively pursuing leads about three other assailants in the crime that has shocked the community and spurred demands for greater security.
At a packed news conference held at the Northeast Community Police Station Thursday evening, LAPD Detective Supervisor Martha Ramos explained that her detectives are interrogating an 18-year-old suspect believed to be responsible for the attack on the 45-year-old resident who lives near Addison Way, adjacent to the Yosemite Rec Center.
The victim had been jogging at the Rec Center on the East side of the baseball field near Eagle Rock High School while listening to music on his MP3 player when four or five male youths in their late teens or early 20s attacked him with skateboards and stole his MP3. Read Eagle Rock Patch's coverage of the aggravated robbery here.
Ramos, who has headed robbery investigations in Northeast Los Angeles for the past four years, explained that her detectives were interrogating the suspect following a tip from a witness to the crime. No other information about the suspect has been released so far in an effort to safeguard the investigation, Ramos said.
Ramos confirmed that the victim sustained "pretty bad injuries around the upper torso" and "very severe bruising." She called it a "violent" and "psychological" attack that was a "crime of opportunity.”
LAPD Capt. David Lindsay told the news conference that the attack was an “isolated incident” unconnected to any gang activity, echoing the view of Senior Lead Officer Craig Orange, who is in charge of policing Eagle Rock, that the attack was the work of “juveniles who wanted to show how tough they are.”
During a survey of the scene of the crime earlier Thursday, Orange told Eagle Rock Patch that the attack appeared to be initiated by the suspect now in custody to “show his buddies, ‘watch how we take his MP3.’”
District 14 Councilmember José Huizar, who was also present at the news conference, said that patrols have been stepped up in and around the Yosemite Rec Center. The area is frequently targeted by graffiti taggers. A swimming pool at the south end of the rec center already has a video surveillance camera to deter taggers—and the installation of a long-sanctioned second camera is being expedited, Huizar said. Further, a city-funded initiative whereby a private company, Graffiti Busters, cleans up graffiti within 48 hours of receiving a complaint will be executed even more promptly, Huizar added.
Despite all those safety measures—not to mention the promises of more—and assurances that the Feb. 2 attack at the rec center was an isolated incident, policing in Eagle Rock has come under rapid-fire scrutiny. The local television affiliates of CBS and NBC, as well as KCAL, which were present at the news conference, aggressively questioned the LAPD’s claims, especially in light of the recent exodus of officers from LAPD gang units, following their refusal to comply with federal orders to disclose details of their personal finances by March 31.
Just yesterday, the Associated Press quoted an LAPD senior lead officer as saying that "more gang members are being seen walking around in public, crossing out each other's graffiti and going into each other's area a lot more." The officer, Bobby Hill, of the Northeast Division, added: "There's less pressure on them, they become more brazen."
Although violent crime in Eagle Rock has gone down 33 percent over the past year, according to LAPD figures, theft has gone up 12 percent, and many Eagle Rockers fear that there might be more to gang activity in the neighborhood than meets the eye, especially given the proximity of Highland Park and Glassell Park, where gangs are firmly entrenched.
Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council President Michael Larsen, a neighbor of the assaulted jogger who assisted him following the attack and called 911, noted at the news conference that the Yosemite Rec Center is "literally filled with tags." Nonetheless, the police remained firm in their statement that the assault on the jogger as well as the rampant tagging in Yosemite Park are not gang-affiliated.
Senior Lead Officer Orange explained that such tagging is the work of a few individuals who are trying to make a name for themselves through their tagging, and are not members of a gang.
For his part, Councilmember Huizar called Eagle Rock the "safest community in Los Angeles." Relatively speaking, there’s some truth to that, but it's hard to imagine that the jogger who was bashed in the head with skateboards, solely for his possession of an MP3 player, would agree.
In This article
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Eagle Rock High School
1750 Yosemite Dr, Los Angeles, CA -
Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council
2225 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA -
City of Los Angeles José Huizar Councilmember
2035 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
LT2004
10:37 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
I don't see no improvements let
Michael Larsen
10:59 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
By noon today, all of the graffiti was removed from the infamous LaRoda cul-de-sac between the park and the high school. That is a significant improvement.
Come on Saturday at 11am and join in the clean up and reclaiming of this great park!
Ajay Singh
11:07 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thanks for that encouraging bit of news, Michael—and for all that you've done since last night to help your unfortunate neighbor as well as rally community support to make Eagle Rock a safer place. I was intrigued by what you said today afternoon—about possibly turning the amphitheater behind the swimming pool at the southern edge of the Rec Center into a dog park. What we really need is more community activity in that area, including community policing (both on foot and on bicycles), and a dog park, especially a clean, attractive one, should go a long way in making that happen.
Trevor
12:27 am on Friday, February 4, 2011
Yosemite Park is a bit small for any expansion dont you think? You would be cutting out a lot of activities that already take place at the park. Why not just better improve the promotion of activities at the park now?
Cncrnd
7:45 am on Friday, February 4, 2011
Hi Trevor,
The area near the amphitheater, and behind the pool is not currently used for any park activities. Because it is hidden it is used to drink 40-ounce beer, smoke pot, and possibly other illicit activities. Large shards of sharp broken glass are littered around the amphitheater that can, and have, injured people, children, and pets. Putting this area behind the pool to better, and more frequent, use will be a big improvement.
Trevor
8:05 am on Friday, February 4, 2011
The amphitheater is largely unused. Maybe if more small plays or even some some of program relating to theater were set up it could be put to better use. I know attempts have been made and with the few that have been made turn out was great. If we know already that illicit acts take place in that area, the simplest way to stop it would be to just have more regular checks in that area by police or park staff. There are already too many unused dog parks in Los Angeles in my opinion.
Michael Larsen
11:17 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
Ajay,
Any and all ideas are on the table: Dog parks, Frisbee golf courses, more playgrounds, volunteer patrols. It's time to think out of the box and push through some systemic changes for the betterment of Eagle Rock. Again, I want to encourage EVERYONE to show up this Saturday to show support and to help clean up the park. Thanks.
Cncrnd
7:42 am on Friday, February 4, 2011
Hi Michael,
Thanks for putting this together, we will definitely aim to be there 11am on Sat. Your involvement is appreciated. As a regular visitor to the park I can say this has been needed for a while. Please note if we can bring any food or drinks on Saturday.
Sloootyper
8:14 am on Friday, February 4, 2011
I like the dog park idea!
Ruben Diaz
9:24 am on Friday, February 4, 2011
This news story is so over the top and full of drama. A terrible violent crime occurred, much like what goes on DAILY just a couple miles away in any direction. One suspect is in custody and the others will be soon im sure. Then we wont hear about crime like this for another 5 years.
Quit trying to bad mouth the police or stick in other unrelated news stories to make this one more than two paragraphs.
And squeezing in a dog park wont make these opportunists stop assaulting people. . .
Brian McGuire
7:12 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
These people that assaulted the jogger are obviously cowardly assholes (excuse my French). If we opened a dog park there and other activities that draw people these cowards would never have done what they did. That is how cowards are. But, we need to have buy-in from the community. There are plenty of people there during the day playing tennis, etc. Something needs to draw them in in the evening.
Andrew Hindes
8:59 am on Saturday, February 5, 2011
First I'd like to thank Ajay and his team at Eagle Rock Patch for their excellent, timely and thorough coverage of this event. It's great to now have an online news outlet that keeps us informed about the good and bad things that happen in our community and does so in an intelligent, unbiased and unsensationalized way. Mr. Diaz has a right to his opion that this event is "overblown," and he's not wrong to say this type of attack happens more often in other neighborhoods. But Eagle Rock is our neighborhood and what goes on here naturally affects us more than what happens elsewhere. Part of what we love about Eagle Rock is that it is a safe community--but also one in which residents care and come together when there are problems. So keep up the fantastic work!
Michael Larsen
9:18 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
As everyone settles in for the night, I just want to put out one more reminder about tomorrow's community gathering and clean up at Yosemite Rec Center. We will start at 11am. There will be food and refreshments and all the tools and supplies needed to give the park a new start.
This is one of those rare opportunities to show support and make a change. I hope to see you there tomorrow!
mark smith
11:33 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
er
mark smith
11:23 am on Saturday, February 5, 2011
sorry for the incomplete message above.
Ajay Singh
12:05 pm on Saturday, February 5, 2011
Many thanks for your kind comment, Andrew Hindes. We'll always try to be on top of the news in Eagle Rock, particularly incidents of this kind that shouldn't be happening and are largely preventable.
Cncrnd
2:14 pm on Monday, February 7, 2011
Any updates from LAPD? Are suspects still being pursued?
Michael Larsen
2:19 pm on Monday, February 7, 2011
The last word I heard was that they had 2 suspects in custody and they know who the 3rd is. They now believe that it was only 3 total.
Mike
12:49 pm on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I was walking through Yosemite Park about a month ago, and a group of people were in the ampitheater drinking and breaking bottles. I called the Northeast Division, and was treated poorly, and put on hold for over 30 minutes! It made me want to go drink and break bottles with them!
ER does have some bad spots, but Yosemite is the least among them. The "Free Clinic" on Colorado and Mt Royal draws in a really bad crowd. It's only a matter of time before someone is hurt. The area around Figueroa and Colorado is also getting worse. If LAPD is serious about keeping our neighborhood safe, they need to create a simple way for good citizens to report crime. We can do the rest ourselves!
Michael Larsen
12:59 pm on Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Mike,
I share your frustration with reporting problems to the city. The best way to deal with problems at Yosemite or Eagle Rock Rec is to call General Services directly. They are the police department for the parks (and libraries). I have their number plugged into the "favorites" on my phone , so it's always handy. Here it is: 213-978-4670
ANYTIME you see something that is suspicious or out of place, call them with a specific location and description. They answer quickly and they DO respond. Also, it's a known fact that the more calls that come in about a particular park or facility, the more RESOURCES will be devoted to it.
STARCHY
10:43 am on Thursday, February 10, 2011
Maybe Huizar will finally get around to addressing the stumbling bums that plague our community courtesy of the Alma Lodge?
Sloootyper
3:17 pm on Friday, February 11, 2011
I agree with Brian about the idea that something needs to draw the community to these spots in the evening. Things like a dog park (or something else) that draw a law-abiding crowd will naturally push out the bad element. The more involved the community is in going to our parks, walking at night, biking, etc. the more visible we ALL are. When we, as a community, are visible the bad element tends to disappear because they want to live in anonymity and keep doing whatever it is that they do. It ties into the broken windows theory for anyone who has studied Criminal Justice. The more on top of it we are in reporting issues like graffiti, illegal dumping, illegal vendors, noise pollution, etc. the more unbearable we make it for criminals. In our case, LAPD's responsiveness is poor at best, so it will be up to us to be more visible. As a start, we are doing it on our street!
bbkong
11:44 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Ah, more thuggery at the park. That's a shame. Too bad the parents of these minors aren't being held responsible for what their poorly bred offspring are doing.
I strolled through the park the other day (broad daylight, carrying my taser of course) and spotted the one video camera installed there. It has a nice view of the amphitheater but not much else. The one in front of the pool has a nice view of the ball fields, but there's rarely any trouble there. One that sees the back of the pool building plus some signage might cut down on the graffiti. I'll take this opportunity to once again suggest those cameras be made public accessible to add more eyes on the situation.
Putting up signs that say it's a dog park or spending money on frisbee golf hardware will do nothing to help with this problem. Nice ideas, but no actual effect. The only effective solution is to counter the attraction of isolation. The simplest method would be to relocate some of the park management personnel back there so there's always a warm body in plain view. No isolation - no mischief.