A Compton community leader wants accountability from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after deputies broke into his home and wrongfully detained him.  On April 18, 2023, deputies burst into the home of Derrick Cooper, 55, at around 4 a.m. with their weapons drawn. They handcuffed him and hauled him outside while he was still naked from the waist down. Cooper was sleeping and said he was shocked waking up to “guns and flashlights in my face” as deputies ordered him to get out of bed.  “They looked at me, saw a black man laying in the bed, buck naked and said, ‘We got a crim ..read more

All 13 pit bulls seized from a home in Compton where a man was fatally mauled last week have been euthanized, officials tell KTLA 5 News. The body of Dominic Cooper, 35, was found at his home on Thorson Avenue, just south of Rosecrans Avenue, at about 7 a.m. Friday morning, about 11 or 12 hours after the fatal attack is believed to have occurred. Michael Gomez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau posited that prior to the attack, Cooper was feeding the dogs, which animal control officials say he was breeding and selling. “He was feeding the dogs, at which point maybe ..read more

Five suspects, including a 13-year-old, were arrested in connection with a mob takeover and ransacking of a beloved Compton bakery. Authorities announced the arrests Tuesday after surveillance cameras captured the chaos as around 100 people raided Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food on Jan. 2. The decades-old bakery located at 2701 N. Santa Fe Ave. was destroyed during the takeover and left with tens of thousands of dollars in damage. One of the suspects, an unidentified 13-year-old boy, was allegedly responsible for ramming the back of a stolen white Kia Soul into the bakery’s front doors. Su ..read more

Another local cemetery has been ransacked and headstones stolen, according to a post on social media. On Saturday, Aisha Woods posted a video to Facebook showing the work she and others had done cleaning up Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery, located at 16701 S. Central Ave. in Carson. During that cleanup, however, it was discovered that multiple graves had been targeted by apparent vandals and thieves who took boxer Joe Louis' plaque that was dedicated to World War II soldiers, she said. Another plaque dedicated to President Abraham Lincoln was also damaged in an apparent attempt to remove it fro ..read more

Just days after being ransacked and looted by a street takeover mob, Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food in Compton reopened for business on Friday morning. Surveillance cameras captured video of the chaos when around 100 people raided the decades-old bakery and store located at 2701 N. Santa Fe Ave. early Tuesday morning after a driver deliberately backed through the storefront. The owners, the Ramirez family, said in a press release that the vandals caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to the store, in addition to merchandise and equipment that was damaged or taken. Surveillance vid ..read more

A street takeover in Compton resulted in the break-in and possible burglary of a Compton bakery early Tuesday morning. Ruben's Bakery & Mexican Food Inc. at 2701 N. Santa Fe Ave. was the site of a street takeover at about 3:30 a.m., according to Lt. Collins of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Shortly after the takeover was reported to deputies, another caller said that about 100 people had broken into the bakery. A Compton bakery was broken into amid a street takeover on Jan. 2, 2023. (KTLA) The front door of the business was rammed with a vehicle, which the driver left at the ..read more

Loved ones are devastated and searching for answers after a man was shot and killed Tuesday while on the job. The victim, Blaine LaPrairie, 46, worked as a repo man and was repossessing a vehicle when a suspect opened fire and shot him. Loved ones describe Blaine as a big-hearted, kind and thoughtful man. “He was a very sweet soul and he would do anything for you,” said Ryan LaPrairie, Blaine’s older brother.  Blaine was repossessing a car at the Jasmine Garden Apartment complex in Compton when he was murdered. Blaine LaPrairie seen in a family photo. Blaine LaPrairie seen in a fam ..read more

Authorities are searching for the suspect who killed a man while he was sitting inside his car in Compton. The victim, Miguel Angel Prado, 23, was found shot to death on Aug. 18, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Deputies responded to an assault with a deadly weapon on the 100 block of E. Caldwell Street around 12:46 a.m. Arriving officers found Prado in the driver’s seat of an SUV with gunshot wounds on his upper torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators discovered Prado had returned home from work with his girlfriend that night. Before entering their a ..read more

A $20,000 reward is being offered for information after a man was shot to death on a sidewalk in Compton. On Dec. 30, 2018, Cymundi Demetrius Bracken, 46, was standing on a sidewalk on the 2000 block of North Parmelee Avenue at around 1:37 a.m. Shots were fired by an unknown suspect, striking Bracken, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He was transported to the hospital where he later died. The suspected shooter was seen fleeing the area in a dark-colored SUV. A surveillance image of the vehicle was released in hopes someone may recognize the suspects. A dark-colored S ..read more

Two people are dead after multiple people were shot in South Los Angeles Thanksgiving morning. The shooting occurred in the 14200 block of Towne Avenue near Compton and Willowbrook shortly after 8:20 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. First responders found three people suffering from gunshot wounds, including two men who were pronounced dead at the scene. The third victim was transported to the hospital by ambulance for traumatic injuries to the upper body. Thos injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, officials said. The identities of the victims have no ..read more