Recently in Battery / Assault Category

When gambling at the Southern California casinos, it's important to keep your cool and not lose your temper, even if the cards just aren't in your favor.

The Los Angeles Times reports that poker player Mesbah Khaffaji was arrested Sunday night after he allegedly spit food in a card dealer's face during a no-limit Texas hold'em game at a Bell Gardens Casino. Police suspect that the man became angry after losing a hand.

Chants of celebration echoed throughout the Los Angeles area last week after the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. However, those chants quickly turned into riots, leading to at least 42 arrests in the area last Thursday on suspicion of crimes that included arson, assault on a peace officer, battery, public drunkenness, resisting arrest, vandalism, and disturbing the peace.

The Los Angeles Times reported that as of Monday, 10 people were being charged with crimes by the City Attorney's Office. Prosecutors say that they're taking a very strong stand against the suspects and plan to impose the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor crimes, which is six months to one year in the county jail.

In current Suge Knight news, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department arrested founder of Death Row Records in Gardena for alleged assault with a deadly weapon. The Los Angeles Times reports that while officers were arresting the former rap impresario, they found that the man had also been driving with a suspended license, so they arrested him on that charge as well.

Suge Knight's vehicle was stopped by officers after a man claimed that the Death Row manager had pointed a gun at him. Yet Suge Knight now has a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney that is denying the allegations. Attorney Marc Brumer went as far as saying that his client is "100 percent" innocent.

A Los Angeles City firefighter and paramedic was stabbed in downtown Los Angeles while responding to a medical call. The firefighter was then taken to County USC Medical Center where he was treated for several stab wounds.

KTLA News reports that the paramedic stabbed was identified as Charles Anthony MacDougall, who is a nine-year veteran of the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Yet the man's attacker still remains on the loose and authorities are still unsure of what motivated the attack.

Los Angeles police officers have not been able to make any arrests so far, but fortunately the firefighter is expected to make a full recovery. Charles MacDougall is a father of four and a well-known man in the Boyle Heights community. According to KTLA News, the man works at Fire Station 9, which is known to be one of the busiest stations in the city. Hospital staff will soon be honoring Charles MacDougall as the "Paramedic of the Year" for all of his hard work and his dedication.

A Glendale judge agreed to throw out a misdemeanor battery charge against a 58-year-old woman, who had been accused of hitting an airport security agent at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. Glendale News Press reports that the suspect, Nadine Kay Hays, denied striking the agent and said that the security measures of the airport were out of line.

Nadine Kay Hays was traveling with her 93-year-old mother to Nashville, Tennessee when the incident occurred. She alleges that security workers tried to take a cooler that contained her mother's applesauce, cheese and milk, but that her mother needed those items during the flight for medical reasons. Nadine Kay Hays' Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, Mary Frances Prevost, asserted that airline agencies are supposed to permit liquids on flights to people with medical conditions and disabilities, as long as they declare everything of more than 3 ounces to agents.

A woman who set a pole dancer on fire last year in a Tarzana bar was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, according to ABC News - Los Angeles. The defendant, Rianne Theriault-Odom, originally wanted to postpone the sentencing in Van Nuys Superior Court because she claimed that she was emotionally unstable for the sentence and had requested a psychiatrist. However, Superior Court Judge Susan Speer turned down the request to postpone the sentencing.

Prosecutors say that the two woman got into an argument outside of Babes & Beer bar in February 2009, where the victim, Roberta Santo-Busby, worked as a dancer. Ms. Theriault-Odom took a soda can filled with gasoline and through it at Ms. Busby before setting her on fire. Ms. Theriault-Odom was convicted of aggravated mayhem and torture in connection with the incident, but a jury actually aquitted her of an attempted murder charge.

Two-time Oscar winning actor Sean Penn might be considered a talented, dramatic actor on film sets, but some Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys would argue that the man should control his temper off camera if he wants to avoid trouble with the law.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the 49-year-old actor was charged Friday with battery and vandalism for allegedly attacking a photographer. Mr. Penn is scheduled to be arraigned on March 22 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The misdemeanor charges stem from an incident last October in which Mr. Penn allegedly kicked a photographer and broke the photographer's camera outside a Brentwood Country Mart. Part of the incident was captured on film by TMZ; as shown above.

Two off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officers were arrested on Tuesday night after they allegedly pistol-whipped a Whittier man.

The two officers have been identified as Brandon Valdez, 29, and Patrick Fitzgerald, 38. They have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Perhaps a skilled Los Angeles criminal defense attorney will come to their rescue, if they are indeed charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

After a month long search, police have found a suspect known as the "stun gun bandit" in Los Angeles. Police have identified the suspect as 68-year old Lester Robert Evans. Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Paul Vernon says that it was only a matter of time, before authorities would find a suspect.

"We had a feeling this guy would surface eventually," Vernon said in the Los Angeles Times. "It just turns out he decided to rob a bank where he had his own account."