April 3, 1947: James O. Plinton Jr., a pioneering African American aviator, visits Los Angeles to buy two Grumman amphibious planes. At the beginning of World War II, Plinton went to the Tuskegee Institute, where he was a flight instructor, training many of the Tuskegee Airmen. The Grumman aircraft were to be used in Plinton’s franchise to carry mail, passengers and cargo in the Caribbean, headquartered in Port-au-Prince, the Sentinel said.

Plinton’s New York Times obituary.

On the jump: Police Officer Charles Stoker –- author of the infamous self-published book “Thicker‘n Thieves” — busts two men “and an attractive blond woman” for smoking opium at 1737 W. 37th Drive.