Category Archives: Crime and Courts

July 9, 1947: Rosenda Mondragon Strangled With Stocking

Posted on July 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 9, 1947: Rosenda Mondragon is found murdered. The Times and the Examiner have different accounts of the killing and the actions of her husband, Antonio. Continue reading →

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July 9, 1907: L.A. Converts Abandoned Church to House Inmates From Crowded Jail

Posted on July 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 9, 1907: The city rents an abandoned church for a temporarily jail. Continue reading →

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July 7, 1947: 4,000 Bikers in ‘Gypsy Tour’ Wreak Havoc in Hollister

Posted on July 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 7, 1947: Hollister, California, cleans up after the Highway Patrol chases thousands of motorcyclists out of town. The occasion was a “gypsy tour” of the American Motorcycle Association. The incident inspired the Marlon Brando movie “The Wild One.” Continue reading →

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July 2, 1947: Man Held in Strangling of Mary Tate

Posted on July 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 2, 1947: Oscar Hallgren is held in the killing of Mary Tate at 107 Weller Street, now Onizuka Street in Little Tokyo. Continue reading →

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June 25, 1947: L.A. Times Praises Gangland Slaying of Bugsy Siegel

Posted on June 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 25, 1947: The L.A. Times praises the gangland slaying of Bugsy Siegel: ‘The assassination of a crook is of no particular importance to a community, and grief at his passing is restricted to a minor and unselect circle.’ Continue reading →

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June 18, 1907: Immigration Agent Accused of Poisoning Neighbor’s Dog

Posted on June 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 18, 1907: Hazel Schurger accuses neighbor J.J. Brady of poisoning her dog, Baby, with strychnine. Brady was freed after an examination showed that Baby was given a small dose of the poison, incapable of killing the dog immediately as Schurger described. Continue reading →

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June 17, 1947: Bank Robber Shot in Head During Gunfight With LAPD Officers

Posted on June 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 17, 1947: Police shoot a bank robber in the head. Jesse Houston survives and becomes the shuffleboard champion at San Quentin and a noted gardener. Continue reading →

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June 16, 1947: LAPD Officers Hidden in Bar Kill Watchman Stealing Liquor

Posted on June 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 16, 1947: Two LAPD officers staked out at a bar kill night watchman Wanzy Patterson, who crawled through a transom to steal liquor. Officers said they shot Patterson 11 times after he made a move toward his pistol. Continue reading →

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June 16, 1907: Lawyer Edith Foulkes Handles Her Own Divorce Case

Posted on June 16, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 16, 1907: Attorney Edith Foulkes sues her husband, Ralph, for divorce, saying he drank constantly. “Suspecting that his wife was beginning to consider her marriage a failure, he had talked in melancholy fashion of murder and suicide, somewhat to the martial discomfort of Mrs. Foulkes,” The Times said. Continue reading →

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June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Posted on June 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1941: A Burbank man claims to have invented a death ray that will kill rabbits at 100 yards. Continue reading →

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May 30, 1907: Hop Chung, Chinese Laundryman, Presses Zoning Case in Court

Posted on May 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 30, 1907: Hop Chung is arrested for opening a laundry in an area designated residential, but because he isn’t a U.S. citizen, he takes the case to federal court claiming there is no such thing as what we now know as zoning. Continue reading →

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May 21, 1947: South Carolina Jury Acquits 28 in Lynching

Posted on May 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 21, 1947: A South Carolina jury acquits 28 people in the lynching of Willie Earle, who was suspected of killing a cabdriver. The Los Angeles Times editorializes that a federal anti-lynching law is unnecessary. Continue reading →

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May 21, 1907: J.G. Fleenor ‘Barefoot Burglar’ Talks!

Posted on May 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 21, 1907: In a jailhouse interview before he is taken to San Quentin, James G. Fleenor, the barefoot burglar, sets the record straight on his escapes, his relationship with a white woman and how he began a life of crime. Continue reading →

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May 8, 1947: Mixed Marriage Was Illegal, Louisiana Court Rules, Ordering Woman to Vacate Home for New Owner

Posted on May 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 8, 1947: A Louisiana court orders a Black woman to vacate her home of 28 years because her estranged husband, who was white, wanted to sell the home. The court ruled that they had never been married because interracial marriages were illegal. Continue reading →

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May 6, 1944: Woman’s Body Found in Trunk at Union Station

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1944: A trunk wrapped with wire and tied with rope arrives at Union Station, where people notice that it is leaking — and smells. Sent to the repair department for inspection, the trunk was opened, revealing a woman’s body wrapped in a sheet. Continue reading →

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May 6, 1908: Shocked Judge Grants Divorce; Bodies Found at Indiana Murder Farm

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1908: A judge in Connecticut grants a divorce to Henry Lord with details so shocking that the judge stays the proceedings. And crowds visit the Indiana murder farm. Continue reading →

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April 29, 1891: ‘The Chinese Murder,’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 29, 1891: The Times reports the death of a Chinese woman named Ah Gue/Goot Gue, who was shot in the abdomen by her husband, Wong Ark/Gam Duck, outside a brothel on Apablasa Street. Ark allegedly killed Gue because she didn’t give him all the money he wanted for gambling. Continue reading →

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March 25, 1907: Young Bike Messengers a Key Part of L.A. Drug, Sex Trade

Posted on March 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

March 25, 1907: Young bike messengers perform an essential service in Los Angeles’ vice trade, providing information on where to buy drugs and where to find women of easy—if any—virtue. Continue reading →

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February 29, 1932: Body Found in Closet of Vacant Home

Posted on March 1, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 29, 1932: Nailed up in the closet of an unoccupied house at 2318 Pontius Ave.., West Los Angeles, the body of Tomas Moreno (or Towas Morino), 43-year-old Japanese, was discovered yesterday by friends. Continue reading →

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February 8, 1907: Peace Returns to Buena Vista Street

Posted on February 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

February 8, 1907: The death of family matriarch Mrs. James Stewart ends a feud between the Donnatins and the Stewarts over something that Charles Donnatin said to a young woman across the street. Continue reading →

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