Category Archives: Crime and Courts

August 2, 1947: Los Angeles County Clerk Refuses Marriage License for Interracial Couple

Posted on August 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 2, 1947: Los Angeles County clerk refuses marriage license for interracial couple. Continue reading →

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July 31, 1907: After a Day at the Beach, Beer, a Fight and Gunshots

Posted on July 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 31, 1907: A day at the beach ends in a fight over beer. Evelyn Ferguson is accused of shooting newsboy Charles ‘Winnipeg’ Wilson with a policeman’s gun because Wilson was attacking her friend, who ‘was not in a condition to remember much about how it happened.’ Continue reading →

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July 28, 1907: L.A. Seeks to Clear Books of Old Laws on Bear Baiting, Quail Hunting by Streetcar Conductors

Posted on July 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 28, 1907: Los Angeles seeks to rid itself of outdated laws like hunting rabbits on Spring Street or conductors abandoning their streetcars to go quail hunting at the end of the line. Continue reading →

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July 27, 1947: Chinese Author Visits Dr. George Hodel

Posted on July 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 27, 1947: Chinese author Helena Kuo visits Dr. George Hodel. Continue reading →

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July 26, 1947: Son Cleared of Killing Father During Attack on Mother

Posted on July 26, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 26, 1947: Son cleared of killing father during attack on mother. Continue reading →

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July 24, 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter, 17, Strangled

Posted on July 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 24, 1947: Vesta Belle Sapenter, an honor student at Jefferson High, is found partially undressed and strangled. Continue reading →

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July 21, 1947: Julie London Marries Jack Webb

Posted on July 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 21, 1947: Julie London marries Jack Webb. They divorce seven years later in one of the biggest settlements in local history. Someone asked her: “If you had your choice between half a million dollars and a happy home, which would you take?” She said: “A happy home.” Continue reading →

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July 18, 1907: Santa Monica, Ocean Park Must Abate Sewage Discharge Into Ocean

Posted on July 18, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 18, 1907: Officials of Santa Monica and Ocean Park are fighting a lawsuit that seeks to block the discharge of raw sewage into the ocean. Continue reading →

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July 17, 1907: Hollywood Organizes to Catch Serial Arsonist

Posted on July 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 17, 1907:
A serial arsonist has been at work in Hollywood, setting six fires in the last three weeks. The community’s small volunteer fire department has been overwhelmed by the crimes. Continue reading →

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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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