Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Vice Cop Kills Robber in Botched Holdup at the Roost

Posted on July 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

June 26, 1953: A big, screamer headline in The Times. Glenn Elbert Kingsbury, shot in the chest by an LAPD vice officer, staggered backward into the Roost Cafe, which he had just robbed, and collapsed on the floor, moaning: “Oh … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, 1953, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Los Angeles Celebrates the Fourth of July With Pic-Nics and Fire-Works

Posted on July 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

The complete July 4, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available from USC, which scanned  a copy at the Huntington. July 4, 1863: Los Angeles plans to celebrate the Fourth of July with a 34-gun salute and a … Continue reading →

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Who Was California’s First Woman Judge? A Puzzlement

Posted on April 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 17, 1913: Clara Jess, described as the first woman in California to be appointed as a judge, resigns after a year. She was the recorder of Daly City and functioned like a justice of the peace, according to an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Crime and Courts, Immigration | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Human Fly Flees Hall of Justice

Posted on April 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1943: Col. Darryl F. Zanuck comes under criticism for trying to return to civilian life. (Zanuck said there wasn’t much chance that he would make more movies of combat.) Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) of the Senate War Program … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Millennial Moment: Officer Kills Boy, 5, Holding Toy Gun

Posted on March 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 3, 1983: Patrick Andrew Mason was too sick to go to school, and his mother Patricia Ridge, 29, had no one to care for him while she went to her job charging car batteries at a Sears store in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Crime and Courts, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Folsom Prison Break 1893 – Found on EBay

Posted on March 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

A photo showing the guns and individuals involved in an unsuccessful escape attempt at Folsom prison in June 1893 has been listed on EBay. The photo is listed as Buy It Now for $699. As with anything on EBay, an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1893, Crime and Courts, Found on EBay, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 31

Posted on March 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sounds like Hodel is trying to pull a fast one of some kind!!!!! Still playing Chinese music — music worse than Hodel’s music!!! March 20, 1950: Discussions of books and poetry!! Going to see Burrel Ives (Burl Ives) at UCLA!!! … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 11

Posted on February 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Thursday I may be going to Santa Barbara!!! And here is Part 11 of the Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel transcripts for Feb. 28, 1950. The George Hodel files Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 6

Posted on February 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

Hodel phoned someone asked for $1,000.00 cash advance — said he was short of ready cash! I guess being a maniacal killer doesn’t pay very well. (Speaking of which, how can Dexter Morgan afford a boat, a nanny and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 6

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 3

Posted on February 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Here’s the third installment of the Non-Smoking Gun for Feb. 20, 1950. Are you bored with this yet? Phone rang 12 times —  No answer! Ellen enters –- turns on radio – Mexican program!!!!! The George Hodel files Part 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | 4 Comments

Smallpox Epidemic – Los Angeles, Feb. 7, 1863

Posted on February 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Read the entire Feb. 7, 1863, edition of the Los Angeles Star from the Huntington Library, scanned by USC. Feb. 7 1863: The coroner holds an inquest in the killing of Christian Hutt. George Wright, the father of accused killer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Animals, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Officer Kicks News Photographer, Delays Beebe Inquest

Posted on January 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1943: The inquest in the death of Stanley H. Beebe, who was fatally injured in a beating by LAPD officers, is halted when Officer John Yates kicks Herald-Express photographer Edward Phillips in the groin. Recall that it was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Seals Juggle, Walk Rope, Plus Little Miss Manicure at the Pantages!

Posted on January 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 23, 1913: Juggling, rope-walking seals! Little Miss Manicure and the Scarecrow Man! On the jump, a couple of juicy divorces and Carl Warr, the dynamiter.

Posted in 1913, Animals, Crime and Courts, Stage | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Jerry Giesler, Miracle Man

Posted on January 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

Photo: Walter Wanger, left, and Jerry Giesler. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Long before Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, or F. Lee Bailey hit the scene, soft-spoken, circumspect Jerry Giesler iced his competition as Los Angeles’ top criminal defense … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

LAPD the ‘Storm Troopers’ of L.A., Lawmaker Says of Police Brutality

Posted on January 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 1, 1943: This is the beginning of the Stanley H. Beebe case, in which LAPD officers were accused of beating a suspect who died of his injuries.  Beebe, an accountant, was arrested on a streetcar at 1st and Hill … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1943, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on LAPD the ‘Storm Troopers’ of L.A., Lawmaker Says of Police Brutality

The Day’s News – Pestilence and Starvation, Jan. 9, 1913

Posted on January 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 9, 1913: We like to think that the past was a kinder, simpler time — when life moved at a slower pace. But no. The Times publishes a Page 1 news map “as an aid to the busy reader … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Broadway, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Latinos | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

China Bans Traditional Clothing for Western Fashions

Posted on January 3, 2013 by lmharnisch

Jan. 3, 1913: The Chinese government issues an edict against traditional clothing in favor of Western fashions. Women were called upon “to abandon their trousers for the occidental skirt and men to give up their comfortable loose clothes for the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Crime and Courts, Education, Fashion, Film, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on China Bans Traditional Clothing for Western Fashions

Christmas in Los Angeles, 1912

Posted on December 26, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 26, 1912: The Times makes the rounds of Christmas celebrations among the less fortunate and discovers that the emergency wards are full – but readers are assured that no women or girls are among the victims.

Posted in 1912, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Religion | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Millennial Moment – Investigation of LAPD Spy Unit Sought

Posted on December 12, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 11, 1982: David Johnston writes about the case of undercover LAPD Officer Fabian Lizarraga, who infiltrated the Revolutionary Communist Party and led protesters in a May Day march in 1980 that resulted in a fight with police and arrests … Continue reading →

Posted in 1982, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Millennial Moment – Cheating at Card Clubs

Posted on December 5, 2012 by lmharnisch

Dec. 5, 1982: George Reasons and Anne La Riviere write a long investigative piece about professional cheats at the card clubs in Bell and Gardena. According to Reasons and La Riviere, cheaters are divided between mechanics who manipulate the cards … Continue reading →

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