Courtesy of guv'nor

In Azusa, black residents were menaced by tattooed Latino thugs as they shopped.

A vicious, racist, father-and-son thug team tight with the Mexican Mafia, Santiago "Chico'' Rios and his deaf adult son Louis "Lil' Chico" Rios, have been sentenced to long prison terms for pouring drugs into and out of suburban Azusa -- and making it their No. 1 duty to "cleans[e] African-Americans out of the city.''

In a big win for gang detectives, the bigoted, drug-peddling Rios, 48, got 20 years in federal prison and his equally noxious son, 22, got 10 years. The pair roamed Azusa scaring the bejesus out of people, with their faces, heads and necks tattooed with "Azusa.'' In court, they were bedecked in chains:

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Scott Barker

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

On Tuesday, October 2, in less than a day of deliberating at the Beverly Hills Courthouse, the 12-member jury agreed on a verdict: Scott Joseph Barker, a 25-year-old who came to Los Angeles from Florida in the hope of becoming a screenwriter and actor, was found guilty of murdering Beverly Hills resident Tony Takazato. Barker sat expressionless when the court clerk read the decision.

Barker was convicted of first-degree murder with a special circumstance -- and faces a sentence of life without parole. Undoubtedly a fate he never expected when first arriving in L.A., Barker may end up growing old and dying in a California state prison.

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Scott Barker

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

On the last day of his trial, alleged murderer Scott Barker, a 25-year-old wannabe screenwriter and actor who carried himself in the world with a kind of macho confidence, couldn't stop himself from looking cocky, laughing at Los Angeles County prosecutor Linda Loftfield during her closing argument.

Within a matter of days, though, the prosecution team of Loftfield and Amy Carter may get the last laugh: Barker's first-degree murder trial has now gone to the jury for deliberation.

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Marion Bronowicki

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

At the Beverly Hills murder trial on Tuesday, Marion Bronowicki, the former best friend of key witness Chie Coggins-Johnson, took the stand, describing a troubled young woman who is caring and loving but also prone to lying and abusing drugs.

"Did [Coggins-Johnson] lie compulsively?" defense attorney Bradley Brunon asked Bronowicki, a blonde 20-something.

"Yes," she replied.

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Jonathan Bartlett

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

At the Beverly Hills murder trial on Monday, defense attorney Bradley Brunon wanted to make one, overriding point to the 12-member jury: The prosecution's key witness, former rhythmic gymnast-turned-prostitute Chie Coggins-Johnson, could not be trusted.

L.A. County prosecutor Linda Loftfield was clearly perturbed by the tactic, aggressively objecting throughout Brunon's cross examination.

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Scott Barker

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

At the Beverly Hills Courthouse last Friday, key witness Chie Coggins-Johnson took the stand again and said Scott Barker, who's on trial for first-degree murder, called victim Tony Takazato a "pussy" and laughed after killing him.

Coggins-Johnson also blamed her continued shaky performance on nervousness. Defense lawyer Bradley Brunon will continue his cross examination of Coggins-Johnson today.

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Jonathan Bartlett

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

At the Scott Barker murder trial in Beverly Hills on Thursday, Chie Coggins-Johnson finally took the witness stand, sitting only feet away from her ex-boyfriend and testifying for the prosecution that Barker brutally murdered Tony Takazato.

So far, Coggins-Johnson, a key person for the prosecution's case, has been an unsteady witness.

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Jonathan Bartlett

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend From Prostitution?"

The Scott Barker murder trial in Beverly Hills started up again on Wednesday after a two-day recess, with court observers anticipating the testimony of Chie Johnson, a former rhythmic gymnast who found herself involved in prostitution and pornography and as a suspect in the brutal murder of 21-year-old Beverly Hills resident Tony Takazato.

Before Johnson's testimony in person, L.A. County prosecutors Linda Loftfield and Amy Carter showed the jury a video of Johnson's 2010 taped interview with Beverly Hills Police Department detectives, which resulted in her being charged for murder. The video, oddly enough, played into the defense's previous attempts to paint Johnson as a "pathological liar" who cannot be trusted.

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Tony Takazato

For the in-depth story about the Beverly Hills murder, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend from Prostitution?"

At the Scott Barker murder trial, in the Beverly Hills courtroom of Judge Elden S. Fox, the words and actions of three twenty-somethings have been the focus, with their parents receiving little attention. That changed this past Friday when Susan Coggins took the stand.

The story she had to tell was sad and devastating. It was only made worse by the obvious fact that Coggins had done everything in her power to help her wayward daughter, Chie Coggins-Johnson, and it still didn't work. At the end of her testimony, having just relived years of deep worry and sadness, the mother walked out of the courtroom in a daze.

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Scott Barker

For more details about the Trousdale Estates murder in Beverly Hills, read the L.A. Weekly story "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend from Prostitution?"

On Thursday at the Beverly Hills Courthouse, L.A. County prosecutors Amy Carter and Linda Loftfield continued their long slog in carefully presenting evidence at the first-degree murder trial of 25-year-old Scott Barker, whom friends described to one journalist as a charmer.

From police videos to graphic photographs to a bent kitchen knife, this time they offered up a criminalist's analyses of bloody shoe prints and a piece of torn fabric Beverly Hills police had found in the lifeless hand of murder victim Tony Takazato, who may have been some kind of pimp.

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Scott Barker

Check out the bone-chilling details of the Trousdale Murder case: "Did Scott Barker Knife Rich Kid Tony Takazato to Save His Girlfriend from Prostitution?"

At the Beverly Hills Courthouse the past two weeks, L.A.'s true noir side has been playing out in the courtroom of Judge Elden S. Fox with little fanfare.

Scott Barker, a 25-year-old native of West Springfield, Massachusetts, is facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly stabbing to death Katsutoshi "Tony" Takazato, the son of film producer Fuminori Hayashida.

On Wednesday, L.A. Country Deputy District Attorneys Linda Loftfield and Amy Carter presented to the jury the pictures of the gruesome, 58 stabbing wounds Takazato had suffered.

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Conrad Murray.

With Jackson family members Joe, Katherine, La Toya and Germaine inside the courtroom and hundreds of fans outside the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, a court clerk announced that jurors have concluded Dr. Conrad Murray is guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Murray was charged with manslaughter after Jackson was essentially found dead at his Holmby Hills residence on June 25, 2009. (Paramedics were called, and he was taken to UCLA Medical Center -- where he was officially pronounced -- but doctors who treated him that day testified that they believed he had been dead for some time).

Prosecutors argued that Murray, who had financial troubles, was willing to do whatever it takes to make Jackson happy and, on that day, administered an overdose of the powerful sedative propofol to the King of Pop.

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By Mark Cromer

Mark Cromer

John Quigly and Julia Posin stand where government bulldozers wiped out 240 Arcadia Woodlands trees.

Los Angeles County prosecutors today offered the 'Arcadia Four' tree-sitters -- who protested the county's destruction of 249 old-growth oaks north of L.A. -- a plea deal including fines that would range up to $3,000 with added fees and surcharges.

The four weren't interested, and defense attorney Colleen Flynn's comment crackled with a clear-eyed, high-voltage warning to District Attorney Steve Cooley's office: "We're sending a message: We're going to litigate this case to the hilt."

A trial could badly embarrass Los Angeles County, Sheriff Lee Baca, and county officials, and here's why:

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TapouT's Punkass and Skyskrape.

Grab your tissue box, folks, because this is one hell of a tear-jerker. Okay, ready? Here we go: Michelle Thomas, a 32-year-old ometime model who worked for the mixed-martial-arts clothing and lifestyle company TapouT says in a lawsuit that her bosses actually made her watch television on her own time.

Say what? For real, yo. Say what you will about child labor in China or sweatshops in Mexico, but when it comes down to it America has a worker exploitation problem that we all must own up to.

Television on your own time? That's a crime. And so ...

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Loughner could be en route to SoCal.

A possible gift to L.A.'s television news stations, the Washington Post reported late Sunday that the trial of Tucson massacre suspect Jared Loughner will be moved to San Diego to take negative publicity in Arizona about the 22-year-old out of justice's equation.

We reported recently that both the U.S. District Court judge and the defense team in the case are from San Diego, leading to early speculation about whether or not Loughner's case would be moved.

Our sister publication OC Weekly also notes that San Diego is the closest federal jurisdiction to Tucson.

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Did Princess Cruise Lines have a serial sexual predator working aboard one of its ships?

According to California resident Marisa Foppoli, who filed a lawsuit earlier this week in Los Angles Superior Court against the third largest cruise line in the world, the answer is yes.

It was the wee hours of the morning last January, Foppoli claims, when a man who worked aboard the "Island Princess," cruising from Acapulco to Florida, grabbed her and pulled her against him.

Foppoli says the man began groping her and tried to kiss her, before forcing her toward a deserted part of the ship. Foppoli claims she tried to ward off her assailant and slip away, but he physically prevented her from escaping.

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Loughner, accused of murder, times six.

A Southern California federal court judge was tapped to takeover the murder case of Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old accused of killing six people and injuring 14 outside a Tucson Safeway over the weekend.

Because the Tucson region's U.S. District Court chief judge, John Roll, was killed in the rampage, his fellow jurists recused themselves in order to avoid the appearance of bias.

Reacting to the appointment of San Diego U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns, and to the involvement of two Southern California defense attorneys in the case, experts said it was possible the trial could be moved to San Diego.

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baileyandelliott.com

O.J. gets off.

While most of the world continues to think, yeah, O.J. did it, his former attorney, F. Lee Bailey, dredged up what he claims is evidence sat on by the defense that would have further proven his client's innocence.

That would include, he claims, a witness who observed the real killer leaving Nicole Brown Simpson's Brentwood condo the night she was stabbed to death in 1994.

The revelations come in the form of a 20,000 word book proposal Bailey published this week on his website three years after he says no publishers bit. He would still take a deal, though (surprise).

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Fresno Bee

The Kardashian Kard.

L.A.'s favorite rich girls (besides, you know, Paris and Lindsay and Vanessa Bryant), the Kardashian sisters (Kim, Khloe and Kourtney), are being sued by a debit card company after they pulled out of an endorsement deal.

Damned if they do, damed if they don't.

This is the same debit card that promised exorbitant fees, including $99.95 for opening an account, a $9.95 activation fee, $7.95 per month in dues, and up to $6 for ATM withdrawals. The Attorney General of Connecticut wondered aloud if the fees were even legal.

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Patrick Range McDonald

Los Angeles Mormon Temple in Westwood in 2008.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to allow Imperial County officials to defend Proposition 8 in court.

Imperial County Board of Supervisors and a deputy clerk sought to overturn an August ruling by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who found the anti-gay marriage ballot measure to be unconstitutional.

Today's decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit shows that having proper legal standing to defend Proposition 8 continues to be a major hurdle for the ballot measure's proponents.

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