Flashback: Bullet of Mystery – Part 1

Los Angeles history in the 1900s is an acquired taste. Most people limit themselves to  the Raymond Chandler era, the 1930s through the 1950s, as if Philip Marlowe moonlighted as a historian. Perhaps they find the city’s horse-and-buggy days too remote, but for me that era is like watching a modern metropolis slowly rise from the dust of a Wild West town.

I revisited 1901 when I met with Caroline Comport on Tuesday to help research her grandfather for a master’s thesis on how personal history shapes a family’s self-image. Or, as Caroline puts it, “How does who we think we are impact who we become?”

Chilling portrait of neo-Nazi's home life emerges

A chilling family portrait emerged Wednesday in the case of a 10-year-old Riverside boy charged with murdering his neo-Nazi father, including outings to practice target shooting, a house with guns and knives stashed in easily accessible places and, the boy told police, regular beatings by his father. And he knew exactly where to find the family's .357 magnum revolver.

The boy gave a harrowing account of how he carried out the early morning attack May 1 as his father, 32-year-old Jeffrey R. Hall, was dozing on the living room couch, detectives said in a court declaration filed in connection with charges against the boy's stepmother, Krista F. McCary.

Los Angeles council approves budget cuts to police, fire and parks in closing a $336-million gap

The City Council sends Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa a $6.9-billion budget that avoids layoffs.

The Los Angeles City Council passed a $6.9 billion budget Wednesday, closing a $336-million revenue shortfall by eliminating police overtime pay and shutting down some fire engine teams — but avoiding employee layoffs.

O.C. sex offender charged with indecent exposure at library

A 67-year-old man who is a registered sex offender was charged Wednesday with exposing himself in front of three teenage girls at an Orange County library, authorities said.

Robert Bruce Engel pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of indecent exposure, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Boy shot neo-Nazi father as he slept, hid gun, officials say

The 10-year-old Riverside boy accused in the shooting death of his neo-Nazi activist father gave police a chilling account of how he carried out the early morning attack May 1, officials said in a court document.

The boy -- who told authorities he was tired of his father, Jeffrey R. Hall, beating him and his stepmother -- grabbed the family's Rossi .357 revolver from a closet and then "he went downstairs with the gun, pulled the hammer back, aimed the gun at his dad’s ear while he was asleep and shot him," Riverside Police Det. Greg Rowe wrote in a court declaration filed Tuesday. The boy "then went upstairs and hid the gun under his bed," Rowe wrote.

Boy accused of killing neo-Nazi father says dad beat him, stepmom

A neo-Nazi allegedly killed by his 10-year-old son was accused by the boy and his stepmother of beating them and the couple's other children, according to a court declaration released Wednesday.

The Riverside boy facing charges in the case said during an interview with detectives that "he was tired of his dad hitting him and his mom," according to an arrest warrant declaration filed Tuesday in Riverside County Superior Court.

Mental health evaluation ordered for 10-year-old charged with killing neo-Nazi father

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

A Riverside County juvenile court judge on Wednesday ordered a mental health evaluation of a 10-year-old boy charged in the shooting death of his father, a local neo-Nazi activist.

Reader Comment: Homicide Report

Kirk Torres, 29

Kirk Torres, a 29-year-old black male, died Monday, May 16, in Jefferson Park, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Andre Gibson, 18

Andre Gibson, a 18-year-old black male, died Monday, May 16, after being shot in Lynwood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Luis Varela Jr., 29

Luis Varela Jr., a 29-year-old Latino male, died Monday, May 16, after being shot in Glendora, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Monte Talbert, 22

Monte Talbert, a 22-year-old black male, died Monday, May 16, after being shot in Inglewood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Carlos Jimenez Jr., 20

Carlos Jimenez Jr., a 20-year-old Latino male, died Saturday, May 14, after being shot in Pomona, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Tyrone Nelson, 36

Tyrone Nelson, a 36-year-old black female, died Saturday, May 14, after being shot in Central-Alameda, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Walter Shephard, 34

Walter Shephard, a 34-year-old black male, died Friday, May 13, after being shot in Vermont Vista, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Jerome Maddox, 31

Jerome Maddox, a 31-year-old black male, died Friday, May 13, after being shot in Green Meadows, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Alonzo Ester, 67

Alonzo Ester, a 67-year-old black male, died Friday, May 13, after being shot in Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Dale Garrett, 51

Dale Garrett, a 51-year-old black male, died Tuesday, May 10, after being shot in Downtown, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Three rapes reported at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in nine days [Updated]

Three female Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students were raped in separate incidents that were reported within nine days, and college officials say excessive drinking was involved in each.

[Updated at 4:50 p.m.: All of the women were reported to have been intoxicated and unconscious at the time of the assaults. The rapes are described by police as unrelated crimes, each committed by a different man.]

Protesters dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse arrested at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank [Updated]

Protesters dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse were arrested Wednesday morning after they chained themselves to the gates of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.

The two costumed activists were protesting what they said was the company's use of paper that contains fiber from endangered Indonesian rain forests in its children’s books.