
Authorities investigating LA shooting and crash that injured dozens ask for tips to find gunman
By JAIMIE DING
Police investigating a crash outside a Los Angeles nightclub that injured at least 36 people asked for help Monday to find the man they suspect of shooting the driver.
A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people outside the Vermont Hollywood venue early Saturday along a busy boulevard in East Hollywood, leading bystanders to attack the driver, authorities said.
The driver was later found to have been shot in the lower back, according to police.
Los Angeles police released surveillance photos Monday from cameras near the crash showing a man with a goatee wearing a blue Dodgers jacket and a light blue jersey with the number '5." Officials are asking for help in identifying him.
The driver was identified Sunday as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez. He is expected to face a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. A phone number for Ramirez could not be found in an online database search and the public defender's office has not responded to requests for comment on whether one of its attorneys is representing him.
The Vermont Hollywood nightclub was hosting a reggae hip-hop event Friday night, according to its calendar. People were leaving at the end of the event when the car crashed into them, the venue said online.
'We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred early Saturday morning outside our venue,' the Vermont Hollywood club said. "We are working closely with law enforcement to ensure the person responsible for this horrific act is held fully accountable.'
Ramirez's car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, police said.
Injuries ranged from minor pain to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle, police said.
Ramirez has a criminal history that includes an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man who worked at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California. He was also convicted of a civil rights misdemeanor and race-based hate crime after expressing to police that he hated Black people. That was later overturned in 2021 after a California appeals court found he made that statement after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights.
Ramirez 'has proved to be violent to strangers and family alike and clearly has a lack of concern for the safety of others,' Orange County prosecutors said in a court filing at the time.
He also pleaded guilty in 2014 to battery and a gang-related charge, and in 2021 to domestic violence, records show. A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash, according to records.
Associated Press reporter Ed White contributed from Detroit.
© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
US Judge Sentences Ex-Police Officer to 33 Months for Violating Civil Rights of Breonna Taylor
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, July 21 (Reuters) – Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced on Monday to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed, after President Donald Trump's Justice Department asked the judge to imprison him for a single day. Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers in March 2020 after they used a no-knock warrant at her home. Her boyfriend, believing they were intruders, fired on the officers with a legally owned firearm, prompting them to return fire. Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the U.S. over the treatment of people of color by police departments. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, who handed down the sentence on Monday, criticized prosecutors for making a '180-degree' turn in its approach to the case and said political factors appeared to have influenced its recommendation for a one-day prison sentence. 'This sentence will not and cannot be measured against Ms. Taylor's life and the incident as a whole,' Jennings said. The sentence was at the low end of the 33 to 41 months called for under federal sentencing guidelines, but far more severe than the Justice Department under Trump had sought. Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, several other family members and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend at the time, all spoke in court to ask the judge to impose the maximum penalty. 'A piece of me was taken from me that day. You have the power to make today the first day of true accountability,' Palmer told the judge. EX-OFFICER APOLOGIZES During President Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd's deaths. Hankison was convicted by a federal jury in November 2024 of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. He was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. In a brief statement to the court, Hankison apologized to Taylor's family and friends and said he would have acted differently if he had known about issues with the preparation of the search warrant that led police to Taylor's home that night. 'I never would have fired my gun,' he said. The Justice Department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Taylor's home, saying he 'did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.' The memo was notable because it was not signed by any of the career prosecutors – those who were not political appointees – who had tried the case. It was submitted on July 16 by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee by Trump to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and her counsel Robert Keenan. Keenan previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he argued that a local deputy sheriff convicted of civil rights violations, Trevor Kirk, should have his conviction on the felony counts struck and should not serve prison time. The department's sentencing recommendation in the Hankison case marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to put the brakes on the department's police accountability work. Earlier this year, Dhillon nixed plans to enter into a court-approved settlement with the Louisville Police Department, and rescinded the Civil Rights Division's prior findings of widespread civil rights abuses against people of color. Attorneys for Taylor's family called the department's sentencing recommendation for Hankison an insult, and urged the judge to 'deliver true justice' for her.


Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
'Cosby Show' actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner dies in drowning in Costa Rica
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played the son of doctor Cliff Huxtable in "The Cosby Show" has drowned off the coast of Costa Rica, police said U.S. actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played the son in the smash-hit sitcom "The Cosby Show," has drowned in Costa Rica, authorities in the country said Monday. He was 54. Warner played the loveable Theo Huxtable for all eight seasons of the show, helmed by disgraced comic actor Bill Cosby. "We received a report of an adult male who died of drowning asphyxiation at Coles Beach in Cahuita" on Sunday afternoon, said a statement from investigating police. "When the victim entered the sea he was apparently pulled out by a current. "The man was assisted by bystanders on the beach, but was pronounced dead by Red Cross lifeguards." Local authorities identified him as the actor, and said his body had been transferred to a morgue for further analysis. Warner, who was nominated for an Emmy for his work on "The Cosby Show," also appeared in sitcoms "Malcolm & Eddie" and "Reed Between the Lines." "The Cosby Show," which ran from 1984 to 1992, was one of the biggest TV hits of its time, detailing the lives of a middle-class Black family in New York. The show was inspired by the stand-up routines of Bill Cosby, who played the family's patriarch, a successful doctor. The show was a commercial and critical hit, and was seen as groundbreaking for its depiction of a loving, happy Black family. But its legacy has been overshadowed in recent years by dozens of complaints of sexual assault against Cosby, a man once known as "America's Dad." © 2025 AFP


Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Authorities investigating LA shooting and crash that injured dozens ask for tips to find gunman
A vehicle sits on the sidewalk after ramming into a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, July 19, 2025 injuring several people. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) By JAIMIE DING Police investigating a crash outside a Los Angeles nightclub that injured at least 36 people asked for help Monday to find the man they suspect of shooting the driver. A vehicle rammed into a crowd of people outside the Vermont Hollywood venue early Saturday along a busy boulevard in East Hollywood, leading bystanders to attack the driver, authorities said. The driver was later found to have been shot in the lower back, according to police. Los Angeles police released surveillance photos Monday from cameras near the crash showing a man with a goatee wearing a blue Dodgers jacket and a light blue jersey with the number '5." Officials are asking for help in identifying him. The driver was identified Sunday as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez. He is expected to face a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. A phone number for Ramirez could not be found in an online database search and the public defender's office has not responded to requests for comment on whether one of its attorneys is representing him. The Vermont Hollywood nightclub was hosting a reggae hip-hop event Friday night, according to its calendar. People were leaving at the end of the event when the car crashed into them, the venue said online. 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred early Saturday morning outside our venue,' the Vermont Hollywood club said. "We are working closely with law enforcement to ensure the person responsible for this horrific act is held fully accountable.' Ramirez's car came to a stop after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath the vehicle, police said. Injuries ranged from minor pain to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle, police said. Ramirez has a criminal history that includes an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man who worked at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California. He was also convicted of a civil rights misdemeanor and race-based hate crime after expressing to police that he hated Black people. That was later overturned in 2021 after a California appeals court found he made that statement after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. Ramirez 'has proved to be violent to strangers and family alike and clearly has a lack of concern for the safety of others,' Orange County prosecutors said in a court filing at the time. He also pleaded guilty in 2014 to battery and a gang-related charge, and in 2021 to domestic violence, records show. A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash, according to records. Associated Press reporter Ed White contributed from Detroit. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.