Our weekly Crosstown University Park Blotter is a rundown of crimes in one neighborhood. University Park is unique in that there are two law enforcement agencies patrolling the area – the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and USC’s Department of Public Safety (DPS).

 

Read the crime blotters from March 27 – April 2, 2019 and from March 20 – March 26, 2019. In the style of newspaper police blotters, we choose a selection of incidents, some criminal and some not, reported to the LAPD and DPS.

 

 

April 24, 2019

From DPS:

 

Traffic collision: bicycle* | 1:58 p.m. | Jefferson Blvd. and Catalina St.

“A student was struck by a vehicle while riding her bicycle near the location. The student sustained an injury to her arm and was transported to [student health center] for medical treatment.”

*See our reporter’s personal story about being struck by a car while walking his bicycle across a crosswalk in University Park

 

Suspicious circumstances | 3:15 p.m. | McCarthy Quad (3551 Trousdale Pkwy)

“Two suspects who were observed staging a fall and recording the reactions of passersby without permission were escorted off campus and advised not to return.”

 

April 25, 2019

From the LAPD:

 

False imprisonment | 8 a.m. | 3000 block of  Royal St.

Suspect, who removed their own clothing and who was a stranger to the victim, held a 25-year-old female against her will in an apartment.

 

Traffic collision without injuries | 12:05 p.m. | Marks Tennis Stadium Court Area (1075 Childs Way)

“A trailer that was being towed by a University electric cart came loose and rolled into a staff member’s parked vehicle, causing minor damage.”

 

April 26, 2019

From DPS:

 

Burglary from a motor vehicle | 12:51 p.m. | Royal Street Structure

“A suspect smashed the driver’s side window to gain entry and ransacked the interior, but did not remove any property.”

 

Suspicious circumstances | 2:11 p.m. | 2723 Figueroa St.

“A student reported that a tow truck driver propositioned her for sex in order to get her vehicle released as he was preparing to tow it from the location.”

 

 

April 27, 2019

From DPS:

 

Domestic dispute | 12:23 a.m. | Cardinal Gardens (3131 McClintock Ave.)

“Two students were involved in a verbal dispute at the location.”

 

Damaged property | 5:14 p.m. | University Village Parking Garage (3301 S Hoover St.)

“A parking control arm was broken off it’s [sic] base by a passing vehicle with insufficient clearance.”

 

April 28, 2019

From the LAPD:

 

Brandish weapon | 5:45 p.m. | Hoover St. and 24th St.

A stranger brandished some kind of cutting instrument and intimidated a 34-year-old Hispanic female on the sidewalk.

 

Theft from a person | 6 p.m. | Figueroa St. and 23rd St.

A suspect, who was the victim’s current or former partner, threatened to harm the 29-year-old Hispanic female victim, who was in a vehicle. The suspect also hit the victim with a weapon, swung a fist at the victim and removed the victim’s property. This incident was categorized as domestic violence.  

 

From DPS:

 

Damaged property | 7:01 a.m. | Von Kleinsmid Center (3518 Trousdale Pkwy.)

“A suspect used a marking pen to draw graffiti on the display windows of two vending machines at the location.”

 

Service | 11:45 p.m. | Sheely & Ofer Nemirovsky and David C. Bohnett Residential College (3201 S. Hoover St.)

“LAFD responded to the location to free two students who were trapped in an elevator.”

 

April 29, 2019

From the LAPD

 

Purse snatching attempt | 1:40 p.m. | 600 block of Exposition Blvd.

A stranger tried to snatch a 29-year-old female student’s purse while they were on the Expo Line. The suspect was arrested.

 

Burglary | 1:59 p.m. | Flower St. and Jefferson Blvd.

A suspect, wearing “unusual clothes” took a 28-year-old Asian female’s clothing or jewelry from an unlocked or open car. The victim was a student.

 

From DPS:

 

Battery | 6:54 a.m. | The Row House (630 W 28th St.)

“A suspect was arrested for throwing a bicycle at an officer who was attempting to detain him for a theft investigation.”

 

Burglary from a motor vehicle | 1:49 p.m. | McCarthy Way Structure (620 W McCarthy Way)

“A suspect removed two rolls of quarters.”

 

Grand theft or trick | 2:14 p.m. | 32nd St. and University Ave.

“A student reported that he loaned money to a suspect who gave him four designer jackets as collateral and he subsequently learned that the jackets were counterfeit and the subject’s contact information was invalid.”

 

April 30, 2019

From the LAPD:

 

Assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault | 1:55 p.m. | Figueroa St and 23rd St.

A stranger wearing a hat, who was homeless or transient, brandished and swung a metal pipe at a security guard on the sidewalk. The victim was a 31-year-old Hispanic male.

 

From DPS:

 

Damaged property | 7:36 a.m. | Ahmanson Center For Biological Research (825 Bloom Walk)

“A University electric cart was damaged when an unidentified subject drove it down a walkway where it became wedged between two fences.”

 

Fraud | 11:40 a.m. | Internationally Themed Residential College (3771 McClintock Ave.)

“A student reported that a subject she met on a social media app sent her a check to deposit in her bank account and asked her to forward a large portion of the funds to his sick relative. The student complied and subsequently learned that the check was fraudulent.”

 

 

How we did it: We looked at both publicly available LAPD data and the daily log DPS of reports of incidents and crimes in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. For neighborhood boundaries, we rely on the borders defined by the Los Angeles Times. Learn more about our data here.

 

LAPD data and DPS logs only reflect incidents that are reported to the department, not how many crimes actually occurred. In making our calculations, we rely on the data that the LAPD makes publicly available through the Open Data Portal and the logs DPS makes publicly available on its website. On occasion, LAPD or DPS may update past crime reports with new information, or recategorize past reports. Those revised reports do not always automatically become part of the public database.

 

Want to know how your neighborhood fares? Or simply just interested in our data? Email us at askus@xtown.la.