Shooting

ATLANTA - On the night George Zimmerman fatally shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida, a witness said he saw some of the scuffle - and described a black man in a dark hoodie on top of a white or Latino man, punching him repeatedly, "mixed martial arts style. " Then there was a pop, the witness told police, according to documents made public Thursday in Zimmerman's second-degree murder case. Soon, he said, the man in the hoodie was "laid out in the grass. " The detail, one of many in a trove of discovery records released by prosecutors, could bolster Zimmerman's contention that he acted in self-defense on the night of Feb. 26, after he called police and reported Martin as a suspicious character in his neighborhood.

WASHINGTON -- More green shoots are appearing in the nation's long-dormant housing market. Sales of new homes rose 3.3% in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 343,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. That was slightly stronger than what most analysts had forecast, and the latest in a string of recent reports suggesting that a housing recovery is taking hold. On Tuesday, the National Assn. of Realtors said existing home sales increased 3.

Spike Lee has reached an agreement with the Florida couple forced to flee their home after the film director retweeted their home address and they fled to a hotel to avoid problems associated with the shooting of Trayvon Martin, it was announced Thursday. Elaine and David McClain, in their 70s, left their Sanford, Fla., home after their address was tweeted by a man who thought he had found the home of George Zimmerman, the 28-year-old who shot Martin, 17.  Lee then retweeted the McClains' address to his followers on Twitter.

In the stream of photos on their Facebook pages, Javier Bolden and Bryan Barnes look like the life of the party. The young men hung out with a group that dubbed itself "No Respect Inc.," a "party crew" that followed a local DJ to parties and other events across South Los Angeles. The photos show Bolden and Barnes dancing, shirtless, showing off their tattoos and muscles, and striking poses with young women. Under one photo Barnes took of himself in December, he wrote: "Merry Christmas To All Da Females Dat Didnt Have A Good Christmas :)"

Linda Pincay, 37, the wife of jockey Laffit Pincay, died Sunday afternoon at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, almost 48 hours after she apparently shot herself in the head at their Los Feliz home. A hospital spokesman announced that she died at 3:05 p.m. after having been under a life-support system since the shooting at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. The shooting occurred Friday behind a locked bedroom door while Pincay was waiting to ride the last race on the program at Santa Anita, police said.

A suspect has been detained in the fatal shooting of a Metro bus driver Sunday morning in West Hollywood, authorities said. Shortly after 9 a.m. the 51-year old bus driver on Route 105 was leaving an MTA layover area near the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and West Knoll Drive when the shooting occurred, said MTA spokesman Rick Jager. The driver was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and died at 9:30 a.m. The name of the driver, a five-year veteran of the agency, has not been released.

Nearly every time Andrew Bynum muscled his way inside, two barricades stopped his imposing presence. One roadblock came in the form of Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, whose physical approach to defense suddenly prevented Bynum from bullying his way to the basket. The other barrier simply reflected Bynum missing routine hooks, post-up shots or "bunnies," as he likes to call them. The Lakers' 99-96 victory Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series featured Bynum shooting only two of 13 from the field, leading him to say, "My touch today was a little off around the rim. " Yet, Lakers Coach Mike Brown gushed afterward that Bynum "was an absolute monster.

When a rash of burglaries and other crimes broke out in and around a gated community in Sanford, Fla., residents wanted some form of protection. Someone raised the possibility of a neighborhood watch group. But only one resident seems to have  come forward for the duties: George Zimmerman. Zimmerman, 28, is the focal point for national outrage over the fatal Feb. 26 shooting of an unarmed teen, Trayvon Martin. The 17-year-old was returning from a sugar run -- he'd bought a bag of Skittles and an iced tea at a local convenience store -- and was reportedly talking on a cellphone to his girlfriend when he crossed paths with Zimmerman.

ATLANTA - George Zimmerman apologized to the parents of the unarmed black teenager he fatally shot, as a Florida judge set his bail at $150,000, offering the former neighborhood watch volunteer a path to freedom after more than a week in jail. By midafternoon Friday, Zimmerman was still in custody, but his freedom was "being worked on as we speak," said Jimmy Woods, a spokesman forMark O'Mara, Zimmerman's attorney. Zimmerman, 28, appeared in the Sanford, Fla., courtroom at 9 a.m. in a dark suit and gray tie, his hair in a buzz cut, his hands bound by a chain circling his waist.

FBI agents have arrived in Kodiak, Alaska, to investigate the fatal shootings of two U.S. Coast Guard members at a communications station, but a spokesman said there is no immediate evidence that the incident was a terrorist act. Investigators would not say Thursday evening whether a gunman was still at large on the remote island in southern Alaska, home to 13,000 people and the largest Coast Guard base in the U.S. “The investigation is...

After spending a season fighting age, battling immaturity, struggling with old habits and jabbing with a new coach, the Lakers have ended up where we pretty much thought they would. Out of breath and on the ropes. Their veteran star is exhausted and annoyed. Their kid center is angry and distant. Their power forward is uncertain and embattled. And their season is officially on the brink after they blew a 13-point lead in a 103-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday in the fourth and perhaps deciding game of their first-round playoff series.

Nearly every time Andrew Bynum muscled his way inside, two barricades stopped his imposing presence. One roadblock came in the form of Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, whose physical approach to defense suddenly prevented Bynum from bullying his way to the basket. The other barrier simply reflected Bynum missing routine hooks, post-up shots or "bunnies," as he likes to call them. The Lakers' 99-96 victory Friday over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series featured Bynum shooting only two of 13 from the field, leading him to say, "My touch today was a little off around the rim. " Yet, Lakers Coach Mike Brown gushed afterward that Bynum "was an absolute monster.

Los Angeles police Friday afternoon arrested the man suspected of fatally shooting two USC students from China in a botched robbery and a second man believed to have some involvement in the killings, several LAPD sources said. The man suspected of being the killer in the case that has garnered international attention and turned a harsh spotlight on the elite campus set among some of the city's roughest neighborhoods was taken into custody about 4 p.m. Dozens of detectives, plainclothes officers and members of the Los Angeles Police Department's SWAT unit descended on the 1200 block of 91st Street in South Los Angeles, residents said.

ATLANTA - On the night George Zimmerman fatally shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida, a witness said he saw some of the scuffle - and described a black man in a dark hoodie on top of a white or Latino man, punching him repeatedly, "mixed martial arts style. " Then there was a pop, the witness told police, according to documents made public Thursday in Zimmerman's second-degree murder case. Soon, he said, the man in the hoodie was "laid out in the grass. " The detail, one of many in a trove of discovery records released by prosecutors, could bolster Zimmerman's contention that he acted in self-defense on the night of Feb. 26, after he called police and reported Martin as a suspicious character in his neighborhood.

Seven deputies from the Los Angeles County sheriff's gang unit have been placed on leave on suspicion that they belong to a secret clique that celebrates shootings and brands its members with matching tattoos, sources confirmed. The move is a sign of the intensifying nature of the investigation of the "Jump Out Boys. " Suspicion about the group's existence was sparked several weeks ago when a supervisor found a pamphlet describing the group's creed, which promoted aggressive policing and portrayed officer shootings in a positive light.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Point broken. The Lakers continued to suffer in point-guard production against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Ramon Sessions had two points and no assists in 24 minutes of the Lakers' 77-75 loss in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. Steve Blake had five points on one-for-five shooting in almost 27 minutes Wednesday. Blake missed the possible go-ahead shot with 3.9 seconds to play, his three-point attempt from the corner a little long and a tad to the right.

Five people were dead Wednesday morning after a gunman entered a Korean health spa in suburban Atlanta, got into an argument and then opened fire before turning the weapon on himself. Norcross police were continuing their investigation and were interviewing witnesses after the Tuesday night shooting, officials said. Capt. Brian Harr told the Associated Press the shootings appeared to be “domestic-related.” The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when the unidentified man walked into the Su Jung Health Sauna, about 15 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta in Gwinnett County, police said.

The investigation into a controversial police killing of a college student last weekend took a dramatic twist Wednesday when Pasadena authorities arrested a 911 caller, alleging his fabrication led to the shooting. An officer shot 19-year-old Kendrec McDade on a narrow street in the city's Northwest district about 11 p.m. Saturday. Police were dispatched to the scene after a man, identified as Oscar Carrillo, called 911. He said two armed men had stolen his laptop computer and backpack as he was buying tacos at a stand on Orange Grove Boulevard.

Some things to take from the Lakers' 119-90 Game 1 loss Monday to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 1. The Lakers have a lot of defensive adjustments to make on pick-and-roll coverages. Every time the Thunder ran its  offense, the Lakers showed up late on their rotations. After a few swing passes, dribble-drive penetrations or pick-and-rolls, the Lakers appeared way out of position. The reasons vary. Russell Westbrook dropped 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting because the Lakers forced him to be a jump shooter, and he made open shots.

Re "Beck, panel again at odds on shooting," May 7 It has been said that if the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for the law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. That's what happened when police officers beat Rodney King worse than an animal and then were absolved of any wrongdoing by the same court system that gets tough on everyone else. Now Los Angeles Police Det. Arthur Gamboa shoots a man in the back twice, and Chief Charlie Beck wants the public to believe Gamboa was in fear for his life, so it's OK. Maybe Beck should have the motto "to protect and to serve" removed from the police cars.