Matthew Ormseth is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining The Times in 2018, he covered city news and state politics at the Hartford Courant.
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Federal indictment accuses 68 alleged members and affiliates of the Peckerwoods white supremacist gang of selling drugs and committing fraud.
Oct. 2, 2024
One of the pilots was pronounced dead at the scene in Lancaster, while the other pilot was uninjured, officials said. Neither plane had passengers.
Sept. 22, 2024
A driver struck a horse early Sunday on the 15 Freeway in Norco, according to a Riverside County fire official. It was unclear how the horse got onto the freeway.
Sept. 22, 2024
The Bay Area man was killed last week in a California prison where he’d been serving a life sentence for murdering a close friend, officials said.
Sept. 22, 2024
Gabriel Zendejas Chavez, indicted in an investigation of the Mexican Mafia’s rackets in L.A. County jails, pleaded guilty to a rarely filed charge called ‘misprision of a felony’ in a deal that may spare him prison time.
Sept. 19, 2024
A young couple targeted four cannabis dispensaries for robberies during a six-week-long spree, prosecutors say. Detectives titled the case file “Romeo and Juliet.”
Sept. 18, 2024
Prosecutors across the country have increasingly turned to murder charges to deter fentanyl sales, but critics say the tactic punishes only low-level suppliers. And in one of L.A.’s first cases, evidence shows how the line between accused dealer and customer can blur into friendship.
Sept. 12, 2024
Ralph Rocha was a suspect in the death of Lucio Rodarte, whose body was found in an alley, blindfolded, gagged and handcuffed. Then Rocha became an informant for the ATF.
Sept. 6, 2024
Ralph Rocha infiltrated negotiations between the Mexican Mafia and a cartel for the ATF. His handlers didn’t know he made secret tapes that would jeopardize the case.
Sept. 5, 2024
Ralph Rocha made secret tapes documenting his tenure as an informant. Were they an insurance policy? A way to blow off steam? An early stab at a screenplay?
Sept. 4, 2024